Mike
Carruthers:
Improving your car's fuel efficiency is on everyone's mind with
gas prices as high as they are. And there are some things we can
do. But first a reality check…
Matt Vella:
You're never going to turn a Hummer into a Prius by how you
drive it so you have to temper your expectations a little bit.
But there are things that everyday drivers can do to maximize
their fuel economy.
Matt Vella, Automotive
Reporter for the Wall Street
Journal…
One of the biggest
things is what people call jackrabbit starts, which is just
hitting the gas as hard as you can as soon as that light turns
green. It may be satisfying to do that, but the fuel economy
when you gun it just drops. So slower starts that don't cause
the engine to rev up have a huge impact on your fuel economy.
Also anticipating
stops so you don't have to hit the brakes really hard will also
improve fuel efficiency, as well as proper tire pressure, a
well-tuned engine, and the right octane gasoline.
But all of these
are kind of small incremental and you kind of have to do them
all together at the same time if you want to see an appreciable
improvement in your fuel economy.
And what about
running the air conditioner? Does that really affect your fuel
efficiency?
Unless you have
a really old car, I would say that you can run the air conditioning
safely. Fuel economy in newer cars is not that greatly affected
by running the A/C. The technology has gotten pretty efficient.
At somethingyoushouldknow.net
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.
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