Car
Space; the final frontier
Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.The heavier your vehicle, the more energy required to move it. You can save a little gas and a lot of space by removing excess weight from your trunk. Regularly stopping and reviewing what items sit in your trunk for weeks at a time can help keep your mileage down, too. Are your golf clubs only used on Sundays but ride with you every day anyway? Do you still have that box of books in the back from your big move? Many of us have no idea what's in our trunks. A good rule of thumb may be that if I haven't used it in a year, the Salvation Army has a better use for it.
Losing excess weight.
A little less gas. A little better space.
How hard is this? Easy
Reducing the road rage
Rapid breaking can lower gas mileage by as much as 33%. And aggressive drivers are using an extra 125 gallons of gas a year.Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Savings are between $0.12 and $0.76 per gallon. You may find that you are also saving a little sanity every time you let the little things go when driving in the city.
It's easy to sometimes let your own driving patterns mirror the worst aspects of the people driving around you, but the payoff for driving responsibly is huge. Not only do you decrease your chances of an accident, but your weekly gas bills may actually give you that extra reason to be happy.
Driving happy.
A little less gas. A little better Zen.
How hard is this? Easy
Pumped up
Leave a pressure gauge somewhere in your car where you can always see it reminding you to check the pressure regularly.You can improve your gas mileage by around 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.4 percent for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four tires. For the proper inflation level, check your vehicle owner’s manual or the sticker on the inside door jamb of the driver-side door. The psi number written on the side of your tires is the maximum pressure and not necessarily the proper inflation level.
A tire at the proper pressure is a safer tire, as well. Your car brakes better, travels better and manages the road better at the proper tire inflation. The next event at your school, bring along a few friends to properly inflate everyone's tires. You'll be helping them to stay a little safer while you save them money.
The right tire pressure.
A little less gas. A little better mileage.
How hard is this? Moderate
Pretty is as pretty does
Buy your car based on its gas mileage. It's a simple idea, but it may save you money in the long run while it saves gas today.Hybrid cars get up to 50 miles per gallon compared to the 15 miles per gallon of a typical SUV. and when you buy A Hybrid, you may qualify for a one-time tax credit of up to $3,400.
But even if you can't afford a hybrid car, you can still shop based on mileage. A lot of us use appearance or other criteria when we shop. If we just do something as simple as bumping mileage up on the list of "must-haves", we can make a difference. You can save little or you can save big. It's the “Save” part of that phrase that means the most.
Driving clean.
A little less exhaust. A little better mileage.
How hard is this? Challenging
