"Falling gas prices have drivers smiling," is a scary headline. That's because those lower prices also have us returning to some of our old ways on the highways.We'd like to address this trend, and have "edited" the "Ten Fuel Saving Tips" we published last week hoping that drivers will get the "message."
Speed limit 65 mph? Now that we're paying less for gas, you can forget the 62 mph you've been trying to maintain and ramp back up to 75 mph. Your fuel consumption will escalate by about 15 percent. Good start.
No need to anticipate traffic patterns anymore. Go back to quick acceleration and hard braking. Done well and routinely, this will cut your fuel economy by as much as 20 percent.
Stop checking your tires. Just one tire underinflated by 2 psi can help your vehicle consume 1 percent more fuel. Every little bit counts!
No more cruise control. It helps maintain a constant speed over long distances and uses less gas. You don't want that anymore.
Load up the trunk. Return to just-in-case overpacking for lengthy trips; and don't remove those sand bags come spring. Heavy loads help your car suck up more gas. Count on it.
If you're stuck in traffic that's not likely to move in less than 1 minute, keep the motor running. There's nothing like idling. The longer the better. Shutting the car off and restarting it when you're ready to go, saves gas. No sense in doing that.
When summer comes, or if you're driving in warmer climes, don't skimp on the AC. It's a great way to put extra load on the engine and force extra fuel usage by around 20 percent. And don't forget that the defrost position on most cars also uses the air conditioner. How cool is that?
Whenever possible, roll down the windows, especially at highway speeds (which you'll be increasing. Right?) All that fresh air can decrease fuel economy by up to 10 percent.
Back off your regular maintenance routine. There's nothing like dirty air filters, old spark plugs, and low fluid levels to set up your car for poor fuel economy.
n If you're in the market for a new car, it doesn't get much better than it is right now. Happily, our country's cornered the market on just what you'll be looking for: The Gas Guzzler.
The U.S. auto industry has been riding a wave of notoriety in this area since the 1960s. We know what we're doing when it comes to pitting the comfort-power-and-style enticement of American automotive products against the smaller, more environmentally friendly, hybrid, fuel efficient offerings of, say, Toyota.
No contest.
On top of that, it so happens that at this very moment, the sales lots of any and all of the dealers of any and all of The Big Three U.S. automakers located in the 48 continuous states, plus Hawaii and Alaska are, guess what? Overstocked.
You betcha!
You can get an idea of the buying opportunities out there from something Don Burdette of Burdette Brothers Pontiac here in Frederick talked about in a recent News-Post story. In the 1980s, he was selling 700-plus cars a month. Last month, he sold seven. Burdette anticipates he'll unload around 150 vehicles for the entire year. Statistics like these confirm it's an American car buyer's dream out there. But, be sure to shop around.
We suggest you begin with the benchmark General Motor's Hummer. Look for the H2 model. GM doesn't provide official fuel economy ratings on the gasoline engine that comes with it, but Motortrend observed 12 mpg, and Car and Driver observed 10 mpg.
Oh, and keep on smiling.
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