Car Fuel Efficiency
With gas prices at an all time high, car fuel efficiency is one of the most important factors in your economic life. Of course, you can get improved car fuel efficiency from buying a new hybrid car, but these cars are so expensive that they are out of many peoples ranges. Who wouldn’t want to be driving a Toyota Prius, or some other ultra low emissions vehicle to both improve the environment, and save themselves cash on gas, but lets face it, many of us can’t afford a new car at all, let alone one of these expensive hybrids. If this is the case for you, as it surely is for me, there are a number of things that you can do to increase car fuel efficiency.
If you want to buy a used car, all is not lost. Many of the smaller used automobiles, such as the VW Jetta, the Honda Civic, or the Ford Escort, have very good fuel efficiency. Be sure to get the model with the smaller, or less super powered engine, as smaller engines have the best car fuel efficiency. In addition, get your car regularly serviced. Car fuel efficiency tends to decrease over the life of your vehicle, so if you make sure that it stays running in as near to tip top condition as possible, you can minimize these losses.
Another way to improve car fuel efficiency is through careful driving. This may seem strange or backwards to you, but car fuel efficiency varies drastically in different driving conditions. Try to minimize city driving, and when you do drive, drive at times when there is less traffic, to avoid the stops and starts and long waits that just burn fuel. Additionally, try to plan your trips ahead of time to avoid unnecessary detours or slow spots.
A neat trick to improve car fuel efficiency on the freeway is to find a semi to drive behind. Although you will be going, in all likelihood, much slower than you would otherwise, driving like this in the wake, or draft, of the semi, greatly reduces air resistance. This means that your car fuel efficiency will dramatically increase, and you can sometimes get to your destination in this manner using a third less gas than you would otherwise. Defensive driving in general is a good policy, not just because it is safer, but because it increases car fuel efficiency as well. Drive carefully, and you will get there more safely, and with a few more bucks in your pocket!
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