| Sub-prime mortgage crisis, food prices soaring, gasoline | | | | A well-maintained and smoothly running vehicle uses |
| costs through the roof - do you feel like you're being | | | | less fuel |
| financially squeezed at every turn? Here are some | | | | Your auto was designed for optimal operation with |
| easy things you can do about some of your auto | | | | certain minimum requirements in place. If these |
| related expenses: | | | | minimum requirements are not met, your cars |
| Saving money at the pumps | | | | fuel-efficiency suffers. |
| Slow things down a bit | | | | Consider the following: |
| On most major U.S. highways and freeways, the | | | | • Keeping your tires properly inflated can improve |
| posted speed limited for automobiles & motorcycles is | | | | your gas mileage by around 3.3 per cent. |
| typically between 55-75 mph. If you’ve got a bit of | | | | • Your car's air filter keeps impurities from |
| a lead foot, you should know that increasing your | | | | damaging the inside of your engine and it helps the |
| speed does increase your automobiles gas | | | | engine to operate more efficiently. Replacing a dirty air |
| consumption accordingly. Driving 20% faster than the | | | | filter can improve your vehicle's gas mileage by as |
| posted limit increases your gas consumption by roughly | | | | much as 10 per cent. |
| 20% as well. Think about it, with today's soaring gas | | | | • You can improve your vehicle's gas mileage by |
| prices, do you really want to be buying 20% more | | | | 1-2 per cent by using the manufacturer's |
| gas? | | | | recommended grade of motor oil. Using lower grades |
| Use Cruise Control | | | | will not only hurt the engine, but will hurt your wallet as |
| The governments website suggests that using cruise | | | | well, in the form of much costlier fill-ups at the pump. |
| control on the highway helps you maintain a constant | | | | Drive less - much less if you can |
| speed and, in most cases, will save gas. The also | | | | Now we know that this is not for everyone, but for |
| advise to use Overdrive Gears because, When you | | | | many of us, this is not only a viable option, but it could |
| use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes | | | | lead to some wonderful side benefits if enabled |
| down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear. You'll | | | | correctly. Much better health and fitness levels could |
| be saving gas, the environment and ultimately your | | | | be ours if we chose instead to walk or cycle |
| hard earned dollars. | | | | whenever possible, instead of driving absolutely |
| Relax, live longer and enjoy the ride | | | | everywhere. Other options are car pooling with others |
| Aggressive driving, like rapid acceleration, speeding, and | | | | (could be great for your social life) - or downsizing |
| hard braking increases gasoline consumption by up to | | | | your ride - how about one of those new scooters that |
| 37% according to a recent study done by Natural | | | | gets like 80 miles per gallon? |
| Resources Canada. Incredibly, it’s also been | | | | All kidding aside, most of us could drive a lot less, walk |
| reported that aggressive city driving only gets you | | | | a bit more, and we'd all be far better off for it. |
| where you want to go about 2½ minutes faster on | | | | Cheaper auto insurance? - yes, it's very possible |
| a 60–minute trip. 37% more gas to buy??? It’s a | | | | With gas prices through the roof, saving money at the |
| lot to pay for so little time saved, dontcha think? | | | | pumps is a real hot-topic these days, but you should |
| Is your vehicle actually another 'storage room' | | | | know that there's another vehicle (excuse the pun) |
| While it may seem like a convenient place to keep | | | | worth looking at for significant savings where your |
| certain things, minimizing the amount of “stuff” | | | | auto costs are concerned. It's easy to do, usually costs |
| you keep in your automobile can save you a significant | | | | nothing but a bit of your time to do, and most people |
| amount of gas money. It is estimated by the U.S. | | | | are still unaware of just how much money can be |
| Department of Energy that for every additional 100 | | | | saved. |
| pounds that you truck around in your vehicle, you are | | | | Did you know that car insurance rates can and do |
| increasing your gas consumption by about 1-2%. This | | | | vary wildly from insurer to insurer - for basically the |
| can really add up over time. | | | | same coverage? Only by shopping around for your |
| Not going anywhere and still burning up loads of costly | | | | auto insurance coverage and getting quotes from |
| gas? | | | | several insurance companies will you know whether |
| It seems silly to state the obvious, but…you get 0 | | | | you are getting the best possible rate on your car |
| miles per gallon if your car is idling. You could simply | | | | insurance coverage. Don’t pay any more than you |
| turn off the cars motor if you're not moving for a while. | | | | have to - shop around for your car insurance policy. If |
| Instead of idling while waiting at the fast food drive-up | | | | you have a few minutes, compare your current auto |
| window, why not park the car and go inside? It's often | | | | insurance rate with multiple competing offers right now. |
| way faster to get served anyway, and you should | | | | Click on: Cheap auto insurance to get started. It could |
| know that idling in the line up for more than 10 seconds | | | | be the best 5-minute investment decision you make all |
| burns more gas than restarting the engine would. Use | | | | year. |
| this tip wisely, and your gasoline savings will mount. | | | | |