In April, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation proposed new CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards that would increase the average efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks by 4.5 percent per year from 2011 to 2015. A lot of people wondered why the federal government wasn't aiming higher.
I am taking action now to improve the gas mileage of how I drive in the car I ownn now. Here's some tips which help extend my range between fill-ups. I shut off my motor at known long stoplights (you know the ones) and when I stop for a train crossing the road. With today's computer controlled and fuel injected engines, 30 seconds of off time is all that it takes to offset the amount of fuel used to restart. If I have the time to spare, I drive under the speed limit of 65 mph. For speeds over 60 mph, there is more areodymanic "drag" on the car. I've read in a couple of dirrerent articles that for every 5 mph increase in speed, there is a 5-7% decrease in gas mileage. translated, for a car with gets 25 mph at 60, it gets 22.5 mpg at 65, and 19.75 mpg at 70. With this decreased efficiency, costs and increased carbon emissions add up. Cruse control is great gas saver when maintaining speed on a straightaway, but it becomes an energy hog when it "floors" the engine to climb a hill. To counter this, when approaching an uphill climb on a highway, I prepare to disengage the cruise control. To do this, I place my foot on the accelerator to "hold" the position of the pedal before disengaging the cruise control. Just before the climb, I disengage the cruise. The speed will decay, I typically will let the car slow to 60-63 mph assuming an initial speed of beetween 65 to 70 (it doesn't set me back time-wise that much) . There almost always a downhill on the otherside of that uphill climb. To regain speed, I let the car coast down the other side of the hill to make up the speed. When my desired speed is reached, I re-engage the cruise. If no downhill exists in a reasonable distance, I moderately accelerate to regain my speed; slow accelerations generally save more gas than quick accelerations. I've turned this into a game, which makes driving less mindless activity and takes the edge of my impatience in getting from here to there quickly. My onboard mpg gage shows an improvement of 5-7 mpg's over a 20 mile highway commute. Hope it helps. If there are other tips, please share!
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