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I cannot afford a hybrid, smart car or ZENN at this time in my life despite how much I’d like to. I am quite envious of those that can make this significant environmental change in their lives but if you are like me you may have to settle for some other small changes to reduce your impact.
First of all, the only two cars I have ever owned were bought used. I like to think that this is environmentally sound in the fact that I am trying to use the car to its fullest before it is sent to a scrap yard somewhere. Along with this I pride myself in taking very good care of my car including regular tune-ups and check-ups. The EPA suggests maintaining your vehicle according to the instruction manual will increase your fuel efficiency and decrease your carbon emissions.
Like being tuned up regularly, it is a good idea to keep your car tidy. I am a bit of a neat freak anyway but a well-organized car is more important than you think. The fewer things you have in your car, the more fuel efficient it is because your vehicle doesn’t have to carry around as much weight and work as hard to get you where you’re going.
Editor’s note: There’s no doubt about it: high gas prices are changing the ways Americans drive (and even causing them choose alternatives to driving). Our friends at Low Impact Living take a look today at the most extreme practices of driving with fuel economy in mind: hypermiling. As writer Jason Pelletier points out, some of these tactics involve safety risks… so be very careful with some of the more aggressive methods. This post was originally published on Thursday, June 5, 2008.
You may have heard about folks out there who describe themselves as “hypermilers”. What is that, you might ask? Well, it’s basically just someone who gets more out of a gallon of gas than the rest of us. Not a little more, though, but A LOT more - hypermilers can often nearly double the EPA listed mileage for a given car. One of the leaders in the hypermiler movement, Wayne Gerdes, can get nearly 60 mpg out of his 2005 Honda Accord (EPA est 34 mpg), and once got 127 mpg out of a Prius (EPA est 42 mpg)!
We all can learn from what they do, for their tips range from things we all should be doing anyway all the way up to the downright crazy / illegal things that it takes to get up into the mileage stratosphere.
Source: greefus groinks
There’s been a lot of buzz on the internet and on TV about ecodriving, hypermiling, ecomodding, or other techniques for saving fuel. EcoModder.com, a site dedicated to modifying cars and driving habits for fuel economy, recently released a list of 100+ hypermiling tips.
These tips are definitely worth a look for anyone interested in saving a few dollars at the pump, [...]
With the threat of gasoline prices climbing to $4 per gallon, eco-conscious drivers have yet another reason to boost their mileage and reduce their fuel consumption. So here are 100 tips for “hypermiling,” courtesy of GasolineCreditCards.com’s EcoTrekker.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Lawrence via Wikimedia Commons.
