Playing the Fuel

New wheels aren’t the only option for driving greener. You can look to the past for a find or two and bestow new cachet to buying “gently worn.”

An auto industry source steered me to the Geo Metro, a vehicle that was developed through a joint venture between Chevrolet and Suzuki. The 3-cyl. lightweight continues to deliver its loyal owners as much as an impressive 50 mpg.

Interestingly, my industry source clued me in on this a year and a half ago when he suggested an old Geo could be picked up for just a couple of thousand dollars. This was well before what turned into “Geo Madness” last year when gasoline prices spiked, with Geos selling for above their cost when new.

Aside from scoring a “little engine that could” from the past, if you’re not ready to pony up for new sheet metal, there are many simple day-to-day practices that will make you a better EcoDriver:

1. Lose Weight If your car doubles as a closet, it’s time to reorganize. Any excess weight means more work (AKA more fuel) for your vehicle to power through its laps. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk typically reduces mileage by approximately two percent.

2. Check Tires It’s estimated that 1.2 billion gallons of gas were wasted in 2005 due to underinflated tires. Keeping tires inflated properly equates to a free tank of gas for the year, so check tire pressure monthly.

3. Stay Tidy While some might see this as a conspiracy hatched by compulsive cleaners, according to Edmunds.com, a clean and waxed car improves its aerodynamics. And at highway speeds, some 50 percent of engine power goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag.

4. Remove Add-Ons Losing the luggage, bike and ski racks, as well as the rooftop carriers, also aids vehicle aerodynamics.

5. Cap It The Car Care Council reports that nearly 150 million gallons of gas evaporate during the year by way of loose, damaged or missing gas caps. Be sure your gas cap is doing its job.

6. Slow-and-Go Slow-and-go driving is better than stop-and-go. This increases fuel economy, because more fuel is needed to get a stopped vehicle going than just to keep it moving — as much as 20 percent more to accelerate from a full stop.

7. Air Off Using the air conditioner can reduce mileage by as much as 20 percent, but driving with the windows open increases aerodynamic drag. What to do? Generally, if driving under 40 mph, open windows are better; more than 40 mph, turn on the air conditioner.

8. Idle Not Idling your car means 0 mpg. Always shut off the engine in situations where you’re not in traffic and may have a wait longer than a minute, such as picking up kids from school or other drop-offs and pick-ups.

9. Highway 60 Every five miles over 60 mph equals an extra 20 cents per gallon at the pump, the U.S. EPA says. Not exceeding 60 mph improves mileage by as much as an estimated 23 percent.

10. Talk EcoDriving Spread the word to friends, family and colleagues of the benefits from being an EcoDriver. If half of U.S. drivers practiced moderate levels of EcoDriving, CO2 emissions could drop by some 100 million tons in a year — the equivalent of heating and powering 8.5 million homes.

Tips courtesy of the Auto Alliance. Get more tips at drivesmarterchallenge.org and EcoDrivingUSA.com.

 

Maria Fotopoulos is a Los Angeles-based writer who worked in the automotive industry for ten years.