Car tips, and not just "Buy a new one"
August 2nd 2010 14:19
How many ads have you seen for a new Hybrid vehicle? 100? 50? It seems as though the automotive industry comes out with a new, more environmentally friendly vehicle each week.But the fact is, more people are driving conventional vehicles than hybrids, especially outside of big cities. So what can the average driver do to reduce his carbon-creator's impact? Turns out quite a bit!
1) Car pool. The simplest way to reduce your vehicle's footprint is to remove it. Join a coworker, spouse, or neighbor in the ride to work and you can cut emissions by 100% from your vehicle. Not only that, but you get the side of effect of networking with people around you. If you don't know anyone near you, check for a park & ride or a van-pool.
2) Unless your driving a race car, having the windows open doesn't reduce your gas mileage, but the A/C does. It's not really a big deal, only 1 mpg, but that's one more mile that you can go without filling up on that great black fossil fuel.
3) Coasting in neutral is bad. Want to kill some more mileage and drain the tank? Run in neutral. If your car is newer than about 1980, it works better having the transmission engaged because the engine will automatically regulate fuel, which it doesn't do in neutral.
4) Walk or bike. If you live in a big city or within a mile or two of work, then choose a method that benefits both the environment and your body.
5) Regular maintenance. This one should be obvious, but based on the number of rust-buckets I've seen on the road some people still don't get it. A well-maintained vehicle runs better and outputs less emissions than the same one that is not maintained. This includes regular oil changes, tire rotations, cleaning, flushing, and tune-ups.
Extra credit: I know the title of this post includes "Buy a new one" and "not" but that doesn't mean I'm not going to say it. A new hybrid or electric vehicle is the single best way to drive your own car and reduce your footprint. If you can't afford to buy a new vehicle, think about a moped or motorcycle which gets significantly better mileage than your hummer.
1) Car pool. The simplest way to reduce your vehicle's footprint is to remove it. Join a coworker, spouse, or neighbor in the ride to work and you can cut emissions by 100% from your vehicle. Not only that, but you get the side of effect of networking with people around you. If you don't know anyone near you, check for a park & ride or a van-pool.
2) Unless your driving a race car, having the windows open doesn't reduce your gas mileage, but the A/C does. It's not really a big deal, only 1 mpg, but that's one more mile that you can go without filling up on that great black fossil fuel.
3) Coasting in neutral is bad. Want to kill some more mileage and drain the tank? Run in neutral. If your car is newer than about 1980, it works better having the transmission engaged because the engine will automatically regulate fuel, which it doesn't do in neutral.
4) Walk or bike. If you live in a big city or within a mile or two of work, then choose a method that benefits both the environment and your body.
5) Regular maintenance. This one should be obvious, but based on the number of rust-buckets I've seen on the road some people still don't get it. A well-maintained vehicle runs better and outputs less emissions than the same one that is not maintained. This includes regular oil changes, tire rotations, cleaning, flushing, and tune-ups.
Extra credit: I know the title of this post includes "Buy a new one" and "not" but that doesn't mean I'm not going to say it. A new hybrid or electric vehicle is the single best way to drive your own car and reduce your footprint. If you can't afford to buy a new vehicle, think about a moped or motorcycle which gets significantly better mileage than your hummer.
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