New Transmission Could Increase Gas Mileage by 20 to 30 MPG

It's amazing what you can find on the internet.

Today, I came across an article about a lifelong inventor who has come up with a transmission that would improve gas mileage by 20 to 30 mpg. For a technical explanation of how the new transmission works in comparison to current transmissions, I highly recommend clicking the link - I'd love to explain it, but most of this stuff is beyond me.

Anyway, aside from wanting to bring the new transmission to your attention, I also wanted to show that there are a lot of people out there that are trying to find new ways to make cars more fuel efficient.

Whether it's improving transmissions, finding out how to change a hybrid to get 100 mpg or finding newer, cleaner and (most importantly) renewable sources of energy, people are out there working hard to make these things a reality.

While many of these inventions or ideas never get past the drawing board, the fact remains that we much continue to explore every option, no matter how silly or impossible they may seem at the time.

Teacher Rides Horse to Work to Save Money on Gas

While I've had some pretty off the wall suggestions for ways to save gas (wash and wax your car, lose weight, and don't get new rims), nothing compares to what a Wisconsin high school teacher has done to help offset the rise in gas prices:

He bought a horse and rides it to and from work.

According to the article, the teacher has decided to ride a horse instead of his car for two reasons:

1. To save $40 per week on gas
2. To make a statement and show that people can conserve gas

While I think this may be a bit excessive considering it now takes the teacher two and a half hours to commute round trip, it does prove a point that we can conserve gas - and you don't even need to go out and buy a horse to do so!

Simple things like watching your speed or checking your tire pressure can help you save a lot of gas and a lot of money.

So, unless things get much worse, I'd recommend making simple changes to your driving habits - not going out and buying a horse!

Fuel Economy Tip - Don't Use Your Headlights During the Day

Today's tip will hopefully help you save a bit of money on your car's gas as well as help your headlights last a little bit longer.

Don't use your headlights when it's sunny out.

I got this idea from an article on HowStuffWorks.com, which was about how much gas Americans would waste per year if the Government required all new cars to utilize daytime running lights. According to the article, if every car on the road had daytime running lights, we (Americans) would waste over 406 MILLION GALLONS OF GAS each year!

With gas being roughly $3 per gallon, that would be a loss of $1.2 billion.

While I'm not going to go into how exactly the people at HowStuffWorks.com went about calculating how much gas would be wasted, the logic behind their numbers certainly makes plenty of sense.

With that being said, if you don't want to add to the amount of gas wasted each year, I would strongly recommend keeping your headlights off during the day, unless it's raining, you're driving through a tunnel, etc.

I certainly don't think that the savings will amount to much for each individual driver (on average, it's probably less than $10 per year), but like I've said many times before, all those little savings will add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars each year.

Is It Time to Tax Big Oil's Windfall Profits?

Earlier this week, ExxonMobil recorded a second quarter profit of $10.6 BILLION amid record highs in the price of crude oil. Unfortunately, this hasn't been the exception to the rule, as most all big oil companies are recording quarterly profits in the billions of dollars.

This doesn't exactly seem fair when the price of gas is up 50% on the year.

With that being said, there has been a growing movement for a one time tax on big oil's windfall profits. The purpose of levying an extra tax on these profits is to attempt to return much of the collected money to drivers, helping to offset the increase in the price of gas.

While in theory this may be a great idea, in practice this would be ridiculously dumb. Here's why:

1. If these big oil companies have found ways to pass the cost of higher oil on to the consumer, don't you think they'll find creative ways to recoup the hundreds of millions (or billions) they stand to lose in this windfall tax? My bet is they'll find a way to get that money back.
2. Much of the reason for the higher price in gas isn't due to an increase in the cost of crude oil, but it's due to the lack of refinery capacity. Big oil companies have been reluctant to increase refinery capacity (a.k.a. building additional refineries) because it takes a long time to see a return on the investment. Maybe instead of forcing the big oil companies to return money to consumers it might be a better idea to force them to use the money to increase refinery capacity.
3. Here's the greatest idea of all - MAKE BIG OIL COMPANIES TAKE THE MONEY THEY WOULD REPAY TO CONSUMERS AND MAKE THEM INVEST IT IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL SOURCES.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is this windfall tax is like trying to use a band aid to treat a gunshot wound. This tax completely ignores the fact we need to use big oil's money to find ways to reduce our dependence on oil.

The Effect of $100 a Barrel Oil

Today's post is going to start off pretty gloom and doom, but hopefully by the end of it, you'll realize that no matter what the price of oil (and then gasoline) becomes, there are still plenty of ways you can change your driving habits to stretch your money even further.

I came across an interesting article posted on reddit.com that talked about the effects on the global economy, specifically America's economy, if oil hits $100 per barrel. Since I tend to be a realist (a kind word for a pessimist), I think that the article should have been changed to be more about WHEN, not IF, oil hits $100.

Editorial comment: Let's be honest here, this is really just the beginning of the meteoric rise in the price of oil. With the increased demand from emerging economies such as India and China (who happen to account for nearly 2/5ths of the world's population), an increasingly volatile Middle East (where hatred of America seems to be the only unifying theme), and with the likelihood of production DECREASES in the near future, the chances of the price of oil dropping are about as slim as the chances of this article making it on the front page of Digg. Thinking the price of oil will slow or top out at $100 seems pretty optimistic.

Anyway, back to the post. The author of the Business Week article seems to think that, for the most part, the world economy should weather the $100 storm just fine.

However, the author does believe that Americans will feel the biggest effect. A lot of this has to do with the fact that Europeans are already paying the equivalent of $7 or $8 per gallon and more than likely their gas prices wouldn't increase much. Americans, on the other hand, would see gas shoot from roughly $3 (already 300% higher than where it was in 1999) to around $5, another 66% increase.

I don't know about you, but having to spend $60 to fill up my little economy car is certainly going to reduce my discretionary income.

Since there appears there's not much you can do to stop the increase in the price of gasoline, you're going to have to take other measures to help offset the extra money you're going to spend.

(This is where the article gets decidedly more optimistic)

By making slight changes in your driving habits, you have the ability to "offset" the rise in gas prices by 20% or more. And, once these more efficient habits replace your bad habits, you'll save hundreds of dollars per year!

For example, by utilizing the following three tips, you can increase your fuel economy by 10% (roughly $.30 per gallon) or more:

1. Anticipate driving conditions
2. Don't forget about your air filter
3. Don't constantly tap your breaks

Even doing just these three simple things will net you an extra couple hundred dollars each year.

And, with the way things look, I'd start saving as much as I can.

Is This the Car of the Future? Let's Hope!

I came across an interesting article about the Tesla Roadster, a battery powered sports car that is able to go from 0 to 60 in a little over three seconds.

While hybrid cars are the current rage, they still have one fatal flaw - they still need gasoline. Regardless of the fact that hybrids get outstanding gas mileage, they are in essence just biding time until we find reliable vehicles that run on something other than a fossil fuel.

That's where cars like the Tesla Roadster come in:

"The Tesla Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries -- the same cells that run a laptop computer. Range: 250 miles. Fuel efficiency: 1 to 2 cents per mile. Top speed: more than 130 mph."

While the 250 mile range isn't exactly great, when I look at the above quote, it's hardly the number that stands out. As you are all well aware, I love to save money, and I'll be the first to admit, I would be one happy dude to have a car that costs $.02 per mile to run.

Let's say I have a car that gets 30 miles per gallon. Since fuel is roughly $3.00 per gallon, it costs me about $.10 per mile to run my car. If I drive 10,000 miles per year, that's a cost of $1,000 per year.

Now, lets say I have this Tesla Roadster (click here for pics). That 10,000 miles would only cost me $200. Think of what you could do with an extra $800.

Or, I could just go out and get a car that gets 150 mpg and call it even.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling these car's aren't going to be as inexpensive to buy as they are to operate, but that's a different story for a different day.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 12

This wasn't a very good week.

This past week I drove 345.2 miles, used 11.319 gallons of gas and paid $2.95 per gallon when I filled up, all of which equates to an average gas mileage of 30.50 mpg, or 5.15% above my car's average fuel economy.

This 5.15% increase in fuel economy equates to a per gallon "savings" of roughly $.15, and saved me $1.72 on this particular fill up. In combining the $1.72 with my previous 11 week savings, I have now saved $62.54 the past 12 weeks.

This is by far the worst gas mileage I have achieved since I started making a conscious effort to get better gas mileage. I believe a lot of this is due to constantly running my car's air conditioner, twice being stuck in traffic on my afternoon commute as well as a few cases of having a lead foot.

So, hopefully this upcoming week will be a little bit better and I'll return to the mid-30's mpg I've grown accustomed to.

Fuel Economy Tip - Plan Your Trips in Advance

As luck would have it, for the third day in a row I found an interesting article that goes to show the importance of planning out your trips BEFORE you get in your car.

The basic premise behind this article is UPS has gone so far as to try and find ways to minimize the number of left turns each driver has to make while they are out delivering packages. The article states:

"According to spokesperson Steve Holmes, avoiding left turns at intersections reduces idling which in turn lowers fuel consumption. 'It seems small, but when you multiply it across 88,0000 vehicles making nearly 15 million deliveries every day during the course of a year, it adds up.'"

If a multi-billion dollar per year, international company is willing to explore ways to get better gas mileage, don't you think it's time you try and do the same?

I'm not saying that you should go so far as to try and minimize the number of left hand turns you make, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to try and plan out your trips before you get on the road.

For example, combining several small trips into one trip is a simple and easy way you can plan ahead and save a bunch of gas.

So, When is it REALLY Going to Hurt?

I came across another interesting article today (it's amazing what you can find if you just put a little bit of effort into it) that argues that even if gas prices rise to $4 or $5 per gallon, Americans probably won't change their driving habits much.

The article references a quote from a UCLA finance professor from March, 2000 (when gas was $1.50 per gallon) that states, "I believe that another $.25 to $.50 increase, people would cut back on consumption. It exceeds the psychological barrier."

And now, we long for the days when gas was $2.50, let alone $1.50.

But certainly, people are offsetting the worries brought on by higher gas prices by buying more fuel efficient vehicles, right?

Wrong.

According to Automotive News, in the first half of 2006, three out of the top four selling vehicles in the United States were large trucks (1. Ford F-150, 2. Chevy Silverado, 4. Dodge Ram).

So, it looks like the author that is arguing that demand/consumption won't drop significantly until gas hits $4 or $5 has a valid point.

I have my own theory though.

Could it be that the demand hasn't decreased because it's easy for people to adjust their driving so that they are able to stretch their car's gas a little bit further? I would bet that most people have made slight changes in their habits (just look at the recent growth in the number of sites like this, as well as the increased number of people who frequent these sites), and are getting better gas mileage, which greatly offsets the meteoric rise in the price of fuel.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to lay claim to a revolution (although I do think Daily Fuel Economy Tip is one of the best resources for smart, gas saving drivers); I still think that for most people, the price of gas hasn't risen enough to really affect them in the wallet.

I do, however, think that people are more conscious of their driving habits, and that will continue to be the case as long as gas stays at these record prices.

A 100 MPG Car??

I found an interesting article today about how some car manufacturers are going to start to soup up their hybrids, enabling them to achieve even better gas mileage.

For those of you who don't know how hybrids work, here is an excerpt from an article posted on About.com:

"Hybrid cars work by seamlessly integrating a gas engine, an electric motor and a high-powered battery. The battery provides power for the electric motor and is recharged by recapturing energy that would normally be lost when decelerating or coasting. This recapturing of energy is called regenerative braking. If needed, power from the gas engine can be diverted to recharge the battery as well. Because of these charging strategies, hybrid cars never need to be plugged in."

The most interesting thing I found when reading the 100 mpg car article is that some hybrid owners are already getting close to 100 mpg thanks to some "slight" modifications they have made on their own. Essentially, what they have done is add extra batteries to their hybrid vehicle, thus using even less gasoline.

Unfortunately though, these modifications will not only void your hybrid's warranty, but will also cost you between $3,000 and $12,000. Seems like it would take a very long time to recoup that money in what you would save on your car's gas.

So, what does this all mean? It means that more and more hybrids are likely to hit the road and, in the future, they will probably be getting even better gas mileage than what they are currently getting.

It also means that in the meantime, the only way you're going to get better gas mileage is by making slight adjustments to your driving habits. And wouldn't you know it, I've come up with my list of the top 5 ways you can easily increase your gas mileage:

1. Watch your speed
2. Properly inflate your tires
3. Reduce the amount of time your vehicle sits and idles
4. Accelerate slowly
5. Get rid of extra weight

Getting better gas mileage isn't hard if you're willing to make slight changes to your driving habits!

Fuel Economy Tip - Don't Brake Check

Today's tip will hopefully help you save a little bit of gas, but will more than likely help to save yourself a lot of aggravation.

Don't brake check; just move over.

For those of you who don't know, "brake checking" is when you continue to slow down or tap your brakes when you have someone tailgating you.

The reason brake checking will hurt your gas mileage is because it causes you to constantly be on and off of your accelerator. Smooth drivers - drivers that slowly accelerate to speed and then maintain that speed - tend to get much better gas mileage than jack rabbit drivers - drivers that hit the accelerator and the brakes pretty hard, and go back and forth far too often.

So, if you notice someone is tailgating you, go ahead and move over to let the person pass. If you don't have the opportunity to get over, just maintain speed and don't "retaliate" by brake checking.

Another nice thing about not brake checking is you tend to not worry as much when someone is tailgating you. Don't let them being an aggressive driver agitate you and cause you to do something stupid.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox. Hopefully you've learned something that will help you save some cash.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 11

This week I drove 372.4 miles, used 11.295 gallons between fill ups and paid $3.00 per gallon, all of which equates to an average of 32.97 miles per gallon. This amount is roughly 13.69% above my car's average fuel economy.

This 13.69% increase equates to a per gallon "savings" of about $.41, and saved me $4.64 for this tank of gas.

Combining the $4.64 with the $56.18 I've already saved, my 11 week savings comes out to $60.82. Spread out over a 52 week period, I should save about $285.

I can think of a bunch of things I'd rather do with that money than burn it in my car's gas tank!

Fuel Economy Tip - Minimizing Idling

Today's tip, according to Fueleconomy.gov, could help you increase your vehicle's gas mileage by up to 17%!

Reduce the amount of time your car is in idle!

I came across a great article and diagram on Fueleconomy.gov that states the following:

"Only about 15% of the energy from the fuel you put in your tank gets used to move your car down the road or run useful accessories, such as air conditioning. The rest of the energy is lost to engine and driveline inefficiencies and idling. Therefore, the potential to improve fuel efficiency with advanced technologies is enormous."

That's an amazing statistic! If this is true, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, for every 10 gallons of gas your car uses, only 1.5 gallons are used in getting your car down the road (or to use your AC, etc.).

So, with that being said, unless you are a mechanical engineer or just happen to be a wiz with your car's engine, the only real possibility for you to save gas is to reduce the amount of time your car is idling. According to the chart on the site I referenced, 17.2% of your car's fuel is wasted while your car idles.

So, with gas being about $3 per gallon, every $.52 you spend on gas is wasted while your car sits in idle.

Here are some things you can do to help reduce the amount of time your car is in idle:

• Avoid being on the road during rush hour. Even staggering your commute by 30 minutes can have a great impact on the amount of time you sit on the highway.
• If you know of times when your car is going to sit and idle (running into a friend's house, going into Blockbuster to pick up a movie, etc.) go ahead and park the car and turn the engine off.
• Instead of turning on your car and then putting on your seat belt, adjusting your mirrors, picking out a CD, rolling the windows up or down, etc., go ahead and do those things BEFORE you start your car.
• In the winter, don't let your car sit and idle while you warm it up or scrape frost off the windows. Scrape the frost off before you start your car and invest in a nice set of gloves to where while you're driving down the road, waiting for your car to warm up.
• Same thing goes for idling while running the AC and waiting for the car to cool in the summer.
• Avoid going through the drive thru. Just go in and order your food.

Obviously this isn't an all intensive list, but hopefully it'll give you a few ideas on ways you can reduce the amount of time your car idles.

Fuel Economy Tip - Pick Your Lane and Stay In It

Today's tip will hopefully help you save a little bit of gas and a whole lot of aggravation as you're driving down a busy interstate.

Pick your lane and stay in it.

How many of you have seen the movie Office Space? You know the opening scene, where Peter is driving to work and he keeps switching lanes, only to find that the lane he just left speeds up while the lane he moved to has come to a stand still?

Well, according to Edmonds.com, the above scenario may not be that far from the truth. Edmonds.com states that "studies have shown that changing lanes does not significantly reduce travel time."

So, instead of weaving back and forth, in and out of traffic, once you get on the highway, go ahead and pick a lane (preferably not the left, or fast lane) and maintain a nice, constant speed, hopefully somewhere right around the speed limit.

This should help you save a little bit of gas and a whole lot of aggravation, since you won't be worrying about picking the "right" lane.

Oil Closes at $76.70 Per Barrel

First, I apologize for the long delay between posts; this past week I was on vacation and did not have internet access.

That being said, oil prices closed near $77 (at a record $76.70) per barrel, meaning gas prices will be soon to follow.

So, because of that, I will step up the efforts here at Daily Fuel Economy Tip to help all of you get the most out of your car's gas mileage.

Fuel Economy Tip - What To Look For When Buying a New Car

Today's tip will hopefully give you some things to look for when you're out looking to buy yourself a new car and are trying to find something that is relatively fuel efficient.

While this is by no means an all inclusive list, the items I list below should be a good place to get started:

• Look for something that is light weight: As you know from one of my previous posts, for every extra 100 pounds on your car, your fuel economy is reduced between 1 and 2%. So, by buying a car that weighs 2,200 pounds versus a car that weighs 2,000 pounds, you'll be getting between 2 and 4% worse gas mileage, which over time will definitely add up.
• Get a manual transmission car: Manual transmission cars tend to get better gas mileage than their automatic counterparts. A lot of the reason is because with a manual transmission vehicle, the driver is able to shift to anticipate driving conditions and is able to keep the transmission in the highest possible gear.
• The lower to the ground, the better: Cars that are higher off the ground (especially ones that are augmented from the way they should be) tend to get worse gas mileage than cars that sit lower to the ground. This is because cars that sit lower tend to be a little more aerodynamic.
• Get a light colored car: I know this is a bit picky, but light colored cars do a much better job reflecting sunlight, thus they tend to be a little bit cooler. And, since we know that air conditioning wastes a lot of gas, the cooler you can keep your car without the use of AC, the better.
• Avoid a car with a sunroof: While a sunroof may be a nice luxury to have, driving with the sunroof open greatly increases the amount of drag on your vehicle, thus reducing gas mileage.
• Get a car with a smaller engine: This is sort of a double-edged sword. Cars that have smaller engines naturally tend to use less gas, but in addition to that, if you have an engine that really can't speed, you're probably less likely to speed. And, since the engine has less "get up and go," you're probably going to take it easy when you accelerate.
• Find something that is two-wheel drive: Unless you live in the mountains or in an area that snows a ton, you probably don't need to have a four-wheel drive vehicle. And, since four-wheel drive vehicles tend to use more gas than their two-wheel counterparts, it's probably worth it to skip the option.

In addition to these items, I would obviously not recommend getting any sort of truck or SUV, and I think it goes without saying that if you're really in to saving gas, you probably should look at some sort of hybrid vehicle.

Other than that, I hope this has been of some help, and if you can think of anything else, please feel free to leave a comment.