Tip o’ the Day: Get More Mileage From the Pump
Hitting the road this weekend? Here's a few tips on getting a little more from the gas pump.
Time your visits before noon. Gas retailers set their prices around 10 or 11 am when the first management shift gets in for the day.
Fill 'er up when it is cooler outside. It will have more density. During the heat of the day you could be losing as much as 1% of the fuel pumped into your car.
When the tank is full and you've stopped pumping, turn the nozzle of the hose 180 degrees before taking it out. This is said to drain a few extra drops of gas into your tank.
Tighten the gas cap. This will prevent gas from evaporating and escaping into the air.
And a couple of reminders: Do not top off or overfill the tank and be sure to check your tire pressure before hitting the road.
Amy says: Have a good weekend!
Via CNN.com (Personal Finance Editor, Gerri Willis) and Yahoo! Finance
Tags: Automobiles, car, Daily Tips, fuel, gas, Home and Garden, Transportation, Travel
- Uncategorized
May 26th, 2007 at 6:56 am
simply encourage people to drive more? It isn’t about getting more mileage out of your car - it’s about NOT DRIVING YOUR CAR AS MUCH, which results in the same thing, fiscally speaking, AND fewer emissions.
The MPG/efficiency issues are a distraction. What we need to do is redesign our cities and lives to lessen our dependence on vehicles. Other efforts, like hybrids and high mpg vehicles are well-intentioned, but ultimately distract from more fundamental issues.
Sorry, but articles like this only encourage the continuation of car-culture as is and without significant rethinking.
Read Richard Register’s “Eco-Cities” and you’ll find more creative solutions that actually help the planet instead of destroy it more slowly.
May 26th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Hey, Todd–
I agree with your overall position, but, at the same time, we have to look at short-term/transitional solutions as well as long-term ones. We won't be "[redesigning] our cities and lives" this weekend… that's a longer-term process that will take time.
People will be driving this weekend and throughout the summer — let's encourage them to do it in the most efficient way while we're also working with them to lessen their dependence on the automobile.
If we only focus on the long-term, people become discouraged because they can't see the results immediately…
Glad you're here, as always…
Jeff
_______________________________________
Jeff McIntire-Strasburg
Senior Editor
Green Options
jeff@greenoptions.com
June 20th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Isnt that the problem now? Folks want what they can see “right now”! If folks were willing to sacrifice for their futures we wouldn’t be where we are now. Yes, imediate, feel good now measures are needed, but how can we ignore the sacrifices needed to make our future better? (i.e. changing our habits to get rid of the polutomobiles?)