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Thursday, August 7, 2008

Increase Mileage, Reduce Footprint

With the price of fuel still hovering at $4 a gallon, it's difficult to justify driving long distances on your vacation this year. But there are some things you can do to help conserve gas and reduce your carbon footprint. Here are a few we found in searching the web:

From Traffic.com, a leading source of digital map data for gps systems:

* Check your tire pressure. Under-inflated tires reduce gas mileage by
3 percent.

* Lighten your load. Removing 100 lbs of unneeded weight improves
mileage by 2 percent.

* Avoid sitting in traffic. Some newer models of navigation systems
provide real-time traffic for the latest and most comprehensive traffic information available.

* Update your GPS navigation maps. Taking the quickest route with the
most up-to-date map information reduces time on the road.

From the U.S. Department of Energy:

* Keep your engine properly tuned. Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4 percent.

* Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.

* Observe the speed limit. While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.30 per gallon for gas.

* Use cruise control. Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.

For a check-our-drive-time calculator, visit www.traffic.com. For more tips on reducing fuel, visit www.fueleconomy.gov.

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