10 Top Tips for Fuel Efficient Driving

1. Minimise your vehicle use
Vehicles are least fuel efficient and most polluting at the start of trips and on short trips. One reason for this is that catalytic converters (which reduce air pollution emissions) do not operate properly until they have warmed up. Trips of less than five kilometres generally do not allow the engine to reach its peak operating temperature.

Plan to do a number of errands in one trip rather than several trips and save both time and fuel. Try to avoid short vehicle trips by walking or cycling. This will save over a quarter of a kilogram of greenhouse gas emissions per kilometre of vehicle driving it replaces, as well as give you healthy exercise.

2. Drive in the right gear
Driving in a gear lower than you need wastes fuel, and letting the engine labour in top gear on hills and corners is also wasteful. In a manual vehicle, change up gears as soon as the car is comfortable with the higher gear but without accelerating harder than necessary.

Automatic transmissions will shift up more quickly and smoothly if you ease back slightly on the accelerator once the car gathers momentum. Avoid the use of power options which drop the car into a lower gear and therefore use more fuel.

3. Drive smoothly
Stop/start driving is much less efficient and more polluting than driving at a constant speed. Avoid travelling during peak-hours and on congested roads whenever possible.

Take it easy on the accelerator - more revs equals more petrol use. Drive at a good distance from the car in front so you can anticipate and travel with the flow of traffic. This avoids unnecessary acceleration and frequent repetitive braking that ends up wasting fuel. It's also far safer. If you see traffic stoppages ahead, first take your foot off the accelerator and let the engine's drop in power slow the vehicle, particularly by also changing to a lower gear. Don't continue to drive at the same speed and applying the brakes at the last minute. Getting back to cruising speed while the car is still moving uses far less petrol than stopping and then starting again.

4. Minimise fuel wasted in idling
Most cars don't need to be "warmed up" by idling before setting off. This simply wastes fuel. Start your car when you are ready to go. Once on the road, minimise fuel wasted in idling by stopping the engine whenever your car is stopped or held up for an extended period of time. By having the engine switched off, even for a short period, you will save more fuel than is lost from the burst of fuel involved in restarting the engine. The net increased wear and tear from this practice is negligible.

5. Don't Speed
Fuel consumption increases significantly over about 90 km/h. At 110 km/h your car uses up to 25 per cent more fuel than it would cruising at 90 km/h. If your car is fitted with cruise control, using it during highway driving will help to maintain a steadier speed, which will save fuel.

6. Minimise aerodynamic drag
Additional parts on the exterior of a vehicle such as roof racks and spoilers, or having the window open, increases air resistance and fuel consumption, in some cases by over 20 per cent at higher speeds. Take off roof and bike racks when not in use. If you have to use roof racks, load them carefully to help minimise wind resistance or use a streamlined roof box.

7. Look after your vehicle's tyres
Inflate your vehicle's tyres to the highest pressure recommended by the manufacture and make sure your wheels are properly aligned. Looking after your tyres will not only reduce your fuel consumption it will also extend tyre life and improve handling.

8. Use airconditioning sparingly
Airconditioners can use about 10 per cent extra fuel when operating. However, at speeds of over 80 km/h, use of airconditioning is better for fuel consumption than an open window as this creates aerodynamic drag. If it is hotter inside your car than outside when you start a trip, drive with the windows down for a few minutes to help cool the car before starting the airconditioning.

9. Travel light
The more weight a vehicle carries, the more fuel it uses..Don't use your car as a mobile store room. Leave heavy items like tools and sports equipment at home when you don't need them on a trip.

10. Keep your vehicle in good condition
Keep your vehicle well tuned and regularly maintained. Get your car serviced at the intervals specified in the manufacturer's handbook.

Use the petrol that is recommended for your vehicle by the manufacturer. If you use regular unleaded in a car designed to run on premium unleaded you can expect slightly less performance and fractionally higher consumption. Using premium unleaded petrol in a car designed for regular unleaded may give better fuel consumption in some newer vehicles but it is unlikely to offset the extra cost of the fuel.

Car Ads: Reading Between the Lines

Many new car dealers advertise unusually low interest rates and other special promotions. Ads promising high trade-in allowances and free or low-cost options may help you shop, but finding the best deal requires careful comparisons.

Many factors determine whether a special offer provides genuine savings. The interest rate, for example, is only part of the car dealer’s financing package. Terms like the size of the downpayment also affect the total financing cost.

Questions About Low Interest Loans
A call or visit to a dealer should help clarify details about low interest loans. Consider asking these questions:

• Will you be charged a higher price for the car to qualify for the low-rate financing? Would the price be lower if you paid cash, or supplied your own financing from your bank or credit union?
• Does the financing require a larger-than-usual downpayment? Perhaps 25 or 30 percent?
• Are there limits on the length of the loan? Are you required to repay the loan in a condensed period of time, say 24 or 36 months?
• Is there a significant balloon payment —possibly several thousand dollars — due at the end of the loan?
• Do you have to buy special or extra merchandise or services such as rustproofing, an extended warranty, or a service contract to qualify for a low-interest loan?
• Is the financing available for a limited time only? Some merchants limit special deals to a few days or require that you take delivery by a certain date.
• Does the low rate apply to all cars in stock or only to certain models?
• Are you required to give the dealer the manufacturer’s rebate to qualify for financing?

Questions About Other Promotions
Other special promotions include high trade-in allowances and free or low-cost options. Some dealers promise to sell the car for a stated amount over the dealer’s invoice. Asking questions like these can help you determine whether special promotions offer genuine value.

• Does the advertised trade-in allowance apply to all cars, regardless of their condition? Are there any deductions for high mileage, dents, or rust?
• Does the larger trade-in allowance make the cost of the new car higher than it would be without the trade-in? You might be giving back the big trade-in allowance by paying more for the new car.
• Is the dealer who offers a high trade-in allowance and free or low-cost options giving you a better price on the car than another dealer who doesn’t offer promotions?
• Does the "dealer’s invoice" reflect the actual amount that the dealer pays the manufacturer? You can consult consumer or automotive publications for information about what the dealer pays.
• Does the "dealer’s invoice" include the cost of options, such as rustproofing or waterproofing, that already have been added to the car? Is one dealer charging more for these options than others?
• Does the dealer have cars in stock that have no expensive options? If not, will the dealer order one for you?
• Are the special offers available if you order a car instead of buying one off the lot?
• Can you take advantage of all special offers simultaneously?

You’re not limited to the financing options offered by a particular dealer. Before you commit to a deal, check to see what type of loan you can arrange with your bank or credit union.

Once you decide which dealer offers the car and financing you want, read the invoice and the installment contract carefully. Check to see that all the terms of the contract reflect the agreement you made with the dealer. If they don’t, get a written explanation before you sign. Careful shopping will help you decide what car, options, and financing are best for you.

The Low-Down on High Octane Gasoline

Are you tempted to buy a high octane gasoline for your car because you want to improve its performance? If so, take note: the recommended gasoline for most cars is regular octane. In fact, in most cases, using a higher octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won't make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner. Your best bet: listen to your owner's manual.

The only time you might need to switch to a higher octane level is if your car engine knocks when you use the recommended fuel. This happens to a small percentage of cars.

Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gasoline is a waste of money, too. Premium gas costs 15 to 20 cents per gallon more than regular. That can add up to $100 or more a year in extra costs. Studies indicate that altogether, drivers may be spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year for higher octane gas than they need.

What are octane ratings?

Octane ratings measure a gasoline's ability to resist engine knock, a rattling or pinging sound that results from premature ignition of the compressed fuel-air mixture in one or more cylinders. Most gas stations offer three octane grades: regular (usually 87 octane), mid-grade (usually 89 octane) and premium (usually 92 or 93). The ratings must be posted on bright yellow stickers on each gasoline pump.

What's the right octane level for your car?
Check your owner's manual to determine the right octane level for your car. Regular octane is recommended for most cars. However, some cars with high compression engines, like sports cars and certain luxury cars, need mid-grade or premium gasoline to prevent knock.

How can you tell if you're using the right octane level?
Listen to your car's engine. If it doesn't knock when you use the recommended octane, you're using the right grade of gasoline.

Will higher octane gasoline clean your engine better?
As a rule, high octane gasoline does not outperform regular octane in preventing engine deposits from forming, in removing them, or in cleaning your car's engine. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires that all octane grades of all brands of gasoline contain engine cleaning detergent additives to protect against the build-up of harmful levels of engine deposits during the expected life of your car.

Should you ever switch to a higher octane gasoline?
A few car engines may knock or ping - even if you use the recommended octane. If this happens, try switching to the next highest octane grade. In many cases, switching to the mid-grade or premium-grade gasoline will eliminate the knock. If the knocking or pinging continues after one or two fill-ups, you may need a tune-up or some other repair. After that work is done, go back to the lowest octane grade at which your engine runs without knocking.

Is knocking harmful?
Occasional light knocking or pinging won't harm your engine, and doesn't indicate a need for higher octane. But don't ignore severe knocking. A heavy or persistent knock can lead to engine damage.

Is all "premium" or "regular" gasoline the same?
The octane rating of gasoline marked "premium" or "regular" is not consistent across the country. One state may require a minimum octane rating of 92 for all premium gasoline, while another may allow 90 octane to be called premium. To make sure you know what you're buying, check the octane rating on the yellow sticker on the gas pump instead of relying on the name "premium" or "regular."

HYPERTHERMIA (Heatstroke)

Problem : Children die each year from heatstroke, after being left alone in a vehicle.

You live by your daily routine and it helps you get things done. Be extra careful, though, if you have to change any part of that routine. This is more likely to happen when you, or caregiver who helps with your children, forgets that a child is in the back seat. This can and does happen when you break a well-established routine.

Disasters happen quickly
At other times, you are on your way home and realize you need to stop in at the store and pick up one or two things for dinner. So, you leave your child unattended, thinking, "I'll just run into the store for a minute." Even cool temperatures in the 60s can cause the temperature to rise well above 110° Fahrenheit inside your car. The inside temperature can rise almost 20 degrees within the first 10 minutes.

Some children die in hot cars after climbing into an unlocked vehicle without an adults' knowledge. Once in the vehicle, they may become confused by the door opening mechanism or trapped in the trunk, and unable to get out before heatstroke occurs.

Prevention Tips :

• Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle.
• Do not let your children play in an unattended vehicle. Teach them that a vehicle is not a play area.
• Never leave infants or children in a parked vehicle, even if the windows are partially open.
• Make a habit of looking in the vehicle - front and back - before locking the door and walking away.
• If you are dropping your child off at childcare, and normally it's your spouse or partner who drops them off, have your spouse or partner call you to make sure the drop went according to plan.
• Ask your childcare provider to call you if your child does not show up for childcare.
• Do things to remind yourself that a child is in the vehicle, such as




Writing yourself a note and putting the note where you will see it when you leave the vehicle;

Placing your purse, briefcase or something else you need in the back seat so that you will have to check the back seat when you leave the vehicle; or

Keeping an object in the car seat, such as a stuffed toy. When the child is buckled in, place the object where the driver will notice it when he or she is leaving the vehicle.

• Always lock vehicle doors and trunks and keep keys out of children's reach. If a child is missing, check the vehicle first, including the trunk.
• If you see a child alone in a hot vehicle, call the police. If they are in distress due to heat, get them out as quickly as possible. Cool the child rapidly. Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.

What you need to know, now:

• Vehicles heat up quickly - even with a window rolled down two inches, if the outside temperature is in the low 80s° Fahrenheit, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach deadly levels in only 10 minutes.
• Children's bodies overheat easily, and infants and children under four years of age are among those at greatest risk for heat-related illness.
• Children's bodies absorb more heat on a hot day than an adult. Also, children are less able to lower their body heat by sweating. When a body cannot sweat enough, the body temperature rises rapidly.

• In fact, when left in a hot vehicle, a young child's body temperature may increase three to five times as fast an adult. High body temperatures can cause permanent injury or even death.

Dangers of extreme heat :

• Symptoms of heatstroke : Warning signs vary but may include: red, hot, and moist or dry skin, no sweating, a strong rapid pulse or a slow weak pulse, a throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, being grouchy, or acting strangely.
• If you see a child alone in a hot vehicle, call the police. If they are in distress due to heat, get them out as quickly as possible. Cool the child rapidly.

Frequently asked Question about Smog Check Program

Q What are the environmental benefits of the Smog Check Program?
A The Smog Check Program has greatly reduced air pollution created by millions of cars in California. According to the California Air Resources Board, the program removes about 400 tons of smog-forming pollutants from California’s air every day.

Q Is my vehicle required to get a Smog Check?
A Your vehicle needs a Smog Check if it is more than six model years old and the model year is 1976 or newer. (This does not include diesel vehicles, motorcycles, electric and hybrid vehicles, and two-cylinder engine vehicles.)

Q How can I help my vehicle pass a Smog Check?
A Performing proper and regular vehicle maintenance according to your owner’s manual, and not tampering with the emissions control equipment are keys to passing Smog Check.

Q How often does my vehicle have to be tested?
A Your vehicle must be tested every other year. A Smog Check is also required if you sell your vehicle and it is more than four model years old. Some vehicles may require a Smog Check at a Test-Only or Gold Shield station.

Q What happens if my vehicle fails a Smog Check?
A In order to complete your registration, you will need to obtain the repairs necessary for it to pass its Smog Check retest. Before beginning repairs, find out if you are eligible for our Consumer Assistance Program (CAP).

Q What is a Test-Only station?
A Test-Only stations are licensed Smog Check stations that are only allowed to test cars. State law prohibits them from making repairs.

Q What is CAP and how do I qualify?
A The Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) provides financial assistance to repair or retire a vehicle that fails a Smog Check.

Repair Assistance — If your DMV renewal notice requires a Smog Check at a Test-Only or Gold Shield station, you may qualify for up to $500 in repair assistance once you pay the first $100 in repair costs. You may also qualify if your income is within certain levels, regardless of where you got your Smog Check. If you qualify based on income, a $20 co-pay is all that you need.

Vehicle retirement — If you feel your car is not worth repairing, the State may buy the car from you for $1,000 and have it scrapped at a local dismantler.

Q What is a Gold Shield station?
A Gold Shield stations are licensed Smog Check stations that meet certain performance criteria in order to test and repair all cars. They also provide repairs on vehicles that qualify for financial assistance under the Consumer Assistance Program (CAP).

Q How will I know if I need to take my car to a Test-Only or Gold Shield station?
A You will be notified on the registration renewal notice sent by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) if your vehicle must be inspected at a Test-Only or Gold Shield station.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions

For every litre of petrol used in a motor vehicle, 2.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2 ), a major greenhouse gas, is released from the exhaust. The Australian transport sector accounts for around 76 million tonnes of Australia's total net greenhouse gas emissions, representing 13.5 per cent of Australia's total emissions.

Emissions from different fuels

Fuels differ in the amount of carbon and energy they contain as well as other characteristics, with implications for fuel economy and greenhouse emissions. The table below lists the amount of CO2 emitted from the exhaust for each litre of a particular fuel covered by the calculator.

CO2 Tailpipe Emissions/Litre of Fuel Consumed

Fuel Type CO2 Emissions

Petrol 2.3 kg
LPG 1.6 kg
Diesel 2.7 kg

It might seem odd that a greater weight of emissions is produced than the weight of a litre of fuel, but this is because of the addition of oxygen from the atmosphere to the fuel during combustion to form CO2.

This is not the end of the story because it also matters how much fuel is consumed to travel a given distance. LPG has lower greenhouse emissions per litre of fuel consumed than petrol, but also has a lower energy content. Therefore equivalent vehicles tend to consume more of LPG than petrol to travel a given distance. In the case of diesel, its greenhouse emissions per litre are higher than petrol, but engines designed to operate on diesel tend to be far more fuel-efficient than petrol engines. To be sure that one vehicle has lower greenhouse emissions than another use the calculator provided.

You can make a difference

Purchasing a vehicle with low fuel consumption and driving it efficiently can make a real difference to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it produces. The following table gives an indicative guide to annual CO2 tailpipe emissions from petrol vehicles travelling 15,000 kilometres annually.

CO2 Tailpipe Emissions from Petrol Vehicles

Fuel Consumption Annual CO2 Emissions

6 L/100km 2160 kg
8 L/100km 2880 kg
10 L/100km 3600 kg
12 L/100km 4320 kg

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, But Gasoline Might

Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of "green gasoline," a liquid identical to standard gasoline yet created from sustainable biomass sources like switchgrass and poplar trees.

George Huber poses with a vial of green gasoline compounds.

Reporting in the cover article of the April 7, 2008 issue of Chemistry & Sustainability, Energy & Materials (ChemSusChem), chemical engineer and National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER awardee George Huber of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass) and his graduate students Torren Carlson and Tushar Vispute announced the first direct conversion of plant cellulose into gasoline components.

In the same issue, James Dumesic and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madison announce an integrated process for creating chemical components of jet fuel using a green gasoline approach. While Dumesic's group had previously demonstrated the production of jet-fuel components using separate steps, their current work shows that the steps can be integrated and run sequentially, without complex separation and purification processes between reactors.

While it may be five to 10 years before green gasoline arrives at the pump or finds its way into a fighter jet, these breakthroughs have bypassed significant hurdles to bringing green gasoline biofuels to market.

"It is likely that the future consumer will not even know that they are putting biofuels into their car," said Huber. "Biofuels in the future will most likely be similar in chemical composition to gasoline and diesel fuel used today. The challenge for chemical engineers is to efficiently produce liquid fuels from biomass while fitting into the existing infrastructure today."

For their new approach, the UMass researchers rapidly heated cellulose in the presence of solid catalysts, materials that speed up reactions without sacrificing themselves in the process. They then rapidly cooled the products to create a liquid that contains many of the compounds found in gasoline.

The entire process was completed in under two minutes using relatively moderate amounts of heat. The compounds that formed in that single step, like naphthalene and toluene, make up one fourth of the suite of chemicals found in gasoline. The liquid can be further treated to form the remaining fuel components or can be used "as is" for a high octane gasoline blend.

"Green gasoline is an attractive alternative to bioethanol since it can be used in existing engines and does not incur the 30 percent gas mileage penalty of ethanol-based flex fuel," said John Regalbuto, who directs the Catalysis and Biocatalysis Program at NSF and supported this research.

"In theory it requires much less energy to make than ethanol, giving it a smaller carbon footprint and making it cheaper to produce," Regalbuto said. "Making it from cellulose sources such as switchgrass or poplar trees grown as energy crops, or forest or agricultural residues such as wood chips or corn stover, solves the lifecycle greenhouse gas problem that has recently surfaced with corn ethanol and soy biodiesel."

Beyond academic laboratories, both small businesses and Fortune 500 petroleum refiners are pursuing green gasoline. Companies are designing ways to hybridize their existing refineries to enable petroleum products including fuels, textiles, and plastics to be made from either crude oil or biomass and the military community has shown strong interest in making jet fuel and diesel from the same sources.

"Huber's new process for the direct conversion of cellulose to gasoline aromatics is at the leading edge of the new ‘Green Gasoline' alternate energy paradigm that NSF, along with other federal agencies, is helping to promote," states Regalbuto.

Not only is the method a compact way to treat a great deal of biomass in a short time, Regalbuto emphasized that the process, in principle, does not require any external energy. "In fact, from the extra heat that will be released, you can generate electricity in addition to the biofuel," he said. "There will not be just a small carbon footprint for the process; by recovering heat and generating electricity, there won't be any footprint."

The latest pathways to produce green gasoline, green diesel and green jet fuel are found in a report sponsored by NSF, the Department of Energy and the American Chemical Society entitled "Breaking the Chemical and Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels: Next Generation Hydrocarbon Biorefineries". In the report, Huber and a host of leaders from academia, industry and government present a plan for making green gasoline a practical solution for the impending fuel crisis.

"We are currently working on understanding the chemistry of this process and designing new catalysts and reactors for this single step technique. This fundamental chemical understanding will allow us to design more efficient processes that will accelerate the commercialization of green gasoline," Huber said.

"Gas-Saving" Products: Fact or Fuelishness?

Gas prices are up, and so is the volume of advertising for "gas-saving" products. When gasoline prices rise, consumers often look for ways to improve fuel efficiency. Although there are practical steps you can take to increase gas mileage, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns you to be wary of any gas-saving claims for automotive devices or oil and gas additives. Even for the few gas-saving products that have been found to work, the savings have been small.

"Gas-Saving" Advertising Claims

Be skeptical of the following kinds of advertising claims.

• "This gas-saving product improves fuel economy by 20 percent."
  
  - Claims usually tout savings ranging from 12 to 25 percent. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated or tested more than 100 alleged gas-saving devices and has not found any product that significantly improves gas mileage. In fact, some "gas-saving" products may damage a car's engine or cause substantial increases in exhaust emissions.
  The gas-saving products on the market fall into clearly defined categories. Although the EPA has not tested or evaluated every product, it has tried to examine at least one product in each category. See "Devices Tested by EPA" at the end of this brochure for category descriptions and product names.
  
• "After installing your product on my car, I got an extra 4 miles [6.4 kilometers] per gallon [3.8 liters]."
  
  - Many ads feature glowing testimonials by satisfied customers. Yet, few consumers have the ability or the equipment to test for precise changes in gas mileage after installing a gas-saving product. Many variables affect fuel consumption, including traffic, road and weather conditions, and the car's condition.
  For example, one consumer sent a letter to a company praising its "gas-saving" product. At the time the product was installed, however, the consumer also had received a complete engine tune-up - a fact not mentioned in the letter. The entire increase in gas mileage attributed to the "gas-saving" product may well have been the result of the tune-up alone. But from the ad, other consumers could not have known that.
  
• "This gas-saving device is approved by the Federal government."
  
  - No government agency endorses gas-saving products for cars. The most that can be claimed in advertising is that the EPA has reached certain conclusions about possible gas savings by testing the product or by evaluating the manufacturer's own test data. If the seller claims that its product has been evaluated by the EPA, ask for a copy of the EPA report.

Product Complaints and Refunds

If you're dissatisfied with a gas-saving product, contact the manufacturer and ask for a refund. Most companies offer money-back guarantees. Contact the company, even if the guarantee period has expired.

If you're not satisfied with the company's response, contact your local or state consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau.

Shifting Gears: Real Money-Saving Steps

There are numerous no- or low-cost steps you can take to combat rising gas prices. The most important place to start is at the gas pump; buy only the octane level gas you need. All gas pumps must post the octane rating of the gas under the FTC's Fuel Rating Rule. Remember, the higher the octane, the higher the price. Check your owner's manual to determine the right octane level for your car.

Here are some additional tips to help you get better gas mileage.

Drive more efficiently

• Stay within posted speed limits. The faster you drive, the more fuel you use. For example, driving at 65 miles per hour (mph), rather than 55 mph, increases fuel consumption by 20 percent. Driving at 75 mph, rather than 65 mph, increases fuel consumption by another 25 percent.
• Use overdrive gears. Overdrive gears improve the fuel economy of your car during highway driving. Your car's engine speed decreases when you use overdrive. This reduces both fuel consumption and engine wear.
• Use cruise control. Using cruise control on highway trips can help you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, reduce your fuel consumption.
• Anticipate driving situations. If you anticipate traffic conditions and don't tailgate, you can avoid unnecessary braking and acceleration, and improve your fuel economy by 5 to 10 percent. In city driving, nearly 50 percent of the energy needed to power your car goes to acceleration. Go easy on the gas pedal and brakes. "Jack-rabbit" starts and sudden stops are wasteful.
• Avoid unnecessary idling. Turn off the engine if you anticipate a lengthy wait. No matter how efficient your car is, unnecessary idling wastes fuel, costs you money and pollutes the air.
• Combine errands. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.
• Remove excess weight from the trunk. Avoid carrying unneeded items, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk reduces a typical car's fuel economy by one to two percent.

Maintain your car

• Keep your engine tuned. Studies have shown that a poorly tuned engine can increase fuel consumption by as much as 10 to 20 percent depending on a car's condition. Follow the recommended maintenance schedule in your owner's manual; you'll save fuel and your car will run better and last longer.
• Keep your tires properly inflated and aligned. Car manufacturers must place a label in the car stating the correct tire pressure. The label usually is on the edge of the door or door jamb, in the glove box, or on the inside of the gas cap cover. If the label lists a psi (pounds per square inch) range, use the higher number to maximize your fuel efficiency. Underinflated tires cause fuel consumption to increase by six percent.
• Change your oil. Clean oil reduces wear caused by friction between moving parts and removes harmful substances from the engine. Change your oil as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.
• Check and replace air filters regularly. Your car's air filter keeps impurities in the air from damaging internal engine components. Not only will replacing a dirty air filter improve your fuel economy, it also will protect your engine. Clogged filters can cause up to a 10 percent increase in fuel consumption.
• Consider buying a fuel efficient vehicle. Deciding which vehicle to buy may be the most important fuel economy decision you make. The difference between a car that gets 20 MPG (miles per gallon) and one that gets 30 MPG amounts to $3,125 over 5 years, assuming gas costs $2.50 per gallon and you drive 15,000 miles a year.

Efforts

The EPA evaluates or tests products to determine whether their use will result in any significant improvement or detriment to fuel economy. However, the EPA cannot say what effect gas-saving products will have on a vehicle over time because it hasn't conducted any durability tests. It's possible that some products may harm the car or may otherwise adversely affect its performance. In fact, today's vehicles' emission control systems are very sophisticated and complex. They have On Board Diagnostic features that alert the driver to problems associated with the emission control and fuel delivery systems. Retrofit products may have an adverse effect on these systems.

Devices Tested

The following list categorizes various types of "gas-saving" products, explains how they're used and gives product names. Those with asterisks may save measurable, but small, amounts of gas. All others have been found not to increase fuel economy.

Air Bleed Devices. These devices bleed air into the carburetor. They usually are installed in the Positive Crankcase Ventilation line or as a replacement for idle-mixture screws.

Vapor Bleed Devices. These devices are similar to the air bleed devices, except that induced air is bubbled through a container of a water and anti-freeze mixture, usually located in the engine compartment.

Liquid Injection. These products add liquid into the fuel/air intake system and not directly into the combustion chamber.

Ignition Devices. These devices are attached to the ignition system or are used to replace original equipment or parts.

Fuel Line Devices (heaters or coolers). These devices heat the fuel before it enters the carburetor. Usually, the fuel is heated by the engine coolant or by the exhaust or electrical system.

Fuel Line Devices (magnets). These magnetic devices, clamped to the outside of the fuel line or installed in the fuel line, claim to change the molecular structure of gasoline.

Fuel Line Devices (metallic). Typically, these devices contain several dissimilar metals that are installed in the fuel line, supposedly causing ionization of the fuel.

Mixture Enhancers (under the carburetor). These devices are mounted between the carburetor and intake manifold and supposedly enhance the mixing or vaporization of the air/fuel mixture.

Mixture Enhancers (others). These devices make some general modifications to the vehicle intake system.

Internal Engine Modifications. These devices make physical or mechanical function changes to the engine.

Accessory Drive Modifiers. These devices reduce power to specific auto accessories.

Fuels and Fuel Additives. These materials are added to the gas tank.

Oils and Oil Additives. Usually these materials are poured into the crankcase.

Driving Habit Modifiers. These are lights or sound devices to tell the driver to reduce acceleration or to shift gears.

Car Sharing

The primacy of car-based mobility has become a widespread problem in most cities in the world. In Australia, the situation is no different, as the car has an even more dominant role than in European cities. In most of the countries, transport is the fastest growing sector contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions from transport are second in magnitude only to the stationary energy sector. Enormous amounts of land and capital are bound up with cars, roads and parking space. This is a result of high levels of private car ownership. Although in medium and high-density urban areas many people walk, cycle and use public transport, there are occasions when they still see a need for some car travel. This is the 'mobility gap' that car sharing seeks to all.


This report describes the concept of car sharing. Its purpose is to identify car sharing organisations in other countries and to examine the preconditions required to establish and run a car sharing organisation (CSO) in order to examine the countries conditions as a basis on which to encourage local initiatives. At an anecdotal level, car sharing is known to exist in a number of cities. For example, approval was granted to a high-rise residential development to operate a car sharing scheme through a local car provider as a substitute for not providing on-site car parking. Other CSOs are small-scale and none is known to be linked formally to public transport providers.

Car sharing is one of a number of mobility strategies, which solves some car ownership problems and problems associated with high car-reliance.

In the primary layer, individuals gain the benefits of private cars without the costs and responsibilities of ownership. Specifically, car sharing allows a member (such as a household or business) to access a meet of shared cars and other types of motor vehicles as needed, paying a usage fee each time. This removes high fixed costs such as registration and third-party insurance, as most costs become both variable and lower. Vehicles are available to members more or less as required for any length of time (from one hour, up to several weeks or more) and at many points (dozens of locations in a city or even in other cities). So, instead of buying a car, people and/or companies, share a meet of vehicles with usage costs dependent on the kilometres travelled and the period of time for which the vehicle is booked. In the second layer, car sharing helps the community reduce the number of trips and distances travelled by private cars. In the third layer, urban communities gain space for productive uses when space currently occupied by roads and parking is not expanded and communities also experience less air and noise pollution.


Car sharing should not be confused with car pooling, which is more accurately termed 'ride-sharing'. In car pooling, owners of cars provide rides to other passengers in a more or less organized way, on a regular or irregular basis. It requires mutual agreement and trust and is generally not suitable for organising as a for-profit business.

The opportunity remains, however, to systematically develop appropriate indicators and an agreed methodology to compare different car sharing schemes.

Some potential indicators include:

• number of vehicles/members (total members)
• reduction in private motor vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT)
• CO2 emissions reduced
• number of cars replaced
• increase in public transport use
• increased time walking and cycling
• area/kerbside distance of parking saved with opportunity for improved re-use, e.g. as dedicated cycleway, parkland and/or open space
• more affordable housing or other savings in developments, e.g. saving space and costs of parking and improving amenity.

Benefits to individuals involved in car sharing :

The following are some of the key reasons individuals may choose to be involved in a car sharing organization:

• Economic : significant reduction of costs as opposed to owning a motor vehicle, including no need for private parking space and the opportunity to redeploy household expenditure that would typically have been devoted to the sunk costs associated with motor vehicle ownership.
• Convenience : no administrative effort or time expenditure on insurance, purchase and sale, repairs, permits etc.
• Improved access: enhanced mobility options, including access to multiple types of vehicle resulting in a choice of the most economically sensible transport mode.

CAFE

Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) is the sales weighted average fuel economy, expressed in miles per gallon (mpg), of a manufacturer's fleet of passenger cars or light trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 8,500 lbs. or less, manufactured for sale in the United States, for any given model year. Fuel economy is defined as the average mileage traveled by an automobile per gallon of gasoline (or equivalent amount of other fuel) consumed as measured in accordance with the testing and evaluation protocol set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Secretary of Transportation has delegated authority to establish CAFE standards to the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA is responsible for establishing and amending the CAFE standards; promulgating regulations concerning CAFE procedures, definitions and reports; considering petitions for exemption from standards for low volume manufacturers and establishing unique standards for them; enforcing fuel economy standards and regulations; responding to petitions concerning domestic production by foreign manufacturers and all other aspects of CAFE, including the classification of vehicle lines as either cars or trucks; collecting, recording and cataloging Pre- and Mid-model year reports; adjudicating carry back credit plans; and providing program incentives such as credits for alternative fueled vehicle lines.

EPA is responsible for calculating the average fuel economy for each manufacturer. CAFE certification is done either one of two ways:

1) The manufacturer provides its own fuel economy test data,
2) the EPA will obtain a vehicle and test it in its Office of Transportation & Air Quality facility in Ann Arbor, MI.

EPA will do actual tests on typically about 30% of the existing vehicle lines, using the same laboratory test that they use to measure exhaust emissions. The entire certification test procedure, including the vehicle test preparation, the actual running of the test on the dynamometer, the recording of the data, etc.

Congress specified that CAFE standards must be set at the "maximum feasible level". Congress provided that the Department's determinations of maximum feasible level be made in consideration of four factors:

(1) Technological feasibility;
(2) Economic practicability;
(3) Effect of other standards on fuel economy; and
(4) Need of the nation to conserve energy

Manufacturers can earn CAFE "credits" to offset deficiencies in their CAFE performances. Specifically, when the average fuel economy of either the passenger car or light truck fleet for a particular model year exceeds the established standard, the manufacturer earns credits. The amount of credit a manufacturer earns is determined by multiplying the tenths of a mile per gallon that the manufacturer exceeded the CAFE standard in that model year by the amount of vehicles they manufactured in that model year. These credits can be applied to any three consecutive model years immediately prior to or subsequent to the model year in which the credits are earned. The credits earned and applied to the model years prior to the model year for which the credits are earned are termed "carry back" credits, while those applied to model years subsequent to the model year in which the credits are earned are known as "carry forward" credits. Failure to exercise carry forward credits within the three years immediately following the year in which they are earned will result in the forfeiture of those credits. Credits cannot be passed between manufacturers or between fleets, e.g., from domestic passenger cars to light trucks.

Authority to establish vehicle classifications for the purposes of calculating CAFE was delegated to NHTSA. Specifically, the definitions are as follows:

1. Passenger Car – any 4-wheel vehicle not designed for off-road use that is manufactured primarily for use in transporting 10 people or less.

2. Truck – A vehicle can be classified as a truck if it meets one of the following criteria:

• It is 4-wheel drive or it is rated at 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight AND has at least four of the following characteristics:

1. Approach angle of not less than 28 degrees
2. Breakover angle of not less than 14 degrees
3. Departure angle of not less than 20 degrees
4. Running clearance of not less than 20 centimeters
5. Front and read axle clearances of not less than 18 centimeters each

• It can perform at least one of the following functions:

1. Transport more than 10 people;
2. Provide temporary living quarters;
3. Transport property in an open bed;
4. Permit greater cargo-carrying capacity than passenger-carrying volume;
5. Can be converted to an open bed vehicle by removal of rear seats to form a flat continuous floor with the use of simple tools.

Tips for greener motoring

Your driving habits, the type of vehicle you drive and the conditions under which you drive will affect your vehicle's environmental performance. Follow these tips for greener driving.

Minimize your vehicle use :
Think about your travel needs prior to your travel. Planned travel decisions will result in fewer trips and more efficient/cheaper travel than unplanned decisions made 'on the go'. Some travel planning tips:

• Plan to do a number of errands in one trip rather than several trips and save both time and fuel (for the first couple of minutes of a car trip the engine is cold and this results in an increase in fuel consumption per kilometer).
• Patronize shops near to you whenever possible to reduce the distances you travel by car. Walk or cycle to your local shops if you can.
• Avoid peak-hour traffic whenever possible.
• Use alternative transport, eg. public transport (bus, train, tram or ferry), walking or cycling. These alternative methods of travel are often cheaper, and may provide other benefits including increased fitness.

Drive in high gear :
The engine runs most efficiently between around 1,500 and 2,500 rpm (lower in diesels). To maintain these low revs you should change up through the gears as soon as practical and before the revs reach 2,500 rpm. Automatic transmissions will shift up more quickly and smoothly if you ease back slightly on the accelerator once the car gathers momentum.

Drive smoothly - avoid unnecessary acceleration :
Drive at a good distance from the car in front so you can anticipate and travel with the flow of traffic. You will be able to see such things as traffic lights changing or cars turning and minimise your fuel use through braking and accelerating back up to full speed.

Minimize fuel wasted in idling :
Minimize fuel wasted in idling by stopping the engine whenever your car is stopped or held up for an extended period of time. By having the engine switched off, even for a short period, you will save more fuel than is lost from the burst of fuel involved in restarting the engine. The net increased wear and tear from this practice is negligible.

Speed kills economy :
High speeds result in high fuel consumption. At 110 km/h your car can use up to 25% more fuel than it would cruising at 90 km/h.

Minimize aerodynamic drag :
Additional parts on the exterior of a vehicle such as roof racks and spoilers, or having the window open, increases air resistance and fuel consumption, in some cases by over 20%.

Look after your vehicle's tyres :
Inflate your vehicle's tyres to the highest pressure recommended by the tyre manufacturer and make sure your wheels are properly aligned (remember to keep your spare tire inflated as well). Looking after your tyres will not only reduce your fuel consumption it will also extend tyre life and improve handling.

Use air conditioning sparingly :
Air conditioners can use extra fuel when operating. However, at speeds of over 80 km/h, the use of air conditioning is better for fuel consumption than an open window.

Travel light :
Don't carry more people or cargo than you have to. The more a vehicle carries the more fuel it uses; an extra 50kg of weight can increase your fuel bill by around 2%.
Service your vehicle regularly

Keeping your vehicle well tuned will minimize its environmental impact.