for car companies and enthusiasts. The following tips should assist in saving money, improving fuel economy, and alleviate the blow high gas prices may have on your bank account. These pointers are simply ways to improve your vehicle’s MPG, and if you execute them properly, you can really save on gasoline over the long term!

1. Drive Slowly

A great way to enhance fuel efficiency is by reducing speed and acceleration. As the speed of your vehicle increases, fuel economy decreases at an exponential rate. So basically, if you’re a perpetual violator of speeding regulations, you may just be doing yourself quite the disservice as well. Try obeying the posted limits, it will not take you too much longer, and you’ll be saving money in the long run.

2. Check for tire pressure

If your tires are simply under-inflated, you’ll find that your miles per gallon with surely suffer. Most tires will naturally lose air over time, and temperature changes cause deflation as well. But the problem is that under-inflated tires carry more rolling resistance, and thus require more gasoline to keep it in motion. Try purchasing a more reliable tire gauge and check tires at least once monthly, monitoring their status in the cold. Make sure to review the owner’s manual for further information about specific tire pressure data unique to your vehicle.

3. Check air filter

A dirty or outdated air filter can cause complications in regard to airflow into the engine, which does nothing but stifle fuel economy. But not to worry, these air filters are relatively easy to check and change out if necessary. Most of the time, it will require you to simply remove the filter and hold it up towards the sun, checking for light. If no light shines through, consider purchasing a new one. It is recommended that you select a permanent filter that can be cleaned as opposed to constantly changed; they will prove to be more liberating than disposable options and will be better for the environment as well.

4. Accelerate Responsibly

Quick starts and stops are quite a waste of fuel, but this doesn’t mean you need to spend minutes accelerating. When driving an automatic, accelerate at an even pace so that the transmission can shift up to higher gears. When operating a manual stick shift, shift early to keep revs down without lugging the engine. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for slowdowns on the road ahead, as accelerating just to brake quickly is certainly a waste of fuel you don’t need to be wasting.

5. Move With the Trucks

In traffic jams, you may notice eighteen-wheelers rolling where automatic transmission cars speed up and slow down to move from spot to spot. Well what these trucks are doing is not only easier on the transmission, but also on the fuel economy of any vehicle. A constant speed will keep shifting and fuel usage to minimum, causing more saved fuel, and less stop and go.

6. Roll Down the Windows

Often it will prove more efficient to simply shut down the air conditioner, open the windows and drive to the breeze. While it could be a tad warmer or windier depending on your speed, at the lower speeds it will safe you some fuel. When traveling at high speeds, the A/C may actually be efficient in preventing wind resistance from slowing down your vehicle due to open windows.

7. Moderate Your Ride’s “Pimping”

While a new set of wheels and tires may appeal to your desire for urban luxuries (and perhaps they contribute to an improved handling) they’re likely to create greater rolling resistance and will decrease fuel economy in the long run. If you upgrade to a new set of wheels and tires, hold on the older ones. When you embark on longer, more extensive drives; you’ll find stock wheels offer a smoother and more fuel-efficient experience.

8. Clean the Car

That’s right, even keeping your car clean can assist in saving money on gasoline. From time to time, go through your vehicle and decide what can be thrown out or even brought back into the house for alternative storage. Small things can add up to some serious weight in extra stuff, and the more heavy your load, the more fuel your vehicle will burn in the driving process.

9. Downsize

When shopping for a new vehicle, take into consideration how much you really need. Obviously smaller sized vehicles will prove more fuel efficient, and you’ll find that today’s smaller options are getting roomier than ever before. Subcompacts such as the Nissan Versa offer fantastic interior capacity that promoted the EPA to classify it as a mid-size vehicle. The understandable fear is that of crash protection, but automakers are designing compacts with this in mind, allowing these smaller cars to survive crashes with bigger ones with side-curtain airbags, electronic stability control, and more.

10. Drive When Necessary

While this may sound rather out there, like anything else: you save when you use on a “as-needed” basis. If you can avoid driving for trivial or unnecessary reasons, you’ll save quite a bit of money on gasoline. For instance, taking the train, carpooling, and the like can really save you cash on unnecessarily utilized fuel. In the summer, spring, or even autumn, biking or walking can be an alternative that satisfies your budget and your body. Just evaluate hownecessary vehicular application is in any situation, and you can find yourself saving a fortunate!

So there it is, if you truly dedicate yourself to using a few of these tips in conjunction with each other, you’re likely to reap the benefits and most of all, know how to survive the ever rising fuel costs and gasoline prices.

For starters, what exactly is a hybrid car?

Essentially, it is nothing but a fuel efficient automobile with dual motors, an electric motor and a gasoline powered alternative. It also sports a specially engineered system that captures brake energy and transfers it towards the battery to keep it charged at all times.

So why go hybrid?

It’s a combination of two vehicular concepts, so why not go to one of the two? Why not drive a purely gasoline or electric powered car? If you think about it through principle, having two motors makes your system more vulnerable to a breakdown. The same concept exists in any other sort of transportation vehicle—the more motors or engines, the less reliable they can collectively be.

Two Motors

In reality, having two motors presents both pros and cons. For one, electric motors don’t take up any energy when they idle; in fact they simply turn off and therefore use less gas when the speed is low. Gas motors are more effective at high speeds and therefore deliver a more powerful drive—but during stop and go or low speed travel, the electric motor will suffice without costing you money and the environment smog. When you reach higher speeds, usually past 40 mpg, the gas motor will begin to kick in and allow car owners to travel quickly on the freeway.

Additionally, when using the gas motor, your electric motor will have time to charge. One problem with strictly electric power is that many owners find themselves stranded with a dead battery and no outlet. With a hybrid, the dual motors allow this problem to be virtually nonexistent. The gas motor will automatically kick in whenever the battery gets low and charge the battery simultaneously. This means a hybrid never needs to be plugged into a restrictive outlet, but be aware—just because you can’t run out of electric power doesn’t mean you can’t run out of gas. Keep on top of your gas meter just as you would any other vehicle, but if you do get stuck—it’s a lot easier to haul a gas can over than to get your electric car back to your outlet, so the hybrid does offer that distinct advantage over a straight electric solution.

But all this cutting edge and newly innovated technology can be quite expensive to the consumer. It has two motors and the necessary battery is rather hefty and complex, as is the convenient but pricey regeneration system that charges the battery during bra ke periods.

Seeing as all these systems must coexist in a rather complicated technical homeostasis, they are controlled by rather intricate computers. These computers are remarkably dependable, but like any other computer, it does suffer from a few fallbacks. This means to own a hybrid, you will have to spend quite a bit of time in the shop, and quite a lot of money paying for repairs.

Fuel-Efficiency

Compared to any other practical everyday car type, hybrids are indisputably the most gasoline efficient. On average, the can reach an alleged 48 to 60 miles per gallon, which is around 20%-35% better than some gasoline powered cars. This means that there are vehicles, like the Honda Civic, that are gasoline powered by get 36 mpg. The strange this is that these gasoline efficient standards cost from $14-$17 thousand where hybrids can set you back up to $25,000. With this in play, buying a hybrid becomes less of a “necessity” or even ideal to many people.

The difference is considered to be in fuel costs, where your standard gasoline powered car will cause quite heavy annual bills. But after a decade with a hybrid, it is predicted that only $2,300 will really be saved in the long run—this number is smaller than the price difference between hybrids and fuel-efficient gasoline powered vehicles.

The fuel efficiency is often attributed to improved aero dynamics such as weigh reduction and smaller gas powered engines. By principle, any vehicle would improve mileage greatly just by sporting a smaller sized engine. This is not done with most consumer cars due to the widespread desire for power and speed in most of today’s vehicles.

Most drivers find these mileage claims are actually a tad skewed—sometimes up to 10%. If you take a look at the manufacturer’s miles per gallon claims, they are measured under specifications that would yield similar results from any type of car, with slow speeds and no quick stops.

A Lean, Green Driving Machine

On the other hand, it’s not just fuel economy that hybrids promote; their ecological benefits are also considerably encouraging. Despite the marginal nature of the fuel economy improvements, the smaller number of emissions is undeniable. For instance, big cities with high traffic jams and plenty of low speed travel would benefit greatly from a widespread application of hybrid devices that cut down on pollution and emissions when a vehicle travels under 40 mph.

Global Application

Globally, the United States is not ahead of the hybrid game, but instead the Japanese seem to be setting the standard. Honda and Toyota have already taken the market by storm with the Insight and Prius. It is easy to see that US automakers like Ford have fallen behind, having to license over 20 different technologies from the Japanese just to throw together the Mercury Mariner. In the United States, SUVs and trucks are still commonplace, and Ford has tried to make the best of both worlds with a hybrid version of the Escape.

Many analysts claim that these GM hybrids are nothing but weak efforts and not serious attempts to join the hybrid market. They are often tied in with the Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations, showing that American hybrids are nothing but corporate devices. Because regulations demand automakers possess a fleet with an average of 27.5 mpg, automakers are using hybrids as a way of offsetting their minimally efficient SUV’s and trucks, many of which only get up to 20 miles per gallon.

In Sum…

So at the end of the day, the decision is up to you. Maybe you find hybrid vehicles to cost prohibitive, or maybe the new, innovative, and ecologically friendly technology strikes a chord with you. Either way, personal preference is still in play. The technology is not yet developed to the point where prices can compete with gasoline powered models, but it is undeniably fuel efficient and emission reducing. The concept is fascinating, but right now there is an inherent price gap between gasoline and hybrid powered vehicles. So you know the pros and cons make your decision wisely!