Basically, these techniques are ways of getting more money out of each and every drop of gas you put into your car. It doesn’t matter what type of car you have – you can practice hypermiling in a large SUV, a truck, a small car or even a hybrid. Some minor hypermiling driving techniques are fairly safe, legal, and can be done by making just a few adjustments to the way you drive. On the other hand, other techniques – especially the ones that save more fuel – are dangerous, and some are even illegal.

Some hypermiling techniques are actually very common and are a part of every good driver’s style of driving. These include doing things like remaining focused on the road and anticipating when you need to slow down, brake or accelerate. By minimizing the number of times you brake hard or accelerate rapidly, you can save on gas and also on the wear and tear your brake pads will endure. These techniques can also help you avoid accidents, since you’ll be watching the flow of traffic.

Another common hypermiling technique is planning out your routes to avoid heavy traffic and areas under construction that will slow you down. By determining a route that is the shortest distance and involves the fewest number of stops, you can save on both fuel and on time. While this used to take a bit of advance planning, today, many electronic navigation systems can be set to figure this route automatically. They can even be programmed with the latest construction information and automatically plan to avoid trouble spots.

If you plan on making use of some of these and other, more advanced hypermiling techniques, you’ll probably come across a number of different terms and acronyms. Just like any jargon, these acronyms can be confusing at first. If you see FE, that stands for fuel economy, and is one of the most common terms used in hypermiling.

Others are somewhat more confusing. P&G stands for “Pulse and Glide,” which is the term for accelerating up to a specific speed and then coasting until your acceleration reaches a minimum point. This is one of the more advanced hypermiling techniques – those who really want to save on fuel will even turn their engine off when they reach their maximum speed. Of course, this is highly dangerous, since it makes it impossible to quickly accelerate at a moment’s notice without turning the engine back on.

When fuel prices were at their peak in the United States in the late 2000s, hypermiling became quite popular, but it also gained its fair share of opponents. Many claim it’s very dangerous, since some techniques – like the one mentioned above – make it impossible for drivers to truly be safe. In August of 2008, in fact, the Hypermiling Safety Foundation was formed to help educate drivers on which hypermiling techniques were safe to use and on ways to legally save on fuel.

Crude Oil

As the base product in the gasoline you pay for at the pump, crude oil makes up around 73% of your gasoline dollar. But the fluctuating cost of this precious resource is anything but crude. To start with, there are several different kinds and qualities of crude oil – all of which are priced differently. Sweet, sour, heavy and light are just a few of the types of crude oil – and all of them require very different refining techniques, with the overall cost of refining light, sweet crude hitting almost double that of its heavier counterpart, sour crude.

Distribution and Publicity

The cost of moving gasoline around – both physically and in terms of how it’s sold to a market inundated with choice – constitutes around 6 cents in every dollar you pay to fill your car. A truly global commodity, crude oil is shipped all around the world by suppliers competing for an ever-hungry market. Refineries compete for lucrative refining contracts which could see the base product travel thousands of miles before it becomes saleable gasoline. From refineries, gas is shipped to massive distribution sites where it’s stored for the next stage in its journey to your car – the trip to the gas station. Interestingly enough, remote gas stations pay up to 10% more for the final product, so it’s always worth stocking up in the big cities before heading out on a long trip.

Publicity is another big factor in the price of gasoline. We only need to switch on the TV or radio, or jump online for a few minutes to get an idea of the huge sums of money oil companies are willing to spend to create brand loyalty amongst consumers. When the cost of marketing campaigns driven by distribution companies – gas station chains – is considered, it’s easy to see how another 6% of your gasoline dollar is evaporated. This also underlines how price wars can break out as different brands fight for that ever valuable commodity known as market share.

Taxes

Taxes are the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to knowing where your gas money goes. In the United States, taxes vary from state to state but on average make up around 11% of the price of gas. If that sounds a bit heavy-handed, spare a thought for motorists in Europe and Australia, where taxes can reach as high as 30% of the total cost! Overall, gasoline taxes can include federal and state excise taxes, state sales taxes, fees for oil inspection, gross receipts taxes, storage tank fees and other miscellaneous environmental costs.

The next time you break out your cash or credit card at the gas pump, remember that it’s much more than crude oil that influences what you pay.

The ANWR stands for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is located in Alaska. The ANWR is an area of over 19 million acres of protected land along the Northern Slope of the state – an area that is larger than a number of other states combined. Recently, it has been proposed that we drill for oil in section 1002, an area of about 1.5 million acres.

The primary arguments for drilling are that the estimated oil reserves here could be between 5.7 and 16 billion barrels. This would mean a substantial increase in our domestic reserves and could help the American economy by lowering the foreign trade deficit between now and 2030, in an amount somewhere between $135 billion to $327 billion. Drilling in the ANWR has wide support among the people of Alaska, and proponents of drilling point out that the area that would be involved in the drilling would have a smaller environmental impact than the Los Angeles International Airport.

On the other side, the criticisms against drilling in the ANWR are aimed at the nature of the oil experts speculate will be found in the area. Unlike in Texas, where there are liquid oil reserves you can drill down into, the oil in the ANWR is in oil sand and oil shale. Recovering it would require drilling not straight down, but at several different angles underground. Environmentalists argue that this would impact the area above ground in a negative way. There’s also the matter of extracting the oil from the sand and shale, a process many argue is not as well developed as the oil companies would like us to believe.

Finally, there’s the matter of the native Alaskan peoples who oppose drilling in the ANWR, saying that it will cause cultural harm that can’t be repaired. They worry that drilling will impact the native food animals that make up 60 to 70 percent of their diets. In fact, representatives of more than 229 villages have officially opposed any development in the ANWR. Several native villages have found issues with the oil companies’ proposed ability to protect native species, leading the Kaktovik village to pass a resolution against Shell Oil declaring it necessary to take legal and other actions to defend the community.

With these kinds of arguments, it’s easy to see why the issue of drilling in the ANWR is in political limbo at the current time. However, arguments from both sides may become moot, as current president Obama has said that he will not support drilling in the ANWR. Only time will tell whether he sticks by his decision or whether the issue will simply be raised again once his time in office is over.

Cut down on how much you drive. Move closer to your job, carpool, use public transportation, ride your bicycle, or walk instead of driving.

Drive less aggressively. Jack rabbit starts and hard stops wreak havoc with your gas mileage. Gradually ease onto the gas and brake pedal instead.

Drive the speed limit. Most vehicles operate at optimum gas consumption at around 60 miles per hour. Every five miles per hour you drive over 60 mph reduces your gas economy.

Use your cruise control as much as possible. Maintaining a constant speed on the freeway increases your fuel economy.

Draft other cars on the highway. Travel in packs of cars on the expressway to reduce air resistance rather than driving solo. If NASCAR does it, you can too.

Travel in the slow lane on the freeway. You generally won’t have to change your speed or take your car off of cruise control.

Reduce idling. Don’t run your car’s engine while doing things like waiting to pick up the kids from school. An idling car gets 0 miles per gallon and ruins your average gas mileage.

Take the junk out of your trunk. A hundred extra pounds of weight can reduce your gas mileage by up to 2 percent.

Keep your car tuned up. One mechanical problem can seriously reduce your gas mileage, sometimes by up to 40 percent.

Minimize the use of your air conditioning. A/C decreases fuel efficiency. Often rolling down your windows will keep you cool enough.

Avoid driving during peak traffic hours such as rush hour. You’ll idle more in heavy traffic and kill your gas mileage.

Combine your errands. Turn three trips per week to the grocery store into one big trip.

Plan your driving routes. When running multiple errands, plan your trip so each stop is close to the next one to eliminate excessive driving.

Walk between driving stops. Instead of driving from store to store during errands, park your car in one central location and walk to all of the stores on your list.

Park in the first spot you find. Don’t waste gas driving around looking for the best space.

Time traffic lights. Don’t speed and then get stopped by every light. Usually lights are timed so vehicles driving the correct speed limit will hit the fewest red lights.

Using just a few of these tips will increase your gas mileage and save you money. All it involves is paying a little more attention to the way you drive. Getting better gas mileage isn’t just good for your wallet; it’s also good for the environment.

The first way to save money on gas may seem obvious but most people don’t do it – drive less. That’s right. Just don’t drive your car as much. For example, if you’re driving your car to the grocery store several times each week, instead combine those all of those small trips into one large trip once per week or every two weeks. Do this with your other normal weekly errands as well. All it takes is a little extra planning.

You can also substitute driving with walking or riding your bicycle. If you live close enough to stores, parks, your job or other places you drive to frequently, why not walk or ride your bike instead? You could even lose a few pounds in the process. Public transportation is also an alternative if you live in a metropolitan area. Carpooling is also a great way to save on gas, and some companies even give incentives to their employees for carpooling such as discounts on gas or preferential parking.

Some folks like too far away from work to walk or ride a bike, but there are still ways to spend less money on gas. Moving closer to your place of employment could save thousands of dollars on gas over the course of a year. Buying a hybrid automobile or alternative fuel vehicle is also another way to spend less on gas. In the next couple of years, several automakers will roll out new automobiles which run completely on electricity and use no gasoline at all. The daily commuting costs to run an electric vehicle are far less than their gas guzzling counterparts.

When you do buy gas, don’t fill your tank completely if gas prices are high. Fill up with enough gas to get by. If you fill your tank by small amounts each time, you can cost average the price of gas and lower your overall fuel costs by “playing the market” and taking advantage of fluctuations in gas prices.

Find a gas station that regularly has the best prices and switch if you find one with lower prices. Be a smart gasoline consumer first and foremost, and remember that brands don’t make much of a difference. Most national companies get their gas from the same refineries based on their proximity, so all of the gas is pretty much the same. Those “special gas additives” the companies sell are more of a marketing ploy than anything else. Buy the lowest octane rating recommended by your automobile manufacturer, which is always the cheapest. Most new cars are designed to work with lower octane blends, anyway. By cutting down on your gas consumption and shopping around, you could make substantial strides towards spending less on gas.

Let’s start with how often you drive. When you can, combine trips and always plan the most efficient route you can when driving your car. Not only is this more fuel efficient, but it reduces the amount of pollution your car produces. When you can, use alternative modes of transportation like walking, riding a bike, carpooling, or using public transportation. And, as much as you can, avoid letting your car sit and idle for more than 30 seconds.

Most people don’t know that you don’t need to let your car idle to warm up during cold weather. Modern engines are designed to warm up as they’re driven. In addition, using the air conditioning during hot months causes the engine to work harder and produce more emissions. Whenever possible, roll the windows down and avoid using the air conditioner altogether.

Also, keep your car well maintained. Many areas require emissions inspections, but even if your area doesn’t, you can still have your car inspected and repair any deficiencies. When you choose gasoline for your car, choose a fuel that burns cleanly or, if you have the option to switch to alternative fuels, do so.

You can also reduce the emissions your car produces by accelerating gradually and maintaining a moderate speed. The more smoothly you drive – minimizing accelerations and decelerations and maintaining a constant, moderate speed – the fewer emissions your car will produce. Most cars have what’s called a “sweet spot,” – this is the spot in your car’s highest gear that uses the least amount of gas to maintain speed. If you drive an automatic, watch for when your car shifts into its highest gear and the rpms begin to level off – this is your sweet spot. Of course, driving in the sweet spot isn’t always possible, as it may be at a higher speed than allowed on most roads. Do keep this in mind for highway driving, however.

Another way to reduce your car’s emissions is to go right to the source – your gas tank. A gas cap that fits well prevents gas from escaping into the air. Not only do escaping gas fumes pollute the air, they also mean poor fuel efficiency for you and can be seriously dangerous. If you suspect your gas cap doesn’t fit as well as it should, purchase a new one. These are available relatively inexpensively at most auto parts stores.

Speaking of gas, use the type of gasoline the manufacturer specifies for your car. Purchasing a higher octane product generally won’t help your car perform better, nor will it increase your mileage. Choosing a higher octane gas won’t lower your emissions either – it’s just more money flying out the window for you.

On the other hand, light emitting diodes (LEDs) use almost all of the energy they consume to produce light, not heat. This means you can get the same light output from an LED as from an incandescent light for about 85 percent less energy. When you draw less energy from your engine, it doesn’t have to work as hard and, therefore, produces fewer emissions. Whatever its color, an LED light can, in fact, be very green.

LEDs also last longer than incandescent lights. They don’t contain harmful gases or chemicals, unlike some other types of lights. But it’s their energy savings that are their biggest selling point for the automotive industry. If you were to switch your car to LEDs, you’d likely notice an increase in your mileage. Your greenhouse gas emissions would also decrease, although that’s not something that you’d readily see. However, think of the impact that could make over all of the cars on the road today.

In fact, LEDs aren’t just being used in car’s interiors, but also for headlights, signal lights and tail lights. Many car owners actually prefer LED headlights because they’re brighter and last longer than other bulbs – not to mention, they’re far more durable. LED lights are also more resistant to shock, making them especially useful for vehicles used for uneven or rough terrain.

And because they consume less energy, LEDs are especially useful in the case of hybrid or electric cars. Since less energy is needed for lighting, more energy is available for use in keeping the car running. In other words, LEDs can help a hybrid or electric car to go farther on a single battery charge.

Fortunately, switching over to LEDs doesn’t have to be difficult. Some vendors offer LEDs that can be used in the same fixtures as the current incandescent lights. This allows owners to upgrade their lights without having to pay for costly shop repairs. In addition, new cars are expected to begin using LEDs almost exclusively, so you may already have these enhancements without even knowing it.

In addition, LEDs are available in different colors, including white, red and blue, as well as in infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths. It’s easy to choose a color that looks great on your car – all while saving money and reducing emissions.

Finally, despite their ability to help cars be greener, blue LEDs have the capability of contributing to light pollution. While this isn’t an issue with cars at this point, it’s no doubt something that designers will want to keep in mind as more and more LED technology is used in the auto manufacturing process.

It can save you money
By tracking your gas mileage, you can alter your driving habits to increase fuel efficiency and save money. Doing things like driving less aggressively, using your cruise control more, heeding the posted speed limit, reducing the use of your air conditioning, and reducing the amount of time your car idles all help to increase your gas mileage and save you cash.

It can alert you to problems with your tires
Properly inflated tires reduce rolling resistance on the road and increase gas mileage for your car. Other problems with your tires like excessive wear can also decrease gas mileage. If your tires are out of balance they can affect your gas mileage negatively too. If you see a drop in the miles per gallon your car is getting, it may be time to rotate your tires, get new ones, or have your tires’ balance adjusted.

It can tell you that you are using the wrong oil for your car
Using the manufacturers recommended blend of motor oil will allow your vehicle to get better gas mileage. Different types of motor oil have different operating temperatures and viscosity ratings, which affects your engine’s performance. Dirty oil filters that need to be changed also negatively affect your engine’s performance and gas mileage. You don’t necessarily have to purchase the most expensive brand of oil at the quick change place, either. Just pay attention to the grade of oil that your owner’s manual suggests and use it whenever you get an oil change.

It can alert you to problems with your engine
If your car is getting fewer miles per gallon than it should, you might need a tune up. An improperly tuned car can reduce gas mileage by up to 20 percent. Bad spark plugs, a malfunctioning fuel system or broken emission controls can also add to your gas costs and damage your vehicle.

It can be a signal that it is time to buy a new car
If you have done everything you can to get your car into tip top shape and your gas mileage is still not as good as you had hoped, your car may have serious problems and may be nearing the end of its useful lifespan. Buying a car that gets 5-10 additional miles per gallon in fuel efficiency can save you thousands of dollars in gasoline over the course of a year of commuting to and from your place of employment. Purchasing a high efficiency automobile or hybrid could save you a lot of money on gas in the long run. If your car isn’t giving you the best gas mileage it can, it’s probably time to start shopping for a new one.

To give you an idea of what exactly we’re talking about, the Transportation Department wants manufacturers to get to an overall fleet average of 35.5 mpg by 2016. There are some other specifics – passenger cars have to hit 39 mpg and light trucks should hit 30 mpg if these standards are adopted. To illustrate just how big a job this is, there are only six cars that are on sale right now that offer an estimated mpg of 35.5.

First, these new standards likely mean smaller cars. This is a simple matter of mathematics – a smaller lighter car is a more fuel efficient car. This may be a dramatic change for Americans who still like their roomy automobiles. What’s worse, from a consumer’s point of view, is that these new smaller cars may cost more than $1,000.00 more than trucks or SUVs, even though they are smaller.

However, smaller, lighter cars aren’t the only way manufacturers are trying to meet these goals – electric cars and hybrids are in the pipelines of every major manufacturer. Besides this, companies are looking at clean diesel cars, with the Volkswagen Jetta TDI being a pioneer in this market. In the immediate future, there are also extended-range electric plug-ins that will rely on a rechargeable battery for short trips and have a combination of gas power and electric motors for longer journeys.

Other developments in clean diesels, which will use technology that filters out particulate matter, are another approach. Overall, these cars will offer better fuel economy than the traditional diesel engines, along with other benefits for consumers and the environment.

But as per usual government efficiency, many of the details of the proposed standards haven’t been worked out yet. Still to be answered is how the electric cars will be figured into the fleet average. Given that an electric car uses no gasoline, would a single electric model that no one is buying lower the overall fleet average to a point where the entire company is within the set standard? Or will some manufacturers look to alternative fuels like biodiesel to meet their standards? But isn’t that just swapping one problem for another? No one knows yet, and no one is saying anything official on the subject.

But however fuel efficiency standards are imposed – whether by governmental mandate or through shifting consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles – it’s clear that something needs to give. Even if families can afford to pump their giant SUVs full of $4.00/gallon + gasoline, should other citizens suffer increased smog and emissions for their enjoyment? Should soldiers risk their lives every day to protect a resource we place an exorbitant demand on? There’s no right or wrong answers to these questions – but it’s clear that they will need to be address in the next few years.

Everyone’s searching for a better fuel for our cars. Gasoline is expensive, not renewable, produces carbon emissions and keeps us tied to countries we’d rather not be beholden to. One possible answer is a fuel known as biodiesel. Biodiesel is a type of fuel that results when you run used cooking oil through a filter and then through a process called transesterification. The resulting fuel is a biodiesel that can be used in most diesel engines.

For the most part, you can’t just pour used cooking oil into your car’s gas tank and expect it to run. Standard internal combustion engines just can’t manage with that type of fuel. Diesel engines, on the other hand, can run on biodiesel without any additional changes. In addition, with a few conversions, a diesel engine can run off used cooking oil without having to process it into biodiesel.

Actually, the first diesel engines designed by Rudolf Diesel used peanut oil as their fuel source – they weren’t converted to a petroleum based diesel fuel until the 1920s, when gasoline and other petroleum products gained prominence in the automotive industry. In the 1970s, alternative fuels became a topic of conversation, particularly among those in the newly emerging environmental movement.

Used vegetable cooking oil can be found at a number of locations. While you can certainly use used cooking from your own home, you may not be able to produce used oil in sufficient quantities. A better source would be a restaurant, a commercial or industrial cafeteria or a food processing plant. While most businesses such as those listed above have contracts with waste management companies to dispose of their used oil, they’re usually amenable to entering into an agreement that will allow you to collect used cooking oil for use in your car. But all oils aren’t created equal – those in the environmental field consider the golden yellow used vegetable oil produced by Chinese restaurants to be especially valuable.

If you’re interested in converting your diesel automobile to run on used cooking oil, you’ll need to buy a conversion kit. The conversion kit allows you to establish a second fuel storage tank for the used vegetable oil, which must be heated before it can be used. The traditional diesel – or biodiesel – tank must remain. This fuel will be used to start the car and to flush the used vegetable oil out of the fuel line before the car is turned off. Technically, these conversion kits violate federal emissions laws – however, these laws aren’t usually strictly enforced.

Alternative fuel sources are definitely needed, and used cooking oil is one possibility. However, given the amount of resources used to produce the vegetables used to create cooking oil, it remains to be seen whether the use of used cooking oil – whether or not it’s processed into biodiesel – remains feasible. It is, at present, a nice way to recycle, but whether it would work on a large scale is yet to be determined.