What Do Roof Racks, Ugly Body Kits, and Dragster Style Aluminum Wings….all have in common with your WIFE????

I’ll tell you what they have in common…..at the end of this blog of course!

It is a good idea to remove pieces that effect aerodynamic performance. Or in laymen’s terms: Get the huge roof rack off your car! Items such as bug deflectors, running boards, extended mirrors, and roof racks all affect the aerodynamics of your car and decrease gas mileage.

Ok a Ford F-150 is not as aerodynamic as a Ferrari we know….but Ford put Millions and Millions into Research and Development; and you can be guaranteed that the body design they came up with has the best drag coefficient possible for a truck. But when you attach a bug deflector here, a roll bar there, a huge roof rack up there…..these parts all add up and it does affect your MPG.

All those little Honda Civics running around with ugly unpainted body kits and huge dragster style aluminum wings….are killing the great gas mileage those little cars were born to get! And Please I Beg You!!!!……just save up your money for an extra week so you can paint these items before they go onto your car…..nothing looks uglier than a green car with white bumpers, side skirts, and a wing! As for the dragster wings that can add 2000 lbs. of down force at 300 mph…..please….your Honda wanda will never need that…it’s like bringing a shotgun to a knife fight….can you say OVERKILL!!!!

Heck it is even better for you to use your Air Conditioning at highway speeds rather than opening your sunroof and rolling down your windows. Reason being that open windows cause enormous amounts of aerodynamic drag, thus reducing fuel efficiency! (wanderings.net/notebook/Main/SurprisingWaysGetBetterGasMileage)

So remember that if you are going on vacation...…..then a roof rack is ok. Or if you plan to go off-roading then please add a roll bar and be safe. So what do these things have in common with your wife? You’re POCKETBOOK! Because adding these items will cost you mucho dinero in the long run.

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Getting Better Gas Mileage…..3 Decades Ago!!!!

Some of you remember the oil crisis of the early 70’s; more than 34 years ago. Well I was not around then, but the idea has remained. Car and Driver Magazine published an article way back in 74 (Project Car: Crisis-Fighter Pinto) in which they attempted to take a Ford Pinto and eco-mod it out. Yes it was ugly and yes it was slow…but the good folks at Card and Driver managed to get 25% better MPG out of this car for only a couple of bucks.

The first couple of changes have to do with the cars aerodynamics. The most beneficial, was creating an air dam beneath the front bumper in order to increase the aerodynamic efficiency of the car. The topside of cars are nice and smooth allowing air to slip right by. But the underside of a car contains exhaust manifolds and suspension pieces among other things which trap air and thus slow you down. The second change having to do with aerodynamics; partially blocking out the grill. Well you may think that that could cause the car to overheat. But gas mileage was improved and the car’s cooling was not adversely affected. The next couple of changes include adding a rear spoiler and covering the headlights with plexiglass.

Next the team focused on the engine. Reducing parasitic load on the engine will not only free up some extra horsepower, but it also added to the fuel savings. This was done by making changes to the belt-driven cooling fan system. Present day cars run an electric fan and thus we do not have to worry about this. But you can remove the belt that runs the A/C and power steering (on some cars) to reduce parasitic engine load.

Finally the C & D group switched tires from a bias-ply tire (hell if I know what that is) to a steel belted tire. Of course all tires these days are steel belted; but there are LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) tires which net better gas mileage for your car.

So with a relative few mods, the Pinto netted an increase of 25% on its MPG. You would think that over 34 years later we would be free from these sorts of exercises. But no matter how much time passes, one thing remains the same: “Those who do not learn from history, are condemned to repeat it!”

http://www.ecomodder.com/blog/2008/03/12/11-on-mods-plus-new-tires-car-and-driver-improves-mpg-by-25/

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Lighten Your Load!!!!! Less Is More…Better MPG That Is!!!

I'm sure that most of you out there....especially women....have you cars loaded to the brim with crap. You are the pack-rats of the highway. Well let me tell you that those extra pounds your car has to lug around is effecting your fuel economy and costing you money. Just a quick look into my trunk and I had a baby stroller, some tools, a nice heavy blanket, and some half empty water bottles.
Every 100 pounds or so can decrease your Fuel Economy by a few percent. Think about a race car; they only have the bare essentials, this is because every 100 pounds of weight they shed is equal to a tenth of a second off their ¼ mile time. And that’s a big deal. All that extra weight could cost you up to $0.10 a gallon.
SO PUT YOUR CAR ON A DIET!!!

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American Car Manufacturers are either: blind, stupid, or too stubborn to change!!!

They remind me of the big dumb jock from high school…..he was good for something at one point in time….but now that a few years have passed….what good is he?

Recently Edmunds.com published a story about the top 10 most efficient 4-door cars available. They ranked the cars based on EPA fuel economy numbers. And would you guess that not one car from an American manufacturer made the list!

With gas prices on the never-ending rise…..it’s clear that foreign automakers have their finger on the pulse of the car buying world.

Do American car companies just not care about what consumers want?

We do know that there are domestic hybrids out there……such as: the Ford Escape, Saturn Vue, and Chevy Silverado. But these are not cars at all!!!!!! They are SUV’s and Trucks. It seems that American car makers have decided to take aim at areas outside the hybrid car market.

So the Japanese have such a stranglehold on the hybrid car market, and the big American manufacturers won’t even give it a try. Actually Saturn does have Aura and that’s about it!! But now there is hope on the horizon…..

The Chevy Malibu Hybrid is coming out late this year. Horary for all you Bow Tie fans out there. But wait….just how good is the Malibu Hybrid….well according to the EPA; 27 MPG is the average you can expect to get out of this car. That is absolutely hilarious….my Nissan Sentra which is 8 years old, tops that number by 3 MPG and I don’t even practice gas saving driving.

But what about Ford all the Blue Oval fans out there shout? Nope…sorry…Ford doesn’t make a hybrid car. But the Escape hybrid SUV gets 32 MPG which is still better than the Malibu hybrid.

So 9 out of the 10 most fuel efficient sedans come from Japanese auto makers. The tenth comes from Kia. Kia……a company that is tiny compared to the big American Automakers. The future does not look good for domestic vehicles.

Of course the reigning champions are still there…..the Civic hybrid, the Prius hybrid, and the Camry hybrid are all on the list. The interesting thing is that 6 of the 10 most fuel efficient 4 door cars are not hybrids at all. They are small gasoline powered cars such as the Corolla.

Fuel Efficient Sedans…….Not A Domestic Insight!!!!!

This information was gathered from:
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/125477/article.html
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2007_Hybrid_Vehicles

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California “The Green State”…..Yeah Right!!!

The Govenator signed into legislation recently the “Greenhouse Gas Bill” This “landmark bill that establishes a first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gases.” (http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/4111/) According to the kindergarten cop…..”We must do everything in our power to slow global warming before its too late.” Sounds like a doomsday prophecy for our future. But is this bill really necessary or is it just a ploy to gain popular opinion. Many will argue tooth and nail that there is no such thing as global warming……just like the big Ozone layer debate of many years ago. Along with this bill and the Green Building Iniative….California as a state seems to be on the right track towards environmental friendliness…..RIGHT?

BIG WRONG…….Sweden has recently taken the wind out of our sails by announcing that they will be oil free by 2020. Where California has been taking baby steps, Sweden has gone right for the jugular by making a promise to give oil the boot and focus on renewable energy. Is it possible to have an entirely oil free country. Well we only have to wait 12 years to find out.

While they are dependent on Fossil Fuels for transportation purposes, and nuclear and hydroelectric power for electricity; Geothermal Energy is the future for Sweden, and that is how they plan to accomplish their goal. Ethanol and Biofuels will soon power the cars or Sweden. Wind and wave power may also play a role in Sweden’s renewable energy sources.

Our European friends have been thinking outside the box for years. And California has been twiddling its thumbs most of this time. It is going to take more than 2 pieces of legislation to get us where we need to be in terms of renewable energy.


http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0208-05.htm
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Proper Vehicle Maintenance = Better MPG… OH BIG SHOCKER!!!

I'm sure you have heard all the ways to get better fuel economy out of your car. And this may come as no shock to you…but by following these 4 easy steps you could gain up to 15% better MPG.
1) Tires – when I see the people driving on the freeways with almost flat tires; 2 things come to my mind……first of all how dangerous is that? I mean the tires are the only thing between you and the road and ignoring them is like playing with dynamite. But really I wonder how much gas they are wasting; sure keeping them properly inflated will add 3% to you fuel economy and that is like saving 11 cents per gallon at the pump.
2) Air Filter – the air that goes into a car is very dirty. Your air filter protects the engine from hazardous particles. And by not replacing the air cleaner when it is need, you could be wasting up to 10% of your fuel economy….or 35 cents per gallon at the pump.
3) Tune up – a car that is not running in tip top condition is at risk for a terrible fuel economy. The check engine light is a great sign that your car is in need of some serious help. Something like a faulty sensor can cause you to love valuable MPG. This could cause up to a 4% effect on fuel economy which translates to 14 cents at the pump.
4) Oil – using the correct weight of oil that your engine is designed to run on is very important on you MPG. Although it does not make as big a difference as keeping your tires properly inflated….why make your engine work harder by putting in the wrong oil?
So remember to check your tires every week, and get that tune-up when it comes time. Proper vehicle maintenance will not only keep your car running at its most optimum state, but it will also keep you safer on the road.
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Shopping Gives Me Gas!!!!!!

Three little words will cause any man to throw a tantrum…..Let’s Go Shopping! Tell your significant other “No!” and you will be spooning the dog on the couch for the rest of the night. But say “Yes” and your life will become the very definition of misery for the next few hours. We have all been there holding our wives overpriced purse; but now there may be a silver lining.
Many Grocery of Warehouse stores now sell gas at a discounted price to their discount card carrying customers. So be sure to sign up and get one of those little preferred card things, it could save up to 10 cents per gallon on gas. And that could equate to $10 a month or even more if you drive a gas guzzler. And money in pocket means more money for the wife to spend!

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