by Frank Lobsterman

Created on: January 03, 2010

With the ever-increasing price of gasoline and the ensuing popularity of efficient hybrid vehicles, many drivers wonder whether they should invest in one of these new, highly complicated vehicles. The reasons for buying one include helping the environment, cutting foreign oil dependence, and saving money on fuel, but the negative impacts can be significant as well. Even the reasonably-priced Honda Insight would be a major investment for most families, and all hybrids, as they age, are prone to expensive failures in parts that traditional internal-combustion vehicles don't even have. For those of us who buy cars already broken in, there is still hope. With the right modifications to your driving and to your vehicle, along with proper routine maintenance, the family sedan that has served you well for the last ten years can keep up with the neighbor's shiny new Prius in gas mileage for the next ten. The following suggestions work in varying degrees, and their costs range from free to a few thousand dollars, and they work with varying degrees of success.

Predictive Driving
Simply paying close attention to the road ahead and preparing early for any obstacles or traffic signals canhave a profound effect on gas mileage. It's important to pay attention to your immediate surroundings as well, but train yourself to focus as far ahead as you can see. If you're going to have to stop or slow down, go ahead and let off the gas. Using the brake pedal sparingly is essential to saving fuel because brakes use friction to convert kinetic energy into heat, which cannot be regained. Fuel used on brakes is fuel lostforever. 

Accelerate Gradually
This might be the most difficult thing to do as far as improving mileage. Different engines respond in vastly different ways to certain driving styles, so any specific instructions might not apply to all vehicles. I read a BMW magazine once that said to accelerate as quickly as you can, in as high a gear as you can. I have found with my Nissan Maxima, however, that a more gradual acceleration than that is better for my mileage. Of course, these are tips for driving with a manual transmission. With an automatic, it is possible to suggest to the transmission when to shift by letting off the gas. This can be immensely helpful, as most automatic transmissions will not let the engine bog and will downshift again if you induce a shift too early, ensuring that you stay in the proper gear for optimal mileage.

As a rule, just don't get on

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