Vehicle gas mileage

Gas prices have been shooting up in the last few years, and this is more notable in the summer months. When the major hurricanes of the last few years came though, the prices when up to mind-boggling numbers. I noticed there was a rash of articles online, and news reports on television that tried to show the average consumer how to save money on gas. I even wrote one myself. The problem was that once I was finished with my article I was frustrated. There isnt much the average person can do to save money on their vehicle gas mileage.

There are great ideas out there, but many of them are completely impractical. One great way to save on vehicle gas mileage is to bike to work and to the store. This is great in theory but does not translate well in real life. If you are getting more than one item at the store you arent going to be able to take much home with you on a bike, unless you have a basket, and even then, you are limited. I know there are people who do bike to work, but for the average person, it wont work. How exactly would I drop my child off at daycare?

Many of the tips work, but the benefit is so small that it barely adds up to anything. There are certain things you can do with your car that will increase your vehicle gas mileage, but when you save one cent a day, it hardly seems worth it. Some are questionable at best. I had read that if you drive with your windows up you get better vehicle gas mileage. Thats great, until you pass out from the heat and wreck. Not every car buyer gets air conditioning. And besides, running your air conditioning costs you more anyway.

What is more worrisome is the news report I saw on television the other night that says the vehicle gas mileage you think you are getting is wrong. The testing done on new cars relates to the way we drove in the 60s. They equated it to a 90 year old librarian. We are faster off the mark (otherwise known as the green light) and we drive much faster and expect more out of our cars. This changes the way gas mileage should be tallied, but we arent doing it. That new car that claims to be getting 23 miles per gallon wont be, not with our modern driving skills. This might be one thing we just have to suck up and accept.