Posted by
The INFORMER (Cokie907@yahoo.com) on Monday, June 23, 2008 11:18:38 AM
Do you drive as efficiently as possible or is there mucho room for improvement? I own a 1996 Saturn SL2 and a 2000 Corvette and routinely see gas mileage on the Corvette that is BETTER than the Saturn. Don't believe me? Well read on and you just might find that your driving habits have you stuck on stupid.
I first wrote an article about wasteful driving habits 12 years ago when I wrote for a newsmagazine in the People's Republic of Mass. Since moving to Tennessee 9 years ago, I haven't done much writing with the exception of this internet-based column that I started in April of 2006. Not long after starting the Meat and Potatoes Blog, I reposted the article on wa$teful driving habits from 1996 and it is contained in the archives here at TownHall if you would like to access it. The title: "Do you drive like a wa$teful fool?" Here's the link:
Saving gas while driving is merely an application of things you learned while growing up, if you paid any attention that is! You were taught that objects in motion tend to remain in motion and objects at rest tend to remain at rest, right? Well, apply that theory of Newton's 2nd law to your driving each and every time you get behind the wheel. Keep your car moving by looking ahead and judging lights and traffic flow. If you feel traffic is slowing down due to a red light or a merge, place your car in neutral and just coast. Your objective should be to rarely use your brakes and when you park your car, you should be able to get out and touch the brake discs with your finger. Hot brakes mean wasted gas! How about when you see a turn coming or prepare to take an exit off the highway? Why roar up to the exit only to slam on your brakes as you come down the off-ramp? About a 1/2 mile prior to the exit or turn, I just coast and save gas!
What if you live in areas of our great nation that have hilly terrain? Can you coast down those hills and save gas? You bet your gas saving butt you can! The key to successful coasting is to have a car that has low profile drag and a standard transmission. My Vette is about as slick as you can get and it has a 6 speed too! What a coasting combo extraordinaire! As you come up to crest the hill, start bleeding off your speed by placing the car in neutral or letting off the gas, then as you crest the hill just get a big ole smile on your face as you start to accelerate and BEGIN MAKING FREE GAS BABY! With time you will get good at knowing when to start bleeding speed as you go up the hill and when to slip the car back into gear at the bottom. It becomes second nature, kind of like breathing! You'll find yourself coasting your way to big savings all over town and you'll pick your travel route based on which way gives you the best coasting advantage!
Twelve years ago when I wrote the article "Do you drive like a wa$teful fool?", gas was priced at about 90 cents a gallon. As usual, Mr. Meat and Taters was WAYYYYY ahead of the curve and even though I'm a devout Republican, I was concerned with conservation. In today's world, the considerations I raised with driving habits make so much more sense and only a fool would not implement them! By the way, if you're curious what kind of mileage I get with my Corvette around town, I'll tell you: 32 miles per gallon. Try and match that with a 5.7 liter V-8 engine my fellow Grassroots Troopers!