All Posts Tagged With: "fuel efficiency"
What are the cheapest cars to drive?
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Dec 10 2009 | 3 Comments
Are you looking for a car? If yes, are you looking for one that gets good gas mileage and is also cheap to maintain? If you answered yes again, then perhaps you’re looking for a gas sipper rather than a hybrid and a foreign car rather than an American made one.
I know all the time I’m bragging about the quality of foreign cars versus domestic ones, but so is everyone else. In an article from MSNBC, you can find the best cars for under $15,000 which are cheap to maintain and they get great gas mileage so you won’t be blowing your gas budget when you fill up.
At the top of the list was the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, and Scion xD (I love that the name of that looks like a really happy emoticon). The cars all cost around $15,000 and because they are small and inexpensive, they are fairly cheap to insure as well as maintain. Oh, by the way, they also get at least 30 mpg in combined fuel efficiency. These cars will obviously use less gas and you won’t have to be putting in the expensive grades either. These cars call for regular 87 unleaded.
If you’re really looking for a domestic car, then look no further than the Chevrolet Cobalt or the Pontiac G3. They are basically the same car and only cost around $16,000 and get a combined 31 mpg.
Right now they aren’t selling as well as they were a year ago, but you also have to remember that gas prices are far cheaper right now than a year ago too. People will go back to buying these cars once gas starts creeping up again.
The cars on the MSNBC list are all gas powered vehicles. There were no hybrids on the list due to the fact that they are more expensive to maintain, insure, and they actually cost more too.
From the article:
“The best way to a cheap ride? Choose something small, light, and more often than not foreign.”
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Tags: scion xd, chevrolet cobalt, foreign cars
How you can save money on your trip to work
Lizzie Tyner | RSS | Sat, Jul 18 2009 | 1 Comment
The magazine Marie Clarie had an article on its website I bookmarked and wanted to share. It is all about saving money on your daily commute to and from work. I can’t say that I agree with all the tips (such as driving to work with a stranger) but overall the tips are pretty good if you’re willing to try them out.
1. Save money through carpooling. This is the tip where the author suggested a site called erideshare.com where you can find someone to ride to work with. It just seems dangerous to me to ride to work (or anywhere) with someone I don’t know. But carpooling can end up saving you big time on the cost of traveling.
2. Seasonal or monthly bus or train passes can help also. However, you need to make sure you know when you’ll be taking your vacation so you’re not paying for something you won’t use.
3. If you’re job can be done over the phone a.k.a. telecommuting, then it wouldn’t hurt to ask your boss if you could work from home once a week.
4. Keep your heater or air conditioner on long enough to make your car comfortable then turn them off. You can also roll your windows down in the car if it’s nice outside, but you will be wasting money if you’re going over 45 mph.
5. You can talk to Human Resources to see if your company offers any benefits that might help offset your commuting costs. Some companies offer a “car service” if you work past a stated time at night.
6. If you drive over 75 mph and rapidly accelerate or slam on your brakes, you’re reducing your car’s fuel efficiency.
7. Make sure you’re car is properly maintained. This means make sure that your tire pressure is good and that you keep your oil changes up to date.
8. Keep an eye out for gas prices to and from work. If you can, don’t get gas right off the highway because it is usually the most expensive in the area. Use GasBuddy.com to try go find out cheaper prices on your route.
Related posts:How you can save money on all your telephone bills
Tags: carpooling, telecommuting, car service
Ways to save money on gas this summer (and all year!)
Lizzie Tyner | RSS | Sun, Jun 28 2009 | 0 Comments
There are many ways to cut your costs during the summer, especially if you plan on doing a lot (or any) driving. With gas prices going back up, traveling this summer may be looking more expensive than when you planned your trip. Well, there are ways to save a little bit of money on that road trip this year.
As always, what I will start calling the golden rule of frugality, SHOP AROUND!!! Comparison shopping means that you are going to get the best deal. At the same time, don’t drive 30 miles out of your way to save $.02 a gallon, that’s crazy and really not worth it. You can do price comparison on websites like GasBuddy.com and some GPS systems even have gas stations filtered by price. These websites do depend on users to enter in gas prices, so the prices you see may not be what they are for that day (or that week if you’re going to a small town).
Secondly, if you’re a cash carrying member of the population use it. Some gas stations have started trying to pass merchant fees off to gas buyers and have started charging more for gas if someone is paying with a debit or credit card. This is a legal way for the gas stations to help with how much they’re paying for credit card fees. The good news for you is that usually these gas stations that charge more for credit card transactions are usually cheaper than everyone else.
You should also perform regular maintenance on your car. Giving your car a tune up and getting the oil changed according to when the manufacturer says can lead to higher MPGs and more miles on your car. Keeping your tires inflated can also help improve your MPG’s by 3% over the course of a year, which could total to 20 gallons of gas! Air filters are another one of those little things that sometimes we forget about that can increase your fuel efficiency.
A little tip I picked up is that if you like stopping frequently for gas, don’t fill up your tank because the less full your tank is the less heavy your car is and the more miles per gallon you will average. I usually fill my car up to ½ a tank, and then refill at ¾ a tank. It is time consuming, but overall I’m getting better mileage out of it.
Lastly, if you really want to cut back on fuel consumption for your road trips, take it easy and try not drive too aggressively. The faster you accelerate the more gas you are burning.
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Tags: gas prices, credit card, gas station
New emissions and fuel efficiency standards could mean 35 mpg cars and trucks, standard.
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, May 19 2009 | 1 Comment
President Obama is set to release new pollution standards today that will up the miles per gallon a fleet must have by 2016. At the time this article was written, information and details had not yet been released, however California, the District of Columbia, and thirteen other states have been urging the federal government to let them put forth more harsh standards than what the government’s current requirements are. The 15 entities are asking for regulations that would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new vehicles by 2016. Of course, in March 2008, there was a ruling that said states couldn’t determine their own limits on greenhouse emissions, so the legislation would have to come from the federal government.
Today’s announcement is set to follow the same path as the 30% reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2016. It is rumored that the new emission rules would go into effect for cars and trucks made for the 2011 model year and beyond.
The new proposal will have two separate standards for fuel efficiency and greenhouse emissions. The idea is to get car manufactures to produce cars that have a high MPG as well as a smaller carbon footprint. Roland Hwang, the vehicles policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council said he expects the standard will be set somewhere around 35 miles per gallon for the vehicle fleet by 2016.
There is already a law on the books that requires at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020, which is a 40% increase from the current 25 miles per gallon standard. The energy law, implemented in 2007, however is seen as just not enough right now since we’ve seen what high gas prices can do to our wallets, as well as what high emissions can do to the environment. The current 25 miles per gallon standard hasn’t been changed since 1985.
The government is already pushing General Motors as well as Chrysler to produce more fuel efficient/environmentally friendly vehicles. Since the two companies have accepted billions of dollars in federal money, it would probably be in their best interests to continue to do things that the government “suggested.”
New fuel efficiency standards for U.S. made cars would likely make American made cars a bit more appealing to everyone, not just Americans, but car buyers from all over the world. If you look at countries like Great Britain, when we were complaining about our gas being over $4 a gallon, they said that they would welcome a price like that. At the time, they were paying upwards of what equaled out to 10 U.S. dollars for a gallon of gasoline.
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Tags: natural resources defense, greenhouse gas emissions, new vehicles
Is the Prius a hard sell now?
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, Jan 13 2009 | 0 CommentsNow that gas prices are under $2.00 a gallon, are people still buying the Prius? According to the AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson, no.
From CNBC.com:
“I was turning down Priuses in March and Japan was sending them to other countries. I was taking Cadillac Escalades in trade on Priuses by July and now, today I can’t give away a Prius,” Jackson said.
“Sales are down 50 percent all because the price of gasoline is on a roller coaster. I mean when are we going to have energy policy and a gas tax that puts a floor under the price of gasoline so that we can cease whipsawing the American consumer back and forth on this issue of fuel efficiency which for industries for lead times of two, three, four years, it’s an impossible situation.”
There is still a part of me that wants a Prius only because I know one day that gas prices will rise again, but also because I had a chance to actually see the inside of one and I really liked the features it had. A lot of the reason people aren’t buying cars right now is because 1) the cars they have are fine and 2) financing is hard to come by.
Related posts:Even after a fire at a California refinery, gas still slipps below $2.50/gal.
What are the cheapest cars to drive?
Should you think about buying an American car?
Tags: ceo, gas price, fuel efficiency
