Fuel Economy in the 21st Century
Provided By: CarInsurance.com
Gas prices continue to rise. As the 21st century continues on fossil fuel availability will lessen and thus only pushing the price of fuel up even more. As car owners and drivers, it is becoming our responsibility to learn how to save money on fuel by using less of it.
Hopefully as time progresses on, alternative fuels and electrical energy will continue to be developed so that vehicles will not be dependent on fossil fuels. Until the time comes that alternative fuel is readily available to all consumers and motorists, we will have to look towards advance technologies that help improve current fuel efficiency.
The first step in using advanced energy-efficient technologies is finding and using a vehicle that has such fuel saving technologies built into it. One vehicle that is currently helping motorist will fuel efficiency is a hybrid vehicle. Hybrids use less fossil fuel than normal gasoline engine powered vehicles and emit fewer pollutants.
A hybrid vehicle combines the benefits of a gasoline engine with an electric motor. These hybrid vehicles consume less fossil fuel so you have to buy less gasoline. Many car manufacturers, such as Toyota, Ford, Honda and GM, have or are developing hybrid vehicles.
A second type of vehicle to purchase and achieve better fuel efficiency is a vehicle with a clean running diesel powered engine. Diesel engines are more fuel efficient than gasoline powered engines. In the last few years there have been new breakthroughs in diesel technology that has improved its performance and made these engines cleaner and quieter.Europeans have been using this new breed of diesel powered vehicles for years now and are very happy with the fuel economy and engine performance that they are receiving.
Engineers have been working steadily on improving engine technologies on gasoline engines. One type of improved engine is called the VVT or VTEC for variable valve-trains or variable cam-timing. This type of engine improves the engines efficiency by optimizing the flow of fuel and air to the cylinders and allows for various engine speeds.
Cylinder deactivation or multiple displacements is an engine improvement that allows the motorist to save on fuel by deactivating cylinders in the engine when they are not needed. Direct fuel injection is used on many engines these days and allows for higher compression ratios. This higher ratio permits the engine to have better performance with lower fuel consumption.
Once you have a vehicle that has advanced engine or fuel technology there is still things as a driver you can do to get better fuel economy. The first is to keep your vehicle tuned up. Check your air and fuel filters and allow a mechanic to check over the engine for any repairs. Little things such as this can improve your gas mileage by as much as 4 percent. Do not forget to keep the recommended air pressure in your tires. Having under-inflated or over-inflated tires can hurt your gas mileage by as much as 5 percent.
Planning your daily driver or errand trips can save you fuel. If you plan out a route that circles you around to take care of your needs in one well calculated trip you will spend less time and gas then if you drive in many directions without a plan. Also, while on the roadway try to observe the sped limit. Driving as little as 5 miles per hour over a posted speed of 60 can reduce your fuel economy by 10 percent.
The 21st century has shown gas prices to rise substantially. It now can cost more than double what it used to a few years ago to fill up a car with fuel. To decrease your fuel expense, you as a motorist need to find a vehicle with increased fuel efficiency. You can do this by looking for a vehicle that uses advances in technology to help fuel economy and then by using the vehicle in a smart way so that less fuel is consumed.
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