The government website Fueleconomy.gov has a page on Gas Mileage tips
The first set of tips is : Driving more efficiently
The first set of tips is : Driving more efficiently
They recommend you drive sensibly (avoid speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) which saves you 5-33% in gas. Other tips and their savings are:
Observe the speed limit - saves 7-23%
Remove excess weight - saves 1-2%
Plus you should also Avoid Excessive Idling, Use Cruise control and Use overdrive gears
If you do all of the above then thats a total of 13-58% savings.
Next they recommend that you : Keeping your car in shape
Things you can do to keep your car in shape and the possible savings are:
Next they recommend that you : Keeping your car in shape
Things you can do to keep your car in shape and the possible savings are:
Keep your car tuned : 4% savings
Check and replace air filters regularly : up to 10%
Keep tires inflated : up to 3%
Use recommended grade of motor oil : 1-2%
That adds up to 1 to 19%
If you drive efficiently and keep your car in shape then the total difference is 14-77% in gas savings!
Planning and Combining Trips is also encouraged.
Now I'm sure that most of us can't benefit the maximum % from most of these items. But some of us can probably stand to improve a few of these items.
A typical American drives 12,000 miles a year and their car gets 20 MPG. So if gasoline is $3.50 a gallon then typical Americans spend $2,100 a year on gas. (12000/20 * 3.5)
Now I'm sure that most of us can't benefit the maximum % from most of these items. But some of us can probably stand to improve a few of these items.
A typical American drives 12,000 miles a year and their car gets 20 MPG. So if gasoline is $3.50 a gallon then typical Americans spend $2,100 a year on gas. (12000/20 * 3.5)
If you increased your MPG by just 10% then you'd lower that cost to $1,909 (12000/22 *3.5) and save yourself $191 per year on gas.