Fuel Economy Series Part 2

by Tim Joseph

I'm all about fuel economy lately. Even though I live close to work I managed to save $4 in gas last week and hope to do at least that or better this coming week.

FuelEconomy.Gov is an excellent place to calculate and plan for better savings at the pump. On the bottom left hand corver of the page I discovered the "My MPG..." sections. In this section you can put your own vehicle in and track your gas usage. I clicked on View MPG Estimates from Drivers Like You and selected the 2007 Kia Rio. This gave me a list of other people and what kind of mileage they are getting. One user was averaging 35mpg while the other was averaging 32.9. Your mileage will differ based on yor driving habits of course. I drive a vehicle with a manual transmission and have been shifting at 2,000 rpms. I'm going slower but saving a lot of gas. It is very exciting to see that you can save money that way.

I read somewhere that following too closely to the vehicle ahead of you causes you to hit the breaks more often. Not only is it dangerous but it causes you to brake and accelerate more which costs you money at the pump. I'll be giving you more tips and techniques like this as I test them and as the series progresses.

If you're interested in a Kia Rio or Rio5 please contact Dick Scott Nissan at 800-730-9872