Fuel Economy Gas Savings

There is a great article in the "Arizona Republic" about improving your gas mileage. The interesting thing is that Jim Stack is pictured with the Article. He was the guest on
"Frank Auto Advice" last Saturday, April 26th. We spoke of the hybrid, hydrogen and all electric cars. Anything but the standard gasoline powered car most of us drive every day.

Since the advent of the instant MPG readings in cars, I have tried to get the number as high as possible. I remember reading a book about driving many years ago. The chapter I remember spoke of driving a limousine. The aim was to drive as if your passenger had a full glass of champagne on the tray in the back compartment. You didn't want to spill a drop, this meant easy acceleration and braking. Just what this article recommends to get better mileage. I know that the a car driven by one person can achieve more or less MPG when driven by someone else, it has to do with a persons style of driving.

I read that Nissan is having a problem selling the Titan trucks and the Armadas. Ford, Chevy and Dodge have also reported that truck and SUV sales are down. Could this have to do with gas mileage?

I know that we are seeing people who want to trade the gas guzzlers for something that gets better MPG. They say that history repeats itself. I remember in the gas crunch days of the 70's that the car companies cut back on the large cars and ramped up on the smaller more fuel efficient cars. In the past 7 or 8 years I have noticed that even the small economy cars have grown in size and weight. The Sentra has grown from 2392 lbs in 1999 to 2513 in 2006. The Tacoma pu has grown from 2580 lbs in 1999 to 3180lbs in 2006. The public wants the luxury and size but can't pay for the fuel to run it.

I like the Europen system of car design and manufacture. There are no cafe standards to deal with, they manufacture the cars that people want to buy. In Europe people have been paying $4.00 per gallon or more for years. The pocketbook helps decide what someone will buy. They still have the gas guzzlers for those who want and can afford to drive them, but the government doesn't dictate what they have to build.

I know that the trend will now be toward downsizing the cars again, I wish they would get the cars that run on other than gasoline, then the problems would be over.