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

Fuel Economy Series Part 1

by Tim Joseph

Over the next few weeks I’m going to be writing a lot about fuel economy. Traditionally, gas is at its highest prices in the summer months when most people are traveling. It seems to spike even higher during holidays like July4th. With the 4th less than a month away, gas prices are expected to go up to $150 per barrel which is about $20 more than they are now. Today the gas station I pass on the way in to work had 87 octane for $4.05. At Dick Scott we have several high mileage vehicles that will get you where you want to go for a whole lot less. Vehicles like the Nissan Versa or the Kia Rio. I’ll tell you a lot more about those vehicles as we progress in the series but for now let’s talk about fuel economy in general.

FuelEconomy.gov is a great reasource for everything fuel related. Do yourself a favor and download the Fuel Economy Guide for 2008. A lot changed in the way fuel economy was calculated in 2008 so if you bought your car in 2007 you may want to see what has changed. You car hasn’t changed but the new testing may give you a more accurate look at where your money is going.

One thing of interest on this website is the section about “Find Your Car’s EnergyImpact Score“. This made me think of a good friend of mine who had a 2005 Ford F-150 w/ the big 5.4L V8 engine. He drove around 15,000 mile per year. He traded it in for a Versa, admitting that there was no need to have such a big vehicle. I did a side by side comparison between the 05 F-150 and the 07 Versa and here is what I found:

	Versa	Ford F-150
Cost To Drive 25 Miles	$3.52	$7.04
Fuel To Drive 25 Miles	0.89 per gallon	1.79 per gallon
Cost to fill up	$26.81	$126.55
Mile on a tank	333	450
Tank Size	13.2 gallons	35.7 gallons
Annual Fuel Cost	$2110	$4220

Not only did Derek lower his payment a couple hundred dollars a month on his payment (even more on insurance) but he cut his gas bill in half! If you are considering a Nissan Versa or any one of Dick Scott’s high mileage vehicles, please compare your vehicle to the new one to see how much you’ll save. Now that’s being frugal!

Dick Scott Kia – 800-730-9872
Dick Scott Nissan – 800-504-8536
Dick Scott Dodge – 800-571-6906
Dick Scott Motormall – 800-486-2415