Besides changing driving habits, what can I do to improve vehicle fuel efficiency?
Maintain your vehicle. Have your car tuned regularly and keep tires properly inflated. An engine tune-up can improve car fuel economy by an average of one mile per gallon; under-inflated tires can reduce it by that amount. Also, less use of your air conditioner can improve fuel economy by as much as two miles per gallon. Does it make a difference what car I drive? More fuel-efficient vehicles can save gasoline. A highly fuel-efficient vehicle could potentially cut gasoline use in half or more. How much depends on the vehicle and driving habits and needs. If a less fuel-efficient car requires 20 gallons of gasoline a week compared with 10 gallons for a highly fuel-efficient vehicle, more than 500 gallons of gasoline could be saved annually. What about ethanol? Ethanol, which is often blended in gasoline, contains less energy per gallon than gasoline. However, a 10-percent or less ethanol blend would have only a slight impact on fuel efficiency. According to U.S. Department of Energy and