Obama Tire Guage Energy Plan

Barack Obama just suggested that Americans can help conserve energy by inflating their tires. The McCain campaign is making a bit of a joke from this suggestion. In fact, this morning the McCain campaign distributed tire pressure guages to reporers and emailed supporters offering them “Obama Energy Plan” tire pressure guages if they donate $25.

Is this whole tie pressure bit just a lot of hot air? Not really…although it won’t be a major solution to our energy problem, little things do help. Keeping tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage 3-4% resulting in a savings of about twelve cents a gallon, according to the overnment’sd website www.fueleconomy.gov

According to the Energy Information Administration, in the US we consume 9,286,000 barrels/day (390 million gallons/day) of gasoline. Three percent of that consumption is a savings of 11.7 million gallons a day. Here’s some interesting related stats:

Consumers would spend 46.8 million dollars less a day for gas (assuming $4 per gallon price)..so that’s 1.7 billion dollars a year less that consumers would be spending on gas that could be spent elsewhere in the economy! Interesting numbers…the fact is that we’re consuming so much oil that even a minor savings can mean a substantial dollar impact!

No, I think Obama’s point about inflating our tires was presented incorrectly (at least in tone) as a major solution to our problem, but it has a bigger dollar impact than many of us might think! Don’t these dollar numbers surprise you? Of course, to get 100% of Americans to inflate their tires (or do anything) is unrealistic..but even if half of the population did it, the impact could still be helpful.

Scooter buying tips

Have you ever considered using a scooter sometimes to help reduce the amount of money you spend on gas?

According to dictionary.com, a scooter is “a child’s vehicle that typically has two wheels with a low footboard between them, is steered by a handlebar, and is propelled by pushing one foot against the ground while resting the other on the footboard.Also called motor scooter. a similar but larger and heavier vehicle for adults, having a saddlelike seat mounted on the footboard and being propelled by a motor.

Here’s some tips for buying a motor scooter:

1. Where will you drive it? Will you only be driving it locally or will you be driving on more high traffic roads? This will help you determine how fast you need the scooter to go.
2. How much weight do you plan to carry? Will you be the only person on the scooter or do you plan to take a passenger? You need to consider weight in order to check the specifications of what wieghts your scooter can carry.
3. Which scooter should I buy? Much of this is personal opinion. To help you check out some of the manufacturers, we’ve listed some of the manufaccturers with links to their sites.
4. Drive safe! Before you start driving, take a motorcycle driver training course even if it isn’t required by law.
5. Get insurance just like yu buy insurance for your car
6. Consider getting an alarm for your scooter to protect it from being stolen.

As part of my continuing series of buying tips, we’ll share other scooter buying tips in the future. As promised, here’s a list of links to scooter manufacturers:

Aprilia Scooters

Piaggio Scooters

Honda Scooters

Suzuki Scooters

Vespa Scooters

Schwinn Scooters

Yamaha Scooters

55 miles per hour returning?

Remember when the maximum speed limit was 55? That was way back in 1974 when the nation faced the Arab oil embargo….Gee, why didn’t we become more proactive about energy independence back then? Good question, right!

In 1995, we were permitted to “put the pedal to the metal” again and the 55 mph limit was dropped…Deja vu—-well requiring us to drive no more than 55 is back on the table again in Congress.

In a recent discussion, Republican Senator John Warner from Virginia asked Energy Secretary Sam Bodman to caclulate how much we would save at 55 mph- when enacted in the past the savings was 167-thousand barrels of oil a day. Savings could be greater today.

What do you think? Should Congress re-enact the reduced speed limit? You know, besides saving gas, it would save lives as well…

Here’s some related stories:

Hyper-milers draft illegally

My last post was about reducing wind resistance to increase gas mileage by adding a device to improve the wind contour of your car. This morning I learned of a crazy and highly illegal approach that hypermilers (those who strive to get the best gas mileage) are using. Police are writing tickets for hypermilers who are “drafting.” Drafting is the illegal practice of tailgating big rigs in the hopes of cutting wind resistance.

Road Trip! How to Save Gas During Summer Vacation

Yes, practicing hyper-miling (the art of wringing every last drop from your gas tank) can save you money. Also yes, hyper-miling can put you in the hospital. To be a successful hyper-miler you have to take some risks—like drafting …

Pain at the pump, and steps we can take now to reduce it

Recently I heard about a driving style called ‘hypermiling’ which is a set of techniques people can use to dramatically increase their gas mileage. Google “hypermiling” and you’ll get a laundry list of websites, some better than others. …

Beat High Gas Prices By Hypermiling

Some of the tips to improve your gas mileage are well known, such as pumping up your tires to its maximum rating on their sidewalls, changing your air filter at least once a year and not driving above the speed limit. …

AAA Identifies Dangerous Hypermiling Techniques

How do you feel about hypermiling safety? Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire. Tags: coasting, drafting a semi, fuel-efficiency, hypermiling safety, lighter weight oil, mpg, overinflating your tires, safety. Share This.

Air drags down mileage

You may have never thought about this but how efficiently your car moves through the air can impact your miles per gallon. For example, if you have a roof rack on your car and don’t need it, take the rack off because that rack will cause your miles per gallon to drop. In fact, there are products on the market you can add to your car to make it move with less “drag” on the car. You may have seen large trucks with pieces added to the truck’s body to make it fuel efficient. Yesterday I learned from the owner of a local outdoor/sporting goods store that you can buy pieces to attach to your car to make it move more efficiently with less drag. One of the products is called air buds.

Bottom line, don’t keep racks on your car when you don’t need them! And consider adding a component to your car to cause it to move through the air with less drag.

Here’s some related stories:

Better MPG thru AERODYNAMICS….all the COOL kids are doing it!!!!

There are a couple of things we as commuters can do to increase our MPG by decreasing our cars drag coefficient. Roof racks, ugly wings, and huge body kits; really hinder the movement of air around your car….so get rid of those things. …

What Do Roof Racks, Ugly Body Kits, and Dragster Style Aluminum …

All those little Honda Civics running around with ugly unpainted body kits and huge dragster style aluminum wings….are killing the great gas mileage those little cars were born to get! And Please I Beg You!!!!……just save up your money …

Frugal Friday: Saving Gas

Rolling down the window creates drag and will cause your engine to work harder. Use the vents on the car air conditioner instead. * When you’re driving, avoid quick starts. Accelerating slowly can improve your gas mileage. …

Who Wants To Use Less Gas?

Cargo or cargo racks on top of your vehicle (eg, cargo boxes, canoes, etc.) increase aerodynamic drag and lower fuel economy. When it comes to mileage, a major issue is air flow. The fewer things blocking the air passage, the better. …

$11 worth of mods plus new tires - Car and Driver improves MPG by 25%

Fuel is burned to overcome two predominant forces: rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag. At highway speeds, aero drag dominates, and that’s where Car and Driver spent most of its effort - and the $11 for supplies. Mod #1: Front air …

How Can Truck Bed Covers Help Save Gas And Transform Your Truck

This could easily save several miles from your gas mileage every time you use your truck. These types of covers also provide extra gas mileage by reducing the air drag that is exacerbated by the truck bed - an aerodynamic nightmare. …

Book on better gas mileage

I just came across a book on improving gas mileage and thought you might find it helpful.

Irrational about gas?

I stopped by a nearb outdoor sporting goods supplier’s store yesterday to get my car outfitted to carry my sailboat and I began to speak with the owner. He pointed out that some folks are now towing their boats with a motorcycle instead of a van to save money. In fact companies are making boat trailers exactly for the reason of allowing motorcycle towing.

This same store owner at the store called Helisport added something he was doing about the high price of gas. He told me he had adapted his car engine to give him 60 miles a gallon. I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to get the details but his approach about the gas price got me to thinking about how other folks are dealing with the gas crisis.

I  learned today from CNN Money that folks in California were driving to Mexico to get cheaper gas even though if one considers lost time and the wear and tear on the car it didn’t make sense. Another story was told about how people are trading in their SUVs less than three years old even though SUV resale value is extremely low- another irrational gas decision.

On the CNN Money show today, CNN’s guest Daniele Arriele, behavioral ecomomist, spoke about irrational behavior on the part of consumers as it relates to money. He recently published a book called “Predictably Irrational“. (By the way, you can find an interview with Arriele from Amazon, by clicking here.

In thinking about how you are reacting about gas prices and how your friends have been acting, share some stories and tell me if you think the stories are rational or not.

See a related story from the Fayetteville NC observer where Arriele is interviewed about gas prices. In this article, Arrelle says he doesn’t see comsumers making major changes because of gas prices.

Learn about van pooling

Car pooling….van pooling…what’s the difference? Frankly, I don’t know. When I think of van pooling, I first just think of a big van with everyone sharing in the cost. I also think of a group of people jointly paying a commercial limousine service to haul them to work. Car pooling, van pooling, any kind of vehicle pooling is just a downright good idea with the high price for gas!

Here’s some related articles about van pooling:

Pumping Up Your Employees: No Rah-Rah, Just Help With Gas

There has been an increase in the use of van pools, car pooling, and even riding bikes and walking to work has increased. (I saw a guy the other day riding a bike who was so large you know he would not normally ride. But there he was, …

The difficulty of getting riders into the pool

telecommuting, ride sharing and van pooling. He made a similar pitch to business, starting with board members at the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. But it’s going to take more than some prodding from the …

Your Driving Costs- More reasons to Vanpool!

… get from point A to point B and places in between, the brochure offers tips for saving money and even budgeting for vacation. Click here for a link to the brochure, more of a reason to van pool. http://www.aaapublicaffairs.com.main.

Car Van Pooling

Car van pooling is the practice of sharing a vehicle either a car or a van among many people, usually while going to work. It is also known as car sharing, ride sharing or lift sharing. Car van pooling is popular among the office goers …

Blog Listings

Car pooling- why not now?

I don’t know about you but as I keep seeing the price of gas rise, I keeping thinking about finally getting serious about car pooling. Some ideas I had for car pooling include:

• Ask my company for help in finding me someone who commutes to the office and lives in my area;
• Approaching the owner of the office building where I work to launch a car pooling program for everyone who works there;
• Searching for web sites that help you find someone to car pool with. I know some government agencies have sites like this.

Reasons to Carpool

I understand the annoyances of carpooling. Right now I work from home, but for a couple of years I carpooled to work with my husband. While it was fun to have someone share the driving with and to talk with on the ride in, …

Interest in mass transit, carpools, scooters jumps

Paul Dorn says traffic almost tripled on his two websites that offer commuter tips for bicyclists — from 7893 in April 2007 to 21580 last month. Many visitors cite gas prices, he says. • Interest in vanpools is growing. …

Look, if you and two other people shared a ride to work, you’d cut your gas costs to 1/3 of what you were paying. I’m thinking to myself about now “Car pool now stupid!”

Here’s some related articles about car pooling:

Transit use up

From what I’m hearing here in the New York area, public transportation use is up more than ever. I’m sure that’s true- or will be- across the country. I don’t know about outside of the New York area, but many companies have programs where you get partially reimbursed when you use public transportation. I think we’ll see growing use of programs where corporations help cover public transportation costs. I’m not aware of how these programs work totally but I’m guessing the corporations get some kind of taHx benefit from offering these programs. Here’s more on the use of public transportation — The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced today that Americans took 2.6 billion trips on public transportation in the first three months of 2008. Light rail (modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys) had the highest percentage of ridership increase among all modes, with a double digit 10.3 percent increase for the first quarter. The heavy rail systems with the highest increases in ridership for the 2008 first quarter were in the following cities: Staten Island, NY (12.3%); Boston (8.8%); Jersey City, NJ (6.5%); Los Angeles (5.4%); New York City (5%); Baltimore (4.9%); and San Francisco (4.5%). Bus travel in all size communities saw ridership increases; communities with a population of less than 100,000 had a 7.8% increase. For more on public transportation, check of the American Public Transportation Association’s web site- click here.

Here’s more related stories:

The Bloody Consequences of Higher Gas Prices - In the first three months of 2008, 2.6 billion trips were taken on public transportation in the US, a 3 percent increase over the first quarter of 2007, according to the American Public Transportation Association.” … More People Using Public Transportation Nationwide - Transit operators expect the increase to be greater in the second quarter as gasoline prices soar. A report set for release today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) shows trips on public transit January-March rose … Changed Your Commute to Save Gas? You May Save on Insurance, Too - With gasoline prices rocketing past $4 per gallon, record numbers of California commuters are turning to public transportation to ease the fuel crunch. But they may not realize that a change of commute may save more than just their gas … Transit ridership continues to soar - … coming up for renewal, we must allocate maximum resources to improving public transportation capacity. light rail in San Diego (by: paulkimo9; creative commons license) All this has everything to do with gasoline prices, of course. …

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