While that is certainly a great idea, to allow you to choose a car that offers better fuel economy, it is not the only time you should be using a gas mileage calculator. Here are a few good reasons to keep on checking that you are getting more miles to the gallon!

Mileage Diagnostics

If your car is not in great shape, it is unlikely to save fuel. In fact, a car that is mechanically unsound will almost certainly cost more in terms of fuel consumption. Checking that your gas mileage is similar to when you first bought your car is a very good way to find out whether there is anything wrong with your car, without visiting a mechanic.

Even if your car is regularly serviced, small problems like clogged air filters, flat tires or a host of other minor issues can mean that your car, which falls into, for example, the category of cars that get more 30 mpg or more, may be giving you far less for your money. Not paying attention, and not checking consumption will end up costing you far more, and may mean a serious problem goes unnoticed!

If you check your gas mileage regularly, and notice a sharp increase in your fuel consumption, you will be alerted that you need to take a trip to the auto shop for a check up!

Change in Driving Patterns

Let us say, for example, that you change your route to work, or start leaving to take the kids to work at a different time. You might not notice it, but a change in driving habits can have a big impact on your cars fuel efficiency! Even if you are driving to save fuel, small changes like these can have a big impact.

The best idea is to check your fuel economy / miles per gallon before you try to change your habits, and again after. If you get more mpg with your new route or driving habits, then great. But if not, you may want to consider having a re-think!

Check Your Driving Habits

With the EPAís new gas mileage calculations based on more realistic data, it is easier than ever to check whether your driving habits are allowing you to save money on fuel costs, or costing you more.

If your fuel consumption is about the same, or better than the EPA standards, then you are fine. But if they are worse, you may want to consider learning how to really save fuel, including, perhaps, some of the following tactics:

• First and most obviously, check for fuel leaks. Perished hoses or faulty seals can cause a huge loss in fuel, through leaking or evaporation!
• Driving less aggressively. Not breaking or accelerating suddenly.
• Sticking to the speed limit. Driving excessively fast uses more fuel.
• Not overloading your vehicle, and removing heavy items before driving if you do not need them.
• Planning your trips to accomplish multiple tasks, or combining resources, by car-pooling.

Car Modifications

These days, it is not uncommon to make certain changes to a vehicle, whether cosmetic or mechanical. If you have made a change to your car, it may be a good idea to check whether you are having a positive or a negative effect on your car.

It may surprise you, but even leaving your engine standard and simply making changes to the look of your car, such as adding a body kit or wing can change the aerodynamics of your car, and you may end up paying much more for your daily commute than you used to!

Again, check your fuel consumption before, and after making changes to your carís body or engine, and make sure you are still saving on fuel! There is no point buying fuel economy cars, and then changing things and counteracting the fuel saving effect!

Where to Find Gas Mileage Calculators

When on the lookout for a good gas mileage calculator, your first stop should be the EPAís website, which will allow you to look up your carís make, model, and year, and give you the average fuel consumption statistics for your car.

Once you know what you should be getting in terms of fuel economy / miles per gallon, you have a reference point. Now it is time to find a fuel use calculator. The internet is a good resource, and you can either download software or an excel based spreadsheet, or use an online version. There are even versions available for mobile devices, such as cell phones and PDAís.

There are also offline versions though, in case you do not have access to the internet, or want to check consumption while on a long trip. These stand-alone gadgets can be very helpful in making sure you save fuel, and alerting you to any potential problems. Some even offer more detailed information, relating to your car, which can go a long way in improving your car’s condition, and your overall fuel savings.

Whatever option you choose, if you are serious getting more mpg, it makes sense to keep an eye on your fuel consumption. A mileage calculator is a great way to do that.

So, have a look at your options, choose one (or more) that work for you, and make sure you increase fuel economy with everything you do!

Who is the EPA?

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is a US Government body, tasked with assessing possible and actual environmental issues that affect our environment, and indirectly, we the people who live in that environment.

The organization has been around for a while – since 1970 in fact – but increased environmental awareness has lead to their activity building up over time.

Why Is the New Formula Necessary?

Before the new EPA formula came into play, many vehicles used to be rated with a far better mpg than they could ever achieve under real driving conditions. This was because the formula used failed to take into account real driving conditions and issues, such as speeding, cold weather and aggressive driving, all of which impact on fuel economy (your miles per gallon).

Improving the way that average miles per gallon information is calculated means that you are better able to make good choices when buying a vehicle. You save money on fuel costs and, hopefully, will have less impact on the environment.

How Does This Help You?

Well, by having more accurate information regarding fuel consumption on easy to read stickers in the windows of all new cars and trucks sold in the US, consumers can now shop according to their requirements. For instance, you can now easily find, for example, cars that get 30 mpg or more, or even cars that get more than 40 mpg, and make a selection from those “pre qualified” candidates.

Making this information freely available to the public, by an unbiased third party, means that consumers can choose cars that will really save fuel.

What Other Information Does the EPA Provide?

Aside from the new EPA gas mileage statistics on every car, a visit to the  EPA website is worthwhile if better fuel economy is high on your list of requirements for your car, or even to check data on your existing vehicle.

Among the information offered on the site is a fuel consumption calculator, that allows you to search based on make, model and year, and provides average fuel consumption data. This can help you to check whether you are driving to save fuel, or even if your car could do with maintenance and repair.

The site also has a section for the greenest vehicles. These are the best fuel economy car, truck and vehicle statistics, and are a great resource when buying a new car.

What Information is Included

When running a search on the EPA site, you can make a comparison between two models, again useful if you are upgrading. You can also calculate the running costs for a year, based on an average of 15000 miles per year.

Information on where specific car models are sold, the emissions of those models, and many other useful pieces of information are included. This helps you to not only choose a car that will save money on fuel, but it let you know where to buy one, and how much of an environmental impact your choice will have.

What Else Can You Do

Once you have used the EPA site’s data to choose and purchase a new vehicle, which offers more miles per gallon as a standard, there are other ways you can improve this. So you can further improve gas mileage, and really save fuel.

When considering the fuel efficiency and emissions problem from all angles, whether it be finding cars that save fuel when buying, checking emissions to find out what your environmental impact is, or choosing a car that provides the best of both worlds, the new EPA gas mileage calculator, and indeed the whole website, is certainly a great resource.

Fuel-efficient cars save you, the driver money, and the environment in terms of less consumption of finite fossil fuel resources, and probably a lower emissions score. So if you are in the market for a new vehicle, or you want to find out more about your existing car, pay the EPA website a visit, and check how your wheels stack up.

Make informed choices, learn how to save on fuel costs, find out how alternative fuels can help you save money or emissions, and start making a difference, and saving money by getting more mpg out of your car or truck today.

The diesel engine has had an extreme makeover, and, with proper maintenance over the years, a modern car diesel engine will provide you with years of hassle-free service, while also giving you better fuel efficiency than a regular auto.

It’s interesting to note that, on the whole, Europe and Asia are far more fuel-efficient than the United States. So it’s not by coincidence that most European cars are powered by diesel fuel and not by gasoline. In terms of fuel economy, diesel almost always takes the blue ribbon.

Environmentally Friendly Options

One of the main reasons why diesel has not enjoyed mainstream popularity in the US, is that most European-produced models, which certainly offering better fuel economy, do not meet with American emissions requirements.

That’s a pity because diesel certainly returns more mpg than gasoline does.

Advances in alternative fuels have lead to the creation of bio diesel fuel which, in one master stroke, solves many of the environmental and fossil fuel supply problems. Instead of using crude oil to produce this fuel, the process makes use of organic material, such as sugar and corn crops, to produce the fuel.

These plant materials are chemically converted to short-chain methyl or ethyl, and the resulting fuel is blended with conventional diesel in varying grades or mix ratios. You can even use this biodiesel in your diesel car on its own and without any major changes to the vehicle’s engine. Cars and even large, heavy vehicles, like buses and trucks, have successfully run on biodiesel without any ill effects.

A similar process exists for the gasoline market, called gasification. This which uses any carbon-based material to create a synthetic gasoline alternative. However, its application is far less wide spread, and it may take quite a while longer before it reaches mainstream markets.

Just How More Efficient are we Talking?

Well, when we look at energy efficiency, diesel engines clock in at 45%, which 15% better than a gasoline driven engines’ 30%. This is why diesel gas mileage is almost always better, and that is a rather large difference to sweep under the carpet and ignore.

Diesel engines provide up to 40% more miles per gallon than gasoline engines, so, while diesel fuel may be slightly more costly at the pump, in the long run, there are excellent savings on overall fuel expenditure.

While gasoline engine manufacturers rarely produce cars that get 40 mpg or more, diesel engines, such as the diminutive Smart ForFour, offer almost 70 mpg, using a turbo-charged 3-cylinder engine. And this stumpy little car is no slouch in the performance department either! Produced by Daimler Chrysler, it’s managed to break through the stringent emissions laws in the US, and is now sold through a single agent in that country.

However, the ForFour is not the all-time diesel fuel efficiency champion! The Lupo, by a European car manufacturing giant which ceased production in 2005, could squeeze out a very-impressive 78 miles per gallon!

Why Diesel Engines Are More Efficient

Diesel engines that are heavier than their gasoline counterparts, yet they still have better fuel efficiency than gas engines. How can this be?

It is a combination of two critical factors. Firstly, diesel engines produce higher compression than gasoline engines. Secondly, diesel has a 10 – 20% higher energy content per unit than gasoline. It’s this combination of better, more powerful engines, and more energy potential, that creates a more fuel-efficient engine.

Comparing another European model, the Skoda Octavia, in its gasoline and diesel formats, illustrates this point well – this model, gets around 38 miles per gallon from its gasoline engine and 53 miles per gallon from the diesel engine!

With differences like these, it’s easy to wonder why more people aren’t choosing and driving diesel cars!

The Final Verdict

It is clear, from this information, that driving a diesel vehicle almost guarantees more miles per gallon than sticking to the conventional gasoline version. In addition, bear in mind that these are proven, recorded results.

If combined with other ways to save money on fuel, like driving to save fuel, coasting to save fuel, careful route planning, car-pooling and making sure your car is in good repair. Even just checking that your tires are correctly inflated, your mpg savings could be improved even more. It’s like money in the bank.

Diesel gas mileage is better than gasoline. The cars are simply more fuel-efficient. They also offer the potential for using bio diesel fuel instead of fossil-fuel diesel. And diesel automobiles or trucks can do this with little or no modifications to the standard factory-production engines, making them much more environmentally friendly too.

All round, the diesel engine seems to take the prize as the best choice, and so, when you next are in the market for a new car, don’t dismiss the diesel versions as noisy, smoky menaces. They are not. They  had a face-lift, remember, and they’re now on par with their gasoline siblings in terms of performance.

And when it comes round to trying to save money on auto fuel costs, you could not make a better choice than a modern diesel vehicle. They are a most fuel efficient car for today’s motorist.

There are numerous reasons why buying a car with better fuel economy is important, and here are just a few!

Fuel Efficient Cars Save You Money

The average American mid sized car travels between 21 and 27 mpg, which is not bad in terms of fuel economy. Compare that to an average sized SUV, which gets between 13 and 16 mpg, and you can easy see that you will be paying a lot more if you opt for a car with a higher fuel consumption!

Even if both vehicles cost the same to purchase, in the long term, you would save money on fuel. In fact, if using the average of these two sets of figures, and driving exactly the same distance, you would save around 40%, just by getting more mpg. Make sure you compare gas mileage before you buy, and reap the benefits!

If you combine this saving with another strategy to save fuel consumption, such as starting a car pool to get to work, or at your children’s school, your savings would certainly add up! So, if you are in the market for a new car, or just looking for ways to save money on fuel, comparing fuel consumption when making a purchasing decision makes good sense!

The Global Economy is Oil Based

Whether we like it or not, the global economy is based on the cost of oil, which is used to produce gas, or petrol, and diesel. The reason for this is that oil is one area where it has always been a sellers market.

The huge global demand for oil, and oil based products, puts all at the mercy of the few oil producers out there. Consider this however – there are currently around 6.5 billion people on the planet. If each and every one of those people made an effort to save fuel, either by buying one of the fuel-efficient cars that save fuel, the reduction in demand would be enormous!

A reduced demand for fossil fuels, or, even better, a more concerted effort by consumers to switch to more environmentally friendly, organic alternatives, such as bio diesel or ethanol, would certainly send a strong message to the oil companies, that we, as the consumer, are no longer willing to be at the mercy of suppliers with their own, capitalist agendas.

More reasonable fuel rates, which could be a possible outcome, would in turn affect the cost of every single consumer product on the market. Consider that every single item we purchase is transported from the raw material manufacturer, to the processing plant, to a warehouse, and then to a store, before it ever reaches our house. If those transporters were using less expensive fuel, or even better, using fuel-efficient vehicles, the cost of transport, and the final price of the product on the shelf in the store, would be reduced.

Making a concerted effort to buy cars that get more miles per gallon, effectively, if practiced by everyone, would take a little bit of power away from the oil companies, and give it back to the consumer. Now isn’t that a nice thought?

If the economy is not enough of a reason to change your consumption habits, consider that the fossil fuel supply is finite. We are reaching a point where the end of that supply is in sight. One day soon, there will be no more petroleum, or diesel, and we will have no choice but to seek alternative energy.

Fuel Efficient Cars Are Better for the Planet

The last, and possibly most compelling reason, to choose a car that gets more mpg, is that the burning of fossil fuels is slowly but surely causing our planet to heat up, with catastrophic results not too far in the future.

Recent reports, in fact, have shown that permafrost, the material that currently keeps a far more dangerous greenhouse gas – methane – imprisoned in ice is beginning to melt. The more fossil fuels we burn, the more greenhouse gases escape into our atmosphere, and the hotter the world gets, in turn melting more methane from its protective casing.

As a direct result of our global fuel consumption, and the by products, we are silently and almost imperceptibly altering our global climate, and the more it changes, the faster the process will become.

Results of global climate change are being seen everywhere, with catastrophic weather being the most obvious and alarming indication of this change. Higher temperatures, and the resulting more erratic weather patterns are already causing events such as storms, hurricanes, and tsunamis. These will increase, with growing frequency and intensity, directly proportionate to the planets temperature. In short, if we want to have a habitable planet in the future, we need to pay attention now, and decrease our fossil fuel consumption.

Governments around the world are already taking notice of this, with measures such as the Kyoto Protocol having been put in place to stem the industrial flow of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. Worls authorities and scientists also been looking at – and implementing – alternative methods of energy production, such as solar and wind power. And your piece of this puzzle? You can help by reducing your personal fuel consumption, and your overall carbon footprint.

So what should we do? Learn how to save fuel costs. Compare gas mileage before buying, drive a car with better fuel consumption, and help make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren to live in.