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.

Motor manufacturers have picked up on public need for more fuel-efficient cars and a desire to save money on fuel costs. There is also growing environmental awareness and a need to reduce our carbon footprints. This, along with years of research, has lead to the development of the super mini class of car that i cheap to run.

Engines Smaller Than a Motorcycle

The new super mini class of car is taking this new engine technology to the limit in terms of engine size, with some new models clocking in at 800cc or less. That’s smaller by far than many motor cycles!

Combining a smaller engine with a more compact car all round, and paying attention to issues relating to fuel efficiency, such as aerodynamics and drag, these manufacturers have built models that save money on fuel costs with every mile you drive. Yet they still provide impressive performance, with top speeds in the region of 100 miles per hour.

In fact, with one of these new super minis, it’s not even necessary to learn how to save on fuel costs. They give you fuel savings right from the get-go. However, if combine one of these small cars with other fuel saving tactics like driving smoothly to save fuel, car pooling and making sure your car is always in top condition, you would save even more on fuel consumption.

Small Cars and Hybrids

While these little super mini cars may be dominating the conventional engine market, its hybrids, like Toyota’s Prius and Honda’s Civic that are really dominating in the mid sized market!

Both of these have been tested, and had fuel economy scores of over 40, even for town driving! With their hybrid conventional / electric engines, they are able to outperform even some of the tiniest engines out there!

This is the future of automobiles – developing cars that save fuel. Giving customers the choice to buy cars that offer better long-term value for money. In addition, with ongoing research into alternative fuels, prompted by the realization that fossil fuel supplies are not infinite, and that burning them is damaging our planet. Soon, we may be able to choose between a host of other vehicle fuel options, such as solar power, biofuel or even water, in addition to electric hybrid cars.

Ford, Mazda and Mercury are just some of the manufacturers that have released their own hybrid vehicles and models, which, although not outdoing the cars that get 40 mpg or more, these do fall into the most respectable category of vehicles that get more than 30 mpg.

Alternative Transport

However, with consumers becoming more aware of fuel efficiency, either due to economic reasons, where the global recession is forcing commuters to save money on fuel costs, or due to environmental concerns, which leads them to seek out better fuel economy options, with a view to helping save the planet, there are more options out there.

For example, almost any motor cycle or moped out there would offer better fuel efficiency that just about any model of car on the market. In fact, in some countries, where the global economic crisis has hit particularly hard, it’s not unheard of to find professionals trading in their car, or keeping it for weekends. Instead they purchase a motorcycle or moped because they are very light on fuel and very easy to park almost anywhere.

There are many alternatives to high gas mileage cars, but if you have a family to transport, it may be your best option!

Of course, there is always public transport as an option too. If your job or school is on a bus route, or nearby a train station, it may be worth your while to investigate this option. It will certainly save money, and more people using public transport systems means less traffic and congestion, which is better for the environment!

The Hyper-Milers

The Hyper-Miler is a whole new subset of driver that has developed, drivers who know how to save on fuel costs by driving to save fuel. And save they do. While the Prius’s tested fuel efficiency, clocking in at over 40 mpg on average is impressive, it has nothing compared to what a hyper-miler can do knowing how to save money on fuel!

The record for getting more mpg was set in a Prius, which produced an amazing 109 miles per gallon! That is more than double the EPA tested average!

And when you consider that well known hyper-milers like Wayne Gerdes can coax even a Honda Accord to nearly sixty miles per gallon, it becomes clear that it is not only about what car you drive, but also how you drive it that allows you to save money.

There are high gas mileage cars, and there are high gas mileage drivers. One can cancel out the other if not careful… Or, if they work together in harmony, they become an unbeatable combination to save you fuel and money.