First of all, let’s make sure you haven’t missed any of the quick and simple strategies to get better miles per gallon (mpg), whether your vehicle runs on gas or deisel.

Our tips to save gas include the following checklist for better vehicle gas mileage:

• Cut out unnecessary journeys. If you only need to drive two blocks or less than a mile (1.6 kms) then give serious consideration to walking instead. You will also improve your fitness!
• Do your shopping less often. Organize to save staples by stocking up your kitchen larder and fridge.
• Pitch-in with a neighbor or friend, and be willing to shop for some of their groceries and they can do the same for you… Like maybe you pick up fresh bread, milk and fruit on Tuesdays and they cover Thursdays for you. It saves gas and can deepen friendships as well! It could also be possible to form a neighborhood Co-Op, where all the people in several households share chores. Try it out and encourage others to get interested as well.
• Make sure your car or truck has the correct air pressure in all of its tires (tyres in UK/AU) before you drive. Tires that are under-inflated (too soft) will have too much “give” as you drive, and this softness causes more friction. That extra friction is wasted energy that burns more of your precious fuel. Tires that are over-inflated (too hard) will save gas – at least a little bit – but the rubber tread will wear out more in the center.
• Remove any unnecessary weight that you’ve been carrying every day in the car. Check your car boot (trunk) for any tools or equipment you never use. It’s all excess weight, and that reduces your mpg (or litres/km in some countries). Eliminate the waste and again you’ll get better mileage/Kms and be saving gas money.
• If you have roof bars or a roof rack bolted to the top of your car, consider unbolting them and storing them in your garage until you need them for your next vacation. The roof bar causes more friction with air flowing over the shape of your vehicle. Cutting down on this unwanted friction will give your car or truck more improvements in vehicle gas mileage as well.

These are all little things, but they all add up to helping you save gas. But wait. Here are more gas saving tips for you. Get better mpg.

• Have the radiator flushed and fresh coolant added. Many people will be able to do this themselves, and it will improve engine efficiency by making sure your car’s motor doesn’t overheat. Don’t forget to use antifreeze, not water, if you have cold winters!
• Get your engine oil changed. This is simple enough for most people. Make sure your car’s engine is warm, so the oil will flow easily. Remove the bolt under the oil sump and drain it into an oil pan. Pour the dirty oil into an empty oil can and dispose of the oil responsibly … take it to the recycling facility. Replace the bolt plug and tighten it securely. Add new oil to the engine and check the level using the car’s dipstick. If you forget to tighten the oil plug bolt it will fall out while you’re driving, your oil will pour out, and you will destroy the engine. I had a lazy mechanic do this to me a few years ago.
• Some cars have a selection button which reads Power or Economy. If yours has one of these switches, then choose Economy. You will start to save gas immediately.
• Have your vehicle serviced by a qualified mechanic, and have them pay particular attention to aligning the steering and balancing the wheels.
• Get the wheel bearings greased. This is simple enough to do yourself with a grease gun; but be 101% sure that the car cannot possibly fall on top of you if you are going to venture underneath. A falling car will certainly kill you.
• Have the gearbox or auto transmission fluid changed. (All these tweaks minimize friction.)
• Schedule your car or truck for an engine tune-up, and the mechanic to tweak the carburetor adjustment for a slightly leaner fuel mixture. That way, you’ll burn less fuel. Yes, your engine will be slightly less responsive but it will save gas and save money too. And your motor vehicle will have much better vehicle gas mileage than it did before.

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.

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.