So what can I do? Part 2

Here's the continuation of my last blog, which detailed two different methods to get better fuel economy without having to buy a fancy new car. Now that we've gone over the obvious first step which is to not to have a ridiculous car in the first place, here are some more things you can do without spending a penny to get more miles per gallon out of the current car you have.

3) Keep your car maintained

It's really easy to lose track of when your oil change is due. Face it, everyone at some point or another procrastinates this little nuisance, even I'm guilty of it. Do this and you'll save yourself a little bit of gas, while keeping your car nice and "healthy" if you'd call it that. Aside from that, use the right kind of motor oil if you change your oil yourself.

You can also improve mileage a little more by keeping your tires properly inflated. You can improve your mileage up to 3.3 percent, according to the EPA's numbers. Not doing this apparantly nets you a drop in .3 percent for every psi your tires are off.

And lastly, keep your engine well-tuned overall. If your engine is making weird noises, don't expect your gas mileage numbers to be good. Even worse, faulty sensors can cause all sorts of problems lowering your gas mileage by almost 40 percent. Yikes, but that's only in very serious situations. So pay attention to your car, and look out for warning signs that something is wrong.

4) Keep your ride (reasonably) clean

If your car looks anything like this, for goodness sake, clean it!!



Even if it's just an average "dirty", all the dirt and such will increase drag coefficients and therefore friction when you're driving, making your car work harder to achieve the same result on a clean car. So pay attention to the wash me's that have been etched on your car, it could save your some money (assuming you don't go all out in washing your car by spending 40 bucks on a wax job everytime...).

5) Avoid unnecessary things

You know that fancy bike rack you've mounted on your SUV? Or the ski rack that you're dying to use for that ski trip? Take them off when you're not using them. It's a little bit of common sense, but those things add weight and increase drag coefficients as well.

Also, decreasing the amount of things present in your car can improve mileage. And no, I'm not asking you to throw out your occupants. You're naturally going to get less mileage if you're lugging around hundreds and hundreds of pounds of extra weight, so anything you don't honestly really need in your car, leave at home.

And most unnecessary of all, simply try not to drive unless you have to. Use public transportation if its available (You can argue that those buses and trains and such waste more gas than cars, but truth is that bus is going to use that gas even if you don't get on, so why not take advantage of it?) and if possible, walk or use a bike.

Of course, these are all suggestions. If your heart so desires to run around in a dirty monster truck that's about to fall apart, by all means do it. Just know that your mileage numbers will probably be in the single digits.

So what can I do? Part 1

"What if I don't want to buy anything?"

Of course. That's the best part of efficiency - you don't necessarily have to buy a shiny new car or whatever to be more efficient and friendly to the environment. Sure it helps simply doing that, however there are a few things anyone and everyone should be able to do.

Let's get the obvious out of the way.

1) Don't purchase a ridiculous vehicle in the first place

Okay, that's not necessarily something everyone can do (I mean if you had a chance to get a Lamborghini for free, wouldn't you take it? It's a no brainer, come on!!) but it's certainly a start. This more or less means that you should think twice about buying that huge super duty truck or a massive SUV if you're really not going to use all the size. If you need that power and space, then by all means knock yourself out.

Truth is, no matter how hard you try you can never be efficient in any way shape or form when it comes to fuel economy when you're talking about high horsepower numbers and huge weights. This applies to sports cars too, especially when you talk about V8's and supercharged engines, and then the whole tuner car culture.

My point is, you'll be fighting a very hard, and uphill battle if you want a car like that to get the fuel economy of a midsize car or better. It probably just won't work. Especially if you have a car like this:



Okay I lie, you can't buy that. That's just a pasted together... thing. If you found that funny, you should see where it came from:

http://jalopnik.com/5279008/ten-you-might-be-a-redneck-limos/

2) Drive conservatively

The easiest way to do this is to essentially drive slowly, deliberately, and carefully. You'll save yourself all the extra gas by avoiding unnecessary consumption simply by using the gas pedal a little less. Simply ask yourself - do I really need to get up to the speed limit that quickly? Is my driving subject to being called "maniac" in any way? Seriously, if most anyone calls your driving crazy, then you probably could be saving some gas by driving more conservatively.

Even if you're a mild mannered driver, you could always improve. I'm certainly guilty in this respect, as my timelyness to class matters a little more than saving some gas. So I find myself almost unconsciously driving a little faster when I'm in a rush. If you want some more information on these techniques, I suggest you take a look here:

http://www.hypermiling.com/

Like the name suggests, hypermiling is the practice of changing your driving habits to save gas - and possibly get more than the EPA's official numbers on gas mileage.

That's the end for part 1, part 2 will come soon!

You Know It's Coming - Hybrids

Honestly, did you not expect at least one entry in this to be devoted to hybrid cars? Naturally, it's exactly the kind of car that comes to mind when thinking about fuel efficiency. In the last decade or so the number of hybrid cars on the road has grown exponentially - a fact not lost upon automakers as fuel prices rise and recent bailouts seem to specifically point out. So does this mean the world is coming to an age where everyone drives hybrids and are all smug about what they're doing for the environment? Hardly.

Even as recently as a few years ago, owning a hybrid meant sacrificing a lot in terms of driving performance, and most obviously looks. I mean, tell me how something that looks like this could really honestly have expectations of becoming mainstream:



For reference sake, that is actually a 1999 Honda Insight. Which is worlds apart different than the modern (ha!) Honda Insight, which is a part of the second movement of hybrids that I'll talk about later. This first movement of hybrids is obviously characterized by weird looks, and while the technology was present, the fuel economy was extraordinary, being a respectable 61/66.

However notice how small this car. This image stuck even more in the eyes of consumers especially as competitors like the first generation Toyota Prius arrived on the market. From here, you don't need me to explain what happened. The whole gas crisis pretty much slapped everyone silly, especially people who had bought things like this in recent years.

(Picture from TopSpeed)

(An exaggeration, by the way. That Hummer is beyond ridiculous.) Anyways, here is where the second movement of hybrids really took off. In this time, the 2nd generation Toyota Prius became the industry focus point as it's increased size and still impressive gas mileage numbers arguably set the hybrid industry in motion. Now it's increasingly tough to simply buy a Toyota Prius (which has recently begun its 3rd generation) but there are many other options that one should really consider.

First of all, there are two main types of hybrids. Full hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight sport that classic hybrid hatchback look, which hits a good balance between a decently attractive exterior, and not trying to fool anyone into thinking it is anything but a hybrid. Then there are the mild hybrids, which include hybrid versions of the Ford Escape, Honda Civic, Chevrolet Malibu and even (yes!) a hybrid pick-up truck, the Chevrolet Silverado. (To be quite honest, that idea sounds great but who is really going to be worrying a lot about fuel economy when you absolutely need to buy a truck?)

What's the catch you ask? Money. Money. And more money. Obviously, such technology doesn't come free even with today's advances. Depending on the car, you could pay thousands more for a hybrid version, which makes you think - does it make financial sense? Yes and no. What's truly obvious is that once you get a hybrid, you'll pay less at the pump, but a little more on the car payment.

If you're looking to buy a hybrid, weigh your options. Some of the mild hybrids have poor, I mean poor increases in gas mileage. The full hybrids have fuel economy numbers up in the 40's and 50's, but then you have to settle for the hybrid look and feel. So honestly, if it were up to me, I'd buy one of the mild hybrids which give a decent increase in gas mileage, while keeping the look and most of the feel of driving a conventional car.

So knock yourself out - just do your research so that you know for sure that you're not simply buying a label.

TFoE Begins!

Hello everyone! As I'm sure you've read already, the basis of this blog will be The Future of Efficiency. Efficiency in what you ask? The transportation industry, something that I'm sure almost everyone can relate to and surely wonder about.

My name is Mauricio Lopez and I'm a Junior at Texas A&M University, majoring in Engineering Technology, something that one day I hope to apply to the very industry that I'll be exploring in this blog. Since millions of people own and operate cars on a daily basis, a good majority of my time will be focused on what companies (and everyday people like you!) are doing to be more efficient when it comes to transportation.

This mostly translates to finding ways to save fuel - something also advertised as "going green."

I hope you'll find that my blog entries are interesting and aren't your everyday, boring scientific mumbo-jumbo - a little wit sprinkled in there should hopefully brighten up your day, or at least break whatever cycle of monotony you're currently stuck in. Anyways, I hope to see you around!

-ML