5 Gas & Money Saving Tips From the Editors of Kelley Blue Book

Gas prices in the U.S. are climbing steadily with many cities paying well above $2.00 a gallon. As drivers, there is not much we can do other than pay the prices at the pump, or is there? The experienced editors of the trusted vehicle information resource, Kelley Blue Book, offer the following tips to save money and gas:
--------------------------------------------------------
More: New Sales Codes, Coupons and Deals- Monday 3/8/04
--------------------------------------------------------

Saving Tips From the Editors of Kelley Blue Book
1. If your vehicle does "not" require premium grade gas but you use it anyway, it is ok to change to a lower grade to save a few dollars. In fact, you may find that you get better fuel economy with a lower grade of gasoline. Try two tanks of each of the lower grades and see for yourself. (If your vehicle requires premium grade gasoline, stay with a premium grade.)

2. Four tanks of gasoline with "Techron" can clean your fuel injectors as well as most professional grade cleaners. Clean injectors will help your vehicle get up to 5 percent better gas mileage.

3. Turn off your air conditioning, but don't roll down your windows either. Both create drag on your car, requiring more gas to keep up your speed. It takes about 5 - 8 horsepower to run the air conditioning. Running your air conditioning on a lower setting or using the recirculation feature may help. Of course if it's more than 80 degrees outside, you may want to run the air intermittently.

4. Check your vehicle's air filter and tire pressure. A clogged or dirty air-filter can slow your vehicle down and use more gasoline. A clean filter will promote less gas waste. Under-inflated tires could also cause excessive drag, slowing the vehicle down and use more gas as well as be a safety hazard.

5. Accelerate normally from a fully stopped position and avoid flooring or stabbing the gas pedal. The flooring or stabbing action pushes more fuel to the engine than is needed to move forward.

And if you are in the market for a more fuel-efficient vehicle, Kelley Blue Book's editors recommend looking at the following vehicles: 1 Honda Insight (Hybrid)
2 Toyota Prius (Hybrid)

3 Honda Civic Hybrid
4 VW Jetta Wagon Diesel
5 VW Beetle Diesel, VW Golf Diesel, VW Jetta Sedan Diesel
6 Honda Civic
7 Toyota Echo
8 Toyota Corolla
9 Scion xA
10 Dodge Neon

For more money saving vehicle tips and information, log on to www.kbb.com.