Ah, that new car smell. While the odor might be appealing, it is important to know the gas mileage will not be. New engines need a few thousand miles to break in. Until that happens, you'll get poor gas mileage. Don't panic. It will improve.



Having a lead foot is expensive. Quick acceleration and heavy braking can reduce fuel economy by up to 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent around town. Consistent speeds produce better mileage.

Repeat after me. Actually, don't. Repeating is a big gas waster. What am I talking about? Keep a journal of how many times you run out to do something every day. Group them into as few trips as possible and you'll make your gas buck go father.

Cold weather trips are definitely bad for your fuel mileage. Why? It takes time for your engine to warm up. Until it does, it runs inefficiently, which means your miles per gallon are less not to mention the wear and tear your engine suffers if you drive while it is cold.

Given that cold weather trips are bad, you should just let your car idle while it warms up, right? Actually, letting your car idle to warm-up doesn't help your fuel economy, it actually uses more fuel and creates more pollution. The proverbial catch-22 situation.

Cargo or cargo racks on top of your vehicle (e.g., cargo boxes, canoes, etc.) increase aerodynamic drag and lower fuel economy. When it comes to mileage, a major issue is air flow. The fewer things blocking the air passage, the better.

Nothing gets hot like the inside of a car. The sun can turn it into a furnace. To avoid this, we turn on the air conditioner. Don't! It will reduce you mileage by as much as a quarter of the normal rate.

There are a host of other factors to consider as well. A poorly tuned engine burns more fuel. Improperly aligned or inflated tires are a problem because of increasing rolling resistance. Dirty air filters or brake drag makes your engine work harder.

If you want to drive a car that gets poor mileage, you are going to have to be ready to pay. The world demand for oil is going up and supplies are not keeping up. The days of cheap and easy to get fuel are simply over.