Seven Tips to Help Save on Fuel

Looking for ways to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to fuel? There are ways to help maximize each tank for a longer period of time. Some are well-known, and others you may not have realized; however, try these 7 tips to get the most of your next fill-up:

1. Lighten up. Empty your trunk and back seats of any items you don’t need. Also, don't fill up your tank until you're close to empty, as toting less fuel will also make your vehicle lighter. A lighter car should get you better MPG.

2. Cool off. It's okay to turn on you AC. Consumer Reports says that Air Conditioning's gas-guzzling reputation is undeserved. Furthermore, at higher speeds, opening the windows or sunroof can hurt on gas miles by increasing drag.

3. Stay straight. Staying in one lane as much as possible will also help with fuel consumption, as weaving in and out of lanes uses up more gas miles.

4. Tighten up. Your gas cap, that is. You don't want to let any of that precious fuel evaporate.

5. Shift up. Put your car in overdrive for highway driving. It lowers your RPM, which saves you gas money. Check your owner's manual for the recommended speed at which you may use overdrive.

6. Just cruise. Go ahead and use cruise control when you're on a flat highway, where it can increase gas miles by 7%. However, don't use it on uneven roads where it's not efficient.

7. Shut off. Turn off all electronics and climate controls before you cut the engine. With the extras off, your engine won't have to strain so hard to restart, leading to better gas miles.

5 Features You No Longer See in Cars

We thought this would be a fun blog post for the week. Tell us which feature you miss the most!

1. Bench Seats: Many sly males took advantage of the seat design while driving with a female companion; a quick, unexpected sharp turn made with his right arm resting on the seat back sent the lady sliding right into his embrace.

2. Full-Size Spare Tire: The advantage with a full-size spare was that you could put it on, stow the flat tire in your trunk, and go on your merry way with no particular urgency to get it repaired. Until one day you got another puncture, only to discover that the tire in your trunk was just as flat as the one on the axle.

3. Horn Rings: Horn rings were originally considered a safety feature as well as a convenience device. Previously, the driver had to completely remove one hand from the steering wheel to depress the button in the center to honk the horn. The horn ring was designed so that both hands could remain on the wheel and just a stretch of a finger or thumb would be able to beep a warning sound.

4. Vent Windows: Vent or “wing” windows were popular in the pre-air conditioning era of automotive manufacturing. But they were convenient for many purposes that are still valid today. For example, on those days when it’s temperate enough to open windows rather than run the A/C, the vent windows allowed air to circulate freely without blowing street grime in your face and messing your hair.

5. Tailfins: By the late 1950s, most folks had shrugged off the war and were fixated instead on all things space-age. Tailfins grew to enormous proportions, giving cars a futuristic look.

Courtesy of mentalfloss.com: http://bit.ly/1fdDMig