The Smart car requires premium gas which kind of negates the economy part. Especially when it was $5 a gallon.
On Sat, May 29, 2010 at 3:26 AM, Martin Baxter <martinbaxt...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > Keith, thanks for posting this, and a further secret to add, if I may. > > Not all of those cars that claim to need premium actually do. I had a > friend who had a Benz, driving long distance, and she needed gas near D.C. > The station didn't have premium, only the grade below it. She put it in > anyway, basically damning the bans. She was surprised when she made it to > her destination (Manhattan) with her car running fine. > > Of course, she never tried it again. > > On Sat, May 29, 2010 at 1:12 AM, Keith Johnson > <keithbjohn...@comcast.net>wrote: > >> >> >> I must admit, several of these were myths I still believed, especially the >> whole concept of warming up the car on a cold morning. >> >> >> >> ********************************************** >> >> * >> http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_driving/62/six-gas-mileage-myths.html >> * >> >> ** >> >> *Six gas mileage myths* >> >> >> >> Do Americans care about fuel economy as oil spills into the Gulf of >> Mexico<http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/gulf-oil-spill-photos-video-50051410?link=emb&dom=yah_green&src=syn&con=blog&mag=tdg>and >> gasoline hovers around $3 a gallon? You bet they do, though they also >> have a fair number of misconceptions about how to squeeze a few more >> miles<http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/save-gas-47031702?link=emb&dom=yah_green&src=syn&con=blog&mag=tdg>out >> of every drop. >> >> The Consumer Federation of America's (CFA) most recent >> survey<http://admin.consumerfed.org/elements/www.consumerfed.org/File/Gas_Oil_Survey_Oil_Spill_PR_5_18_10.pdf>says >> that if we had a 50-mile-per-gallon car fleet today, we'd save more oil >> than the entire proven reserves in the entire Gulf of Mexico. And people >> care about that. >> >> According to Jack Gillis, author of *The Car Book* and a CFA spokesman, >> 87 percent of respondents said it is "important that the country reduce its >> consumption of oil," and 54 percent said it is "very important." >> >> An amazing 65 percent of Americans surveyed support a mandated transition >> to a 50-mpg fuel economy standard by 2025. That's a tough standard, some 15 >> mpg better than the ambitious goal set by the Obama Administration (35 mpg >> by 2016). >> >> "The expectations of American consumers are reasonable and achievable," >> Gillis said in a conference call." CFA says that Asian carmakers, compared >> to the U.S. competition, are offering twice as many vehicles with 30 mpg or >> better. "It's shocking that so few of today's cars get more than 30 >> mpg<http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/fuel-efficient-cars-47102201?link=emb&dom=yah_green&src=syn&con=blog&mag=tdg>," >> he said. >> >> Mark Cooper, CFA's research director, noted that in five years of the >> group's polling, the public's views have stayed remarkably consistent: >> Americans want less dependence on Middle Eastern oil and higher fuel-economy >> standards. >> >> People care about fuel economy, but they're misinformed about how to >> actually achieve it. The federal government's fueleconomy.gov site (very >> useful to check cars' mpg) just published the "Top 10 Misconceptions About >> Fuel Economy." >> >> Here are a few big myths: >> >> - >> >> *It takes more fuel to start a vehicle than it does to let it idle. * >> People are really confused about this one and will leave a car idling >> for half an hour rather than turn it off and restart. Some kids I >> know<http://www.littlepeoplebigchanges.com/>started an anti-idling campaign >> in the suburbs and are shaming parents into >> shutting down their cars. >> >> Idling uses a quarter- to a half-gallon of fuel in an hour (costing >> you one to two cents a minute). Unless you're stalled in traffic, turn off >> the car when stopped for more a few minutes. >> - >> >> *Vehicles need to be warmed up before they're driven.* >> Pshaw. That is a long-outdated notion. Today's cars are fine being >> driven off seconds after they're >> started<http://www.motherearthnews.com/Ask-Our-Experts/Green-Transportation/Car-Engine-Warm-Up.aspx> >> . >> - >> >> *As a vehicle ages, its fuel economy decreases significantly.* >> Not true. As long as it's maintained, a 10- or 15-year-old car should >> have like-new mileage. The key thing is maintenance -- an out-of-tune car >> will definitely start to decline mileage-wise. >> - >> >> *Replacing your air filter helps your car run efficiently.* >> Another outdated claim, going back to the pre-1976 carburetor days. >> Modern fuel-injection engines don't get economy benefits from a clean air >> filter. >> - >> >> *After-market additives and devices can dramatically improve your fuel >> economy.* >> As readers of my story on The >> Blade<http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/cars-transportation/blade-emissions-gas-mileage-461008?link=emb&dom=yah_green&src=syn&con=blog&mag=tdg>recall, >> there's not much evidence that these "miracle products" do much more >> than drain your wallet. Both the Federal Trade Commission and *Consumer >> Reports* have weighed in on this. There are no top-secret 100-mpg >> add-ons out there. >> - >> >> *Using premium fuel improves fuel economy.* >> You might as well write a check to BP if you believe this. Only use >> premium if your car specifies it. >> >> > > > -- > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik > > > -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
