Go Green with Driving and Maintenance

 

Buying green is just the first step in reducing the environmental impacts of automobile use. Your choice of vehicle is most important, but how you drive and how well you maintain your car, SUV, van, or truck will also make a difference.

Save Fuel With Maintenance

Keep Proper Tire Pressure: Tires should be inflated to the pressure recommended for your vehicle; this information is often printed inside the door frame or in your owner's manual. For every 3 pounds below recommended pressure, fuel economy goes down by about 1 percent. Tires can lose about 1 pound of pressure in a month, so check the air pressure regularly and always before going on a long trip or carrying heavy loads.

Buy low-rolling-resistance (LRR) replacement tires: Switching to a typical set of replacement tires lowers a vehicle's fuel economy as much as 4 percent. LRR tires, on the other hand, are specially designed to improve a vehicle's fuel economy. Most major tire manufacturers now produce LRR models, so when it comes time to replace your tires, seek out a set of LRRs.

Be aware of fuel economy: Check your own fuel economy every few weeks. If you notice it slipping, that could mean you have a minor problem with the engine or your brakes. Using this advance warning, you can fix problems before you have a breakdown on the road.

Preventative Maintenance: Taking your vehicle in for a tune-up can increase your fuel economy. Follow owner's manual guidelines and make sure your vehicle is checked for worn spark plugs, dragging brakes, and low transmission fluid; have your wheels aligned and tires rotated; and have the air filter replaced if needed. By bringing your Ford into AutoFair Ford, you can feel confident that used vehicle fluids are recycled or disposed of safely. Fill out our online Service Appointment Form and get your car tuned up today!

Regular Oil Changes: In addition to making your car or truck last longer, having the oil and oil filter regularly will also help fuel economy. Check your owner's manual for specific recommendations about how often to change. This is one of the easiest ways to make sure your vehicle stays at its top performance and gives you the best in fuel economy.

Driving 'Green' Saves Fuel

Change your driving: You can save on gas by changing your driving style. Accelerate gradually, drive smoothly and with care and you could see as much as a 20 percent gain in fuel economy compared with what you'd get with an aggressive driving style, the EPA says. Skip those jackrabbit starts and sudden pedal-to-the-metal maneuvers if you want to save gas. Anticipate stops so you avoid sudden braking, and take a long view of the road ahead, coasting safely to an intersection in front of you where you see traffic stopped.

Plan Ahead: Combine your errands into one trip, rather than taking multiple trips from home. Organize your stops so they're near each other and so you don't retrace your path. You may even be able to park in one central spot and walk between some of your stops rather than driving and parking at each one.

Hi-Tech Solutions: By driving a vehicle that gets good mileage, you will benefit not only from saving money on fuel, but also from the peace of mind of 'driving' green. Ford currently offers two hybrid vehicles along with a number of vehicles using their new EcoBoost technology, which combines excellent fuel efficiency with superb power.

Understanding the Different Types of Hybrid Cars

By definition, a hybrid vehicle uses more than one source of power to move around. Currently, all commercially available hybrid cars are gasoline-electric hybrids. But there are different types of hybrid cars - full, assist, and mild hybrids - that work in different ways to achieve various goals with varying environmental benefits and effects. Key differences between varieties of hybrids are defined by the differences in their drivetrains; there are also cost differences between the different systems.

Full Hybrids / Strong Hybrids: The defining characteristic of these cars is that they can run on either just the gasoline engine, or just the electric motor. They can also run on a combination of both. An example of a full hybrid is the Ford Escape Hybrid.

Assist Hybrids / Power Assist Hybrids: These cannot run on the electric motor alone. The electric motor is used as a way to boost the gasoline engine, as well as to allow regenerative braking and stop-start capabilities.

Mild Hybrids: Mild Hybrids have drivetrains similar to regular cars, with beefed up starter motors that allow them to turn off the engine to save gas (while stopped at a red light, for example) and to restart the engine very quickly when needed.