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22 Car Saving Tips

Thanks to drop in gas prices, car owners are heaving a sigh of relief. Still, there are many other ways to save on fuel and other auto expenses

By Excel V. Dyquiangco

When gas prices were pushing upwards of P50 just a few months ago, EDSA and other major thoroughfares suddenly flowed freely, as car owners left their vehicles at their garage to take public transportation. But now that they’re down to the P30 range, many are back to everyday driving.

One such motorist is Jesse Santos, a corporate communications officer from Pasig City, who uses his Toyota van at least five times a week, and spends between P500 and P1,000 a week for gas and other car-related expenses. But like with many car owners, he has nevertheless learned to be cost-conscious when it comes to fuel. Jesse says that he is quite cautious when it comes to the speeding up and slowing down of his van – all it takes is just to be aware of the cars and the traffic on the road.

“When I approach a stoplight, or the road is downhill or I see impending traffic, I set the gear to neutral,” he says. “The less I step on the brakes, the less gas I spend on.” He also minimizes the usage of his air conditioner – if the weather is cool, there is no need to turn it on. And he has his car regularly checked at least once a week.

Aside from what Jesse has mentioned, what are other tricks that are in store for car owners such as yourself to save gas and other car-related expenses? Here are a couple of cost-saving measures once you hit the road.

CAR CHECK UP

1. Make all necessary checks before driving. “You have to check your responsibilities before you travel,” Nelson Bustillo, technical training supervisor for Diamond Motors, says. “Check for the fluid, for the proper level, the engine oil. If it’s not in the proper level, your car can break down.” Just like Jesse, Nelson advises to have your car regularly checked by a reliable service shop at least once a week. He adds that for every 5,000 km check up, you should now make the necessary checks, and visit a competent service shop nearest you. It doesn’t matter how many months you have already used your car, as long as your speedometer reads 5,000.

2. Keep proper air pressure in tires. Incorrect tire pressure reduces gasoline mileage, wears out tires faster, and makes vehicle handling difficult. To prolong the lifespan of your car tires, Nelson also advises tire rotation: that for every 10,000 km, you should switch the front tires with the back tires, not unless the back tires show uneven wear. “The front tires support the control of your car so when tires with uneven wear are put in front, then these tires might explode.”

3. Coordinate your regular preventive maintenance schedule with Transport Services Administration (TSA). A poorly maintained car can use up to 25% more fuel.

4. Watch out for promos. According to Eddie Moreto, body estimator service advisor for Diamond Motors, car companies offer discounts for car repairs. You can save as much as 15% off on labor and 30% off on car parts. Diamond Motors for instance runs this promo until January 31, 2009.

CAR SPEED

5. Avoid prolonged warming up of engine, even on cold mornings – 30 to 45 seconds is enough time. Do not let the motor idle for unnecessarily long periods. Turn off the engine whenever possible. It takes less gasoline to restart the car than to let it idle for prolonged periods.

6. On the other hand, do not race your engine once started – wait for it to warm up first. Warming up the engine before driving gives you better gasoline economy.

7. Accelerate slowly when starting from dead stop. This allows the engine to function at peak efficiency.

8. Think ahead when approaching a hill or road incline. If you accelerate, do it before you reach the hill, not when you’re on it.

9. The most efficient speed is between 75 to 90 kilometers per hour (kph). On a highway, maintain a steady speed. Tests conducted by the Department of Energy have indicated a 25%improvement in fuel economy when speeds are reduced from 120 to 80 kph.

10. Avoid “revving” the engine, especially just before you switch the engine off; this wastes fuel needlessly.

11. Weaving in and out on the road wastes fuel.

12. Do not drive with your foot on the clutch. Avoid being a clutch driver because if you keep stepping on the clutch, the car suffers from inertia loss, which means that lesser power is used to make your car run. Lesser power means stepping on the accelerator too much – therefore, adding to fuel consumption.

13. Avoid jack rabbit starts, take-off and sudden stops. Gradual acceleration saves gas and car wear and tear.

14. Shift to high gear as soon as you can and stay there as long as you can. Low-gear speed consumes much more fuel than high gear speed.

CAR FUEL

15. Never fill your tank to the brim to allow fuel expansion (stop at the first click of the fuel nozzle – if nozzle is automatic). Keep the fuel cap tightened to prevent fuel loss through evaporation or spillage.

16. Load gasoline during the coolest time of day – early morning or late evening is best. During these times, gasoline is densest. Gas pumps measure volume of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration.

17. Minimize vehicle loads. Nelson says that there are some car owners who turn their car into their house – cargo, balikbayan boxes, and other heavy equipment are stored in their vehicles for days. Transporting unnecessary weight in your car will cause it to add 10% to fuel consumption. “Just remove all the unnecessary things in your car,” he advises.

CAR MISCELLANEOUS

18. Avoid parking in the sun. Gas evaporates rapidly when exposed to hot weather.

19. Use car pools and other public transport vehicles.

20. Preferably use smaller cars. Smaller engines usually give better economy.

21. Plan your trips to save gas and time. If you don’t plan your routes, you tend to go whichever direction the road takes you and therefore, you tend to consume more on fuel.

22. Avoid congested roads and as much as possible, cover as many errands as possible in one trip.

Nelson says that “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” Practice gas saving tips not just to save on gas and money but to avoid car breakdown as well. Regularly check every inch of your car even before you feel that your car needs tune up. But once you feel that something is wrong, then have it checked at your nearest service shop before something even worse happens to your car. This might not only save you hundreds or even thousands of pesos, it might even save your life.

MORE RESOURCES

Can’t get enough gas saving tips? Check these out:

Top 10 Fuel Saving Tips

About.com: Cars

cars.about.com/od/helpforcarbuyers/tp/ag_top_fuelsave.htm

How to Save Money on Gas

wikiHow

www.wikihow.com/Save-Money-on-Gas

How to Save Money on Gas – 29 Tips

Open Travel Info

www.opentravelinfo.com/travel-guide/uncategorized/how-to-save-money-on-gas-29-tips.html

9 Ways to Save on Gas

SmartMoney

www.smartmoney.com/spending/deals/9-ways-to-save-on-gas-23144/

Thirty Gas Saving Tips

How to Advice

www.howtoadvice.com/savinggas

Luxury cars are certainly a status symbol, but for car enthusiasts, it’s all about power, safety, and design
By Tina Arceo-Dumlao

It is unthinkable for some people that in a country where about half of the population lives on less than P50 a day, there is a robust market for luxury vehicles that each cost the equivalent of about 20 low-cost houses.

This is even more surprising considering that oil prices have skyrocketed to about $120 a barrel – even going as high as $147 – thus seriously increasing the budget for gasoline that will get these vehicles out of the garage and on to the road. Considering the rate these vehicles guzzle fuel – about four kilometers to a liter – the owners must have a big wallet.

And indeed some Filipinos do, which is why luxury vehicle distributors in the country are still meeting their sales quota despite increasing prices of basic commodities and general turmoil in the global financial market.

The market, however, is understandably tiny, and so distributors have to come out with what they consider to be the best vehicle in class to woo the moneyed customers. Here are some of the latest models to hit the showrooms.

Jaguar XF
Jaguar Cars Inc., the exclusive distributor in the Philippines of British brands Jaguar and Land Rover, is pinning hopes of continued sales this year on its recently launched Jaguar XF.  The Jaguar XF fuses sports car styling and performance with the refinement, features and space of a luxury saloon.

It replaces the long-running Birmingham-built S type that was the norm for more than nine years to appeal to a new market looking for smaller, yet still stylish, luxury vehicle. “These are exciting times for Jaguar. The XF represents Jaguar’s strategic move to firmly establish itself as the leading player in the world’s premium car market. The XF will not just challenge people’s perception about the Jaguar brand but will also appeal to people who would not even have considered a Jaguar before,” Wellington Soong, Jaguar Cars Inc. chair and president said in a statement.

Like all Jaguars, the XF is fitted with luxurious materials, sophisticated instruments, and calm interior mood lighting. It also comes with more creature comforts, from an iPod connection to space for sunglasses, drinks, and CD cases. And the details of the XF are true to the Jaguar tradition for superior design, as seen in the woven mesh of the grille to the large alloy wheels.
Jaguar is confident that with the XF, it will appeal to a new, up and coming market in search for the perfect car to show off.
“Jaguar knows that individuality and a creative mindset define the XF customer. The XF caters to a younger market compared to the car it replaced – the classic looking S-Type,” Wellington says.

Porsche 911
The iconic Porsche 911 model series marks another milestone in its evolution with the launch in September of four new models – two Coupes and two Cabriolets. These four models are the first in the Porsche line to have direct fuel injection and the optional double-clutch gearbox, making the new 911 models even more sporting and dynamic.

The Porsche double-clutch gearbox combines the driving comfort of an automatic transmission with the dynamic gearshift of a racing gearbox. The seven-gear system will allow the Carrera S Coupe (P8.9 million) to accelerate to 100 kilometers an hour in just 4.5 seconds, 0.2 seconds faster than with a manual six-speed gearbox.

Porsche claims that with these new technologies, the Carrera Coupe becomes one of the more fuel-efficient of the sports luxury vehicles with a mileage of 10 kilometers to a liter, reducing emissions of harmful carbon dioxide by up to 15 percent.

The maximum output of the 911 Carrera with its 3.6-liter power unit is up by 20 bhp to 345 bhp. Output of the 911 Carrera S with its 3.8-liter power unit, on the other hand is up to 383 bhp. With the extra power, the Carrera S Coupe can now go to a maximum speed of over 300 kilometers an hour.

But where exactly can a Porsche from Stuttgart, Germany test its maximum speed in the Philippines remains to be seen. Perhaps it is a good thing, however, that a Porsche can move too fast in the city streets for it gives others a chance to just appreciate this piece of mean machine.

Improvements on the Porsche 911, after all, did not stop at the inside. Even the exterior was improved to include LED daytme driving lights and the bi-xenon headlights. The silhouette of the 911 becomes even more distinctive with the new LED rear rights and dynamic cornering lights as an additional safety option.

BMW X6
First there were the luxury sedans, then the sports utility vehicles. BMW innovates yet again and came up with the BMW X6, which claims to offer the best features of the Sports Activity Vehicle and the coupe in one handsome piece of engineering.

The X6 has the proportions of a genuine coupe with extra ground clearance, elevated waistline, large rear tailgate, and adjustable luggage compartment. The side windows are low slung and the roofline flows into the rear to emphasize the width of the vehicle.

There is more luxury inside with comfortable seats for the driver and front passenger and contoured seats for two passengers at the back.

The BMW X6 is the only car in the BMW X model range with a sports steering wheel with gearshift paddles that give drivers a feeling of control at all times. And as far as amenities goes, it has a lot of options to offer, such as a rear view camera, four-zone automatic air conditioning, DVD system at the rear, and USB audio interface to add to the CD player.

Multifunction buttons on the steering wheel can operate the telephone and audio systems to minimize distraction. And in keeping with the X6’s sporting character, the mechanism panel is dominated by dual round instruments with fine scales reminiscent of motor sport.

The BMW X6 comes in three variants with the BMX X6 xDrive50i at the top of the line. It comes with a V8 gasoline engine with twin turbo technology and direct gasoline injection. It accelerates to 100 kilometers an hour in just 5.4 seconds and is clocked at a top speed of 250 kilometers an hour.

The xDrive 35i variant, on the other hand, has an engine capacity of 3 liters, compared to 4.4 liters for the 50i. There is also a diesel variant – xDrive30d – that is powered by a three-liter engine. It can accelerate to 100 kilometers an hour in eight seconds and has a top speed of 210 kilometers an hour.

All the variants are equipped with an all-wheel drive technology that distributes drive power between the front and rear axle.

Mercedes-Benz SLK
The SLK Class Roadster is already considered the best-selling sports car here and abroad. But this did not stop the venerable Mercedes-Benz group of Germany from further improving on the features of the classy vehicle.

This year’s generation of SLK Class roadsters is a result of an extensive facelift incorporating around 650 newly-developed components, according to Mercedes Benz.  These new features include a new-look front and rear sections and a modified interior with a new instrument cluster and three-spoke sports steering wheel – all in keeping with the thrust to make the second-generation two-seater vehicle even sportier in character.

Since music quality is important to the target market, the new generation SLK will have standard features integrated in the radio, such as a hands-free facility using Bluetooth.

There is an option for a new media interface in the glove compartment, which enables mobile audio devices such as the iPod to be fully integrated into the audio system and operated from the control panel.

There is also more power under the hood for the four-cylinder engine in the SLK 200 Kompressor (P4.3 million) and six-cylinder sports engine in the SLK 350 (P5.35 million).
Only the SLK 55 AMG retains the familiar eight-cylinder unit that remains a unique selling point in the SLK segment.

But despite the higher output, the engines are more fuel efficient and therefore emit less carbon dioxide. Mercedes Benz says around 185,000 customers got an SLK – 60,000 of them in Germany alone – since the launch in March 2004. This means that total unit sales are now approaching the half-million mark.

By Carlos Gonzales

It’s a good thing gas prices are going down. But don’t expect this will go on forever. World oil is notorious for drastic price changes. So develop good habits of saving on gas now.

1. Don’t be idle. A big no-no: letting the engine run, with the air conditioning on, while waiting or parked. That’s actually more wasteful than restarting the engine. So, if you have to wait more than a minute, open the car windows and turn the engine off. In the same way, make your warm-ups short. Half a minute is long enough, so drive off.

2. Don’t be fast and furious. Don’t rev up your engine, even if you think you’re Vin Diesel. And be gentle on the brake and gas pedals. Hard stops and fast starts waste fuel.

3. Gas up properly. Buy gas at cooler hours, like early morning or at night, to reduce gas evaporation. Also, avoid buying higher octane gas than necessary. And don’t overfill the tank to prevent evaporation.

4. Don’t be a drag. Take out stuff you don’t need from the backseat or trunk. Every extra 100 pounds of excess weight reduces fuel economy by 1%-2%.

5. Take care of your tires. Make sure your tires are properly inflated; otherwise it will take your engine more effort and energy to run. It’s costly too, adding six percent to fuel consumption for every pound the tire is under inflated.

6. Tune up. Get a regular tune-up as recommended by your car manufacturer. That includes changing your oil and filters regularly, to keep the engine running smoothly. Poorly tuned engines increase fuel consumption by 10%-20%.

By Heinz Bulos

1. Buy the right car. Get a car that’s fuel efficient, has good sources of spare parts and service, and with high resale value. Avoid the ones favored by carjackers, which naturally also have the steepest insurance premiums.

2. Buy a used car. Buy a pre-owned car, or what we like to call second-hand. When you buy a new car, the moment you it’s driven off the lot, it depreciates significantly and loses a big portion of its market value. A used car that’s only a couple of years old will come out a better value. If you’re uneasy about buying a lemon from a used car dealer, buy a certified pre-owned car direct from the manufacturer or from an individual you trust (have a mechanic inspect it). If you still want to buy a brand new car, drop the dealer’s options like extended warranties, rust proofing, paint sealant, fabric protection, and the like, which adds to the cost.

3. Keep your car at tip-top shape. Follow your car’s recommended maintenance schedule. It will save you a bundle in repair costs. There are some things you can do yourself, like changing the oil and filters. And check your tire pressure as under-inflated tires will result to higher gas consumption.

4. Gas up right. Schedule your trips to the gas station so you can pick the one with the cheapest gas (Petron is the price leader among the biggies). And fill up at night or early morning to avoid too much gas from evaporating. Don’t run on empty because your car will run less efficiently and use more gas. Replenish when you have half a tank.

5. Be a good driver. Don’t be a speed demon. Slow down at posted speed limits to save on fuel. Avoid sudden stops and starts as that uses up more gas and is bad for your brake system. Once you start the engine, don’t take too long to drive off. Similarly, avoid idling for more than one minute. Just shut it off. Unload stuff you don’t need as this decreases fuel economy. Don’t think you save gas by opening the windows at high speeds instead of using the air conditioner, since open windows create drag and reduces mileage. You do save fuel if you open the windows when driving at lower speeds. Park in the shade or use a car shade to keep your car cool and not let your AC work hard when you start. Plan your trips well and choose the right routes to avoid traffic jams and wasting gas.