When it s time to park the car for good, take it to a salvage yard that reuses and recycles as much of the entire vehicle as possible, rather than just plucking off the major parts and grinding up the rest. If you must drive, combine errands into one trip. This reduces your total miles traveled and the fuel consumed. It s a dirty word to economists, a necessity to green motorists. Americans waste two million gallons of gas each day because our car tires are underinflated.
Gas mileage drops about one percent for every pound of tire pressure below the recommended level.
Keep a hand gauge in the glove box and check tire pressure twice a month when the tires are cold. Add air if necessary. Check the pressure more frequently in winter for every 10-degree drop in temperature, tire pressure decreases by one pound. Besides increasing fuel economy and safety, properly inflated tires last longer, so there are fewer to add to the waste stream. If you rotate your tires as advised in your owner s manual, you can keep them even longer.