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2 months ago
TinyButU got my point!
Best Answer
Driving 1 green car won%26#039;t make a difference. Driving 2 billion green cars will.Other Answers (7)
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Really not too much. I always use the Prius and the Corrolla as comparisons. The Prius does it%26#039;s best in the city and does not achieve that great of mileage on the highway. The newer Prius does somewhat better, but the older ones were hardly achieving those high figures claimed by the EPA. You can buy a nice Corrolla probably about $6,000 less than a Prius. That will buy a lot of fuel! Plus with the Prius you have to worry about expensive battery replacement once it is out of warranty. There are driving techniques like you have mentioned that help increase mileage. Others are proper air pressure on tires. Limit use of A/C and keep your revs down between gearshifts. The diesel cars are so capable of very high economy on the highway, but the higher cost of diesel fuel is almost making them cost prohibitive. This is sad, because they have made so many improvements on diesels to where the pollution levels are less than some gasoline powerplants. Europe has chosen this route and it is working for them. What one has to watch is the cost of a car and factor in the cost per mile to drive. You have to look at how long it would take you to make up the difference in driving a hybrid and of course a diesel. I drove a diesel for 8 years, but went this time with a gasoline powered MINI Cooper. I would have gone with another Volkswagen diesel, but it is a new sophisticated motor that has yet to be proven. Maybe I will in 3-4 years. The MINI I am about to get is considered a %26quot;green%26quot; car, but it is a performance car and economical at the same time. For the money probably the Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas are the way to go.
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It%26#039;s not going to make much of a difference. There is no such thing as driving truly green unless you%26#039;re driving a car that runs on electricity or fuel cell -- and electric cars also emit pollutants. Yes, putting a car in neutral and coasting to stops will save a little bit of petrol (as will shutting your engine off if you%26#039;re at a traffic light and you know you%26#039;ll be sitting for more than a minute) but you still have the problem of an engine that burns fossil fuels. Hybrids are no better -- they%26#039;re more fuel-efficient, but they still put out the same greenhouse gases. Honda and General Motors are in a big race to see who can mass-produce fuel-cell vehicles first. GM put out the first bus and Honda put out the first car. We%26#039;ll see how GM answers (they say the Volt will be ready for mass-release in 2010 and their first fuel-cell vehicle will be ready in 2012...)
P.S.: I have noticed the same thing here in the U.S. -- the teenagers aren%26#039;t driving as much now that gasoline is over $4.00 a gallon here. I can only imagine how much you pay for petrol in the UK... -
I wouldn%26#039;t call that driving green. You are only driving that way to save money. Saving money and being green usually don%26#039;t go together. (An electric car cost a lot more than a gas one) Being really green for transportation would be walking, or riding a bike or driving an electric car or at least a hybrid car.
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Constantly moving the shift lever may or may not save fuel, it might cause problems with the transmission after awhile.
Just take your foot off the brake and ease down the gas pedal. When braking, allow enough time and distance to brake. Driving wisely and babying the car will do more to save fuel than playing trombone with the shifter. -
Driving %26quot;green%26quot; can make a difference.. at least to your pocketbook. Further, as one other respondent said.. if a billion drivers drive green it will make a big difference..
However, the extremes-- what you saw on the TV story -- can be dangerous so.. -
Carpooling is driving green with three or more going the same place to work. It saves gas and you have an enjoyable ride to the work place each day. It%26#039;s good therapy and company. Also safety in numbers if the car would break down.
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Yeah, my 16 year old who recently got his license is responsible for his own gas, so he is doing alot less riding around town to visit this friend or that one. His friends are doing the same, thing, too. And he has to spend more hours at work to make the money just to have what gas he does! So much for having a car for %26quot;more freedom%26quot;!
I don%26#039;t think that driving green will be very effective unless we as an entire society make that move en masse. And even then, the real difference will simply be the message sent to oil companies and others in the business sector, from auto manufacturers to the stores where we shop. The message being that they will also have to change alot of practices if they want to survive financially.
As for personally gaining financially from driving green, well, my family doesn%26#039;t have a choice. We are a family of 5, not seriously in debt, but subsisting on one income at this time, and that income has not risen as costs for basic needs have risen. In fact our income has dropped, so we have to cut costs wherever we can, including how and where we drive. I%26#039;m looking into other tips for %26quot;supermiling%26quot;, I think it%26#039;s called. The little things people are saying you can do to improve your gas mileage--like shutting off the air conditioner a couple blocks from where you%26#039;re going; parking at the first available parking space, face out; turning off the engine at traffic lights you know are going to be longer than 2 minutes; and so on.