This gas crunch is killing me, and as the food prices are getting jacked up due to biofuels and global warming droughts we can all do our part to make the most of your fuel economy.

Tip #1 Slow down, Slow Poke.компютри

Take it easy on the gas and braking. I know, I know. Slow pokes are boring.  Really, I admit prior to the gas price increase, I could care less about MPG. However, if you take it easy on the gas and GRADUALLY increase to your speed from a stop light, you will increase your MPG as much as 2 miles/gallon. Burning gas is most inefficient when acccelerating.  So take it easy.  Sidenote: Take a look at the highways, notice how everyone is driving the posted speed limit nowadays
Tip #2 Inspect Your Tires

Keep you tires inflated properly. )and car maintained. If you have that nasty “Service engine” light get it fixed. More than likely your engine is not performing at its full potential. This is an added expense but in the long run you will avoid costlier issues.  As for the tires, keep them inflated to at least the manufactured specified tire pressure.

When and How to measure tire pressure, only when car tires have rested or if you just started the car in the morning. As the tires heat up, so will the pressure.

Tip #3 Don’t Just Wait in the Car

Did you know that idling in the car burns and wastes ALOT of gas. Yes, keeping your car on in park for over 20 seconds can eat MORE gas than to start it up. Its TRUE.  I know, I know, what about the train. Just shut off your engine while you wait for the train to pass. An Idle engine is an egine NOT performing at its ideal operating temperature.

These three tips can easily help you get the most out of your engine and car, whether or not you own a hybrid. Just try them out and I will be more than happy to hear your own results.

That how I feel so virtuous when I embarked to yet another hybrid vehicle test, but this time it’s the hybrid SUV. Simply because it’ll be a major shame if we just scrap all those Sunday family plans. And boy, you guess what gem did I find.

I involved two of the most chic SUVs in the market, but one was diesel and the other was hybrid SUV. With its direct injection 2.8-liter turbo diesel and a monster power train of 160 hp, I can affirm that the Jeep Liberty Sport CRD currently rides as high as its high seat position in the diesel SUV universe. Driving the Jeep Liberty Sport CRD, you don’t feel car-like; it’s like riding a tram and a Dodge Ram in one, with more off road sensation thrown in. It bites torque hard, but it’s quiet as a mouse. In fact, its as quiet as most sedans I know. It costs $25,970.

Now for the hybrid SUV, the palette of choice is rather limited. So I have to go for the very first hybrid SUV only because it already has a fair amount of market age. And that is the Ford Escape. Now this one has a power train of 133 hp, a 2.3 liter that’s supplemented with a 94 hp electric motor and it costs $31,825.

During the road test, surprisingly the hybrid SUV handles acceleration better than the Jeep Liberty. My test stat show that the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV has a better 78.3 mph than the Jeep Liberty’s 75.7 mph. It accelerates better climbing to 60 mph where along the 40 to 70 mph the Jeep Liberty accelerates faster, but still within hairbreadth distance.

Now we go to the lovely part, the fuel economy of both SUVs. Turbo diesel injection does have its demands, and the EPA lists the Jeep Liberty at 22 mpg at city traffic and 27 mpg on open lanes and highway. My road test shows that I got 22.7 mpg on the busy lanes and 31.1 mpg on the highway. As you can see, it’s a pretty close estimation.

The Ford Escape is listed at 33 mpg at the city and 29 mpg at the highway. I did around 28.5 mpg at the city and 29.5 mpg on the open lanes. And yes, there is a definite savings on fuel economy with the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV against the real guzzler Jeep Liberty Sport CRD.

So, do you drive SUV within the confines of the city? You might want hybrid SUV.

When talking about saving on vehicle gas money, “hybrid fuel” for hybrid cars come to stand as a smart solution, aiding motorists in saving gas, as well as helping keep the carbon monoxide levels in the atmosphere controlled to a minimum level.

The “hybrid fuel” in hybrid cars isn’t exactly a new fuel formula, which is ten times better than regular gas fuel for regular combustion engines, or something like that. Hybrid cars are simply vehicles with could tap into two different sources of power, thus its ability to utilize “hybrid fuel”.

Hybrid cars are basically automobiles which are powered by regular gas powered engines, complemented with an alternative power type of energy. Both these form the “hybrid fuel” in hybrid cars. Most hybrid cars are gas powered, at the same time powered by electricity, saving on gas consumption as well as lessening the emission of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.

These hybrid cars boast the plus factors of dedicated electric cars and regular combustion engine cars, with less of the minus points which define vehicles respectively powered by these types of engines. Here is an example: A hybrid electric powered car has the basic premise components of an electric car, which is a rechargeable battery system which stands as the vehicle’s main power source. With hybrid electrical vehicles, users are free from the range-charge issue most dedicated electric cars are limited to, meaning users don’t have to charge their vehicles on a dedicated level. Hybrid cars could easily charge their on-boar batteries, as they are cruising on gas power, as regenerative breaking and/or the vehicle’s electric generator is connected to the vehicle’s engine, enabling the hybrid car to charge its rechargeable battery while running on gas.

Once fully charged, users could simply “change modes”, and economize on gas, as the hybrid car is now running on electric power.

Bottom line, hybrid cars and their “hybrid fuel” stands to be a strong point many after market consumers are interested in, because of the benefits they offer to users, as well as the benefit they have to offer to the environment.

At the rate things are going, it wouldn’t be surprising to see “hybrid fueled” vehicles becoming the de facto class of automobiles running on the streets in the future.

1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature is still cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you’re filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and temperature of the fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products) are significant. Every truckload that we load is temperature-compensated so that the indicated gallonage is actually the amount pumped. A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for businesses, but service stations don’t have temperature compensation at their pumps.

2. If a tanker truck is filling the station’s tank at the time you want to buy gas, do not fill up; most likely dirt and sludge in the tank is being stirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might be transferring that dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car’s tank.

3. Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty), because the more gas you have in your tank the less air there is and gasoline evaporates rapidly, especially when it’s warm. (Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating ‘roof’ membrane to act as a barrier between the gas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing evaporation.)

4. If you look at the trigger you’ll see that it has three delivery settings: slow, medium and high. When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping at the slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you are pumping. Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as a return path for vapor recovery from gas that already has been metered. If you are pumping at the high setting, the agitated gasoline contains more vapor, which is being sucked back into the underground tank, so you’re getting less gas for your money. Hope this will help ease your ‘pain at the pump’.

Interesting concepts from an electric sports car that out accelerates a PORCHE and a NMG machine that keep you on the go when you just need a quick commute to the store.

When you first think of Mercury, you think Ford, right? Well, when it came time to purchase a new SUV, I did consider the newly designed Mercury Mariner Hybrid. I know, I know. Drive American? Well, yes, in fact we have driven alot of American cars in the family. Ford, Oldsmobile, Pontiac. So considering a Mercury was not alien.

Now, let review the major differences in the Mercury Mariner and the Ford Escape. First of all the price is the major factor. With a price tag difference of $2000 USD, you should decide if the flare of Mercury is up to snuff. With underpinning of Toyota under neath the skin, you are in for a treat. With 2008 rolling in, the Mariner has updated its hybrid transmission and and is practical in size and city-going performance. However the price tag can increase as you add options. This one factor can effect the buying decision in todays oil crunch. Well back to the specs, Mercury has topped this vehicle with additions like:

regular-size navigation screen; 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, with a 133 horsepower output, CVT.

Compare to its Japanese rivals, Mercury still lacks the refined fuel economy of the honda CRV or RAV4 but it does stand out in terms of styling.