Scott's Useful Information BlogScott Siegel (448)    Intergalactic Products LLC Beware of Deceptive Advertising Claims for Gas Savings DevicesPosted Thursday, April 24, 2008 (75 days 3 hours ago.) Viewed 98 times. There are all kinds of gas saving devices being advertised now. Do a search in Google and you will find that google finds 1.5 million web pages concerning fuel saving devices. As with any situation where people smell money, unscrupulous individuals are always ready to steal your money with the latest scam. The latest scam is trying to convince you that a fuel saving device attached to your car will miraculously cut your gas consumption 20, 30 even 40 percent. The federal government has done a lot of testing of fuel saving devices. From this extensive testing comes this advice. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns you to be wary of any gas-saving claims for automotive devices or oil and gas additives. Even for the few gas-saving products that have been found to work, the savings have been small. There are some general themes and methods to the fuel device advertising strategy. Here are a few to beware of: Be very skeptical of the following kind of advertising claim. "This gas-saving product improves fuel economy by 20 percent." Claims usually tout savings ranging from 12 to 25 percent. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated or tested more than 100 alleged gas-saving devices and has not found any product that significantly improves gas mileage. In fact, some "gas-saving" products may damage a car's engine or cause substantial increases in exhaust emissions. Also be skeptical of ads that feature glowing testimonials from satisfied drivers such as: "After installing your product on my car, I got an extra 4 miles [6.4 kilometers] per gallon [3.8 liters]." You cannot put your hard earned dollars at risk because of some amateur drivers claim. These ads feature glowing testimonials by satisfied customers. No consumer has the ability or the equipment to test for precise changes in gas mileage after installing a gas-saving product. Even if they did have the right equipment they could not control the conditions and the environment under which they could actually test the device. Many variables affect fuel consumption, including traffic, road and weather conditions, and the car's condition. For example, one consumer sent a letter to a company praising its "gas-saving" product. At the time the product was installed, however, the consumer also had received a complete engine tune-up - a fact not mentioned in the letter. The entire increase in gas mileage attributed to the "gas-saving" product most likely was the result of the tune-up alone. But from the ad, other consumers could not have known that. These are just some of the tactics that those selling fuel saving devices use to legitimize their claims. They are out there to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers desperate to find a way to lower their gas costs. Don't become a victim of these scams. Be wary of their claims. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Scott Siegel shows you how to cope with high gas prices. He is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information on saving gas and money at the pump. Visit us to learn how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
Permalink Comments (0) 10 Cent Increase In Gas Costs You From $150 to $300 Per Year!Posted Thursday, April 24, 2008 (75 days 3 hours ago.) Viewed 8 times. As the price of gas has steadily increased so has your annual gas expenditure. It has gotten to the point that it has become a major part of your family expense. But do you really know how much you are spending per year on gas? Most drivers know what it costs for a fill up but not many can confidently state how much they spend per year. It is fairly simple to figure out and only takes a few minutes to calculate it. Even so, most drivers don't take the time to work the calculations and determine their annual expense. If they did they might look at economizing their gas usage a little more seriously. There seems to be no end in sight to the daily increases to the price of gas. $3.00 per gallon, $3.29 per gallon, $3.49 per gallon are prices that we have seen this year. A while back $3.00 per gallon seemed really high. Now $3.00 seems like a good price! The AAA uses 15,000 miles as an average amount of miles traveled per vehicle. If you travel approximately 15,000 miles each year in a car that gets about 20 miles to the gallon, you will buy approximately 750 gallons of gas per year. At $3.00 per gallon that adds up to $2250.00 per year as the cost for fuel. If you are a two car family averaging 15,000 miles per car you will use 1500 gallons of gas per year. 1500 gallons at $3.00 per gallon equals $4500.00 per year. At $3.49 per gallon the numbers are considerably higher. If you have one car at 15,000 miles per year you will spend over $2600.00 per year. A two car family would spend over $5200.00 per year. That equates to $437.00 per month. You could easily be spending more for gas than your monthly car payments. Every time that the price of gas goes up at the fuel pump by 10 cents the total increase for your two car family will be $150.00 per year. When you see the price jump 20 cents in one day, think annually. Realize that the 20 cent increase will cost you $300.00. When you think about the annual cost of your fuel it is very sobering. When you think about spending $5200.00 per year, you might want to serious look at ways to reduce that cost. When you realize that the 20 cent increase today will cost you $300.00 this year you might decide now is the time to do something about it.
Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information on saving gas and money at the pump. Learn how to cope with high gas prices! Visit us to learn how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
Permalink Comments (0) Improve Gas Mileage by Changing Your Parking HabitsPosted Wednesday, January 02, 2008 (188 days 12 hours ago.) Viewed 23 times. There are so many simple and easy things you can do to improve your gas mileage. One of those simple things is to change your parking habits. Here is the normal scenario when pulling into a parking lot. You pull into the lot and immediately head for the row of parking spaces closest to the entrance to the mall or the store to which you are heading. Of course, since everyone does the same thing, there are not any parking spaces available near the entrance. Now you do one of two things, you either sit and wait for a few minutes to see if anyone will be pulling out of spaces near the entrance, or you drive up and down the closest rows to see if you can find a spot that is still fairly close to the entrance. Both of these behaviors will cost you gas mileage and will cost you money. When you sit and wait to see if anyone will vacate a space you are running your engine but not moving. You are getting zero miles per gallon when you are sitting and idling like that. When you slowly cruise up and down the parking rows near the entrance you are burning gas. When you are moving slowly you are getting very poor gas mileage. As you slow down and stop at spaces that might open up, or if you stop behind another car that is stopped, now you are idling and getting zero miles per gallon. If you spend just 60 seconds in any given day waiting for or cruising for a parking space, think how much gas you will use in a year. For a quick calculation, if we assume an average month of 30 days and you are wasting gas for 60 seconds or one minute each day that means that you would be burning gas for 30 minutes each month. At 30 minutes per month, you would be unnecessarily burning gas the equivalent of 6 hours per year. Now, would you ever consider leaving your car sit and idle in your driveway for six hours burning gas? Of course not. But that is exactly what you are doing with your current parking habits. What is the solution to all of this wasted gas? How can you improve gas mileage by changing parking habits? Very simple, park far away from the store or mall entrance. The farther from the entrance you go the more empty parking spaces there are. Chances are that if you, immediately upon entering the parking lot, go to the rows far from the entrance, you will find a place to park right away. By parking far away, you save all the gas you would have burned waiting and looking for a close in parking space. Not only will you improve gas mileage and save money but you will get a little extra exercise by walking the extra distance to the store entrance. It's a win for your pocket book and a win for your body. Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information on saving gas and money at the pump. Visit us to learn how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
Permalink Comments (0) Cold Temperatures Lower Your Fuel EconomyPosted Wednesday, January 02, 2008 (188 days 12 hours ago.) Viewed 27 times. Winter conditions put a tremendous strain on your car and on your driving. Winter also puts a strain on your fuel economy. In order to prevent a decrease in your fuel economy you need to be aware of some specific issues with regard to your car and your driving in the winter. One of the two main characteristics of winter, cold temperatures, create conditions that lower your fuel economy. A car that is cold uses more fuel to start up than a warm car. The colder the car the more fuel it uses when it starts. In cold weather, the engine of your car is harder to start. The oil in your car is thicker when it is cold and thus requires more energy to get it flowing. All the parts that are lubricated by this thicker oil require more energy to move them. More energy means that it will take more fuel to move the parts. Your engine will use more fuel to run until it warms up. Cold temperatures also effect other parts of your car. The bearings, joints, transmission, power assisted brakes, and steering mechanisms will all require more energy to move them when they are cold. These mechanisms all depend on some fluids to operate. Like the engine oil these fluids will be thicker in cold weather and will require more energy to move them. Again that translates into more gas. Other parts of your car will be stiff and may be frozen. Moisture in the air can condense and freeze on many car parts. Water from precipitation or from the road may have frozen on to part of the car. It will take more energy to move these parts. Wheel bearings, suspension systems and wheels themselves are some of the parts effected. The same applies, more energy needed to move these parts translates into more fuel burned and lower gas mileage. Since your engine needs to overcome some temperature issues to lubricate itself in the cold you do need to give it a little longer to idle after starting than you would in the summer. But, I have to stress this, it only needs about 30 seconds of idling, no more. That little extra idling does affect your gas mileage. Some things you can do to mitigate the affects of cold on gas mileage are: Park your car in a heated garage if available. Even a non heated garage may be warmer than leaving your car outside. It may be time to get rid of all the boxes in your garage and make room for your car. Make sure you are using an oil that is recommended for your car in cold temperatures. The proper oil will flow better in cold weather thus reducing the amount of energy needed to start and run a cold engine. In extreme cold climates an engine block heater will help keep the engine and oil warm thus avoiding a complete cold start. You will need a way to plug it in and keep it plugged in until you are ready to drive. Don't wast fuel warming your car when you start it. You only need about 30 seconds of idling to make sure the oil is flowing sufficiently in the engine. Excessive idling beyond 30 seconds will rob you of gas mileage faster than anything else. Let the car continue to warm up as you are driving. Although winter and the cold temperatures that it brings can greatly reduce fuel economy you can minimize it's affect. If you follow the simple steps outlined you can keep your gas mileage up at the level it should be. Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information on saving gas and money at the pump. Visit us to learn how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
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