What to Do about High Gas Prices

Probably everybody is aware of the rising gas prices. My area, Chicago, has recently had some of the highest gas prices in the US. I recently drove through the vicinity of Chicago Midway Airport (where probably one should expect prices to be high), and saw several gas stations with $4.59 and one with $4.60.

I have a car with a six-cylinder engine. It's nowhere as thirsty a car as big vehicles like pickups or SUVs, or super-power cars. Still, it's not as economical as I'd like. And supposedly vehicles in general have gotten more fuel-efficient. So I've half-heartedly been exploring swapping my old steed.

There are hybrids, of course, which are not only economical but are more environmentally friendly. But, through working with engineers, I've learned to see with their perspective, to a degree; so I view hybrids as not an "elegant" solution. That is, they have a lot of mechanical and electronic complexity.

So another thing to look at are diesel-engine cars. Diesels are not like they used to be: rough, noisy, dirty, hard-to-start. They're very popular in Europe, but Americans still have memories of a couple of bad American diesel models of some years ago.

Also, there are "turbos," or cars with a turbocharged engine. A turbocharger is pretty much a way of getting free power, so an engine can be smaller in displacement for the same power output. Smaller means more economical.

Another thing I almost forgot about myself is manual transmissions. I think that 97% of vehicles currently sold in America have automatic transmissions and undoubtedly many drivers don't know how to drive a "stick shift." But, if you are willing and able to drive one, that's a way to get another one or two miles per gallon.

Meanwhile, short of investing in a new car, there's one simple and easy thing we can all be doing to get better mileage, and that's to modify our driving habits. See my October 20, 2010 posting on this blog, "Driving More Safely and More Economically."

Copyright © 2011 by Richard Stein