There is little doubt that private vehicles, especially older, used cars, are among the leading contributors to smog and the emission of greenhouse gases. Yet there are a few easy strategies car owners can take to improve their driving habits and reduce their environmental impact.

1. Plan ahead. Prepare your route, schedule and shopping list before hitting the road. It can reduce your travel time and allows you to avoid unnecessary trips to stores and businesses.
2. Measure your tire pressure once a month. Maintaining proper tire inflation could save you two weeks worth of gas a year and reduce harmful emissions, reports News Canada.
3. Avoid Idling. Try to limit your idle time to 30 seconds or less or just turn the engine off while you wait.
4. Avoid ‘stop and go’ driving. Be mindful of rush hour periods when planning your travel time, you can avoid both frustration and wasteful gas usage.
5. Open windows instead of using air-conditioning. This will take a load off your engine and improve your fuel economy.
6. Park in the shade. On hot days, gasoline will evaporate from the engine and gas tank, contributing to air pollution.
7. Carpool. This will take a few cars off the road while also allowing the use of carpool lanes, resulting in faster commutes. Yippee!
8. Avoid quick accelerations, revving and speeding. Smooth, constant control of the gas pedal will reduce unnecessary fuel consumption.
9. Shed a few pounds. Carrying extra weight in your vehicle adds stress on your engine, causing it to emit more pollution.
10. Take care when refueling. Spilt gasoline evaporates into the air as pollution. Avoid overfilling your gas tank when you’re at the pump.

Well there you have it, 10 easy strategies any car owner can use to minimize their CO2 ‘footprint’. Happy travels.

For more info, check out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (pdf).

Bookmark to:

Wednesday’s Metro reported that Buzz Hargrove, President of Canadian Auto Workers union, announced North American automakers will be forced to lower prices on new vehicles in Canada to better reflect the greater buying power of the Canadian dollar.

The article also mentioned both Porsche and BMW recently reduced auto prices and is now offering new incentives to bring the costs of the high-end vehicles more in line with similar models in the U.S.

Interesting was the news that Canadian consumers aren’t necessarily being “ripped off” when imported car prices are 20% to 40% higher. Apparently many products sold now were bought months before the Canadian dollar rose to its current level.

So, what does this tell us? That’s it’s a great time to buy a new car in Canada AND to shop for new vehicles recently purchased by the dealer.

Bookmark to:

So you and the Mrs. finish a romantic dinner and go back to your parked car. But it’s not there! Some scum bag has stolen it! No problem, you simply report it stolen and an OnStar representative will work in tandem with the police. A few hours later, you have your car safe and sound in your garage, not even a nick in the paint.

The “Stolen Vehicle Slowdown” is a cool new tool developed by OnStar and General Motors. As the name suggests, it gradually slows down a stolen vehicle.

OnStar Advisors use GPS tracking technology to locate the stolen vehicle (which includes safety features to ensure they target the correct car); then they send a signal to the car to remotely slow it down by limiting fuel flow to the engine.

This recovery service is predicted to help reduce property damage and serious injuries or deaths resulting from high-speed police pursuits of stolen vehicles.

Approximately 1.6 million 2009 model year vehicles will be equipped with Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, with Chevrolet accounting for over two-thirds.

Will the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service persuade you to consider a GM when you go to buy a new car?

Bookmark to:

With all good things there comes a price. This past Monday, The Canadian Press reported that America’s policy to replace foreign fuel with ethanol is raising food prices in Canada and the US.

According to Jeff Rubin, CIBC’s World Markets’ chief economist, food inflation is already well over 4% and will only rise as more corn is diverted to the production of ethanol. Already in the past two years, Rubin said, corn prices have risen over 60%.

This is a direct effect of the Bush administration’s renewable energy plan, part of which is to raise US ethanol production from 1 billion gallons in 2000 to 35 billion gallons in 2017. Indeed, $8 billion was subsidized to farmers to grow more corn and encourage ethanol producers to expand.

Funny thing, though, while many toot the benefits of ethanol for the environment, economy and car maintenance, Rubin claims that ethanol is economically-inefficient. To top it off, he suggests that even if the US government reaches its 35 billion gallon goal, it would reduce US gas consumption by only 6.5%!

Let’s not forget to factor into the equation that as more corn is diverted to fuel consumption, it affects the availability for human and animal food consumption. Not only for corn and corn-based products, but there will be a shortage in grains, fruits and vegetables as farmers push them aside to make room to cash in on corn.

Since the States is a major corn exporter, Canadian food prices are predicted to inflate along with the States: Rubin says food costs will rise at a rate of over 5% next year and 7% by 2009.

A Canadian study by the Library of Parliament conducted in March confirms Rubin’s belief that the costs of renewable energy are too great. The results suggested the investments in biofuels will barely make a dent in assuming fuel independency and hardly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

However, these findings are being disputed by groups such as the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association which have reports and studies of their own with results that suggest otherwise. Among other benefits, they claim the use of biofuels will actually clean up the air in Canada.

It will be interesting to see how the Canadian government handles this conflicting evidence, especially since they have promised a $1.5 billion investment over 7 years to promote renewable fuels such as ethanol, and requires that Canadian gas consists of 5% renewable blends by 2010.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Bookmark to:

Health nuts are forever going on about the benefits of green juices. But what about this often talked about green juice for our new and used cars?

Ethanol is made from corn, domestically grown and processed. Fans of this environmentally-sound fuel substitute are calling corn the “grains of gold to fuel our future”.

It seems that Ethanol has consistently proven to outperform any other fuel in every test and in every way possible. Ethanol increases automobile performance, decreases dependency on foreign fuel, and keeps both the environment and engine parts clean.

These benefits and more have convinced the Indy Racing League to use only 100% Ethanol fuel in their cars.

Check out this video to learn more about the future of the fuel economy:

Bookmark to:

The bar for automotive safety has been raised significantly for 2007, as The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an American non-profit organization funded by auto insurers, set rigorous new standards for their annual awards. According to CTV.ca, all 13 cars awarded featured electronic stability control (ESC), a relatively new feature that allows drivers to have more control of their vehicle while going through an emergency maneuver.

The institute’s research showed significant reductions in single-vehicle crashes for both cars and SUVs with ESC, with fatal crashes down 40% and fatal rollovers down 80%. The Institute made the addition of ESC mandatory for car manufacturers to qualify for the awards.

“The idea of tightening the criteria for the award is to encourage more vehicle safety improvements,” Institute president Adrian Lund said in a written statement.

“Last year a car could win with an acceptable rating in the rear test instead of the highest rating of good, and ESC wasn’t considered. Now it’s tougher to win, and some of the 2006 winners don’t meet the criteria for this year’s award because the manufacturers haven’t improved the head restraints from acceptable to good or don’t offer ESC.”

The Institute’s List:

Large car

Audi A6 (manufactured in December 2006 and later)

Midsize cars

Audi A4

Saab 9-3

Subaru Legacy (equipped with optional electronic stability control)

Minivans

Hyundai Entourage

Kia Sedona

Luxury SUVs

Mercedes M class

Volvo XC90

Midsize SUVs

Acura RDX

Honda Pilot

Subaru B9 Tribeca

Small SUVs

Honda CR-V

Subaru Forester (equipped with optional electronic stability control)

Following the Institute’s awards, several top manufacturers, including Ford, Hyundai, Daimler Chrysler, General Motors and Toyota, made press releases regarding the standardization of ESC, most speculating the addition of the technology for all 2008 and 2009 models.

Bookmark to: