US Economy Forecasts

khalid r mustaffa asked:


Car manufacturers invest millions of dollars annually on research and development; this is to improve every aspect of their cars by the next manufacturing batch. Of course, it is taken into consideration that fuel economy became more important to car shopper than they ever were. This is due to the fact that drivers around the nation are experiencing all time high gas prices. Nowadays gas saving products and additives are being advertised for like no time before. Yet the advertised fuel economy in 2008 car models is lower than 2007 car models. At least this is what you are about to witness if you go to a car dealership, and compare the 2007 to the 2008 of same make and model.

The good news is that the research and development investments are not being wasted, and the manufactures did not neglect the fuel efficiency factor, better yet, those 2007 are indifferent to the 2008 models as far as fuel efficiency is concerned, but are more realistic. Yes, the EPA has finally decided to tweak the way it measures fuel economy, the numbers you will starting 2008 models is going to be more realistic. I am as most of you are aware, a numbers oriented person, yet find it hard to remember monitoring a car that gave the announced Gas mileage. Well, basically because I am not old enough. The standards for measuring fuel economy you see around have not changed since 1984, back when the highway speed limits hardly reached 55 miles an hour. Obviously, it’s a different world now, where highway speed limits are reaching at some parts of country 80 miles per hour.

On a concluding note, it is worth quoting the EPA spokesman on this issue. John Millett said “Driving has changed so much, since we last updated the method in 1984, that we were due for a change,” says. “We have faster interstate highway speeds, 65 to 70 miles an hour in some areas, up from 55. We also have a lot more vehicles equipped with air conditioning.”For more information about selling your car, check out the Estimated Fuel Economy Drops in Every 2008 Make and Model

Stephen Long asked:


t better fuel economy? This is a question that seems to be on everyone’s mind these days. Simply drive by a gas station and you probably cringe each time as you watch prices continually rise. Oil prices are rising, and gas prices are reflecting this rise in oil prices as well. In the past year, gas prices have gone up more than $1 per gallon, and the prices are really beginning to hurt the wallet of Americans these days. Fuel economy is a hot topic, and no doubt you’re looking for ways that you can get better fuel economy. Well, here are some easy ways that you can start working on getting better fuel economy, which will save you money each time you fill up with gas.

Make Sure Your Air Filters are Working Properly - Making sure that your air filters are working properly is one way to get better fuel economy. You can really improve the gas mileage that your car gets when you make sure to replace any air filters that become clogged. The air filter in your car helps to keep impurities from getting through and causing engine damage. They also can help you save on gas, and studies show that they can improve the mileage that you’re getting by about 10%, which really can help.

Use the Right Motor Oil for Your Vehicle - Using the right motor oil for your vehicle can help you get better fuel economy as well. You can improve the mileage that your car gets by a couple percentage points when you make sure that you are using the right motor oil for your car. If you use the wrong type of engine oil, you can lower your gas mileage, but using the right oil that is recommended by the car manufacturer will help you get the best performance and gas mileage.

Get an Engine Tune Up - An engine tune up can really help you save money on gas. In fact, it can help your fuel economy so much that you can save about $0.16 on every gallon that you buy. It’s important that you keep your engine tuned up and make sure that the car passes emissions tests as well. Serious problems with your car such as problems with oxygen sensors can really take down your gas mileage, so make sure you keep the engine tuned up.

Don’t Let Tire Pressure Drop - Don’t let the tire pressure drop in your tires either if you want better fuel economy. You’ll be able to get more than 3% better gas mileage when you keep your tires well inflated. Take a look at the recommended tire pressure for your tires, and then keep your tires there to make sure you get the best fuel economy possible.

Levi Quinn asked:


For decades new car buyers have complained that their fuel economy has not measured up to the EPA estimates on the window sticker. Since the EPA began providing mileage estimates in the 1970’s, it has been known that the testing methods were not reflective of real world driving conditions and are more effective in comparing mileage between different models than determining actual fuel economy.

Although changes have been made to this fuel economy estimating system several times since the 70’s, new tests and formula for determining mileage and, as well as new window stickers, will be phased in with the 2008 model year, and new testing procedures will be mandatory by 2011.

It is speculated that the estimated mileage appearing on window stickers will be reduced in most models, but that these figures will more closely match the real world mileage of the vehicle. For drivers practicing good driving habits and maintenance, they may be able to get fuel economy that is higher than estimated.

Current fuel mileage tests are done with vehicles on a treadmill-like device designed to simulate real driving. However, these tests are done in moderate temperatures without any accessories running, such as air conditioning. The highway test is far outdated, with the top speed only being 60 mph, and an average speed of 48 mph. The city driving test simulates 7.5 miles of driving at an average of 20 mph with 18 stops.

The new fuel economy testing procedures will take into account and replicate three common scenarios that can significantly lower fuel economy, such as hard acceleration, cold temperature operation, and the use of air conditioning. Although some of these tests are done currently, they are used to determine emissions figures, but the data is factored into mileage estimates. For the 2008 model year, the EPA is simply using a different formula in an attempt to make mileage estimates more accurate.

It is expected that the new estimation formula and new testing procedures will lower fuel economy ratings by 10-30% across the board. The vehicles whose mileage ratings will see the biggest reduction are likely to be ones that are adversely affected by heavy demand on the engine from hard acceleration, air conditioning, and cold temperatures, such as high mileage cars.

Many environmentalists are disappointed that hybrids are expected to be among the vehicles with the biggest drop in estimated mileage. Some say this may have a negative impact on the hybrid market, but every vehicle will have the same actual fuel economy. The only difference is a more realistic mileage estimate.

While some fear this will cause consumers to neglect hybrid cars, many analysts and industry insiders see the new formula and tests in a positive light. Dave Alexander, a senior analyst at ABI Research, said, “There is potential in the long run for better customer satisfaction.” This is because a car whose window sticker says 30 mpg will be able to produce that mileage at 70 mph with the air conditioning on, in real driving conditions, instead of at a top speed of 60 mph with no accessories in a climate controlled setting.

Instead of turning consumers away from hybrids, more accurate mileage estimates may allow consumers to purchase vehicles that are actually more fuel efficient instead of continuing to be dissatisfied with lower than expected mileage.

David Smith asked:


If you own a powerful car and you drive enthusiastically, you’re probably not going to be blessed with marvellous fuel economy. However, there are various steps you can make to lower the amount of gas you use on any journey without driving like a miser. This article only majors on the most effective methods of reducing fuel consumption, if you need more tips please do a search on Google – there is a plethora of information out there…

Keep your car well maintained

Following the correct service intervals will keep your car running efficiently. New air filters will allow the free flow of air necessary for efficient fuel combustion, clean fuel filters provide a steady stream of petrol to the cylinders, and shiny new spark plugs will provide the spark needed to set the whole thing off. A thing of beauty! They key here is the efficient burn of the fuel air mix, which will allow more power to be extracted from a set volume of fuel. A new air filter alone could increase fuel consumption up to 10%.

Tyres

Underinflated tyres need more energy to roll. Keeping the pressures at the correct level can increase economy by up to 3.5%. Specialist fuel saving tyres are also available, although these may not perform so well on the track! Properly inflated tyres are also key to providing optimum levels of grip, so it’s worth checking periodically.

Gears

Using higher gears won’t give you lightning acceleration but will save fuel. Keeping your revs low (but not so low that your engine starts to struggle) is a good habit to get into when cruising. If you have a “Sport Mode” on your auto transmission, turn this off, as this will hang onto low gears for longer and may even prevent changing to the highest cog.

Accelerate hard to save fuel?!

A British automotive engineering consultancy claims to have unearthed proof that putting your foot down hard on the accelerator can actually be more fuel efficient than driving more conservatively.

“It sounds totally counter-intuitive — and it is,” admits Cousins. The key to saving fuel, he says, is to accelerate hard until the engine reaches 2000 rpm, move up a gear, then put your foot down until you reach 2000rpm again. It’s all to do with internal friction. “Put simply, with your right foot down on the accelerator, the engine is working at its most efficient,” says Cousins. Above 2000rpm the benefits diminish and you start using more fuel, not less.

Here’s the really interesting thing: in tests carried out in a Citroën C1, one of the most fuel-efficient cars, Cousins’s driving technique proved 8.5% more efficient than the “eco-safe driving” style promoted by the Department for Transport (http://www.dsa.gov.uk — search for eco-safe). The government’s official driving method — taught to all UK learner drivers and now included in the driving test — encourages drivers to save fuel by using the accelerator pedal only lightly.

Source: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/

Dr Steve Cousins should know what he’s talking about – he was project leader for the Axon Automotive Caterham 2R which achieved 131 miles per gallon in UK Shell Eco-marathon, and is one of the world’s top researchers into fuel economy.

Accelerate gently to save fuel

Although there may be evidence that accelerating hard to 2000rpm could save you fuel, accelerating to the red line in every gear will certainly not. In general, try to keep a constant speed where possible by judging potential reasons to slow down in the road ahead and react to them, avoiding rapid changes in momentum. If you’re slowing down and accelerating the whole time, fuel bills will go through the roof.

Speed

The faster you go, the harder it is to propel your vehicle through the air. This means that a small decrease in cruising speed could provide fuel economy benefits. The UK’s Department of Environment claims that every 5 mph you drive over 65 mph will provide a 7% decrease in fuel economy.

Incidentally if you believe these figures, at 130 mph on the autobahns of Germany, you’ll be using 91% more fuel than at 65mph. At 150, you’ll actually be getting negative miles per gallon, and you’ll arrive at your destination younger than when you started!

For more driving tips, please visit DrivingFast.net

Daniel Millions asked:


Gas prices continue to increase, with no end in sight. This trend further accentuates the need for every human to purchase more fuel efficient cars. Having an automobile with good fuel economy is not only helpful in saving money, but it is also an integral part of repairing the environment.

The official definition of fuel economy is how much gas is needed to move a certain distance. In the United States, fuel economy is measured in miles per gallon, while in the rest of the world, it is mostly calculated in liters per one hundred kilometers. These measuring systems vary greatly; a higher number in the US system is optimal, while a lower number is desired in the metric system (the lower the number, the lower the amount of fuel needed to travel one hundred kilometers).

Governments are taking notice of the importance of fuel economy, and are establishing guidelines which will regulate efficiency in the future. The European Union has decided that, starting in 2012, gasoline cars must have at least a 47mpg rating, and diesel cars must have at least a 52mpg rating. The United States currently taxes vehicles that do not adhere to environmental standards, as a means of discouraging their production. These taxes and penalties are expected to increase drastically within the next few years.

Engineers are constantly working to find ways to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles. Several factors affect fuel economy, so it is a matter of altering those factors to produce better efficiency. The weight of a car is one of the biggest factors in fuel economy, so engineers are always trying to make cars lighter.

This can be done through replacing traditional materials, such as iron, with alternative options like carbon fiber. Wind resistance and drag require cars to exert energy to overcome them, so vehicles that are designed to experience these factors minimally have better fuel economies. Anything that can increase or save energy is beneficial. For example, shutting off the engine while the car is stopped saves energy.

Improving the efficiency of engine combustion is a key factor. Most engines only exploit 10-20% of the energy released from burning fuel; the rest is lost to heat and other forms of energy. Fuel cells are so desirable because up to 80% of their produced energy can be directly utilized. Different types of combustion, such as lean burn and HCCI combustion are being tested to identify what method is most efficient.

Average consumers can play their part in increasing the fuel economy of their vehicles. Fuel efficiency increasing products are popular in the market right now, but most of them do not actually improve efficiency at all. Simple things, like keeping the air pressure in tires high, and slowly accelerating and decelerating, can expand a vehicle’s rating a fair degree.

Hybrid cars are the best option currently for those who want speed and great fuel economy. These models combine electrical and gasoline engine components to create something which does not feel like an electric car at all. Hybrid vehicles recapture wasted energy during breaking, shut off gasoline power during idle periods, and utilize gas and electric power simultaneously to reduce the total amount of fuel consumed. All of these factors combined result in fuel ratings of over 50mpg, as well as lower emissions.

Elena Maria DB Orsos asked:


In engineery terms, fuel efficiency means the thermal capacity of converting the energy contained in the fuel to kinetic energy, or work, needed to move your car. For a vehicle, fuel efficiency means the output one gets for a unit amount of fuel input, such as “miles per gallon” or “litters per 100 kilometers”. For you, fuel efficiency simply means less fuel wasted and more money in your pocket.

The automotive industry believed that by maintaining the air/fuel ratio of 14.7:1 by electronic means, like electronic fuel injection and electronic ignition systems, they had already achieved the best combustion process that assures the best fuel economy.

Unfortunately this is not always true because is not sufficiently known, but there are a lot of very ordinary daily driving situations that makes than the engine operates steady at low speeds, creating less temperature in the combustion chamber. It makes that the stock spark plugs results operating too cold, which affects the combustion process, because the low temperature do not allows to burn completely the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber.

Unburned fuel is wasted fuel and you paid for it. Wasted fuel is wasted money.

These very common driving or traffic conditions are:

• Steady city driving, where prolonged idling or short distances and stop-and-go driving prevails.

• Extended low speed driving, or short distance driving or even in the freeway driving where the automatic transmission maintains the engine under 3000 RPM.

• Low speed cruising.

• At high elevations, above 3000 ft.

• Weather conditions, where the humidity rises.

• Moreover, these conditions may combine in endless ways.

And believe it or not, this situation is not the exception, in fact is almost the rule for more than the 75% of the cars worldwide. You can confirm it simply by seen the exits of the exhaust tips in any parking zone and in anywhere around you. Most of them are covered with dry black soot produced by the unburned fuel. And this is not due to an incorrect air/fuel mixture adjustment in the carburetor or the fuel injection system; even this occurs in a well maintained vehicle which just passed the smog test satisfactorily.

This is because the stock spark plugs are being too cold for those operating conditions, consequently are no longer adequate and must be substituted by spark plugs with a different and hotter heat range.

Why occurs it? because the heat range of the original stock spark plug was defined by the manufacturers at their laboratories, based on differents and teorical speeds, and trips, that supposedly should be done by the potential target market who conceptually will buy a gived model and type of vehicle. But in the real life, not all the people have the same driving habits nor lives in the same geographical and under the same weather conditions, or drives in the same traffic conditions neither gives the same maintenance to their vehicles.

Do you still have doubts? Think just a minute that the traffic between a big city like LA is very different from a smaller city and from a town. A teenager drives different from his mother and she drives different to her husband, whom drives different to his neighbour whom tows a trailer. Additionally from Alaska to Dubai, there are hundreds of different weathers, altitudes, and humidities; and there are many different fuel brands and qualities, among other different conditions.

So it is absolutely necessary to refining and tailoring the selection of the spark plugs for matching the real operating conditions of the engine to each individual driving habits and or each particular operating conditions.

As you can see, it is more likely that you are having Heat Range problems that are affecting your mileage, even if you didn’t know they existed, and you are wasting more in fuel than neccesary.

To achieve the best fuel economy in these extremely frequent but seldom considered driving conditions, you must install different and hotter spark plugs than the original stock, suggested by the manufacturers in their application catalogs in order to achieve the right combustion chamber temperature that ensures the perfect combustion process.

But to define which exactly is the sparkplug, whose heat range results being the best adequate for your engine, is a risky puzzle and not an easy task.

Nevertheless, only by tailoring the selection of the park plug’s heat range, customizing it to your particular conditions, you will achieve your engine’s top efficiency, thus guaranteeing the best fuel economy, whit the best performance, power, reliability and low emissions.

Hard to believe?

You don´t have to take my words. Spark plug manufacturers have never failed to explicitly acknowledge that:

“A hotter spark plug may be better for prolonged idling or city type stop and go traffic”.

AC DELCO Spark Plugs

“A hotter plug is better for prolonged idling and city travel”.

BOSCH Spark Plugs

“Use spark plugs with a hotter heat range for steady city driving”.

SPLITFIRE Spark Plugs

“For short distances and stop-and-go driving a hotter plug is better”.

DENSO Spark Plugs

“The spark plug heat range should remain the same unless also at high elevations, (above 3000 ft ), in which changing to a hotter plug may be necessary”.

CHAMPION Spark Plugs.

“This is reflected in the increased importance assigned to precisely adapting the spark plug to engine. Customized solutions are the order of the day”.

BOSCH Sparkplugs

Stephen Long asked:


ooking for ways to increase fuel economy? Who isn’t? There doesn’t appear to be any relief in sight for the skyrocketing gas and oil prices. So, we all continue to suffer every time we fill up at the gas pumps. With it constantly costing more and more money for less gas, it’s imperative that people begin to learn how to increase fuel economy. The following are a few simple steps that you can do to start getting better fuel economy and save on gas.

Start Driving the Speed Limit - Believe it or not, speeding may be costing you at the pump. If you want to increase fuel economy, you need to start driving the speed limit instead of driving your car like “grease lightning.” Every car has a different speed that it gets the best fuel mileage at, but you’ll find that most cars really start to lose fuel economy as you go beyond 60 mph when you’re driving. In fact, speeding can make quite a huge difference, costing you about $.30 more for each gallon for every 5 mph you go about 60. So, not only is it safer to drive the speed limit, but it can save you cash too.

Stay in the Highest Gear Possible - Staying in the highest gear possible can also help you to increase fuel economy. When you use the higher gears when driving, the engine speed of your car is not as high. This will help you to save on gas mileage and also helps to reduce the wear on your engine as well. So, whenever possible, make sure that you stay in overdrive and you’ll get better fuel economy.

Turn Off Your Car - When you stop to pick up your kids at school, turn off the car. Instead of going through the drive through, turn off your car and go in. Don’t idle at the store either, but turn off the car while you’re waiting on someone to come out. Yes, there is a recurring theme here - turn off your car. When you are idling, you lose gas mileage, especially if you have a car that has a big engine. So, instead of just letting your car idle, consider turning it off to help save on gas.

Do All Your Errands at Once - Doing all your errands at once can help you improve fuel economy as well. Instead of doing one errand and then going to do another one a few hours later, it’s better to plan out your trip so you can get all your errands done at once. When the engine of your car warms up, you’ll get better fuel economy. So, it’s better to run your errands when the car is warm rather to do them at different times when the car has to warm up all over again.

As you can see, there are numerous things that you can do to easily increase your fuel economy. Every little thing you do can really make a huge difference and can save you money. So, take the time to use these simple tips so you can start saving when you go to the pump.