One thing we can all agree on?  Gasoline is out of control.  Between argumentative government personalities debating whether an American pipeline is a good or bad thing, warring nations across the pond, inflation, and so forth, we're now looking at regular octane gasoline passing four dollars (and some think it'll never return to lower levels.

Will we get a national pipeline to reduce the pain at the pumps?  Who knows.  Will the government agree on a price cap or find a way to otherwise reduce gas prices.  I doubt it, but again nobody knows.  Will the warring nations overseas agree to disagree, live in peace, and start supplying the world with the abundant and lucrative crude oil upon which they sit?  (Not to get into a moral debate here) though probably the least likely scenario, we just simply do not know.

So what's a Chevrolet owner in VT supposed to do?

Introducing the revamped Handy Chevrolet Certified Service Fuel Efficiency service page, giving you a slew of gas-saving tips that will do one thing above all else:  maximize fuel efficiency in ways that YOU can implement with no extra cost, no headache beyond a small foresight, and ultimately keep more dollars in your wallet (or at least reduce the time between fill ups).  Keep in mind we're not talking about a new Chevy Volt, per se; if you have a Ford Model T and utilize these tricks you will maximize your fuel economy.

After reading these tips if you still want to save more contact the service team at Handy Chevrolet or schedule an appointment online for a fuel efficiency service by which the Certified Service team at our St. Albans, VT new and used Chevrolet dealership will perform specific tasks - air filter checks, tire pressure checks, etc. - to make your car as fuel efficient as it can possibly be.

• Keep to the speed limit and use cruise control when possible; drivers use 20 percent more fuel from 55 miles per hour to 70 miles per hour... and you won't be risking a speeding ticket to ad insult to your wallet's injury.
• Avoid giving your vehicle a lot of gas to accelerate as well as braking too hard at just about all times - it's counterproductive.  Accelerate slowly and get up to speed and take your foot off the gas as a stop approaches to lose some momentum.  This will also save your brakes.
• Avoid idling whenever possible as you will lose up to a gallon of gas per hour just sitting still.  In fact it's one of those obvious rules that gets overlooked more often than not - when you're idling you're using gas and going zero miles; this means zero miles ger gallon.
• Use the air conditioner on the highway and open your windows during city driving.  The air conditioner uses extra fuel so it is not smart to use it while driving at low enough speeds where having your windows open will not make your vehicle suffer much wind resistance.  Conversely, on the interstate or at high speeds the open windows of a car will reduce the aerodynamics or increase the vehicle's drag coefficiency making it less efficient at cutting through the force of the air.
• Take unnecessary clutter out of your trunk.  A simple rule of thumb is more weight equates to more fuel consumed.  Keep important items like a spare tire and jack, winter gear (hats, sand, salt, etc.), road flares, and the like, but remove your 50-pound hockey bag that's been sitting all winter.
• Fill your gas tank when it's the coolest temperature outside and avoid holiday fill-ups.  Cooler temperatures means less a more condensed gasoline and less vapor giving you more for your dollar (gasoline distributors, short of enormous pipelines where the gas originates, do not account for the difference).  As far as holidays go, prices generally rise on or around holiday travel periods.
• Never top off your tank.  Not only can it be dangerous, the extra gasoline you attempt to put in the tank just spills out or evaporates.  This is one reason for the automatic shut-off most gasoline pumps have today.
• When you get gas at a station, put the automatic filling clip on the 2nd or possibly 3rd setting.  This will take longer but you'll get less gas vapor - that you're paying for - sucked up and sent into the gas pump's exhaust system.
• Don't fill your gas tank when you see a fuel truck refilling a station.  This stirs up any debris in the underground tank and can land straight in your car's fuel filter or worse the tank itself.
• Fill your tank no later than at a half tank.  While this may seem odd, the more space or volume inside the tank allows for more evaporation of the fuel, and gasoline evaporates very quickly.  As an added "bonus" of sorts it will make your wallet feel the crunch less (although this is more of a psychological trick than reality!).
• Make sure to use whatever octane fuel (regular, plus, super, etc.) your Chevrolet vehicle's Owner's Manual recommends.  Use top tier detergent gasoline when possible.
• Coast down hills when it's safe to do so and accelerate before hitting the incline of a hill, not during your ascent.
• Try not to have a roof rack attached to your Chevrolet for no reason as they cause a great deal of wind resistance and lessen the aerodynamics of your vehicle.  You can use up to an extra quarter gallon of gasoline to compensate the wind resistance of a drag-inducing rack, and that's just an empty, unused racks score!

The following is a brief list of services our Certified Service technician staff can and will provide during a Fuel Efficiency Service to boost or maximize fuel efficiency of virtually any vehicle:

1. Engine oil change
2. Checking or changing the oil filter
3. Check and adjust tire pressure
4. Clean the air intake system
5. Emission system inspection  Check the brakes for correct adjustment
6. Front suspension alignment
7. Steering alignment
8. Clean the fuel injectors
9. Replacing spark plugs
10. Unclogging the exhaust system
11. Look at the exhaust gas recirculation system
12. Clean coils and connections
13. Examine transmission and torque converter for correct fluid levels
14. Replacing damaged hoses
15. Perform diagnostics to identify malfunctioning systems

Chris Dugan
Handy Chevrolet
St. Albans, VT  05478