Drivers' dream: better gas mileage

The record price of gasoline in the US has prompted a flurry of ideas about how to make a tank of gas last longer.

from the May 25, 2007 edition

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New York - With the price of gasoline hovering at record levels, ideas are proliferating about how to maximize miles per gallon.

The Internet is full of unproven ideas such as adding a few ounces of acetone – yes, nail polish remover – to the fuel tank. Depending on whom you believe, it will either make the family buggy more efficient or potentially do harm.

Almost every consumer-oriented energy organization is counseling drivers to do things such as slow down, organize trips to avoid unnecessary driving, and keep the car tuned up. Such tips are endorsed by the US government as ways to save money and energy.

As the nation gets ready for Memorial Day, the start to the summer driving season, the average price at the pump is $3.24 a gallon, according to GasPriceWatch.com. That's about 2 cents a gallon more than the inflation-adjusted record set in March 1981.

Probably because of the rising prices, a recent poll by CBS News/New York Times found that 92 percent of Americans are in favor of requiring auto companies to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Sales of hybrid vehicles that achieve better fuel economy have now reached an all-time high of 2 percent of the current model year in the United States. [Editor's note: The original version misstated the size of the US fleet of hybrid vehicles.]

"This is the most interest we've ever seen in fuel economy by far," says Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington. In the past week alone, she has done five television appearances. "An obvious sign is the ads from the automakers: They are advertising their fuel economy instead of the number of cup holders or movie screens."

Mileage issues are becoming increasingly important to the average family's pocketbook. In an annual survey, the Travel Industry Association found that the longest trip in the family car this summer will be about 1,000 miles round trip. Increasing mileage from 20 miles per gallon to 30 miles per gallon would save a vacationer $50 on the trip.

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