When looking at your next car then it is definitely best to make sure that you choose a vehicle which has documented history.  Reliability is the key, and also pay particular attention to whether or not the car has passed all the relevant emissions tests – these will vary from country to country.

Size is Important When it Comes to Your Car

You should also consider the size of the car that you are going to buy. In order to be as green-minded as possible buy as small car as possible for your daily driving needs.  For example, you might think you need a large car because you drive to see relations on the other side of the country… but if this journey only happens twice a year then this should be considered to be actually quite inefficient.  Buy a smaller car for the majority of your driving and then rent a larger vehicle for those longer trips.

You Should Also Try to Car Share

Car sharing is also a hot topic in the green movement, and many people will have informal agreements with friends and neighbors – one of the more popular ways to car share is taking it in turns to take the neighborhood kids to school rather than clogging up the road network with loads of cars with just one child in.  Once you have bought your new car, then there is never a better time to make arrangements about how you are going to share it.

Don’t Buy a New Car – Join a Car Club Instead!

It might be that you take a very radical approach to car sharing which is starting to become popular in some communities.  In essence this takes car sharing to the next levels, with people clubbing together and reducing the amount of actual cars that they own.  These Car-Clubs can be found on the web so search to see if there is one near to you – research states that it could save you anything up to $5,000 Dollars each year if successful.

Author Bio: James McCloud is one of the team who runs the Acura Navigation System Updates website.  They specialize in trying to help drivers save money, and if you own an Acura car you could actually save cash just by buying a new Acura Navi DVD.  Models including are the MDX, RL, TSX, TL, and CL ranges.

Green Living

• Driving Green and SAVE yourself money!

Regular Maintenance

1.  Always remember to check your tire pressure.  This will help you use at least 15% less gas when the tire pressure is at the correct level as well as increasing the lifespan of your tires.
2. When you hit between 3,000 and 4,500 miles, change your oil. If you neglect to change your oil, you can run the risk of damaging overall engine performance and actually increase carbon emissions.
3. Windshield wipers should be changed when the rubber is worn down.  If you don’t change these blades, you could end up scratching your window.

Water Conservation

Did you know that how you clean your car is just as environmentally important as how you maintain it?  Not many people do.  Fact:  It takes only 1 quart of oil to contaminate 1 million quarts of water.  Definitely something to think about and know what is actually going down the street drains.

By washing your car off in the driveway, not only are you wasting water, but toxins and waste materials like dirt, oil, grease, gas residue and detergents are going down the storm drains.  These drains lead directly into river systems which will find their way into the oceans.

Instead of using the driveway, consider washing your car on a grassy area for your next car wash. That way your soapy water will feed your lawn and save you from having to water the grass.

Other green posts you might be interested in:

• Solar Panels — The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
• What Gas Furnace Maintenance Should I Be Doing Every Year? Maintain your appliances to save money and help the environment
• Solar Energy Uses That You HAVEN’T Thought Of!
• Green Car Maintenance? Have A Green Car By Maintaining It The Green Way!
• Bamboo Clothing For The Environmentally Friendly

Driving Using a GPS – Study Findings and Figures

• Drives shorter distances
• Spends less time driving
• Increased fuel efficiency of up to 12%
• Fuel consumption falls from 8.3 to 7.3 liters per 100 kilometers
• Increased fuel economy means a .91 metric ton reduction in carbon dioxide annually per driver
• Translates as 24% decrease compared to those not using a GPS
• Annual decrease in distance travelled by 2500 kilometers per driver

Background to the Study

The research was carried out in Germany in the Munich and Dusseldorf areas.  The reason Germany was chosen for the research was because it has a complicated road network and drivers there are more prone to using GPS devices.  The study groups were split up into three sections:

1. Those that received and used a GPS Navigation System in their car which included Real Time Traffic information (to avoid traffic jams)
2. Those that received and used a GPS Navigation System that didn’t include Real Time Traffic Alerts
3. Those that didn’t use a GPS Navigation System at all

Each car was fitted with a tracking device in order to trace what routes they were taking at all times – it also enabled monitoring of their driving styles and speeds.

In total the research studied over two thousand car journeys which amounted to 20,000 kilometers of distance covered over a total of five hundred in-car hours.  It should be noted that drivers who were not familiar with GPS products did take a little bit longer than average to reduce their driving times, but once they did the learning curve was almost immediate.

Want to Know More About GPS Map Updates?

For more information on how a Honda GPS Map Update can save you both money, time, and on your carbon footprint, please visit www.hondanavigationdvd.net which includes everything you need to know about Navigation DVDs for the entire Honda range of motor vehicles that come with a dashboard GPS device installed as standard.

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How Is The Gas Mileage

The first way you can determine how environmentally friendly your car is would be to see how many miles per gallon your car gets. Going to the pump more often generally means that your car burns gas quickly and can be putting out a lot more carbon and other pollutants into the air. Increasing your gas mileage could entail some easy corrections such as properly inflating tires and changing your braking habits. If that doesn’t work, it might be time to get a new car.

What Does Your Car Run On

A car that runs on clean diesel is generally going to be better on the environment than a car that runs on just gas. A hybrid car is also going to be better because some of its power supply comes with electricity. Cars that run on just gasoline are going to have the most noticeable consequences on the environment as fossil fuels tend to do more damage to the air.

How Well Is The Car Maintained

Proper maintenance of your car can make it easier for the environment to take. Just by maintaining your car properly, you can effect the environment. Make sure that everything is working properly in your car as that can effect emissions significantly. Check your exhaust system and keep your car clean of debris and other objects that can get caught in your air systems. Any broken or clogged parts can reduce gas mileage and increase emissions unnecessarily. A quick tune-up can reduce your carbon footprint and make your car more environmentally friendly.

How Old Is Your Car

Older cars are going to have less efficient emissions systems and may get lower gas mileage. A car that was built in the 90′s might be lucky to get between 20-30 miles per gallon. Certain bigger cars especially struggle with getting decent gas mileage. An older car will also have more wear and tear on it that can cause it to emit more than it should.

There are many ways to tell if your car is environmentally friendly. Consider the gas mileage it gets and also consider how well maintained the car is. A clean diesel or hybrid car is going to be better for the environment than pure gas simply because it is cleaner when emitted.

Miles Walker is a freelance writer who normally writes feature articles on car insurance quotes for CarInsuranceComparison.org. He recently wrote about New Hampshire car insurance.

Green Living

• Green Car Maintenance? Have A Green Car By Maintaining It The Green Way!

Some other advantages of owning an electric car, which are worth a mention, include higher efficiency, safety and better mileage. Most models of battery driven cars offer a higher efficiency of up to 600% in comparison to cars that come with an internal combustion engine. Moreover, you can be certain about greater safety in an electric car in the case of a road accident or if there is a crash, as there is no gasoline in the car and thus no risk of the vehicle catching a fire. However, in rare cases thermal overheating may induce short-circuit in the system and spark off a fire. Nonetheless, its severity will still be minimal in comparison to car fires induced by blowing up of the gasoline tank in internal combustion car engines.

The recent boom in the market for these electric vehicles has prompted several leading automakers to foray into this field. The mass production of these vehicles is another reason behind the increased availability of cheap electric cars for sale. These cars are extremely compact and durable and do not make much noise while being driven. While the recurring cost associated with these vehicles is considerably low, their purchase price cannot exactly be termed as pocket friendly. In fact, some fully electric cars comes at a base price of around $110,000, which is nearly four times the cost of a new car that runs on gasoline. Nonetheless, once you buy it, there is almost zero operating costs associated with it.For instance, if you had an established route and owned something similar to a mobile auto detailing business, an all electric car may be the ticket to greatly increasing your profits.

In case the price tag of a new electric car is out of your budget, you can convert your present car into a battery-operated one at an approximate cost of $5,000 to $7500. However, it is always a better choice to look at the online listings of electric cars for sale or check out the classifieds section of your local newspaper for any announcement of cheap electric cars for sale. Before finalizing on one of the models of cheap electric cars for sale, you should make a note of the number of miles that you drive everyday and match the same with the mileage of the vehicle that you buy. Ordinarily, an electric vehicle will give you around 25 to 40 miles on a full charge, although some of the higher end electric cars can go 100 miles on a single charge.

Other green posts you might be interested in:

• Eco-Friendly Car Maintenance
• Bamboo Clothing For The Environmentally Friendly
• Stapleless Staplers – Must Have Green Gadget For The Office?
• Living off the Grid – A viable option?
• Green Car Maintenance? Have A Green Car By Maintaining It The Green Way!

Regular Care And Maintenance Of Your Car

It’s important that you regularly measure your tire pressure. This has a two-fold benefit:

1. When the tire pressure is at the optimum level you actually use 15% less gas.

2. You increase the life of your tires by 15%.

Change your oil every 3,000 to 4,500 miles if you make short runs under 6 miles at a time, if you frequent city traffic with many stops and starts, if your car tows a trailer or heavy load regularly, or if you drive in salty, sandy or dusty conditions.

If your oil isn’t changed often enough this can result in advanced engine wear and tear with the loss of fuel economy and overall performance which means accelerated oil consumption and with it, increased carbon emissions. Doing this on a regular basis will not only extend the life of your engine but keep your car in optimum working condition while helping it burn less fuel.

Check and replace windscreen wipers when the rubber in them has worn out, if you don’t, not only will they be ineffective, but they may also scratch the windscreen causing you to replace them earlier and pay more money in the long term.

Water Conservation

Most people aren’t aware that how they clean their car can be almost as important to the environment as how you maintain it. It only takes 1 quart of oil in our waterways to contaminate 1 million quarts of water so it pays to know what we’re putting into our storm water drains.

Before you wash your car, especially as it gets toward those summer months, are there any water restrictions currently in place? Car washing is likely to be out if your area is experiencing drought conditions and will likely to be the first activity to be restricted.

Hosing your car while on your driveway should be avoided because not only does it waste water but it introduces dirt, grease, detergents, oil and gas residue into storm water drains eventually ending up in our river systems which gradually make their way into our oceans, the very oceans that we depend upon for our survival.

Instead, place your car on a grassy area to minimize the amount of water run-off.

Using biodegradable vegetable oil based soaps to wash your car are a good option as they readily breakdown if any runoff escapes down storm water drains. If you opt to use car shampoos always wash your car on your lawn as these types of shampoos usually contain phosphates similar to those found in fertilizers. The reason why this is a disadvantage is because it artificially introduces nutrients to photosynthetic algae where there otherwise would not have been, enabling them to overgrow clogging natural waterways and killing marine life by overwhelming entire ecosystems. You can opt to use phosphate free alternatives in place of the regular kind.

It’s ironic that manufacturers include this component to their cleaning products knowing that it will eventually end up in our waterways, tighter regulation needs to be put in place while a ban on phosphates in all cleaning products become a reality. The positive outlook is that at the state level change is gradually taking place. Through greater awareness policy-makers are working to ban the use of phosphates in cleaning products with the state of Virginia joining the cause to phase out the use of phosphate based cleaning products by 2010.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031002744.html

Using a sponge and bucket or a watering can takes a little more time than using a hose but can save a lot more water, in fact using a hose to wash your car uses four to five times more water than a humble bucket and sponge alone. This is because when using a hose you’re unaware of the volume of water you use, however a set amount of water as you would when using a bucket not only saves on your water bill but you save our greatest precious resource in the process.

Don’t let water go to waste. Using “grey” water to wash your car can get maximum usage out of the same water. Grey water is typically water that has been recycled from the other processes such as water from your laundry for example. Collect the water in a bucket as it drains off during a rinse cycle to wash your car with. This ensures you get double the use from the same batch of water.

Washing your car in the shade ensures slower evaporation, helping conserve water and avoids telltale streaks on the paint finish.

Eliminate the use of expensive chemical finishing treatments. Armed with a simple chamois with some good old vigorous polishing is the best way to achieve a streak free finish.

By having a green car through eco conscious methods will not only ensure you save money but will extend the life of your car too.

Green Living

• How Environmentally Friendly Is Your Car?

Your driving habits are probably the single biggest factor in how much fuel you use. Here’s a list of tips that will save you money.

1) Drive 5 – 10 mph below the speed limit on the freeway. I know this is the exact opposite of what we all want to do but you can get up to 20% better mileage if you slow down. The faster you go the more fuel you consume.

2) Use the cruise control when ever possible. It keeps you at a constant speed and only accelerates when your engine needs it.

3) Reduce the weight in your car. The heavier your car is the more your engine has to work to accelerate. Are you carrying around junk in the trunk? Store it in your garage and save money.

4) Don’t jackrabbit at red and green lights when you are driving in town. Stopping gradually for red lights and gradually accelerating from green lights lets the engine work at a lower pace, saving you money.

5) Combine trips when you travel to do errands. It take a little planning but it is easy to schedule Doctor appointments, oil changes, running to the post office, etc, all in one trip.

6) Don’t idle your car unless neccesary. If your waiting to pick pick someone up or at the curb talking on your cell phone turn your engine off. Its more efficient to stop and restart you car than to idle for a long period of time.

7) Use your AC wisely. The AC makes your engine work harder so you should roll the windows down when traveling at lower speeds on town. On the freeway its more efficient to roll the windows up and use the AC because of the drag with the windows open.

Don’t park in direct sunlight, if possible. Gas evaporates faster in direct sunlight than when you are parked in a shady spot.

9) Don’t overfill your tank. It winds up leaking out of your gas tank and on the ground.

10) If possible, Walk! How many times do you take the kids a few blocks to a friends house? Or drive 1/4 mile to the local store to pick up one thing? The best way to save fuel is not to use any!

Driving green as it’s called WILL save you money AND help the environment.

Green Living

• Think Green When Buying Your Next Car