Go_Green

It seems unlikely in such a greasy business, but some automotive garages are going green. New environmentally-friendly standards are being set. Recycling, saving energy and preventing pollution in the auto servicing business is the wave of the future.
How can a place that services cars also service the environment? But here’s the thing. We need our cars. We love our cars. And they’re not going away any time soon. So we need to find a way for all of us to live happily, harmoniously, planetarily ever after. And that’s what we’re all about.
We ‘green-tune‘ cars to run cleaner, greener and cheaper and all while ‘fixing’ the whole bad automotive service experience. We find proven, sustainable, energy saving automotive maintenance and repair related products.To take an existing car and incorporate green automotive parts, thus making the car a more efficient and economical vehicle. The products provide incremental improved emissions, improved fuel economy, better performance and longer intervals between services. -An Energy Intervention, pre-green tuning diagnostics to see how to get the best out of your engine.
 

Alternative Fuels

Alternative fuels are derived from resources other than petroleum. Some are produced domestically, reducing our dependence on imported oil, and some are derived from renewable sources. Often, they produce less pollution than gasoline or diesel.

To promote alternative fuels, the Federal government offers tax incentives to consumers purchasing qualifying alternative fuel vehicles.

Ethanol is an alcohol-based fuel made by fermenting and distilling starch crops, such as corn. It can also be made from "cellulosic biomass" such as trees and grasses. The use of ethanol can reduce our dependence upon foreign oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

E10 (gasohol)

E10 (also called “gasohol”) is a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline sold in many parts of the country. All auto manufacturers approve the use of blends of 10% ethanol or less in their gasoline vehicles.

E85

E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, can be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs), which are specially designed to run on gasoline, E85, or any mixture of the two. FFVs are offered by several vehicle manufacturers. To determine if your vehicle can use E85, consult your owner’s manual or check the inside of your car's fuel filler door for an identification sticker.

Cost. Cost varies regionally. It is cheaper than gasoline in some areas, such as the Midwest, and more expensive in others.

Availability. Nearly two thousand filling stations in the U.S. sell E85, and that number is increasing rapidly. Visit the Alternative Fueling Station Locator for locations of service stations selling E85.

Performance. No noticeable difference in vehicle performance when E85 is used.

MPG. FFVs operating on E85 usually experience a 20-30% drop in miles per gallon due to ethanol’s lower energy content.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/videos/fef_small_wide.wmv

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt064.shtm

Here are some tips to help you reduce the amount of gas you use. If you are already following these tips, you are probably getting the best gas mileage your car can deliver.

Drive Sensibly

Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.

Observe the Speed Limit 

While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.

You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas.

Observing the speed limit is also safer.

Remove Excess Weight

Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2 percent. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

Avoid Excessive Idling

Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.

Use Cruise Control

Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.

Use Overdrive Gears

When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.

When the mercury rises in the thermometer, it's so nice to crank that air-conditioning on high and enjoy. Unfortunately there's a down-side to everything, even AC. We know that air-conditioners, be they window units or complete central air systems, are costly. Heavy use of home air-conditioning is harmful to the environment also. There are even health issues associated with air conditioners.

But what about the car air- conditioner? Alas even the car air-conditioner is not without problems. In fact, one of the first things to go wrong with a new car is that the air-conditioner goes out. Why? Because owners don't use their car AC's properly and run them too hard. How can we enjoy car air-conditioners in a safe, green way?

First practice your PMs (that's millwright and maintenance jargon for 'preventative maintenance'). As much as possible, prevent your car from becoming intensely hot inside. Intense heat is not good for your car's interior, exterior and overall functioning. Park in the shade. Park in parking ramps.

Roll windows down when the car is parked and don't store valuables in the car. If you are uncomfortable with leaving windows all the way down, at least open them part way all the way around the vehicle for airflow.

For periods when your car will be parked for long periods in the open, place a folding cardboard screen in your window to keep the sun out. Cover your car if it will be stored or parked in long-term parking at the airport or parking ramp.

Next, always open your car doors and windows to let the trapped heat in the car escape. Don't put added burden on your car's AC and indeed the engine itself by making it cool air that is super-heated. Let nature do it's work as much as possible.

Use your car air conditioner only when you need it. It's easy to become an AC addict. Some people automatically crank the AC on when it isn't really that warm. For health reasons and for car maintenance, practice dialing down your car air-conditioner. Adjust your body to cooling with less AC. You will save on gas mileage and gas costs. Your car's engine will reward you with better performance as it won't have to work so hard cooling the car. Last when you are in heavy, stop and start city traffic, try to turn the air conditioner off and open the windows. Running the AC in heavy, slow traffic is extremely hard on your car. Likewise, don't sit in your car with only the auxiliary on, just to power the air-conditioner. You may as well hand your car a gun and tell it to shoot itself.

Take care of your car and car air-conditioner and it will take care of you.

Inflate your car tires when you stop at the gas station today to get better mileage on your car. It is a small effort, but if everyone did this today, we could potentially save 1.25 billion gallons annually according to the Department of energy.

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