mapsmith

Why is the "World According to Garp" running thru my head???

Actually, I have a Prius Hybrid. 50+ mpg. But it actually has improved my driving by trying to increase even that. Learn to avoid Stop and Go. Accelerate softly, and slowly. Try not to run up behind stopped vehicles. Slow down as you approach a red light and keep your momentum going. That way you will actually not need to speed up as rapidly.

Also on the gas side. There are several Fleet Cards available to individuals. (GasCard) is one that give you access to fully automated stations with no cashier or attendant. They usually will give you 2 to 5 cents off per gallon.

But I will still fill up once every two weeks for under $20.

ClassCAir

Would you please explain this GasCard thing more? Do you have a link? Is it a credit card?

bgmvp

Buy gas yesterday instead of today.

NOW can we end this ridiculous thread???

iahphx

I think the City Dividend Platinum Select is a great card to have -- getting a 5% rebate on gas, groceries and drug store purchases really adds up. I still use a Starwood card for my other purchases, but it's hard to beat a 5% rebate.

The only problem is the $300 annual rebate limit, but that's easily avoided by opening multiple accounts. I opened one in my name and a different one in my wife's, but I understand there's no restriction on opening multiple accounts by the same person (as long as your credit's OK, I suppose).

The other gas savings card I have in through flyingj, but it's de minimus -- a penny a gallon!! Maybe they'll make it 1% given what's happened to fuel prices. But flyingj tends to have the lowest highway gas prices, so I'd stop there anyway. You may find their website helpful in deciding where to gas up on a x-country trip, as they give real time pricing info.

I also registered for upromise.com, which also deposits a penny a gallon into my account when I use Exxon/Mobil. Trivial, of course, but if people are handing out money, you might as well take it.

You can also check gasbuddy.com for the lowest prices across the USA. I'm sure their web traffic is soaring these days.

medic

a lot of new safeway stores sell gas and give you a 3 cent discount automatically on the price of gas at the pump if you use their shopping card which you can get for free

Flying J - these are along all major highways in the west has a discount card you can get at their website. I think it gives a few cents savings as well on gas, but for a full tank it was only about 10 cents - not much, but it helps

if you have a radio antenna, try to keep it retracted or take it off. yes, reception will stink, but in the middle of kansas I doubt there are many radio stations to listen to anyway

if you put the car in neutral or park when at stop lights, the load on the engine is reduced (no transmission engaged). your rpms should drop. i doubt this acutally adds to anything and puts a bit more strain on the transmission for changing gears, but it may help

also, don't try to draft trucks...a cracked windshield from a rock or a sudden stop by the semi can really offset the few cents you saved by reducing air resistance

also, as your crossing state lines, try to figure out the taxes on both sides of the line. For example, crossing the border from CA to AZ, it's cheaper to wait 10 miles and fill up on the AZ side then the CA side becasue the tax is lower - operating costs are about the same in both areas, but the state doesn't take as much

cepheid

Hey, it seems like people are interested, and there are some helpful tips here (whether related to gas or not). If you find the thread ridiculous, don't read it...

The cross-sectional area of the radio antenna is so small that it will make absolutely no difference in your drag, and hence no savings in your fuel consumption.

If you have an automatic transmission, the computer will automatically idle the engine when you are stopped; the transmission is disengaged automatically. In fact, the idle speed when in neutral or parked is often a tad higher than the idle when in Drive, depending on how the engine computer is configured. If you have a manual transmission, you have to be in neutral anyway unless you want to stall the car.

So both of these suggestions are really not necessary or effective, unfortunately.

Agreed. If you're on a motorcycle, this could be even worse.

cszulc

$3.69 at a Marathon in West Chicago!!!

IceTrojan

May I suggest to those whose home states have a number of E85 (ethanol) stations to get E85 compliant vehicles? I have a 2005 Chevy Avalanche which is compliant..... unfortunately the only E85 station in ALL of California is in San Diego. I do know that all the 2006 GM "big" SUVs (e.g., Tahoe) as well as all 2005 Avalanches can use E85.

Oh, E85 is $2.39/gal in SD.

Volvic

1. Fly to Europe and drive around. You will suddenly appreciate the US low prices.
2. Consider diesel for future car purchase.
3. Consider small engines for future car purchase. (my very personal idea about it: the average car has an engine size in EU 1.3-1.7 liter (gasoline-diesel) and in US 2 liter )
4. Be smart and recognize that fuel is purchased and paid by volume but the engine uses it by mass (weight). So do your purchase when it's as dense as possible... (like me ) e.g. after the coolest part of the day. Perhaps in Arizona you should refuel only in January !

mith

Just put out the prices per LITER instead of gallon.
It is all about psychology. In europe the prices have gone up from 1.00 to 1.30 Euro, so noone is too much bothered about it...

the_traveler

At some (but not all) Stop & Shop supermarkets in the northeast, they also have gas stations in the lots. At these stores, they sell gas for 5 cents off per gallon everyday when using the store card.

With these high prices, a 5 cent per gallon savings is a welcome sight!

kipper

Wal Marts that have gas stations typically offer 3 cents off with a shopping card. At some, you can add money to the shopping card right there, at others, you have to do that in the store, prior to going to the gas pumps.

ANDREWCX

Chase offers a couple of cashback cards including a 5% rebate card on gas & groceries. Since most cashback card have an annual payout limit people many people might need multiple cards and getting them from different banks might be the best bet.

And of course make sure the cards are registered with Upromise to get the 1cent back from Exxon-Mobil (but there is a new limit - since June this year you need to buy a minimum of 20 Gallons of retail fuel per month to receive any money from them).

There are a bunch of cashback cards on my site @ http://www.andrewcram.com/frequentflyerCC.html

party_boy

So they only want SUV drivers filling up ? All of my cars wouldn't pass the 20 gallon minimum!

cepheid

The limit is 20 gallons per MONTH, not per fill-up. For most cars, this means 2 fill-ups or more per month.