Some people think that the simple act of owning and driving a car means that they can’t consider themselves as having “green” transportation. While it’s true that driving a car does impact the environment, green auto care can make using a car much less harmful; protecting the environment and your wallet.
What is Green Auto Care?
Green auto care is about making sure that you use your vehicle in a way that minimizes the environmental impact that driving creates. While you can’t completely eliminate your carbon footprint when you use a car, you can take steps to reduce the impact that your vehicle has on the environment.
Green auto care is an essential part of the responsible stewardship of the resources around us. It’s vital to understand that all of us have choices about how we use cars, household goods, and more. Those choices can harm the environment around us, or they can help us preserve it.
Many people live in an area where going without a car is not an option. However, they still want to make ecologically responsible choices in their life and help preserve the environment. Green auto care is the perfect solution.
Green Auto Care Steps and How They Work
There are a variety of steps you can take to implement green auto care in your daily driving and repair habits. Here are just a few that will impact the environment and your wallet:
- Avoid Aggressive Driving. Not only does aggressive driving increase your stress and the likelihood that you’ll have an accident, it also hurts the environment. Dramatic acceleration, traveling at high speeds, and sudden stops reduce your miles per gallon (MPG) and put unneeded wear and tear on your car. Improving your MPG by calm driving not only helps the environment by reducing gasoline usage, it also saves you money.
- Check Tire Pressure. If the tires on your car are not properly inflated, you’re using more gas than your car needs to use. Underinflated tires increase the resistance your car experiences as it moves, requiring more energy from the engine and gas tank to drive the same distance. Keeping your tires properly inflated will reduce energy waste in your car and save you money when you visit the gas station less often.
- Lighten Up. Carrying too much weight in your car will increase the wear on the vehicle and cause it to use more fuel than needed. If you’re carrying extra items in your trunk or backseat beyond normal emergency needs, it will cost you and the environment. Improve your car’s fuel economy by lightening up!
- Get a Tune Up. Regular maintenance and having clean air filters will help your car produce less pollution and run more efficiently. A faulty oxygen sensor can cost you up to 40% more in gasoline costs. Changing your car’s air filter can improve efficiency by 10%. All of these improvements add up to a big impact on the environment and your bank account.
Getting a tune-up is one of the best green auto care tasks you can do. It extends the life of your vehicle and can dramatically decrease your carbon footprint. Call us today at (602) 224-0941 to schedule your next tune-up!
