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Ownersite Offers Advanced Fuel Techniques To Help You Survive The Spike In Gas Prices
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by Nina Gass
TheSyndicatedNews columnist
Nina Gass has more than 18 years of business writing and editing experience, including writing for Market Drive News, Mortgage Banking Magazine, and ownersite.com.
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The headlines say it all: Food or Gas? Yes, the increase in fuel expenses is getting that bad. Prices have reached an all-time high with no signs of dropping in the near future. You may be having chest pains or hyperventilating every time you pass the gas station since there seems to be a larger amount every other day. Businesses that use vehicles for deliveries and distribution are being hit hard by the fuel crisis. Those who commute are suffering as well.
In all cases, there does not seem to be many alternatives for avoiding the fuel expense since people have to get to work and products must be delivered to keep businesses afloat. And it is not an easy solution to just raise prices because others have to pay gas and are suffering from a sluggish economy. The result is that we all seem pressured to continue just sucking up the gas at whatever price pops up. Many people are now taking a second look at their vehicles and, despite being in love with their roadster, truck or SUV, considering an economy sedan or even a hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicle.
Gas Mileage Maximization
Before trading in your beloved set of wheels, there are many suggestions for maximizing the fuel consumption on your vehicle. Numerous consumer tip articles are available through the Car Care Council about stretching the gas in your tank that provide such helpful suggestions as steady pressure on the accelerator, a slower speed, proper vehicle and tire maintenance, less air conditioner usage, and fuel additives.
Going beyond just a consumer resource for information, Ownersite is a proprietary technology company dedicated to working as your service advisor, providing knowledge and convenience that increases the level of safety, reliability, and value of your vehicle.
You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For
Many believe that they need to put a high grade of gas in their vehicles to get the best performance. Low grades can be used on most cars unless the owner’s manual calls for higher octane, but premium and super premium are usually reserved for luxury or certain sports cars. Otherwise, you can opt for a lower grade to conserve on your fuel bill.
Ownersite can help you better understand the differences between grades of gas by giving you the ability to run comparison reports that will graph the various grades against actual vehicle performance. This will help you make a more informed decision on what grade to use in order to save money without hurting your vehicle and its performance record.
Tracking Usage Tells a Gas Consumption Tale
A log is essential for tracking fuel economy and for pinpointing changes in usage and highlight possible problems with the vehicle, which could eventually affect performance levels and overall fuel consumption. Seeing more frequent trips to the pump even though you are still going the same distance means it is time to look at certain maintenance needs, such as a tune-up, oil change, or under-inflated tires
Ownersite offers detailed fuel consumption statistics compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that can also provide you with advanced fuel economy techniques to better understand how your vehicle performs. Under the Vehicle Reports section of the Ownersite portal, you can select Miscellaneous Reports and then access two different reports related to fuel economy.
The EPA Fuel Economy Report asks you to input your vehicle model and engine type based on the vehicles you already have registered with Ownersite. At this point, it will send back a report that lists the estimated annual fuel costs for the vehicle as well as figures for average city, highway, and combined mileage. You can then review your own figures that have been compiled under the Maintenance and Expenses section to see how your vehicle stacks up against EPA estimates as well as other people who own the same vehicle through the Fuel Economy Comparison Report.
Maximizing Fuel on the Road
One of the most important aspects of driving today is how to locate fuel for your vehicle that you might just be able to still afford! Ownersite has partnered with GasBuddy.com, a large user community that contributes real-time pricing so you can find local stations or ones along the way on your road trip. Ownersite automatically fills in the search form with the zip code that you entered on your registration, but you can change it if you need a different location.
It is possible to use this feature at the home or office to plan your trip, but with Ownersite’s additional wireless functionality, you can also access this low-cost gas locator service from the road. As you travel from point to point, Ownersite provides this excellent solution for keeping your gas budget under control while you are driving for business or for pleasure.
This wireless functionality also makes it easy to keep tabs on your fuel consumption while traveling because you can easily and quickly input all your maintenance and expense records from your Internet-enabled wireless device, such as your cell phone or PDA. Every time you fill up at the inflated pump, you can add information to your Ownersite page by selecting the fuel record tab and entering the date, odometer reading, vendor, quantity in gallons, total cost, and whether or not this was a fill up. This capability will not only allow you to keep your records in real-time standing, but you will also be able to generate more comprehensive fuel economy graphs and comparison reports so you can stay on top of the technical issues that could be affecting your gas consumption.
Along with the in-depth consumer tips for better gas mileage, Ownersite gives you the leverage to better conserve fuel to maintain a lower fuel expense than other vehicle owners that do not track their gas consumption or that do not adopt some easy suggestions that could keep more dollars in their wallet.
Published: Aug 6,2008 18:47
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Andy Cowan
Andy Cowan, an award-winning writer, whose credits include Cheers and Seinfeld, regularly contributes humor pieces to the Los Angeles Times and the CBS Jack FM Radio Network.
Paul M. J. Suchecki
Paul M. J. Suchecki has more than 30 years of experience as an award winning writer, producer, and cameraman. He's written numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Currently he writes, produces and shoots for LA CityView Channel 35 and his more than 250 articles for Ehow.com are approaching half a million readers.
Coby Kindles
Coby Kindles is a freelance journalist, screenplay writer and essayist. She has been a staff writer at Knight Ridder and a regular contributor to The Associated Press.
Debbie Milam
Debbie Milam is a syndicated columnist for United Press International, an occupational therapist, family success consultant, and motivational speaker with more than 20 years experience. Her work on stress management, spirituality, parenting, and special-needs children has been featured in over 300 media outlets including First for Women, The Miami Herald, Elle, Ladies Home Journal, The Hallmark Channel, PBS and WebMD.
Dan Rafter
Dan Rafter has covered the residential real estate industry for more than 15 years. He has contributed real estate stories to the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Business 2.0 Magazine, Home Magazine, Smart HomeOwner Magazine and many others.
Jack Nargundkar
Jack Nargundkar has been repeatedly published in Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. He is also an author of "The Bush Diaries" published in July 2005.
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