Are you having sticker shock at the price of gas in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? Wishing you could afford a hybrid but can't? The fancy methods hybrid owning "hypermilers" use are not just for hybrids. In fact you can save more gas than we do using the same techniques. I'm not asking for any of your money or even trying to get you to buy a hybrid. My only motivation is to save you money! Interested? Keep reading!

Those of us lucky enough to have a hybrid use several techniques to get fantastic mileage. Hybrids do have some advantages and perhaps the biggest is a real time mileage display. The cool thing is you can get one for your car even if it didn't come with one. Check em out at: ScanGauge.com.

Hey wait a minute didn't I just say that I was not looking for any money? Well first of all I have no relationship with the folks at Scangauge. You can still do everything I'm about to show you without a Scangauge but the Scangauge (or any other real time display of your choice) just makes it easier. The instant results are very rewarding because you can see what works and see the money you are saving instantly. Without a RTD you will just have to take my word that what you are doing is going to save you gas.

Don't want to spend the money on a RTD? I propose a test. Fill your tank up and record the mileage on the OD or reset you trip meter. Drive the way you normally would for one full tank and go fill up again. Write down how much fuel you purchased and figure out what you mileage is currently. Then use my techniques for a tank and do the same math. I promise you will save money and it will cost you nothing!

Unfortunately most of the techniques I'm about to describe involve some sort of sacrifice on your part. It is up to you if each one is worth it or not. Some are win/win, I'll start with those first.

When was the last time you checked your tire pressure? Back in the day the guys at the "service station" cleaned your windows and checked your pressure. Both are good ideas. Running on low tires is like driving in mud. They did a study and determined millions of gallons of gas could be save every year just by having everybody properly inflate their tires. The more pressure the better as far as mileage goes. Please be safe and do not exceed the rated pressure.

Another thing they did at service stations was check your oil. This is another good idea. To get the maximum mileage you should run the thinnest oil that is rated for your car's engine. Running heavy weight oil in your car is like putting grease in your engine. The engine is forced to work harder to churn the thicker oil. Once again be safe and do not put thinner oil than is recommended by your engine manufacture.

Stay off the brakes as much as you can. Instead of roaring up to a red light at full speed and stepping on the brakes, time the light so you don't need to stop. If you can't avoid stopping, start slowing down well before the light. Take your foot off the gas sooner. The same thing goes for turns. Slow down by coasting not by using the brakes. Also carry as much speed through the turns as is safe. No since in wasting brakes slowing down and wasting gas speeding back up.

The biggest thing you can do to save gas is drive slower. All that nonsense about engines working better at faster speeds is crap. The ideal speed for most cars is around 45 mph. Clearly this is too slow for the interstate but the closer you can get to this speed the better. Would it really kill you to leave for work 5 minutes sooner and drive 10 mph slower?

Air Conditioning lowers mileage. Not using AC will save some gas if you keep the windows up and the fan on. Lowing the windows goofs up the aerodynamics of your vehicle so the best way to get better mileage is AC off windows up. This is one of those areas where a RTD helps a lot. It is easy to convince yourself to be more comfortable and use more gas unless the display is showing you in real time that killing the AC really is saving gas. As always safety first. Don't give yourself heatstroke saving a few bucks on gas.

Don't make unnecessary trips, plan ahead. Maybe even ask your neighbors if they need anything from the store since you are going anyway. If you smoke and drink think about quitting. My little girl's grandma spends well over $300.00 a month on beer and cigarettes. This is well over the amount it would take to purchase a new hybrid! Planning ahead will not increase your mileage but it will decrease the amount your spend on gas. Don't take short trips for lunch, brown bag it.

Next time you by a car think a little about what you really need and think about the mileage. A couple of people at work had just been talking to me about my hybrid but decided to purchase regular cars because gas was not that expensive. Of course that was last month. When gas is cheap hybrids do not really make economic sense. The higher gas goes the better off you are in a hybrid or diesel.