If you’ve spent any time in Washington, D.C. or simply noticed what the government officials are driving, you’ve probably noticed some hypocrisy. While the lawmakers are passing legislation to force auto companies to increase the fuel efficiency of their vehicles, many senators and representatives are driving the biggest SUVs they can buy.
That is, until recently.

An energy bill that passed through legislation last year requires House members to lease only vehicles that emit a minimum level of greenhouse gases. But lawmakers aren’t happy about this decision. In fact, many of them are downright angry about it. Some of the biggest offenders include Texas Republican Joe L. Barton and Representative Elton Gallegly. Barton even argued that the SUV that he drives is made in the district he serves. Apparently, he doesn’t get the point of the legislation!

The man who fought for this amendment to the energy bill was Representative Emanuel Cleaver II, a Democrat from Missouri. He just felt that if lawmakers were serious about the environment, they should be doing everything they can do to help, too. And he can back it up with his actions, too. He drives an Econoline that was once an airport shuttle. He uses it as a mobile office, though. And the great thing is that it runs on cooking grease!

With the new guidelines, the Environmental Protection Agency determines which vehicles lawmakers can lease. The organization will have the list by the end of the year, but it will likely include several Ford cars, including the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid, just to name a few.

Personally, I’m happy to see some government officials get a taste of their own medicine. For the last few years, they’ve been passing laws and telling us what we should and shouldn’t drive. But it just doesn’t seem to apply to them. But if we, the taxpayers, are footing the bill for their leased vehicles, they should have to drive what WE tell them to drive! Am I right?

You wanted more tips for saving gas, you got ‘em. Here are three more easy ways to save fuel when driving your certified Ford.

• Don’t act like you’re in NASCAR. If you’ve noticed fingernails embedded in your seats or on the inside door handles, you might be scaring people who ride with you.  You’ve probably even caused a few other drivers to go home and change their shorts. It might be fun, but erratic driving just uses too much gasoline. Hard turns and quick braking wreak havoc on your mileage. Be gentle to your car and it’ll treat you right.

• Make sure your car is running properly. Some mechanical problems can cause your car to be less efficient. Dragging brakes, for instance, is horrible for your gas mileage. Slippage between gears can also cause you to have poorer gas mileage than necessary. Also, keep an eye on the fluid levels, cracking in the engine and other mechanical problems that could negatively affect your vehicle’s efficiency.

• You can’t tune a fish, but you can tune a car. Make sure to keep your car tuned up according to the manufacturer’s recommended schedule. A bad wheel alignment or a suspension system that isn’t working properly can cause your gas mileage to drop. If you notice something “off” when driving, get it checked out to help your gas mileage and to ensure your own safety.

Have we drilled it into your head enough? With oil prices exceeding $100 a barrel, you really don’t want to buy more gas than you need. There are probably dozens of ways for you to save fuel, some of them more feasible than others. Here are a few of the more reasonable ways you can save gas when driving around town in your certified Ford.

• Combine your trips as much as possible. Studies show that starting your engine a few times while it’s still warm is more fuel-efficient than starting it once or twice when the engine is cold. As a bonus, you’ll also save wear and tear on your vehicle by making one trip with several stops rather than several trips with only one stop.

• Fill ‘er up at night. Gas tends to expand in hot weather. When that happens, you might be getting less than you’re bargaining for. By waiting until the weather cools down at night, you can save those few precious cents. Also, make sure your gas cap is tight before pulling away. Loose gas caps promote evaporation, which can negatively affect your gas mileage.

• Hike it or bike it. This probably goes without saying, but short trips in a car can eat up more gas than it’s actually worth. If you have a bike and your legs aren’t broken, try getting some exercise the next time you take a trip to McDonald’s or Taco Bell. Your gas tank (and your heart) will thank you for it.

We all know that we can use the cruise control feature on a certified Ford or other vehicle when we’re driving down the highway. But did you know you can use it in other ways to help you save gas mileage?

Intrigued? Keep reading.

By accelerating slowly from a complete stop, you save gas. You can accelerate slowly with the gas pedal, but you can also use the “accel” button on your cruise control feature. Actually, the label could vary, but it’s the button that allows you to accelerate with the cruise control engaged.

With this button, your vehicle will only accelerate in small intervals. When you click the button, you can accelerate between ½ mph to 1 mph with each click. Or you can simply hold it down and continue to accelerate smoothly at a slow rate.

Unfortunately, some vehicles only allow you to engage the cruise control feature after you reach a certain speed. But you can slowly accelerate up to that speed and then use the acceleration button from there when needed.

Instead of braking to cancel the cruise control, it’s much more fuel-efficient to simply click the cruise control button that cancels the feature. Only use this button when you don’t need to stop quickly. After a while, you can almost start driving with just your thumbs and barely use your feet at all!

For fuel-efficient Ford vehicles, visit our Ford dealer in Missouri or our Waterloo area Ford dealers.

Yesterday, we gave you a brief education about hypermiling: when it started, what it is, etc. Today, we’re going to tell you some of the steps, both safe and unsafe, that hypermilers use to increase their gas mileage. As you read these, though, keep in mind that some of them could be dangerous and you should only use them at your own risk. In fact, the risk isn’t worth the few cents you might save on fuel.

1. Tires with too much inflation: This isn’t the safest technique, but some hypermilers use it. One hypermiler, Larry Singleton, inflates his tires about 15-20 pounds more than the recommended pressure. He considers this a safe measure because he rarely drives on the highway. At slower speeds throughout town, overinflated tires don’t pose as much of a threat. But they can still be unpredictable. Overinflation leads to less friction on the road and, as a result, uses fewer drops of fuel than tires at the proper inflation.

2. Putting a piece of cardboard over the radiator: Cooler engines aren’t as fuel-efficient as warm engines. By placing a piece of cardboard over the radiator, you reduce the amount of wind that gets to it. As a result, the radiator and engine retain heat. You can even find silver-colored cardboard at your local office supply store for more insulation. If you’re going long distances, however, this could cause your engine to overheat. Remove the cardboard if you’re driving more than 75 continuous miles.

3. Driving in the “paint”: If you’re a driver, you know about the white lines on the outer edge of the highway. But did you know the paint gives the edge a coating that causes less friction? And less friction leads to better fuel economy. During periods of rain, “riding the line” is also helpful because puddles tend to form near the center of the road, causing you to lose a few miles in fuel economy.

Tomorrow we’ll have more hypermiling techniques that you can use (if you dare) with your certified Ford.

For deals on new, used, or certified Ford vehicles please visit our Ford dealers in MO or our Ford dealers - Waterloo Illinois.

The new and redesigned Ford Fiesta debuted at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year. And the Ford Motor Company is placing a lot of confidence in this small vehicle to bring many consumers back to their local dealers for another look.

The Michigan-based automaker used its global resources to design a new Fiesta boasting a sleeker appearance and better fuel efficiency than those of its predecessors.   But it won’t be available in North and South America until 2010. This year, European consumers can purchase a Fiesta before it expands to Asia next year.

But some in the automotive industry have a problem with the name, and here are their two main arguments against it:

1. Choosing “Fiesta” relies on an old ego-driven system that “sucks up to the boss” by using a name that begins with the same letter as his last name.

2. Using “Fiesta” simply brings back the name of an old model that wasn’t successful. It shows that the Ford officials who name cars have less imagination than they once did.

But these are unfounded claims based on ignorance of the company and its history, according to Ford officials. The automaker has used the Fiesta name for more than 30 years without interruption. Under the Fiesta name, the company has sold more than 12 million units. And the name traces back to the celebrations in Spain after the automaker announced it would have a production plant in the region to help the impoverished nation.

Keep your eyes peeled for the Fiesta and other popular Ford vehicles at your local dealership. Once you see how fuel-efficient and comfortable Ford’s compact cars can be, you’ll want to throw a party of your own with the money you save!  Visit our Ford dealership in Missouri or our Waterloo area Ford dealers.

Have you ever thought about adding spoilers to your certified Ford? Chances are that you’ve seen these contraptions on other cars traveling down the road. And you’ve definitely seen these if you’ve ever watched a NASCAR race. But you might not know exactly what they do (besides make a car look uber cool).

Spoilers typically help make cars go faster. They do this in a couple of ways. First, they break through the air resistance that vehicles encounter at higher speeds. With dissipated resistance, your car can break through the air with less effort. This also increases the vehicle’s fuel efficiency because it takes less effort to move. You probably never noticed, but there are also spoilers underneath the front bumpers of some vehicles to break through the air resistance.

Spoilers also give the driver more control over the car. By adding weight to the back of the car, they keep the rear wheels on the ground at higher speeds. This gives the car better traction and performance when making fast turns.

You can find specialty shops that will install spoilers on your Ford. Many sports cars already come with these devices, too. But now that you know exactly what they do and what they are for, you can decide if you want to install an aftermarket spoiler or not.