The Gas-Miser's Guide

By Michael W. R. Davis

THE GAS MISER’S GUIDE

199 ways to save $$$ on gasoline

The Gas Miser’s Guide is for any driver who wants better gasoline or diesel mileage. Whatever type of car or truck you drive, the tips in this book can definitely save you money. It ought to be especially useful for beginning or inexperienced drivers.

Some of these tips you already know. Many, you don’t.

Originally compiled in response to the fuel availability crisis of 1973-1974, the advice given here is even more valuable today. The price of fuel has soared since this book was written, making your potential savings even greater.

So, as you read, remember: The data and descriptions in The Gas Miser’s Guide go back almost 40 years. The original version has not been changed -- because the basic laws of physics remain the same. Fuel economy is still about moving weight over distance.

The Gas Miser’s Guide is written with U.S. motorists in mind. That’s why we refer to “miles per gallon.” The facts, however, are true all over the world, whether you measure kilometers per liter or use some other measure. Whether you live and drive in Brazil, Russia, India or China, whether you use gasoline or diesel fuel, advice in the Gas Miser’s Guide is for you, your vehicle and your roads.

You won’t find anything in this booklet about battery-electric, gasoline-electric hybrid, and plug-in hybrid cars -- or about compressed natural gas (CNG), biodiesel or ethanol fuels. In 1974, these concepts and products were all “around the corner,” “over the hill,” or “beyond the horizon,” to be discussed perhaps in a sequel Guide.

If this eBook version of The Gas Miser’s Guide is successful as an inexpensive--about half the cost of a gallon of gas in the U.S.–handbook, the authors plan to issue a completely updated sequel. By following our website or Facebook page, you will be notified when this happens.

Drivers who have followed practices described in the original Gas Misers Guide could have saved thousands of dollars on gasoline over the years. You, too, can start saving money the instant you receive your copy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael W. R. Davis
• Release date: Nov 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301463794

Michael W. R. Davis

I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where my father had been a newspaper printer, reporter, editor and daily columnist before establishing an advertising agency. I wrote my first published story for a junior high school newspaper, an interview with German prisoners-of-war who were earning PX money after the war's end by working in potato fields near our home. Later, I wrote a column for the student newspaper at Louisville Male High School. When I had nothing else to write about, which was often, I wrote short fiction, teen-aged adventure stuff that I heard was quite popular at the girls' high school. From Male I went almost by accident to Yale, instead of to the small Episcopal college in the South that I otherwise would have attended. At Yale, I was anything but a big man on the campus. My interests were guns, girls, cars and airplanes--not to mention coping with vigorous academic demands. Writing was confined to countless research papers and some feature writing for a College (not university) mimeographed "newspaper." Usually I wrote interviews with interesting College Fellows, such as the Medical School Librarian who had been with the OSS during World War II. I had no interest in competing for a slot at the student Yale Daily News, which among other things would have required me to, ugh, sell advertising. I gave no thought to my occupational future, so when I graduated with a degree in history and went to Miami looking for a job, I was somewhat at sea. After three months of pounding the sidewalk, a Princeton man hired me to write research reports and put out a twice-monthly business newsletter for his management consulting firm. One day a Business Week editor came to Miami looking to hire a local correspondent, my boss recommended me and I got the gig. I'd never heard of Business Week and had to go to the library to see what one looked like. From that, through a girlfriend's tip, I applied for a job as a reporter at the afternoon Miami Daily News. Through some genetic twist I seemed to have a "nose for news" on suburban, police and celebrity interview "beats" and, better, could find a story in assignments that most reporters dreaded: business. Accordingly I picked up business assignments for Time and Life that their regular correspondents didn't want, and also got another gig as a correspondent for Kiplinger. In the meantime, I began dating my wife-to-be and not long after our marriage, Business Week brought me up from the minors to be assistant manager of the Detroit bureau. I could have taken Pittsburgh, but as a life-long car nut of course chose Detroit. I covered the auto industry and labor, which was big in Detroit those days with both Reuther and Hoffa holding forth locally. Business Week than wanted to move me to New York but I didn't want to leave Detroit, so sought out and got a job on the Ford Public Relations staff, where I spent 25 years. Along the way, I continued to moonlight writing articles for automotive magazines where there was no conflict with my PR work for Ford. At age 49, I also went back to school, earning a M. S. degree in historic preservation from Eastern Michigan University and later completed course work for a doctorate in history of technology at Wayne State University. By this time I had departed from Ford, put in a couple of years back in the news business as an executive of a media company, then trading on my master's degree, became executive director of the Detroit Historical Society. About this time, I began my third career as a book author, co-author, editor-in-chief or major contributor -- rather than, for instance, writing a dissertation for my doctorate. Then a couple of friends separately asked me to start contributing regularly to their magazines on automotive history matters. I've also specialized in automotive safety issues and other stories requiring extensive background knowledge of the industry and deep research, more so than most automotive writers have the time or patience to undertake. In recent years I have expanded my writing expertise to include military history. Along the way, I've also had the time, contacts and energy to serve as a trustee of the Detroit Society of Professional Journalists, trustee of the National Automotive History Collection at the Detroit Public Library, president of the Algonquin Club of Detroit and Windsor (a cross border dinner club of local historians), director of the national Defense Orientation Conference Association and director of the Pioneer America Society: Association for the Preservation of Artifacts and Landscape, and several military hereditary organizations. In addition I've had the opportunity and pleasure of lecturing at several universities and numerous historical and civic organizations.

Book preview

THE GAS MISER’S GUIDE –

Everything you wanted to know about saving gasoline

but didn’t know who to ask

by

Michael W. R. Davis & Charles D. Mackey

Illustrations by Phil Eitzen

Copyright 1974 and 2012 Michael W. R. Davis & Charles D. Mackey

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

THE GAS MISER’S GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE -- 2012

PREFACE 1974

CHAPTER 1 -- SAVING – GAS AT THE PUMP

CHAPTER 2 – FOILING THE SIPHONER

CHAPTER 3 – SAVING GAS EVERY TIME YOU START

CHAPTER 4 – SAVING GAS WITH THE ENGINE OFF

CHAPTER 5 – ECONOMIZING EVERY MILE YOU DRIVE

CHAPTER 6 – STAYING IN TUNE

CHAPTER 7 – SAVING GAS IN YOUR NEXT CAR

CHAPTER 8 – TRICKS FROM THE PROS

CHAPTER 9 – SHOULD YOU REMOVE EMISSION CONTROLS ?

CHAPTER 10 – WHAT’S AROUND THE CORNER?

CHAPTER 11 – CIVIC ACTIONS

CHAPTER 12 – CHOOSING ACCESSORIES AND OPTIONS

CHAPTER 13 – RUNNING OUT OF FUEL

CHAPTER 14 – WHAT’S INSIDE THE FUEL PRICE PER GALLON?

CHAPTER 15 – THE EASY TO FIGURE MILES PER GALLON

CHAPTER 16 – WHAT IS MILES PER GALLON?

CHAPTER 17 – ABOUT EPA ’73-’74 MILEAGE REPORTS

CHAPTER 18 - ABOUT THE AUTHORS

RECORD KEEPING PAGES (not provided for 2012 digital edition)

***

2012 PREFACE

THE GAS MISER’S GUIDE

199 ways to save $$$ on gasoline

The Gas Miser’s Guide is for any driver who wants better gasoline or diesel mileage. Whatever type of car or truck you drive, the tips in this book can definitely save you money. It ought to be especially useful for beginning or inexperienced drivers.

Some of these tips you already know. Many, you don’t.

Originally compiled in response to the fuel availability crisis of 1973-1974, the advice given here is even more valuable today. The price of fuel has soared since this book was written, making your potential savings even greater.

So, as you read, remember: The data and descriptions in The Gas Miser’s Guide go back almost 40 years. The original version has not been changed -- because the basic laws of physics remain the same. Fuel economy is still about moving weight over distance.

The Gas Miser’s Guide is written with U.S. motorists in mind. That’s why we refer to miles per gallon. The facts, however, are true all over the world, whether you measure kilometers per liter or use some other measure. Whether you live and drive in Brazil, Russia, India or China, whether you use gasoline or diesel fuel, advice in the Gas Miser’s Guide is for you, your vehicle and your roads.

You won’t find anything in this booklet about battery-electric, gasoline-electric hybrid, and plug-in hybrid cars -- or about compressed natural gas (CNG), biodiesel or ethanol fuels. In 1974, these concepts and products were all around the corner, over the hill, or beyond the horizon, to be discussed perhaps in a sequel Guide.

If this eBook version of The Gas Miser’s Guide is successful as an inexpensive--about half the cost of a gallon of gas in the U.S.–handbook, the authors plan to issue a completely updated sequel. By following our website, www.gasmisersguide.com or Facebook page, you will be notified when this happens.

Drivers who have followed practices described in the original Gas Misers Guide could have saved thousands of dollars on gasoline over the years. You, too, can start saving money the instant you receive your copy.

ORIGINAL 1974 INTRODUCTION

About this miserly book :

This book won’t solve America’s gasoline shortage.

It won’t make lines at gas stations any shorter.

It won’t make prices any lower.

But it definitely will save you money.

The GAS MISER’S GUIDE, written by a Detroit insider, contains over 199 practical tips, hints, suggestions and ingenious ideas that can save the average driver like you 10% to 20% on your gasoline bill – up to 50% if you’re really willing to change your driving habits.

The GAS MISER’S GUIDE will help you squeeze every last tenth of a mile out of every drop of gasoline every time your toe touches the accelerator.

It will help you stretch your car’s fuel until you can reach a filling station.

It will save you money at the gas pump.

It will save you money when you pick out your next new or used car.

In the back, you’ll find pages and pages of factual information – a unique explanation of what miles-per-gallon is all about, how to figure miles-per-gallon, what to do if you run out of gas, mileage charts, plus record-keeping pages to keep track of all the mileage you got and all the money you saved.

Note: In the digital version of GMG released for 2012, no such space provision is made.

Get in a miserly mood and read on.

CHAPTER 1 – SAVING GAS AT THE PUMP

If these were ordinary times. we would begin by telling you that gas economy -- both in miles-per-gallon (MPG) and dollars-and-cents -- begins, not so surprisingly, at the gasoline station.

Again, if these were normal times, we would be telling you to shop for the lowest prices and to keep an eye out for that holy grail of the true gas miser -- the good, old-fashioned gas war (where you