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Welcome to Sunday Classics, a series that re-runs classic savings posts from cincysavers.com. Today's Classic Post is from August 2009.---------------------------------------------------------- By now you've most likely begun to feel the pinch at the pump as gas prices have risen to the $4.00 mark. In the past we've helped you save on the cost of gas. But that isn't the only way to save on gas. You can also make each tank last longer with a few simple tricks. Today I'm going to share my top ten tried-and-true techniques to increasing your average mpg in any car! 

1. Slow down on the gas pedal. Accelerate out of a stop more slowly. You'll quickly find the extra second or two you lose by accelerating slowly is well worth it in huge fuel savings!
2. Drive like you don't have brakes--meaning, coast to the stop sign or items in front of you. You'll quickly find you can take your foot off the gas a lot sooner than you thought and still get to the stop sign quickly!
3. Shift into neutral and coast down long hills. If you're in an automatic, don't shift into neutral--simply remove your foot off the gas pedal and let the car coast on its own.
4. If you're going to be idling for longer than 30 seconds, turn off the car. At stop lights, in the drive-thru, in the driveway--any time you're going to be sitting for longer than 30 seconds, you should turn off the engine. 
5. On the interstate or in stop and go traffic leave plenty of room between you and the vehicle in front of you--and coast up to the car. Even moving at 3 mph is more fuel efficient than pulling up quickly and sitting still with the car idling.
6. Don't use defrost blower settings within the car unless necessary for safety. The defrost uses more gas than the vents.
7. When traveling at speeds higher than 45 mph, roll up the windows and use air from the vents or the air conditioning. The a/c actually uses less fuel to run than the loss of aerodynamics costs you when you drive at high speeds with your windows down!
8. Instead of using the drive thru, park the car and go in. You won't be idling in a drive-thru line and will save lots of gas every week!
9. Unload your car of any heavy items you might be carrying around--like that recent shopping trip that never got unloaded, the kids' soccer gear, or just the various junk that accumulates in the trunk of your car!
10. Have your vehicle checked regularly for proper maintenance and settings. Simple things like tire pressure, spark plugs, oil changes and more can make a big difference in your gas mileage!

 Want to know if you're doing some of these properly? Fill a normal cup with water, up to about an inch from the top of the cup. Leave off any lid. Place it in your cupholder, then drive as usual. If you are in danger of the water spilling, then you are starting and stopping too quickly! With proper driving technique you should notice little movement in the water level. Doing those things alone, in my automatic 1998 Honda CR-V, I've added 90 miles per tank!  Or almost 6 miles per gallon in fuel efficiency! What have you done to increase gas efficiency in your car?

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