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Taking care of your vehicle can lead to many years of trouble free, clean, reliable service. The problem is, sometimes we don't always know exactly what we are supposed to do in order to properly take care of our vehicle. To make things easy on you, we have broken down the fundamental most important service parts of a vehicle, and how you can best upkeep them for year after trouble free year.
External body and paint
The best way to take care of the outside of your vehicle is to keep it reasonably clean. The reason you do this, is to keep your paint sparkling, improve your visibility (a clean car equals clean windows), reduce the drag on your vehicle (yes, heavy dirt does reduce the aerodynamics of your vehicle ever so slightly), and to keep an eye out for any damage on your vehicle that may lead to future problem, such as rust.
When it comes to washing your vehicle, doing it yourself is not recommended, as it wastes more water and also introduces harmful chemicals into both your storm drains and soil.
Interior
Keeping your interior clean and relatively clutter free, helps to not only improve your mindset when you are driving, but that of others who you happen to offer a ride. Keeping your vehicle clutter free of unnecessary items (skies, tools, last 10 years worth of fruitcakes from your Aunt Matilda) also helps reduce the weight of your vehicle, which has been shown to improve gas mileage somewhat.
When you're finished putting a shine to the inside of your vehicle, you can make your own air freshener and hang it on your rear view mirror for an even more refreshing odor to greet you everyday before you head out on the road.
Engine and other maintenance
Properly inflated tires can indeed save on gas mileage in certain situations, but we would certainly not recommend making it a daily or even weekly chore, as it has not shown to make that much difference according to real world testing done by Edmunds.com http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/05/testing_the_tip.php.
A well tuned engine keeps your vehicle working the way it was supposed to (close to the specs as when it first left the showroom floor). Don't however fall for the gimmick products that promise better performance and gas mileage than your vehicle should naturally have. About the best emissions and performance you can expect is when your vehicle is properly tuned to its OEM (Original Equipment Manufactured) specifications.
Mean Green Machines -- Feel the need for sustainable speed? See what eco-engineers are doing to create super-charged but low-impact cars, bikes, and planes on Planet Green TV's Mean Green Machines.
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Tags: transportation, do it yourself, cars, gas mileage
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