“When The Associated Press asked Obama’s campaign for the figures they used to make that claim, they couldn’t produce any…”

“It turns out that about two-thirds of vehicles already have properly inflated tires.”

Check & Replace Air Filters regularly:
Fuel Economy Benefit: up to 10%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: up to $0.40/gallon

In addition, they throw in this estimate:

Use Recommended Grade of Motor Oil:
Fuel Economy Benefit: 1-2%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.04-$0.08/gallon

(The monetary savings are of course based on $4 per gallon gas)

The powers that be know the voting public is apathetic and they can take a small truth, make it an exaggerated media byte, and off they go on their campaign. Similar to this particular situation. Yes, tire pressure and maintenance will affect gas mileage, no doubt. But assuming our vehicle fleet and citizens driving them are so inept at car maintenance is beyond me. Not to mention getting EVERYONE to do something about it.

There are alternatives available today similar to what you have mentioned about the kit running on the truck. However, most people are not courageous enough to void their warranty by installing these kits. Fear keeps them from change. But, for every $100 trip to the pump, that fear decreases.

In this day and time with so much knowledge at our fingertips, one would think that they would try to get their ducks in a row before they start telling things that can’t be backed up with proof. A good example of that just recently happened, not to mention any names but, “We were running and dodging sniper bullets as we departed the plane.” As Gomer Pyle would say, Gaaawlee that must have been terrible,now that there woman sure was brave. Good press if it had actually been true,but as we found out,this wasn’t what happened at all.

Do they think everyone believes everything they say, including about the oil situation? No, I don’t think so, but they have enough power to stay in leadership roles, and to make decisions involving the outcome of our country and how much oil we purchase or how much we can pump on our own. We need to learn how to conserve our resources.

Something that I don’t hear mentioned but very little and would probably save more gas than properly inflated tires would be replacing the air filter on your vehicle more often. How many people actually do this simple little project? The cost to replace the filter yourself is usually very minimal compared to gas prices.

I know that what I am going to tell you, will sound too good to be true, but at the present time there is in action a F250 Ford 3/4 ton loaded with camping gear and loaded with family,running with the air conditioner on, headed for Canada on a 4000 mile trip testing a new kit that was installed about a week ago. Before installing the kit the truck was averaging around 8 miles per gallon, without a load. As of this morning the truck is averaging 17 to 18 miles per gallon without any problems. If this pans out I believe we could be less dependent on foreign oil a lot sooner than anyone thinks.

What do you think?? More updates later!!

Territo notes that the Auto Alliance sponsored tire pressure checks for members of Congress and their staff last week. “Surprisingly, we found that most drivers had tires between 5 and 7 pounds under inflated — some had tires under-inflated by as much as 20 pounds.”

1.2 Billion Gallons/19.5g per barrel of oil = 61.5 million barrels of oil wasted.

61.5 million / 365 days = 169,000 barrels of oil per day.

The percentages they are talking about are not adding up on this one.

“The Department of Energy estimates that 1.2 billion gallons of fuel were wasted in 2005 as a result of driving on under-inflated tires.

Fuel efficiency is reduced by 1% for every 3 PSI that tires are under-inflated.

Experts estimate that 25% of automobiles are running on tires with lower than recommended pressure, because people don’t know how to check their tires or don’t realize that tires naturally lose air over time.”