Low-tech solutions for better mileage

Gasoline prices have eased somewhat in the last few days, but we'd all be happy to pay $2 per gallon again. But the relief may be short-lived, with crude oil prices back above $50 a barrel and Memorial Day just around the corner.

Long-term, we all lust after hybrid vehicles or cars that run on alcohol, hydrogen or moonbeams, but until that day arrives, there is a lot we can do to each the financial crunch of high fuel prices.

The Alliance to Save Energy offers these tips that we can put to immediate use:

* Keep your tires properly inflated. Read and follow the label inside the the driver-side door of your car. You can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent.

* Use the recommended grade of motor oil. That could help to the tune of 1 to 2 percent.

* Keep your engine properly tuned. That could improve mileage by up to 40 percent, if your car has something as seriously wrong as a faulty oxygen sensor.

* Plan ahead for the shortest, most gas-saving itinerary. Short trips on a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a combined trip.

* If you have more than one car, use the one that gets the best mileage.

* Don't speed. Each 5 mph increase above 60 is like paying an additional 10 cents a gallon.

* Aggressive driving -- speeding, rapid acceleration, rapid braking -- wastes gas and can lower your gas mileage by as much as 33 percent at highway speeds. Sensible driving is safer, too.

* Avoid excessive idling. A parked car with engine running gets zero miles per gallon.

* Use your cruise control on the highway. Overdrive or high gear lower engine speed, save gas and reduce wear.

* Avoid carrying "draggy" items on your vehicle's roof, which can cut mileage by 5 percent. Put them inside your vehicle if at all possible.

* Avoid carrying unnecessary items. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk cuts fuel economy 1 or 2 percent.

High gasoline prices or low, it just doesn't make sense to burn more gasoline than necessary.