Drivers are hitting the highways more than ever. Americans have increased their vehicle miles traveled 155 percent since 1970, according to a recent Environmental Protection Agency report. Coupled with the rising cost of fuel, this increase in miles driven means that performing regular vehicle maintenance is more important than ever.
Why does regular maintenance save fuel? Because service issues like underinflated tires, clogged fuel injectors and air filters, and dirty spark plugs make engines and other vehicle components work harder. An engine that has to work harder uses more fuel.
Another plus of regular maintenance is that it offers environmental benefits. The EPA’s 2004 air trends report shows that while vehicle emissions have decreased 74 percent since 1970, poorly maintained vehicles still can generate excess vehicle emissions.
“Americans can save fuel and help the environment by being conscientious about maintaining their vehicles,” said Peter Lord, executive director, GM Service Operations. “Regular vehicle inspections by expert technicians like those at GM Goodwrench dealerships, along with maintenance, such as keeping tires properly inflated, can help improve a vehicle’s fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and achieve optimal performance.”
Here are some maintenance & driving tips
from Mr. Goodwrench that can reduce emissions, improve fuel economy
and save you money.
Maintenance tips
Simplified Maintenance: If you’re a GM owner with a vehicle equipped with the GM Oil Life System (OLS), you can use the Simplified Maintenance plan to save time, money and oil. The plan calls for you to visit your GM Goodwrench dealership only when your “Change Oil” light comes on, instead of every 3,000 miles.
At the dealership, you can receive an oil change and other services, such as tire rotations, all in one visit. GM estimates that if all the 20 million-plus vehicles on the road equipped with this technology used the system as intended, hundreds of millions of gallons of oil would be saved over the lifetime of the vehicles, further reducing environmental impact. (CONTINUE...)
