Going Green
The automotive aftermarket industry was green before green was cool,
and has always been one of the most environmentally friendly industries.
The core purpose of businesses in the aftermarket is to provide the
parts, products and services to keep America’s vehicles operating
properly, efficiently, safely and clean. Whether it’s a tune up,
proper tire inflation, wheel alignment, oil and filter change, proper
recycling of lubricants and chemicals or remanufactured parts, they all
contribute to better gas mileage, less energy consumption and cleaner
air.
 Consumer
Awareness
The Car Care Council is doing its part to promote environmentally
responsible practices by educating consumers on "greening" their
vehicles.
Five Steps to a
"Greener" Car
It doesn’t matter if the car you’re driving is new or old, big or
small. There are preventive maintenance steps every vehicle owner
can take to make sure their car is as "green" or environmentally
friendly as possible, according to the Car Care Council.
By following five simple preventive maintenance steps, you can help
protect the environment by improving gas mileage, which in turn saves
money at the pump.
- Keep your car properly tuned for optimum performance.
A well-tuned engine delivers the best balance of power and fuel
economy and produces the lowest level of emissions. A 21st
Century tune-up can improve gas mileage by an average of 4 percent.
Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor,
can improve gas mileage by as much as 40 percent.
- Regularly check and replace dirty air filters. An air
filter that is clogged with dirt, dust and bugs chokes off the air and
creates a “rich” mixture — too much gas being burned for the amount of
air — that wastes gas and causes the engine to lose power.
Replacing a clogged air filter can improve gas mileage by as much as
10 percent, saving about 15 cents a gallon.
- Have spark plugs checked and replaced if necessary. A
vehicle can have four, six or eight spark plugs, which fire as many as
three million times every 1,000 miles. This results in a lot of
heat, electrical and chemical erosion. A dirty spark plug also
causes misfiring, which wastes fuel.
- Maintain the cooling system. A cooling system
thermostat that causes the engine to run too cold will lower the fuel
efficiency of a car by as much as one or two mpg. There also are
improved radiator caps on the market today that allow the cooling
system to operate at a higher temperature before boiling over,
increasing the system’s efficiency and reducing emissions.
- Maintain and repair your car as outlined in the council’s Car
Care Guide. The guide helps drivers understand their car,
the care it needs and when it needs it and why. Single copies of
the free guide may be ordered on the Car Care Council Web site,
www.carcare.org.
In addition to proper vehicle maintenance, vehicles can be more
fuel-efficient if tires are properly inflated and if drivers observe the
speed limit, avoid aggressive driving and excessive idling, and adhere
to an errand list to eliminate extra trips to the store for forgotten
items.
The Green
Scene
Here are useful sources that provide more information on going green
and environmental responsibility:
Source for information on this page: Aftermarket
Insider, September 2007
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