|
Car clinic driven to save motorists
By Tim Ebner
Capital Newspaper Staff Writer
6/30/2008
Rose Long made a quick pit-stop in Edgewater last week that
could end up saving her money at the pump. The Calvert County
resident pulled into a parking lot where trained technicians
checked her car's tire pressure, fluid levels and engine oil.
The 15-minute inspection offered at the South County Senior
Center was part of a state-sponsored program intended to help
Maryland residents maximize their vehicle's fuel efficiency.
"At $4 a
gallon this is something people want," said Heather McColl,
the executive director of the Annapolis Regional Transportation
Management Association. "Our services are now at the forefront
of people's minds."
ARTMA, along
with the Maryland Department of the Environment, helped coordinate
the free event Thursday. The clinic was offered twice in June
and Ms. McColl said the program will start up again this fall.
The free car-care clinics help drivers identify mechanical and
maintenance problems affecting their vehicle's performance.
Often the maintenance issue is a simple fix that can lead to
bigger savings down the road. "Tire pressure is the No. 1 culprit,"
said Russ Urlich of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, an organization
that tries to improve air quality in the Baltimore region. In
some instances drivers who keep their tires inflated at the
proper level can save upward of 10 cents a gallon. In addition
to checking tire pressure, Brad Marsiglia of Precision Tune
Auto Care said it is important to look under the hood. "Drivers
need to stay on top of their maintenance with air filters, fluids
and oil changes," he said. Other ways to minimize fuel consumption
include changing your driving habits and sweating out the heat
a little bit. "You want to stay off the gas pedal and drive
as easy as possible," Mr. Marsiglia said. "Also, you want to
keep your RPMs under 3,000. Try not to use your air conditioning
as much. It keeps the load off the motor."
With the
price of gas continuing to rise, Mr. Urlich said drivers should
make every attempt to run their car as efficiently as possible.
A well-maintained car doesn't just save gas money, it also can
help a vehicle run cleaner, he said. "There's been a lot of
concern about air quality, and I think people are finally beginning
to heed that message as well," Mr. Urlich said.
Many of
the people who drove in for the car-care service said they have
already begun to change their driving habits. Usha Barkat of
Edgewater said the economic impact has caused her to cut back
on the use of her Toyota Matrix. She said her car gets good
gas mileage, but she still tries to conserve fuel by planning
trips ahead of time. "If I can, I go to two or three places
that are close together," said Ms. Barkat. "It helps that I
live in a convenient area. I live right here, there's a K-Mart,
a Food Lion, my bank is here, the post office and the senior
center is here. It really is a short run." Ms. Long also said
she is cutting back to save some money. She said she travels
to Annapolis a few times a week in her Volvo S4, which gets
26 miles per gallon. "I combine errands, and only go where I
need to go, besides work," she said. Without many public-transportation
options, Ms. Long said she finds herself driving more often
than not. She stopped by the car-care service to make sure there
were no major issues with her car that could be causing problems.
Turnout
for the June car-care clinics in Anne Arundel County has been
strong. Thursday, all the inspection appointments were filled
and a waiting list of seven people were signed up for the service.
At the South County Senior Center in Edgewater, the inspections
moved quickly one after another. At a similar event last week
in Annapolis more than 20 drivers turned out in two hours. In
addition to the two car-care clinics, drivers can also visit
any Precision Tune Auto Care shop for the same vehicle inspection
service, free of charge. The little tweaks and changes in driving
habits could add up in the long-run, Mr. Urlich said. "A few
years ago, if you said you might be running the car a few percentage
points off efficiency, it probably wouldn't have meant much,"
he said. "Today at $4 a gallon it could be significant."
Published
June 30, 2008, The Capital, Annapolis, Md. Copyright © 2008
The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
|
