Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Find a Scooter

If you do a lot of city driving, buying a highly efficient scooter for warm-weather months makes a good deal of sense. Scooters can get upward of 90 mpg (sometimes well over 100), they're cheap to insure and are perfect for making short jaunts across town.

You can get your hands on a decent used model for around $1,500, and even the most expensive — which are more like small motorcycles — only cost around $6,000. Scooter sales are up 24% compared to this time last year, and the industry thinks that has to do mostly with high gas prices. This makes sense because sales of less fuel-efficient bikes, like those sold by Harley-Davidson, are down 23% this year after continuously hitting record sales year after year for two straight decades.

It's important to keep in mind that scooters usually top out around 45 mph and are ideal only for street-to-street, gridlocked city traffic. You also might find them severely lacking in safety features (the one they have is called a "helmet") and a very poor choice for winter. Still, for saving gas money on a short commute, it's hard to beat a scooter.

More Are Scooting to Save Gas (CNN)

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Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Check Out the Gas Station Car Wash

In a tight economy, luxuries always get scaled back. Let's face it: Unless you're professionally buffing cars for the showroom, you don't really need that weekly car wash.

In fact, car wash businesses across the country are particularly hurting as customers resort to other methods of cleaning (such as a garden hose, waiting for rain, ignoring how dirty the car is altogether). This, however, could be to your advantage.

If and when you finally decide to get that car wash, make sure to use one that’s attached to a gas station. These stations often (if not always) discount the price of gas when you also buy a car wash.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that you shouldn’t buy a car wash just to get your gas reduced by a few cents. The math won't add up in your favor. It only works if you wait to fill up and wash at the same time.

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Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: If it Sounds too Good to Be True

Look, we all want cheap gas, but there are no shortcuts.

We've already told you to beware of products that promise to increase your mileage and gas credit cards that promise big savings, but there are a couple of other snake-oil sales you should be aware of.

First of all, you know those internet pop-ups that offer you absurd deals, like "Fill out this questionnaire and get $50 of gas”? Well, even if you're well aware that those are all hogwash, be on the lookout for the non-cyber equivalent. In particular, a company called RadioGasDeals.com has radio spots that offer to lock in the price of gas at $2.49. The company has come under the scrutiny of the Better Business Bureau (not to mention the fact that its parent company FreeZone has eight different, progressively shadier names under which it does business).

Secondly, online auctions for gas coupons or rebates are a fantastically bad idea. They’re rife with counterfeits and coupons that have a lot of fine print attached. Just ask yourself, "Why would this person want to sell a $50 gas coupon for 10 bucks?"

Our advice is not particularly brilliant, but it's tried and true: If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

4 Gas-Saving Deals That Rarely Pay Off (SmartMoney)

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Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Lose Some Weight

Remember how we told you that added weight in the car could cost you mileage? Well, we're not just talking about the golf clubs in your trunk.

In 2006, studies by the University of Illinois and Virginia Commonwealth University determined that today’s drivers’ added weight is responsible for 938 million extra gallons of gas a year compared to their forebears in the ‘60s.

Since 1960, the average weight of an American has increased by 24 pounds. Each extra pound in the car, times all the cars on the road today, accounts for more than 39 million gallons of gas a year. Factor in the average 24-pound body-weight increase, and that’s nearly a billion extra gallons of gas based strictly on the additional body mass of the American populace.

Look, you've been meaning to get in shape anyway, right? What better time than now, when it will save you money at the pump?

Study: Weight Gain of U.S. Drivers has Increased Nation's Fuel Consumption (Green Car Congress)

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Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Pay Cash

This gas-saving tip does not mean you should always pay cash, so pay attention.

Some gas stations are offering reduced gas prices for customers who pay in cash. This is because when you pay with a card, the credit-card company is skimming 12-15 cents a gallon off the top, which comes directly out of the retailer's pocket.

Therefore, it makes sense for them to offer a 7 to 10 cent discount to customers who pay cash. Again, this tip is only good for gas stations that offer the discount. If not, then you're just saving the station a few cents rather than yourself.

Therefore, go to the ATM before you fill up. Pay in cash and save yourself a few bucks whenever you can.

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Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Everyone Buy a Hybrid

In a previous post, we pointed out an obvious way to save gas, which is to make the next car you buy a hybrid. Although this seems obvious, we'd like to point out that if you buy a hybrid you are actually helping reduce the price of gas.

You see, if just you buy a hybrid, that will save you gas and therefore money. However, if millions and millions of drivers bought hybrids, the overall need for gas would begin to decline, and the price would eventually come down. Less demand equals more supply, which in turn equals gas savings for everyone.

This phenomenon may not be as far away as you'd think. In a survey, J.D. Power and Associates found that 62% of drivers are seriously considering a hybrid for their next vehicle. This is up from 50% only a year ago and marks the biggest leap in consumer interest ever recorded in J.D. Power’s alternative powertrain survey.

Of course, right now there aren't enough hybrids to meet demand, and they make up less than 5% of total new-car sales. But if every manufacturer’s entire lineup were hybrids, well, you can imagine the gas savings on the consumer. Demand for gas would go down — impacting the price at the pump — and with that much volume, the cost of hybrids would go down as well.

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Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Gas Credit Cards

Gas credit cards can save you money at the pump. Some cards offer rebates as high as 5% on gasoline, but don't be a mindless consumer — pay attention. The period when you're getting that high rebate usually ends after about three months.

For instance, Chase's PerfectCard MasterCard nets you a 6% rebate on gas purchases for 90 days before dropping to a less-helpful 3%. Also be aware that credit card companies can basically change their terms whenever they feel like it with little or no warning.

Yes, you can save money with a gas credit card, but the key is to be very discerning in your purchases and keep the card paid down. Gathering debt so you can save a few cents at the pump in the short term is a monumentally bad idea.

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Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Trade the Naming Rights to Your Unborn Child

OK, so this tip isn’t going to save you a whole lot of gas, but it certainly helped out Florida resident David Partin, who traded the naming rights for his unborn son to two local radio disc jockeys in exchange for $100 worth of free gas.

Hosts Richard Dixon and J. Willoughby held a contest to see who could offer the most interesting item to trade for the gas card. Partin won, and the hosts bequeathed the name "Dixon and Willoughby Partin" on the poor kid. The only stipulation is that Partin doesn't get the gas card until Dixon and Willoughby actually see the name on the birth certificate.

We’re interested to know how the mother feels about this.

Soon-To-Be Dad Trades Son's Name For Gas Money (Morning Edition)

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Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Low-Rolling-Resistance Tires

Automakers have begun to turn to low-rolling-resistance tires to boost fuel efficiency, and if you want to try and save a gallon or two per mile, you can make them your next set of replacement tires. Popular on hybrids, automakers are using them to up gas mileage across the spectrum. All of Ford's 2009 compact SUVs will come with low-rolling-resistance tires.

The tires basically use advanced compounds to make the material more flexible. This flexibility reduces resistance, and the tire uses less energy to move the vehicle. In addition to safety concerns, the tires can cost a bit more than conventional replacements. They will save you a bit of money over the long run, though. Michelin estimates that its low-rolling-resistance tires can save drivers 68 gallons of gas over a lifetime of regular use. At $4 per gallon, that's just over $270.

Reinventing Wheel Helps Fuel Efficiency (Detroit News)

Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Wholesale Membership

Wholesale retailer Costco can save you money on countless items, including gas. Because it buys its gas in bulk, it can usually save you 10 to 15 cents per gallon—so long as you fork over $50 for a one-year membership.

Some simple math will tell us if this is worth it: Let's say you save at the higher end of 15 cents per gallon. To make the $50 fee worth it, you would need to buy just over 333 gallons of gas. At 10 cents per gallon, the amount becomes 500 gallons. One more money saving tip, there are reports that if you have an American Express card, you don't need a Costco membership to fill up.

The only catch is you have to fill up at Costco stations, and if the location isn’t convenient you could burn more gas driving to it than you save.

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