Keep your filters clean- with every piece of dirt that your intake filter grabs it loses efficiency and in turn robs horsepower. In additional to keeping your filters clean make sure to stay on top of your cars maintenance schedule.

Air Filter

Remove excess weight- The first thing you need to do is put your vehicle on a diet by removing any extra or unnecessary weight. Every 100 pounds is worth approximately 1/10 (.10) of a second on your E/T. Quick candidates for weight removal include your spare tire, the jack, your sub box, tools, coolers, the junk in your console and glove box and other assorted items laying in the front and back seat. Any extra weight you can remove will make your car go faster and reduce fuel consumed. Headed to a track event? Take out your seats, interior, trim panels, and carpeting to scrub every last second from your lap times.

Keep an eye on tire pressure- make sure that your tires are filled to the manufactures suggested pressure. Your tire pressure is constantly changing. Variables like ambient air temperature and tire temperature will affect your tires’ pressure.

“Running a tire 20 percent underinflated – only 5 to 7 pounds per square inch (psi) – can increase fuel consumption by 10 percent. That can easily cost motorists two or three miles per gallon. Not only that, but running underinflated also reduces the tire’s tread life” says Bob Toth, Goodyear’s general manager.

Driving habits-

Try to avoid Jack rabbit starts or rapid acceleration. Starting out slowly and smoothly will save you time and money. Chances are you will catch up to the traffic at the next light anyway. The alternative to acceleration and braking is coasting. Coasting is an efficient means of slowing down, because kinetic energy is dissipated as aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance, which always must be overcome by the vehicle during travel. When coasting with the engine running and manual transmission in neutral, or clutch depressed, there will still be some fuel consumption due to the engine needing to maintain idle speed. While coasting with the engine running and the transmission in gear, most cars’ ECU with fuel injection will cut off fuel supply, and the engine will continue running, being driven by the wheels.

What can I expect to see?

Realistically, if you follow the above points , you should expect to see an mpg improvement of about 15%. Let ‘s say that the average driver spends roughly 2,500 dollars on fuel. A 15% improvement in gas mileage correlates to a 15% decrease in cost to fill your car. In that case you will save about $375 a year.

What are those partnerships?

Let’s start with Chrysler–they recently filed for Chapter 11 and partnered with successful European car company Fiat.  Now, with this filing of Chapter 11, the chief at Fiat has stated he is ready to pull Chrysler, once one of the Big 3, out of the bottom and back up to the top.

Meanwhile in Detroit, GM has partnered with another one of the European auto heavyweights Alfa Romeo. This marks the return of Alfa Romeo to the United States and yet some more possibilities for more microcars to drive!

What will they bring?

Before they left the United States market in 1995, Alfa Romeo had a reputation for having well-designed automobiles; however, the quality was lacking.  Fourteen years later, Alfa is ready to make its mark back in the US market and we at MicroCar Magazine are most excited about how the quality of an Alfa has improved over the years. The Mi To has been a well-received microcar in Europe and judging by the design, it will fit in very well here in the States.  What we are not sure about is how much power will be equipped in the Mi To and what the price point will be.

photo take by Fiat

Also making a return since it left in 1917 is Fiat, which comes to the United States to bring more micro goodness.  The 500 was first introduced in 2008 with a grand 500th hour reveal at the London Eye and it may not be the only possible microcar to be brought into the States.  Enter the FORD Ka, built through a partnership with Fiat and Ford in Europe.  This car could propose a challenge for SMART.  The Ka has about the same wheelbase as the SMART, but unlike the SMART, don’t look for the Ka to be easy to modify.

How powerful and how much?

No real information is available at this time, but as we receive news from around the world, we will update you. What can be said or at least questioned is whether these two European titans can unseat other microcar companies like Toyota or Honda.