Putting the Brakes on Gas-Saving Myths

>>

Host: The price of gas has soared more than 60 percent since December, you've probably noticed, so we would all like to maximize our mileage this Fourth of July weekend, but there are lots of mileage myths out there according to Jill Schlessinger assumed spelling, editor at large of CBSMoneyWatch.com. She is here to bust them wide open. Good morning, Jill.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Good morning.

>>

Host: Let's start with the first one. Is this true or false? Regular gas will ruin your car.

>> Jill Schlessinger: False. inaudible horn blowing laughter And, and you know what's great about this? I love that. I love the, the sound effects. The funny thing about this is that, you know, you see every, all these cars say, put premium gas. You know what, unless you're like an Indy 500 driver, and I know the guys are going to be like, no, no, no. I'll, I'll lose horsepower. You won't notice, and really when you look at the difference between premium and regular, it's one, it's a quarter a gallon. It can really add up to serious price crosstalk.

>>

Host: So there's a big difference, but otherwise not so much.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Not so much.

>>

Host: But there are some cars that say unleaded only.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Yes, and that's, that's really more a suggestion than a -

>>

Host: Super, super unleaded only.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Exactly. I mean, probably for the high-performance vehicle -

>>

Host: Oh, it's just a suggestion?

>> Jill Schlessinger: It really is a suggestion.

>>

Host: You sure?

>> Jill Schlessinger: It is. Positive. So when they did all the testing, there is some, there can be some knocking in your very fancy Ferrari that you might drive. laughter But for most people -

>>

Host: That's for the inaudible laughter

>> Jill Schlessinger: So, but for most people, not that big a deal, and you can save a lot of money. So don't get so hyped up on it.

>>

Host: Alright. Next one. Cold gas saves you money. I've heard this. Get it in the morning or at night when gas is colder.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Especially in the summer, people talk about that.

>>

Host: Is that true or false?

>> Jill Schlessinger: inaudible horn blowing False. I'm going to do my own sound effect. The false part of this is it incrementally, literally like one percent savings, but it's impossible to find it. So really, by the time you get the, the, do all the looking around to find your cold gas, you're not saving enough. So, not worth it.

>>

Host: Shopping for gas, shopping around for gas is not worth the extra fuel. True or false?

>> Jill Schlessinger: False. horn blowing

>>

Host: So it is worth it to shop around?

>> Jill Schlessinger: Yes, but here's the caveat. The caveat is it used to not be worth it because you'd be driving all over the place -

>>

Host: Exactly.

>> Jill Schlessinger: And you'd waste all that gas. Well, you, all you do is you go online in the morning, you see where you're traveling that day. AAA has a fantastic website where they have a place where they say, type in your route today. We'll show you where the gas prices are the cheapest. So with that resource, it does make sense. And by the way, for people who live in metropolitan regions, going across a bridge, for example, New York to New Jersey, five miles away, can save big dollars, but, again, plan ahead.

>>

Host: Yeah. Don't drive around looking for the cheapest gas.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Yeah.

>>

Host: Go online.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Exactly.

>>

Host: Next. To save gas, drive below 55 miles an hour. That might be true.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Might be. But it's not. laughter horn blowing Now, the funny thing is we always heard 55, right? Fifty-five was this magic number in the 70's. It's actually 60 miles a gallon. Now, the, the caveat here is at, above 60 miles a gallon, you do start to be, lose your gas, gas efficiency. Twenty-four cents for every five miles over 60. So you may get there a little bit sooner if you drive at 80 -

>>

Host: Yeah.

>> Jill Schlessinger: A., you may get a ticket, and B., it'll cost you more money.

>>

Host: That's too much math for me.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Alright. Well, just sort of crosstalk. Drive 60.

>>

Host: OK. Good. Next, automatic transmissions are as efficient as manual.

>> Jill Schlessinger: True. crosstalk This was the shocker to me because I grew up thinking you drive a stick shift -

>>

Host: Yup.

>> Jill Schlessinger: It's more efficient. It's better, right. It actually has changed with as technology has changed, automatic as fuel efficient, and in fact, there's, there's some progress here that it may become even better than a stick because people don't drive sticks correctly because they don't learn how to drive a stick -

>>

Host: Right.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Anymore.

>>

Host: Right.

>> Jill Schlessinger: So I think this is a, that was a surprising one.

>>

Host: I miss the stick shift.

>> Jill Schlessinger: I know. It's, it was fun. laughter

>>

Host: Thank you, Jill.

>> Jill Schlessinger: Thank you.

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==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====