When I had my car in for service recently, I decided it was a good time to make sure I didn't have a lot of extra stuff in it. After all, we know that carrying extra weight in our cars lowers our gas mileage. I saw one statistic that for every 100 pounds of unnecessary weight, we might be lowering the miles per gallon by 2% or more. So I was a little surprised when my planned 5 minute job kept going and going. By the time I pulled out the fourth umbrella, 5th hat, and a menu from a couple of years ago, I decided I'd go whole hog. And I pulled absolutely everything out that wasn't screwed down, and started over with just the things I wanted to have in the car.
Now my car does carry 1 (not 3) tire gauges, a tool kit, a first aid kit, fewer than 4 pens, a nice sun shade for the windows, a set of jumper cables, (I'm pleased to report that, over the years, they've only been used to help jump start other peoples' cars, never the Lexus. That's today's shameless plug.) the spare tire, my wife's sunglasses, one Thomas Brothers guide, the current handful of CDs, the owner's manual, registration and insurance information, and not much else at all.
I won't dwell on the many pounds of stuff that I did remove. Suffice it to say that Noah and the animals on the ark would have been pretty comfy with all the clothes, supplies, snacks, and heaven knows what-all that I'm not lugging around in the car anymore. The car does seem more responsive, and I'm definitely getting better mileage than before.
So, even if you're not bringing your car in for service soon, why not take a few minutes to choose consciously what you want to carry in your car, and what's worth the increase in gas mileage. Perhaps you're already much tidier than I was with my car. But, who knows - you may find special treasures that you've been missing for a while!
Best wishes for safe driving!
Nick
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