Downsizing Cars

While the big issue may be global warming from burning fossil fuels, there are a lot of things we can do to help in the short term. One example being downsizing your cars. Rather than have every man own a monstrous, gas hog of a truck, downsize to something smaller. This doesn't apply to trucks only, even cars can and should find ways to cut weight from the vehicle because the lighter the vehicle, the less the engine needs to work, burning fewer fossil fuels. Even in a small car, “a 10% weight reduction results in a 6 to 7 percent fuel consumption savings.(National Research Council of the National Academies, 2003)” Therefore, just reducing 10% weight can reduce fuel consumption and cars can cut a lot more weight than that. Race cars can strip the car going from a 3000 pound car to a 2000 pound car so imagine how much unnecessary weight is on modern day vehicles.

This concept is very interesting to think about. Living in a day and age where global warming is a top concern, it's amazing to see these easy ways that can lead to saving fuel but yet these actions aren't taken because consumers are unaware of all of these options.

National Research Council of the National Academies, (2013), Transitions to alternative vehicles and fuels (book)