<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  Almost 33 million Americans plan to hit the road this weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July with friends and family. If you&amp;#039;re among them, don&amp;#039;t get behind the wheel until you&amp;#039;ve read these tips for cutting your car&amp;#039;s fuel consumption. Lighten your load. A bunch of junk in your car&amp;#039;s trunk can really weigh you down, causing your car to be less fuel-efficient. For every 100 pounds of cargo, MPG is reduced up to 2% \u2014 that&amp;#039;s like paying an additional 7 cents per gallon, based on the national average gas price of $3.65. In addition, anything strapped to the roof creates drag, which means your car has to work harder to maintain speeds, reducing fuel economy by up to 5% (and adding up to 18 cents per gallon to the tab). If at all possible, pack your stuff inside. Plan your fuel breaks before you run low. Convenient right-off-the-highway rest stops are often a huge rip-off. Use mapquest.com to find gas stations and prices (as well as food and lodging) along your route before you leave home. On a search of New York to Boston, I found per-gallon prices of $3.60 and $4.30 for regular unleaded just 20 miles apart (and surprisingly, the cheaper gas was within the city limits, not in the &amp;#039;burbs). In a pinch, AAA TripTik&amp;#039;s free smartphone app (for iPhone or Android) locates the closest stations and their prices so you can choose the least of the evils \u2014 just be sure to have a passenger do the searching, or pull over first. Don&amp;#039;t let stop-and-go run up your gas bill. Avoiding the daytime rush by leaving early in the morning or later at night can save you money (not to mention, aggravation). Idling \u2014 which, in really bad traffic, is basically what you&amp;#039;re doing \u2014 can burn a quarter to a half gallon of gas an hour ($0.91 to $1.82 for going nowhere fast). But don&amp;#039;t speed on those open roads in the wee hours. At high speeds, cars generally burn gas less efficiently. For every five miles per hour over 60 MPH you drive, you could be adding an extra 30 cents per gallon of gas (not to mention the cost of a ticket \u2014 an average $150 \u2014 if you get caught). Set your cruise control, especially if you tend to have a heavy foot. Another idea: Check to see if your GPS unit offers an &amp;quot;eco&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;green&amp;quot; routing option \u2014 they favor slightly slower roads (less than 65 MPH) and ones that have fewer stops. Such a route may also help you avoid traffic by taking you off the more commonly used highways. A real gas saver in the long run: investing in a fuel-efficient car. Check out our reviews of the latest hybrid and electric cars. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a21472/road-trip-gas-tips/?src=shelter_footer>