Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Lose Some Weight

Remember how we told you that added weight in the car could cost you mileage? Well, we’re not just talking about the golf clubs in your trunk.

In 2006, studies by the University of Illinois and Virginia Commonwealth University determined that today’s drivers’ added weight is responsible for 938 million extra gallons of gas a year compared to their forebears in the ‘60s.

Since 1960, the average weight of an American has increased by 24 pounds. Each extra pound in the car, times all the cars on the road today, accounts for more than 39 million gallons of gas a year. Factor in the average 24-pound body-weight increase, and that’s nearly a billion extra gallons of gas based strictly on the additional body mass of the American populace.

Look, you’ve been meaning to get in shape anyway, right? What better time than now, when it will save you money at the pump?

Study: Weight Gain of U.S. Drivers has Increased Nation’s Fuel Consumption (Green Car Congress)

Related:
More Gas-Saving Moments of the Day (KickingTires)