Classic Cars

August 22nd, 2009

Your classic car is a thing of beauty and a drivable, amazing piece of history. Unfortunately, not everyone will see it that way. This is especially so if your baby has eight cylinders and was designed for speed and power, not fuel efficiency.

What can you do to change its image in the eyes of environmentalists? Believe it or not, there are a few greener moves you can make when handling your classic’s maintenance and operation.

These tips can help you lessen the impacts of driving a classic, especially a power machine:

• Keep your car tuned up right – Adopt and maintain a strict maintenance routine for under the hood and you can see a reduction in your overall fuel usage.
• Maintain your tires – The quality of your tires and the pressure at which you operate the car under will make a big difference in fuel usage. Make sure to check pressure on a regular basis and fill up as needed.
• Consider alterations – While this will alter your classic, it will make it more fuel efficient. If you drive a diesel, consider the necessary alterations to make it run on biofuels. There are retrofit kits that can enable your car to run on food grease.
• Check the aerodynamics – Simple alterations like lowering the height of a car or removing roof racks when not in use can improve aerodynamics and fuel efficiency.

Classics were not made with fuel efficiency in mind. Since this is a major sore point in today’s world, you can do your part to make your baby fit in better. From simple maintenance to more radical alterations, your classic can become a little greener.