World Wonders #1: Neutral to save gas?

I know a lot of people that like to coast in neutral to save gas, but is it really the case? So I've looked around online and it depends.

If you are driving an older carburetted car, then sticking it in neutral would save more gas.

If you are driving a newer fuel injected car, then sticking it in neutral would actually use slightly more gas than if your foot was off the throttle but in driving gear. When the car is in neutral, the engine is still idling and using gas to keep running. Newer fuel injected cars have a fuel cutoff when coasting in gear.

However, it seems that the fuel savings for each case is miniscule.

Now in the case of stopping at an intersection and putting it in neutral. There should be hardly any difference between neutral and putting in in gear. This is because the engine is idling in both cases. But it seems that the consensus is that it does slightly save fuel at the stop to be in neutral, because there is less load on the engine.

It seems that people are saying that putting manual cars in neutral is okay; no wear on the clutch or transmission. However, for automatics, it can cause more wear on the transmission when you shift from neutral back to drive. So it might be a better idea to leave it in drive in automatics

Well, it seems that a lot of the internet is based on more opinion than fact. I have not come across any scientific tests with data, but what I wrote here is based on a general consensus.

Source:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4230705.html
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=19&article_id=6578

Small Car?

I bring to you.. 7ft tall Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki!

Just thought it was amusing

MINI Production Update #1

Holy crap, I just found out from my dealership that my MINI is being built as of right now! Man I was worrying for the past few days that it would be delayed until the next batch of production and that would lead to the car shipping after i leave for Asia! That would be messed up! So I got my VIN and production number today and went to the MINI Owners Lounge:


Using the North American Motoring Forum Sticky : How to Track your MINI. I called in to hear specifics. Supposedly the car will be complete on May 7th! RAD

I also found out today, that my auto loan application at Pentagon Federal (penfed.org) was denied! That's because I don't really have a job yet ahah so i have insufficient income. So today I reapplied with a consigner. Hopefully it goes through! Oh yea, if any of you are buying a car anytime soon you should check out Pentagon Federal Credit Union. They used to only serve military personnel a couple years back. But now you can become a member by donating 20 dollars to the military and keeping 5 dollar in their savings account. And why would you want to do this? 4.25% financing on new autos. The lowest in the nation! for now.... so wish me luck, I hope I get approved.

For now, I am eating a [toast, Ham, Tuna, Cheese, Egg, mustard, toast] sandwich thanks to Vince for his high quality bread.

In conclusion: mark your calendars for May 7th, Chadillac Jr. is about to be born