Automakers Want To Save You Money

Ford and GM To Introduce Stop-Start Fuel Saving Engine Technology

Ponder this for a second- 17.2% of a vehicle's fuel is consumed when the engine idles in traffic.

In other terms, that's 69 cents of a $4 gallon.  Both stats are courtesy of the Energy Department and the Detroit Free Press.  A diagram of how eAssist works

Luckily, automakers are attacking this problem with new stop-start engine technology.  

Essentially, the engine will shut down when the car is at a complete stop then restarts when the driver lifts their foot off the brake.  This technology is available already on most hybrids.

GM recently announced the stop-start system (they will call it eAssist) will be standard with the 2012 Buick LaCrosse 4 cylinder.  Ford too will add the feature which also appears in some BMW and Mercedes-Benz models.  

"This technology provides a lot of bang for the buck in terms of overall cost, compared with full hybrids," said Steve Poulos, chief engineer for eAssist.

Poulos said the LaCrosse with the 2.4-liter eAssist engine and a six-speed automatic transmission would achieve 25 city and 37 mpg highway, a 25 percent improvement over the 2011 model

If you drive in a city, it's impossible not to idle.  Until eAssist is more commonplace, go here for a few other ideas on how to save fuel.