Anyone who has been to the gas pump this week and had a minor coronary has realized that the price of petrol has taken a turn for the worse.
People in the Middle East are shooting at each other again, and that is always a good excuse to raise the price on a barrel of crude.
I, like most Americans  in times of international unrest, immediately think of myself and my bank account.
The average cost of a gallon of unleaded has rocketed well above $3, and predictions are that prices will climb even higher.
We are still Americans, though, and one of the things Americans do is drive.
So how are we to cover all those miles of blacktop and not wind up in the poor house?
 Here are a few gas saving tips that work, and some that don't.
Drive more slowly is probably my personal least favorite gas saving measure.
While there is not that much difference between 60mph and 65mph in terms of fuel consumption, a typical passenger vehicle cruising at 120 mph will consume about twice as much gas as if it were driven at 100mph, so back up off the go pedal. It will help.
By the way, why are you driving around with that ski-, bicycle- or luggage-rack on your roof of your vehicle if you don't need it? And do you really need all that stuff you haul around in your vehicle?
Extra weight reduces mileage greatly, so get all that junk out of your trunk.
Get a manual transmission.
 No matter how "intelligent" automatic transmissions have become, they aren't as smart as you, and they lose a lot of power to internal drag compared to a stick.
If you have a manual transmission and want to save gas, you need to shift up early and shift down late.
Most people get taught that they need to shift at a certain RPM at all times, which is utterly ridiculous, and defeats the purpose.
You will have to learn  to feel the car and the load condition to figure out when you should shift a manual.
Air conditioning in your home does a number on your electric bill, so it must suck more gas out of your tank too, right? Not if you're driving a car made in the last 25 years.
Auto testing at Consumer Reports proves that running the AC uses such a nominal amount more in gas on newer cars with low drag compressors, that  you may as well turn on the AC and chill out.
Rolling down your windows hurts aerodynamics, likely hurting mileage much more than the load the AC puts on the engine.
If you are a real tightwad you can turn off the AC and roll up the windows. Good luck this June.
It will save you money, however, to pick your routes carefully.
Avoid heavy traffic and lots of traffic lights. The shortest route is not always the most fuel efficient. If you have to stop a lot you are wasting fuel.
Have you heard that filling up in cold weather increases your mileage because the fuel is more dense?
Bunk. Gasoline is stored in underground tanks.
The fuel you pump from several feet underground is not going to know what season it is until it gets topside, and it turns out temperature makes little difference in the density of gasoline anyway.
Some people will tell you that to get the most out of the investment you just put into your tank, you should pump up those tires.
While driving on underinflated tires can cost you 3.75% in fuel economy, overinflating tires can be actually be dangerous, since it reduces your grip on the road.
There will be very little improvement in mileage anyway, so inflate your tires to the recommended pressure.
If there's a fluid in your vehicle, someone makes a miracle additive for it.
That doesn't mean they actually work. A recent  report from the Environmental Protection Agency confirms something I’ve suspected for years.
They're a complete waste of money when it comes to improving mileage.
Maintaining your car properly is necessary for long engine life and overall reliability.
Don't expect changing the air filter to get you more miles out of the gas tank, though.
Consumer Reports tests have shown that with today's computerized cars, clogged air filters don't actually reduce fuel economy. Unlike older carburated vehicles the control unit in late model cars carefully maintains proper fuel delivery no matter the condition of the filter.
Take care of your car to make it last, but don't look at the air filter to reduce your gas bill.
Some say starting a car uses more fuel, so keep the engine idling when possible.
Bad advice again.
The fuel-injected vehicles of today are efficient and don't waste gas during start-ups, if properly tuned.
Idling can, in fact, use up to half a gallon of gas an hour, so turn off the engine if you're not moving down the tarmac.
There is a lot of advice available when it comes to saving gas.
It turns out that whether you drive a new SUV or a ‘62 Rambler, instead of looking at your car to improve fuel economy, look in the mirror. Try changing the way you drive.
Calm driving on the highway, not buzzing around, changing  lanes constantly to avoid traffic, tailgating or revving the engine so you quickly get up to speed can improve your fuel efficiency a whopping 33%.
Removing any excess weight from your car can bump fuel economy another 2%, and driving sixty miles an hour (when the speed limit allows, you cant get away with it these days if the limit is 35) on the highway for another 23% improvement in fuel efficiency.
In the end, best fuel economy comes from a calm and safe driver, but then I know very little about that.