How To Save 54 Cents a Gallon on Gas (From the Sierra Club)

Maybe you haven't heard, but airlines are telling their captains to slow down planes.  Why? To save fuel.

And according to the Sierra Club, that can be good advice for those of us who drive cars, too.  For every 10 mph we drive above 60 mph, we're paying 54 cents more per gallon for gas.  That startling figure is predicated on the price of gas at $3.25 a gallon, which seems like a dim memory to most of us now.

And if you're driving an SUV or another gas gulper, the price of going faster is even greater. 

The Sierra Club attributes its numbers to the Union of Concerned Scientists, who says that dropping your highway speed from 70 mph to 60 mph improves fuel efficiency by an average of 17.2 per cent.  Dropping from 75 to 55 jacks that percentage up to a whopping 30.6 per cent. 

While 55 is no longer the national speed limit, the upward spiral in the price of gas is making that number look darn attractive.