DRIVING SKILLS FOR LIFE

A friend was riding with me in my car to an event. Having ridden with Gerald and me numerous times, she knows that we have differing views on air conditioner usage.

When I turned on the air conditioner, she asked, "Doesn't Gerald think that you should drive with the windows open to save gas?"  

I said, "That's a myth."  She laughed and asked, "What does Gerald say?"  I said that it is an "ongoing discussion" with us!  

I told her that I had "researched" and that according to the Driving Skills For Life website:  "the power-robbing effect of air-conditioning compressors is less hurtful than the aerodynamic drag created by traveling down the road with the windows open, especially at highway speeds.

After accelerating to forty miles per hour, it is more fuel efficient to operate the air conditioner than to have the windows down.  The turbulence caused by open windows will require more horsepower, thus causing the vehicle to consume more fuel to maintain a steady speed."

The website recommends using the recirculation feature, because it is more effcient to cool already cooled air from the interior than outside air.  Another good tip is to run the vent fan setting once the interior cools down.