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"I1 believe people are looking for guidance on how they can be less w*asteful in the use of depleting resources, and are will'ng to accept Iminor changes in lifestyle now, rather than suifer a fuur. Hon. Donald S. Macdonald waning standard o livingintefur. Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources "We Canadians are by and large a prudent and thrifty people. You have only te look at the amount of money invested in savings bonds and deposited ia bank savings accounts to see that. And yet in one area of our lives we have been almost the miost wastefu spendthr ifts in the world, surpassed only by the United States. 1 refer tý our consumiption of energy. 0f courseý there are reasons why our appetite for energy is se large. First and foremnost is the false notion we have that Canada possesses an unlimited and inexhaust- ible,supply of natural resouirces. Not se -as the energy crisis brought home te us with a rude shock 18 mionths ago. We are in a fortunate position, mucli more fortunate than many other nations. in the extent of our fuel resources. Bui there is a lîmiit, and we are going te bc in serious trouble within the next de- cade if we go on squandering what we have. "Another reason given te expiai the high per capita consumption o' energ-y in this country is the clim-atc withi its long winter season wýhen cen- tral heat-ing is required. But a ,siiil condition applies in the Scandinavian counitries, and their energy consumip- tion per person is onfly a little over hla what ours is liere, while their standard of living is about equal. Another con- tributing factor in Canada's case, and in thîs instance a genuine one, is the vast distances in- this country, neces- sitating the expenditure of an un- usually large percentage of fuel on transporting goods and people from place te place. "It is with one aspect of transportation that the articles on the following pages deal, in fact with the most wasteful one of ail, namely the private automobile. The internaI combustion engine isa notoriously inefficient user of energy in mny ays Neerteles tercarea number of simple steps motorists can take to improve the mileage they get from their cars-and in the process in many instances to reduce the amount of pollution emitted. These are suggestions which may prove helpful, and we are hopeful that enougli people will take these voluntary restraints seriously. "Some of the suggestions on the fol- lowNingpages may seemn to offer fuel savings so slight as to be insignificant. But multiply even these lesser economies by the eight million cars on Canadian roads today and they become important. But beyond that, there is the need for ail of us-to alter our attitudes and be- come conservation-conscious about every use of energy. 1 believe Canadians will take the necessary measures be- cause we are not by nature wasteful, and we can ail see the common sense in modifying our habits now 10 avoid facinig future deterioration in our quality of life." How mach car do you really need? (or small is beautiful!) In a year, the average Canadian car travels 12,000 miles, delivers 1712 miles to the imperial gallon, and drinks about $500 worth of gasoline. Since we use more energy, for our, cars than for any other single purpose, t'his is obviously a good place to launcli a conservation effort. It can help both the country and the family budget. There are many things each of us can do-maintenance, driving habits, doing witloout optional extras-but the ideal place to start is ai the moment the decision is made to buy a new or used car. Hiere's a sensible guideline: buy only as much car as yoie need. Ask yourself: How many people will be riding in it most of the lime ? Is it usually highway or city driving? Do you need the car for work or just for short trips to the store ? Pick the automobile that best meets your needs, and remember that you'l find big -differences in gas mileage from miodel to model. llwmuch does h weigh? Believe il or not, the one factor that lias the greatest influence on gas consump- tion is- the curb weight of the vehicle. ........... . 1 A A I I. CC ee ut î .f A A I.. . .. .... e.o , . . . .e. .e... . . The more it weighs, the poorer the mileage. The table below is drawn from in- formation supplied by automobile manufacturers to the Ministry of Trans- port. The tests were based on driving normally from a cold start and keeping up with traffic. Ourb weight Average miles per 5,000 m ile fuel cost (lbs.) gallon (al: 70e per gai.) 1700 30 $116 2700 18 188 3700 13.2 265 47100 11.4 307 Before you buy, find out the curb weight of each model you're interested in, and work out rough mileages and fuel coSts from the table. Remember: the owner of a sma lier, more econonucal car will buy 400 to 5001 Supplemnent of the Can.adianStaiesman, April 28, 1976 13 fewer gallonis of gas in a year thanti he ý owner of a big car. If al the cars on Sv Canadian roads today averaged 24 mipgfoSv instead of the current 17/ mpg, our Gsln total gasoline consumption would drop by about 25%-(. More than 1 billion gallons of gasoline a year! Heavier mnodels usually have more interior roomiiness and comfort-but s flot always. Thanks to good design and engineering, ighter cars can be just as quiet,- smooth-riding and comfortable (with some parking advantages as v el). Many such cars--domestic and im- to ported-are already o n the market. Go for the radiais. There is, a hittle matter of friction re- sistance, which lias more to do with the tires than the car. Repeated tests have shown that radial ply tires reduce roll- ing or friction resistance. They cost a little more, but wear longer and can k"'ý. give up to 6%/ better mileage. Ceck Up before you.,pack Up See aur experts today for a PRlE-VAC'%ATIONl SAFETY CHECK ON YOUR RECREATION VEHICLE Corne In andlet our experts check the following:- *Steering *Mirrors eTires *Horn *Exha-ust System eRear Lights *Turn Signais @Hazard Warnimng Flaîsher. *Windshield eSide M arker Wipers Lights OUR FACTORY-TRAINED GUARDIAN MAINTENANCE TECHNICIANS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND KNOW-HOWV TO GIVE YOUIRTUC THE PROFESSIONAL GARE IT SHOULD HAVE. "TheHome of Old-FashionedHospitalitýy" L'>2 I19 * * 166 Kinast- F-