Put Your Car On A Gas Diet

New Jersey Family Learns Tricks For Saving At Pump

(CBS)  Gas prices have steadily crept up again. A gallon of regular unleaded gas costs an average of $2.47 -- 42 cents more than a month ago, according to AAA.

So what can you do if you’re already feeling the pinch at the pump?

On Friday, Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen showed how one family in Saddle River, N.J., learned to save with a few tips and one high-tech gadget for vehicles.

The Mezzatesta family drives around 500 miles a week. They filled up at the gas station often, spending around $240 a week on gas.

But that changed when Koeppen put them on a gas diet.

John Valline, a gas savings expert, was brought in to help the Mezzatesas. He first installed a fuel efficiency adviser that calculates gas mileage per trip and per day in real time. The Fuel Efficiency Center’s gadget costs around $125.

Valline said a typical two-car family can save up to $1,000 a year with one of the devices.

Valline also showed the Mezzatestas a few driving tricks that help save money and gas.

He advised them to go the speed limit.

"Driving at excessive speeds is a gas guzzler," Valline said.

He added drivers should coast when they can to let the weight of the vehicle carry it down the road, and also avoid idling -- shut off the vehicle whenever possible.

"Idling could cost people up to 15 percent just by sitting there in the car," Valline said.

At the end of the week, Nancy Mezzatesta, who usually fills up her tank at least twice a week, still had gas in her tank.

"I can’t even tell you how amazed I am," she told Koeppen. " ... I can go, and I can go, and I love it. I can’t stop looking at my gas tank."

Nancy’s husband, Glenn, who was doubtful in the beginning, also saw a difference.

"I didn’t think it would make a difference, but it did. It did, it truly did," he said. "I’m no longer a speed-racer. ... I ease up on the gas pedal a lot more because I’m looking at that fuel efficiency adviser and it’s always telling me how much it’s costing me."

Koeppen says the family has also started planning trips to cut down on back-and-forth routes.