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“Fuel economy” is one of those terms that gets mentioned a lot, even though not that many people have any clue what it actually means. The fuel economy of a vehicle is one of the most important deciding factors when we buy cars, but what does this really mean? What determines fuel economy, and what factors affect it? Can you improve or worsen the fuel economy of your car? Here, taken directly from the experts at the Environmental Protection Agency, are the top ten myths about fuel economy, as well as the truth behind them. How are your smarts when it comes to the fuel economy of your car?

One – Want great gas mileage? Drive a tiny car!

It used to be the case that you needed to drive around in a small car to get the best gas mileage. In this day and age, this simply is not true anymore. New and improved engine types (namely, hybrids and modern-day diesels) are being made that can beat a smaller car under the table in terms of fuel economy. Some midsized cars with these engines put in them are running much better than itty-bitty cars that were once so favored because of the miserly way that they sipped on fuel. Just goes to show you that things change a lot, and that you need to adjust your attitude to fit the times!

Two – When it comes to fuel economy, manual > automatic.

Once upon a time, saving on gas meant learning to drive a stick shift. Terrible news for people like me, who are just clueless when it comes to the clutch! Again, this is something that simply is not true. It used to indeed be the case that a stick shift was the way to go to save on gas, but new and fancier automatic transmissions make it so that this is no longer the case. The newer automatics have more gears, which makes them just as efficient as their manual counterparts – or, in some cases, even more so. The article pointed out the fact that the 2010 V-6 Ford Mustang is a whole mile per gallon more efficient in the automatic model than the manual. Again – time to change those old attitudes!

Three – It’s better to let a car idle than to start it up again.

This is a myth that has gotten a lot of play with regard to long traffic lights, traffic jams, and other places where you might be stuck for a while in a running car. This is another myth that was perhaps true once upon a time, but is no longer the case. It used to be so that turning a car on sucked up a large amount of fuel in the process of getting a car going, but those ideas are now antiquated. Modern-day carburetors are much more effective at doing their jobs than in days of yore, and it is actually the case that it takes less fuel to start a vehicle than you spend letting it run idle. That doesn’t, however, mean that you should turn your car off at stoplights. You will do damage to your starter by using and abusing it in this fashion, which is to say nothing about how angry you will make your fellow drivers! Hybrids with a stop-start button feature that is quickly activated, however, are the exception. It is believed that every car will have a speedy stop-start function within a few years so that we can all take advantage of the benefits of maximizing our cars’ fuel efficiency on idle. Doesn’t make us feel any better when we are languishing in traffic, but it’s still good to know!

Four – Like an athlete, your car needs to warm up.

False, false, false. This is another myth warmed over from a long a go time. All you will do nowadays by “heating up” your car is waste gas. In this day of electronic engines with a million different controls, your engine is already running at peak performance as soon as you turn the key. Your car is a star performer at the top of its game!

Five – Old age equals fewer miles per gallon.

I the days when my parents were hot-rodding around town, newer cars got the best fuel efficiency. A car fresh off the lot got the best miles per gallon, and fuel efficiency decreased slowly and steadily from that moment onward. In this day and age, cars are being put together like bottles of fine wine. Well, they don’t actually get better with age, but many of them are just as good as the day their corks were popped. Or that their keys were first turned, or whatever. A well-maintained car should see no decrease in its fuel efficiency over time, owning to the effectiveness of vehicle computes and modern parts. Great news for those of us who want great things for our cars well beyond the period when we’re paying for them!

Six – A brand new air filter is the key to keeping your car running at maximum fuel economy.

Are you one of those car owners that meticulously replaces the air filter at every oil change, convinced that you will be helping your engine sip fuel in the most efficient manner? This, surprisingly, is another myth that is also not true. Air filters have not affected fuel mileage since cars had carburetors. Nowadays, the cars that we drive feature onboard engines with computers that “tell” the fuel injectors exactly how much fuel is needed by the car. The restricted air flow of a dirty filter isn’t going to make a difference in how the engine runs. Today’s air filters additionally are large and hold much more dirt than their predecessors. Therefore, unless the filter is literally filthy and plugged with enough oil that the Check Engine light comes on, it’s not affecting your fuel efficiency. If you still drive an older model car with a carburetor, however, this “myth” is still a fact for you. Check and change/clean your air filter frequently to keep your baby running in tip-top shape, but don’t think that you’ll be getting any additional MPGs on top of that.

Seven – Those aftermarket gas-tank additives can help your car get super-powered fuel efficiency.

My stepfather is a great proponent of those boosting additives that they sell in the auto aisle of the local dollar store. He swears up and down that these special greases help his truck run more efficiently and save gas mileage. In the best of scenarios, this is a falsehood. In the worst of them, adding aftermarket additives to your fuel tank can actually damage your car. These cleaners, additives, and special potions are as likely to gunk up your engine or make your car’s exhaust more toxic. The Federal Trade Commission published a special report on this particularly damaging fiction, calling for consumers to take care when buying or using these products. I can’t seem to change my stepfather’s mind, but maybe you can make better choices!

Eight – Premium fuel is a “treat” for your engine, and also for your wallet, because it leads to better gas mileage.

I wish that I had a dollar for every time that I was earnestly advised that fueling up with 91 instead of 87 octane would give me better gas mileage. It’s another stubborn This is the Great Lie of car driving. Believing that higher-grade gasoline does anything for your car is completely bogus, and making that guess about fuel economy is perhaps the silliest of all. Putting higher-octane gasoline in your car is no more a “treat” for the car than if you put a cookie in its glove box. All you have to do is buy the lowest grade gasoline that doesn’t make your engine knock – in fact, the right one for you will be listed in the owner’s manual of your car. Anything else is just gilding the lily, and siphoning fuel… from your wallet!

Nine – The sticker’s gas mileage estimate is a guarantee on how fuel-efficient your car is going to be – and it’s backed by the government!

Does anyone actually believe that President Obama or anyone else can guarantee fuel efficiency? Come on! This is a ridiculous lie, one that’s best left to the realm of urban legend websites and the gossip of old men hanging out in garages. The federal government can no more guarantee your individual gas mileage than whether it will be sunny tomorrow. What gas mileage your car gets depends tremendously on how you drive, in what climate, and with which road conditions. The fuel efficiency of two different cars of the same year, make, and model will vary tremendously. But that’s not to say that the stickered mileage estimates on new cars are no good and of no use at all. These figures are ultimately the only way of coming close to a realistic comparison of fuel efficiency between different vehicles when you are shopping for a new car. It’s really a case of that statement that’s printed in tiny print on the bottom of the tag: “actual mileage will vary!” Take the sticker estimate as exactly what it is… an estimate, and nothing else.

Ten – Your car has been tested for gas mileage, just like every car on the road.

Do you cling to the belief that the gas mileage of every single car on the road is known? Most people do, and it’s a popular myth. This is both true and false at the same time. Some vehicles, like passenger vans, fall outside the EPA’s purview and are not tested for fuel economy. Any guesses at their gas mileage then are published by persons or agencies other than the EPA and should be taken with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, some vehicles really don’t have a reasonable guess at fuel economy at all.