Parks Chevrolet
603 W.7th Ave. Augusta, KS 67010Sales: (866) 452-0959
- Service/Parts: 316-775-5445
- Body Shop: 316-775-5445
Go Green
How Serious is GLOBAL WARMING? Play the video below and see the REALITY of what is to come if we "society" doesn't make a change.
- Buy smart
Before buying a new or used vehicle (or even before renting a vehicle), check out EPA's Green Vehicle Guide and the jointly-run EPA/DOE Fuel Economy Guide. These resources provide information about the emissions and fuel economy performance of different vehicles. The Green Vehicle Guide provides detailed information on emissions (including Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas scores for each model) and the Fuel Economy Guide focuses on fuel efficiency (including side-by-side fuel economy comparisons and a customized fuel cost calculator). These Web sites are designed to help you choose the cleanest, most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets your needs. There are a wide range of cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles available on the market today that produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
There are many factors that affect the fuel economy of your car. To improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, go easy on the brakes and gas pedal, avoid hard accelerations, reduce time spent idling and unload unnecessary items in your trunk to reduce weight. If you have a removable roof rack and you are not using it, take it off to improve your fuel economy by as much as 5 percent. Use overdrive and cruise control on your car if you have those features.
A well-maintained car is more fuel-efficient, produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions, is more reliable, and is safer! Keep your car well tuned, follow the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule, and use the recommended grade of motor oil. Also check and replace your vehicle’s air filter regularly.
Check your tire pressure regularly. Under-inflation increases tire wear, reduces your fuel economy by up to 3 percent and leads to higher greenhouse gas emissions and releases of air pollutants. If you don’t know the correct tire pressure for your vehicle, you can find it listed on the door to the glove compartment or on the driver's-side door pillar.
Use public transportation or ride a bike whenever possible to avoid using your car. Leaving your car at home just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year. Whenever possible, combine activities and errands into one trip. For daily commuting, consider options like telecommuting (working from home via phone or over the Internet) that can reduce the stress of commuting, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save you money.
Both E85 and biodiesel are renewable fuels that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from your vehicle. E85 is a fuel blend containing 85% ethanol that can be used in certain vehicles called Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs). FFVs can be fueled with E85 or with traditional gasoline. There are approximately 6 million FFVs on the road today. To find out if you own one of them, check the inside of your car's fuel filler door for an identification sticker or consult your owner’s manual. If you own a diesel vehicle, consider filling up with a biodiesel blend such as B5, a fuel blend containing 5% biodiesel. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made from agricultural resources such as vegetable oils.
See what GM is doing about GLOBAL WARMING and how they are setting the standard to Hybrid Excellence!
COMPARING THE MALIBU HYBRID TO CAMRY HYBRID
THE FIRST HYBRID TRUCK
THE FIRST FULL SIZE HYBRID THAT GETS OVER 20MPG!
Innovative Chevy Volt Wins 2009 Green Car Vision Award
The Chevrolet Volt has been honored with Green Car Journal’s 2009 Green Car Vision Award™ at the Washington Auto Show. The Volt offers a bold and far-reaching approach that promises to bring an exceptionally fuel efficient model to consumers at reasonable cost. When the Volt launches in late 2010, it will deliver exactly what many consumers are asking for – a car capable of driving zero emission on zero battery power most of the time at pennies per mile, with over 100 mpg possible on longer journeys when electric power from its range extender engine-generator is needed.
The Green Car Vision Award™ recognizes the most important vehicle in an award year that best envisions the road ahead, but is not yet on sale. It complements Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year® award, which focuses on new vehicle models that lead the field in environmental performance and are available at new car showrooms today.
Competition for the award was keen, with plug-in hybrid, range extended electric, battery electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles vying for the prize. Chevrolet’s Volt, a milestone vehicle that re-thinks the drivetrain of the future, is one of the most anticipated vehicles in the auto industry’s 100-plus year history.
DO YOU REALLY NOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TYPES OF VEHICLES?
Hybrids use two or more power systems, such as a gasoline engine and an electric drive motor, to provide more efficient propulsion. Learn more about hybrids and what distinguishes them from other vehicles in Green Car’s section on hybrids. A hybrid system will compbine two or more different propulsion systems, typically a gasoline engine and one or more electric motors. Most hybrids compliment their gas engines by chargine a battery when breaking. Engines running on diesel or alternative fuels can also be used in hybrids. They get more MPG than most non-hybrids, and usually have very low tailpipe emissions therefore better for our environment.
Electric cars use one or more electric drive motors, powered by batteries, for zero-emission motoring. Electric cars are recharged by plugging into the grid. Electric cars produce zero localized emissions since they’re propelled by electric motors that run on batteries charged at home, or special electric vehicle charging stations. Car manufacturers are actively developing a new generation of electric cars using technologies and lessons learned from electric vehicles developed in the 1990s. Electric cars are extremely efficient and run for pennies per mile, much cheaper than any other alternative fuel.
Ethanol is an alcohol-based alternative fuel made from biomass. As a popular alternative fuel, ethanol is typically used in the form of E85 to power flex fuel cars outfitted specifically to run on this blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Ethanol is the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. As a fuel, it can be used in more than 30 flex fuel vehicle which have been designed to run on alcohol, gasoline, or any combination of the two fuels from the same tank. Most is produced from corn or sugar cane, although this will change as cheaper ethanol made from fast growing woody grasses and other biomass becomes a reality.
Hydrogen cars are among the cleanest cars on the road, emitting oxygen and water vapor only. Hydrogen is the cleanest burning of all liquid and gaseous alternative fuels. Hydrogen is perhaps the cleanest of all alternative fuels, burning with nearly zero emissions in an internal combustion engine and with emissions of only water vapor and heat in an electro-mechanical fuel cell. Hydrogen vehicles are being developed in many forms by most major car manufacturers. Some vehicles powered by hydrogen are in demonstration fleets, while others like the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell are being driven by consumers.
Natural gas is a clean-burning alternative fossil fuel that can easily power internal combustion engine vehicles. The domestic abundance of natural gas makes it a highly attractive alternative fuel option. Natural gas, the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, is being used by an increasing number of medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles like refuse trucks and delivery vans. Natural gas is stored and used in its liquefied or compressed states. It is most commonly abbreviated as LNG for Liquefied Natural Gas, and CNG for Compressed Natural Gas. While a variety of light-duty natural gas cars were once available, the only factory-produced natural gas car made today in the U.S. is Honda’s Civic GX. Other car models may be developed and sold in the United States as additional focus is placed on natural gas as a fuel source for alternative fuel vehicles.
Plug in hybrids get high MPG, cover many miles on battery power alone, and include a gasoline engine to provide greater range as needed. Plug in hybrids are mostly recharged from the grid, but some plug-in hybrid models can generate electricity when using battery power alone. A gas engine provides additional driving range as needed after the battery power is gone. Plug in hybrids may never need to run on anything but electricity for shorter commutes. The combination of gas and electric driving technologies can already achieve up to 150 mpg. 
As a leading alternative fuel, biodiesel can be made from various sources including soybeans and biomass. Biodiesel can be used in most diesel powered cars without modification. Biodiesel is a renewable alternative fuel made from various sources ranging from waste vegetable oil to soybeans. It can often be used seamlessly in diesel engine of all kind. This is a cleaner fuel than standard petroleum diesel and can be produced locally.
Air powered cars are relatively new to the green car scene. Compressed air is currently being explored as a viable 'alternative fuel' to efficiently power car engines with little or no environmental impact. While air powered cars seems like the stuff of fantasy, there are vehicles that are being developed that actually run on nothing but compressed air. This zero-emission "fuel" is believed to hold promise for future car models and is being explored in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Air power can be quite formidable, as mechanics have noted for years as they’ve used pneumatic air powered tools to do heavy-duty work in service shops all over the world.