You’re Only Wasting Gas When You Warm Up Your Car on Cold Days

Keep this in mind as Old Man Winter punches us in the gut again with bitter cold wind chills, there's absolutely no need to let your car warm up before you leave today.

You read it right. A story out of the Washington Post says warming up your car on cold winter days does nothing beneficial for the car itself. Unless of course you prefer getting inside a nice warm vehicle before you take off for your destination.

It used to be necessary back when cars had carburetors, which need the engine to warm up before they'll work right. But ever since the 90's, almost every vehicle had electronic fuel injectors, which automatically compensate for the temperature.

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So as long as you're not driving a car that's 30 years old, you probably don't need to let it warm up. According to the study, if you're letting your car warm up each time, the only thing you're really doing is wasting gas.

The average person lets their vehicle warm up for a total of five minutes according to a survey done in 2009. A test showed when the temp is right around zero, letting your car idle for five minutes can increase your total fuel consumption  by 7 to 14%.

So I guess if you choose to believe this, all you supposedly need to do is make sure your windows are scraped, turn the heat on high and hit the highway.

Me, I'm gonna continue to let my car warm up. Hey I admit it, I'm a wuse, I hate the cold!

Plus, gas is really cheap at the moment, so I don't care!