How to maximize miles per gallon.

With the price of gasoline hovering at record levels, ideas are proliferating about how to maximize miles per gallon.

The Internet is full of unproven ideas such as adding a few ounces of acetone – yes, nail polish remover – to the fuel tank. Depending on whom you believe, it will either make the family buggy more efficient or potentially do harm.

Almost every consumer-oriented energy organization is counseling drivers to do things such as slow down, organize trips to avoid unnecessary driving, and keep the car tuned up. Such tips are endorsed by the US government as ways to save money and energy.

As the nation gets ready for Memorial Day, the start to the summer driving season, the average price at the pump is $3.24 a gallon.

Probably because of the rising prices, a recent poll by CBS News/New York Times found that 92 percent of Americans are in favor of requiring auto companies to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Sales of hybrid vehicles that achieve better fuel economy have now reached an all-time high of 2 percent of the total US automobile fleet.