Please read and pass it around. I'm soooo tired of people spouting off misinformation or arguing with me about it.

It's much easier to read here: http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1650/eight-facts-about-warming-up-your-car-in-winter/

This Public Service Announcement was brought to you by GeniuSxBoY

Quote :

" Old habits die hard, and one of the oldest — still rigorously enforced by many drivers — is that "warming up" the car for a few minutes is necessary to avoid some kind of unspecified damage. But idling is totally unnecessary, which is why many communities have enacted ordinances against the practice. Don't take my word about idling being ineffective, but do listen to my mechanic, Rob Maier, who runs Maier's Garage in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He says, "You don't really need to idle your car, because of the efficiency of modern fuel injection, which eliminated carburetors and chokes. The only reason to let the car idle at all is to get the oil circulating, but after 30 seconds that's a done deal. My truck has 150,000 miles on it, and I just throw it into gear and go." Here are some quick facts and tips that should put the idling question to rest: 1. Driving warms the car faster than idling If your concern is not the health of the car, but simply your own creature comforts, Bob Aldrich of the California Energy Commission points out that "idling is not actually an effective way to warm up a car — it warms up faster if you just drive it." The coming electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, will incorporate a wonderful feature that allows the owner to use a cellphone to tell the car (which is plugged into the grid) to pre-warm or pre-cool the interior. No idling necessary. 2. Ten seconds is all you need Environmental Defense Fund, which produced the Idling Gets You Nowhere campaign, advises motorists to turn off their ignition if they're sitting stopped for more than 10 seconds. "After about 10 seconds, you waste more money running the engine than restarting it, said Andy Darrell, deputy director of the EDF Energy Program. "Switch the car off at the curb, and you'll be leaving money in your wallet and protecting the air in your community." 3. Idling hurts the car According to the Hinkle Charitable Foundation's Anti-Idling Primer, idling forces an engine "to operate in a very inefficient and gasoline-rich mode that, over time, can degrade the engine's performance and reduce mileage." The Campaign for an Idle-Free New York City points out that idling causes carbon residues to build up inside the engine, which reduces its efficiency. [ Related: Five secrets to make your car last longer and save you money. ] 4. Idling costs money Over a year of five minutes of daily idling (which causes incomplete combustion of fuel), the "Anti-Idling Primer" estimates that the operator of a V8-engine car will waste 20 gallons of gasoline, which not only produces 440 pounds of carbon dioxide but costs at least $60. 5. Idling in the garage can kill you Idling a car in a garage, even with the door open, is dangerous and exposes the driver to carbon monoxide and other noxious gases. If the garage is attached, those fumes can also enter the house. [ Related: Six surprising sources of indoor air pollution. ] 6. Block heaters beat remote starters Lori Strothard of the Waterloo Citizens Vehicle Idling Reduction Task Force in Canada says, "Remote starters can too easily cause people to warm up their cars for 5 to 15 minutes, which is generally unnecessary." A block heater, which is designed to heat the engine and can cost under $30, on a timer set to start one to two hours before driving, does the trick in very cold climates. 7. Quick errands aren't quick enough Natural Resources Canada points out that leaving your car idling while you're running into a store on an errand or going back into the house to pick up a forgotten item is another way to waste gas and pollute both your town and the planet. "Leaving your engine running is hard on your pocketbook, produces greenhouse gas emissions, and is an invitation to car thieves," the agency (PDF) says. 8. Idling is bad for your health (and your neighbor's health) According to Minneapolis' anti-idling ordinance, "Exhaust is hazardous to human health, especially children's; studies have linked air pollution to increased rates of cancer, heart and lung disease, asthma and allergies." Isabelle Silverman, who runs EDF's anti-idling campaign, says that car idling "is the second-hand smoking of the outdoors. One of the problems is that cars idle close to the curb, where pedestrians are walking. And when you have a child in a stroller, they are particularly close to the tailpipe. Studies show that children's IQ levels are lower when they live near major roads with lots of traffic." (A fresh study even links autism to freeway pollution.) Alex Scaperotta, who created an anti-idling campaign with a classmate when he was in fifth grade in Wilton, Connecticut, came up with a slogan that was used on bumper stickers and websites: "If you're stopped for more than 10, turn it off and on again." Sounds like good advice. "

[Edited on January 8, 2011 at 1:37 PM. Reason : .]

1/8/2011 1:36:46 PM

1/8/2011 1:38:46 PM

1/8/2011 1:40:20 PM

1/8/2011 1:43:15 PM

Psh I warm my car so it's not cold inside, warm engine = warm heat = warm me. And I regularly idle my car for 20mins when I'm in AK. Shit I've left it idle for 4+ hours bc I didn't want it to get cold. DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO DAWG!

1/8/2011 1:43:15 PM

i dont warm up my car to warm up the engine, i do it in wintertime so i dont freeze my ass off as soon as i get in

1/8/2011 1:43:27 PM

Quote :

"Environmental Defense Fund, which produced the Idling Gets You Nowhere campaign, advises motorists to turn off their ignition if they're sitting stopped for more than 10 seconds. "

I'm sure that's really good for your starter and battery.

1/8/2011 1:45:48 PM

i warm up my car, go inside and finish my coffee, and look out the window at my colored neighbor walking his dog -- seeing the temptation on his face is priceless

1/8/2011 1:48:56 PM

1/8/2011 1:50:31 PM

1/8/2011 1:50:37 PM

Marko warms his car up so he can feel comfort when inserting his penis into the tailpipe of his Yugo.

1/8/2011 1:54:40 PM

the same way I warm his mom up before sticking my penis in her tailpipe

1/8/2011 1:57:41 PM

1/8/2011 1:59:20 PM

I warm my car for the defrosting action. I can't drive safely otherwise

1/8/2011 2:01:39 PM

Reports: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, staff, shot at event in Tuscon, Ariz.

TWW BREAKING NEWS!!!!



[Edited on January 8, 2011 at 2:04 PM. Reason : jesus christ that's a huge photo]

[Edited on January 8, 2011 at 2:05 PM. Reason : .]

1/8/2011 2:03:14 PM

Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head while holding a public event in Tucson, Fox News and National Public Radio reported on Saturday.



Ouch

1/8/2011 2:09:43 PM

Quote :

"IN THE HEAD"

1/8/2011 2:11:40 PM

Quote :

"warm engine = warm heat = warm me"

the engine warms up a lot faster moving the car at 3200 RPM than it does idling at 750.

1/8/2011 4:32:36 PM

^Let's not let logic get in the way of anything here because surely nobody let's their car warm up while they're NOT IN IT.

Driving a car to warm it up = you in car being cold
idling a car to warm it up = you in house being warm and then get in the car being warm.

1/8/2011 4:51:32 PM

driving a car to warm it up = being a man
drivig car and being cold = little bitch

1/8/2011 4:56:18 PM

only annoying posters either:

1) post twice in a thread before anyone replies to their first post

2) continues to intermittently post in their own thread with 1 or 2 other posts in between

1/8/2011 4:58:40 PM

someone needs to tell my damn neighbor this....he does it (regardless of the season) for a good 10mins every friggin' morning at 5:30a with his giant ass noisy truck....

1/8/2011 6:07:14 PM

Quote :

"Psh I warm my car so it's not cold inside, warm engine = warm heat = warm me. And I regularly idle my car for 20mins when I'm in AK. Shit I've left it idle for 4+ hours bc I didn't want it to get cold. DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO DAWG!"

get a block heater dawg

1/8/2011 6:07:52 PM

Quote :

"I'm sure that's really good for your starter and battery."

Hybrids already do this and Ford is incorporating it into their new non-hybrid cars.

1/8/2011 6:20:15 PM