Opel GT Owner's Manual page 112

112 Drivin g and operatio n
Saving fuel, protecting th e
environment
Trend-set ting technology
When dev eloping and manufac turing your
vehic le, O pel used env ironment-friend ly
and prima rily recy clable materials. The
production methods used to ma ke your
vehic le are likewise environmenta lly -
compatible.
Recycling of production wastes keeps the
circulation of material closed. Reduction of
energy a nd water requirements a lso help s
to conserve natural resources.
The a dvanced design ma kes it easier
to dismantle the vehicle at the end of
its service life and separate m aterials
for recy cling .
Materia ls such as asbestos and cadmium
are not used . The refrigerant in the air
conditioning system is CFC-free.
New painting techniques employ water
as a solvent.
End-of-li fe v ehi cle rec overy
Information on end-of-life vehicle recovery
centres and the recy cling of end-of-life
vehicles is av ailable at www.opel.com.
Dr ive in an energy a nd environment-
consc ious w ay
z High fuel consumption, noise lev els and
exhaust em issions are often caused by a
driving style that is not energy and
env ironment-c onscious.
z Y ou should therefore drive with energy in
mind: "more kilometres/miles with less
fuel".
Reduce the noise level and exhaust
emissions b y adopting an environment-
consc ious driving style. This is ex tremely
worthwhile and im proves the quality of
life.
Fuel consum ption d epend s to a great
extent on your own personal d riv ing
style. The following hints are intended to
help you consume fuel at a rate that is as
close as possible to the specified levels –
see page 177.
C heck y our v ehicle' s fuel consumption
every time you refuel. This facilitates
early detection of any irregula rities
causing increased fuel consumption.
Warm ing up
z Full throttle and w arming up at idle
speed increase w ear, fuel consumption,
ex haust em issions, the amount of
pollutant in the exhaust and the am ount
of noise.
z Driv e off as soon as possible a fter
starting.
Uniform speed
z Hectic driving significantly increases fuel
consumption, the ex haust emissions, the
proportion of pollutant in the exhaust
gases and the noise level.
z Do not accelerate a nd brake
unnecessarily . Drive at uniform speed.
Avoid frequent starting-off and
stopping, e.g. at traffic lights, in short
distance traffic and in queues of tra ffic,
by m eans of clev er planning. S elect
roa ds with good traffic flow.
I dling
z The eng ine also consumes fuel when
idling .
z If you have to wait for more than
1 minute, it is worthwhile switching off
the eng ine. Five minutes of idling
corresponds to ap prox . 1 kilometre
(0.6 m iles) of driv ing .