Car myths debunked for NJ drivers

Driving in New Jersey is not only stressful. It's expensive. According to U.S. News & World Report, between fuel costs, repairs, MVC fees, insurance and all the rest, it cost $12,476 last year to own a car here. So you might be lured in to some classic myths if it could mean saving a buck.

Here are some long believed but totally untrue things about cars from businessinsider.com.

A manual transmission saves on gas

This was once true. It no longer is. In fact there were so many advances in automatic transmission technology that now they are either every bit as economical when it comes to fuel and in many cases actually more economical than the dying manual transmission. Remember, they used to hand crank a car to get it started. That's basically where the manual trans is going.

You get more bang for your buck when you gas up in the morning

This long held belief exists because gasoline is denser when temperatures are cooler, so it is assumed you get slightly more fuel per gallon pumped. Yet the truth is since gas is kept in underground tanks the temperature barely fluctuates so whatever time of day you get your gas the density never really changes.

You must change your oil every 3,000 miles

Of course they'd like you to believe this is true. It is not today. Modern cars can go as far as 10,000 miles without fresh oil. Yes, you need to change it, but unlike older cars in the old days you can go far longer than your oil change place wants you to believe.

A filthy car is more fuel efficient

Okay, this one I never even heard of. But many believe dirt caked on a car reduces drag and increases fuel economy. Mythbusters tested this and found a dirty car actually creates more drag and can reduce your gas mileage by...wait for it...10%.

How about a safety myth? Such as cell phone use.

Using your cell phone while pumping gas can trigger an explosion

If this were true, wouldn't every NJ gas station have blown up by now considering how often gas attendants are constantly on their cell phones while doing their jobs? The FCC says there is no documented incident of a wireless phone causing any fire or any explosion at any gas station.

Okay here's a bonus, something that is NOT a myth. I have often concluded that BMW drivers are jerks. Just a personal observation and one that I've been called ridiculous for. Guess what? A 2012 traffic study watched how often drivers stopped for pedestrians. Turns out BMW drivers were indeed the worst.

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