'You can reduce your fuel costs by 15 percent,' Schwarzenegger said in an Internet broadcast Monday to announce the program. If all Americans took the steps, he said, the reductions would be the equivalent of eliminating the carbon emissions of nearly eight cities the size of Los Angeles. He compared it to taking care of your body. 'What you monitor, you manage.'

 

McCurdy, president and CEO of the automakers alliance, said the campaign was an example of how the companies and California, which have long been at odds over how much and how quickly emissions can be reduced, can work together. McCurdy has emphasized that automakers want to do their part to reduce emissions, despite a series of legal battles with California and other states.

 

Auto executives met with Schwarzenegger in May over California's effort to require a 30 percent reduction in vehicle emissions by the 2016 model year. The governor told the executives -- including Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press, General Motors Corp. North American chief Troy Clarke and Toyota Motor Sales USA President Jim Lentz -- to 'stop whining' and meet the tougher standards, adopted in 2002 but still not in effect.

 

A dozen states have adopted California's emissions requirements, and Colorado is one of four states considering adopting the standards, which could cost automakers tens of billions of dollars to meet.

 

The Environmental Protection Agency denied the states a waiver to adopt the rules that were to gradually take effect starting in the 2009 model year. The move came after Congress passed an energy bill last year that will reduce emissions by raising corporate average fuel economy standards to a fleetwide 35 miles per gallon for cars and trucks combined by 2020.

 

The California program would require automakers to average 43.7 mpg for cars and other vehicles under 3,750 pounds, with an estimated fleetwide average of 36.8 mpg -- far above the federal requirements.

 

Some auto executives have privately floated the idea of trying to strike a deal on California's emissions standards before the next president takes office, though such a move seems increasingly unlikely.

 

Automakers say consumers can reduce oil use without having to buy a new car or cut back on driving. Americans have driven 42 billion miles less through June in the face of $4 gasoline.

 

Among other tips to reduce fuel use: Avoid tailgating; know the proper way to accelerate and brake; use synchronized traffic lights to a driver's advantage; drive at the optimum highway speed; unload excess weight from the car; understand when to use air conditioning and when not to roll down windows.

 

The U.S. Energy Department says filling tires can save 12 cents a gallon and replacing air filters can save up to 40 cents a gallon.

 

The National Automobile Dealers Association announced Monday that September will be 'Green Check-up Month' nationwide, with many dealers offering free checkups.