Frugal Family Challenge Winner Announced

Two new families competed in the Frugal Family Challenge to keep gas costs down.

ByABC News via logo
October 3, 2008, 12:38 PM

Nov. 9, 2008 — -- The winners have been announced!

Last month, "GMA" asked two families, the Porters from Salem, Mass., and the Rhodes from Camas, Wash., to chart their gas use and log their mileage, and find out whether they can stick to a list of fuel-efficient do's and don'ts and save a little green in the process.

They enlisted the help of Phil Reed, a car expert from Edmunds.com, and started cutting costs by slowing down and cutting out unnecessary trips.

Whlie both families sacrificed and saved a lot, at the end of it all, there could only be one winner.

The Rhodes set out to save 25 percent on their fuel costs, and they ended up saving 27 percent.

The Porters, by walking to places they would usually drive to, boosted their fuel efficiency by an impressive 42 percent.

Congratulations, Porters, you've won the "Good Morning America" Frugal Family Challenge.

Meet the families and check out some of their video blogs below.

Click Here to Watch Video Blog Week 1: Kelly Gets Used to Life in the Slow, But Efficient Lane

Kelly Porter, mother of 2-year-old Emma and 10-year-old Alec, knows it could be a challenge.

"I'm the aggressive driver in the family," she said with a laugh. "I tend to speed a little bit."

The Porters have two cars. Tim, 42, drives a Toyota Camry for work and Kelly, 41, drives a Toyota 4Runner to shuttle kids, run errands and take on weekend getaway trips.

On average, they spend about $600 to drive almost 3,400 miles per month.

Click Here to Watch Video Blog Week 1: Say Hello to the Rhodes

Click Here to Watch Video Blog Week 1: Changing the Filter

Click Here to Watch Video Blog Week 2: Riding That Bus (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

The Rhodes, a family of six, have three cars. Randy, 53, commutes to work in a Ford Expedition, while Mary, 56, drives a Subaru Forrester for errands and taking their teenage boys to and from activities. Ryan, 25, and Hilary,17, love cruising to school, work or to meet friends in a Toyota Camry.

This family spends around $670 while driving nearly 3,700 per month.

Mary knows they could do better.

"I need to combine trips so I'm not running out, running back and running out again," she said.

To help with their task, "GMA" set the families up with auto expert Phil Reed from the car resource Web site Edmunds.com to help the families cut back by keeping their tire pressure in check, making sure their air filter is maximizing fuel economy, monitoring gas mileage per gallon and changing their driving habits for the better.