DENVER -- As part of our Recession Rescue week on 7NEWS in the mornings we are trying to look for ways to save you money at the pump.

As of Monday, April 21, the average price for regular unleaded gasoline in the Denver metro area was 16-cents higher than just two weeks ago.

A year ago it was roughly $1.40 cheaper this time last year! But we have found that a little ingenuity can save a lot of money at the pump.

Take Fred Crane for example. He is a 69-year-old inventor from Florida. He devised something called the "Mileage Master." It's essentially a switch that the driver manually flips to cut off fuel to half of the cylinders in a vehicle's engine.

"I've been getting about 42 miles per gallon with my car," Crane said.

Overall, Crane said his invention saves him about $35 a month.

Of course, you don't have to wait until Crane's Mileage Master is mass produced. You can buy a fuel efficient car right now in Colorado.

The Smart Car has been saving Europeans money for years, and now there is a dealership in Denver.

Smart Cars are small for sure. They are only 8 feet, 8 inches long. They are powered by a 71-horse power, three cylinder engine.

The two seat, rear-wheel drive car tops out at 90 mph, but it gets 33 miles a gallon in the city, and 40 miles on the highway.

Is it safe?

"It's a very safe vehicle. We just received a four-star crash rating. You have passenger and driver-side air bags and also side curtain airbags," said Sean Russo, account executive of Smart Center Denver.

Smart Cars start at $11,500. The Cabriolet will set you back $16,500.

These little cars are easy on your wallet and on the environment.

Russo is quick to point that "It's made of 75 percent of recycled materials. At the end of its life span 95 percent of the vehicle is recyclable or re-usable."

The Smart Center Denver location is 2855 South Broadway in Denver.