With gas predicted by the Energy Information Administration to cost almost $3 per gallon this summer, car makers are trying to keep drivers cool in the car and at the pump.

ComfortCools, a new type of ventilated seat, will be available in the 2008 Cadillac STS model. The perforated seat works through two built-in fans sucking in warm air from the passenger’s body and sending it away. Likewise, Mercedes, BMW and Lexus have similar technologies on some of their flagship cars.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory said if all Americans drove cars with ventilated seats, then the gasoline attributed to air-conditioning could be reduced by 7.5 percent. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that this would save 522 million gallons of fuel per year.

Because commuting to work is such an enormous travel expense, Americans are going to have to take vacations closer to home or start cutting out other expenses, said Jeremy Groves, NIU assistant professor of economics.

“Something will have to give,” Groves said. “We saw this last summer when prices were close to $3. People stopped eating out or purchasing other forms of entertainment so they could drive.”

Cadillac is developing a technology called Active Fuel Management in an effort to combat rising gas prices, said Kevin Smith, manager of communications at Cadillac.

“The technology would cut off four of the eight cylinders when there is little to no throttle, like when going downhill, thus reducing fuel consumption,” he said. Chrysler has the same system on its Hemi-equipped 300C, as does Mercedes on its larger engines.

As Americans begin to understand their own behaviors and the possibility of future issues like an energy crisis and global warming, the more car manufacturers are actually implementing such technologies, said John DeCicco, senior fellow automotive specialist of Environmental Defense, which is based out of Detroit.

“After accumulating years of decision-making without regard to fuel consumption impact, we are in a situation that we are in now. We have an out of control oil demand after years of talk about technology and alternative fuel,” he said. “Every year goes by and we break new records on fuel demand.”

The gas consumption habits of Americans must be addressed in order to improve the current situation, Groves said.

“To see any significant improvement in fuel prices, all else equal, consumers are going to have to change their habits,” Groves said. “Does everyone need a large SUV to drive one and a half hours to work, one way, each day by themselves?”