does using your cigarette lighter outlet burn gas?

The cigarette lighter is run from the battery. It does not burn gas.

If you think that little fan will keep you cool go right ahead.However,if you do roll down the windows on your vehicle…at highway speeds it can actually reduce your gas mileage more than running the AC itself.

The lighter in your car is powered by the battery, so no fuel is used. I suggest one that purifies the air as well. It works great with air fresheners. But as for your question, no fuel is consumed by your lighter socket. Smart thinking by the way.

no

anything that increases load on the engine will cause an increase gas consumption. A cigarette lighter used for a fan? as in a fan to circulate air inside the cabin? or a rigged repair for coolin system/ A/C fan operation failure? either case, frequent replacement if air filter element would be the easiest and effective way to insure fuel is not wasted. And as the price of fuel is increasing daily/hourly, this, and preventative maintenance in general is now more than ever a cost effective way to maximize your fuel consumption efficiency

Yes, but very little if you just use that little fan.

And opening the window does not decrease fuel economy practically at all — hello urban myth…

Technically, anything you use that’s electrical in your car will increase fuel consumption, because it increases the load on the alternator (if the engine’s running), or reduces the charge in the battery (if the engine’s not running), which the alternator than has to replace later, when the engine is running. However, as a practical matter, it is not a concern, because the amount of additional power needed is so small that you would not be able to measure the difference. (On race cars, they often overcharge the battery before the race, and remove the alternator for that little bit of extra speed).