WASHINGTON -- Get an extra four miles to the gallon!
Boost your fuel economy an amazing 20 percent!
Get your hands on the secret fuel-savings technology that the big oil companies want to suppress!
With gasoline prices climbing fast, such promises sound sweet -- especially to the millions of motorists with gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles. The price of gasoline stood at a nationwide average of $1.72 cents per gallon last week, up from $1.20 the previous March.
As the price of gas rises, so does advertising chatter for gas-saving products. But is there really a miracle gasoline or oil additive, or some gizmo that snaps onto the engine, that can relieve the gas pains as prices approach $2 a gallon?
Pure fuelishness, say the experts.
"I've been with this program for 10 years and from what we've seen, none of them work," Peter Kohnken said. Kohnken is a mechanical engineer with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich. His program serves as a truth squad that assesses manufacturers' often-inflated claims about gas-saving products.
The EPA has evaluated more than 100 alleged gas-saving additives and devices, some of which sell for more than $100.
"None of them is worth the money," Kohnken said.
"I don't know of any product that has a significant impact," agreed Dr. John B. Heywood, director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Improving fuel economy in gasoline and diesel engines has been one of the holy grails of mechanical engineering, with generations of the world's most talented engineers pursuing the quest, noted Dr. William H. Green, an expert on combustion chemistry and fuels at the Sloan lab.
"If you are an engineer and can come up with an innovation that reliably increases fuel economy by even 1 percent, you will gain a lot of professional recognition," Green said.
One engineer who did so, Dr. Hal Shaub, become a legend. In 1978, while working at the Exxon Research & Engineering Co. in Linden, N. J., Shaub developed an oil additive with what scientists regarded as an astonishing ability to boost fuel economy. By all of 1 percent.
"It seems unlikely that an inventor in a small company will hit upon a dramatic breakthrough missed for decades by everyone else in the field," Green said. "The EPA finding that none of the additives have much impact confirms the opinion that most/all of these claims are deceptive."
The quest for better fuel economy is highly competitive. Technology that works, like variable valve timing, gets embraced quickly, Heywood noted. If there were secret formulas, they'd be turned into mainstream products overnight.
Purported gas-savers involve "additive" products, which are poured into a vehicle fuel tank or oil supply, as well as devices that attach to the engine. Few consumers have the mechanical knowledge or equipment to test for precise changes in gas mileage. Many variables affect fuel consumption, including traffic, road and weather conditions, and a car's condition.
The Federal Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972 requires the EPA to evaluate gas-savings devices and publish a summary of its findings.
Manufacturers of the products sometimes ask for evaluations. The Federal Trade Commission requests others, as it checks out potentially false advertising claims. The EPA initiates its own, as well. Many gas-saving products also claim to substantially reduce exhaust emissions, and the EPA is constantly on the lookout for new clean-air technology.
Manufacturers sometime boast that a product has been "Tested by the EPA," but that does not mean the EPA has endorsed the product or considered it effective, Kohnken said. No federal agency endorses gas-saving products for cars.
Consumers can check test results for specific products at www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/reports.htm
Consumers pretty much seal their fate, in terms of gasoline bills, when they buy a vehicle, Green said. Those with low fuel economy ratings, typically big vehicles with big engines, will guzzle gasoline every mile they travel. Check www.fueleconomy.gov for fuel-economy information.
Michael Woods can be reached at mwoods@nationalpress.com or 1-202-662-7072.
