The Mythical 200 MPG Carburetor

For decades, some have believed that fuel saving devices like a 200 mpg carburetor have been suppressed by automakers and oil companies. Is it true? Well, at Green Car we've been writing about cars for decades now and haven't come across one yet. But a high-efficiency device that could provide three times the fuel economy of a Prius is a tantalizing thought, isn't it?

As one of the stories goes, Canadian Charles Nelson Pogue invented a carburetor that was tested by a major automaker and Winnipeg Motor Company in the 1930s. Reportedly, it got over 200 mpg and sent shock waves through the stock market, with oil shares said to have plunged upon announcement of the results. The carburetor was never produced. Forty years later, inventor Tom Ogle claimed he got over 100 mpg in a V-8 powered "Oglemobile" equipped with his fuel vaporizing system. The El Paso Times is said to have reported he was offered a large sum from an oil company, but turned it down. Ogle died shortly afterward, supposedly under mysterious conditions. Truth or urban legend?

Somebody had to dive into this, and that somebody is David Steckling, president of Vapor Systems Technology out of Spring Valley, California. His company has performed an extensive patent search of such inventions that claim to provide incredible mpg increases and has identified over 900 U.S. patents, many by automakers, suppliers, oil companies, and the U.S. government. He has also produced a CD that includes copies of 920 of these patents, representing a little-known piece of automotive history. Of these, about 650 have expired so they can be built, or even sold, by anyone.

You can draw your own conclusions and even build the devices to see if they really provide the fuel economy claimed. We figure that if this was the case, somebody would be doing it already. But then...who knows? There's more info available about the CD and the subject in general on the company's website at www.fuelvapors.com. If, like Steckling, you're intrigued by the thought that somewhere out there is the high-efficiency answer that's been sought for decades, this could be a "must read."