Oil: Supply and demand / 100mpg carborator

[Bmongilly]

I heard on one of the news channels last night that America makes up 5% of the world's population yet consumes 25% of the world's oil supply.

That tells me that there is a tremendous amount of waste.

Now then, if every single driver in America were to get so fed up with the gas prices that they did like me and bought a motorcycle, this would bring that 25% figure way down.


Speaking about saving gas, there was someone who designed and patented a 100mpg carborator back in the early 70's and one or all of the oil companies bought out that patent. I know this because my sister built one back in college. 100 miles per gallon, and the big oil companies own the patent.

But then all cars went to fuel injection begninning in 1973.

Coincedence?

Have a nice day!

[ThomWV]

1. Its Bullshit

Gasoline, the stuff which would pass through the carburator still needs an air to fuel ratio of about 13:1 to burn.

[Bmongilly]

10. My sister says she built one in college.

If I remember correctly, what it did was vaporize the fuel/air mixture so instead of a moist vapor it was almost a dry gas. Therefore it could use less fuel to get the same amount of horsepower and there wouldn't be all those hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide going out the tailpipe.

[Caution]

2. Urban Legend

http://www.snopes.com/autos/business/carburetor.asp

There is no such device, the legend certainly didn't originate in the 1970's (the late 1930's actually). This story has been going around for 70 years and people sstill buy into it.

[TheFarseer]

3. it's not true

check out snoops.com for a similar rumor

although I have heard that modified hybrid cars have tested at 250 mpg

[Bmongilly]

12. I remember them being advertised in Popular Science...

It asked for a sum of money to get the blueprint and instructions on how to build it.

Perhaps it was a big scam.

[Massacure]

4. The United States has a very large economy though.

If you compare energy consumption per capita, the U.S. uses about twice as much as Europe.

[starmaker]

5. Actually was reported in 70's

I remember in nc someone related to nascar (the early days) had a pinto modified and was getting over 70 MPG.

[kevsand]

8. That sounds more believable.

In the mid-70s I had an unmodified Subaru that got 40 mpg and met the EPA emission standards without the need for a catalytic converter. I think there were a handful of other cars on the market at the time that had mileage ratings in the 50s, some almost up to 60 mpg.

[Turbineguy]

6. In the end

Energy in equals energy out. With current combustion technology only about 13 percent of the energy in gasoline reaches the wheels of the car. I would look for places in the 87 percent to cut losses.

That's the mechanical part.

Every time I accelerate from a stop I speed up slowly. I get passed by SUV's who must be burning at the rate of 1 gallon per mile or more.

That's the driver part.

[Bmongilly]

13. Some of it is in the transmission

If you go to a car dealer and look at the milege ratings of an automatic vs. manual, you'll find that you can get roughly 15% better milege with a manual transmission. All that power is being lost in the torque converter of the automatic.

[FloridaPat]

7. I think it was Time a couple years ago had the per/gallon use

of Americans vs everyone else. US was about 470 and the next closest country was either Germany or Canada which was using 1/4 less.

Here's a neat chart about consumption per state.

http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/statistics/gasoline_per_capita.html

[earthside]

9. 105 Miles Per Gallon

I own a Honda scooter that gets 105 miles per gallon.

That's pretty good.

But I weigh about 155 pounds. The more weight to push around, the lower the mpg will go ... ergo, to keep that high efficiency, I cannot carry much cargo, either.

However, for going to the library, the pharmacy, for the loaf of bread, to rent a dvd, etc., it's great (and kind of fun, too).

If the federal and state governments would give a 50% or even 80% tax write-off for buying and using a scooter, we'd be significantly less petroleum dependent in a very short time.

We've got two problems. Most Americans would consider scooter-riding too large of a lifestyle change even to go a couple of miles: no 65 degree air conditioning, no high fidelity stereo, hard to talk on a phone while driving. And, the politicians of both establishment political parties are dependent upon the PAC contributions of oil companies, auto companies, auto labor unions, so on and so forth.

The technology is already out there ... you don't need a miracle carborator, what we need is serious leadership to point the way and be persuasive about conservation and efficiency.

Therefore, at this stage, I'm not very hopeful ... but you can still do the right thing for yourself and your family by beginning the change --- scooters, hybrids, bicycles, staying home more ... you know ...

[Kansas Wyatt]

11. In the last hundred years...

We have gone from telegraph, telephone, radio, tv, computers, cell phones, and "internets." A technological explosion, yet during that same time, we are still forever chained to the Big Oil Companies with the combustible engine as a means of transportation.

Which deserves several skeptical questions as to why we continue to be harnessed by the Big Oil Companies, since it appears that we all have been managed to be dependent on a hundred year old technology that greatly benefits the Big Oil Companies.

Has there been a Corporate merger between our Government and the Big Oil Companies, at the expense of 'We The People?'