[RustyLugNut]

Originally Posted by aerohead

From time to time,people will ask about the truck,and we'll get into a discussion about mpg,and invariably,they'll bring up experimental,150-mpg,'pre-production' Ford's that were never meant for sale,which fell through the cracks,that their neighbor got a hold of by mistake.
Phil Donahue had the President of General Motors on his show in the late-1960s,and the topic came up about 'secret' technology that had been intentionally withheld from production to force us all to spend more on fuel.
He had heard all the urban legends as well,and had to laugh them off,mentioning something like,when you look into materials technology and thermodynamics these claims cannot withstand scientific scrutiny.
I have a book with twelve-100 mpg carburetors in it,from Lindsey Publishing.
They're real,but the rub is,that for them to work,you must:
*push the car up to 35-mph.
*start the engine.
*drive the car at a steady 35-mph.
*the car won't go faster.
*the car won't go slower.
*the car won't idle.
*however,if you can maintain 35-mph,then you'll see 100-150 mpg,in a V-8 Ford or Mercury of say,the 1950s.

The caveats are often swept under the rug when discussion of these inventions comes up. But, has it ever piqued your interest how they work? Those plans inspired me to go into science and engineering back in the 70s.

Also, inventions are never created in a vacuum. If you don't invent it, and it has value, someone else will.