# Has a 200 mpg carburetor been suppressed by the oil industry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 14, 2012, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875 "2012-05-14T11:57:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nezello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@Nezello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nezello)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/1 "2012-05-14T11:57:00Z")
Cecil has been sucking in decades of exhaust fumes. STEVEN SEAGAL WARNS THE WORLD ABOUT (REAL EVIL)!! ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SUPPRESSED… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2SIm4fwdROo/maxresdefault.jpg "STEVEN SEAGAL WARNS THE WORLD ABOUT (REAL EVIL)!!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SIm4fwdROo) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/2 "2012-05-14T12:13:34Z")
Yep, Cecil sure missed that one. A 1994 Sci-Fi thriller flick, and it must have passed him by. Good thing it’s on YouTube; now it will be taken seriously, and we all know how valuable Steven Seagal’s science research filtered thru Hollywood is. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/3 "2012-05-14T12:28:13Z")
What’s a carburetor? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/4 "2012-05-14T13:45:13Z")
It’s always nice to leave a link to the column you are referencing. > **[Has a 200 mpg carburetor been suppressed by the oil industry?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341882/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry)** ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/5 "2012-05-14T15:53:09Z")
These days, of course, fuel injection is the norm, so, as predicted by Cecil, improved carburetors are a dead end. Other stuff is going on, too. My latest car is the biggest, heaviest car I’ve ever owned, and has the highest acceleration, too. But it also gets the best gas milage I’ve ever had. How? A turbocharger (which increases maximum on-demand power without significantly increasing fuel consumption when idling or cruising) and a six-speed DSG transmission that has no torque converter to waste power, shifts automatically, and can usually do it in seven milliseconds. ---
**Author:** ![PacifistPorcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/6 "2012-05-14T16:01:15Z")
I’ll see your carburetor and raise you cold fusion, proven to work in _The Saint._ ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/7 "2012-05-14T16:07:00Z")
Flux capacitor. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/8 "2012-05-14T16:10:47Z")
Oscillation overthruster. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/9 "2012-05-14T16:16:29Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Flux capacitor. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Oscillation overthruster. Scotty’s technobabble. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/10 "2012-05-14T16:19:59Z")
> [@PacifistPorcupine](#): > > I’ll see your carburetor and raise you cold fusion, proven to work in _The Saint._ > [@Leaffan](#): > > Flux capacitor. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Oscillation overthruster. > [@runner pat](#): > > Scotty’s technobabble. The laughter of children, \*vis \*‘Monsters, Inc’. When will the oil industry stop lying to us?!1 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/11 "2012-05-14T16:21:49Z")
The 200mpg carb is nothing. The government has been covering up the car that runs on water for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/12 "2012-05-14T17:19:45Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The 200mpg carb is nothing. The government has been covering up the car that runs on water for decades. Those are called boats… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/13 "2012-05-15T20:27:38Z")
> [@Who\_me\_1](#): > > Those are called boats… And it’s [been done](http://www.amphicars.com/), though why they made them out of thin sheet steel that can rust is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Fredric\_L.Rice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@Fredric\_L.Rice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredric_L.Rice)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/14 "2012-05-15T21:09:39Z")
There is no such thing as “alternative energy” or “ancient energy” or “free energy,” and no, the “oil industry” is not suppressing more effective technologies. If you look at every technology that improves the number of kilometers one may travel on a litre of fuel, the technology always without exception gets adopted in the mass manufacture of conveyances once the costs of the technology fall within reach of the common user. A 200 miles per gallon technology would not be suppressed for reasons both historicaly but also economically. Corporations which would manufacture such technology are increasingly driven by short-term profits, and any such a device would be literally worth trillions within the first 10 years of fielding. Such claims – huge improvements on miles per gallon, “free energy” devices like “magnet-powered motors” and all that nonsense – are either fraud or deliberate wishful thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Fredric\_L.Rice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@Fredric\_L.Rice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredric_L.Rice)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/15 "2012-05-15T21:10:51Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The 200mpg carb is nothing. The government has been covering up the car that runs on water for decades. That’s bullshit. “The government” does no such thing because such vehicles do not exist. If you’re claiming that HHO vehicles are being suppressed, that’s also bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/16 "2012-05-15T21:51:22Z")
> [@Fredric\_L.Rice](#): > > That’s bullshit. “The government” does no such thing because such vehicles do not exist. If you’re claiming that HHO vehicles are being suppressed, that’s also bullshit. That was sarcasm, it happens from time to time around here. 🙂 Welcome to the Dope, hang around a while, you’ll do fine. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/17 "2012-05-15T22:09:09Z")
The 200mpg carburetor story is surprisingly old. Heinlein alludes to it in an early story of his (“Let There Be Light”) ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/18 "2012-05-16T14:14:33Z")
**[The Avion](http://www.100mpgplus.com/)** was developed as a lightweight and aerodynamic and very fuel-efficient sports car. The prototype was completed in 1984 and set the Guinness world record for fuel economy in 1986 at 103.7-mpg average driving from the Mexico border to British Columbia Canada border. The plan at that time was to manufacture the Avion but at the time fuel economy was not as big a concern 20 years ago and we lacked the expertise and the money to tool up and produce the cars. Despite the recognition by Guinness, I don’t know how reliable the constructor’s claim is. The X-Prize for the first car to attain 100mpg was awarded in 2010 and the winning ICE entry was awarded 5 million dollars. It looks like it carries only one person and is less utilitarian than the Avion pictured on the webpage. I don’t know why the Avion’s builder didn’t step forward and grab the loot himself, seeing as he just had this car taking up space in his garage. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/19 "2012-05-16T15:25:33Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > **[The Avion](http://www.100mpgplus.com/)** was developed as a lightweight and aerodynamic and very fuel-efficient sports car. The prototype was completed in 1984 and set the Guinness world record for fuel economy in 1986 at 103.7-mpg average driving from the Mexico border to British Columbia Canada border. > > The plan at that time was to manufacture the Avion but at the time fuel economy was not as big a concern 20 years ago and we lacked the expertise and the money to tool up and produce the cars. > Despite the recognition by Guinness, I don’t know how reliable the constructor’s claim is. The X-Prize for the first car to attain 100mpg was awarded in 2010 and the winning ICE entry was awarded 5 million dollars. It looks like it carries only one person and is less utilitarian than the Avion pictured on the webpage. I don’t know why the Avion’s builder didn’t step forward and grab the loot himself, seeing as he just had this car taking up space in his garage. Viewing the middle video on [this page,](http://www.100mpgplus.com/video/index.html) it looks like it is extremely difficult to get into(you drop into the seat section), and I’m wondering how safe it would be in a crash. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875/20 "2012-05-16T18:28:20Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > That was sarcasm, it happens from time to time around here. 🙂 > > Welcome to the Dope, hang around a while, you’ll do fine. Especially if you keep walking into “whooshes,” **Fred**. 😉 Stick around a while and you’ll be able to tell the scamps from the people who really are that stupid. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > The 200mpg carburetor story is surprisingly old. Heinlein alludes to it in an early story of his (“Let There Be Light”). 1940? I’ll give you a [patented one from 1902.](Heinlein alludes to it in an early story of his (“Let There Be Light”)) And it works, supposedly and only under particular conditions that you are unlikely to encounter these days, like a large one or two cylinder engine operating at a constant 600 RPM and with a top speed of 15 MPH. Even more ancient is the water into fuel scam, [at least from 1851](http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F70717FC3959157493CAA9178AD85F418584F9); Barnum himself speaks of it in his [The Humbugs of the World](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26640/26640-h/26640-h.htm) from 1866. > [@](#): > > Many persons will remember Mr. Paine—“The Great Shot-at” as he was called, from his story that people were constantly trying to kill him—and his water-gas. There have been other water gases too, which were each going to show us how to set the North River on fire, but something or other has always broken down just at the wrong moment. Nobody seems to reflect, when these water gases come up, that if water could really be made to burn, the right conditions would surely have happened at some one of the thousands of city fires, and that the very stuff with which[15] our stout firemen were extinguishing the flames, would have itself caught and exterminated the whole brave wet crowd! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875.md?page=2)