For decades I have heard people tell me that a friend of a friend went to high school with some guy who bought a new car that got 200 mpg, only to have shady people in black come and remove the carburetor. I think I’ve found the foundation for this Urbane Legend. In a short story by Robert Heinlein “Let there be Light” First published in 1940.
“And that reminds me-I once saw a clipping from the Los Angeles Daily News. A man bought a heavy standard make car in San Diego, filled her up and drove to Los Angeles. He only used two gallons. Then he drove to Agua Caliente and back to San Diego, and only used three gallons. About a week later the sales company found him and bribed him to make an exchange. By mistake they had let him have a car that wasn’t to be sold-one with a trick carburetor.”
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