joshoowa

iTrader: (1)

my dad use to work for an oil company back maybe 10yrs ago and he met this guy who worked at General Motors..well today my dad and i ran into the dude that worked at GM, with all this gases pricing sky rocketing he told us that while he was working at GM he worked on this special car (about 15yrs ago)... being one of the engineers he got to test drive the car, the man drove the car home etc. for a whole week without filling it up.. he told us that his commute was easily 45mins each way... after a week GM pulled the car and redesigned the engine ... after that day the car was never the same... the man told my dad that most ppl that worked with him knew what happened and despised what GM did.. the man told us that they had built an engine that conserved so much fuel that the oil industry would have taken a huge loss if they had mass produced this vehicle.. i plan to do some more research but as for right now what a good teaser eh?

Leets

It's believeable. I read an article about 10 years ago in one of those science magazines about how they had designed cars that therotically could run forever with minimal maintenance. The article also said that the car would never be mass produced due to the affect it would have on the automotive aftermarket industry as well as OEM parts sales.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Same theory is why people die from diseases. It's like funding anything isn't worth it anymore. The drug company scene is even higher up in the food chain than transportation. If you don't stay sick, they don't get paid.

MGS4

We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's most fuel efficient car.

Lil4X

This is a Urban Legand that's been around almost as long as the automobile itself. Try Googling "Fish Carburetor", "Condensator", or "Vitalyser" for some of the earliest versions of the same story. Some guy working the late shift in a prestigious research department (or an oddball tinkerer working in his wife's kitchen) discovers the equivalent of cold fusion for the automobile - but the evil oil companies, auto manufacturers, or government hushes him up and destroys the documentation.

The same story seems to surface about every ten to fifteen years - whenever there's a price spike at the pump. Huge increases in power are reported, along with fantastic fuel mileage - the result of a relatively simple gadget with a lot of voodoo science behind it.. You may recognize some of these products still being hawked today in late-night infomercials.

Think about it. If GM (or any other automaker) really developed a technology that would dramatically improve fuel economy, don't you think they'd put it on the market? GM could literally have a monopoly in automobile and light truck production, putting not just the other US manufacturers, but ALL other manufacturers out of business in a matter of months. Considering the present position of GM stockholders, I'd think they'd lynch the first individual who withheld the vital information on a corporation-saving technology like this. The owners of the small "one-man shops" that are also connected to these amazing discoveries could have retired billionaires - if their inventions had actually worked - instead of making fools of themselves on cable night after night for mere "pennies".

STIG

well, Honda has it now. But the only problem is that these thing costs so much to make and they have to change the entire infrastructure to make it more pratical.

http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

No, there are plenty of other factors that can halt production.

LexLaw

Exactly.....And while there are many Urban Myths floating around for various reasons on array of topics, business is business and that is why any fuel efficient/super low maintenance car has not yet made it to the consumer. As was also stated that is why we stilll have various diseases/ailments today as it spurs the economy. Look at America's "war on drugs", crime is great for business as it benefits both the private sector and government.

vraa

iTrader: (2)

Well it's a different reason though.

This proposed super engine would rock, they wouldn't make it because of the infrastructure. What the hoax is trying to hint at isn't a lack of infrastructure but just because of another companies profits.

TheRupp

GM actually manufactured this car... it was the Prizm, an American counterpart of the Corolla j/k

Goldark

so true
the prizm and corolla (93-96) were indestructible

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Wasn't the prizm an exact rebadge of the Corolla? (same engine, chassis, body)
Just with blacked out tails...

Leets

Yes, but it was lighter due to use of less sound deadening material... for all those auto weight super **** people.

jet864

I don't know too much about the details, but my grandfather who reached the rank of Sanitary Engineering Director (equivalent to Captain in the Navy) in the Public Health Service told me about his involvment with a project that was never published, where they could make a car run sufficiently and efficiently on coal. The coal could be used in a liquid form, or granulated I believe, but due to reasons I can't remember, it was shut down and never developed further. Next time I see him, I'll make sure to ask him so I can fill you in on the details such as what year, what company if any, mileage, etc.

James

mmarshall

Lil, as usual, is correct. Snake-oil stories are a dime a dozen.