376.59 MPG Car Found In Museum (It Was Built In 1959)
Think you need a hybrid to get great mileage? Try a souped-down 1959 Opel T-1.
In another tribute to high-mileage car hacks, a man named Evan McMullen rediscovered a 1975 Guiness-World Record-Setting car that got 376.59 MPG.
It was wasting away in a museum in Florida:
That number doesn’t come from some manta ray-shaped, wind tunnel-vetted carbon fiber space car. No, it’s from a chop-top, steel-frame 1959 Opel T-1 (think melting jelly bean, but uglier). And the record was set in 1973 in a contest sponsored by Shell Oil Co.
Unfortunately, that contest-winning mileage number occurred on a closed track at a steady 30 mph. Not exactly highway speeds. Nonetheless, it makes you wonder about the evolution of automobile manufacturing in the last 50 years:
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But McMullen’s biggest question is why? Why didn’t this technology find its way into the mainstream? Why did the car sit unremarked, unremembered for so long?
“If this is something they could do back in the 1970s, what happened?” he asked, poring over paperwork, including patents, for the car.
“Certainly in 34 years we could do something to make this work.”
In reality, it’s not that hard to get better mileage: drive slower, reduce weight, and increase aerodynamics. None of this seems to particularly interest Detroit, since better mileage tends to increase the amount of time people own their cars before upgrading.
But next time you shop for a new car, instead of upgrading, you might consider downgrading.
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SeattlePi.com (Feb. 20, 2008): Hybrids, meet your rival — it gets 376.59 mpg
If it truly does get a high gas millage why don’t we use the design today? Its not that I am a skeptic I would just like to have something be used if it works.
Youd think he would have gotten some more information about the technology that was used in the car. I mean we might be able to reproduce the same results for ourselves if someone else did it, why not? Where can we get the real story here?
think if everyone had small cars there would be no problem crashing because the cars are so light and small it might even be fun
Interesting post. Does anyone know if HHO technology could replace oil?
At 54 I have own many vehicles some good some not so good. I was proud of owning my U.S. or Canadian built car. Now I find that many people I know own an import. It is time to go back and build a fuel efficiant car that is in the top 3 for fuel economy and price. GM, Ford, and Chrysler this a challange but to be back on top would be great for future confidence. Make us proud again about the vehicle we have in our drive way. Thank you, Trevor Howard
One thing that the conspiracy folks might want to keep in mind is that even if the evil Automaker-Oil Company conspiracy prevents the production of reliable, affordable cars that get hundreds of miles per gallon in the United States (and Europe where enlightened progressives are ground beneath the iron heel of George Bush’s all encompassing Leviathan power) don’t you think that there are some places on earth where they are not yet controlled by the octopus mammon of Wall Street?
Why don’t the Chinese make cars that get hundred miles per gallon? They have the engineering horsepower. They import massive quantities of petroleum. Petroleum importation is one of their biggest expenses and one of their biggest strategic vulnerabilities.
How come somebody like George Soros doesn’t bankroll production of a car like that in order to drive the price of oil down so that he can rake in big bucks in the economic chaos that results?
Oh, that’s right. I forgot. For a conspiracy buff, lack of evidence is proof of how widespread and pernicious the conspiracy actually is since it can hide so well.
There’s all kinds of people, and all kinds of reasons to buy cars.
Volvo buyers want safety
BMW buyers want handling
Porsche owners want speed
MB owners want snob appeal, etc.
There’s lots and lots of people who will buy a car that pollutes less and gets great fuel mileage. That’s why Prius is sold out in some urban areas.
Personally, I’m waiting for the air car from Tata. I’ve got solar panels already and I plan on letting old sol fill my tanks for me while I drive for free.
I’ll keep my Chevy for long trips.
The trouble is the BIG OIL bought up the patents and let them rot on the shelf. My grandfather told me a story of a friend that worked at Standard Oil; he was able to confirm at least one vehicle back in the day could get excellent fuel mileage (over 200 mpg) - It was carburetor based and would easily go from east coast to west, or vise verse, on a single tank of gasoline. Trouble is that Standard Oil bought the patents and put them on a shelf. Ya always give some doubt when an old timer tells you a story like that (especially since he told me that 15 years ago) but looks like he was probably right.
This is not a car you would drive around though, it would be gutted for weight, and there would be no braking or hill climbing involved. There would only be one period of acceleration, too, at the beginning.
A regular car taken to a track and driven at a constant 30mph will wow you with its fuel efficiency too!
“The trouble is the BIG OIL bought up the patents and let them rot on the shelf. ”
Well, what are the patent numbers? Let’s see some evidence.