Scams in Fuel Saving: The deceptive tactics sellers use and what to watch out for
It is inevitable – as soon as the price of gas gets to unbearable like $3 to $4 per gallon gas, the scam artists seem to come out of everywhere. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) along with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) overseas most of the fuel saving ideas. According to the FTC and EPA almost none of the ideas posted across websites like Ebay and Craigslist don’t work at all and could actually end up harming your engine and voiding your warranty. Those who are looking for a fast way to fix the economy problem in fuel, since the gas prices are increasing rapidly are advised to be cautious of numerous claims on gas saving for additives and other gas saving products. Many of these different gas-saving products have been tested and most seem to have little use and some actually have a negative impact on fuel economy.
One supplier or manufacturer offers a metal part you install in your air intake and it is supposed to increase air flow and horsepower by upwards of 35% according to the manufacturer Tornado’s claims (it is important to note that the Tornado is only one of these air low products – there are several with different names like the Turbonator and others and they are currently still for sale in places like Autozone and Pep Boys. Per Consumer Reports, the FTC and EPA it has been determined several times on numerous cars and trucks that this product had no effect whatsoever. Even with all the information that proves these items do not work millions are still being sold every day!
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Another claimant gas saving device is the idea of magnets and of supposedly breaking the long carbon chains of gas and fuel into smaller easily burned forms. This has been proven to not work at all by the EPA and FTC and in a settlement to a lawsuit, International Research & Development Corp. of Nevada (the parent company of Fuel Max and Super Fuelmax) was imposed with a lifetime ban on the manufacture of any gas, fuel or emissions decreasing products. They were also ordered to pay $4.2 million in restitution to customers that were ripped off. To put it rather simply, magnets have absolutely no effect on gas mileage whatsoever.
Another product is called the Platinum Fuel Saver and at around $100 it claims it works unlike the other fuel saver scams. What it supposedly does is inject small amounts of platinum which supposedly increases fuel economy substantially. What does the FDA and EPA along with numerous state attorney generals say about this product? IT doesn’t work either – go figure.
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Basically these product range in price from $10 on Ebay for cheap copies of the Tornado (with $8 to $10 shipping – Ebay still needs to learn from Amazon.com and Overstocked.com that bogus, inflated shipping charges turns off potential customers) to over $100 for some of the leading name brand products. All of these products promise a quick and easy way to save big on gas prices, fuel economy and maybe even restore or add horsepower. All of these products have pretty much been thoroughly tested by the U.S. Government (FTC and EPA) and have been found to not have any noticeable effect.
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It is a shame in my opinion that these companies and people set out at times when people are hurting financially due to the worsening economy and high gas prices to take advantage of people. That is just sad in my opinion.
There are a few ideas that are true and do work – the alternative energy ideas of electric cars, ethanol, bio fuels, etc… These are not cheap, quick fixes and can cost upwards of $10,000 to convert a current gas operated or diesel operated vehicle. In the future with more research and money these ideas will become more of a reality and will eventually share a larger portion of our fuel needs both for our cars and for even our homes and businesses. We do need to free our selves from the stranglehold of OPEC and foreign oil, but quick promises from gimmicks like those mentioned above and others which can be found listed on the FTC and EPA websites (and interestingly enough, for sale all over Ebay – boy that says a lot about what is sold on Ebay). In short, gas saving devices and gimmicks do not work so avoid them!
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