Over the years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has tested myriad gas-saving devices that burst onto the consumer scene: devices that bleed air into the carburetor or bubble air through a container of water and antifreeze mixture, fuel-line gadgets that heat the gas before it enters the carburetor, magnets that clamp to the inside or outside of the fuel line to change the gasoline's molecular structure and metallic fuel-line additives with dissimilar metals that claim to ionize the fuel.
Experts say they all have one thing in common. "They don't work," says John Millett, spokesman for the EPA. "Believe me, if it were that easy, cars would be built that way, especially the magnets and whirligig devices. It's smart to be skeptical about any claims like that."
The EPA to date has tested in the neighborhood of 100 gas-saving devices, the most recent at the request of the Federal Trade Commission, and only six "indicated a very small improvement in fuel economy without an increase in exhaust emissions."
Popular Mechanics magazine's experts tested seven fuel-saving products for its September 2005 issue and found no significant change in miles-per-gallon ratings. Two actually increased fuel consumption by 20%, according to the writer, and a third one melted before they could complete the test.
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