280:"... The experience obtained by skilled drivers in the Mobil Economy run indicates that for best fuel economy, a car should be operated at nearly constant speed in the range of 30 to 50 mph. Rapid accelerations or decelerations and operation at (or near) full throttle should be avoided. To practice for economy runs, skilled drivers used special instrumentation to determine the operating conditions for best fuel economy. This instrumentation usually included a vacuum gauge to indicate intake manifold vacuum, a special odometer to measure distance traveled to hundredths of a mile, and a burette to measure gasoline usage. However, instrumentation of this type is extremely complex for the normal driver and is additionally quite expensive. ..."
197:
Los
Angeles and New York by the U.S. Auto Club. The last run started in Anaheim CA on April 2, 1968, but was cancelled in Indianapolis on April 5 due to civil unrest across the country because of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4. In December 1968, it was announced by Richard F Tucker, vice president of marketing for Mobil in North America, the event will be cancelled in the United States citing "changing advertising patterns and changing emphasis in automotive performance as major factors influencing the decision."
185:" period "to promote faster wear and loosen the engines up quickly." Moreover, the factory-supplied drivers were highly trained and experienced to drive in a manner that conserved fuel. An average driver in the same car and over the same course would be lucky to achieve the Run's results. The tests only show the "ultimate" economy potential of the cars tested and their relative efficiency of fuel use.
287:"... It is an objective of this invention to provide a signal to the operator of a variable speed, variable power internal combustion engine when the engine is being accelerated or decelerated too fast, in addition to a signal when the engine is being operated at too high or too low a power output. ..."
110:
contest between the automakers. The objective was the coveted title as the
Mobilgas Economy Run winner in each class. However, starting in 1959, entries were judged on an actual miles-per-gallon basis, instead of the ton-mileage formula used previously which favored bigger, heavier cars. As a result,
196:
Over the years, the Mobil Oil
Corporation sponsored many Mobil Economy Run events across the country for various car classes and automobile associations for short distances. In 1963, a "day-day" test between Los Angeles and the Grand Canyon eventually evolved into a "six-day" endurance test between
97:
were sealed. The factory gas tank was disconnected so fuel use could be accurately measured by using a special tank mounted in the trunk. Because of the many types of automobiles, the Mobil
Economy Run had eight classes based on wheelbase, engine and body size, as well as price. The leading
192:
by Jordan
Crittenden. In the novel, a fictional character is hit by an automobile during the event. An excerpt from the novel reads "'It was terrible,' she says. 'The driver couldn't stop because he was competing in a Mobilgas Economy Run.'"
102:
provided drivers and in each car was a USAC observer to prevent any deviations and penalize for traffic or speed limit violations. Women were permitted to participate in the Mobil-gas contest only from 1957.
31:
228:
the
Mobilgas Economy Run was staged in various years including 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960 (the fifth running), 1961, and, as the Mobil Economy Run in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1966 (the tenth running).
77:
or gas mileage potentials of passenger cars under typical driving conditions encountered by average motorists. This was rather different from the current method of computing fuel consumption by the
610:
834:
85:
in a climate-controlled environment. To prevent special preparation or modifications to the participating automobiles for the run, the United States Auto Club purchased the cars at
644:
588:
373:
181:
Automakers tried to "prepare" their cars to achieve better results. An example was to use lightweight motor oil during the allowable 1,500-mile (2,400 km) "
979:
959:
868:
974:
17:
931:
666:
969:
984:
614:
212:
market in 1952, as
Mobilgas. It copied the annual Economy Run from the US. However, in the 1970s, the Economy Run was taken over in the UK by
343:
311:
78:
830:
418:
494:
166:) did not have competitive cars at the time and were trounced in the fuel efficiency rankings until they introduced smaller platforms (
558:
528:
636:
580:
903:
381:
275:
The Mobil
Economy Run is used to explain the claims made for United States Patent # 3937202 - an "Economy driving aid":
742:
581:"Stock models show how they can use m.p.g. economy but into every gallon of Mobilgas special with aviation akylate"
864:
681:
240:
the competition started in 1959, and it lasted until at least 1985. Since 1969, it was organised by Mobil with
182:
57:
numbers during a coast-to-coast test on public roads and with regular traffic and weather conditions. The
171:
127:
was second - with an average of 22.9572 miles per US gallon (10.2458 L/100 km; 27.5704 mpg
74:
155:
440:
964:
351:
318:
795:
711:
132:
62:
119:
was first - averaging 25.2878 miles per US gallon (9.3015 L/100 km; 30.3694 mpg
406:
209:
136:
498:
30:
167:
147:
8:
175:
159:
116:
39:
764:
163:
151:
143:
54:
899:
817:
206:
90:
86:
791:
707:
953:
550:
520:
35:
188:
The event received criticism in the form of literary fiction, from the book
154:
were put in a separate class. This was because the 'Big Three' auto makers (
150:
caused them to be all but banned from the event. As a result, Ramblers and
50:
483:
Fort
Lauderdale News, Ford Lauderdale, Florida, December 21, 1968, page 47
734:
374:"Tech Tidbits — Your mileage may differ...Mobilgas Drivers Showed Us How"
124:
112:
82:
213:
99:
225:
107:
49:
was an annual event that took place from 1936 to 1968, except during
216:, but the event was discontinued in the UK after just a few years.
474:
The
Courier News, Bridgewater, New Jersey, April 6, 1968, page 12.
27:
Former annual event for determining fuel efficiency in automobiles
94:
854:"Con un litro in cittĂ oltre 20 km" in "La Stampa", 28 June 1985
244:, which provided the cars. From 1969 to 1984 it was also called
264:
250:
115:
became the top mileage champs. In the 47-car field for 1959, a
611:"1959 MOBIL GAS Economy Run Western Australia Original Poster"
237:
58:
465:
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, June 21, 1968, page 32.
241:
131:) - for the five-day, 1,898-mile (3,055 km) trip from
38:) promoting the Mobil Economy Run winner for the year, the
34:
A 1962 magazine advertisement for Champion Spark Plugs (
521:"Victorian Car Wins Melbourne Sydney Economy Run Trial"
407:"Rambler American Sets Economy Mark in Compact Class"
89:, checked them and, if certified as "stock", their
900:"Economy driving aid United States Patent 3937202"
951:
865:"Storia dell'automobile: La Mobil Economy Run"
980:Recurring sporting events established in 1936
705:
270:
79:United States Environmental Protection Agency
960:Motorsport competitions in the United States
975:1968 disestablishments in the United States
401:
399:
932:"Coast to Coast in the Pursuit of Economy"
637:"Eric Lane Wins 1960 Mobilgas Economy Run"
338:
336:
789:
970:1936 establishments in the United States
732:
396:
248:, while in 1985 the name was changed in
200:
65:(USAC) sanctioned and operated the run.
29:
985:Recurring events disestablished in 1968
333:
68:
14:
952:
680:(8): 2. September 1961. Archived from
667:"A winner in the Mobilgas Economy Run"
929:
897:
708:"Australia: Mobil Economy Run (1962)"
492:
73:The Mobil Economy Run determined the
61:Oil Corporation sponsored it and the
733:Crawford, John (22 September 2012).
591:from the original on 10 January 2020
551:"Second Win In Mobilgas Economy Run"
263:The competition was also present in
18:1958 Australian Mobilgas Economy Run
906:from the original on 23 August 2023
816:"Mobil Gazzetta", years 1974-1979,
745:from the original on 23 August 2023
647:from the original on 23 August 2023
561:from the original on 23 August 2023
531:from the original on 23 August 2023
421:from the original on 23 August 2023
24:
914:– via freepatentsonline.com.
735:"Driven Personalities - Eric Lane"
613:. 10 November 2017. Archived from
53:. It was designed to provide real
25:
996:
81:(EPA) by running cars on chassis
792:"10th. Mobil Economy Run (1966)"
380:. September 2003. Archived from
930:Knoll, Bob (24 December 2006).
891:
888:"Mobil Gazzetta", n. 4/79, 1979
882:
871:from the original on 2023-08-23
857:
848:
837:from the original on 2023-08-23
823:
810:
798:from the original on 2021-12-13
783:
757:
726:
714:from the original on 2021-12-13
706:British Pathé (13 April 2014).
699:
659:
629:
603:
573:
557:. 25 October 1956. p. 17.
543:
527:. 10 December 1955. p. 1.
513:
350:. 20 April 1959. Archived from
317:. 18 April 1960. Archived from
219:
765:"Economy Trial won by Valiant"
486:
477:
468:
459:
433:
366:
304:
13:
1:
771:. 25 October 1964. p. 46
555:The Central Queensland Herald
312:"Sport: All We Women Did ..."
292:
344:"Autos: Victory for Rambler"
258:
142:The efficiency of models as
7:
779:– via Newspapers.com.
231:
10:
1001:
495:"The Mobilgas Economy Run"
271:In the claims for a patent
898:Heath, Donald P. (1976).
769:The Sydney Morning Herald
267:at the end of the 1970s.
806:– via youtube.com.
695:– via hrc.org.au.
441:"Books: Candide Keaton"
417:(6): 66–67. June 1960.
133:Los Angeles, California
63:United States Auto Club
246:Mobil Fiat Economy Run
190:Balloons are Available
43:
354:on September 18, 2009
201:In the United Kingdom
137:Kansas City, Missouri
33:
722:– via YouTube.
69:In the United States
617:on 10 November 2017
585:The Mobilgas Dealer
493:Byrne, Ian (2005).
176:Chrysler A platform
936:The New York Times
739:drivingandlife.com
641:drivingandlife.com
569:– via Trove.
539:– via Trove.
525:The Canberra Times
384:on 14 January 2006
321:on October 8, 2010
205:Mobil entered the
44:
947:
625:– via eBay.
447:. 20 January 1967
253:Mobil Economy Run
47:Mobil Economy Run
16:(Redirected from
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965:Energy economics
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687:on 30 March 2018
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117:Rambler American
106:The event was a
40:Rambler American
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411:Popular Science
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210:service station
203:
130:
122:
71:
55:fuel efficiency
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
998:
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987:
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818:Fisogni Museum
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501:on 8 June 2012
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378:Road and Track
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207:United Kingdom
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156:General Motors
128:
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67:
26:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
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168:GM X platform
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149:
146:more compact
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36:Federal-Mogul
32:
19:
939:. Retrieved
935:
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908:. Retrieved
893:
884:
873:. Retrieved
859:
850:
839:. Retrieved
825:
812:
800:. Retrieved
785:
773:. Retrieved
768:
759:
747:. Retrieved
738:
728:
716:. Retrieved
701:
689:. Retrieved
682:the original
677:
673:
661:
649:. Retrieved
640:
631:
619:. Retrieved
615:the original
605:
593:. Retrieved
584:
575:
563:. Retrieved
554:
545:
533:. Retrieved
524:
515:
503:. Retrieved
499:the original
488:
479:
470:
461:
449:. Retrieved
444:
435:
423:. Retrieved
414:
410:
386:. Retrieved
382:the original
377:
368:
356:. Retrieved
352:the original
347:
323:. Retrieved
319:the original
314:
306:
286:
279:
274:
262:
249:
245:
235:
223:
220:In Australia
204:
195:
189:
187:
180:
141:
123:) - while a
113:compact cars
105:
75:fuel economy
72:
51:World War II
46:
45:
172:Ford Falcon
152:Studebakers
125:Rambler Six
87:dealerships
83:dynamometer
954:Categories
941:12 January
910:12 January
875:2023-08-23
841:2023-08-23
802:12 January
775:12 January
749:12 January
718:12 January
691:12 January
651:12 January
621:12 January
595:12 January
565:12 January
535:12 January
505:12 January
451:12 January
425:26 January
388:12 January
358:12 January
325:12 January
293:References
214:Total S.A.
129:‑imp
121:‑imp
100:automakers
259:In France
226:Australia
108:marketing
904:Archived
869:Archived
835:Archived
796:Archived
743:Archived
712:Archived
674:Pointers
645:Archived
589:Archived
559:Archived
529:Archived
419:Archived
232:In Italy
183:break-in
164:Chrysler
148:Ramblers
923:General
820:archive
95:chassis
298:Inline
265:France
251:Lancia
162:, and
685:(PDF)
670:(PDF)
238:Italy
144:AMC's
91:hoods
59:Mobil
943:2018
912:2018
831:"Il"
804:2018
777:2018
751:2018
720:2018
693:2018
653:2018
623:2018
597:2018
567:2018
537:2018
507:2018
453:2018
445:Time
427:2019
390:2018
360:2018
348:Time
327:2018
315:Time
242:FIAT
160:Ford
93:and
415:176
236:In
224:In
178:).
135:to
956::
934:.
928:*
902:.
867:.
833:.
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737:.
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678:28
676:.
672:.
643:.
639:.
587:.
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443:.
413:.
409:.
398:^
376:.
346:.
335:^
255:.
174:,
170:,
158:,
139:.
945:.
878:.
844:.
753:.
655:.
599:.
509:.
455:.
429:.
392:.
362:.
329:.
42:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
