Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-29

trucks could not. of course. come In q
day, but the direction that the devel
opment in the car world is likely K
take, as forecast by the Oil Board. Il
described as follows
The best informed specialists repor
to the board THAT the more efficien
high-compression engine is coming-in'
deed. the compression ratio has alread.
been increased in some modcls--ant
this Improvement will make possibl,
either better power or more mileage Il
the gallon. The present almost univer
sal requirement by the American auto.
mobiliSt for power and performance
will doubtless lead him to choose tha'
at least some of the improvement shall
be converted into greater f1eXibility anc
speed. but If the added efficiency is al
utilized to give greater mileage. an in.
crease of IS to 20 per cent in miles pei
gallon Is promised"
Aid to Efficiency.
The board points out that tendency
of gasoline prices to rise would stimulate
efficiency in motor operation. 1t Is q
general rule that wasteful practices are
checked only as price makes conserva-
ton worth while, but as yet the price Of
gasoline has had no appreciate effect
gasoline prices are bound at no distant
date TO begin to mount. Furthermore
the present keen competition among au-
tomobile manufacturers in the domestic
field. and more recently the competition
of world petroleum companies in TIKI
foreign field. are all conspiring to ex-
tract as many miles as possible from the
petroleum barrel AS its own share, the
petroleum industry has increased the
gasoline yield per barrel of oil from 1
gallons. or 10 per cent. in 1905. to some
thing over II gallons, or 80 per cent. q,
present.
Cooperative fuel research really had
its start back when the 1922 models
were taking the roads, when the Ma
tional Automotive Chamber of Com
merce and the American Petroleum In
stitute got together and provided a
joint fund for research. carried on al
the Bureau of Standards. with Federal
assistance. Up till then the two
groups had been inclined to blame all
their troubles on each other. After
they had made common investiga-
ton they each found opportunities OF
promoting the common good. The ques-
ton asked In the research problem
was summed up as follows. What
~
maximum number of car-miles OF
transportation per barrel of crude oil
used in its production" An answer
TO the question was secured. and now
serves as the basis on which the two
industries operate. while the Govern
ment has changed some of its OWL
specifications as a result OF the find
ings.
It was discovered that the number
of ton miles to the gallon Is indie.
pendent Of fuel volatility. That sur
prised many people. and simply means
that the heaviest fuel Is the most eco
nomical. However, It also was found
that engines start much more readily
on the more highly volatile fuels
Although economy was found TO die
tate TIE use of heavy fuel. the prac.
teal limit In this direction was Sc,
by the dilution Of crankcase oil. and
the difficulty Of starting with the less
volatile fuels. The tests showed sur.
prising difference In the fuels ther
on the market.
Condition Modified.
This condition has since been largely
modified. and it is no longer necessar,
TO use fuels. like some of those tested
which gave only 20 starts" per gailor
at 80 degrees r. Other fuels. which
differ chemically only a little from
the former, will now give 100 starts
per gallon. Many observers believe the
time will come when all fuels sole
viii be anti-knock and that different
fuels will be sold in Summer ant
in Winter. The Bureau OF Standards
In its tests showed that gasoline con.
sumption is somewhat greater per CAT
in Winter than In Summer; that dilu.
ton of crankcase oil Is consistently
greater the heavier or less volatile the
fuel, and that is is much greater n
cold weather than In warm: that small
differences in the initial volatility oil
the fuel have large effect on engine
starting, while starting performance oi
the fuel ~ the quality most readily
noted by the driver
Besides the proposal TO take a ma
taonal census OF the gas pumps now dis
tributing high-compression gasoline In
the United States as first step toward
oil conservation by more efficient en-
gines, the OIL Board also reviews latest
developments in the manufacture of two
potential substitutes for gasoline. Other
countries where the price of gasoline Ia
high have long since been forced Ia
economic petrol. and these have deyel-
oped "liquefled coal" as well as fuel
from industrial alcohol America has
the worlds greatest supply of soft
coal. 50 that Il seems prepared for the
exhaustion Of It's crude oil stocks. II
that should come about. In addition u
coal and industrial alcohol. the OF
Board explains that there Is a vast
store OF motor fuel In shale oil Of this
United States. which needs only higher
prices To bring it ON the market Great
industrial development and improve
nent In technical process would be re.
CURED TO bring any OF these three fue
sources out In such quantities and al
such prices as would meet current
American demands. but experience ir
foreign countries seems to show thai
the feat could be accomplished II nee.
essary.
Forced by High Price.
Those who watched the smart iittis
Continental automobiles occasionally
seen on American streets, and less FIRE.
quentiy observed climbing iaboriotlsl,
up American hills. know that the con
ditions that evolved their extFaOrdi
nariiy economical performance wer'
primarily the high costs ri fuels as rep
IFEsfIhs1 at LAiUpFab tuAib Sh@SDtis
In France the price Of fuel Is high
enough 10 make the Use Of industria
alcohol derived from sugar beets one o
The most important elements In supple
menting gasoline consumption. In Ger
many potatoes have been drafted int
| service and special type Of potato ha
| been developed. Potato growing 10
! mot0f fuel also creates q market which
aids Michael W rotate his crops. Tn
fuel ~ derived from these crops by fer
DeniatiDn.
the Federal OIL Board does not 0ffe
much hope that this rural source o
! fiiei viii ever take d large place IN Tn
| American motor scene II alcohol wer
| 10 be substituted for Americas presen
requirements of gasoline. each Amefi
car automobile, supposed on the aver
/ age W consume about 800 gallons
/ year, would have LD have nearly iB acre
| u wheat " support II. or about 10 acre
| az TgFff nF q acres Cf f.Gtaff,es