04 March 2008

Easy On The Throttle Jake....A Look Back at the Mobil Gas (Mobil Economy) Run

Mileage per gallon is all the rage now. Economy is back! Reading about this tonight, I thought it would be a great idea to dig up some information on the Mobil (MobilGas) Economy Run. Held from the 1930's to the late 1960's, this annual event helped to determine gas mileage on current automobiles available to the consumer.


(1)

Sponsored by Mobil, the United States Auto Club was the operator for the events. The vehicles were purchased from auto dealers and then the hoods, etc. were shut and special gas tanks to measure fuel used were installed.



(2)

There were different classes in the competition and this event proved to be very popular....probably the most among the automobile manufacturers. Mileage actually wasn't too bad, considering the weight of the cars and the strictly mechanical setup of the drivetrains. Said Time:

"6-Cylindef: Chevrolet Biscayne, 22.3788 m.p.g.;
Chevrolet Biscayne, 21.9439 m.p.g.;
Ford Custom 300, 20.3288 m.p.g....:

(3)



(4)

Try the links below, especially the Times article for more information. The screenshots above were also from a great film off of archive.org that was part of the Prelinger Collection. I've put the link in below.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!


Links:


Mickey Thompson Economy Run Information

Time Magazine Archive-1959 contest

Prelinger Archive Film-On The Run

Wikipedia entry-Mobile Economy Run

New York Times Story: Coast to Coast....


Sources:

(1)(2)(4) Screen-grab from On The Run

(3) Time Magazine Archive: Rambler.....

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