Do fuel savers work?

There is so much conflicting information regarding whether or not fuel savers actually work it's almost impossible to sort out. For instance one report on ABC News, Gassavers: myths and secrets put out on July 13 2006 says that the inventor of the Tornado Fuel Saver states on his infomercial that his product really does work and can save you $20 $40 or even $60 a month at the gas pump. He also states that the device was tested by ECOlogic engine testing laboratories and their test results were that the product does work.

Substandard Journalism

Then, ABC goes on to say that their tests (consumer reports) indicated that the product in fact does not work. ABC also goes on to say that ECOlogic tester Donel Olson who signed off on the original test results says he is sorry that the test result has his signature on it.

What the heck does that mean? Is he saying that the test result was wrong? Is he saying that the test result was correct but he doesn't like all the media coverage? Is he saying that the test result was fake and the company did something illegal?

ABC news just left it at that with no further investigation and nothing more than He said She said reporting. I am really glad I read that report!

Real World VS Theoretical Performance

The next product evaluated on the same report was on a product called the Platinum Gassaver. Again, the inventor Joel Robinson says that his product really does work and provides a 20% to 28% improvement in gas mileage.

Then, ABC says that the EPA testing reports that the device did not pass their tests and did not show any improvement in gas mileage. Surprise.
Joel Robinson says that the test results are not valid because the product requires the normal road vibration to work and the EPA test in a lab has the vehicle on a device that spins the wheels with no vibration.

Did the people at the EPA take 5th grade science? Because I seem to remember something about a test result only being valid if the test conditions match the actual use conditions. This is the EPA and we still don't know if the product works or not.

Who's Really Benefiting?

ABC also states that the EPA has tested 109 fuel saving devices and not found a single one that works. Even a little. Is it possible that all these inventors are fools and have put all this time and money into a device that does not work just for the fun of it? Is it possible that these inventors are scam artists that thought it would be a good idea to pay a minimum of $27,000 for the EPA testing and wait the 12 months just for the EPA to expose them? What's going on?

All I know is that all of this reporting seems to resemble the last episode of Phenomenon where a group of magicians compete to determine who is best. I am just not sure who is winning but I think the American People are losing.