On this forum, from time to time, we get inquiries about certain gizmos. Recently someone, who saw the device on eBay, seriously asked about the Tornado Fuel Saver; at other times, about "magnetic" devices to be placed on fuel lines, etc.

I've tried to put my $0.02 in when these questions arise -- e.g., the "swirling" effect of the Tornado is lost in the throttle body, too upstream to help. And I've always been of the opinion -- never more true than these days -- that if something *really* could improve gas mileage, the car manufacturers are under such intense competitive pressure that they would already be using the principle. E.g., the old myth that there's a carburetor (ca '60's) that gives 100 mpg but the oil and car companies bought the patent and buried it.

Well, if anyone has anything other than complete skepticism about these gizmos, they ought to read today's NYTimes article (Auto section, page 2).
The majority of the article discussed the technical limitations of such devices, but what I found most interesting was the psychological aspects of those who might believe the hype (comments in brackets are mine, not from the article):
"The kind of faith that draws consumers to gadgets like these was actually important to human mental health. Part of the attraction stems from hopefulness and a willingness to trust that something can improve a painful situation [e.g., cost of gas?]. Another factor is self-delusion, which protects the ego by letting a person overlook bad decisions [e.g., spending $70 on a Tornado?]."
"...People who are hopeful enough to try out a... [gizmo] ...will look for any positive sign .. to convince themselves ... [of] ... a good decision. They may ... [install]... the device and, at the same time, get a tune-up ... something suggested in the installation instructions of many of the devices. Or ... they may realize that their tires are underinflated.... Then, each time they ...[fill up]..., they attribute any mileage gain to the new device."

And most telling, Mike Allen (a Sr. Editor at Popular Mechanics magazine and who tested most of these devices) said that he gained respect not for the technologies involved, but for the pursuasive skills of promoters.

Enough said? I hope this saved some forum members a few bucks. :-)
Regards to all.