Talk:Mobil Economy Run

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[edit] End of the Mobil Economy Run

Why did the MER end in 1968? That should be included in the article. Mike Linksvayer 21:43, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Good question! Perhaps someone from the company at the time would know. I found that someone has mentioned that Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act was responsible for the MER's demise. It set the federal vehicle emissions standards with the 1968 models. However, cars sold in California since 1966 had the same requirements. Perhaps consumers were no longer interested in fuel efficiency. CZmarlin 02:40, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

If you saw someone speculating and asking on autobloggreen[1], that was me. :) The theory (whether MVAPCA or predecessor CA regulation) would be that people assumed that because it was now regulated, fuel economy was taken care of, obviating (or "crowding out") private efforts like the MER. But that is pure speculation on my part. I'd love to know the real story. Mike Linksvayer 05:26, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

It is after all a small world! Based on your comment, I added more information that I could find on this subject. If my memory serves me, the event just died because marketing efforts were geared to consumption -- for example, the famous "put a Tiger in your tank", various miracle additives in each brand, etc.. Perhaps it may have been the "crowding out" as you speculate, but the EPA did not begin providing fuel use calculations for quite some time. The gas consumtion labels on new cars came out much later -- and if I remember -- only after additional legislation or administrative rulings were implemented as a result of public pressure for more information. Because only the EPA tested the cars, it is probably the reason the current figures are calculated on the basis of emmissions and not actual consumption! In any case, I hope a person from Mobil -- or better yet, its advertising agency -- will be able to provide the reason(s) for the end of this yearly event. I think that gas economy was hadly an issue in the late 1960s. Big engines and muscle cars were in vogue -- gasoline was cheap! The so-called good-ol'days! CZmarlin 06:22, 31 December 2006 (UTC)