From the "it's certainly too good to be true" files comes the Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter (PICC) claiming it can increase your car's fuel economy to over 100 miles per gallon (and, scientific observation suggests, they say, over 300 miles per gallon for some). Here's how they claim it works:
Every car has a Catalytic Converter. The Catalytic Converter that is currently installed on your car is intended to help eliminate pollution and is located in your exhaust pipe. It works by breaking down the large gas molecules that were not burned in your engine and turns them into smaller particles that can be burned in your tailpipe before being released into the air, so less exhaust hits the environment. What if we could turn the gases you are throwing away via your exhaust into added mileage and power for your vehicle?
In other words, what if we "cracked" the gas and broke it down into smaller particles before it went into the engine - not after the engine had wasted it? Everything you would otherwise be throwing away would now be burned IN YOUR ENGINE, providing additional mileage and power! Well, that is what we did! Using a magnetic and electrical reaction to break down the fuel molecules into their elemental state, the PICC creates a plasma, which burns super efficiently and cleanly! Our "Pre-Ignition" Catalytic Converter feeds the engine instead of the environment. So the gasoline you pay for goes further and the exhaust is so negligible it hardly registers.
Oh, and it can get you up to 500,000 miles on your engine, no problem, drastically reduce green house gas emissions and make breakfast on Sunday morning.
And while the PICC isn't quite ready for prime-time, the company is offering a Hydro-Assist Fuel Cell (HAFC) kit all ready to roll and give you 50% more miles per gallon or your money back! How does this little piece of magic work? Here's what they claim:
The Hydro Assist Fuel Cell is a combination of long standing, proven technologies. It works by extracting a hydrogen-oxygen mixture from water by ionizing it with electricity from the battery. This mixture adds extra hydrogen to your fuel, which burns easily and powerfully and enriches your fuel mixture, giving you added mileage and power. The oxygen increases the octane value of your fuel. The system also uses six powerful magnets that ionize the gasoline to produce smaller molecules and help separate the compounds into simple elements so they burn more completely. And, a specially formulated "covalizer" breaks down the covalent bonds of the long chain gas molecules and helps "crack" and vaporize your fuel as well as increase the life of your engine. A perfectly balanced mixture of hydrogen and oxygen enriches the fuel so the computer can lean out the gas. Our special computer controls the car's existing computer and keeps it from rejecting the savings.
The controlling of the car’s computer sounds a bit ominous, if you ask me. And the idea that your mechanic can install it and have it working, no problem, when major car companies are still struggling with fuel cell technology is a bit eyebrow raising, but Floyd can tell you how it works (interesting that Floyd is a "representative" and not the CEO. Why no CEO representing the company?)
As would be expected, there is some serious debunking of the claims available on the web, but also folks who are listening to Floyd and drinking the kool-aid (apparently in more ways than one):
In the meantime, we have some real fuel economy answers for transportation that are available now; smaller cars, plug-in hybrid engines, better driving techniques, public transportation, bicycling, walking and good old-fashioned driving less.
Further Reading:
