When did cars start using unleaded gas

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February 15, 1970, Page 55Buy Reprints

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DETROIT, Feb. 14—The Ford Motor Company and the Chry sler Corporation are expected to follow the lead of the Gen eral Motors Corporation in modifying future car engines to run on lower octane, nonlead ed gasoline.

General Motors, which an nounced its pains today, also said that it was developing ad justments for older car engines that would allow them to run on cleaner fuel, although there are no laws yet requiring in dividual motorists to modify their own car engines.

The auto industry action, taken as a step toward a clean er environment, puts the bur den on the nation's gasoline companies to develop powerful yet less polluting fuels. It is the most dramatic action by any industry in the new en vironmental movement and was forced by the General Motors decision.

No More Industry ‘Games’

For weeks, the automobile industry and the petroleum in dustry had bounced the issue back and forth. The auto com panies had said they would modify present car engines if proper fuel was available, and the gasoline companies had said they would modify fuels if the engines were changed.

“We've stopped playing games,” a General Motors spokesman said today as the company formally announced that all its 1971 car engines would be changed to run on low octane, nonleaded fuel.

The G.M. move stunned its big competitors, the Chrysler Corporation and the Ford Motor Company, who had not expected such fast action. But sources at both companies said they would move to fix most—but probably not all—of their engines by fall for the next model year.

What it means to the con sumer is this:

¶Fuel prices may rise, bur this depends on the gasoline company actions.

¶Performance in most cars, those with six‐cylinder en gines and the smaller V‐eights now using regular grade gaso line, will change little, although some models may not be quite as responsive to the accelera tor pedal as In the past.

¶Performance on big‐engine cars, some medium ones and the higher‐priced and the “muscle” models may be hurt, meaning that these cars will use more fuel per mile and have less acceleration.

A research program will be undertaken in Detroit to make sure that the absence of lead, which acts as an engine lubri cant, does not cause excessive wear on some engine parts or, if it does, what can be done about it.

In addition, reseach programs and promotional campaigns will be conducted by gasoline companies to develop higher octane, nonleaded fuel to cash in on the new market.

Operable Without Lead

Today's cars do not need lead in fuel to run properly, but they need gasoline with a high octane rating. The octane rat ng is a measurement of gaso ine's burning properties. The addition of tetraethyl lead to gasoline raises the octane level. There are some nonleaded, high octane fuels, but these have been relatively few in the past.

The lead itself may be a pollutant in the atmosphere, but this issue still is debatable. What is important to Detroit that lead in gasoline speeds the deterioration of antipollution devices now under study for use in future cars to eliminate the big pollutants, unburned gasoline fumes and carbon non oxide.

Edward N. Cole, General Mo tors president, said:

“Unleaded fuel will also be helpful in our accelerated en gineering programs aimed at developing virtually emission free vehicles within the frame work of the Federal Govern ment's future controls stand ards.” The Government pro posals call for dramatic reduc tions in auto‐caused pollutants by 1975.

The job of modifying most new car engines will be rela tively simple. Changing the big, high‐compression engines is more difficult. General Mo tors apparently is convinced that the job can be done in a short time, or that if car per formance suffers the move will still be worthwhile.

Today's regular grade gaso line is 94–96 octane, while pre mium grades are 98–100. G.M.'s new 1971 cars all will run on 91 octane fuel, the company said. This would be a nonleaded fuel, but the cars could also run on leaded gaso line.