In late 1960, 26 years before the launch of Wheels, the Toronto Daily Star exhaustively tested the gas mileage of 31 new 1961 cars.
The scope and technical discipline of the project would have been impressive even in a dedicated automotive magazine. In the pages of a daily newspaper, it was astonishing.
The “Gasoline Economy Test” ran in eight consecutive issues, appearing on the front page of Section 2 or 3 alongside Pierre Berton’s daily column. With technical assistance from William A. Wallace, a Mechanical Engineering professor, staff writer Gerry Barker tested cars in seven classes ranging from “little-little” to “high-priced luxury.”
Every car underwent a 16-km simulation of city driving on the grounds of the CNE, and a 32-km highway test that headed from the CNE west on the Gardiner, north on Hwy 27 to Burnhamthorpe Rd., and back.
In case you’re wondering, the miserliest car was the Fiat 600 (44.0 mpg/6.4 L/100 km). The most egregious gas hog was an Oldsmobile 88 propelled by a 394 cubic inch V8 that guzzled go-juice at the rate of 13.5 mpg (20.9 L/100 km). …
Perhaps it’s time for Wheels to haul those vapour-proof gasoline cans out of the basement, dust off the scales accurate to 1/300th of a pound, and run a 50th-anniversary Toronto Star Gasoline Economy Test.
Follow the link to read the full article on the Toronto Star website.
