My favorite reporter John Stossel has a report that appears on this Friday's 20/20 episode. I mentioned another of his reports in a previous post. He reports "[w]e've all been there. You're driving down the highway, miles from the nearest gas station, and your car's fuel gauge is quickly approaching empty. Is it time to panic? Or is there still some gas sloshing around at the bottom of the tank that can keep you in motion?
Does empty really mean empty on your car's gas gauge, or is that a myth?
Last month, I ran a test. I bought a spare can of gasoline and set out on a road trip -- a trip that started with next to no gas in my minivan's tank. When I left New York City, the car's gas light was on and the needle on the gas gauge was near "E."Luckily, my car has a feature that seems more precise than the needle: a digital read-out. It said that I still had 25 miles to go.
If that's true, what does empty really mean? Is it when the needle hits "E"? Is it when the digital read-out hits zero? I kept driving. Would the car stop moving when the read-out hit zero?
It didn't.
My car still kept going. And going, and going, and going."
It didn't.
My car still kept going. And going, and going, and going."
Stossel also points out this web site.
