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Deceptive Ad Claims for Gas Saving Devices Can Cost You Plenty!

By: Scott Siegel With the price of gas at record levels, a host of fuel saving products are being advertised. If you do a search for the key words "fuel saving devices" google will find 1.5 million pages as a result of the search. It never ceases to amaze that so many unscrupulous individuals try to take advantage of specific situations in order to scam you out of your hard earned money. And that is exactly what these gas saving devices are, scams.

This current scam is aimed at taking advantage of consumers overwhelming need to lower their gas costs. These scam artists are trying to convince you that a fuel saving device installed on your vehicle will somehow miraculously cut your gasoline usage 20 to 30 percent or even higher. The Federal Trade Commission has done thorough testing of gas saving devices. From this extensive research comes this advice.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns you to be wary of any gas-saving claims for automotive devices or oil and gas additives. Even for the few gas-saving products that have been found to work, the savings have been small.

There are a few popular ads and claims used in gas saving device advertising strategy. Here are a few to watch out for:

Be very skeptical of the following kind of advertising claim. "This gas-saving product improves fuel economy by 20 percent." Claims usually tout savings ranging from 12 to 25 percent. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated or tested more than 100 alleged gas-saving devices and has not found any product that significantly improves gas mileage. In fact, some "gas-saving" products may damage a car's engine or cause substantial increases in exhaust emissions.

In addition you need to be skeptical of advertisements that are based on glowing testimonials from satisfied drivers such as: "After putting your device on my car, I got an extra 5 miles per gallon." Don't put your money at risk from some amateur drivers claim.

These advertisements use glowing testimonials by satisfied drivers as their proof that their device works. No consumer has the equipment or the ability to test for precise changes in gasoline mileage after installing a fuel saving device. Even if the consumer had the right equipment the conditions and the environment in which they could test the product could not be adequately controlled.

Different variables affect gasoline mileage. These include road conditions, weather conditions, traffic conditions, and the condition of the vehicle. For example in one deceptive advertising case that was researched, a driver wrote a letter praising a "gasoline saving" device. Of course this consumer forgot to mention that when he had the aforementioned device installed, he also had his car completely tuned up. The increase in fuel economy that was attributed to the "gasoline saving" device in the letter was most certainly a result of the tune up and not the device. The device advertisement did not mention this, so other drivers and consumers would never know it was the tune up not the device that accounted for any increase in fuel economy.

These are just a few of the methods that companies selling fuel saving products use to convince you that the claims they make are real. Those companies are taking advantage of high gas costs which have caused drivers to find any way possible to lower their gas costs. Don't become a victim. Be wary of these deceptive advertising methods. Don't forget, something that sounds too good to be true, usually is! Especially when that something is taking money out of your pocket.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Scott Siegel has written a 143 page manual of industry insider information on saving gas and dollars at the pump (beatthegaspump.com). Visit us to discover how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
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