Economy Run

Before dawn one day last week, a caravan of 26 cars left Los Angeles for Sun Valley in the annual "Mobilgas Economy Run," a three-day test to determine the most economical and efficient U.S. autos on the road. Not entered in the 1,415-mile run, designed to put the cars through every weather test a motorist is likely to encounter: Buick, Cadillac, Crosley, Dodge, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Willys. Some Nash dealers entered cars, but withdrew them at the request of the company. It contends that light cars have no prospect of winning the grand prize under present rules of the contest. And one De Soto, which ran out of gas, was disqualified for refueling from an unauthorized station.

When the returns were all in, Ford Motor Co., which won last year's test with a Lincoln, was the winner again. Its Mercury Monterey racked up 59.712 ton-miles per gallon (weight of car and passengers in tons, multiplied by mileage, and divided by gallons of gas consumed). On the basis of actual miles per gallon, a figure that means much more to the average motorist, the four-cylinder Henry J Corsair took the cake with 30.856; Studebaker's six-cylinder Champion was second with 27.822 miles per gallon.*

* Miles per gallon for the other finishers: Henry J Corsair Six, 26.368; Studebaker Commander, 25.597; Ford Mainline Six, 25.463; Mercury Monterey, 25.409; Studebaker Land Cruiser, 25.383; Kaiser Deluxe, 24.648; Plymouth Cranbrook, 23.522; Plymouth Concord, 23.t>80; Lincoln Capri, 22.356; Ford Mainline Eight, 22.149; De Soto Firedome Six-Passenger, 21.278; Hudson Hornet Six, 20.827; Chevrolet Styleline, 20.571; Hudson Wasp, 20.464; Hudson Commodore Eight, 20.397; Chrysler Windsor, 19.360; Packard 200, 19.228; Chrysler Imperial, 19.080; Chrysler Saratoga Six-Passenger, 19.024; Chrysler Saratoga Eight-Passenger, 17.652; Packard 400, 16.951; Packard 300, 16.421; Chrysler Crown Imperial, 16.236.

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