Would You Pay More If The Gas Your Were Pumping Was Cleaner Than A Discount Brand?

Should you care how much detergent is in the gasoline you buy? How can you even tell?

Leading automakers BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen think you should care, and they want to help you find stations that sell the cleanest gas. They want some fuels certified as best for fuel economy and emissions. Not everybody’s on board, though.

The automakers formed a consortium, Top Tier Gasoline, that certifies retailers as meeting their standard for detergent. Detergents prevent deposits of leftover material from building up in engines and exhaust systems. The deposits, like the crust of minerals left when hard water evaporates,can reduce fuel economy and performance.

vdiv - 7/1/2013 3:48:53 PM

+1 Boost

Every enthusiast worth their salt that spends their hard earned money on a nice wheels cares about what kind of dino juice they feed to their ride.

Of course if one's ride is powered by electricity the matter is moot.

TheSteve - 7/1/2013 4:27:44 PM

+1 Boost

Who's still boycotting Exxon for the Exxon Valdez environmental disaster? So much for voting with your dollars for a clean environment.

TehShibbs - 7/1/2013 6:59:46 PM

+1 Boost

If that's worth mentioning, so is the BP spill. Too bad BP is the bast gas available in my area.

TheSteve - 7/1/2013 11:14:38 PM

+1 Boost

Choosing to buy "cleaner" gasoline for environmental reasons is like choosing to smoke filtered cigarettes for health reasons.

ChiAutoGuy - 7/2/2013 10:20:31 AM

+1 Boost

Well I already pay more for premium to go in my BMW 330i and quite frankly I see absolutely no difference between name brand gas and discount gas - so whatever is cheapest...

vdiv - 7/2/2013 3:34:16 PM

+1 Boost

I saw a notable difference in terms of engine power and noise between Sunoco, Gulf, and Citgo gasoline and that of Shell, BP, and Mobil in my X5 3.0i. Either the octane was not quite as specified or the type and amount of detergents made the difference.