Dear V-8 Buick owners with a taste for memorabilia, Not a lot of Buick nuts in my home town, so when I was at Orinda Classic Car Center the manager has a present for me - this sticker: It came in a large collection of car memorabilia and according to the manager, this sticker had my name all over it. I am hoping to uncover the history behind it. Does anybody know anything about this Buick Club of America campaign to keep leaded gas available? The only thing I've thus far uncovered is that it probably came from one of the BCA regions and wasn't nation-wide. There is an interesting article on Wikipedia on leaded gasoline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraethyllead It turns out that General Motors uncovered the potential use of tetraethyl lead in 1921. It was part of a research and development effort to find inexpensive additives to increase gasoline octane. Alas, it was recognized immediately that this additive would produce fine particles of lead in the atmosphere. Even at the time, lead was a known toxin. California banned leaded gas in 1992. The rest of the country would follow suit in 1996. Nonetheless according to the article, even today there are still a few countries in the world where you can by leaded gas - believe it or not! Cheers, Edouard
Last "regular" leaded pump I remember was in Corona, NM in the mid nineties. Had the larger nozzle and the word "Leaded" inside the yellow sticker. Was likely for agricultural customers mainly.
Great example of why we need to move forward...not try to prevent it... I'm doing fine without leaded gas.
the methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) additive that replaced tetraethyl lead was not better for the environment . MTBE didn't pollute the air, it polluted ground water https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/98-290ENR.html "MTBE in Gasoline: Clean Air and Drinking Water Issues Summary Concern over water contamination caused by the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) has raised questions concerning the desirability of using the additive as a means of producing cleaner burning fuel. MTBE has been used by most refiners to produce the reformulated gasoline (RFG) required under the Clean Air Act in portions of 17 states and the District of Columbia. It is credited with producing marked reductions in carbon monoxide emissions; RFG has also reduced emissions of toxic substances and the volatile organic compounds that react with other pollutants to form smog. Over the last few years, however, incidents of drinking water contamination by MTBE, particularly in California, have raised concerns and led to calls for restrictions on its use. In March 1999, Governor Davis of California ordered a phase-out of MTBE use in the state by December 31, 2002 (later amended to December 31, 2003). Sixteen other states, including New York, have subsequently enacted limits or phase-outs of the substance. EPA responded to initial reports of water contamination by intensifying research and focusing on the need to minimize leaks from underground fuel tanks. As reports of contamination spread in 1998 and 1999, however, EPA’s position evolved. On March 20, 2000, the Agency announced it was beginning the process of requiring a reduction or phase-out of MTBE use under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Because regulatory action could take years to complete, EPA urged Congress to amend the Clean Air Act to provide specific authority to reduce or eliminate use of the substance. Since then, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has reported bills to provide such authority three times (S. 791 in the 108th Congress). Language similar to S. 791 passed the Senate in its version of H.R. 6, the comprehensive energy bill, July 31. The House approved somewhat different MTBE provisions in its version of H.R. 6, April 11. The conference report on the bill includes more extensive assistance for MTBE producers – some of it controversial. The House adopted the conference report November 18. It awaits Senate action. If MTBE were removed from gasoline without amending the Clean Air Act, there would be a need for refiners to use alternative sources of oxygen in RFG. The potential alternatives are other forms of ether, or alcohols such as ethanol. Ethanol is the most likely substitute, but it costs more to produce than MTBE, poses challenges to the gasoline distribution system, and, some studies suggest that it increases the risk of water contamination compared to non-oxygenated gasoline. Also, in the short term, ethanol is unlikely to be available in sufficient quantity to replace MTBE nationwide. Gasoline that meets the performance requirements for RFG without using oxygenates at all can be made, but current law requires the use of oxygenates in RFG. The principal issues for Congress are whether MTBE use should be limited or phased out and whether there should be a “safe harbor” from product liability lawsuits for gasoline refiners and marketers who used MTBE."
"California banned leaded gas in 1992. The rest of the country would follow suit in 1996. Nonetheless according to the article, even today there are still a few countries in the world where you can by leaded gas - believe it or not!" Leaded gasoline is aailable in many countries, Including the USA https://vpracingfuels.com/product/vp-vintage-leaded/?c=217 This pricing does not include taxes or freight 5 Gallon Pail $79.00 Download SDS Download Spec Sheet View Fuel Table Description Product Description For older vehicles that relied on lead for engine protection, VP Vintage is a leaded fuel with an octane rating of 103 (R+M/2) that contains no ethanol and offers extra protection against detonation. With a shelf life of up to two years in its original sealed container, VP Vintage offers worry-free storage of cars that sit for extended periods and improves performance when the cars are taken to the track. WARNING:California's Proposition 65
i agree last week i drove a porsche taycan turbo s electric is the future, you can do fine without gas!
Dear James, Nailhead in s 1967, and V-8 Buick fans, Actually I was just curious about a bit of Buick Club of America history, but here are a few thoughts. Alas, it is true that experts in one context rarely understand how it might impact the rest of society. Clearly the chemists who advocated MTBE didn't realize the potential dangers. I suspect the advocates of leaded gas were more responsible than we now imagine. When the additive was first used, automobiles were not nearly as common and cities weren't nearly as dense. So the risk of lead poisoning was probably small. The problem was that cars and people ended up being so overpopulated that leaded gas became a serious problem. Electric cars aren't even close to a practical replacement for internal combustion cars. The main problem is range. The current upper range of an electric car is about 1/2 of a gasoline powered car. When that electric car is "out" it must be recharged. There is no stopping in a gas station and in a few minutes you are back on your way. It is extremely unfortunate that an alternative technology: fuel cells hasn't been given a chance to mature. In theory it would provide a solution to the recharging problem. In addition, the power grill is hardly in a position to supply the electricity to power those electric cars. In a nutshell, there has to be generating capacity for every last watt we consume. Of course that means utilities are constantly increasing and decreasing electricity production to match the fickle demands of us customers. That's the reason so-called "green energy" is a serious threat to the stability of our electrical grid. All but hydro power is provides electricity on the whims of Mother Nature. Even solar power isn't constant. Its peak is at noon, but drops to 80% in 2 hours because the sun's rays have to travel through more of the atmosphere. So power providers are being asked to deal with fickle customers on the one hand and seriously varying power output on the other. It is a recipe for an unstable power grill, brownouts, and even full scale outages. As COVID-19 sadly demonstrates, our lauded scientists do not understand their subject matter as well as their boasting would suggest. Oh well, . . . . . Edouard
Now , that you have so adroitly steered us back to the topic of thread, My guess is the campaign (as someone stated above) was a chapter campaign at a National meet, Likely, eighties, early nineties. The deletion of lead from gasoline made a huge impact on my home town of Birmingham. The truckers had nicknamed Birmingham has "smoke city" in their CB radio conversations. Now the air over Birmingham is clear. And, I agree the Corona19 projections are no better than the weather forecasts.
I'm sure you are correct!! Our love of cars is not for their practicality. Else we would all be driving mini-vans And practically , we wouldn't have multiple vehicles, each.
