# VOLKSWAGEN VW BUG FUEL EFFICIENCY TEST DRIVE GAS CRISIS FILM 33504

This silent 16mm film shows an experiment undertaken to show how a small, light car like the VW Bug could be driven for long distances at low cost due to its fuel efficiency. At the start of the film a brand new VW Beetle is prepared for the trip with a visit to a full service gas station. A clock is used to record the time and a shot shows the odometer ( 3:50 mark), and then at the end these are revisited. In roughly nine hours the car travels 426 miles, although it's unclear exactly whether that equates to 10 gallons of gas or not. The only thing shown at the end of the film is that the car still has gas in the tank -- but it's not known how much. In any case that figure -- 42 miles per gallon -- would have been far in excess of what the Beetle would normally have achieved (Wikipedia suggests it could normally have a 32 mpg rating). Even if it was lower than 32 mpg, it still would have easily eclipsed the fuel efficiency of almost any American car made in this era. BTW it's unclear when the film dates from -- although one hint is that the price of gas shown at the 1:47 mark appears to be 35 cents per gallon including 10 cent tax. An on-line source said that would equate to 1973, but that seems too late for this film. More likely the film dates to the mid-1950s based on the other cars shown. If you have any thoughts, please weigh in. Most of the movie takes place on the Salem Freeway #99 in the vicinity of Medford, Oregon and you will see various shots around there, on the…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/33504VWBVETestDriveMos)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/33504VWBVETestDriveMos?play=1)