The U.S. oil industry let out a howl of anguish four years ago when General Motors' research wizard, Charles F. Kettering, announced a revolutionary new auto engine. By using gasoline with a 105-octane rating, Kettering's high-compression engine could get 30 miles to the gallon. Complained oilmen: to provide enough 105-octane gas to make such a revolution practical would require a $2 billion rebuilding of their whole refining equipment.
In Tulsa, Okla. this week, before the American Petroleum Institute, General Motors planned to take the wraps off a still more advanced high-compression engineĀthe...