Inventor of Device That Allows 4,000-Pound Car Get 100 Miles/ Gallon Dies Mysteriously

He should have gone on to change history and become one of the world’s richest men. He was young, confident and feared nothing. But he was wrong – dead wrong. At age 24, was in his grave and his invention, buried.

Along with inventor Stanley Meyer, inventor of a water-powered gadget that ran cars without oil – and who died under mysterious circumstances – you’ll find another equally intriguing case, that of American inventor, Tom Ogle.

Ogle is considered an urban legend but dig deep enough and you’ll discover he came up with a “vapor carburetor” that ran a car on gasoline – with no carbon emissions. Not only did the car run successfully, the invention allowed the car to get 100 miles per gallon.

He demonstrated his invention to the world on April 30, 1977, in a consumption test using a 1970 Ford Galaxie, modified with the vapor carburetor, with a journalist beside him as witness, achieving 205 miles to a mere two gallons of gasoline. At the time, the unmodified version achieved roughly 13 miles per gallon.

In no time, Ogle's invention, dubbed the “Oglemobile”, caught the eye of top media publications bringing Ogle nationwide attention. Upon inspection, no evidence was found to suggest fraudulent engineering or hidden motors. Ogle’s US Patent #4,177,779 was all set to revolutionize the auto industry.

The Free Thought Project reports:

"C.F. Ramsey eventually signed a contract with Ogle that allowed the inventor to work on his device with financial backing from Ramsey – who, per the agreement, would take over the patent, distribution and development rights of the Oglemobile. In June 1978, Ramsey sold out to Advance Fuel Systems Inc. in what was later determined to be a pre-planned handoff, unbeknownst to Ogle.

"Ogle’s first and only car center soon closed and his monthly checks stopped. Ogle was told he’d get no royalties because AFS was working on a device that got similar results but wasn’t his invention."

Apparently, Ramsey had told journalist Ron Laytner that he signed a preliminary agreement with Ogle the very next day after they saw the invention. "All kinds of people were in town, J.C. Penny, Transamerica, General Motors, Ford and others. Specifically Shell Oil offered Tom $25 million. Everybody was after him."

In an 1978 interview, Laytner had asked Ogle if he feared for his life or if he was worried about “oil companies or the Arabs” going after him. “No. Not anymore,” Ogle had replied. “I’ve had too much publicity.”

On April 14, 1981, Ogle was shot by an unknown assailant. On August 18, at age 24, Ogle collapsed after drinking at The Smugglers Inn. He was taken to El Paso’s Eastwood Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His death was ruled accidental suicide by alcohol and prescription pain medication.

Although many shrugged off the inventor’s death as just that, many of his friends and associates suspect foul play. His lawyer Bobby Perel has gone on record saying Ogle had previously told him he suspected his drinks were being drugged.

As with Stanley Meyer, who died in his brother’s arms during a dinner festivity with Belgian investors celebrating their patent success, Ogle died before his time, leaving the world to wonder if oil companies yet again silenced progress that could have helped eliminate carbon emissions while reducing the cost of running a car ten-fold.