I read the article a few days ago and remember it fairly well...here goes: I believe the article is comparing the fuel efficiency of two outboard motors, one twenty years old and the other a new model. They were put in two identical C-Dorys and a great deal of effort was made to have everything equal and using identical small fuel tanks with just one or two gallons of gas . The boats were then launched at the same time in Seattle's Elliott Bay and the Seattle newspaper filmed from above watching to see which ran out of gas first. Surprise, the older motor ran out of gas quite a bit sooner and the conclusion was newer motors are more cost effective. The boats were provided by the factory.