Thomas Midgley Jr. just wanted to make cars more efficient...
But some experts later estimated that his discovery led to 1.2 million deaths each year.
Midgley graduated from Cornell University with a mechanical-engineering degree in 1911. About five years later, he took a job with the automaker General Motors (GM).
That's around when the world started falling in love with cars...
You see, Henry Ford began selling the Model T in 1908.
It was the first mass-produced car. That made it more affordable for everyday Americans than any previous model.
But there was a problem...
Early cars suffered from an issue called "engine knocking." Those included the Model T.
Engine knocking is the result of poorly timed combustion.
The gasoline at the time was often of low quality. And it didn't burn consistently. So early carmakers needed to find a way to reduce engine knocking and improve the cars' efficiency.
To fix the problem, some companies added ethanol into gas.
This worked... But it was expensive. So the companies couldn't turn a profit.
GM tasked Midgley to find a better way to reduce engine knocking. He tested thousands of different additives for gas.
In late 1921, Midgley made his breakthrough...
I'm talking about tetraethyllead ("TEL"). It was both effective in eliminating engine knocking and cheap.
GM soon got the "use patent" for TEL. And in February 1923, a motorist in Ohio bought the first gallon of TEL-infused gas.
That motorist had no clue that TEL would haunt the U.S. for decades to come...
It Took the U.S. About 75 Years to Stop Using Leaded Gas
You likely noticed the word "lead" in the additive's name.
Well, TEL contains lead. And exposure to this element can cause a wide range of negative side effects in humans...
It can cause learning disabilities and antisocial behavior in kids.
In adults, it causes problems like high blood pressure, depression, hallucinations, aggression, and even death.
Despite the dangers, Americans kept pumping TEL-infused gas for decades.
In 1973, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finally ordered a phased reduction of lead content in gas.
Leaded gasoline didn't fully go away in the U.S. until 1996. And around the world, people kept buying leaded gasoline up until four years ago.
In 2011, a California State University study highlighted the benefits of phasing out TEL...
The move helped prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths every year. It also led to an estimated $2.4 trillion in annual cost savings, higher IQs, and lower crime rates.
Today, it's much safer to fill up your car with gas. That's great... because about 284 million registered vehicles in the U.S. use gasoline or diesel fuel today.
To put that in perspective, the U.S. population was about 112 million in 1923. So there are about 2.5 times as many cars these days as there were people a century ago.
It doesn't seem like we'll be giving up our love of cars anytime soon.
And right now, the Power Gauge is picking up on a sign of strength in the auto industry...
Our System Currently Sees Upside in the Auto Industry
As regular readers know, the Power Gauge can do a "health check" of various industries.
Today, our system says the automobile industry group is "strong."
In fact, out of 36 stocks in the industry with ratings, 17 of them are "bullish" or better. And only four of them are in "bearish" territory.
That's an incredible ratio of "bullish" to "bearish" stocks.
Sure, auto stocks might not seem as "flashy" as AI stocks in this market. But the Power Gauge is clear...
Auto stocks are a good place to look for opportunities right now.
Good investing,
Marc Chaikin
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This company's software powers the design of AI chips. Then, the company uses the same AI breakthroughs to make its design tools exponentially more powerful.
Most investors have never heard of this company. And yet, it's supercharging chip design. In fact, it's a type of "secret weapon" for chip titan Nvidia (NVDA).
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