Fast money: Car device seller's scheme unravels

Chris Hansen Correspondent • Profile

Dennis Lee: We believe we will be able to get 100 mile-per-gallon in just about any car on the road – even SUVs. How important is that to America?

If true, very important. For years, people have been looking to innovations like hybrid, even electric cars as the way to lower dependence on foreign oil.  Scientists say the hydrogen powered car is a legitimate dream.

But this man says he may have the answer now. His name is Dennis Lee, and he says his device, called HAFC – the hydrogen assist fuel cell – is nothing short of revolutionary.

The HAFC alone can increase fuel economy by more than 50 percent and in many cases it has proven to even more than double your gas mileage. That's because, he says, your car will run not only on gas, but on water – which the device will convert to hydrogen fuel.

Dennis Lee:  There are plenty of people out there who can use some help at the gas pump.

The device itself retails for about a thousand bucks, not including installation. But Lee says you can make real money by buying a dealership and selling the devices to thousands of eager customers. The price? $300,000. But you'd better act now!

Dennis Lee: At the end of seven days, if you haven't made any decision, then it's like $300-350,000 at that time.

In fact, many of the people in this room have signed on and bought dealerships themselves.

Dennis Lee:  The cash is going to be incredible! Isn't it?

But Lee does admit his device does not always work, and says there is a money-back guarantee.

Dennis Lee: It is very, very, very, very, very, very rare that anyone does not get the 50 percent increase in mileage when the car is properly installed and tuned.

So how well does the device work?  What better way to find out than to buy a car, and have one installed and tested? For sales and installation in the Northeast, we were steered by a dealer to a man named Sam Burlum. With hidden cameras rolling, our producer went to visit Sam Burlum at his New Jersey garage. Sam told us about his and his colleague's credentials.

Sam Burlum: Mark and myself, we're installers, trainers, tuners – and we're also head of the HAFC research and development.

Sam told us he was under contract to Dennis Lee, and would soon be moving to a bigger garage.

While we were there, we met some other customers.

Man from Long Island: This is up and coming technology. I believe in it.

These people have paid Sam about $2,000 to have this device installed.

This man from New Hampshire wanted to start his own dealership.

On the garage wall, Sam’s documentation of increases in fuel economy in different model cars he has worked on.

Meade Jorgensen, Dateline Producer: Toyota Camry – 38 before, 68 now.

Delve deeper into this investigation See the auto tests, receipts, and more collected by Dateline concerning the HFAC device. See the official HFAC test results Recent court decision in case of FTC and Dennis Lee Receipt for installation, purchase of HFAC device Customer instruction sheet that comes with device Press release from mechanic Sam Burlum Go to Eric Krieg's Web site EPA's tests on gas-saving devices Read a statement from the EPA to Dateline Popular Mechanics: Why water won't improve MPG fueleconomy.gov   Watch web-exclusive clips from this story

Outside, Sam the installer reminds us what makes the device so valuable.

Sam Burlum: You're helping the environment because the pollution goes way down, you don't have any. Now you're lessening your dependence on foreign oils.  So you don't have war.

And, he says, giving the "little guy" like himself more control over his own destiny is what it's all about.

Sam Burlum: You're taking the guy that was here, making it work on a day to day basis, and say(ing), "You're important.  Now you have a say," without picking up a gun. You know how monumental that is?

Producer:  That's pretty big.

In fact, it sounded hard to resist. Sam said the car that gets the best gas mileage with the device is the Honda Accord.

So, we bought one.  We also asked Mike Allen, senior automotive editor for "Popular Mechanics," to make sure the car was in good condition.  He said our Honda was running fine, and he also said this hydrogen type device wasn't the first one he's seen.

Mike Allen: I have tested dozens of these devices.

Chris Hansen: Have you ever found one that significantly increased gas mileage?

Mike Allen: Never. 

Still, we wanted to give Lee's device a fair chance.

But first, we needed to document what kind of mileage our Honda was actually getting.

So we hired a government approved company – Compliance and Research Services – to put our car through the same tests the Environmental Protection Agency performs before car companies put those mileage stickers on new cars.

Video   Dennis Lee, always a salesman Dennis Lee talks about some of the other products he has to offer. Dateline NBC

Robert DePalma: Our plan today is to emissions-test this vehicle for highway fuel economy, and city emissions.

General Manager Robert DePalma and his team put our Honda through three identical road tests.

What kind of mileage was our car getting?

Robert DePalma: The average of the highway fuel economy tests gave us 34.49 miles-per-gallon. The city cycle gave us 24.02 miles-per-gallon.

But we also wanted know about the car's emissions.

Robert DePalma: Based on these results, this car would pass a federal emissions test.

Now it was time to take our car to Sam's garage and have the device installed.

Nine days later, we returned to pick up our car.

After what he says is a scientific road test, Sam had some incredible news about our Honda's gas mileage.

Producer:  96 miles-per-gallon?

Sam Burlum: 96 miles-per-gallon.

Producer: Wow!

Sam Burlum: And we got caught in a little bit of traffic too.

Video   Let's make a deal: Dennis’ payment options Dennis Lee explains the different payment options to prospective dealers. Dateline NBC

A Honda that an EPA approved lab says got between 24 and 34 miles to the gallon, was now supposedly getting almost a hundred. We paid Sam $1900 for the device and installation. There was a discount for cash. Then, to back up his amazing results, Sam took us for the same test drive he said he'd conducted earlier in the day.

At the end of this road test, Sam said our mileage wasn't quite what he originally thought.

Sam Burlum: 57.77 miles-per-gallon.

Sam told us the drop in gas mileage was probably due to the extra weight of four people in the car.

Still, even 57 miles to the gallon would be great.

Could it be true?

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