I am not complaining about the cost of fuel here in the USA. I am also fortunate enough to have been overseas (not 80 countries thought) and I am very aware of the fuel prices around the world. As a matter of fact, diesel and natural gas are already an accepted reality in other countries. However, I am more interested in the mechanical aspect of the effects on an engine by using lower octane than required by the car makers.
The reason for my question? you may ask. Simple. I talked to a couple of salesmen in a small auto show. One for Nissan and one from VW (MB was not represented). The Nissan guy told me "you don't have to use premium gas, just stick with whatever gas you start with"... The VW guy told me "you can use regular (in a Jetta 1.8T) but you won't get the same performance as with premium"...
Sorry for the long post but, I think this will clarify my question a little bit. I hope!
