---- Original Message ----- From: "Jed Rothwell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, 31 August, 2005 09:59 PM Subject: Re: Gasoline panic has begun in Atlanta
> Sorry, let me amend that. I have zero sympathy for RICH people who drive new gas guzzler SUVs and Hummers. I have > tons of sympathy for people like you who have no choice -- and I know several both here in Atlanta and in Pennsylvania. > Unfortunately, things are going to get worse for you because in a few years when half the used cars will be SUVs. Well the hell with that...I am not going to drive an SUV. Too dangerous (they are topheavy as all get out) and I can barely afford to keep going now....I don't need a 14mpg mostly-plastic/aluminum monstrosity that weighs so much only because it is ridiculously big. Why do people need these things? Back when I was a kid, my family got around very well in a Plymouth Voyager minivan. Reliable, and lots of room, as well as having a 2.5l engine that would run through anything and got excellent mileage. > On the other hand, since you read this forum, you probably have a good grasp of engineering, and you buy the most fuel- > efficient car you can, and to keep the tires properly filled and the engine in good shape. You probably conserve in other > ways, such as by using compact flourescent lights. People who do that are part of the solution, whether they are rich or > poor. I buy what I can, and if possible, modify it to do better based on what I know of internal combustion engines. My current vehicle is a 1990 Buick Regal, 3.8l motor. Its ok, was cheap. But, it is not so great on gas, nor does it have the get-up-and-go to show for it. Believe it or not, my previous car, a 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, with a 5.0l carbureted got better mileage. My Regal gets about 22mpg/highway, the Monte Carlo got 25-28. Why? 1., I don't drive like a bat out of hell, and I anticipate lights. 2., I modified the carburetor jetting and camshaft. Just for kicks, we took it and had it dyno'd. Just under 325 horsepower. BUT: that car is now undriveable, because the modifications made it illegal to operate in New York state given the new laws that just went into effect for inspections. How is that for irony? You go buy a gigantic SUV that is DESIGNED to have lousy mileage and belch out pollution, and it passes inspection. You take an old car with a huge engine, modify it so that it outruns most anything out there, but gets better mileage than the average compact car, and it fails inspection. Go figure. Incidentally, the inspection proceedures do not include a tailpipe gas analysis......its simply "oh, it was modified? Oh, it fails." The exhaust from the Chevy certainly did not smell as bad as that from most cars I have been around. I would love to try the same tricks with an old 4-cyl carbureted car. Perhaps I will keep that in mind when looking for my next car? And BTW, you are correct about the lights. Everything I use is fluorescent. > Since you are a mechanic you know the alternatives better than I do. For the little guy like me, difficult to say. Older for us is definitely better, because you can fix it under your tree, and it is cheaper. Who really needs all this power shit in their cars? And some of the stuff in cars is just ridiculous....people are getting stupider because of it. Press a button, it tells you how much oil is in your engine. We have people coming to the shop that don't know how to check the oil in their engine, they just trust the level light. In the 3rd bay of our shop there lies a Porsche. Its owner trusted the oil level indicator. The indicator malfunctioned, where it screwed into the side of the oil pan. Oil leaked out, and he went for a nice 30 mile drive with no oil in the engine. One of my coworkers is now busy replacing the engine. What we need is a bare-bones alternative-energy vehicle, with manual everything and no convenience features that can be made and sold dirt cheap. A few federal incentives for this would be nice. Then us little folk could get stuff like this. > I used to have one like that -- an Isuzu diesel. Great car! I do not understand what caused the downfall of the diesel. Really when you get down to it, they are not that hard to work on. Nasty and greasy yes, but for 50mpg.....Nevertheless, diesel is still petroleum derived. I will not be happy until I am driving something fueled by something more exotic, and non-petroleum derived. I admit it, I have dreamed of the hydrogen car for many years.... $300 billion in Iraq....wow. Anyone have any realistic idea how much of our power grid could have been converted to something nicer with that kind of cash? --Kyle
