I just finished Tom Clancy - Debt of Honor

Last thing that happens is the Capital building gets destroyed with the vast majority of the Congress and The House inside.

Makes me all warm and fuzzy...

 

Just wondering if anyone here read the article in USA Today last week about the study that compared all current availble alt. energy and hybrids on a cost-benifit analysis basis??? Guess what came out ahead? Yup!!! To the surprise of both GM, Ford, and the testers, E85 scord worst. Diesel the best. ahead of even the stupid hybrids. Of course when asked, Chrysler spokesman said it was not surprising to him. Seems Chrysler is going to steal alot of sales from others very quick in the near future as they are the only company seriously investing R&D.

Nearly all the Jap imports and GM/Ford are pushing hard with R&D money and lobbyists in Wash. to get grants and subsidies for hybrids and E85. So I don't doubt if what Chrysler is got comming down the pipe in a few years gets outlawed or hamstringed in some way if it does take off and sell like crazy.

 

streetsmoker, Chrysler doesn't HAVE to invest huge R&D, they have the perfect combo, the MB C220 4 cyl TDI and the Charger. Pity they aren't fortitudnally endowed to break from the mold of big V-8 in a RWD car.

Meanwhile, Honda has spent tons of money getting the 2.0 ready, and it will be here next year in an Accord, early indications will be that it gets real close to 60 MPG in a car you can fit in.

Perhaps they are investing some R&D, but when they have in house technology to use, they sure do not!

CHRYSLER, ARE YOU LISTENING?

DO YOU NEED SOMEONE WITH A LICK OF SENSE IN YOUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT?

 

Good point about the gassers......but, always a but. On a gasser what do you have to do to it to run say, E85? You have to do a bunch. I checked on the stuff to "convert" my saturn to E85 and the car ain't worth that much(1994). Then onto propane, methanol....you can't just pour it in your tank and run it...you have to "convert" to make it work.

However, my diesel. I stopped off and bought some 80/20 bio and have been running a couple tanks. If I can't make it to that station again I'll fill up with some true dyno. If I had the time to go around and collect some veggie oil I could do the stuff to it and pour it in my tank and run it. I may have to add a pusher pump but I don't have to "convert".

Very good points MTGunNut, I guess I was trying to say that you don't have to convert to run alternative fuels in the diesels as you do with the gas buggies

 

Hey my Jetta is avail now. My current MPG average is OVER 50MPG... I'm 6' 0" 200lbs.. If the seat is all the way back I CANT put the clutch to the floor! Plenty of room! Has a 1.9L TDI that does great... many of these cars have over 300k!

 

I sat in a 2001 Jetta, plenty of headroom, with the seat all the way back though I have to say not nearly enough legroom, perhaps barely passable in length, but not NEARLY enough width. I could barely get my size 13's on the pedals, and the protrusion of the console killed my knees just setting in the stupid thing.

BTW, at 200 lbs and 6' you are a pretty skinny dude! I'm 6'4" and at 240 lbs I was a 34" waist. ( wish I could get back there!)

 

It's no surprise that Lutz is towing the company line...because he helped write the company line.

GM is investing heavily in the Volt concept's technology, basically next-gen hybrids with soon-to-come battery technology.

The better companies will remain flexible enough to make viable vehicles using any number of tehcnologies.

IMHO Honda will remain a leader in a lot of ways. Prime example: their diesels don't require owners to refill urea tanks because their catalysts make their own urea.
And they have invested heavily in gas, hybrid and diesel technology, so they aren't tied to one thing or another.

But I like diesels...the technology is here, now, and is mature.
They get 25% - 35% better fuel efficiency than gasoline.
We get 30% of our oil from the volatile Middle East.
This is easy math, folks.

 

It depends on the car, but E85 conversions are simple. Typically, larger injectors are about all that's needed because the higher fuel flow required to produce the needed energy is beyond the duty cycle of the injectors.

jh

 

Cars that are not designed to run on E85 should not be run on E85 unless you want to redo the entire fuel system. E85 is harder on rubber componets of the fuel system and will "eat" away at the rubber to the point that all rubber componets on the fuel system will leak. E85 also likes to absorb water so that will make it harder to start in cold conditions. It also does not like to start in cold conditions because of the make up of the fuel itself. It does not yeild the energy that gasoline has. I could keep going on the disadvantages of E85 but I think that I will stop there. By law all gas stations are required to mark their pumps if they have 7% of Ethanol in their fuel. Also by law they can not pump anymore than 10% ethanol in the fuel. Otherwise it has to be labeled as a special kind of fuel such as E85.

 

by the early to Mid 90's all cars were switched over the fuel systems to handle Ethanol fuels. A lot of the Farm states started offering and then mandating 10% blends in the mid 90's. For any later model Fuel injected car you get get conversion kits for around $200. I am not sure if you can run straight gas and then go to E85 and back, but I would think they would. At the Factory its only a $100 to $200 option depending on the model. Its mainly a Fuel sensor and upgraded injectors.

Around here this time of year they start blending E85 down to 70% ethanol due to the cold. any higher the vehicles have a hard time starting when it gets 20 below.

The Ethanol debate can go on and on, but Brazil runs on all Ethanol so it can't all be bad. We just have to get better at refining and distributing it.

 

Surprised the width was an issue... I'm further away from the door in the Jetta than I am in the Dodge! Dodge trying to cram three seats up front makes me feel like the door and I need to get a room! I wear a size 13 as well and have no issues... The seat being able to move up and down gives me plenty of leg room and head room...
"and the protrusion of the console killed my knees just setting in the stupid thing." Maybe 01s differ from 03s no idea what your talking about there!

Bottom line it gets great mileage (cant take this $550-700 fuel in the dodge), the Dodge is so much more fun to drive!! Ya and I havent quite figured out how to get the Jetta to pull my boat yet and I'm really not sure how the gooseneck is going to work?

 

Perhaps I need to set in a newer one then, because one of the guys at work who owned an 05 Passat looked at me like I was crazy as well........ I just happened to try one that was wrecked in the boneyard because I really want one....If not a diesel beetle, I KNOW I fit in one of those.