Pickens Plan
August 24, 2008
Move To Japan So You Can Eat Strawberry Cheetos
February 7, 2008
As much as I like strawberries, I think I’ll pass on this one. As The FoodChannel.com called it a “salty sweet thing” I think it may be taking the Yen and Yang thing too far.
The tire smoking, 100 mpg hybrid
November 26, 2007
Barrels of oil are dancing around the $100 mark and causing gas prices to dance to the same beat. Soon to follow will be groceries and anything else that travels on wheels. Gas-electric hybrids are becoming a common site on the road, but only for those who with one passenger or a small suitcase. They boast 60 miles to the gallon and take off speeds that make “blue hairs” honk their horn and shake a finger as they pass. Now think about a Hummer hybrid that has the same mileage and will put an “off the lot” Mustang to shame in the quarter mile. It’s happening, but not with gas.
As Fast Company author Clive Thompson featured in his cover story this month, Johnathan Goodwin is making it happen. Goodwin is removing the gasoline engine and replacing it with a diesel engine that he makes minor conversions too. His conversions to the GM Duramax engines are minor, but the results are not. With Goodwin’s least expensive conversion package, “a $5,000 bolt-on kit,” an immediate boost of twice the mileage and one fifth the emissions are attainable. Not to mention it often doubles the horsepower.
While Goodwin likes to play in the land of huge SUVs, taking this technology to the standard size SUV, crossover, or sedan is where the mileage and economy start to significantly benefit. Goodwin recently began conversion on Neil Young’s 1959 Lincoln Continental to a diesel-electric hybrid (HARDIGREE). The car is expected to get 100 miles to the gallon. Not bad for a 19 foot car that weighs around two and half tons(Callebs). Young is even making a movie about the car’s conversion and his cross country tour that is planned after the conversion is complete.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked Johnathan to convert his Jeep Grand Wagoneer as well. Of course neither of these men has to worry about the return on investment. When spending between $28,000 (Thompson) and $40,000 (Callebs) to remove a gas engine, drop in a new diesel, and then convert it for fuel economy and emissions, the normal gas burning car owner holds a brief wish to have thirty to forty grand lying around. Quickly they realize they still would spend an extra forty on something else, and dismiss the idea as something cool, but not real. However, for those who already have a diesel, and wish to capitalize on that fact, you can by the $5,000 conversion package and go the “do it yourself” route. Goodwin’s company, SAE Energy, does have other products available now or soon to be. In this line up will be a download for a car’s computer chip to increase fuel economy another five to seven miles per gallon without affecting performance (Callebs), for around $200 this would be a good investment for almost any vehicle.
Johnathan also has some ideas (Thompson) about how all this can relieve us of dependency on Middle Eastern oil, and ease the price of fuel in the U.S. His three step process, as outlined in Fast Company, consist of one simple and major step. “…for Detroit to aggressively roll out diesel engines, much as Europe has already begun to do.” This in a “single stroke” (pun not lost on this reader) “would improve the nation’s mileage by as much as 40%, and because diesel fuel is already widely available, drivers could take that step with a minimum of disruption. What’s more, given that many diesel engines can also run homegrown biodiesel, a mass conversion to diesel would help kick-start that market.”(Thompson)
Thompson goes on to show the economic impact by stating that “The Department of Transportation estimated in 2004 that if we converted merely one-third of America’s passenger cars and light weight trucks to diesel, we’d reduce our oil consumption by up to 1.4 million barrels of oil per day- precisely the amount we import from Saudi Arabia.”
Some manufactures are moving on their own toward better diesel engines. Mercedes Benz has recently come out with diesel technology that is getting both better mileage and lower emissions. However, U.S. companies are slow to the starting line. GM finally took notice and has announced the Hummer line will include bio-diesel options by 2010 (Thompson). Now, if U.S. automakers will just bring these options to vehicles that you see more commonly on the streets an actual drop in foreign oil dependence might occur. Mercedes Benz has the BlueTec diesels with 37 miles to the gallon and will go from zero to sixty in 6.6 seconds (Thompson).
Another of Goodwin’s strong points is the ability of his conversions to run on grease from fried foods. There are already people in Springfield, Missouri running their vehicles on grease from fast food restaurants. With web sites like GoldenFuelSystems.com nearly anyone can convert a diesel engine to burn grease as well as diesel. And with rising gas prices the fry oil you can buy at Sam’s Club for $3.00 per gallon is starting to look like a good alternative.
The other two points of Goodwin’s gasoline weaning plan (Thompson) are to produce diesel-electric hybrid cars, and then to take that one step further and produce hybrids that burn bio-diesel “with hydrogen, ethanol, natural gas, or propane.” Which cuts the emissions up to 95% and doubles the horsepower (Thompson).
With articles like the one in Fast Company and other big name periodicals to follow, this technology is going to garner more attention from the masses. Maybe the public demand for such vehicles will drive production prices down and help bring more of these onto the road. Perhaps we’ll be filling our Natural Gas tanks at home, and our diesel tanks at the corner station. This would not require major infrastructure changes to our fueling grid. It would obviously increase our use of Natural Gas, but it is in plentiful supply from our own soil.
Something the article in Fast Company does not mention is the life of a diesel engine is more than double that of a gas powered engine. Requiring less maintenance and fewer repairs diesel engines keep on providing more reasons to switch from gasoline.
1. Would you consider purchasing a diesel engine on your next vehicle purchase if it was an option?
2. If so, would you consider running a separate tank with vegetable oil and/or a tank with natural gas, hydrogen, or propane?
3. Do you, or do you know anyone that drives a diesel powered passenger vehicle? If so, how old is the engine?
Works Cited
Callebs, Sean. Gas guzzlers get new lives — as tire-smoking hybrids. 20 11 2007. 24 11 2007 http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/20/green.hummers/index.html.
HARDIGREE, MATT. Neil Young to Convert Classic Lincoln to Bio-Diesel Hybrid. 20 11 2007. 24 11 2007 http://jalopnik.com/cars/celebrities/neil-young-to-convert-classic-lincoln-to-bio+diesel-hybrid-325009.php.
Irwin, Lindsey. “Biofuel-Powered by Design.” 07 2007. Biodiesel Magazine. 24 11 2007 http://biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=1710&q=Goodwin&category_id=25.
KSN News. Rock legend makes automotive history in Wichita. 14 11 2007. 24 11 2007 http://www.ksn.com/news/local/11320116.html.
SAE Energy. SAE Energy. 24 11 2007 http://www.saeenergy.com/.
Thompson, Clive. “Motorhead Messiah.” Fast Company 11 2007: 74-83 http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/motorhead-messiah.html.
