Four dollar gas

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I am referring to anyone in a bad situation. It could be poor whites in the Klan, or poor blacks in The Nation of Islam in this country, for example. Both use a religious or "scientific" pretext for their feelings of racial superiority.

I am a US Christian, BTW, but I do not blame anyone solely based on Religion. If you take it that I do, you are reading too far into what I have written. There are extreme examples in any faith you choose. The main difference between Christianity and Islam in this instance being that the Christian Bible does not condone violence for the purpose of conversion ("By Flame or by sword" is a famous quote of Mohamed. Flame represents a pure spiritual awakening while the sword represents violence) , or actually being the hand of God for the purpose of vengeance or punishment on an individual basis. Now some take it out of context as such, and I believe that much of what is taught in radical Islam takes things out of context, or stretches them to mean what they want. The original meaning of jihad, if I understand it correctly, is that you have a right to defend yourself and your family against immediate unjust attacks and that it does not state that you have the right to proactive violence. However, as I have previously stated, I am not a scholar of Islam and may be mis-stating some things.

 

[megaladon6]

actually i haven't said anything about his motives in going into iraq. the stated purpose for going in there WAS an excuse, i agree. i'm just trying to correct/clarify some bad, media spewed, information. i agree with going into iraq, but for different reasons. hell when i was in the military (mid-late 90's) a buddy of mine (just for sh*ts and giggles) did a straw poll of "do you think theres anywhere we should or need to go into combat? you know what 90+% of the answeres were? iraq, and put a bullet in husseins head. the guys a mini-hitler.

 

[megaladon6]

to go back (somewhat) to the original topic, here's an interesting bit of info from the EPA; if 33%of americans switch to clean diesels, oil usage will be reduced by 1.5 million barrels a day.
and since diesel is easier to make and cheaper to transport, in a normal world the price would really drop. and the greenies would be happy because the new clean diesels actually emit LESS average CO2 emissions than a hybrid and the HC and NOx levels are also ULEV certified.

 

[srercrcr]

I like it.
But, Americans don't like dealing with smelly, oily pump handles, etc.
No American mfrs that I know of plan on clean diesel cars in North America.
Overseas, they're going after this big time.
Way to go Americans! Another example of the US going against the grain.
And you wonder why we're hated.

 

[R/T kota]

to go back (somewhat) to the original topic, here's an interesting bit of info from the EPA; if 33%of americans switch to clean diesels, oil usage will be reduced by 1.5 million barrels a day.
and since diesel is easier to make and cheaper to transport, in a normal world the price would really drop. and the greenies would be happy because the new clean diesels actually emit LESS average CO2 emissions than a hybrid and the HC and NOx levels are also ULEV certified.

that is interesting but since diesel cars are not really the normal in north America, (just going by what I see on the road here) is there any stats on what percentage of vehicles on the road are transport trucks?

 

[megaladon6]

actually since VW, BMW,Me/Be all have 50 state compliant diesels you will be seeing a lot more soon. plus GM and dodge will be putting l5, v6 and v8 diesels in mid-size cars and suv's in the next couple of years.
diesel pumps are no dirtier than gas pumps, unless you get the tractor trailer pump. and the cars themselves? well the audi v12 tdi F1 car is so quiet that the drivers can't tell what rpm the engine is at by sound, the fans don't hear the car until it's actually passing them, and there is no smell or smoke at all. we're not talking about the next gereration from my 97 tdi, it's more like a quantum leap! and if the manufactures run an aggressive ad campaign and make sure to stress the better mileage and reliability than a hybrid... not to mention the added power 😀

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4237945.html?page=4

 

[R/T kota]

I was amazed when I saw the lemans series audi making 800 ft lbs and not blowing any black smoke out the exhaust.

I agree that diesels are the future but only if you can get it passed the tree hugging hybrid drivers that it is better.
I know jeep has a diesel in the liberty but I think thats only offered here in Canada and Europe.
The big three have to get on with putting these diesels in there smaller cars rather than trucks and SUVs. Instead they just seem to be concentrating on gas electric hybrids.
Also the gas companies have to start selling the cleaner diesel fuel at the pumps.

I also want to start seeing E85 at the pumps here in Canada. I see all these new GMs with the flex fuel logo on them driving around up here but have yet to see a single station that sells the stuff.
I know the stuff is not much better than gas and does get worse millage, but I want to build my turbo engine to run on the stuff. I here the octane ratings are around the 106 mark.

 

[dan2286]

From what I know about diesels, and what they are built for,(I dont know if this applies to more modern, smaller diesels) they are made to be beat on, to run for very long periods of time, carry heavy loads, etc.. Basically they are built for the exact opposite purpose of gasoline engines. I just dont see how good this would work for everyday people, alot of people do short trip driving, baby their cars, and the only thing they haul are groceries and their kids. If this is the case for modern diesels, really how reliable will they be? If someone can tell me otherwise, please do so. I am not saying that I am 100% right, just going off of what knowledge I have of the basic diesel engine.

 

[megaladon6]

i had an 86 jetta 1.6l diesel, 320,000mi when i sold it. no engine work except timing belt and water pump. is that reliable enough? and 42mpg
or my 97 jetta tdi, 140k mi, 49mpg mixed driving, $100 over 3 years for repairs, spins my 17in sticky tires through 2nd gear, and carries groceries whenever needed. but it does get beat on! they're known for doing 300,000+ miles with no problems.
there's a good reason europe has primarily diesel cars.
and like i said earlier, the new clean diesels are ULEV certified, 50 state legal and emit LESS CO (and maybe HC and NOX) than a hybrid, per mile.

 

[dan2286]

i had an 86 jetta 1.6l diesel, 320,000mi when i sold it. no engine work except timing belt and water pump. is that reliable enough? and 42mpg
or my 97 jetta tdi, 140k mi, 49mpg mixed driving, $100 over 3 years for repairs, spins my 17in sticky tires through 2nd gear, and carries groceries whenever needed. but it does get beat on! they're known for doing 300,000+ miles with no problems.
there's a good reason europe has primarily diesel cars.
and like i said earlier, the new clean diesels are ULEV certified, 50 state legal and emit LESS CO (and maybe HC and NOX) than a hybrid, per mile.[/quote

I guess what I said might only applied to big diesel trucks. I really dont know much at all about small diesels in small cars, probably because like people have been sayin, there arent alot out there. But based off of what you say, they are a good choice for anyone who wants good gas mileage.
I am also sure they are alot more reliable, cheaper maintinence costs than hybrid vehicles.