We love our cars....but we want to go "green". Can we?

CAUTION: Some technical stuff in this article that will probably bore the socks off of most people, but it may help some of you cut through the advertising garbage being thrown at us. Read on if you dare.... 

America. The land that mass transit forgot.

We love our cars. Most of us have one. Some of us have 2 or more. Different vehicles for different jobs. And some of us have one or more vehicles that just "make a statement". For some, that's a Prius. For others, it's a Hummer. For others, it's a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati, or some other exotic. And some of us just love those old American musclecars. In and of itself, there's nothing wrong with that. It's all about "choice" right? If one CHOOSES to own a Hummer, then you also CHOOSE to dump absolutely OBSCENE amounts of money in your fuel tank. If you choose an exotic then you CHOOSE to spend absolutely ridiculous amounts of money on car insurance. (I read some years ago that, if one had a Ferrari F40, you'd spend about $1 MILLION/year on auto insurance....even if you NEVER drove the thing. That could be incorrect, but that's what I read....I think it was in Top Wheels magazine.) Now, I don't care WHO you are, that's a LOT of money.

Moving beyond all that: why is it so hard for automakers to make powerful, fuel-efficient cars? I'm a certified car freak and I have to tell you I don't know. Why aren't diesels more popular here in America? I've seen some of the new generation diesels and I have to say, once again, I don't know.

Automakers and the gov't would have us believe that making cars more powerful AND more fuel efficient are mutually exclusive. That getting BOTH is some kind of "black art" that can only be known after spending MILLIONS of dollars on R&D. I'm here to tell you that's simply not true. It's actually not that hard. Hotrodders have been doing exactly that for YEARS. It all goes to efficiency: how completely does the engine burn what it draws in? Did you know that some of the things that increase POWER also increase FUEL EFFICIENCY? Sounds kinda like a "free lunch" doesn't it? And we all know there's no such thing, right? Not always. See, E85 has an octane rating of about 108 vs. gasoline which usually sits between 87 and 93 octane. So what? Well, what that means is that, while a gasoline engine may have a compression ratio (CR from here on) of 8.5:1, the E85-fueled engine can have a CR of around 11, 12, or even 14:1. Okay. So WHAT? Well, the higher CR extracts more energy from a given amount of fuel. What that translates into is this: you can use less fuel to get where you're going AND have more power at the same time. Higher CRs raise POWER and FUEL EFFICIENCY at the SAME TIME!! Actually, the general rule is that fuel efficiency goes up FASTER than power does as an engine's CR is raised (all else being equal). Now, how cool is THAT!? It's one of the most basic engine modifications one can make. That ONE modification can make it possible to negate any fuel economy loss associated with using E85. So what's the downside? Well, an engine with such a high CR won't run on gasoline anymore. It'll "ping" or "detonate" itself to death. Literally. Detonation can blow a hole right through the top of a piston. Not good. So, to get your fuel economy back, you have to give up your "flex fuel" option. No more gasoline. Gotta use E85. Right now, those of us that can actually use such a vehicle are few and far between. But the numbers are growing as new E85 fueling stations are being added all the time and E85 production increases.

There are other things to consider when a vehicle is switched over to E85. The "E" in E85 stands for ethanol, as most of you are aware. It just so happens that ethanol is corrosive to rubber, plastic, and aluminum. That's a little inconvenient when one considers the fact that those are the exact same materials that make up the fuel systems of modern cars. Don't worry, though. It's not a HUGE problem in that special materials have already been developed for use with ethanol fuels. That was done some time ago, in fact. It's nothing new and it's not magic. If the vehicle being converted is fuel injected, you'll need special alcohol-compatible fuel injectors. A carb. will need new jetting and gaskets....or you could opt for a special "alcohol" carb. They're out there and not hard to find. And we haven't even TOUCHED the further gains possible through advanced spark control systems, intake manifold/plenum designs, high efficiency exhaust systems, aerodynamics, drivetrain modifications, water injection, etc., etc., etc.... We won't go into all that here.

And then there are diesels. The new generation of diesels aren't the slow, noisy, smoky beasts of yesteryear. Far from it. Modern diesels are some truly awesome engines. Did you know that some diesel pickups, with MINOR modifications, can mop the floor with a modified Mustang? Some of these modern diesels are truly FAST. Mercedes even entered a diesel into the 24hrs of LeMans race! I gotta tell you, that is one FAST diesel!! Problem is, if you don't WANT a big truck, your choices are severely limited. Last I heard, you're pretty much limited to getting a VW or a Mercedes, although Subaru is coming out with a diesel engine pretty soon.

But what about alternative, "green" fuel for diesels? I mean, they can't run on E85 can they? No. They can't. But they can run on just about anything else. In fact, the very FIRST diesel engine ever made ran on POWDERED COAL. Owners of modern diesels have even been known to run their vehicle on TRANSMISSION FLUID if they ran out of fuel far from a fuel station, although I wouldn't recommend doing so on a regular basis. Did you know that many Mercedes diesels will run on ordinary VEGETABLE OIL withOUT any modifications whatsoever? Mythbusters did it and many others have as well. I even ran my old diesel Rabbit on ordinary KEROSENE when I couldn't find diesel-1 during a cold snap. So, what it comes down to is this: modern diesels can run on new, "green" fuels with virtually no changes whatsoever. Just put something different in the fuel tank and you're done! "Green" diesel fuels can be made from soybeans, old Christmas trees, sawdust, felled trees, canola, and the list goes on. Note that none of those sources affect our food supply. Such is not the case with MOST sources of ethanol (e.g. corn, sugar cane, and sugar beets). But what about power and fuel efficiency with "green" diesel fuels? Minimal difference. And diesels are especially happy being turbocharged. See, turbocharging a diesel RAISES power, RAISES fuel efficiency, and REDUCES smoke. It's a beautiful thing.

I predict we'll start seeing a lot more diesel choices here in America in the near future. Don't ignore them, folks, as diesels may be our best bet to maintain our love affair with the automobile and go "green" at the same time. Diesels already dominate the European market because fuel is so darned expensive there and we're rapidly heading in that direction. Just wait until fuel starts costing you 2, 3, or 4 bucks a QUART. Well, that's about where they are in Europe RIGHT NOW. Won't see a lot of Hummers cruising through suburbia THEN. (Seriously, folks: who really NEEDS a Hummer? You show me 100 Hummer owners and I'll show you 99 that don't need one.)

Now, with all these advances in automotive technology, one really should be wondering what we've gotten from it. Seen the ads for the Ford Escape? They're actually ADVERTISING 24MPG! And that's on the highway! I have a '73 Olds Toronado that gets 21! With a little modification, I could EASILY get 24 out of it. No fuel injection. No overdrive transmission. No electronic ignition. Twice as much engine. The aerodynamics of a small house, and nearly the weight. So what gives? Not the kind of progress one would expect after 35 years of R&D. When I was younger, I had a '78 Chrysler LeBaron that got an honest 30MPG on the highway. I also had a '79 Plymouth Volare' that routinely got 27MPG...cruising at 75MPH! So what's all this added technology (and EXPENSE) getting us? More expensive cars, that's what. The latest (turbo)diesel Rabbit is rated at something like 47MPG highway. THAT sounds okay....except that my old '79 diesel Rabbit got 52MPG on the highway (45 or so in town). And why does a '93 Dodge Dakota pickup get about the same fuel economy as a '63 Dodge pickup with the same size engine? Well that doesn't make any sense....

So it's NOT the American PEOPLE that are failing to "go green". It's the automakers. It's the lawmakers. Modifying a gasoline-fueled car to get 20%, 30%, even 50% better fuel economy isn't really all that difficult. It's just ILLEGAL. That's right. It's a direct violation of federal EPA laws. HUH? Now why would it be illegal for the average individual to try and do their part to reduce dependence on oil? Well, if we start modifying our existing cars, then we DON'T BUY NEW ONES. Building a new car to replace an older, less efficient one pretty much cancels out any REAL energy savings that might be gained from that new car. Don't forget that it takes a good deal of energy (most likely fosil fuel-derived) to PRODUCE that new car. Taking that into consideration, it may take 10 years or more for your new Prius to really benefit the country. Modifying an existing vehicle produces a much faster payoff in the greater scheme of things. Think "big picture".

As always, all one needs to do to find out why things are the way they are is FOLLOW THE MONEY. Who's getting rich from us being forced to buy new cars to use less fuel? Who's getting rich from our cars' pathetic fuel economy? Who's being held in check by not being able to take matters into their own hands? Who stands to LOSE massive profits if "green" fuel alternatives become widely used? Who stands to GAIN from the exact same thing? Who has the largest lobbying budget? Who GETS the money the lobbyists spend?

Instead of making "green" fuels CHEAPER, our gov't is considering making fossil fuels MORE EXPENSIVE through a proposed "carbon tax". This, they say, will make "green" fuel choices more cost-competitive. Uh-huh. I see. Hey, doesn't Al Gore own a company that sells "carbon offsets"? Now, since carbon offsets are absolutely WORTHLESS, why on earth would he do THAT? Now, if only there was some kind of legislation that created a "carbon tax".....and if that same legislation allowed individuals and coroporations to BUY "carbon offsets" to offset their carbon tax.....now THAT would be SWEET. But of course Al Gore just cares about the planet and would NEVER do anything just for PERSONAL GAIN. I mean, just because one might gain millions or even billions of dollars from just such a venture....that's no reason to do anything unethical.... I mean Al Gore, the champion of our planet, would never buy his carbon offsets from a company that he OWNS. That would be almost...Idunno...."scummy".

I wonder if more of us could use a similar tactic: maybe I could buy a shirt from my closet. And I have a nice pair of boots I'd like to buy from my bedroom. That TV in my living room is pretty sweet too.....maybe I'll try and buy it from myself. Boy, that sure would save me a bundle....and make a nice little profit at the same time. SWEET! Excuse me everyone. I have some shopping to do and some receipts to write....