The UmBlog

Dear President Bush, Congress, and financial supporters I want to thank you for the economic stimulus you provided my family. I had a bad week last week as my 1997 Ford Crown Victoria was leaking antifreeze all over the place. Antifreeze is poisonous but really tasty to animals. I might have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of pets across my county unintentionally, for which I am deeply sorry. It turns out I needed a new intake manifold , since mine was cracked, hence the leaking coolant and wholesale poisoning of the lovely countryside. The part alone ran $500. The labor to replace it would double that cost. The question I had to wrestle with was one of value. I barely drive the car. I bike to work in most weather conditions daily. Should convenience cost that much? I already spent $500 on a new tie rod for the car and another $500 for brakes and drums. If you do the math, that equals the economic stimulus you gave us. Unfortunately, I don't feel stimulated. I had bec...

if you drove a car that only got 17 miles to the gallon you'd bicycle commute too! fortunately, my commute is only 5 miles, so that's 3 trips to work per gallon, or 3 gallons per week, but that isn't the only driving i need to do. so if i can eliminate driving 50 miles a week for work, like i did this week, then those 3 gallons and $10 can go towards other errands. there i got that off my chest. my guilt is absolved. i did buy it used, 3 or 4 years ago, for 6 grand. when i bought it i needed a car that could accommodate 2 car seats, a 3rd child, and my wife. did i mention i make a little rental income from the family who lives in the ginormous trunk? i'm ahead of any Prius owner as far as cash flow for at least a couple more years. it will get 25 mpg on the highway. it has 8 cylinders. the thing only has 100k miles on it and that monster engine could last another 200k. this isn't my first Ford. after i graduated from UConn , my grandmother downsized and gave me her ...

an article at World Mag sees the glass half empty. there is another alternative, butanol . Butanol vs. Ethanol - Higher energy content (110,000 Btu’s per gallon for butanol vs. 84,000 Btu per gallon for ethanol). Gasoline contains about 115,000 Btu’s per gallon. - Butanol is six times less “evaporative” than ethanol and 13.5 times less evaporative than gasoline, making it safer to use as an oxygenate in Arizona, California and other states, thereby eliminating the need for very special blends during the summer and winter months. - Butanol can be shipped through existing fuel pipelines where ethanol must be transported via rail, barge or truck - Butanol can be used as a replacement for gasoline gallon for gallon e.g. 100%, or any other percentage. Ethanol can only be used as an additive to gasoline up to about 85% and then only after significant modifications to the engine. Worldwide 10% ethanol blends predominate. more on butanol here and here

it's still at the concept stage ... Introduced at the North American International Auto Show here, the Chevrolet Volt will draw power exclusively from a next-generation battery pack recharged by a small onboard engine -- if the technology is ready in two or three years. "We have a thoroughly studied concept, but further battery development will define the critical path to start of production," said Jon Lauckner, a GM vice president for product development. The Volt is designed to run for 40 miles on pure electric power, making it marketable for everyday family use. For the average American driver who drives 40 miles a day, or 15,000 miles a year, the Volt will require no fuel and lead to an annual savings of 500 gallons of gasoline, GM said. Unlike current gas-electric hybrids, which use a parallel system twinning battery power and a combustion engine, the Volt will be driven entirely by electric power. GM has some bad history to atone for with electric cars. the questio...

Don’t speed. Driving 65 mph instead of 75 mph will increase your fuel economy by about 10 percent. Pride yourself on being a slowpoke. Avoid "jack rabbit" starts. Flooring the gas pedal wastes gas and leads to drastically higher pollution rates. Anticipate stops. Think ahead to anticipate stops so your vehicle can coast down. Accelerating hard and braking hard wastes gas, increases pollution, and wears out your brakes. Keep your tires properly inflated. For every 3 pounds below recommended pressure, fuel economy goes down by about 1 percent. Avoid rush hour , if possible. Stop-and-go driving burns gas and increases emissions of smog-forming pollutants. For hybrids that can stay in electric mode at low ...

Drive 55 Conservation Project :: $ave fuel, Drive 55! : "The goal of Drive55.org is to reduce petroleum usage by 20% to 50%. How can this be achieved? By convincing drivers to slow down and obey existing speed limits, never driving over 55 MPH (88km). This will save lives, reduce insurance rates, reduce pollution and improve the overall quality of our lives. Let's be willing to learn about the issues and take personal responsibility for the part each of us plays in this petroleum-dependent culture. We must each do all we can to use less."

Trip shows slowing down boosts mileage but can make you unpopular on the road i wanted to share my experience on my trip home from vacation today, and wouldn't you know it, it's not unique. Hartford, Ct. has a single HOV lane, no passing, for cars with at least two drivers in it. since we have more than two, and the lane is rarely used, i used it, at 60 mph. It's only a 15 mile stretch of road, but i had at least 15 cars behind me by its end, going both ways. and a New York driver in a ford expedition gave me his New York salute when the lane ended and he could resume his 75mph or whatever was his illegal goal speed. i guess i'm happy that i was able to help so many people save gas and money. its too bad, they weren't able to appreciate it.

Toyota moves to corner the 'plug-in' market | csmonitor.com : "Four years ago, the professor at the University of California at Davis and a team of engineering students created a plug-in vehicle. A typical hybrid has a big gasoline engine and a tiny electric motor. The university students reversed the roles by combining a more powerful electric motor that went 50 miles without using any gasoline. No wimpy econo-box, the modified Ford Explorer was a 325 horsepower 'rocket' that still got the equivalent of 100-plus miles per gallon even after a tiny gas engine kicked in, says Dr. Frank. 'The average person who drives 40 miles per day or less wouldn't use any gasoline at all,' he says. 'The only time would be on weekend trips and vacations across country.' The impact on America's dependence on foreign oil could be dramatic if such technology were widespread, according to energy-security hawks like former CIA director James Woolsey, who has cite...

there is also a movie out by the same name...here is an excerpt of a commentary piece by an electrc car owner, driver, advocate. As with any new technology, an electric vehicle was more expensive than its gas counterpart. Also, the limited range scared off customers, even though the average American drives only 34 miles a day and every electric car could go at least twice that far on a full charge. These cars had great potential, but no media covered their subsequent crushing. It is only with the release this summer of the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" that the full story comes out. This film chronicles the rise and fall of the General Motors EV1, an electric car I leased on the day it was released in 1996. Zero to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, a top speed of 140 mph and a range of 120 miles. GM discontinued this car just a few years later. No car company today makes a mass-production electric vehicle. My current electric vehicle, a Toyota RAV4 EV, also was discontinue...

High Gas Prices are Good - Acton Institute PowerBlog : Even so, the inconvenience does have the ability to change people’s behavior, and this is why I’m making the argument that high gas prices have the potential to be a good, albeit a costly one (so to speak). People might drive less, carpool more, walk to the corner store instead of driving, and so on. But an even bigger point is this: as gas prices rise the cost relative to other forms of energy is bound to decrease. This is why so many environmental advocates have long been arguing in favor of some sort of hefty additional petroleum products tax, which would make other sources of energy more competitive. But what so many fail to see is that the market can accomplish by itself what such artificial and authoritarian measures are intended to do. Clearly the price we pay at the gas pump includes a huge amount by way of taxes to the various levels of government. But when gas prices rise without an increase in the amount of government ta...