Drew Dowdell

Again, none of these are the only solution. Stop picking out just one basket in my post to put all your eggs in. The great thing about ethanol is that you can use many different biomasses. You can build kelp tanks at electrical plants AND off shore kelp farms AND algae tanks in the great lakes AND sugar cane fields in Alabama AND use waste byproducts of breweries in Virginia AND switch grass from Kansas AND sawdust from North Dakota AND sugar beats from Georgia AND farm waste from Iowa AND.....the list goes on. It may be a viable fuel, but the economy has already shown it can't handle sustained $4 a gallon gasoline. I want us to end this hostage situation we're in from using so much imported fuel.

Take away the 70-some billion in subsidies that Big Oil and Big Coal get..... and see how economical it is then. You ignored the entire part of my post about algae and kelp. Why? It takes very minimal energy to cultivate it and you can even run the exhaust of an electrical plant through the kelp tanks to greatly increase growth (it both keeps them warm and provides LOTs of CO2) I wasn't arguing from an environmental perspective at all. Simply an economics supply and demand issue. Demand for petroleum is going up while supply is peaking. And in 2060... we do what exactly? Your strategy is roughly similar to Henry Ford saying "that whole automobile thing will NEVER take off.... maybe in 60 years we'll see something. No what we need is more efficient buggie whip production!". Or GM saying "Eh, the Electric car may come out sometime in 2050, in the meantime we'll just build 1985 Cavaliers till then" Just remember. For every $1 the government "wastes" on renewable energy. It "invests" $12 in fossil fuel development. I want to flip that equation the other way.... but whatever your stance on government spending is, you can at least admit that the renewable energy isn't getting a fair shake on the balance sheet.

My point is that there are more people clamoring for a diminishing resource. The oil field in the Gulf that BP was drilling for was considered a "major" find..... yet it doesn't even rank in the top 20 oil fields in the world in terms of size. Further, Saudi Arabia has been lying...for YEARS about their "proven" reserves. My point behind all of this is thus: Why can't we be the leader in alternative fuel production? 1. E85/Ethanol is frequently cited as an energy sink. That is true when corn is used as the base biomass for the E85. Other base biomasses don't share that trait. 2. Algae and Kelp can be farmed with minimal cultivation energy input. In fact, both can be used as CO2 scrubbers for large scale electric generation plants fired by fossil fuels. 3. Algae and kelp can be farmed in tanks, in rivers, in lakes, or out in the open ocean. 4. E85 truly is "FlexFuel" because the fermenting process is basically the same no matter the input biomass. If you've got corn, or algae, or kelp, or grass clippings... fine, just throw it in the pot. Now to address some of the common arguments against using E85: 1. "It's not as efficient per gallon." - So what? The cost is being made artificially high because we're primarily using labor/fuel intensive corn as the base biomass. Switch to another biomass. 2. "It's not as efficient per gallon." - If you're running it through an engine that was originally designed for gasoline, this is true. But this is also like complaining that your gas engine doesn't run too well when you put diesel fuel in it. A typical E85 engine is something like the 3.5 V6 in the Impala. The Impala 3.5 has a relatively modest (these days) 9.5:1 compression ratio. But E85 has an octane equivalency of 110.. which means it can handle substantially higher compression ratios than normal gas. The Opel Corsa sold in Brazil comes with an alcohol burning 1.4 litre 4 cylinder that has an eye popping 12.4:1 compression ratio. This is a rudimentary engine by today's standards. 8 valves, no VVT, no direct injection. It makes 99hp in that form. To put that compression ratio into some perspective. Even the Ecotec Turbo and Ford Ecoboost V6 are only at 9.5 - 10:1 compression. The only car I can find that even approaches the little, old school, Corsa's compression ratio is the12:1 in the BMW V10 M5. Where am I going with this? Everyone here has noticed the trend to downsize displacement lately. Direct Injection and Turbochargers are finally starting to do away with the old "no replacement for displacement" line. I want everyone to put on their imagination caps now. We're going to do some hypothetical surgery: Let's take the Malibu with it's 169hp 2.4 litre. It's a 16 valve engine with VVT. Yet if we look at the old rudimentary Corsa's 8valve non-VVT engine, we find it makes 70.71hp/liter. If we sized it up to the same 2.4 litres the Malibu uses... we get 169hp.. and that's without using another 8 valves or any sort of VVT system. So let's make the goal keeping the Malibu's performance the same, but downsizing the engine. We know that adding 8 more valves can add about 30hp as shown in the Petrol 8v 1.8vers the Petrol 16v 1.8 We also know that adding direct injection can add about 12 hp as shown in the Malibu 2.4 v. Equinox 2.4 Adding those two technologies to the Corsa engine would make an engine capable of about 140hp.... out of a 1.4 litre... That's 100hp/litre without using a turbo. So, in order to size it appropriately to fit our car. We'd need a 1.7 litre I4 that ran on just 110 octane E85. Anyone here need help figuring out how a 1.7 litre Malibu with the same horsepower would be equal or more efficient per gallon than a 2.4 litre even with the reduced energy content of the fuel? And all of this isn't for political or "green" reasons. It simply would switch us away from a diminishing resource to one that we can grow more of when we need it and in doing so greatly stabilize the worlds economies while allowing us to continue driving as we see fit.

Where the oil comes from factors only minimally and any difference is only in the cost of shipping. Oil that is pumped in Saudi Arabia goes to the same world market as the oil that is pumped in Oil City, PA and then sold to the highest bidder. It's not political. It's not environmental. It's just plan old economic supply and demand. Two points from this: 1. Most of the U.S. has been tapped out. Any further finds are not likely to be large enough to make a material change in the price of gasoline. 2. The are a whole bunch of people in India and China who are going to land on that demand side of the equation in the next 10 years.

Can I haz diesel too? :cry:

One of the reasons I don't like tinted glass is that at night I have difficulty seeing out of it. The electrochromatic glass would be perfect for me.

What is the point of this over something like Mobile 1? Anything?

Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac Sales Up 25 Percent in July 2010-08-03 Steady progress in rebuilding sales one year after launch of new GM Calendar-year-to-date sales for GM's four brands up 31 percent Tenth month in a row that GM's four brands have increased retail and total sales Strong Buick and Cadillac sales show balance of GM brand portfolio DETROIT – July sales for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac increased by a combined 25 percent to 199,432 units. Buick and Cadillac brands each sold more than twice as many vehicles in July, compared with the same month a year ago. July marks the 10th straight month in which total and retail sales for GM's brands increased year-over-year, demonstrating the continued strengthening of each brand in the marketplace as GM continues to rebuild momentum a year after its launch as a new company. "When we say we want to design, build and sell the world's best vehicles, we're not talking about just one vehicle, one brand, or one month," said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. "Our July results again reflect that each of our brands has contributed significantly to our gains. "The size and scope of the U.S. market demands a strong portfolio of well-targeted brands," Johnson said. "The success of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac month in and month out, indicates that the new GM's brand strategy is sound." Buick sold 16,799 vehicles in July, a 137-percent increase over last year. Cadillac delivered 14,919 units, up 142 percent over July last year. These are the highest sales totals for the two brands since August 2008. Chevrolet total sales in July increased 12 percent compared to July last year, and GMC total sales were up 27 percent compared with the same month last year. GM's newest vehicles including Chevrolet Camaro and Equinox, Buick LaCrosse and Regal, GMC Terrain, and Cadillac SRX, CTS Coupe and CTS Wagon continue to contribute significant sales gains. Total combined sales for these vehicles were up 77 percent in July and are up 211 percent yeartodate. GM further strengthened its position as the industry leader in crossover sales. Total combined sales in July for the Chevrolet Equinox, HHR and Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Terrain and Acadia, and Cadillac SRX increased 41 percent in July and have risen 73 percent so far this year. Combined total sales for GM's full-size pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado and Avalanche, and the GMC Sierra, were up 22 percent during the month, with year-to-date sales 14 percent higher than a year ago. Year-To-Date Gains Reflect Balanced Contribution of Brands Year-to-date total sales for GM's four brands have risen 31 percent to 1,269,009 units, while retail sales for GM's brands have risen 18 percent – outpacing the industry. "Our four brands have sold 125,210 more vehicles this year than our former company sold with eight brands during the same period last year," Johnson said. "This gain has been a result of solid consumer demand across our lineup of cars, trucks, and crossovers." Chevrolet has led the increase with total sales 28 percent higher through July, compared to 2009. Retail sales for Chevrolet have increased 12 percent for the year, propelled by the strong retail sales of the Chevrolet Malibu, Camaro, Silverado, Equinox, and Traverse, which are up a combined 33 percent for the year. Buick remains one of the industry's fastest-growing brands, with total sales 60 percent higher than 2009 through July. In the first seven months of the year, retail sales of Buicks have increased 41 percent on the strength of LaCrosse and Enclave which are up 175 and 14 percent, respectively. GMC total sales through July are 28 percent higher than 2009. The brand's retail sales have increased 30 percent yeartodate on the strength of the GMC Terrain, Sierra and Acadia – up 326 percent, 13 percent and 21 percent respectively. Total sales for Cadillac are up 46 percent for the year through July. Retail sales for the brand are 32 percent higher this year, with the all-new Cadillac SRX surging 487 percent – leading it to gain the most market share in the luxury crossover segment so far this year. Month-end dealer inventory in the U.S. stood at about 424,000 units, which is about 15,000 units below June 2010, and about 43,000 lower than July 2009. July Key Facts and Brand Results: Tenth consecutive month of total and retail sales gains for GM's four brands. Seventh consecutive month that sales for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac have increased by 20 percent or more. Tenth consecutive month that GM crossovers have increased by more than 30 percent. Sixth month in a row of total sales improvement for GM's full-size pickups. Fifth consecutive month of double-digit retail sales increases for GM's brands. Tenth consecutive month of retail sales increases for GM passenger cars. Chevrolet: Chevrolet delivered 139,916 vehicles in July, a 12 percent gain year-over-year. Year-to-date total sales are up 28 percent . Buick: Buick posted a 137 percent sales increase in July compared to the same month last year. Driven by customer demand for the LaCrosse and all-new Regal, retail sales rose 104 percent. GMC: GMC reported a 27 percent increase in total sales in the month of July, compared to the same month last year. This includes a 29 percent increase in retail sales, marking 10 consecutive months of year-over-year retail sales gains for GMC. Cadillac: Total sales for July were 142 percent higher than last July. Retail sales increased 123 percent on the strength of consumer demand for the SRX, which posted its best month since it was introduced in 2003. Fleet sales for GM's four brands were 50,048 for the month.

Looks like you're good at rubbing it out. what? What did I say?

They dance at you....

VIDEO PROOF! Whales are clearly the cause of water fowl deaths. Forget the oil spill! We should kill all the whales!

Forward the entire post to the manager of the dealership. Put a link to the thread for good measure.

As always, your mileage may vary. Anyone can force crappy mileage out of a high mileage car. Find that video of the Pruis v. the M3

Well, from what I can tell, you access C&G from work (tsk tsk) and you work at a place that rhymes with Tells Margo... and they must route all their outbound internet traffic through the San Fransisco office.

Happy birthday Zmaster!

You're looking at like $17,8k for those interior features in a Cruze.... so I'm not seeing the challenge.

That is just Ford accepting what is already in popular culture.

I've always heard it referred to both ways...

I don't know what you're talking about.... this should be a breeze!

Rolls did it in the 20's or 30's. But I think that was also a straight 8.

I'd go the LT-1 route first. Fixed tonight: Replaced the hood ornament. fixed the stupid twisted seatbelt. Had to actually disassemble the unit.

Here are some worst case scenarios if fuel prices shoot back up.

Since I love making excel spreadsheets, I made one for you. I assumed 20 commuting days a month. I looked up the gas prices for Tampa and added a few cents. Any of those numbers will support another car payment plus insurance. You could even swing a new Camaro V6 and insurance and still have a little left over for yourself.

I'm looking at this from the perspective of MPG first, long distance comfort very very close second, reliability third. TDI would work out well. They're probably your best bet for highway cruising. Pruises are the mileage champs if you're in the city more than on the highway, but it's a penalty box interior that I wouldn't want to spend 125 miles a day in. The Fusion hybrid was nice, had your typical mid-size interior and was quite comfortable on the road. The Fusion Hybrid and the TDI are probably the best two for MPG + comfort. The only way I'd look at an E-class diesel is if it's CPO with an extensive warranty. While you've said that budget isn't an issue. You don't always want to spend money just because you've got it. That said, I revert back to my original suggestion of a Malibu LTZ with the 4-cylinder. Pick one up that is CPO and you're looking at a well equipped car that'll do 34mpg highway for around $21k. If they person is even the least bit sporty, even a Camaro V6 will do 29mpg highway if they use cruise control. Mid to high $20s there. Can we ask who this is for and what they drive now (and if they like it or not)?

That said, I think you'd have a hard time selling this engine in the US in anything other than the Aveo and Spark.