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| Why can't we have this here in the U.S. ?; I will highly consider one | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 17 2012, 03:11 PM (1,886 Views) | |
| robertino | Jan 17 2012, 11:58 PM Post #16 |
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I foresee a future BOGS where the American public will have to embrace Diesel as the more wiser choice. The fact that Europe has countless of Diesel cars on the road that have better MPGs than our cars. It boggles the mind that we pay more money for Diesel when it's the byproduct (trash) of gasoline making. We can also make Diesel out of just about anything : I've even seen a guy who has perfected a process of turning actual trash into Diesel ( On Science Channel) AMAZING!!!! |
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| Coche Blanco | Jan 18 2012, 12:02 AM Post #17 |
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Troll Certified
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Everywhere else pays 9-10 dollars a gallon for gas. I'll take my 3 dollar gas over 50 mpg cars any day. |
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| Way | Jan 18 2012, 04:19 AM Post #18 |
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![]() I have the feeling there's a giant golf club just waiting to come down. |
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| lafter | Jan 18 2012, 10:31 AM Post #19 |
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Yerp. Heck ill take 3 dollar gas and a 20 mpg car over 9 dollar gas and a 50 mpg car. |
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| bogs | Jan 18 2012, 11:08 AM Post #20 |
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Duct tape heals all wounds
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Wow, my name gets caps like I caused this First of all, I more or less agree with you on diesels, I think the engine tech is pretty solid, and they were designed to run on lots of fuel sources (I believe even peanut oil), and yes I agree that the cost of it is mind boggling when it is a trash byproduct, but it is not the end all be all tech of this or any century, and if you think it is then you have tunnel vision and need to take a step back. Unlike Europe, there are plenty of solutions that would work better, cleaner, and cheaper here, in fact without any modification at all we could quite easily move to natural gas in our current engines, with only a little modification you could use natural gas in a series hybrid and quite easily get well beyond 50 mpg. If you wanted to go into more exotic old tech solutions, there are plenty of engines that will burn almost anything, including Stirlings, which would also work on anything that produces heat and since they work best at steady rpm would be ideal in a hybrid scenario (currently being worked on by no less than Dean Kamen, in the past worked on and actively developed by the big 3, also some farming developement). Lastly the Europe you keep pointing to isn't exactly nirvana. It never fails to amaze me that people keep saying things like " well, over in Europe they do x..." as if that carries some kind of magical weight in a discussion. It doesn't. Europe has different laws and regulations, has major overpopulation issues, has a completely different layout and transit system for the most part, and has a taxing system that would probably make your eyes bleed. They also pay, as CB pointed out, $9-$15 a gallon for gasoline, and at that price point relatively speaking for this discussion, the mpg's they are getting flat out suck. 50 mpg? We should be talking about 150 mpg as a starter to even enter this conversation. |
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| DesmondGhostRider | Jan 18 2012, 11:26 AM Post #21 |
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Theres a place in Little Rock AR that will convert any car to natural gas for $1,000. There isnt a natural gas station close enough to me to even consider it, but they are poping up closer and closer. If I had a little S-10 or something like that I'd have it converted and use that for basic hauling. Idk about putting it in a geo. Expecially my current one. Maybe in the next couple years. |
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| Old Man | Jan 18 2012, 12:11 PM Post #22 |
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It always amazes me when people say that our $3 gas is so much cheaper than europes $9 gas. shortsightedly that is correct. But then consider: figure out the cost of driving across our country (3000 miles minimum) using $3 gas. --- then figure out the cost of driving all the way across england (400 miles MAXIMUM) using $9 gas. Seems to me when we purchase our gas at $3 it is a lot cheaper, but when we put it to use, because of the vast difference in miles to get anywhere, our gas is much more expensive. |
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| c140flyer | Jan 18 2012, 12:55 PM Post #23 |
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Sure do... I have a Golf TDI. Even with winter temps, it's getting 49-50 MPG. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, diesel is condsiderably more than gas. From what I gather, the diesel price goes up in the winter (with heating oil) and hopefully down in the summer - just the opposite of gasoline. When I bought the car in July, diesel here was around $3.85 (not much different than now - but regular unleaded was $3.65 or so. Now RUG is $3.25 ish, so the delta is about .60. That being said, it's costing me about the same to run as a car using RUL that gets 42 ish MPG. Still, not too shabby! I'm still very excited about this car and have had good service from it since I bought it 14K miles ago. I do miss the simplicity of the Geo though...
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| bogs | Jan 19 2012, 12:25 PM Post #24 |
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Duct tape heals all wounds
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Old Man, are you hitting the moonshine again? The post did make me laugh though ![]() |
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| Coche Blanco | Jan 19 2012, 12:29 PM Post #25 |
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Troll Certified
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Edited by Coche Blanco, Jan 19 2012, 12:30 PM.
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| robertino | Jan 22 2012, 02:17 PM Post #26 |
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You know I've been looking at this and it reminded me alot of something that I had seen a while back when I was looking for a 3 cylinder engine swap (just in case) This engine is almost on the same level as the Daihatsu CL series engine.As you know the G10 is basically a CB20 and the CB-series design also formed the basis for a tiny CL-series turbo diesel engine. Using the same bore and stroke dimensions (for a displacement of 993cc), the CL engine runs a 21.5:1 static compression ratio and a conventional SOHC head equipped with an ‘old school’ type diesel injection system. " With a turbocharger hung off the front, this engine produces up to 37kW at 5000 rpm and 90Nm at 3000 rpm. Five-speed manuals or four-speed autos were available. This engine has apparently achieved a record breaking 103 mpg (2.7 litres per 100km) in the Charade." Granted that MPG was in a Charade so you can see how light those cars were. Food for thought.... |
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| BillHoo | Feb 3 2012, 11:17 AM Post #27 |
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Really? Could a 3 cylinder diesel be scavenged from construction equipment, or a boat and be made to drive a small car like a metro? You're right on Europe, I'm looking for off-the-shelf 3 cylinder diesels that can deliver 27-67 HP and I find a lot of them, but no US manufacturers. They're expensive too 25 HP engines from a John Deere are going for between $2K and $4K on eBay. Edited by BillHoo, Feb 3 2012, 11:20 AM.
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Welcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.





First of all, I more or less agree with you on diesels, I think the engine tech is pretty solid, and they were designed to run on lots of fuel sources (I believe even peanut oil), and yes I agree that the cost of it is mind boggling when it is a trash byproduct, but it is not the end all be all tech of this or any century, and if you think it is then you have tunnel vision and need to take a step back. 

7:55 PM Jul 10