Joe Handley

I agree, probably could have had MACCO shoot some cheap black enamal on it for what somebody would have charged to paint that gypsy, or at least several cases of Duplicolor and rattle can some basic color on it. Not like they're trying to spray bomb a big van, truck, or station wagon, even hitting up sites like Dip Your Car could allow for a decent "paint" job for cheap!

I heard about the stereo being used to pipe engine sounds inside the car several months ago and found out about the engine noise tube that proceded those at the same time. I just thought that either option sounded kinda cheap and lame, but I would rather just have a louder intake and/or exhaust on the vehicle.

This perhaps?

I'm willing to be Greed and Political Posturing are the most likely suspects in that.

One thing to keep in mind Aaron, while the number of Flex Fuel cars is smaller than the nation wide fleet of non flex fuelers, there are still 18 million of them prowling the street, that's a whole lot of potential E85 sales, then throw in the cars that are capable of running higher levels of Ethanol (discovered by accident that my Jeep can handle up to 25%), as well as diesels that can burn B20, that's a whole lotta oil not used for transportation that can be put into other things........like more plastic models! Biggest problem with running E85 is finding at a reasonable price, at Speedway I paid $1.69 last night vs $2.69 if I were going to run regular, but there is a local BP that just started carrying it last summer, but is currently selling at $2.39 vs $2.79 and tend to maintain that $.30 spread, then of the 180k (IIRC) gas stations, there are currently only 3,458 of those stations that also carry E85, or even the lower percentage blends. If most, if not all stations carried, or an even level of about 50% of those 180k stations carried E85 and kept that $1/gal spread I paid last night, that could increase the sales of Ethanol to people willing to use it in their flex fuelers. Now if you want to talk Ethanol vs Natural Gas, I lean towards Ethanol. With my 200, I can run any grade of unleaded gas as well as up to 85% ethanol. So far as I know, The Natural gas duel fuel vehicles can run Nat Gas or Gas, but not a blend of the two. Something else that I would consider as an advantage to the Flex Fuel vs Dual Fuel is that flex fuel vehicles only require one fuel system that is capable of storing and distributing either fuel, where dual fuel has the complication of two complete fuel systems, granted that will give you extended range, but if you engineered a non dual fuel vehicle two use a bigger tank or to run 2 tanks, you could get the same effect.

Considering the second pic, I'm surprised they even noticed the craptacular little car!

Very true!

Exactly, sugar cane ethanol's biggest drawback is that if you make alcohol from it, you have only alcohol, where with corn, you still have feed for livestock that is supposed to be of a higher nutritional value that just feeding them that corn straight from the field. You then also get corn oil and other byproducts from it as well. Oil does have a big advantage in distribution, and I have heard stories of them doing a variety of things to keep it that way, right down to threatening station owners who carry their product and biofuel in various ways, label such biofuels at their stations as not being "their" products, even though the gas and diesel may not be either, there is even a theory that prohibition was more to get rid of biofuel competition to then Sen. Rockafeller's Standard Oil and other oil companies.

Keep in mind, the process to find and refine oil into the products we use every day isn't exactly clean either There are other sources besides corn or just other food sources that can be used to produce the stuff. Just in the Chicago area, we had big invasion of Asian Longhorn/Ash Borer Beetles that forced the cutting down and destruction of a huge number of trees in Northern Illinois. They could have made quite a bit of fuel out of the trees that were cut down, not to mention the ones that have been lost in both winter and summer storms just in the few years I've been running the stuff in my 200. When you start looking at grass that is cut along the roadways, residental yard waste, waste papers, other garbage that would typically sit in a landfill. It wouldn't fully replace oil, but would ease the demand on oil reserves.............and cut into profits of certain big industries that don't like to share or play fair.

Don't know if that would have been much better

Or a fullsized van, GM sells them with AWD.

That's the one, what ever happened with it? Here was supposed to be a facility built somewhere in the South, but a Congressman or Senator got in it's way for "eviromental" reasonas.

Food loss isn't huge, IIRC, about 2/3 of the corn used goes into animal feed and in a box of Corn Flakes, it's typically around $.10-$.25 difference per box........vs what other energy sources used to creage and distribute the stuff adds to the price, executive pay probably affects that price more than actual base food ptices. In reality, just about any cellulose can be used to make it, basically any plant based sugars are converted to alcohol and cooking fuels can range from natural gas, to combustable plant materials, I even read somewhere that manure is being looked at as a fuel to do the needed cooking. Don't know if anything ever came of it, but weren't there groups experimenting with using alge to create either ethanol or biodiesel?

And THAT was pretty awesome!

From what I understand, Ford and William Durant of GM were both ethanol proponents, Ford enough so thst the Model T was the first mass produced flex fuel vehicle as well as set up classes to teach their owners how to make their own hemp based ethanol to fuel their new Model T's with.

I kinda figured it was more along the lines of What Brian said, been nice if they could make oils from more natural sources, but since one of them is Hemp, and is on the same list of no grow plants as Marijuana.........that won't happen until things changes.

Apparently one day Mom opened one of the kitchen cabinets at a house she and Dad had at the time only to find a dirty carb sitting in it with the dishes...........lets just say my Sister and I are probably pretty lucky Dad lived long enough to father us!

Not completely oil free, but my 200 is one of approximately 18 million registered in the US and the industry is working to increase the amount of renewable energy sources used in place of any "fossil" based energy sources to produce Ethanol.

What once was old is new again

Nah, they probably have an Executive Security Stig on the job.

Same here, either it needed a taller grill, or a channeled body to pull that off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZI_QXE9kbU

These are typically drag motors, intended to cover a quarter mile from a standing start as quick as inhumanly possible. Efficency in the form of gas mileage and handling in any sense other than going as straight was possble when the light go green is of little importance in those cases.

Nevermind, I think that's a Jag, still sad though.