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What does it take to succesfully transition to a green energy economy?
- Thread starter Marc v E
- Start date
in 84 you had 2 options, 205/70VR14 (stock), TRX 220/55VR 390 (optional).
Edit: It's worth noting it's still very common for people to buy American muscle cars and immediately replace the wheels and rims!
It was a cool but odd idea that never gained traction in the general market place. I did not realize that the 308 used them. The only Ferrari that I ever worked on and drove was a right hand drive 1968 365GTB (a 4 seater with a V12 & a 5 speed).
I drastically changed the carburation to a better Ferrari authorized setup than the original in 1972 (I was 15). The car got a DUPONT Imron Midnight Blue paint job just before I worked on it and the people who did the paint job botched it & it started crinkling, cracking while we had it in our shop. After we were done with it, the owner took it back to the paint shop and next time we had it in, it had a phenomenal quality paint job (using the same color and Dupont Imron Paint).
I had a Chevelle SS 396 a few years later and the Ferrari guy & I would sometimes drag race (at a real 1/4 mile track). Because who won was inconsistent, we swapped vehicles. Who won was still inconsistent. After doing this a few more times, we realized that it was who got the better launch at the start would win the 1/4 mile drag race>
But the Chevelle was a 3 speed turbo 400 transmission. The Ferrari was a 5 speed manual. At the end of the 1/4 mile, I would be near my top speed in high gear. He would have two more gears to go if the track was: say a 1/2 mile or a 1 mile track.
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I drive a 12 year old mid-size SUV. So what does that reveal about me Tinker? Let me know.
I generally have a sports car or two which aren't daily drivers. Stepping back three decades I drove an Acura Integra. Sold it to purchase a 2 year old Toyota truck back when there were small trucks. Why? I was working in a place that was a mega construction site and would be for years. The ground clearance of even a small truck was welcome, and it didn't make sense having a fancy vehicle in all the dust, dirt, gravel, in what was also a sometimes blast zone. It was the most basic truck with a manual transmission (just the way I like them) with AC being the only option. I lived close to where I worked.
Construction ended, but I kept using the truck for 21 years. It functioned fine all the way around. I sold it and purchased a 2nd hand mid size SUV. Which uses less fuel than my old truck though it is the heaviest vehicle I have owned. Why did I do this? I never liked or wanted an SUV, thought I would not like this one. However, my Father was diagnosed with cancer. I had just retired. I'd helped with other very sick people. Getting in and out of a vehicle is a big problem. I would be the person taking him to his treatments and doctor visits. A low to the ground sedan is an issue when you are sick and weak. Large trucks and SUVs are an issue because you have to climb into them. A mid-size SUV or a mini van were my options for something with a height allowing one to just sit over into a vehicle and step out with the least strength needed. Small trucks were gone and mid-size one's were pretty big. I figured out an optimum seat height for my needs. That was my criteria. It had to meet that or it was out. Being comfortable was the next criteria. I expected to sell it later.
I still have it because to my surprise I liked it myself. My Father is no longer with me unfortunately. An SUV if not too large is really built to human sizes. You don't fold into it, climb into it, duck into it or feel lost once you are in it. Mini vans are even better for passengers.
So why the long goofy story? Because energy needs played a very limited factor in decisions as to what I owned to meet my needs or wants. That is how it is for most people. They have varied needs, those change, there is no one size fits all. I like efficient vehicles. Almost surely my next purchase will be an EV. Not having a car is not a reasonable option where I live. I could move, but green energy is not high up on my list for choosing where I live. I'd like a place where one didn't need a car, but that isn't by itself enough. I don't buy an EV now because I don't drive much, and it makes no economic sense for me. People make decisions upon their needs and the economics. I hate that generally the increases in ICE efficiency have been used for ever larger and more expensive vehicles with the same mediocre fuel mileage. But it is a free country more or less. Ford does make the hybrid Maverick which is a modern small truck of good efficiency.
What does it take to transition to green energy? For green energy to meet needs and wants more economically than other sources of energy. It is that simple. You don't need to brow beat, force choices or do anything if green energy is the best energy for the money.
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No, just a world traveler.
I am getting ready to actually be retired from my life of working (usually being a technician on mechanical things from dirt bikes to 60 ton vehicles) to travel, hopefully at the beginning of next year. My wife is on her last work gig and will return (hopefully the day before Thanksgiving), soon.
Maybe later I can write something that would sell. H'mmm?
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As far as my own green living goes, I still buy too much unnecessary crap, but not as much as before, and hopefully not as much as the average 'Merican.
Less:
Animal-based foods, except eggs
Fast food (it's actually scarcer in my area than a typical USA town, wish we had just one Popeyes)
Amazon, B&H Photo, Adorama, eBay, Apple, Microsoft, Google (camera and computer technology is pretty mature now)
Anything hifi-related (no real hardship once sonic transparency has been achieved)
Car-driving
More:
Whole plant based foods
Home cooking
Thrift store and salvaged items can be fun!
Walking
Driving less and walking more is a result of my choosing to live in a walkable area with good transit options. But it does mean living in closer proximity to other people, and having less space than I might in a less urbanized area.
On the minus side, I've done a whole lot of commercial air travel in recent years as I was dealing with family matters. And once I stop feeling so burnt-out from flying, I might like to resume overseas travel.
Less:
Animal-based foods, except eggs
Fast food (it's actually scarcer in my area than a typical USA town, wish we had just one Popeyes)
Amazon, B&H Photo, Adorama, eBay, Apple, Microsoft, Google (camera and computer technology is pretty mature now)
Anything hifi-related (no real hardship once sonic transparency has been achieved)
Car-driving
More:
Whole plant based foods
Home cooking
Thrift store and salvaged items can be fun!
Walking
Driving less and walking more is a result of my choosing to live in a walkable area with good transit options. But it does mean living in closer proximity to other people, and having less space than I might in a less urbanized area.
On the minus side, I've done a whole lot of commercial air travel in recent years as I was dealing with family matters. And once I stop feeling so burnt-out from flying, I might like to resume overseas travel.
I like my Hot Rodded 2000 Nissan Frontier (the 4 cylinder has more power now than the V6 of that year had and it gets 3 MPG better than it did when it was stock.
How the mods came about: Some butthole stole my catalytic convertor. I bought a stainless steel Magna-Flow header with the welded on stainless steel CAT, a couple of new O2 sensors and 4 new fuel injectors (these new ones have a 12 point spray pattern instead of the old 4 point spray pattern [had I known what I would do next, I would have gone from the 270cc injectors to the 320cc injectors]) so, I drove it that way (with it's newly increased by 20% power and economy (I also run a factory style K&N air filter [IF you are in dusty conditions, a WIX filter is the best]{it clogs up faster but that is because it catches vastly more stuff than a K&N does, so you'll need to check it more often}).
Next the 180K miles to change the timing chain came up (I could here it beginning to rattle at about 190K. Well, the head has to come off for this job, so I thought that perhaps I could get some more power by changing the camshafts while the head was off. But all I could figure as I did my research was that I could get = midrange & better high RPM power but loose low end power. So then I tried modeling what if I just changed the intake cam? That seemed promising until I made a fortuitous phone call to a company that makes camshafts for this engine for drifting racing and it just happened that their camshaft designer answered the phone. After I told him my goals of more low end torque and better mid range, he informed me that I could not have that by doing anything with a camshaft: only better midrange & high RPM or just great high RPM. But then he informed me that the particular head on my engine responds EXTREMLY well to mild to moderate porting. So off to the machine shop the head went. The machinists said that they had never done a head for a Nissan Frontier 4 cylinder before but after looking at it decided that normal things that they do would apply, just on a smaller scale. I got the head back, installed everything & low & behold, yet another power (from just off idle to 4800 RPM [300 rpm higher than before]) and now it would do a bit more than just bark the tires on the automatics 1-2 shift, (my previous one was a 5 speed but that was destroyed years ago) and another increase in fuel economy. Woo-hoo!
LoL... I knew a guy that hopped up everything he drove and he had a shop truck a little Datsun that was a beater and he put a big Holley carb on it and said that it improved the driving experience. I went for a ride in the truck but I never noticed anything out of the ordinary. But he did it... LoL.
I have KYB GAS-A-Just shocks, anti-sway bars (nothing outrageous) it's stable at it's top speed of 107 MPH and surprises many with it's acceleration and handling.
It is not a sleeper though, even when you are just parking it at idle (it doesn't lope but it has a more authoritive tone) through it's stock style but Flow Mastered 2 & 1/2" exhaust.
Most people hear it but it's not enough to cause alarm. Car folks can double take & then want to know what I've done and then go: "That's a hell of a 4 banger".
Also, no need to slow down for most speed bumps/humps whatever that call them these days.
OK so since this has turned into a conversation about fun cars to own... how much of a penalty would you be willing to pay in an era where only EVs are regarded as "approved everyday vehicles"?
I actually have not replaced my everyday fun car after it was totalled. I bought a used EV but it's my GF that drives it. I have an old 2010 911 Targa that I barely drive and is stored at her place too, and I intend to keep for life. I ride my motorcycles day to day. And I will never ever buy a self driving next Gen EV. ever. I detest the idea of owning a car that doesn't want me to drive. I like stick shifts. And other than ABS I. don't really want any gimmicks.
I actually have not replaced my everyday fun car after it was totalled. I bought a used EV but it's my GF that drives it. I have an old 2010 911 Targa that I barely drive and is stored at her place too, and I intend to keep for life. I ride my motorcycles day to day. And I will never ever buy a self driving next Gen EV. ever. I detest the idea of owning a car that doesn't want me to drive. I like stick shifts. And other than ABS I. don't really want any gimmicks.
I just flat out would not live there. And if the whole world goes that way, I will just get another horse.
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I don't even like the question. I hope there is no such era as long as I am around.
Considering you can still drive a model T down the road, I don't think it would ever happen!
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Since I drive 99% less today than in the 1990s, it would hardly affect me at all. And if it meant Kei (and smaller!) sized vehicles becoming legal and viable options for the USA market, I might be very interested. I certainly don't need a vehicle that can cover any possible contingency (need for super-long range, multiple passengers) because for those rare occasions, I'd rather rent or choose another mode of transit as needed.
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I have yet to see one tooling down I-25
There's no need to ban owning or operating IC vehicles, because once sales of new ones ceases, attrition will take most of them off the road soon enough. Some will become highly prized, but lightly-used, possessions, just like your typical "hypercar" or lovingly restored classic today. At some point, you could even relax regulations regarding emissions, because there won't be enough of the things on the road to matter, much less keep testing facilities in business.Similar threads
