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FROM Insure.com: Switching to a Smaller Car Can Increase Your Insurance Bill

 

 

 

    DARIEN, Ill., July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Insure.com, Inc.

 

(Nasdaq: NSUR) has today released the results of a new study  that confirms yet more bad news having to do with rising oil prices: Switching to a smaller car can actually increase your car insurance bill.

 

    Americans are looking to smaller cars for savings on spiraling gas prices and for lower emissions, but will car insurance savings follow, too?

 

    The answer is usually a big fat NO.

 

    According to Autodata Corp., from June 2007 to June 2008, total light truck sales dropped 28.4 percent.  Even the vehicles that have long reigned as top-sellers -- the Ford F-series pickups -- have taken a 40.5 percent sales hit from June 2007 to June 2008, according to Ford.  Meanwhile, sales of the Toyota Corolla and Camry and Honda Civic and Accord continue to go up, filling in the sales gap.  Honda reported that the Civic hit a new sales record in June 2008, up 23.1 percent from last year.

 

    There are substantial fuel savings to be seen in vehicle-size changes.  For example, switching from a Ford F-150 FWD pickup (13 mpg city/17 mpg highway) to a Honda Civic (25 mpg city/36 mpg highway) will save you close to $2,000 annually in gas.  (That's from a fuel cost of $2,091 for the Civic and $4,042 for the F-150 based on 45 percent highway driving and 55 percent city driving at 15,000 miles/year and at $4.04 per gallon.)  If you'd like to make side-by-side comparisons of other vehicles' fuel economy, visit http://www.FuelEconomy.gov.

 

    Once you know how much you could save on gas, how about on car insurance? Does a smaller vehicle equate to smaller car insurance rates?

 

    According to our latest car insurance rate research, switching from a larger vehicle to a small car like a Honda Civic or Toyota Prius is likely to raise your car insurance rate.  We surveyed rates for four of the nation's largest auto insurers in multiple ZIP codes across the U.S. for the 2009 Toyota Prius and Honda Civic against the top-selling larger cars: The Toyota Camry (a sedan), Honda CR-V (an SUV), the Toyota Sienna (a minivan) and the Ford F-150 (a pickup).  The results: The Prius and Civic are the most expensive to insure among the group.

 

 

 

    2009 model vehicle            &nb sp;  Average national premium*

 

       Honda Civic            &nb sp;                $1,670

 

       Toyota Prius            &nb sp;               $1,382

 

       Toyota Camry            &nb sp;               $1,302

 

       Toyota Sienna            &nb sp;             $1,266

 

       Honda CR-V            &nb sp;                 $1,258

 

       Ford F-series            &nb sp;             $1,194

 

 

 

 

 

    What's going on here?  Do car insurers have no appreciation for fuel conservation, lower emissions and smaller carbon footprints?  The answer for insurers is: Only when it's justified by their claims experience.  Simply put, small cars are not as safe as large cars and they tend to get into more accidents, leading not only to more broken metal, but more broken bones as well.  And that, in turn, leads to higher repair costs and more litigation expenses.

 

    "Small cars tend to increase insurance costs because they get into more crashes," says Russ Rader, spokesperson for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).  "There's a myth that a smaller car is more nimble and helps you avoid crashes, but smaller cars tend to have more collision losses."

 

    Of course it's not the cars causing the accidents, it's the people behind the wheel.  "Part of the reason is the driver," says Rader.  "Smaller cars tend to be less expensive and driven by younger, higher-risk drivers.  And they think they can zip around in traffic."

 

    When auto insurers see those more frequent and more expensive claims attached to certain vehicles, they rate policies for those vehicles accordingly.  Thus, when you buy a smaller car that has a history of high insurance losses, you're essentially paying for the blunders of other drivers of that vehicle model.  Past insurance loss experience tracked by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), a division of IIHS, gives some insight into where these smaller vehicles are resulting in bigger insurance losses (the most recent data comes from 2004 to 2006 model vehicles):

 

 

 

    -- The Honda Civic is "worse than average" for personal injury protection losses and medical payments.  That means passenger injuries are costly for this car.

 

    -- The Honda Civic Coupe fares even worse: It is "worse than average" for bodily injury and "substantially worse than average" for collision, personal injury protection and medical payment losses.

 

    -- The Honda CR-V, classified as a small SUV, performs at "average" for all loss categories except comprehensive losses, where it is "substantially better than average." Comprehensive coverage includes payments for theft, fire, vandalism and natural disasters.

 

    -- The Toyota Sienna minivan is "better" or "substantially better than average" across all loss categories, meaning insurers are paying out less in claims for Sienna drivers.  (Very large station wagons and minivans, like the Sienna, Honda Odyssey and Chrysler Town & Country, show no worse-than-average losses at all.)

 

    -- Ford F-150 pickups perform "substantially better than average" for personal injury protection and medical payment claims.  Their only "worse" category is comprehensive claims, probably because the F-150 ranks at No. 4 on the "most stolen vehicles" list compiled by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

 

 

 

 

 

    So while your big F-150 may catch the eye of car thieves, your passengers are safer from injury in an accident.

 

    The Mini Cooper, Volkswagen New Beetle and Volkswagen Golf are small cars that stay at "average" or better for all loss categories, according to HLDI. Here, though, lower insurance losses may not be due to the car design but the fact they tend to be driven by more experienced drivers.

 

    "There's a big safety downside to moving to a smaller car because you're putting yourself at more risk of injury," confirms Rader.  "It all boils down to the laws of physics: People think about safety features like air bags, but no matter how many air bags you stuff into a smaller car, it's not going to be as safe as a larger, heavier vehicle."

 

    Whatever vehicle you drive, the vehicle model is only one of many factors that go into the price of your policy: Your own driving record, claims history and your location affect your premium significantly.  See "Twelve ways to save on your auto policy" for ways to lower your car insurance bill at http://www.insure.com/articles/carinsurance/policy-save.html. 

 

    To view the latest Car Crash Safety Ratings, click to: http://www.insure.com/articles/interactivetools/carcrash/carcrash.jsp

 

 

 

    * Source: Insure.com research. Based on annual premiums for a male driver

 

      age 40 who drives 12 miles to work with policy limits of 100/300/50.

 

 

 

    About Insure.com

 

    Originally founded in 1984 as Quotesmith Corporation, Insure.com owns and operates a comprehensive consumer information service and companion insurance brokerage service that caters to the needs of self-directed insurance shoppers.  Visitors to the Company's flagship Web site, http://www.insure.com, are able to obtain free, instant car insurance quotes, instant life insurance quotes, home, business and health insurance quotes from leading insurers and have the freedom to buy online or by phone from any company shown.  Insure.com also plays home to over 2,000 originally authored articles on various insurance topics and also provides free insurance decision-making tools that are not available from any other single source.  Insure.com generates revenues from receipt of industry-standard commissions, including back-end bonus commissions and volume-based contingent bonus commissions that are paid by participating insurance companies.  We also generate advertising revenues from the sale of Web site traffic to various third parties.  Shares of the Company's common stock trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol NSUR.

 

 

 

SOURCE  Insure.com, Inc.

 

Tags: Switching To A Smaller Car Can Increase Your Insurance Bill

Judging this list you have to wonder who is really contributing to global warming the most. Seems to me the USA is quite responsible in keeping gas usage down with prices around $4 a gallon. Perhaps car enthusiasts should book a driving vacation in Venezuela.

Nation City Price in USD Regular/Gallon Netherlands Amsterdam $6.48 Norway Oslo $6.27 Italy Milan $5.96 Denmark Copenhagen $5.93 Belgium Brussels $5.91 Sweden Stockholm $5.80 United Kingdom London $5.79 Germany Frankfurt $5.57 France Paris $5.54 Portugal Lisbon $5.35 Hungary Budapest $4.94 Luxembourg $4.82 Croatia Zagreb $4.81 Ireland Dublin $4.78 Switzerland Geneva $4.74 Spain Madrid $4.55 Japan Tokyo $4.24 Czech Republic Prague $4.19 Romania Bucharest $4.09 Andorra $4.08 Estonia Tallinn $3.62 Bulgaria Sofia $3.52 Brazil Brasilia $3.12 Cuba Havana $3.03 Taiwan Taipei $2.84 Lebanon Beirut $2.63 South Africa Johannesburg $2.62 Nicaragua Managua $2.61 Panama Panama City $2.19 Russia Moscow $2.10 Puerto Rico San Juan $1.74 Saudi Arabia Riyadh $0.91 Kuwait Kuwait City $0.78 Egypt Cairo $0.65 Nigeria Lagos $0.38 Venezuela Caracas $0.12
Source: air-inc.com
 

Tags: Gas Prices Around The World

When the oil finally runs dry, and there is no more, what will happen?

Actually I don’t know that answer, but what I am pretty sure of is, there will still be transportation, individual and public.

Homes and offices will still be heated in winter and everything that today is made from plastic will be made from something else.

Staying on that for a moment, almost everything made from plastic can be made from other materials, like glass, we all know the properties of glass, or silicone.

Now silicone can have various properties and can look and feel like plastic.

Then there’s aluminum, apparently one of the most plentiful, reusable, recyclable, metals on earth.

Throw some wood into the equation and you quickly realize we don’t need plastic at all.

Everything we use today can be made from, and be replaced by, one or more of those alternative, natural, environmentally friendly, materials.

That takes care of plastics.

Gas is a little more difficult, however, what I am sure of is that once the oil runs dry, there will be an alternative, and only then will an alternative become widely used.

GM announced today it is making smaller cars, perhaps doing away with the Hummer, what a shame.

What’s all this oil conservation about anyway? It’s not a forever resource, it’s going to run out, who’s in denial here? Really who?

The oil companies and the car companies and the plastic companies, you know who. And why, because they want to extract as much money for as long as they can by charging more for something they have essentially begun rationing, by charging more! And all my little tree hugger friends are going along with it and enabling this plan by getting us to use less conserve more and keep oil in the picture for longer. It’s all working out beautifully for the oil producers and car companies.

 

The real answer is to drive bigger cars, drive more and use up the oil as quickly as possible. Then, and only then, will alternatives become widely available and widely used, all processed with clean nuclear energy.

 

Oil from the ground in the future will be as puzzling a piece of the jigsaw as whale blubber is, as a means for illuminating a room. Sure we could still use whale blubber for oil to light a lantern, and when there where as many whales as there where people it sort of made sense.

 

One day in the future, using refined crude oil to power cars and make plastics will seem as outdated as using whale blubber to illuminate the nights.

 

Invest in aluminum, invest in silicone, wait a minute, what is silicone made from? Sand, yes sand. Well now there’s an irony if ever there was one, where’s all the sand? Well a lot of it is right over the oil I’m proposing we use up as fast as possible.

 

Well at least it keeps the middle east in the game so they can’t grumble, they will have to come up with another way of moving sand, although, oil pipes won’t work. Trucks perhaps? running on? Not oil! It gets complicated doesn’t it?

 

Anyway, If you really want to make progress and contribute to the earth and the well being of the earth, buy a Hummer, or something bigger, get a second car and start driving, drive more and drive everywhere. Get enthusiastic about driving. Make a difference.

 

Tags: Oil Plastic

I am quickly discovering that you can’t say the smallest, slightest thing in a blog without getting picked up on it so let me do the same, the correct French response to this will be Touché, I think?

 

 

 

 

I will get to that in one moment. I am very glad to report however that one of my blogs did actually entice at least one person to join, and become a member of MyWheelsTVGarage.

 

Back to my previous blog and, JUST A PART of the comment made on it.

 

 

 

 

“Au contraire!  We have in fact only two choices at the pump:  Gasoline or Diesel.  Octane I think would be a varietal of gasoline, no?”

 

 

 

 

Using that argument then, ‘Au Contraire’, again!  

Using that premise, then it’s only ONE choice, unless I’m mistaken both Gasoline AND Diesel are produced originally from the same product, that being crude oil?

 

 

 

 

So we’re both wrong or BOTH right, or perhaps only I’m right.

I think “Varietal” pretty much exclusively refers to grapes though!

 

 

 

 

 

But this did get me thinking. What is Octane?

Always good to know about things that you might not ordinarily give a lot of thought to.

 

 

 

This, courtesy of Wikipedia!

 

 

The octane rating is a measure of the autoignition resistance of gasoline and other fuels used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines. It is a measure of anti-detonation of a gasoline or fuel.

 

 

Octane number is the number which gives the percentage, by volume, of iso-octane in a mixture of iso-octane and normal heptane, that would have the same anti-knocking capacity as the fuel which is under consideration. For example, gasoline with the same knocking characteristics as a mixture of 90% iso-octane and 10% heptane would have an octane rating of 90. ^[1]

 

 

The octane rating of a spark ignition engine fuel is the knock resistance (anti-knock rating) compared to a mixture of iso-octane (2,2,4-trimethylpentane, an isomer of octane) and n-heptane. By definition, iso-octane is assigned an octane rating of 100 and heptane is assigned an octane rating of zero. An 87-octane gasoline, for example, possesses the same anti-knock rating of a mixture of 87% (by volume) iso-octane and 13% (by volume) n-heptane. This does not mean, however, that the gasoline actually contains these hydrocarbons in these proportions. It simply means that it has the same autoignition resistance as the described mixture.

 

 

A high tendency to autoignite, or low octane rating, is undesirable in a spark ignition engine but desirable in a diesel engine. The standard for the combustion quality of diesel fuel is the cetane number. A diesel fuel with a high cetane number has a high tendency to autoignite, as is preferred.

 

 

It should be noted that octane rating does not relate to the energy content of the fuel (see heating value), nor the speed at which the flame initiated by the spark plug propagates across the cylinder. It is only a measure of the fuel's resistance to autoignition. It is for this reason that one highly branched form, or isomer, of octane (2,2,4-trimethylpentane) has (by definition) an octane rating of 100, whereas n-octane (see octane), which has a linear arrangement of the 8 carbon atoms, has an octane rating of -10, even though the two fuels have exactly the same chemical formula and virtually identical heating values and flame speeds.

 

 

[edit] Measurement methods

 

The most common type of octane rating worldwide is the Research Octane Number (RON). RON is determined by running the fuel in a test engine with a variable compression ratio under controlled conditions, and comparing these results with those for mixtures of iso-octane and n-heptane.

 

 

There is another type of octane rating, called Motor Octane Number (MON) or the aviation lean octane rating, which is a better measure of how the fuel behaves when under load. MON testing uses a similar test engine to that used in RON testing, but with a preheated fuel mixture, a higher engine speed, and variable ignition timing to further stress the fuel's knock resistance. Depending on the composition of the fuel, the MON of a modern gasoline will be about 8 to 10 points lower than the RON. Normally fuel specifications require both a minimum RON and a minimum MON.

 

 

In most countries (including all of Europe and Australia) the "headline" octane that would be shown on the pump is the RON, but in the United States, Canada and some other countries the headline number is the average of the RON and the MON, sometimes called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), Road Octane Number (RdON), Pump Octane Number (PON), or (R+M)/2. Because of the 8 to 10 point difference noted above, this means that the octane in the United States will be about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere: 87 octane fuel, the "regular" gasoline in the US and Canada, would be 91-92 in Europe. However most European pumps deliver 95 (RON) as "regular", equivalent to 90-91 US (R+M)/2, and even deliver 98 (RON) or 100 (RON).

 

 

The octane rating may also be a "trade name", with the actual figure being higher than the nominal rating.^{[citation needed]}

 

 

It is possible for a fuel to have a RON greater than 100, because iso-octane is not the most knock-resistant substance available. Racing fuels, straight ethanol, AvGas and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) typically have octane ratings of 110 or significantly higher - ethanol's RON is 129 (MON 102, AKI 116) reference[1]. Typical "octane booster" additives include tetra-ethyl lead, MTBE and toluene. Tetra-ethyl lead is easily decomposed to its component radicals, which react with the radicals from the fuel and oxygen that would start the combustion, thereby delaying ignition. This is why leaded gasoline has a higher octane rating than unleaded.

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: Octane

Please let me preface this with the now obligatory,

“I am not whining about gas prices! And, I am NOT advocating the use of alternative fuels.”

I am merely making comments and writing about personal observations. Again, I am not trying to offend tree huggers and political activists, so please remain calm.

Keeping all this “automotive”  is of course the intent.

In this political season I have been drawing some parallels, and couldn’t help but observe similarities between the American gas buying, and thereby using, public, and the American political voting public!  Stay with me here, it’s convoluted but it makes perfect sense to me!

 

 

 

I recently read a number of articles, all of which are readily available to anyone with a simple Google search, about how Brazil is essentially self sufficient, as far as fueling their cars is concerned.

They have enough of their own gasoline, largely because they use a substantial amount of ethanol that they produce cheaply enough, and in enough quantity from sugar cane, to satisfy their motoring public.

You can almost hear the tree huggers swooning at the prospect of this here in the USA, but of course there is always another side to the story.

 

 

 

Anyway, what does this have to do with politics, enthusiasts and the price of gas.

Choices!

You see, we have as many choices if we want them, as Brazil!

You can’t tell me that if Brazil can figure it out, that we can’t!

And that’s only because we are supposed to be the greatest industrial nation in the world, and until fairly recently, didn’t we produce most of the cars in the world?

I know we don’t now!

And, didn’t we play a big role in beginning the business of owning our own cars?

And, don’t we have more miles of roads than any other single country, and perhaps more cars per capita, etc, etc, etc?

I had to clarify that all before I get emails from Brazilians who used to live in Massachusetts and moved to California!

I’m NOT trying to offend Brazilians. In fact, with my new found knowledge,  I kind of admire them.

 

 

 

Anyway, like I said, choices!

We have probably the three WORST, least qualified, candidates running for president right now and one of them will actually be the next president!

 

 

 

But, and this is the clincher, not because we do not have alternatives!

Just like alternative fuels, like Brazil has, (they cracked that nut!) ( I love that pun!)

But because we do not CHOOSE to go to the alternative!

 

 

 

I don’t have to get into all the reasons why Obama, Clinton and McCain are essentially the worst candidates that are AVAILABLE, and that is the key word, my enthusiastic friends, AVAILABLE!

There simply are more qualified people, even employed in current government that could run this country, but for very good and sound reasons, they are far too smart to subject themselves to the ridiculousness of the political system, just to get to the position whereby their intelligence and experience could do some good for this country.

 

 

 

So what do 100 million, or so people in America do?  

They go to the polls and vote for one of those three!

And what do those 100 Million or so American people do at the gas pumps everyday?

They fill up with one of the three overpriced octanes available!

 

 

 

The funny thing is, in both instances, there is an alternative available!

Voters can actually, at the polls, WRITE in a candidate.

 

 

 

We could actually all write in “Mickey Mouse”, and if enough people wrote in “Mickey Mouse” then guess who would become the next president? Yes. You get the point!

 

 

 

Anyway,  all this hand wringing  on the news everyday, all this talk about gas tax holidays, and about the big bad oil companies, and the conspiracy theories, and that’s a whole new blog in itself, is really quite silly!

 

 

 

There are plenty of alternatives!

Remember Brazil?

But, it’s easier to just complain and pump!

We drive up to the pump, we look at our choices, we make our pick and off we go.

Political candidate for president or gasoline for the car.

We will simply take one of the choices in front of us, and complain about it in our spare time and of course blame our politicians, who we  freely chose.

Then we will whine about the oil companies who are screwing us because we freely buy their goods at market price.

 

Tags: Alternative Fuel Politics Gas Prices Ethanol Gore Clinton Obama McCain Pump

I must admit I had no idea blogging would be this enjoyable, and on so many levels, not just writing one but getting the response.

After that first attempt I wondered briefly if anyone would actually read what I had written, well hold onto your knobs, for all you British people out there, I of course mean the gear shift, after all this is for car enthusiasts, I’m not trying to offend anyone, perhaps, I should re phrase that, I’m not trying to offend everyone!

I don’t give a crap about offending those who I believe have offended me, but I will keep it all within the confines of everything automotive.

I want to discuss an email I received, I would’ve much preferred the response to me had been in another blog on MyWheelsTVGarage perhaps on that persons own page, that is if they had the courage to own up to having a profile. Anyway, this person actually had the audacity to suggest I put their email into my blog, but people who respond by email, as this person did, rarely when it’s proven, have the complete courage of their own convictions.

 

 

 

They are the pompous, pretentious, self righteous preachy type of person, but much more insidious than that, they want to tell you how to do things and what to do. They can’t just have a simple opinion, they want to force their opinion on you and then question how and why you do everything that does not conform to their way of thinking, they are the people that start wars, although they’ll start spluttering with indignation at such a suggestion, these tree huggers will be the first to tell you that everything they believe in is against war, it’s for peace and the environment.

 

 

 

Yes the environment, that’s what they’re protecting, and how dare we be driving big fat gas guzzling cars that we can’t possibly justify the use of, within their precious environment, that they’re so zealously protecting.

Isn’t it always the preachers with the loudest voices that get caught with the stickiest fingers? More on that in a moment.

 

 

 

This emailer, who I happen to know to some varying degree, “can’t stomach solutions being touted by those who don’t subscribe to them”. If you read that particular blog in question, there was no touting, I made no claim that I would partake in bio diesel solutions or that anyone else should, it was merely informational.

 

 

 

Let me pull some excerpts out of this email for fun.

 

 

 

Also in the previous blog there was no “Bitchin”, their word not mine, about gas prices, again it was an observational piece, quite obviously wrongly interpreted within their own personal agenda, which pretty much always becomes do as I say not as I do.

I can hear the whining now, about how this emailer rides a bike to work everyday, ooh how responsible, I won’t even get into how all that sweatin’ and fartin is effecting the ozone layer?

“Here in ***, parking lots charge a 20 dollar premium for full-sized vehicles.”

 

 

What a silly comment.

 

 

Parking lots that charge $20 for full size vehicles! A tree hugger interprets that as protecting the environment, normal people interpret that as, either gouging, or smart business, basically opportunism.

A lot attendant can use the fact that you have a bigger car to charge you a bigger amount to park it! How is that helping the environment?,  unless you tell me that small cars pay $12, big cars pay $20 and the lot attendant sends the difference of $8 to Al Gore? Guess what, it’s free enterprise, the lot attendant doesn’t give a crap about the environment, he keeps the extra $8 and the more the bigger, the merrier.

Anyway, there I am reading this email, incredulous at what it is saying, I’m being asked to justify what I drive and how I drive it and what I use it for.

Not by way of justification, although it can, if you like, be interpreted that way, I don’t give a rats ass.

 

 

 

 “Basically, I think it's irresponsible and irrational to drive such a large vehicle if you don't use it as it was designed.”

 

 

Basically I don’t give a crap what you think, if I want your opinion I will ask for it.

These are the people who have such low self esteem that they have to tell people what to do and how to do it, whether it’s cars to drive or food to eat, places to go or clothes to wear. They just can’t shut up and mind their own business, they’re self important, pretentious, haughty and snobbish and they constantly seek affirmation from all their friends, peers and associates for all the goody two shoes stuff they’re doing.

The funny thing is most of the people whom they associate with find all their crap such a pain in the ass but haven’t the heart to tell them. These tree huggers feelings get hurt so easily, their self esteem is so fragile because they really do think and believe that they’re right and everyone else is wrong.

 

 

 

Before this job I spent 10 years in a home based office, no commute at all, my emailer can’t claim that? So I think I built up some credits there?

 

 

 

Read this bit!

“A weight-based use-tax would be a glorious thing.  It's hard for those of us who are more responsible with our vehicle choices to take serious those who need to inflate their plumage with an SUV or big-ass car.”

 

 

Personally I think 80 cents a gallon would be a glorious thing!  

 

 

 

 

 

And then that thing about “how it is hard for us who are responsible with our vehicle choices, inflating our plumage”, crap crap crap crap.

How portentous and arrogant was that hollow statement? why? I’m coming to that.

 

 

 

“So, I implore you:  when was the last time you hauled or towed anything, or filled that bed up with messy, heavy stuff or otherwise put that RAM to work, that wouldn't fit into the trunk of say, a hatchback?”

 

 

 

 

Puhleeeze. Now the self righteous, preachy, tree hugger wants me to keep a log and report on when I’m using my vehicle responsibly. Perhaps I need to start another log that details every time I buy mulch and choose to pick up three yards of it myself rather than pay to have it delivered, or any other yard related item. There are probably some tree hugger rules I’m breaking about moving dirt from one location to the other?

Or when friends, yes I have friends, and neighbors who I regularly respond to for requests to assist where a big ass truck is required, taking furniture to the transfer station where it is recycled for others to use, just one fairly regular example, if you need names, numbers, etc, for verification let me know, I’m sure I can comply.

 

 

 

Actually I think the bed of the truck as some real scratches from real actual stuff that was in there, amazing, perhaps I will try and take some pictures if anyone is really interested.

 

 

 

“I also challenge you:  ditch the RAM, get something reasonable and respectable - you'll save money, and what's left of our "natural" resources.  You also won't get berated by a growing faction of people who despise a vehicle such as yours.  It's time to be an agent of change.”

 

 

 

 

I must admit I loved this bit, all of it, “reasonable and respectable”, the arrogance is overwhelming, everything by his preachy, self righteous, self important standard.

And I’ll save what’s left of our natural resources? Huh? Save our natural resource of Oil? Metal? The Ozone Layer?

And I actually don’t give a crap about people who despise vehicles like the ones I drive, I don’t care one bit if they want to berate me. Like I said these are the people who hold the double standard, whose negligible self esteem compels them to attempt to manipulate people to their own narrow viewpoint whilst they maintain their own double standard.

And what is that double standard.

 

 

 

Here is a story I found on line.

Older cars are responsible for spewing about two thirds of the pollution that comes from automobiles, yet in several states with anti-pollution laws, these are the very cars exempt from testing and upgrades. For many people, an emissions test has become a standard part of the yearly car inspection. If the tailpipe discharge is out of compliance, mechanics can make upgrades, change filters or take other corrective action. But in a growing number of states, the cars responsible for polluting most -- those made before 1996 -- are exempt from the tests. As Malcolm Gladwell pointed out in a New Yorker piece not too long ago, the faster road to cleaner air is to aggressively target the worst polluters -- in other words, those few older cars that account for the majority of emissions, rather than the many newer and largely clean cars, according to a story in the June 18 USA Today.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps people who live in gas polluting houses should not throw stones.

People who take cross country trips spewing pollutants across multiple states, and people who drive cars that barely get better mileage than a modern engine, hold a double standard, especially when those older engines in their car’s, yes more than one, spew out dirtier and more damaging pollutants than those big ass clean burning, fuel efficient environmentally regulated and friendly vehicles do.

But that’s your business, your conscience, your standard.

Tags: Tree Huggers Gas Guzzelers Pollution

Perhaps commentary without a solution is not a smart thing, so those out there that think there is no alternative to the price of gas, there is! It is not as convenient or as easy as pulling up to your nearest pump, but if you eat a lot of Chinese food, you won't have to be held hostage by those big bad government owned and run by oil companies, after all this is America!

 

 

 

How to Convert a Car to Run on Vegetable Oil

 

Diesel engines can run on three basic types of fuel: petroleum diesel, biodiesel, and straight vegetable oil (SVO). Diesel fuel produces carbon dioxide, pollution, particulates and sulfur emissions and increases reliance on foreign oil because it comes from petroleum. Any diesel engine can run on biodiesel. Biodiesel is a clean-burning fuel made from domestic, renewable plant sources, such as oils from vegetables, peanuts, soy beans, canola/rape seeds, hemp seeds and some grains. It has undergone the process of transesterification, a simple chemical modification of ordinary vegetable oil that makes the fuel usable in diesel engines and keeps it from thickening at colder temperatures.

 

Step1

 

Start with a modern diesel engine. Nearly any newer diesel engine can be converted to run on vegetable oil as long as it doesn’t have rubber seals in its fuel system (only older diesels use rubber seals). The rubber seals will deteriorate when exposed to vegetable oil over time because vegetable oil acts as a solvent.

 

Step2

 

Install a vegetable oil fuel conversion kit or have a mechanic do it. You should keep the original gas tank to hold regular diesel or biodiesel fuel for cold weather. Install a second tank for vegetable oil; these sometimes go in the trunk. The conversion kit should include hoses from the cars radiator to the vegetable oil tank to heat the oil via a heat exchanger before it enters the final fuel filter and injectors inside the engine compartment.

 

Step3

 

Get vegetable oil. New vegetable oil is easiest to acquire but very expensive. Restaurants will often give you their waste oil for free. Chinese and Japanese restaurants are best because their oils comes out cleanest. The oil should be amber in color. Oil from other types of restaurants may also be suitable but could require more filtering to remove food particles. You will need a few containers for transferring the oil from the source to your filtering destination. The five gallon jugs that the restaurants receive the fresh oil in work fine. Restaurants are usually happy to give you these containers since it saves them disposal fees.

 

Step4

 

Filter the oil. Use filter bags that are rated to 0.5 microns thick. To increase the life of your filter bags, first allow the oil to sit in a barrel for about a week to let particulate matter settle to the bottom. Then, pump or scoop the oil into a filter bag suspended above a fresh empty barrel from the top of the barrel (since most of the food particles matter and possible water is at the bottom). Start your engine using regular diesel or biodiesel fuel from the normal gas tank. Once the engine and vegetable oil are warm (after about 15 minutes depending on weather), switch to allow the vegetable oil to flow into the fuel source.

 

Step5

 

Switch back to diesel or biodiesel a few minutes before you stop your engine for any time (about 10 minutes depending on the temperature) to make sure the vegetable oil is purged from the fuel line and injectors so that they don't become clogged when the engine cools.

 

 

 

 

 

Tips & Warnings

 

 

 

 

 

• In warm weather, the car can be started and run completely on vegetable oil.

   

• Make sure to keep your regular diesel tank just in case you may run out of vegetable oil or want to travel to a cooler climate.

   

• Purge the fuel line and fuel pump/injector with biodiesel or regular diesel every time you stop your engine just in case the weather turns cold unexpectedly.

   

• It’s possible to change the rubber seals on older diesel vehicles so that they too can be converted to run on vegetable oil.

   

• Consider using a fuel injector/piston cleaner every six months to remove any accumulated carbon deposits. To do this, just pour the 12-ounce bottle into the tank before you drive.

   

• Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel that has been tested completely for health effects based on the requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.

   

• Biodiesel is sometimes combined with standard diesel and sold under the label “biodiese.l” However, its benefits are relevant to the portion of pure biodiesel used.

   

• Straight vegetable oil (SVO) is any vegetable oil that can power diesel engines but has not undergone the transesterification process. The major constraint of using SVO is that it thickens at colder temperatures (below 25 degrees Fahrenheit), but it can be warmed up before reaching the engine's fuel injectors.

   

• It’s expensive to buy and use fresh cooking oil, but restaurants are often willing to donate their used cooking oil, which is commonly called Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO). Vegetable oil engine conversion kits include a heating system and usually a second gas tank to get around the cold weather issues. Like Biodiesel, SVO produces very low emissions. However, raw vegetable oil does not meet biodiesel fuel specifications and is not registered with the EPA, nor is it a legal motor fuel.

   

• Converting your car to run on vegetable oil can void any warranty you have on your car. Contact your dealer or manufacturer to find out.

   

Tags: Enthusiasts Oil Prices

I was recently having a conversation with one of my Brothers in law, by telephone, he lives in what we sometimes affectionately term the old country. It’s a good thing we’re not still joined at the hip with that monarchy, what would we be throwing into Boston harbor this time? Petrol?

What am I talking about? Well, automobile enthusiasts for one thing, this is nothing to do with politics. This brother in law and I casually during conversation, compared, gas prices, what they refer to as petrol, from the word petroleum, makes sense I guess. What doesn’t make sense is the mental gymnastics I had to go through to make the comparison. I grew up in England very many years ago, things have changed. Britain’s close proximity and membership of the EEC, European Economic community, I believe, dictates their conforming to European standards, sometimes!

 

 

  

 

Now they buy their gas / petrol, in liters, that’s European, they pay for it in Pounds, not Euros like everyone else, that’s British, They discuss how many miles they get in, MPG that miles per gallon. Yes, first calculation, but before you try to make it, remember that a British gallon is different to an American gallon, really, I’m not joking. It’s an imperial gallon. It’s actually BIGGER. Speeds are posted on motorways as miles per hour, speedometers thankfully have both, one more prominent than the other, depending on the car of course.

 

 

  

 

Distances are always in miles, as in how far is Manchester? In America we say two hours. In Britain they say 120 miles.

 

 

Let’s get back to this liters thing, because everything seems interchangeable except the purchase of gas which is now always in liters. And what does this have to do with enthusiasts? Well,

  

 

This precious commodity, gas / petrol, in the UK currently averages one Pound, seventeen Pence a liter! Here’s the math, in broad terms, let me translate, and hold on to your gear shift.

 

 

1 gallon [UK] = 1.200 gallon [US, liquid]

1 gallon [US, liquid] = 3.785 liter

  

 

That translates to the rough equivalent of $8.65 a GALLON!

  

 

I don’t even want to know how much a trip to Jiffy Lube costs?

 

 

I suspect non enthusiasts don’t change their oil very often. My sister confessed to me it’s something she does once every couple of years, now I don’t know if that’s because like an increasing number of Brits they use their cars only when they have no other choice, and the miles are kept to a minimum, or whether it’s a cost saving measure, note to self, don’t buy pre owned British cars.

 Another little tidbit here, the exact same car in the UK will cost you an additional 17 ½ % than it would in America.

 

 

This is British VAT, or Value Added Tax right on top. I’ll let you do the math on that, and it goes right to the Queen or King or Prime Minister, or whoever’s in charge, just for the privilege of buying  the car and spending almost $9 dollars a gallon to drive it.

 

 

And by the way, cars are not ALL smaller in Britain, you can’t walk everywhere, a mile is still actually a mile, walking biking or driving, and it rains a lot.

 

 

They do let you drive much faster in the UK, apparently the average speed is around 80 -90 miles per hour on highways, I assume that’s designed to keep petrol consumption by those who can afford it, high.

 

 

Public transportation is very expensive, quite simply it’s tied to the cost of  petrol.

 

 

How does all this affect WheelsTV? I wonder about enthusiasts, apart from the fact that the UK hardly makes any noteworthy cars anymore, the better known makes always associated with the UK are a thing of the past, how will youngsters ever grow into car enthusiasts when actually driving the cars is becoming cost prohibitive?

 

 

The UK was always known for car enthusiasts, I have American friends that tell me so, but how enthusiastic is the next generation going to be about something that is fast becoming an unaffordable luxury.

 

 

Incidentally It’s perfectly clear to all you conspiracy theorists out there as to why the oil companies or British government or whoever, changed gallons to liters in the UK, but kept Miles Per Gallon or MPG and every other measurement non metric.

 

 

To create confusion and to keep selling gas, it’s easier to charge One Pound plus a liter than Eight Pounds Sixty a Gallon!

 

 

Really, it’s just easier to take, and no one knows how many miles or kilometers they get to a gallon, they don’t even know how many liters are in a gallon or that an American gallon is smaller than a British gallon.

 

 

I suspect it’s not too long before we’re buying gas in liters at 80 cents a liter, that’ll bring back enthusiasts and keep everyone driving.

 

 

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