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Trust me on this...

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:07 pm
by :FI:Fenian
Diesels will become a LOT more popular in the States in teh coming years ;)

THe new partical traps are excellent - making diesels a cleaner and cheaper alternative than petrol engines.

Even in Sweden the Gov. are gonna give a $600 'exemption' for people buying the newer diesels, and lower car tax too.... (diesel road tax is ASTRO-friggin-NOMICAL over here right now.... 2006 is the change plan ;)

I like Scandinavia :)

Even if I have to spend an hour changing my tyres twice a year ;)

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:15 pm
by :FI:Gurberly
Cleaner I can understand, but how do partical traps make diesel a cheaper alertnative to petrol engines?

G

Welll...

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:28 pm
by :FI:Fenian
The EU in all of it's magnificence is also allowing tax breaks on cars that will be fitted with the traps... and erm.... diesel is already cheaper than petrol.. ain't it :)

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:54 pm
by :FI:Gurberly
So it's an EU tax break... last I heard there were no plans for the US to reliberate Europe... does that mean the tax break does not apply to them?

Erm I think it is more expensive per litre (could be wrong there) but in terms of Km/l it's cheaper... one for the marketng men to deceive us with :)

Are you a marketing man Fen :p

G

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 8:40 pm
by Guest
i never change tyres before may...

:FI:Cider
Ne'er cast a cloot till May's oot.

Old Scottish proverb.

Hmmm...

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2005 6:36 pm
by :FI:Fenian
A stranger in our mitts.... :lol:

Anywho... diesel is cheaper in MOST countires in the EU (Britain has to be the exeption then - (they must take the extra tax at the pump and not via roadtax....)

You can trust me Gurbo :)

I'm an ex-marketing man and an ex-tax collector

:)

:lol:

:badgrin:

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:35 pm
by :FI:TacticalS!
Tax collector?! :shock: And we still let you play with us? :-k

Hmmm... (2)

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:40 pm
by :FI:Fenian
Gen.... tell Tacty that it was me and you that started this thingy.

We let you play with us!

Ohh... that didn't sound very good did it?

Anyone know what Mickey Jackson's lawyer is called?

:lol:

I'm ok these days Tact... honest :)

My desire to wreak havoc in mid-sized businesses 'cos I was scruffy and dressed like a motorcycle courier and they treated me badly is almost forgotten :)

:evil:

:lol:

Boy how I used to love making those bastages squirm!!!!!! :D

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:49 pm
by :FI:TacticalS!
What I understand is a lonely tax collector, who couldn't get any decent folks to play IL-2 with him, had to go out and start his own squad. ;)

Anyway, if it wasn't for someone like you, how would government get its money to pay my salary? I'm a government employee. :shock: [TacticalS! runs away]

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 2:24 pm
by :FI:Igor
There's approximately 3.8 litters per gallon, that buts gas in Alabama at 2.21 USD per gallon or .57 USD per liter, double what it was last year.

Diesel costs more than gas here. But it has a higher energy content, therefore actually a little cheaper to operate than gas.

Snow, the last time i saw snow in Alabama was about ten years ago. Had about an inch, people went crazy, closed schools, stayed home, didn't know how to act.

The big push now is hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Probaby not a very good idea. Hydrogen is actually made from natural gas and or oil, not from water like we learned in high school. The fuel cells actually emit polluting nitrus compounds (they use air as an oxidizer, not oxygen). I don't look forward to a fuel tank of highly explosive hydrogen in my vehicle.

Igor

Hydrogen is

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 3:34 pm
by :FI:Fenian
years away m8.... at least 10 - possibly 15.


HEVs - Hybrid Electric Vehicles - will rule for a bit in a few years when automakers get around to making them in numbers - but they are still quite cautious about them....

Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 1:52 pm
by :FI:Igor
We have hybrid vehicles here now. The Honda Accord Hybrid (real nice car) gets about 5 MPG better milage, good HP (about 325), but the vehicle costs about 7000 USD more. You can buy a lot of gas for 7000 bucks.

Igor

Yup...

Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 4:13 pm
by :FI:Fenian
There are quite a few HEVs out there already - but what I mean is that the industry is slow to switch over on a large scale until they've proved themselves - and most models now have a 6-8 lifespan. HEVs will be more common - but more expensive as you say - until there are loads on the road.

That said I'm sure I read somewhere about new 'discoveries' on the Hydrogen front....

Hell... I'm happy with an old boxer motor and pair of boots :)

Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 11:17 pm
by :FI:Igor
The warrenty for the hybrid system in the Honda Accord is (i think) 7 years. That would be a problem for me as we keep our vehicles forever (13 years on the last one). Batteries don't last forever and are expensive. We are about to replace a ten year old station battery at one of our communications sites. 3100 USD for the new one, 3700 to dispose of the old one.

I'd just as soon use my bike; but i'm 24 miles from work. When we lived in Korea, my shop was about three miles away. I put more milage on my bike than my car.


Igor