yes indeedy. aka ww3 and armageddon.
So, I agree with you boilerengtn, it is great to be developing the electric car market.
Electric cars are GREAT…and we should continue with new development…but don’t be disillusioned that it’ll get us off of foreign oil.
@uncleharry said, "Sometimes I wonder if the automobile industry is designed (or evolved) to keep Americans in debt to it eternally. " Yeah. That’s why they only ever advertise lease payments anymore, or what Dave Ramsey calls “fleecing a car”. And its not just the automobile industry either. The whole country’s set up to keep people in debt eternally. Credit cards, rent-to-own, payday / title loans, student loans, reverse mortgages, not to mention the sell-us-your-structured-settlement folks, all the legions of insurance / annuity salespeople masquerading as financial advisors, and the relentless advertising to sell whole life insurance to old people. The old adage is as true as ever, A fool and his (or her) money are soon parted.
“Electric cars are GREAT…and we should continue with new development…but don’t be disillusioned that it’ll get us off of foreign oil.”
It is a big step in the right direction. I favor anything we can do to become disentangled with other countries when it is to our detriment economically, especially in territories with non-democratic governments and in those lands where we are despised as the great Satan. Our sovereignty diminishes. Our pride, our available capital to invest here, our self-respect as the most industrious and powerful economy is threatened. We have competitors willing to do almost anything to surpass our influence for good throughout the world.
I forget too easily how dangerous this world is. If the U.S. were to fail or be reduced in power and prestige, the entire globe is at risk for destruction.
Love Churchill. What a pugnacious, brilliant orator and leader. Personally, I think his words for the Brits as they were facing a war machine like no other apply to us. I really do. Not many nations share our sense of decency. It could all be lost very quickly. He said, "Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. upon it depends our own British life and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us now. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age, made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, “This was their finest hour.”
It is a big step in the right direction.
Maybe…
With the current battery technology…if all cars were electric…we would be a little less dependent on foreign oil…but very dependent on foreign Lithium. So substituting one foreign dependency on another.
We have to support, but not subsidize, new technologies. In the early 1900s there were electric, steam and internal combustion cars. Each had merits and the one with the most merits won. There is nothing wrong with initially providing seed money for R&D, but I’m against subsidies to buyers of the products.
The upcoming Global conference on climate change in Paris next month will try to shame most countries into setting unrealistic goals on carbon reduction, just as the 1990 Kyoto protocol did.
Many countries signed it (including the US, but congress did not ratify it), and no country was able to meet the promises.
The US will be asked to phase out coal, its most abundant energy source is favor of renewables.
Again, nothing wrong with renewables, as long as we are willing to pay the price. Denmark has a very high percent of renewables in its electric generation, but Danes pay 56 cents/KWH vs about 16 cents in most Us jurisdictions. Germany has 30% renewables but Germans still use lignite for most of their power generation. The National Geographic this month has a good coverage on this, but even while questioning whether Germany will succeed in its program, urges the US to follow that path. The magazine does not have to pay the price tag for the conversion I guess.
As discussed frequently on this forum, there is a place for electric cars and fuel cells, but it will take time for infrastructure to develop and be put in place. I can see 2 car families have one electric car for urban use and the other (gasoline powered) for mixed use and long trips.
Hey Uncle Harry, If you are so in love with this thing, why did you stop driving it? What broke??
Restoring an old Benz is a pastime for millionaires…Before you start, remove the carpet and insulation from both the drivers and passengers foot-wells, you know, the floorboards…Inspect this area carefully for “terminal” rust…
Just buying a new battery for it will pretty much cost more than the car is worth…This project will keep you in abject poverty forever…
Well, there you go. I have always hoped I could and have constantly aspired to remain in abject poverty, so thanks for the nod to go ahead and give it my best shot.
Part of the reason I love this old beast is that I have a tendency to love all my cars. I hate to let go of tried and true machines that have been loyal through thick and thin. Just because she has aged and gotten worn down, doesn’t mean I have to abandon the old girl. You know? The least I can do for her is give her a second chance. Plus, it is my fault she’s tuckered out, if I’m honest.
The last time I drove her she did fine. Then, later that same day, as I tried to start her to begin my commute home, the interior lights came on, but not even a faint click or any engine sound whatsoever. Couldn’t find the problem, and neither could an apprentice diesel mechanic. So I towed her home and let her rot while I started driving an almost brand new 1989 Lincoln Town Car in 2007.
That’s why they only ever advertise lease payments anymore, or what Dave Ramsey calls “fleecing a car”. And its not just the automobile industry either.
Sears sought to break even on a product, but expected to make a profit on the financing of the item alone. That became their business model to some degree.
And don’t forget about the overpriced ‘extended warranties’ that run concurrently with the real warranty. Those can cost almost as much as the product itself, and when you point this out, the salesperson gets all huffy with you. They sell you on the reliability / durability of the product, then in the next breath say that you absolutely need the extended warranty because the product will explode 2 minutes after you plug it in. Again, not unique to Sears, but they may have invented it.
Sears tried for many years to get me to sign up for their credit card. WHY would I want a credit card (at 23.9999% interest) that’s only good at ONE store when I have a Visa card (at 7.99% interest - not that I’d ever carry a balance) that’s good just about anywhere all over the world?
“Couldn’t find the problem, and neither could an apprentice diesel mechanic.”
That is why you bring your car to a REAL mechanic, not the apprentice 
@Docnick
Again, nothing wrong with renewables, as long as we are willing to pay the price. Denmark has a very high percent of renewables in its electric generation, but Danes pay 56 cents/KWH vs about 16 cents in most Us jurisdictions.
That’s a little on the high side.
We pay around 40 cents/KWH included tax and whathaveyou.
That’s from DONG Energy, you can buy from other suppliers and that way you should be able to get it cheaper. I do not know as I haven’t tried any of them.
Asterix
Denmark
"Couldn’t find the problem, and neither could an apprentice diesel mechanic."
That is why you bring your car to a REAL mechanic, not the apprentice db4690
Well, thanks so much for rubbing it in! That remains part of my problem, finding a good, trustworthy diesel mechanic! The mechanic I go to normally, who is top-notch, doesn’t work on diesels and I asked around but didn’t find anyone. So, I let let the sweet thing rest awhile (10 years!) and I started going with my '89 Lincoln. Some loyal dude I am! I know! I know! I am a bum and don’t deserve her.
I did contact the Tappet Boys to seek their advice about investing in maintaining her, but I forsook them in the end, too.
I wear a scarlet B these days. “B” for no good, dirty, rotten, adulterous, worthless, cheap, whoring Bum
@asterix Thank you for the correction. My overall bill last year was $0.16 per KWH including all charges and taxes. Our house consumes about 9000 KWHs per year, so our cost is $1440 per year.
For the average American or Canadian to go to 40 cents would cause a consumer revolution here. Keep in mind that Canada has a 300 year supply of good quality coal and US reserves are incredibly large as well. Neither country will want to leave that in the ground and go to a much more expensive form of power generation as well.
Having said that I am currently consulting to a small manufacturer of “run of the river” hydro electric generators. These make sense in emote areas with fast flowing rives or tidal stream of which North America has many.
@uncleharry , Happiness is very important . I think you had your mind made up before even asking here & was just hoping people would tell you it was a good idea to fix the old car up . If it makes you happy do it , happiness is more important than money .
A mint, fully restored 1982 300SD Turbo is valued at $20,000. Anybody wanna loan me 15k?
It is hard or impossible to tell for sure when people on a forum are joking. But, abject poverty seems to preclude an expensive restoration of even an old Schwinn. Just saying.
@Docnick
I don’t have the current numbers for DK, but in 2012 the split in the production was:
Windmills 36%
Oil 3%
Cng (that’s what I think it’s called) 5%
Garbage/junk (not biodegradable) 6%
COAL 50%
I know that windmills have reached 50%, but not the other numbers and in Denmark, you can forget waterpower.
A few months ago on a stormy day, the windmills even exceeded the total comsumption in a two hour period.
That pricediff. is a lot from here to Your place, but here, the price/KWH has been stable for quite some years (in 2008 I payed dkr 2,19/Kwh vs 2,26/KWH today) and they say that they believe that the price can go down a little in the future. HAH, if that’s ever gonna happen.
I’m not so sure that it is the coal that keeps your price down, as we still use a lot of coal here. I think there must be other factors and good for You, as my price for electricity is actually as low as 21 cents/KWH. The rest is several different kind of taxes, michelaneous sorts of fees and good knows what ells they can throw at us.
To keep this thread automotive, here and in SOME other european countries, the needle is drifting towards EV’s as the price of gas is constantly going up - though, today the price was DOWN to 5,70 USD/gall. at the local station.
Have a nice day, y’all.
“today the price was DOWN to 5,70 USD/gall. at the local station.”
That proves what I’ve always been saying . . . the ratio has ALWAYS been that the price of gasoline in Europe is 2 x what it is in California, for example. Even when the price per barrel of crude oil fluctuated, the ratio has always remained the same
I’ve lived in California for a long time now, but I firmly believe people living in the US have absolutely no right to complain about “the high cost of fuel” . . . I never have. There’s other things I complain about, but the “high” cost of fuel is not one of them
Look at other countries and shut your trap
There’s one exception, I suppose. If you live on an island and fuel has to be brought in by airplane, I suppose you have the right to complain about the high price. Because it will be significantly more expensive, versus the continental US. But that’s only a very small part of the US population, correct?
I really don’t think this will be a hard car to restore but DEFINITELY CHECK FOR RUST OR OTHER MAJOR DEAL BREAKERS FIRST! I think this will actually be quite simple for you to work on but look for serious rust before even going out and purchasing a new battery. You might also try to see if the engine will turn with a breaker bar. I have never done this with a diesel so that may be easier said than done but gas engines are relatively easy to turn over by hand. Even if you can’t spin it all the way over, see if it budges at all and then returns to where you started. If the engine is locked, I would call a junkyard and hope they tow it away for free and not charge you.
I knew someone with one of these. Once started, they will run without an alternator or battery as the fuel pump is mechanical and driven off the engine. It drove several hundred miles this way once before reaching its destination where a new alternator was installed.
They can also be converted to run on waste cooking oil pretty easily.