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#1
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
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And realistically, no matter who's running the hydrocarbon fuel show, the profits get absorbed by those in positions of power. It's not just sheikhs; Americans, Europeans, and eastern Asians all have their own homegrown oil magnates. If you don't like the profit sharing, simply transferring responsibility to the domestic arms of Exxon or Texaco (or maybe Monsanto, if corn-based fuel becomes popular) won't solve the problem. And while I certainly can't make a definitive prediction based on such a small set of evidence, remember that even if thousands of jobs are created in America, if higher fuel costs make disposable income decrease, the standard of living might well follow. Even a small (percentage) decrease, because it's due to something as ubiquitous as automotive fuel, will have significant effects on GDP. So one can only hope that the increased consumption due to slightly lower unemployment will mitigate this. Quote:
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#2
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
My wifes best friend recently purchased the Toyota Hybrid (the Prius?)
she is the head nurse at a hospital, and her husband is an industrial engineer. Nobody tricked them into buying the car, they understood the long term cost vs the money they would save on fuel and they had to take what they could get from the dealer when they could get it, at the list price, because the car had a 3 month back order. |
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#3
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
Think I read that they can now take cellulose ethanol from just about anything that grows. If I remember the article right, the speculation was that it would be switchgrass and not corn that would fuel our cars if we made a move to ethanol because switchgrass can be grown almost anywhere and harvested multiple times per year giving a much greater energy yield per acre.
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#4
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
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Of course, there are some comparisons that can be made, that do save money—between buying something like a Dodge Magnum and a Toyota Prius, for example. These are comparably-priced cars. Or if you really do drive 45 000 km per year, the Prius can save some money. The trouble is, people see "hybrid", and think that they're automatically doing something fantastic by buying it. It has to be right for the use that you put it to; current hybrids are not a solution for everybody, so long as cost is a factor. *U.S. gallons, Canadian dollars, and gas is currently around $0.78/L. |
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#5
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
last time I worked out the math it was cheaper to buy a base model Saturn Ion (5 speed) that got 38 to 42mpg than to buy a hybrid electric car (several thousand dollars more) that got 55 to 65mpg, if you planned to drive the car 120k miles
this has been all over the news this summer. It only takes a few minutes to run the calculations if you know the specs and prices of two cars, and the price of gas. Hybrid electric cars do cost you more than a base model economy car to own and drive. People know that, and there is still a back log of orders for hybrid electric cars- which is what I was trying to point out - people are buying them for other reasons than to save money. I know of at least one hyrbid owner whos son is a Marine in Iraq. Maybe its their way to take a step towards breaking the strangle hold the middle east has on our transportation system. If I could buy a one passenger electric car that could hit 45mph, with a 30 mile range, for $7 or $8k, I would, for the sole purpose of driving to work, 15 miles each way. I could design a car myself in a few days that would meet my requirements, but it would be very expensive for me to build one in my garage. The problem is the economy of scale. For a new car company, or a new car line to be viable you have to build hundreds of thousands, or millions of cars a year, to compete against the gas models that are presently available. That requires a huge startup investment (probably $1B or more). So far no one has stepped up to the plate to do it. |
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#6
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
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A Honda Spree? (I know it is not electric, but it probably uses less energy than the electric company would use to power your electric car) |
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#7
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
My opinion on alternate fuel cars:
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#8
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
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- going in circles - hitting a blank wall - losing my train of thought, keyword - train - other than that I think my mind could power/drive a car very well. Last edited by JaneYoung : 03-10-2006 at 20:18. Reason: word addition |
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#9
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
What I want to know is why does Diesel cost so much more than gasoline. Yet it cost 30% less to make diesel than it does gasoline. Why does the price of a gallon of fuel go up the day after the price of a barrel of oil go up on the open market. Yet it takes for ever for the price to come down. I can tell you how much diesel fuel went up between 2004 and 2005.
I drove appox. 59,000 miles in 2004 I drove appox. 60,000 miles in 2005 THE COST OF FUEL ??? 2004 was $12,000 2005 was $18,000 Last edited by BobC : 03-10-2006 at 17:39. |
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#10
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
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#11
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
In Northern Virginia, there is another cost to factor into your hybrid benefit matrix: time. Up until June 1st 2006, a hybrid qualified for special licence plates that exempted you from HOV restrictions. In the heavily congested 95 and 66 corridors, this could save you an hour or more a day in sitting in traffic.
That has much greater value than a few gallons of gas each week. Wetzel |
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#12
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
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#13
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I live right across from the General Motors Technical Center in Warren,MI and we have 2 E85 stations within a mile and 18 in the Metro Detroit Area. Right now the price is $1.95 a gallon. If you calculate fuel mileage through and all that, you really don't save much. Although at the pump it's 10 cents less than regular, fuel economy is worse.
Just dropping some info. Tomasz Bania P.S. I am planning on getting an E85 SUV soon (not for the savings since their is none, but just to be cleaner) |
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#14
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
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Economics of supply and demand. Semis use Diesel, enough said. Quote:
Hydrogen is the next gasoline that oil companies want to make money from. It has nothing to do with the enviornment. Last edited by 6600gt : 03-10-2006 at 23:28. |
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#15
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Re: pic: Ethanol powered car from GM
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Environmentalism can be expensive, but the alternative could be much more costly. Wetzel |
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