Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

[Perc]

I, for one, don't mind alternative energy sources being developed. There are plenty of uses where fossil fuel is needed (transport, air travel...) so we shouldn't really waste it for things where there are alternatives.

That said, my car runs on fossil fuels because *for me* electric cars don't really work. Not without severely limiting my freedom. (See? I can do that shit too)

If I could afford to keep two cars, I wouldn't mind one of them being electric for moving my ass to work and back.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Paging Rick.

Im not really into trucks (I do understand the cognitive dissonance since most school buses are built on truck chassis lol) nor trains (I believe LaxMax, 93Flairside, and LeadFoot are into at least one of the two though) but that was interesting regardless!

I was in a proper English village, population about 100. Post office that opens for about 12 minutes a week, nobody locks their doors etc... for some reason there was a white RS7 parked on the 'main street' (The only street) it was out of place, but fuck me does that car have presence.

The A7 is my favorite Audi. Saw one just yesterday in the state capital when I went to get a haircut. It just looked great.

 

[EyeMWing]

I just narrowly avoided being Chief Maintenence Provider on a fucking Mercedes C300.

Friend is out shopping for a replacement for her Impreza and discovered that used German luxury marques are within her pricerange.

I don't think I've texted that hard in quite some time.

 

[JimCorrigan]

Good move on your part. Dem German cars are dirt cheap used for a reason, people forget that.

 

[EyeMWing]

Plot twist: She declined to buy not based on my advice but because it wasn't gay enough. Thank god for balding middle managers.

She also declined a Juke. Not because of... Oh, good taste or anything. But because the seats are awful.

It turns out I've been friends with a female clone of Rick all this time. Fucking Central Pennsylvania.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Plot twist: She declined to buy not based on my advice but because it wasn't gay enough. Thank god for balding middle managers.

She also declined a Juke. Not because of... Oh, good taste or anything. But because the seats are awful.

It turns out I've been friends with a female clone of Rick all this time. Fucking Central Pennsylvania.

:lol:

 

[93Flareside]

Doesn't PA have a lot of NJ/NY migrants?

 

[Spectre]

Some people have the same opinions about motorcycles and Jags. Besides, we all know every asshole has an opinion, but it does not make it correct.

No - I recall reading somewhere that a leaked internal BMW memo basically explained that the i-series really was a sick joke on their buyers, intended to get the eco-heat off BMW, who historically has ignored most CAFE like measures and just paid the fines.

This. It is one thing to unplug the car, completely another to steal or vandalize the adapter.

Entirely aside from expressing one's displeasure with the car or owner, the fact remains that people will steal damn near anything of value - and this is a nice exposed piece of cabling that costs money and is left unattended out in the open. Remember, people will try to steal copper from houses and street fixtures, even when the power is still on.

In this case, this cable is being left unattended in the parking lot on a windowless side of the building where random people walk through at all hours, not terribly far from a low-income, crime ridden part of the area. Gee, I don't know, what do you think is going to happen?

What long term consequences? Are they worse than dealing with fossil fuels?

Aside from the fact that these things are in reality mostly coal, natural gas or nuclear powered, there's the fact that they're going to require huge investments in rebuilding our power grids, which are already perilously close to capacity. Guess who's going to be paying for that? Hint: Mostly not the people owning BEVs.

 

[JimCorrigan]

No - I recall reading somewhere that a leaked internal BMW memo basically explained that the i-series really was a sick joke on their buyers, intended to get the eco-heat off BMW, who historically has ignored most EU CO2 regs and just paid the fines.

FTFY. The CAFE fines are a pittance compared to the EU fines.

 

[EyeMWing]

Doesn't PA have a lot of NJ/NY migrants?

Not this part. This part is mostly populated by people who have been here for generations and have never considered a life beyond, a moderate helping of exurban Baltimore and the usual sort of scum and villainy that a state capitol usually brings.

 

[prizrak]

And I did ask how it fairs against fossil fuels. There are many problems getting oil out of the ground. Just that we are used to it and ignore them because we had no other real option until recently.

You are either forgetting over overlooking the fact that crude oil is used in a million and one ways that have nothing to do with internal combustion. Even if we had 100% renewable energy with 100% BEVs we'd still need to mine for oil we would just have to throw out the fractions we are currently using for fuel.

- - - Updated - - -

Good move on your part. Dem German cars are dirt cheap used for a reason, people forget that.

I got a buddy at work like that, he was looking at AMG Mercs at some point. I was like dude you do realize they cost less than dirt because they are going to break from you looking at them funny right?

 

[GRtak]

The fractions? You are vastly underestimating how much oil is used for fuel.

 

[NecroJoe]

It's like 70% of crude is refined for gasoline and diesel, isn't it?

Although...technically 7/10 is still a fraction, so... :lol:

 

[Spectre]

It's like 70% of crude is refined for gasoline and diesel, isn't it?

Although...technically 7/10 is still a fraction, so... :lol:

It actually varies a lot by what type of crude oil it is - some types yield more diesel and gasoline, some less. On average, one 42 gallon barrel of oil run through a US refinery (per the US EIA) will net about 12 gallons of diesel plus related fuels (like Jet A) and about 19 gallons of gasoline. Still, he's right about the fact that we would still have a voracious appetite for oil for use for other products. Courtesy of Chevron:

To some, a barrel of crude may look like a gooey liquid who?s only redeeming virtue is to be eventually refined into gasoline.

Researchers broke down a typical barrel of domestic crude oil into what may be produced. By the way, the average domestic crude oil has a gravity of 32 degrees and weighs 7.21 pounds per gallon.

Here?s what just one barrel of crude oil can produce:

Enough liquefied gases (such as propane) to fill 12 small (14.1 ounce) cylinders for home, camping or workshop use.
Enough gasoline to drive a medium-sized car (17 miles per gallon) over 280 miles.
Asphalt to make about one gallon of tar for patching roofs or streets.
Lubricants to make about a quart of motor oil.
Enough distillate fuel to drive a large truck (five miles per gallon) for almost 40 miles. If jet fuel fraction is included, that same truck can run nearly 50 miles.
Nearly 70 kilowatt hours of electricity at a power plant generated by residual fuel.
About four pounds of charcoal briquettes.
Wax for 170 birthday candles or 27 wax crayons.

There are enough petrochemicals left in that same barrel to provide the base for one of the following:

39 polyester shirts
750 pocket combs
540 toothbrushes
65 plastic dustpans
23 hula hoops
65 plastic drinking cups
195 one-cup measuring cups
11 plastic telephone housings
135 four-inch rubber balls

The lighter materials in a barrel are used mainly for paint thinners and dry-cleaning solvents and they can make nearly a quart of one of these products. The miscellaneous fraction of what is left still contains enough by-products to be used in medicinal oils, still gas, road oil and plant condensates ? a real industrial horn of plenty.

 

[prizrak]

The fractions? You are vastly underestimating how much oil is used for fuel.

Spectre already posted a better response than I could give you.

 

[RdKetchup]

Spectre already posted a better response than I could give you.

It actually doesn't say anything relevant to the question (what proportion of oil is used for fuel).

 

[public]

The main problem with all of the above is that unlike pictured in the comic, the first gen Insight wasn't a plug-in hybrid. That instantly discredits not only the picture but the entire post. Much like the subframe bolts on the Passat CC, who knows what else was crafted out of BS, since there's such an obvious oversight in the center of it all?

 

[JimCorrigan]

Okay FG hive mind. The preliminary search for a car to replace Mrs. Corrigan's GLK250 (lease expires end of September) has begun. We're through with leasing, so this will be a purchase/finance. Here are the needs, keeping in mind this is to be the all purpose family vehicle (since I'm determined to keep filling the garage with 2-seaters or near 2-seaters):

- Budget roughly 40-50k CDN for new/lightly used
- 6 or 7 seater with at least halfway decent storage (i.e. 2-3 full size suitcases) with all seats deployed (roof box will almost certainly be purchased for major outings)
- Comfortable
- Reliable (plan on owning it until it utterly dies/becomes too expensive to repair, which IMO should be AT LEAST 10-15 years)
- AWD
- No four bangers. 6 and above cylinders only
- Need not be covered in whale penis leather, but neither should it be a Rubbermaid fest, either
- Decent ground clearance (no trail riding, but would like to use it for long stretches of gravel road or to get to campsites), so basically, no wagons. SUVs/CUVs only.
- Towing capacity not important, as we have nothing to tow, but that might change in 5 or 10 years time (think small boat).
- Absolutley nothing European. Our baby Porsche aside, we're done with zee Germans. Too expensive for starters, and absolutely not worth it in the long run. She prefers Japanese/Korean, but I'm determined to also get her to at least try some American offerings.
- Not the Ford Transit, Rick!


Here's my list thus far:

- Acura MDX
- Honda Pilot
- Nissan Pathfinder
- Infiniti QX60
- Toyota 4Runner
- Toyota Highlander
- Toyota Sequoia (over budget unless we can score a deal, but it would serve my hidden agenda of the car being too big to fit in the garage and prevent ruining my man cave plans)
- Hyundai Sante Fe
- GMC Acadia
- Chevrolet Tahoe (doubtful, but she might like it, also see Sequoia)
- Chevrolet Suburban
- Ford Flex
- Ford Explorer/Lincoln MKT
- Ford Expedition

I know that's a whopping range of prices and sizes in that group but that's only because I'm trying to keep an open mind, and frankly, sometimes she surprises me (if we didn't need the 6 seats, she'd be asking for a Silverado right now). If I were to take a pre-test drive guess, I suspect the Honda Pilot and Hyundai Sante Fe might be her favourites. I wonder about the Honda automatics in this day and age (Spectre?). I'm partial to the new Acadia, but it's pricey (though I'm sure we could negotiate it heavily) and I wonder about GMC long term 'Kwalitee'.

[EDIT: despite the requirements, she might still opt for a minivan, but that broadens the search too much for the purposes of this exercise, so let's ignore those for the time being]

 

[NecroJoe]

Aside from the fact that these things are in reality mostly coal, natural gas or nuclear powered.

Sort of. Depends on where you live. For example, in West Virginia? Yeah. 95% coal. Washington state? 74% hydroelectric and wind is another 5%.

Also, for many folks (myself included) the very fact that the pollution is centralized is a benefit. I assume most folks would understand it as an equivalent of a landfill vs just leaving garbage in your own lawn. And after centralized pollution being a benefit just for the sake of reducing local pollution where people live, it also has the benefit of instantly and simultaneously reducing pollution and increasing efficiency of every single vehicle that gets their power from the grid the instant any additional renewable/green power gets brought on line, or any time an improvement in reduction of pollution is implemented. No, of course it's not perfect or for everyone. And most (no, not all) people will be charging at night, when there is spare grid capacity.

It's not for people who park on streets. But does it need to be all things to all people before it's not considered a failure?

 

[Labcoatguy]

How is Canadian depreciation on a Lexus GX460? Basically a Land Cruiser Prado underneath, the 460 has a timing chain rather than the 470's belt, and I think it comes with three rows.