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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
 Posted - 04/07/2003 : 00:30:11 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Deborah
I drive a Toyota Matrix...does that mean I get to live? 
I went there to buy the Toyota Hybrid, but the car was ugly and the resale value would have been horrible since the battery is only guaranteed for 10 yrs/100k miles and it cost $4500 to replace. I'm the type to drive a car for awhile so I was betting on having it for at least 6-7 years and there was no way I was going to waste my money on a car that would have virtually no resale value. On top of that...the state of Oregon is considering charging anyone who buys gas efficient vehicles more in registration fees and/or increased gas taxes to help pay for road improvements..because they don't pay enough to the state because they buy less gas..how do you like that! That pissed me off. I wrote a letter about it even though I didn't buy a hybrid.
Ah! Poe. Up there in the boondocks you probably need a heavy duty machine, I'd forgive YOU if you had one.
Holly shit, I was thinking of getting one of those Toyota Hybrids too. We have a Camray now and are very happy with it. Didn't know the other only lasts 10 years. We keep our cars over 15 years, so even though the resale value is not a concern the lasting ability is.
How can a progressive state that passes a law about suicide be so idiotic to prevent people from wanting to get efficent cars? LOL, and I thought Californian politicians were dumb!
My cousin lives in Oregon, I'll tell her to write to them too. |
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Tim
SFN Regular
USA
775 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2003 : 03:47:18 [Permalink]
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quote:
I refuse to have air conditioning...I have to wonder how Man survived all the thousands of years in the past but just in the last 100 has to have these things.
Oh, man! I'd give you one August in Louisiana with average afternoon highs between 95 and 100 degrees with over 90% humidity. A breeze? What's that? It's called dead calm. The only respite is the daily afternoon thunder storms, but they last only about ten minutes, leaving the baked earth to burn the ground water off in what appears to be ground fog. That is stifling. The only living thing that moves in the afternoon is people. Even the bugs have the good sense to stay hidded until dusk, when they come out in a frenzy searching out the blood of warm blooded animals. They descend in clouds.
I dread summertime. However, the earlier generations we survived by various means, like designing homes with the climatic conditions in mind. Today, with central air-conditioning, we become helpless if our a/c actually breaks down. Homes turn into sweat lodges.
I've been to West Texas in August, and found the climate much more accommodating, at least before the nose bleeds started. I guess it's too dry out there.
Plus, I actually drive a little Mitsubishi pick-up for utility purposes only. My wife drives a compact SUV, (Jeep Liberty). We chose this vehicle because it is not as fuel hungry as other vehicles, while still meeting our needs as a versatile vehicle to bring us into the back country, and carry our photography equipment. We travel the back roads of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas extensively in search of wildlife, and the historical south--Mostly looking for Blues history, but the plantations and the 'King Cotton' economy are part of the tour. There's a lot of history between New Orleans and Memphis, and we go to the Ozarks once a year for relaxation. The SUV may not be as fuel efficient as a standard sedan, but wouldn't serve our requirements.
Furthermore, I would not complain about paying more for fuel. The energy industry tries to keep the cost of fuel down in America. Too many industries require our thoughtless consumerism to remain such powerful forces in the halls of gov't. Higher prices mean a popular backlash against non-renewable fuels. This would not serve the needs of the corporations now consolidating their power. I work in the oilfields of the Gulf of Mexico, and have witnessed the consolidation of power of the major energy producers over the past twenty years. Believe me, there is no free market corporate competition. Each of the remaining big three oil producers work together - Literally - to get the product to market. Competition in a free market is a myth leading to ever more deregulation. |
"We got an issue in America. Too many good docs are gettin' out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their -- their love with women all across this country." Dubya in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 9/6/2004
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Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2003 : 05:53:41 [Permalink]
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More irrational SUV bashin'! Yeehaw!
(hint: What's worse for the environment:
a) a recent model SUV with a state-of-the-art emmissions system
b) NASCAR, Formula 1, etc. racing
c) 2-stroke engines (lawn mowers, boats, etc.)
d) Tim's '70 Chevy stepside [with] a custom 402, with a four barrel Quadrajet and a 400 tranny.)
Since pickup trucks are pretty much just as big, with pretty much just as poor gas mileage, and there is no national campaign to demonize the drivers of such vehicles, one can really only conclude that SUV playa hatahs are just blindly following a popular trend, and/or they just hate people who have the money to buy them.
Maybe if these people used their energy to legalize hemp, we'd be growing our own fuel by now. 
quote:
Originally posted by filthy
I'd like to see an alternate fuel that's affordable and clean. Of course, it won't happen until the last drop of oil has been burned, although I'm sure it will have been developed. 
Fear not, oh cynical one. Hybrid cars are selling pretty good, and check out Honda's hydrogen-powered FCX, which has already been introduced in the city of Los Angeles. Also, many cities are using biodiesel in their fleet of vehicles, as already mentioned.
Chances are you'll see a major shift away from petroleum powered vehicles within your lifetime.
(I drive a '98 Ford Escort, if anyone's curious...] |
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chainsaw
Skeptic Friend
USA
63 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2003 : 06:11:35 [Permalink]
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I drive a '91 Miata. It gets 30 mpg in the city. Great commute car.
I also have a '31 Ford, Model A as a hobby car. Takes me back to my shade tree mechanic days in the '60s. I don't work on late model cars -- can't climb into the engine compartment and even if I could, I wouldn't recognize what part was what and wouldn't have the special tool to fix it anyway.
I take exception to the comment above that SUVs are safe. Maybe they win when playing bumper cars but everyone I see in the newspaper is upside down and one or more occupants were dead. Doesn't seem safe to me. I think these people who claim safety are kidding themselves. |
You can "believe" what you want, but you do have to get your science right or you'll flunk science. |
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Tim
SFN Regular
USA
775 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2003 : 13:55:21 [Permalink]
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quote:
I take exception to the comment above that SUVs are safe.
I think that most recognize the inherent risks of each type of vehicle. Most weigh those risks along with the personal and environmental costs against their personal tastes and requirements. As T.D. mentioned, pick-up trucks are as bad as SUV's for the environment, though they may score a bit higher in safety tests. We have a little four cylinder truck that gets me to and from work, and is useful in work around the home. The SUV is a small six cylinder engine vehicle that meets our travel needs where a sedan just won't do. We weighed all of the factors, and chose appropriately.
I think the big problem that Americans should face up to is our attitude of believing that we need these autiomobiles to sustain our standard of living. And, in fact, in most non-urban communities we do. For instance, there is no way that my wife and I, plus our friend, (she has a small four cylinder sedan), and her child could work without three vehicles. We are a three vehicle family of four. This is not something that I take pride in, but cannot find a way out of it, and still sustain our home, and lifestyle. |
"We got an issue in America. Too many good docs are gettin' out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their -- their love with women all across this country." Dubya in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 9/6/2004
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| Edited by - Tim on 04/07/2003 14:37:22 |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2003 : 16:33:26 [Permalink]
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quote:
Fear not, oh cynical one. Hybrid cars are selling pretty good, and check out Honda's hydrogen-powered FCX, which has already been introduced in the city of Los Angeles. Also, many cities are using biodiesel in their fleet of vehicles, as already mentioned.
Chances are you'll see a major shift away from petroleum powered vehicles within your lifetime.
(I drive a '98 Ford Escort, if anyone's curious...]
I have indeed checked them out. Honda's engineering is second to none in the world (having spoken the unspeakable, filthy hypervenelates for a moment -- takes a drink of cheap whisky.......). The problem, as always, is infrastructure. I do not think I'll live long enough to pull into a Wilco and top it off with hydrogen.
I too, thourghly dislike the SUVs, particularly the monsterous, Chevy Tahoe my son-in-law blunders about in. Or used to; (hehehe) it ain't runnin' at the moment. It's not the safty issue, no. If you drive like an idiot, as all too many do, upon your own head be the consequences. If you fail to maintain your vehicle, as my son-in-law did, plan on doing some walking and perhaps having a new lawn ornament.
I dislike SUVs simply because they seem so unnecessary. OK, they've got 4X4. Big deal. Four wheel drive can get you into more trouble than it'll get you out of, if you don't know how to use it, (hehehe) as it did my son-in-law this winter, before it crapped out. They are just so huge and cumbersome, and expensive to operate as well as acquire. There are just too many vehicles available that'll do the job better with less.
Even worse than the SUVs are the idiotic Hummers.
Me, I'm one of those rednecks who will keep a battered, old truck going as long as possible. I don't care what it looks like, as long as it gets the job done. It always gets the job done because I keep up with the maintenence. When I finally send it off to the salvage yard, with a tear in my eye, it'll be beyond repair. But the way the old crock is going, it'll probably outlive me.
Worst for the enviornment: 2 stroke engines, far and away. I've seen all too many oil slicks on lakes and rivers from them.
doov
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2003 : 20:46:41 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by filthy
I dislike SUVs simply because they seem so unnecessary. OK, they've got 4X4. Big deal.
You beat me to that post. That's what my 'room mate' says, most of the people so it seems, only buy them for show, not for driving up a mountian or in the snow. I would think, if someone was going to take a vacation where they needed one, it would be cheaper to rent. But they drive around the city making it unsafe for other drivers who can't see around them. And I think it's also mandatory to be talking on a phone when in one, making an extra risk for everyone on the road.
quote:
Even worse than the SUVs are the idiotic Hummers.
Damn ugly too. I would be embarassed to ride in one. |
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2003 : 00:35:07 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Tim
Oh, man! I'd give you one August in Louisiana with average afternoon highs between 95 and 100 degrees with over 90% humidity.
Ever been to Thailand? When I started going there, that's when I knew Americans were sissies, complaining about heat. Ah, it's not so bad once you get used to it.
quote:
I dread summertime. However, the earlier generations we survived by various means, like designing homes with the climatic conditions in mind. Today, with central air-conditioning, we become helpless if our a/c actually breaks down. Homes turn into sweat lodges.
Back to nature, that's my motto.
quote:
Plus, I actually drive a little Mitsubishi pick-up for utility purposes only. My wife drives a compact SUV, (Jeep Liberty). We chose this vehicle because it is not as fuel hungry as other vehicles, while still meeting our needs as a versatile vehicle to bring us into the back country, and carry our photography equipment. We travel the back roads of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas extensively in search of wildlife, and the historical south--Mostly looking for Blues history, but the plantations and the 'King Cotton' economy are part of the tour.
You are not the kind of people I complain about driving suv's. There's a need for everything.
That's so cool about documenting history. I've done a bit of nature photography myself, in Thailand. And I have an album of Texas blues music, haven't played it in a long time but remember it having some good songs.
quote:
Each of the remaining big three oil producers work together - Literally - to get the product to market. Competition in a free market is a myth leading to ever more deregulation.
Soylent Green, predictable! Not a supprize. |
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2003 : 00:40:10 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Tokyodreamer
More irrational SUV bashin'! Yeehaw!
(hint: What's worse for the environment:
a) a recent model SUV with a state-of-the-art emmissions system
b) NASCAR, Formula 1, etc. racing
c) 2-stroke engines (lawn mowers, boats, etc.)
d) Tim's '70 Chevy stepside [with] a custom 402, with a four barrel Quadrajet and a 400 tranny.)
That's not my only point. As mentioned in the other post, there's a use for everything. IMO, most people who buy suv's don't get them for there intented use. They only cause problems for other motorist driving in the city.
quote:
(I drive a '98 Ford Escort, if anyone's curious...]
Thanks. I was. |
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2003 : 00:43:18 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by chainsaw
I take exception to the comment above that SUVs are safe. Maybe they win when playing bumper cars but everyone I see in the newspaper is upside down and one or more occupants were dead. Doesn't seem safe to me. I think these people who claim safety are kidding themselves.
That's what I've heard too. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2003 : 05:09:08 [Permalink]
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Hey Chainsaw; I'm gonna break yer heart!
quote:
I also have a '31 Ford, Model A as a hobby car. Takes me back to my shade tree mechanic days in the '60s. I don't work on late model cars -- can't climb into the engine compartment and even if I could, I wouldn't recognize what part was what and wouldn't have the special tool to fix it anyway.
Back in the early to mid '50s, you could get all the 'A' models you wanted for prices ranging from $25.00, to a couple or three hundred for a really good one.
Damn, if I knew then what I know now......
Did you get the water pump to stop leaking, yet?
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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| Edited by - filthy on 04/08/2003 05:11:03 |
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Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2003 : 05:46:31 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Snake
That's not my only point. As mentioned in the other post, there's a use for everything. IMO, most people who buy suv's don't get them for there intented use. They only cause problems for other motorist driving in the city.
The irony of a self-proclaimed Libertarian holding such thoughts...
Before SUVs, why were their no national campaigns telling pickup truck drivers who didn't live on farms that they were "evil"? They're just as big, just as relatively fuel inefficient, just as prevalent (at least here in Alabama ), hmm, let's see, what's the difference? Oh yeah, SUVs are considered "luxury" vehicles. Nothing like good ol' class envy to get the blood pumping.
Why is it anyone's business whether or not someone who has an SUV uses it for its maximum utilitarian purpose? Should one hold pickup truck drivers who don't actually use their trucks to haul shit daily in them in equal busy-body contempt?
Should we look at an SUV driver, scowl, and think "What an asshole!" based completely on the assumption that they've never driven that SUV into the mountains, or into the country, or used it to haul a boat to the lake or river? Maybe the vehicle isn't even theirs, and you just unjustly thought of a complete stranger as an asshole!
And who's the bigger asshole anyway? The don't-share-the-same-aesthetic-tastes-as-Snake SUV drivers? Or people who go around thinking the worst about total strangers based on the most superficial of meetings?
Can I make an entire post consisting of nothing but questions? Almost...
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chainsaw
Skeptic Friend
USA
63 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2003 : 06:41:05 [Permalink]
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Thanks for asking, Filthy, I did get my water pump to stop leaking. Now I've got rust clogging my fuel line. Runs fine and then all of a sudden it stops cold. All I have to do is blow into the line at the carb until I hear bubbles in the gas tank and she runs again... for awhile.
I have to agree a bit with TD. You never really know what the demands are for each person's use of a vehicle. So it's hard to second guess. And what's best in the city is not necessarily useful in the country. However, I do believe many folks do not always make the best choice for their long term self interest. Probably due to lack of accurate information or just plain ignoring the truth. |
You can "believe" what you want, but you do have to get your science right or you'll flunk science. |
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Deborah
Skeptic Friend
USA
113 Posts |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2003 : 07:10:15 [Permalink]
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Congrats on the waterpump, Saw! Hope it stays dry for ya. Here's a trick that might help with the tank: drain the gas and put 2 or 3 inches of kerosene in it. Then siphon it all out, moving the hose around like a vacume cleaner. Might have to do it several times. I don't remember if the A's had a sediment bowl under the tank, but if not, installing one can help clean things up.
I too, agree with TC, at least to a point. It's really none of my business what someone else putts around in. It's their money to spend as they wish, even if it's on an ego trip.
As for my old truck, it's driven 'most every day with the bed empty. So, I guess I might not really need it. P'raps, unless I'm hauling something, I should hitch hike?
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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