Testimonials
Newsletter - August 2006
Veggie Power and The Big Green Bus
"Change your fuel, change the world" was the message on The Big Green Bus that rolled through Denver last month. The bus was parked in our neighborhood and we had an opportunity to talk with these creative Dartmouth students and help them fix a wheel. For more information about The Big Green Bus visit their web site at www.thebiggreenbus.org
The Big Green Bus runs on used cooking oil procured from restaurants along the route. From New Hampshire to Seattle to LA to Denver they needed a little over $300 for diesel fuel. The bus has a separate tank for the cooking oil that needs to be heated up to 170 degrees in order for the engine to run on it. They use an antifreeze heat exchanger and a solar powered electric heater. The bus starts off on diesel until the vegetable oil has heated up then runs on vegetable oil until it's time to shut down. It then switches over to diesel for a few minutes to flush the vegetable oil out of the injectors.
There has been a lot of talk and writing about alternative fuel vehicles lately. Gas is $3.00+ a gallon for regular and $3.30+ for premium. BP is shutting down half of the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska to replace 22 miles of pipeline thus removing 200,000 barrels/day from our supply and putting further upward pressure on prices. So at this point you might ask, “What the heck is the alternative?”
The short answer is not a heck of a lot yet. There are mainly three alternatives with advantages and disadvantages.
Hybrid Vehicles get better mileage than their gas powered counterparts but are also considerably more expensive. There's been several articles written saying the mileage owners are getting is lower than the EPA estimates. There are tax credits but some are beginning to run out. After the warranty is done at 100,000 miles or eight years their value may drop quickly because nobody knows what the long-term reliability will be. Depending on how a vehicle is taken care of gas-powered engines can last upwards of 200,000+ miles and their overall reliability has grown dramatically in the last ten years.
Flex Fuel Vehicles are vehicles that can run on up to 85% ethanol/gas mixtures (E85). The main source for ethanol now is corn, but as biotechnology advances ethanol could be made from agricultural residues, wood and switch grass. There are only three stations in the metro area that sell E85. E85 has less energy and mileage is about 25% less than gasoline. Just to be competitive (not even considering convenience) E85 would have to sell for $2.25/gal. In Denver E85 is at $2 a gal. To find E85 stations in Colorado click http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/progs/ind_state.cgi?CO There are currently about 5 million flex fuel vehicles on the road mostly made by GM, Ford and Chrysler. Flex fuel vehicles are listed on this website. http://www.e85fuel.com/e85101/flexfuelvehicles.php
Diesel Powered Vehicles have been around nearly as long as gas-powered engines but get 30% to 35% better mileage than gas-powered vehicles. In Europe about half the cars are diesel powered. Modern diesel engines are cleaner and quieter than in the past. Over the next few years more and more models will be offered with diesel engines. Currently (2006), VW has the most car models offered with diesel power. The Beetle Turbo Diesel with manual trans is EPA rated at 37 mpg city and 44 highway. The Jetta is rated 36/41.
Biodiesel is a mixture of vegetable oil and diesel fuel, and though it displaces some imported oil and supports domestic agriculture, it is no cheaper than straight diesel.
How Much Does your Car Model Affect Your Insurance Premium?
Auto insurers have a premium rating system for every car model. The premium that you pay to insure your car depends upon the complexity of the vehicle and the costs in returning it to pre-accident condition after an accident.
In the case of a new vehicle, data is gathered from the manufacturer. Every few weeks or months the insurance actuaries bring in repair figures from body shops so as the vehicle ages the rating system changes on each model. Since the insurers pay the claims this information is easy to gather. Repair costs between body shops differ only slightly so large swings in repair costs are kicked out.
The best way for you to find out how much it will cost to insure the vehicle(s) you are considering, is to ask your insurance agent before making your purchase.
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Addison Auto Repair & Body Shop
2005 South Holly Street • Denver, CO 80222 • 303-691-9484