Volkswagen Folks
What, with all the talk of insane gas prices lately, our resident Technobabbler has been looking into his options with Volkswagen TDIs: “I hate the smell of diesel fuel, I hate the clattering sound of diesel engines, I've never owned a Volkswagen, and oh yeah… I'm not really in the market for a new car. Legend has it, the diesel engine was originally designed to run on peanut oil. Mmmmmm, roasting peanuts… surely more aromatic than roasting petrol. These days, commercial biodiesel fuel - like Willie Nelson's BioWillie is made from corn.” Even GasBuddy is no friend these days; gas is just too expensive everywhere. Even so, I don't think our driving habits will change until it hits $5 a gallon. That day will come, my driving friends.
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11 Comments
bnaivar
April 28th, 2006
at 5:46am
Believe it or not, you can actually run a diesel engine on straight peanut oil if you heat the oil first by rigging up a line from the coolant hoses from the engine.. What you do is have two tfuel tanks on the car. One for the peanut oil and one for the regular diesel. Run the radiator hoses so that they heat the peanut oil tank. You start the car and run it until it gets up to normal operating temperature on the regular dielsel. Then you switch over to the hot peanut oil and the car will run just like it does on diesel. You just have to remember to switch bak when you stop because the car won't start on cold peanut oil.
Anonymous
April 28th, 2006
at 6:16am
Aww, the good old days of $5 / gallon (Currently round the $6.60 / gallon here in the Netherlands)
jules
April 28th, 2006
at 7:19am
I was chatting with my friend, in Baltimore, and he said he has never owned a car, so doesn't have to deal with the BS gas prices. Believe me, if there was decent public transportation, in the L.A./O.C. area, I would never drive again. (When I am at home, and not traveling for work, I try to walk everywhere. Good way to get some exercise, too.)
jules
April 28th, 2006
at 7:23am
BTW, regarding my previous post, I think I over did it on the commas. (I should never post before noon, or after 10 pm- that's my new rule.)
Anonymous
April 28th, 2006
at 7:39am
Dude, I hate gas prices these days!!!! Know what else i hate,,,,, GOD!!!!!! SATAN RULES!!!!!!!!!! GOD IS FOR LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous
April 29th, 2006
at 3:19am
Our local transit company experimented for over a year using biodiesel in transit buses, and then found that it gunked up engine sensors to the point manufacturers said it voided the warranty. The buses had the same power, poluted the atmosphere a lot less, and ran very clean internally.
Their main reason for trying it was the environment. Unfortunately the plan is now on hold. Would this be a factor in small engines? I am not sure, but may be worth checking out if you burn other than the recommended fuel.
Polizeros
April 30th, 2006
at 11:20pm
My wife drives a VW diesel bug (40 mpg) and I drive a Prius (45 mpg.)
(smiling smugly…)
Anonymous
May 1st, 2006
at 12:21pm
“That day will come”? Tell me about it! I live in Brazil, and gasoline here is ridiculously expensive. We measure it in liters, you know, and we (not sure) developed the alcohol as an alternative fuel, but even so. One liter of gas is now between R$2,40-2,60 - which means US$1,15-1,25 PER LITER. A gallon (we don't use this here) is almost 5L, so, do the math…
Fake MySpace Names are Passé - MySpace Blog
January 3rd, 2007
at 2:22pm
Mashed Potatoes Spicy Peanuts Baked.. Er.. Various types of Sweetened Peanuts Raw Plain? POTATO CHIPS (the trump card) Vegie Oil Vodka Peanut Butter. Peanut Oil N/A BioDiesel BioDiesel SVO SPO In Industry…. Potato Peanut Average Cost per pound (Retail): Potato (fresh) Peanut (Blanched) .31 2.50
Iggy Uncensored
April 13th, 2007
at 8:45am
Those that can afford to lead by example don’t…
Many of us have seen this time and time again. The people who can afford to lead by example don’t. What is most interesting here is that many of these people are the loudest ones complaining about environmental issues or gas prices. Al Gore in my opin…
Reeve
May 26th, 2008
at 8:50am
I love diesel cars. People who say diesel cars are ****, should sit in a BMW 7 series or a BMW Mach 3……..the power, quality and ride of these cars will simply knock your pants off!