" Trade it in for an SUV....the biggest one you can afford, you'll pollute less, keep the United Auto Workers happy....you'll have a roof over your head if the Register down sizes...and you'll get a lot more people moved per mile per gallon of fuel. "

" Ride baby ride. Ole diesel horses never die they just smell that way. "

" I can hardly wait for ruff to promote his environmentally damaging battery cars again. What is it about lefties that they don't like protecting the environment?

I don't know what an editor makes these days but I wouldn't think you will be endangered by Obama's tax increase. Besides, those old M-B diesels were pretty good cars. Diesel fuel requires less refining than gasoline, so you're getting more gallons of usable fuel per barrel of oil. Also there are people who make a living out of making spare parts and repairing old cars, and those are important jobs.

And there is a song about your car!

Oh Lord, wontcha buy me
A Mercedes-Benz "

" Well Bill, My piece of diesel happiness is a 37 foot smoke belching 300 horsepower 28,000 pound motor home that has a carbon footprint that you could park five of your vehicles in.
Of course you could park ten RV's in the footprint created by one of the thousands of smudge pots in this valley.
Al Gore may hate you but drive my friend .... drive. "

" If you do a search including the term "dust to dust" you can find pretty convincing evidence that says to keep your old car in the name of ecology. A famous case is the old Caddy vs, a new Prius.

But if you really want to help the world get involved with changing the DMV / CARB policy of not allowing engine swaps. They have a written policy that makes it nearly impossible to put a newer / cleaner engine in an old car. "

" Agree with ping. It's a much needed change. "

" What is the current law regarding diesel vehicles?

I don't even see new ones on the market. Ford allegedly has one selling in Europe that gets great millage, but our Eco Nazis wouldn't let it be sold here in the US. No wonder Ford is going broke.

I'm sure your going to hear from all the asthmatics who are going to blame you and your car for their (imagined) health problems... "

" Besides trucks, there are now diesel engined vehicles available from M-B, VW, BMW, and Jeep has or will have one shortly in the Grand Cherokee. These are all the new clean burning technology. It's not your grandfather's diesel any more. "

" More Republican-enabler ignorance on display here. Just reading their blather makes it easy to tell. They use terms like 'Eco-Nazis' while expecting their ravings to be treated with respect.

And they LIE and say the people who want higher fuel economy cars available in the USA want to keep those kinds of cars out.

So here's Ruff saying...

If your car is running well, KEEP IT.

'Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle' is the idea. So if you are in no hurry to replace it - KEEP IT!

You might consider anything available to reduce emissions, including finding out if you can reasonably afford to dual fuel your car with biodiesel.

There is are new super-low-sulphur diesel fuels and new biodiesel fuels coming but they are still off in the near-future and not ready just yet.

But it's nice to know you are at least thinking about what is best for the environment as well as your personal financial picture.

I call that BALANCE vs BRAIN-DEAD!

For those who are considering a new car, shortly an electric car will end up being a better deal, cheaper and better mileage for most family's drive patterns.

We are currently a two hybrid family, and the timing seems to be working out to make our family a one hybrid, one full electric family.

But then I'm adventurous by nature and I don't give a fig what the 'Get a Horse' groupthink is.

I mean who is ignorant enough to take anyone seriously who is dumb enough to believe that recycling batteries is more environmentally damaging than dumping them in a landfill?

Ignorance is a Laff-a-Minute!

~Ruff "

" French Government Censors Report on Electric Cars

Published December 18, 2008

President Nicolas Sarkozy is accused of squelching a negative report about electric cars because of personal connections.

The French government commissioned a report earlier this year analyzing the best options for building more efficient mass-market cars in the coming decades, but is preventing the public from reading the results. The 129-page report produced by Jean Syrota, a former French energy industry regulator, warns that the cost of all-electric cars—roughly double that of conventional cars—is not economically viable. The report also identifies limited driving range and performance, and unsatisfactory battery technology, as major obstacles.


Facts must be so annoying to some people... "

" Quote: "Facts must be so annoying to some people..." by kevin.

Hmmmm, let's discuss facts just a bit.

Very capable AMERICAN-built electric cars already exist and Republican-enablers have been informed many times about them. They just forget facts they don't like amazingly fast.

Fact: The AMERICAN-built Tesla roadster can go some 300 miles on a charge and can accelerate faster than a Ferrari. Fuel cost? A coupla bucks.

Ferraris and Teslas are expensive because BOTH are not mass produced. Expensive sports car technology ends up in family cars after proven on the track.

Fact: Current fully-recyclable battery technology can take a car 100 miles at freeway speeds and weigh as little as 66 pounds.

When these batteries are mass produced in AMERICA, they will usher in the age of AMERICAN-built electric cars.

Fact: Some 90% of American families would find an electric car would fit their usual driving pattern. Many 'two car' families use one car for commuting and another one for 'around town'.

I'm evaluating existing AMERICAN-built cars for our first electric car now.

My current favorite is so efficient that it has less wind resistance than 'Tour de France' bicyclists. It only requires about 4 horse power to travel at 60MPH, but has plenty more horsies too.

There's a solar roof to run climate control and keep the car cool inside even sitting in the sun. It's a REAL luxury compared to getting into a HOT Mercedes or BMW which cost MUCH MORE.

So much for FRENCH bureaucratic 'facts' vs AMERICAN engineering facts.

It's REAL PATRIOTISM vs. ersatz flag-waving to buy an AMERICAN-built and AMERICAN-powered electric car.

Why do so many self-styled patriots constantly put down AMERICAN-built ingenuity?

~Ruff "