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#16
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Proud owner of .... 1971 280SE W108 1979 300SD W116 1983 300D W123 1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper 1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel 1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified) --------------------- Section 609 MVAC Certified --------------------- "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
#17
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Better is a relative term. What is "better" for you might not be the same for me. For instance, I think it is "better" for me that I have 3 dogs and no kids. You might not agree. I don't see a problem with the low sulfur diesel. Our pumps are oil lubricated not fuel lubricated so we are fine. The older diesels of other makes might have issues. The wife complained that her E300 is not as peppy as the C280 she had. Even after I chipped it, it was just acceptable, not good. I don't know. I drive the gas electric cars and I am NOT AT ALL impressed. I am not afraid of going to more diesels. I am just saying that the public is not that impressed with diesel at this point. Point is that diesel or gas is good or bad depending on your point of view. From a filling standpoint, I would never get a diesel based on the fact that on the East side of Madison, you could count the number of diesel pumps (not stations) on one hand. I could give you $10 for every diesel pump you see if you give me $1 for every gas pump you see and still make money. Yes, it has to get more popular before they install more diesel pumps and it needs to have more diesel pumps as part of a strategy to get more popular. Which came first? Chicken or the Egg? Not too sure that diesel is the answer for everything. It is an answer to some things but not everything. If the wife wasn't doing long distance driving and I wanted something to play with, I might have stuck with gas all my life. Personally, my diesel hasn't really knocked my socks off to the point that all I want are diesels. For my tow vehicle, I would like a Ford Powerstroke 7.3 in it like a Excursion because of the towing power. For a car, I still like my gassers. Just because we cannot farm unleaded fuel doesn't mean I am going to switch. Again, my priorities are different from yours. Not better necessarily but just different. We don't know that yet. I don't think it is collapsing or the sky is falling as far as that goes. Nobody knows really when all the oil is done. It is a SWAG as far as I can see based on today's technology and cost. You might but that is still a far cry from the ease of getting gasoline. I can run into any station, day or night and get gas. You cannot say the same for diesel, can you? Again, if you are going to make sure you have fuel, you are fine. If you are someone that uses the fuel to the bottom of the tank, watch out with diesels since you might not be near a filling station when you really need it.
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#18
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My 99 C280 saved my skin when I took a hit in the door from someone at 55+ mph. Think I will go to a neon anytime soon? All I had was a stable semi-pubic remi fracture and stable sacreal fracture with a couple of cracked ribs and a little urine bleed. The other car that hit me head on, the girl didn't fare as well. What do you think are the chances you can get me in a Honda Civic and out of my 99 E300?I can earn the money back that you saved from getting a neon but I cannot necessarily earn back the broken body. I will never buy a vehicle that is sub 3000# as a rule. My friend had a Geo Metro that got over 45 mpg in the early 90s. When the wind blows, the cradel will rock. Again, no thanx.
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#19
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Heavy is good! Until we have much stronger and lighter alloys and much better restraint and driver protection systems other than them being tiny I will not own a compact when I can afford a car that is 1.5 US tons or more. I will take 27-29 on my Lesabre or 30-32 on my 92 300D with all that weight. Besides with modern transmissions the fuel economy has much more to do with gearing and chipping than it does weight. My Lesabre gets as good or better fuel mileage than my grand am that is lighter and has a smaller displacement engine but my grand am will beat it bad off the line.
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My Daily : 96 E-300 Diesel with 195,000 miles Retired: 92 300D 2.5 T 345K miles and for sale Retired: 95 E320 157K miles and currently parked with blown engine Both retired cars are for sale as is my w124 shop inventory |
#20
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#21
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agreed! that is why I had the following in my earlier post
much better restraint and driver protection systems
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My Daily : 96 E-300 Diesel with 195,000 miles Retired: 92 300D 2.5 T 345K miles and for sale Retired: 95 E320 157K miles and currently parked with blown engine Both retired cars are for sale as is my w124 shop inventory |
#22
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The violent accelerative and decelerative forces a person is subjected too in a small/light car on impact are huge compared to a big heavy vehicle. Probably why there's so many neck injuries etc....
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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life- '15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800) '17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k) '09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k) '13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k) '01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km) '16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k) |
#23
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i have all but stopped driving my neon. not because i feel terribly unsafe in it, but because i like the diesel more.
it is not the same type of car, the same age or anything like that, but the neon actually has guts enough to get around danger that i would just careen into while gritting my teeth in the 240... i do not wish to drag the dodge into this discussion more than needed, but it is a viable choice to many. 40mpg and 0-60 in 7.6 seconds is nothing to scoff at. all for 16 grand out the door. 135k later and it is still in good shape, running fine and dare i say it... more comfortable than my mercedes. the reason i even mentioned it is because the technology is there to make these cars diesel powered and available to the masses. if a 2 liter gas engine can get 40mpg, a diesel of the same displacement can get substantially better economy while allowing the driver more grunt power and less power you cannot use because it is outside of the law to do so. i do not want a volkswagen car, i drove a jetta and did not like it. i prefer an american car, but since it is not offered with what i want(a diesel engine, decent trunk and decent economy) i found my way into a mercedes-benz. not that this is a bad place to be, mind you! i just would like a decent sized domestic automobile, preferably a chrysler, that could be used if fuel does what it did and will surely do again. it is that simple. i want a car i can use if all that is available is vegetable based fuel. call me chicken little if you will, i just worry.
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http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg |
#24
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Diesel is the alternative fuel of the American Future
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There are a lot of technologies being explored to provide suitable alternative fuels to petro, but ALL lack the simple ingredient to success...infrastructure. Infrastructure is everything, it's the ability to control and dictate regulatory and legislative controls as well as incentives. Infrastructure is the ability to diliver and distribute with the least impact or change required of end users; infrastructure is the ability to provide manufacturers of products that consume your supplies with an alternative that requires the least investment in technology and causes the smallest amount of change in their operations. For these reasons, the only real alternative or even segway fuel is Diesel, why....because to ask the petro companies to support anything other than the product they currently own will NOT work. They control congress, so no change there either, as long as dino is available, it WILL be used. But now, we have an alternative, a fuel that requires less processing to make, is already produced by these companies, and shares all of the same infrastructure barring some pump handle changes. ALL auto makers have experience with diesel, even the big three, most cars sold worldwide are diesel and there is no shortage of experience. Diesel does not require retooling other than for making a different engine. People just buy different cars. The transition in the market will occure naturally as it has in Europe once prices exceed the threashold driving consumer demand. The biggest benefit to staying with diesel technology is that it provides the greatest hope for a renewable resource in the future..biodiesel which also can share the same infrastructure. Just my $0.02
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Stable Mates: 1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans) 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee) |
#25
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I used to agree with this. Then I realized that the VW TDI's are NOT selling cheaply at the dealers or even in the used market. I need to do my homeowkr, but I guess it works like this... 97 Jetta 2.slow gas motor - 83k, KBB.com (yeah yeah...) says $5,775 That same Jetta with the TDI = $6,550 Yeah, I used to think that people didnt like diesels, until I found what TDI's were going for - there **must** be a demand somewhere. I am on a local VW board and the guys that work at the dealer there are always commenting about TDI's flying out the door as soon as they come in. This could be due to the fact that VW isnt shipping enough over here, but even if it is...I belive that people are waking up... (and VW doesnt need to be the only one selling diesels at MSRP...) -John
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2009 Kia Sedona 2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L 12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse (insert Mercedes here) Husband, Father, sometimes friend =) |
#26
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I seem to recall that even in trucks, the same thing with a diesel engine is several grand more. that stands to reason that when resold, it will fetch a little more. I think that people are getting those are into it for what it is. Also the fact there are a few people who would buy bugs and sell them for more than they paid for them says the same thing. I don't think people get them because they are diesel, rather because it is different tho
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
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