Best Of Both Worlds

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"53699)</div>

Uhmmm, now that you mention it, YES, poop on you! . . . especially since you live in Canada (or any other first-world country for that matter). Preaching to someone in China (or any other second or third-world country) that they should amend their ways, such as, by switching from petroleum based to soy based bicycle tires is kind of “devil preaching to the choir.†The idea is to go after the high value targets!

Speaking of which . . . did you know that your 1984 Ford F-150 pollutes more while parked in your garage than a Prius does while driving???? My guess is that you believe that since you can afford to keep said vehicle, that makes it OK. Or maybe, the Prius compensates???.

SO, how many third-world babies must die for your 1984 Ford F-150?

P.S. Poop on me too . . . I have a 3/4 ton , 7.4 Liter, 1984 GMC Sierra truck parked in my driveway. I hope it passes its smog test tomorrow. The earth would like it if it fails and I scrap it.

My excuses: It’s paid for . . . I rarely drive it . . . It’s a truck. . . . big poop!
We’re not bad people . . . we were just raised this way. Poop, Poooop.

 

From my perspective if you truly need 4 wheel drive and the towing or hauling capacity of a big rig then you are totally off the hook. (poopless?)

But if you own one due to an endowment problem, that's another story.

(This last comment did not come out of anger. It was an attempt to play to stereotypes via humor.)

A very good friend of mine needs the towing capacity of a big SUV and he's got 6 kids. He recently went to get a new one and was drawn to the Hummer. When he found out how abysmally low the towing capacity of the Hummer was, he was flabergasted that such a behemoth existed yet did not really have decent capabilities. It makes me believe that the Hummer is all show and no teeth. This brings me back to the endowment thing.

 

Well, on the subject of pooping on each other ...

I think we can all do "little" things to help out. Like drive a Prius. I've even gone a few steps further:

On my hobby farm, I put in a Bryant Evolution Plus 90i gas furnace, it's WAY more efficient than a regular gas furnace. I also put in a Bryant 2-speed A/C and have noticed my heating and cooling costs are a fraction of my neighbors.

I replaced the regular water softener with a Kenmore UltraSoft 800, which does demand-based regeneration and not regeneration based on time. That saves a lot of water and a LOT of softener salt.

I just picked up a new Kenmore Elite front loading washer and dryer. The washer is EPA Energy Star certified and one of the best performers in its class.

The old fridge finally croaked, so I got a new Kenmore bottom-freezer unit that claims to run on $50 of power a year. That's around 1/4 the power of an ancient fridge, plus it has R134a coolant, not R12.

Most of the lights in the hobby farm are compact florescent. The single yard light is a Philips 18 watt Low Pressure Sodium that gives off a sickly yellow glow. ukeright:

I ordered a couple of LEDTronics 4 watt LED bulbs to be used as night lights inside the house. I don't leave electronic devices plugged in all the time due to parasitic power losses in the switching power supplies. I replaced my CRT TV with an LCD.

The bill for all of this? Around $15,000 CDN. I guess I'm lucky I have a really great job so I can "afford" to be energy efficient. IOW I can put my money where my mouth is.

Oh, another amazing fact about my Ford F-150: it was built in Canada, and that year of Canadian market pickup didn't need emission controls. It was designed to run on leaded regular gas, which was available in Canada until around 1990.

No catalytic converter, no AIR pump, no EGR. In fact, the factory iron manifold had a factory block-off plate for the EGR exhaust passage. No charcoal cannister, just a plastic tube that constantly vents gas vapors.

There is little difference from your old Chevy to my old Ford, though I suppose your old Chevy might have a cat. All I need it for is pushing a bit of snow around and hauling lumber and a few other things. I suppose I should have it crushed, maybe I will too.

The reason I brought up the fact I live in Canada is the proven fact Canada has the highest per-capita energy use in the world. The climate has a lot to do with that, so does the spatially distributed population.

Like you, I find it condescending that PM Chretien and now PM Martin (Or, Mr. Shipping Magnate Tycoon) tells the average Canadian to tighten their collective belts while they somehow legally avoid paying income tax.

Or how Canada is all excited about the Kyoto Accord which will NOT change the fact Canada has the highest per-capita energy consumption in the world.

I also find it ironic that the Canadian gov acts smug over this new-found social consciousness, while pointedly ignoring the fact that Canadian unleaded gasoline contains huge amounts of MMT. Anybody like manganese in their tea?

So I'm NOT being a hypocrite when I bring up these facts. I know very well my true impact on the world. BTW: I'm guessing maybe 5,000 third-world babies die per year due to my Ford F-150. Short of selling everything off, donating the proceeds to charity (You first), and living in a tee-pee, I don't see what else I can do.

It's easy to get all excited about "proving" that you're saving energy, until you realize just how much STUFF you consume in the process. You consume all that stuff and so do I.

Deal with it.

So what if they passed a law requiring a 95% efficient furnace in every home if the average home size has doubled over the past 20 years? So what if you drive a car that averages 50 MPG if you drive 5x more?

And no, I'm not trying to s*** on China. I suppose it isn't their fault they have a horrible and brutal communist government that runs you over with a tank if you happen to speak up about something.

We can call Dubya a poophead and not go to jail. Personally, I think he's a fine fellow, at least he doesn't appear to be getting b*** jobs in the oval office from an intern. I think, though I'm not 100% sure, that I can call Paul Martin a poophead and not go to jail.

Though if I bring up the fact his shipping company, Canada Steamship Lines or CSL, located offshore to avoid paying corporate income tax while he was Finance Minister and cajoled everybody else to pay their fair share, he might try to sue me. Or CSL might try to sue me. Who cares?

I think China learned the lessons about the USSR and will apply that to their economy. It's already working, they give just enough "freedom" so folks don't feel totally oppressed, they exercise absolute control over their economy, and they have enormous trade surpluses. The Chinese gov has more money than they know what to do with, and they're also buying up OUR debt (Canada, U.S., EU countries) as fast as they can. Hmmm, that could get interesting.

Given the size of the Chinese economy and their population, they will naturally be able to dictate pricing to the rest of the world. You know, the "Wal Mart effect." That includes the price of energy, as their energy needs are skyrocketing.

So the point I'm trying to make is this: lay off the dude for owning a GMC Hummer H2 and a Toyota Prius. Like would it be any "better" if he owned a Toyota Tundra and a Toyota Prius? Well, maybe, the Tundra is far cheaper and appears to have a better tow rating.

I thought the whole point of these forums was to exchange ideas, tips, share concerns, etc, on our Prius cars. Not get up on a soapbox and s*** on somebody you don't even know.

BTW I really really LIKE my Prius. As time goes by, I like it MORE. I'm surprised at all the attention I get driving it, how folks suddenly engage in chatty conversation with me as I'm getting into it. I think this is something almost every Prius owner has experienced.

Now that is something you can't put a price tag on, can you?

In the end, sorry if I upset you in any way. I've tried to point out the facts as I see them, not automatically rip somebody apart due to the truck they drive. If you want to poop on me, go ahead. I've heard worse and it rhymes with "duck shoe."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius04\";p=\"53935)</div>

Poopless. Hmmm, maybe more fiber in the diet?



Seriously, how about a Ford Excursion with the 6.0 powerstroke diesel and 4.10 gears? That should provide enough room for the kiddies and is rated to tow around 11,000lbs. With the turbodiesel, it will provide decent - for its size - fuel economy.

Motor Week on PBS tested an Excursion with the 7.3 powerstroke and they got around 20 on the highway. Not bad for something that big and heavy.

 

Prius 04...Relax. The word plutocracy covers the situation when the rich control the country. Perhaps some would prefer the poor run the country...I suppose if things were that way there would be a word for it or that people would vote for that to occur.

Perhaps it's time to move beyond name calling of our Presidents and those to whom we don't share beliefs.

 

I think... although my one prius may not help the environment, it will encourage others to buy the Prius, and then a collective of Prius WILL help the environment. I think of it like voting. they always tell you that 1 vote can make a difference.

H2's serve their purpose. They are there so we can compare how much better the Prius is. Then more people will look at the value of the Prius and want one. Then there will be even more Prius and less pollution.

As for China... I don't think I'd want to live in a world without any reason for morals. I'm not dissing on the people though, I'm totally dissing on the government.

 

Stan Wilson,

I'm not asking that the poor run the country. I'm asking that the empowerment of the common man that was the hallmark of the American 20th century continue.

And part of that empowerment was reigning in the ruling classes. Something that had never before been attempted in world history.

We attempted it, and personally, I think it worked.

And when did I call Bush or anyone else in this thread a name?

 

pax pacis ~ peace

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"53941)</div>

My GMC earned a Stay of Execution for another two years . . . It passed its smog check today.

For some reason the techs all start off thinking there is something wrong with their machine when they do the smog readings. For "HC" the maximum allowed is 113 ppm. 41 is the average . . . but my truck blows a 16. :lol: All the other readings are equally impressive. (Except for and MPG of eight or nine.)

It leaves the techs scratching their heads.
Some think I somehow rigged the truck.

*What did you do to the truck?
- Put gas in and drove here.

*What did you do with the Catalytic converter?
-No cat, ever.

*Something in the gas?
-Nope, just the cheap stuff.

*New motor?
-No, original with 175,000 miles and no major work.
- Oh, and by the way, it hasn’t been tuned-up in years.


*Wanna sell it????
-Bahhhh Haaaaa Haaaaaa. It dies with me.

Why don’t they make them like that any more???

 

Sorry Prius 04...it was the post before you that used a childish perjorative.