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Looks like things on the fuel front is going to change--one way or another. In addition to O_D's article about 15% alcohol content, there is an article from APapnews.excite.com/article/20091204/D9CCL6V02.html andapnews.excite.com/article/20091204/D9CCNBB01.html that accelerated funding for 19 more biofuel diesel plants is forthcoming. What's a poor Packard going to do.

Another article said the Chevy Volt will be introduced out here first next year since the air resources board mandated electric or other "green" vehicles must be available and part of a mfgs offerings sold in the next 5 (??) yrs. Should be interesting the first few times those are on the loose. Promoting lots of range, but I-5 is awfully long with lots of miles of nowhere between plugs-ins in case marketing was a bit optimistic.

So far all the fringe fuels which were supposedly going to make us middle east independent--hydrogen, batteries, solar, wind and the other far flung technologies haven't quite panned out.

Yeah. I think i'll go buy an Olds Diesel ca. 1983 as well as a Volt, and a solar panel for the top of the house to heat the water tank and a ..... . Then we can put campaign stickers all over our Green Machines to re-elect President NumbNuts or whoever the moron majority candidate happens to be in 2012 too.

OR
Prov: 22-7.

With a tentative sticker price of $40K, I predict that the Chevy Volt will be a collosal failure for GM, while making similar cars built by overseas manufacturers even more attractive to US consumers.

Heck, back in the 1970s, a bunch of RCA engineers, in their spare time, were able to turn a lowly Chevy Vega into a roadworthy electric-powered car.

IIRC, a number of GM cars had their gas engines refitted by third parties (including NASA) to run on hydrogen over the course of the 1970s, but the main problem was - and has been the case with countless other alternative fuels - rooted in the fuel supply chain.

Where's that "Mr Fusion" car trunk mountable nuclear reactor that we were given a glimpse of in 1989 (Back to the Future 2)??? I'd take one even without the flux capacitor option.

Craig

Wasn't that the one that needed garbage as fuel? If so, manufacturer decided it wasn't viable due to conflicting regulations on what was acceptable as garbage and the storage thereof. They also discovered the fusion process didn't consume the entire load and it became mildly radioactive. Spent storage before a trip to the landfill became problematic.

Yup, and since Yucca Mtn, NV has been officially closed by the OBamBam admin, I guess we'll never see "Mr Fusion" in our local stores.

Craig