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Comments
Kudos to the owner, but it doesn't offer any predictability for the next case.
Maybe there's a craigslist app to sort car sales by miles?
So ....1 out of 300 cars might reach 300K---but of course, this says nothing about the $$$ to get there.
I betcha most of those 300K cars are fairly new, too.
I think you have a much better chance of reaching 300K if you do it in a hurry.
So to come full circle to the title of this topic----reaching extraordinary, radically high mileages is not part of my buying decision.
For the average American, that's a 20 year commitment to a car.
I'm thinking more about German engineering and high MPG and good resale. Mileages of 300K aren't even on my radar.
http://blogs.smartmoney.com/advice/2012/04/03/despite-gas-prices-hybrid-sales-st- all/
Mine is more a car that will go 20 years without any major work, like our LS400 that we drove to dinner this evening. I would love to trade it. But it runs like a top at 23 years of age. I would be real surprised if any Lexus will live up to the standard they set in 1990.
I don't know if its a myth. I think it is more akin to a legend, where all diesels are somehow lumped in and elevated based on those few good models from way back when that were non-turbocharged, hence glacial slow but incredibly undertaxed.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Given going beyond 175,000 miles on a 2003 Jetta TDI with literally ZERO issues, I am feeling like these are the good old days.
Cars wear out--it's the law of the universe. However, the concept of 'gradual degradation" means that one doesn't notice this slow decline.
For as long as struts and shocks (those are strictly shocks by the way) there are no real standards for what is considered "dead". Sure there is the bounce test. Sure it can result in abnormal tire wear. I have never had a car "fail" a bounce test. It also has had very normal and even tire wear. Sure I would like 120,000 on a set of SUV tires.
But the point is really the same. If gassers can do it, diesels certainly can.
Sure I'm totally in favor of keeping a good old car running versus buying a new one. I have only bought one new car in my entire life and I doubt I will ever buy another (although it was a good experience).
I heard about this great '99 Porsche 911 cabriolet, super low miles, very clean---and the damn thing turns out to be a Tiptronic. I could have cried. That one might have tempted me.
I was encouraging my brother to lease a Jetta TDI but he went for a gasser. "too much money" he whined over the phone. Well, he's retired, so....
I see his point...the difference these days between a stripper Jetta and a TDI is a *lot* of money. ($7000 difference in msrp).
I notice it with my '97 and my '99. Mostly in the '99 since the mpg has gone down (should have never changed the original spark plugs). The driver's power mirror doesn't work because I got the wrong part and was too cheap to pay the freight to replace it (dropped a canoe on the original). Durn thing won't die otherwise. Both rides have a few burnt out little bitty dash lights and that's surprisingly irritating.
Hit 174k today in the '99. Saw six deer on a 2 hour trip out of town this morning. Running into one of those will probably be the deciding factor for buying a new ride.
Meanwhile, unleaded and diesel are at parity again. Not only parity with each other but a tank is on parity with a couple of ounces of silver. :sick:
Take, for example, my 1996 Outback. I bought it with 83,000 on the ticker. The ride seemed great (hard to make a fair comparison when my other vehicle was a 1969 Chevrolet C20!); the suspension parts were original. At 150,000 miles, I was riding with someone who owned a new Outback, and he commented that the ride seemed harsh when we drove over expansion cracks on the highway. He drove that same road every day, and said it wasn't nearly that harsh. He asked about my struts, I said "original," and he seemed concerned. We did all the bounce and tire wear stuff, and it all looked fine. So, he said, "well, I dunno. I think you should replace them anyway. You should be ready to replace your second set by now."
So, I took his advice and bought a new set. I pulled the first strut off, compressed the spring, and removed the retainer bolt... and the strut rod fell into the cylinder. Being my first experience with struts, I didn't think anything of it. Then, I got the new one ready, pulled the retainer pin, and its rod quickly extended from the cylinder. I thought, "hmm... maybe these did need replacing!" I finished the job, put the wheels back on, and took it for a spin on a gravel road....
WHOA DOGGIES! That was the cheapest new car I ever bought! :shades:
Given that you live in a much more moderate climate, 2x the life might be reasonable, but I still wouldn't push a set beyond 150,000 if you want the car to give you good, dependable handling response.
Pacific Biodiesel is hiring for its new Big Island plant
Pacific Biodiesel will hold a job fair on the Big Island next weekend and plans to hire more than 20 people to staff its new Big Island Biodiesel plant in Keaau.
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2012/03/16/pacific-biodiesel-is-hiring-f- - or-its.html?ana=fbk
With a little help from the taxpayers however.
Indeed VW, in a 2012 owners manual says that ANY biodiesel over 5% is strictly prohibited. In the worst cases, it is grounds for denial for engine and emissions warranty claims.
The logic is as simple as the mathematics. IF we have a 23% diesel passenger fleet, we will decrease the demand for gasoline (RUG to PUG) BY a minimum of 23%. !! ?? Or is one of the prerequisites for being a Congressional or environmental policy maker flunking grade school mathematics? :P :lemon:
??? Only thing I found on the MB site allows 5% max, just like VW.
MBUSA biodiesel specs
Can't say that I mind though. Homegrown diesel won't hurt and maybe some grant will result in some cheaper fuel.
I don't mind tax dollars spent on viable projects that benefit Americans. I hate when they buy windmills and solar panels from China with my tax dollars. Or stuff the pockets of flim flam con men.
The Solyndra debacle might be the poster child/blue print even as it is ONLY the tip of that GREEN iceberg. The travesty about that was the investors (friends of (crony capitalism, aka) the administration were put ahead of taxpayers by the very federal officials that are supposed to look out for the taxpayers' interests. The "connected" early investors got their monies back and the non connected investors AND taxpayers are left holding the empty buildings with no solar panels no less!!?? .
The additional travesty about biodiesel is that a viable concept is being total trashed and vilified.
Same here. Given that I work with the Alaska land grant university, I could give you examples of both, and I cannot possibly express how frustrating the latter were.
That said, we have a world-class biofuels researcher here who was working with Hawaii on refining and analysis of various tropical plants for the biofuels industry in that state. Good stuff, but boy was he frustrated about how much the Hawaii researchers were dragging their feet when it came to sending him the samples to process!
He also did some cold-weather biodiesel testing for a private company in Indiana a couple years ago. They took a trip from the experiment station in Palmer up to the arctic circle in mid-winter, even experiencing some reasonably frigid temperatures, and the fuel performed flawlessly.
Too bad there are no pictures.
Interesting, and a nice idea for an automatic drivetrain. Silly, I know, but many states (perhaps most/all?) have laws specifically prohibiting this technique on public roads.
I admit, however, that I have been known to do this from "time to time"...
I would much rather see the government take risks in future energy than future foreign escapades.
You know, new tech is like any other thing you invest in---some of your stocks fail, some succeed.
I like the biodiesel idea, because if the price can be kept down, this gives small turbo diesels the competitive edge they need to proliferate; otherwise, diesel cars in America will remain marginal because of the fuel costs and the MSRP.
More down stream, it would take the wind out of the sails of the CRISIS du jour mechanisms. What would be the fun in the world not being able to be scared to figurative and literal death at a moments notice, i..e.., when some Arab fast boat approaches a US military ship with Ali AKBAR blaring over the sound system !!!! ????
And to think all this can be stopped by a bunch of algae eating CO2 and spewing oxygen and oil !! :P Oh the irony !! BUT then again, according to the above Obi Won K..., STUPID is forever.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/solyndra-s-733-million-plant-had-whistl- - ing-robots-spa-showers.html
“That’s a lot of money that went into that factory and I just don’t get how that factory is going to make this company successful,” said Barry Cinnamon, chief executive officer at Westinghouse Solar, a Solyndra LLC competitor. “It’s one of those neck-snapping things every time you drove down the highway."
You can't judge by a business model---who would look at the TESLA business model and think it wasn't crazy? Obviously there are hopes and dreams beyond what's on paper. I bet the Apple business model didn't look so great a decade ago.
it's hard to compete with the Chinese right now--of course, I believe their system will collapse and is not sustainable, but in the short term, there's nothing like a clever dictatorship to get the economy moving and to make a country globally competitive. Naturally, once economic liberalities threatens the power structure, there will be repression and strife.
Jobs and Woz, Hewlett and Packard, etc. started literally in 2 car garages. Solyndra starts off as the literal Taj Mahal and ends up not even vapor ware.
I'd be happy to install a 4 point lift, store my cars there and work on them and make sure the building is still standing. :P I can take a shower and spa treatments after my TDI oil change every 30,000 miles, done by evacuation method, top side. :shades:
All one has to do is look at the Japanese model. That is EXACTLY what happened!! They were supposed to RULE electronics !!! They are still in a funk even after a couple of decades going on three. What massive groups are trying to rush into Sony factory stores for the hottest in electronics? Instead people in China cram the APPLE stores !! You know those two guys from Cupertino ????
The chief executive of plug-in car maker Fisker Automotive has signaled that plans to build vehicles at a former General Motors plant in Delaware may be in jeopardy because of trouble obtaining a loan from the federal government.
Fisker Automative, which received a $528 million loan guarantee in April 2010, has missed early manufacturing goals and has gradually pushed back plans for U.S. production and the creation of thousands of jobs, according to The Washington Post.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/car-company-us-loan-builds-cars-finland/story?id=1- 4770875#.T34cLdnLtv4
A few vehicles begin paying off relatively soon after leaving the dealership. Two hybrids— Toyota's Prius ($23,537) and Lincoln's MKZ ($33,887)— as well as Volkswagen's diesel-powered Jetta TDI ($25,242) all take less than two years before they start saving their owners money.
And the WINNER IS???
2) ALL (I repeat ALL) fuel-injected engines totally shut off the fuel-injection during 'overrun' (decelleration). Pressing the clutch and 'coasting' actually burns fuel because the engine must consume fuel to idle.
This is a marketing triumph, not a fuel economy triumph.
Nonetheless, it is an accomplishment.