the "Beast"

as with everyone in the washington hierarchy. whether it's the standers soldiers must adhere during engagements, thinking green or conserving money it's a do as I say, not as I do mentality. it is no wounder the rest of the world looks down there nose at us. :stupid:
 
Perhaps it is, at least, a clean diesel. You don't see clouds of black smoke coming from it. But as for MPG, well, it certainly ain't a Prius.....
 
green or

The rest of the world showed up in electric cars because that is the thing to do these days. They probably had their electrics flown in on some big fuel sucking plane. You know they did not travel over land for this conference.
Wonder what a fully armored Prius would look like? Wonder what the get away speed would be if they needed to make a quick exit?

Mike
 
cost of doing business

It is unfortunate that someone like the president of the USA needs such an amazing level of security everywhere he or she goes, but the crazies out there closed the door on open limos in 63, and going back to poor old Lincoln, not even a night out at a show is safe....
 
just goes to show if they want you they got you. less your name is Ronald. then who is to say he would not have been better off if squeaky had taken him out. if your job is to protect the president agents all enemies foreign and domestic and you have a unlimited budget there is nothing that is not necessary. the last trip our president took around the globe cost us 35 mil a day. that one day taxpayers expense is more then the combined income for the lifetime of everyone here on the board tonight. people that spend that kind of money have no concept of the daily grind that provides them the money to do so. the man wants to take a vacation he needs to spend his own money like the rest of us. did not congress and the press jump down the auto manufactures throat for flying to beg for fund instead of driving a economy car. like I said holding other people up to a standard they them selves won't do. but do let me add the oil companies love the electrical car it uses more fossil fuel to build and most of the electricity to charger the batteries is generated from fossil fuel. GO big Oil
 
I really don't care anything for an electric car. I would much rather has a car or small truck with a diesel. They get better mileage and will last longer if taken care of.
Other country have been putting diesels in cars and small trucks for years, but not in the US. Most American believe all diesels pour black smoke, are slower than gas engines, and loud. I have seen a video of an Indy car with a diesel and you could hear it.
 
I kinda agree , back in my early driving year's i drove a 1980 stretch cadillac limousine that a guy made in his driveway the odd thing it was a factory diesel the limousine had really no power, then later it was switched for a gas 350, i have driven bus's built by collin's that had the 7.3 ford diesel and it had pwr alot of torque. but the big 3 really need's to put a clean running diesel in the small truck's that are built. one thing about the president's motorcade is that everything is flown in gas etc. or it on base only. i don't think you will see a motorcade pulling into your local gas station.
 
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The 350 diesel engine were a gas engine converted to diesel. I have not heard anything good about them. In other countries you can buy small diesel trucks but, you can't import them into the US.
 
diesel cars

two weeks ago i transported 8 diesel powered fiat lancias to the port of
baltimore,md. they are chrysler 300's built in canada for the european
market. very nice cars,but you can't buy one in the us or canada.

they did not have prices on them,but i would say they are probably
very expensive,also very heavy,about 4,500 lbs each! i would love to see
manufacturers in the US come out with diesel motors.

fortunatley,we won't have to wait long.the word i have out of lordstown,
ohio is that chevy will start production of diesel powered chevy cruise some
time in 2012:specool:
 
Mike Stevens said:
The rest of the world showed up in electric cars because that is the thing to do these days. They probably had their electrics flown in on some big fuel sucking plane. You know they did not travel over land for this conference.
Wonder what a fully armored Prius would look like? Wonder what the get away speed would be if they needed to make a quick exit?

Mike
Click to expand...

A draw back with an armored Prius, if in the event, you needed to ram something to get out of the area, there is not enough weight to move a pile of toothpicks glued together. It would be a sure death trap. When I drove limos for security, we paractived in a 72 Caddy, we had power and steel to move other cars out of the way and when we had to ram cars set up blocking egress we hit them and spun them out of the way like a top. The good old days of power, steel, and an American made Identifiable automobile with style and integrity sure has faded away when looking at today's cars.
 
Retrospective

The 350 diesel was a bad plan but with care and attention, they were ok engines. They had to be serviced on time, had to have attention at various points and had to have patient owners. (I had just the one.) Iceberg slow.
Don't give up on diesels for your small cars. The EPA with sad old rules has banned the 70+ mpg diesels I drive when I rent in Europe. They (small Euro diesels) have no real passing power like the torque from a 6/8 cylinder, but seriously, I was really driving hard and I got an average of 60mpg from a VW golf diesel this past summer, all over England. Most Harleys struggle to get that from an ancient V-twin. It's all politics or you'd happily have a small 70mpg runabout and a 10 mpg hearse already. That's what Europe has...
 
:myopinion:I have a 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI and not only will it scat (forget slow Diesels, this one ain't), but my best tank average so far has been 39.74 mpg. It is an entirely pleasant car in every way, not particularly large but not small either; a nice size.
The newer Diesels from Mercedes-Benz are even cleaner, I understand. I have no regrets so far.
 
350 Converted GM Diesels in Pickups

Our company had (2) of them brand new in 1978 and both broke crankshafts by the time they had 50,000 miles on them ruining the blocks. Both were labeled ""Heavy Half's".... so we assumed that meant they could carry at least a thousand pounds of payload..... WRONG... according to Chevy later when "arm wrestling" them over the blown engines. They asked us if we ever backed up a 12% grade with over 500 lbs of payload.... our answer was YES, and they said "well that's what broke the crankshafts!" MM
 
My VW Jetta TDI diesel is getting, on average, 40.2 mpg. It was rated at 42, but that's probably on flat land and we have hills. It's not the quickest accelerating car I've ever had **, but it ain't bad. Plenty of room.

(** That award would go to, of all things, my '79 Ford Fairmont station wagon....with the 5L Mustang V8 and police package. It would pass anything but a gas station.)
 
Steve, ain't you s'posed to be a Stude Lark sorta guy? A friend had one of those VW's couple yrs ago. Not knocking your vehicle, but his was cramped, rode hard and smelled like ****. But, then, to me virtually all "modern" cars seem to ride hard; the neighbor's Impala, our '97 Continental, the above friend's present Jeep wagon, etal. I actually prefer my '89 Olds wagon to any of the above-mentioned rigs. Oh, for a '56 Packard or a '60 Mercury to tool about in.................
 
Mike McDonald said:
Our company had (2) of them brand new in 1978 and both broke crankshafts by the time they had 50,000 miles on them ruining the blocks. Both were labeled ""Heavy Half's".... so we assumed that meant they could carry at least a thousand pounds of payload..... WRONG... according to Chevy later when "arm wrestling" them over the blown engines. They asked us if we ever backed up a 12% grade with over 500 lbs of payload.... our answer was YES, and they said "well that's what broke the crankshafts!" MM
Click to expand...

I remember those cars. I worked for a funeral home in atlanta in the mid '80's that had a '79 olds ninety eight six door family car. If you had to go up a hill on take off it would not pull loaded. Several times we had to ask the family to walk to the top of the hill and we would pick them up when the car got to the top. The rpms would go up and the smoke would boil. Everyone hated that car, except the owner.
 
David Wall said:
I remember those cars. I worked for a funeral home in atlanta in the mid '80's that had a '79 olds ninety eight six door family car. If you had to go up a hill on take off it would not pull loaded. Several times we had to ask the family to walk to the top of the hill and we would pick them up when the car got to the top. The rpms would go up and the smoke would boil. Everyone hated that car, except the owner.
Click to expand...

If the 1979 Olds couldn't make it to the top of the hill with a full load of passengers, it had some serious engine problems. It might not be rabbit fast, but it should have enough power under its hood to move the car and passengers up the steepest grade that you will experience in normal driving. I'll bet that somewhere in its life, or possibly when it was manufactured, they put the wrong gears into the rear differential, if it was a rear wheel drive. If it was a front wheel drive car, then the problem might have been in the transmission. If it were like that from new, I can't believe that the manufacturer wasn't overwhelmed with complaints, unless you owned the only one that they built.
 
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