Environmentally Friendly Cars

[ifingers]

My dad runs a <a href="http://www.ichauffeur.co.uk">London Chauffeur</a> business. He has called me today to find out more about eco-friendly cars. I am really happy about what he said to me on the phone. "Rich, I want to make sure we have the most eco-friendly cars available - can you find out more for me?" 10 years ago he would have laughed if i had mentioned such a thing - he still doesn't understand my interest in HH The Dalai Lama...

He has for a while now been converting his fleet to gas power (not gas as in USA gas - i.e. petrol - but gas if you know what i mean ) Apparently this is a lot more friendly than petrol. If you were to park your gas-powered vehicle in a closed garage, you would not die from carbon-monoxide poisoning. This is a lot better than petrol and diesel but still <a href="http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/faqs/questions/convert_liquid_gas.html">not perfect</a>.

What about hydrogen cars? Are they available yet? Any good?

I am going to write to <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/">greenpeace</a>, <a href="http://www.foe.co.uk/">friends of the earth</a> etc and ask for their advice, but I hope some of you may have some answers too...

Thanks

[ifingers]

This looks like being a good interim solution till hydrogen power becomes available.

http://www.purebiodiesel.co.uk/

I'll let you know what friends of the earth say...

[davajonah]

It's really interesting what you say about your old man laughing at such a thought ten years ago. My folks are the same - they bag up green waste, re-cycle stuff, look out for eco-friendly products in the supermarkets and so on. That wouldn't have happened ten years ago! Good on your dad for doing this - and he'll certainly catch the "greener" punters by advertising the fact.

I suppose there is more awareness of such matters now, and - it's no bad thing overall imo - except when the likes of MacDonalds jump on the eco/health bandwagon. How green are they? I look at the litter and waste outside[and inside] any MacDonalds/KFC/BurgerKing "restaurant" and wonder. They are to food what PopIdol and boy/girl bands are to music. Throwaway poisonous crap, fed to the gullible many in order to keep the select few in luxury.

Minor rant - sorry! Good luck to your dad!

[ifingers]

Thanks DJ,
I agree about McD's and co.

I am a real petrol freak - if i won the lottery I would buy a ferrari.... but at the same time I would have to question the environmental impact of it - what is more important - my enjoyment or the effect it might have on my daughters future - when you look at it like that a ferrari loses it's appeal. I like F1 but would welcome a move to hydrogen/electric vehicles (as long as each car had a built in p.a. system so as to mimick the sound of a V10 at 18 000 RPM )

I really welcome what my dad is trying to do now, and I am sure he will have new eco-aware CEO's rushing to use his services once we find the best solution - it is a win-win situation.

What is the coo with hydrogen cars? Seem to have heard a lot about them for a while - but when can we buy them? My suspician is that the big fuel companies are slowing the development - am i paranoid?

[kilroydegeek]

This looks like being a good interim solution till hydrogen power becomes available.

http://www.purebiodiesel.co.uk/

I'll let you know what friends of the earth say...

Biodiesal is environmentally friendly only in that it uses a waste product that would otherwise end up in a toxic landfill - spent cooking oil. As a fuel, it's not as pure as petro-diesal (especially in the case of home-made) and there are some running issues such as the requirement for preheating on cold start. A friend of mine was looking into it, but gave up because it was going to take ages to pay back the capital investment, even at a converted cost of AU$0.20/litre.

I just saw on the telly last night that there's a crowd in France (MDI) building air-powered cars. While they're not at the limo stage, yet, they are building stylish looking, very light-weight Smart-like 2 seaters with good city speeds and 300km range. These cars run on compressed air and can be recharged from an industrial compressor in about 3 minutes or using the inbuilt compressor running off electric mains in 4 hours for about a quid's worth of energy.

Toyota are moving Prius hybrid petrol/electric technology into mainstream models over the next 5 to 10 years, but the Prius is still the only production model from the majors that I know of presently. Fuel cells for electric cars are still about 10 years off and will probably be killed by simpler, cleaner technologies.

There's not much out there worth looking at for business and hire use, but we're living in a watershed age. The MDI is there now, and building their completely carbon-fibre/alloy air cars for as little as a similar sized Korean buzz box, so thy are worth watching, or even contacting to ask about bigger product they might have in development. They might see a major limo service as part of the R&D programme.

[kilroydegeek]

Ohh, according to MDI's model list...

Inspired by the London Taxi, with numerous ergonomic and comfort advantages for the passenger as well as for the driver.

Specifications::
Airbag, air conditioning, 6 seats.

Dimensions: 3.84m, 1.72m, 1.75m
Weight: 750 kg
Maximum speed: 110 kmh
Mileage: 200 - 300 km
Maximum load: 500 Kg
Recharging time: 4 hours (Mains connector)
Recharging time: 3 minutes (Air station)

It'd make a good niche hire product.

EDIT: They licence the manufacture and sell "turn key factories" to licencees What an amazing business model!

[ifingers]

Biodiesal is environmentally friendly only in that it uses a waste product that would otherwise end up in a toxic landfill - spent cooking oil. As a fuel, it's not as pure as petro-diesal (especially in the case of home-made) and there are some running issues such as the requirement for preheating on cold start. A friend of mine was looking into it, but gave up because it was going to take ages to pay back the capital investment, even at a converted cost of AU$0.20/litre.

Thanks Steve - is there <em>anything</em> your <em>not</em> an expert on?
According to the website it is very friendly to the environment - I have asked some questions though - which they haven't replied to yet. My dad has heard of it - and said it makes the car smell like a deep fat fryer - but I'll try and find out more. This biodiesel apparently is made specifically for this purpose and to a certain standard or other and will apparently increase the performance of the engine - according to the site again.

[ifingers]

It'd make a good niche hire product.

I think your right mate - looks great to me.

[kilroydegeek]

Thanks Steve - is there <em>anything</em> your <em>not</em> an expert on?

If it's technology (well "boy toys" anyway) then I soak up the info like a sponge. Hanging in "hippy-geek" circles, as I have in the past, you tend to meet people who think bio-fuel is the future (and they never stop to think about where all the raw materials for mass produced bio transport will come from ), hence my bio diesal connection.

The MDI is the best bet at current state of play.

[ifingers]

I soak things up too - but the difference is you remember it!

Good stuff thanks mate.

[kilroydegeek]

the difference is you remember it!

It's a curse as much as a blessing

[cStu]

The Darkness is The Light

[cStu]

Wow! You almost sound like a real person!

[slumbering]

---

Who are you talking to? Where is my mind?!!

Please don't f*** with the neurotic, Stu, we've got it hard enough as it is!

[toots]

Sorry, this mod deleted a spambot's post (as well as the spambot) in between Stu's last two posts. No worries, slumbs, Stu has not gone mad!