Hybrid Cars are Selling

Another idea that struck me as fringe when I first heard it was cars that run on used vegetable oil. I now know someone who converted his car - it was a $1500 conversion, but he gets his fuel for free. Some people are predicting lower engine life, but he has experienced zero ill effects. He reports about the same mileage per gallon. Exhaust is reported to be much, much cleaner.

Does the car run on 100% vegetable oil or is it a mix?

My understanding is that it is pure vegetable oil. He pulls up to a rstaurant whose owner he knows, and pumps in used oil only using a cheesecloth filter. Since the restaurant has to pay to have it carted away for recycling, the restaurant lets the car owner have all he wants. The conversion kit sits in his trunk in a steel case, about 1' high by 2'x 3'.

Have the equipment in the trunk must smell terrible though. Seems like a lot of effort, still, I suppose you can't knock em for trying to make a distance, even though I just did.

Well I'm paying close to $40 a tankful at this point, and I run through a tank in about a week. So that's more than $2000 a year (yikes). The conversion kit would pay for itself in less than a year. I wonder how labor intensive is straining the oil? what the MPG of the car are?

I'm not sure, but I think it has to be a diesel engine.

Yes, it only is currently working for diesel engines, where the compression causes the ignition rather than plugs. The man I know that converted reports no smell whatever, although the exhaust can smell a little like french fries (really). He says the fill-up is easy, although I cannot imagine it's as easy as a standard gas/diesel pump. Some skeptics theorize that the relatively low purity will eventually clog things up prematurely; certainly the company who sells the conversion kits disagrees with this, but I suppose only time will tell.

The scent of french fries is definitely a step up from a whiff of diesel. I'm surprised MacDonalds isn't pushing this. Imagine how much subliminal advertising they could get. Think about it, you're driving down the road, suddenly you smell fries...you want them...you go to macDonald's. It's certainly better than the "I'm lovin' it" commercials.

How far behind are the US car makers in the hybrid game?

As far as I know, pretty far behind. US companies didn't really buy into the value of a hybrid until very recently.

My wife just bought a Honda Accord Hybrid right off the lot, with no waiting. (She had a choice of two colors.) Even the local Prius dealer had elliminated a "waiting list"... you could get in on the next batch of cars if you were willing to pick from that batch, with new batches coming in a few couple of weeks or so.

I'm encouraged by this story but, like many consumers who would like to buy American, want more. The news about the Chevy Silverado is disappointing. Why is GM wasting its time with a hybrid vehicle that gets you only a mile or two more per gallon? Does Detroit really think that the only people who drive Silverados work with electric power tools all day long? The four 120-volt outlets are nice (if you need them), but the problem is not the high cost of electricity -it's the high cost of gasoline. I, for one, am routing for GM to succeed. Still, I wonder if GM really knows who's driving its vehicles.