Motorhead Messiah
Fast Company has an article on 7th grade dropout Johnathan Goodwin, who "can get 100 mpg out of a Lincoln Continental, cut emissions by 80%, and double the horsepower. Does the car business have the guts to follow him?"
Goodwin [is] famous in the world of underground car modders. He is a virtuoso of fuel economy. He takes the hugest American cars on the road and rejiggers them to get up to quadruple their normal mileage and burn low-emission renewable fuels grown on U.S. soil--all while doubling their horsepower. The result thrills eco-evangelists and red-meat Americans alike: a vehicle that's simultaneously green and mean. And word's getting out. In the corner of his office sits Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 Jeep Wagoneer, which Goodwin is converting to biodiesel; soon, Neil Young will be shipping him a 1960 Lincoln Continental to transform into a biodiesel--electric hybrid. His target for Young's car? One hundred miles per gallon.
| Permalink | author bio | 
Comments (3)
The diesel hybrid is definately the answer ! For some reason certain diesels are not allowed in California, which is really unfortunate because they get better fuel economy than gasoline engines.
Comment #1 Posted by: Brian Cox | October 30, 2007 08:09 PM
Diesel-electric hybrids are efficient, but diesel engines are dirty. The particulates they belch out are carcinogenic. Running them on biodiesel does not change this, claims to the contrary are bogus. Diesels have to run at a higher compression ratio to function. That also generates nitrogen oxides. Gasoline engines are dirty, diesel is dirtier; and particularly old technology diesels are horrid. In an area with a high population density such as California; air quality is a real issue.
Comment #2 Posted by: Robert Dinse | November 8, 2007 04:25 PM
You get better fuel economy using diesel(more energy per gallon). With the turbo diesel hybrid you can achieve some very high mileage, so you are burning less fuel and creating less pollution, which is a good thing. The particulate matter from diesel should not be equated to carbon monoxcide or nitrogen oxides they are not a toxic gas they are just particles that eventually settle to the ground. The water injection which this post is linked to is bogus however, and claims of increased mileage are untrue.
Comment #3 Posted by: Brian | November 8, 2007 06:17 PM