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- From: smith@ctron.com (Lawrence C Smith)
- Newsgroups: rec.autos
- Subject: Re: Ethanol blended gasoline
- Message-ID: <5841@balrog.ctron.com>
- Date: 5 Nov 92 16:15:59 GMT
- References: <bob1.720901984@cos> <1992Nov4.195708.29977@erg.sri.com> <1992Nov5.040209.4665@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> <1da8pfINN5d1@bigboote.WPI.EDU>
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- Organization: Cabletron Systems, Inc.
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- In article <1da8pfINN5d1@bigboote.WPI.EDU>, walkerr@bigwpi.WPI.EDU (Robert A Walker) writes:
-
- > Taking cars off the road just because they are old, why.
-
- Because they are responsible for 90% of the autombile pollution, and are
- the main justification for ever-rising requirements of new cars, which makes
- them more and more expensive, thereby making it harder for people to buy new
- cars. It's a positive feedback loop that is good for _nobody_!
-
- > Do you
- >want to take away the cars that people need,
-
- No one has suggested a mechanism, only the result desired. I expect that
- when an old car fails the emission test and is condemned, the owner would be
- paid some salvage fee - and perhaps be rebated some "deposit" amount collected
- from purchasers of new or used cars - resulting in enough to buy a newer car
- of similar value but less proclivity for polluting.
-
- > some people can't just go out
- >and buy a newer car.
-
- That can no longer be used to justify letting them drive bigtime polluters.
- If we don't clean up the overall average, the econazi's will have us _all_
- walking or talking the bus. If we can't work out some sort of way to slip
- a few bucks to the owners of condemned cars to soften the blow, well, better
- them than all of us.
-
- > Besides, what about people who like to restore old
- >cars and drive them, were to they go, to hell.
-
- Well, if George had been re-elected, they could have purchased pollution
- rights. By paying a bit extra in their registration they'd get a "classic"
- sticker which would exempt them from the most rigorous standards. That
- money might _also_ be used to help subsidize the really needy who drive
- old smokers because that's all they can afford. With Gore in the copilot
- seat, well, we'll _all_ wind up walking in the slush.
-
- > I personally wouldn't
- >drive any newer cars by choice, maybe in the future i might be driven
- >by practicality but new cars suck.
-
- Interesting value judgement. You're full of grape juice, though.
-
- > Give me a big old boat with a big over
- >bored over stroked engine pushing 600 horse power, and I'm happy.
-
- Me too. Even if I pay a bit more to get that "Classic" plate so I can run
- it without guilt.
-
- > Besides
- >any old car that is kept in decent condition has almost no emissions anyway.
-
- Not true. At least, not entirely. A properly tuned old car will probably
- pass most current inspections, though they will be tougher in the future.
- Especially with Al "Down with Cars!" Gore in the sidecar. In any event,
- _all_ cars should be kept tuned, it should be part of the regular inspection,
- but now we'll all have to pay for "oxygenated" gasolines because too many
- people didn't bother to keep their damned cars tuned up. An _improperly_
- tuned old car will pollute like nobody's business. So long as we _keep_ old
- cars tuned, I agree with you. But then, if they _kept_ them tuned, they would
- not be condemned and we still would not have the current pollution problem.
-
- >At least on an old car if the emissions is screwed up, all you have to do
- >is turn a screw and your problems are all set. On these new engines that
- >are so complicated you need all the computers at MIT to figure out what is
- >wrong with it.
-
- That is the price of progress. But at least newer cars don't _get_ screwed
- up that often. I haven't had an engine problem since around 1979, except for
- two EGR valves. That's _four_ cars.
-
- > Well that is my blab about why i like older cars and if you
- >don't like it, then tough.
-
- Nice to see you have an open mind about it, though.
-
- Larry Smith (smith@ctron.com) No, I don't speak for Cabletron. Need you ask?
- -
- Liberty is not the freedom to do whatever we want,
- it is the freedom to do whatever we are able.
-