Ban on small engines in California

[SmithDoor]

Most use natural gas with a low cost cost catalytic converter.

Other that solar/geothermal/wind/wave everything has pollution.

We just need to build a solar engine. This was done in 1900 but low cost oil from USA made so could have electricity all night too.

Dave

Using fuel in a car has varying efficiencies. Best efficiency come from a wide open throttle but most cars have so much excess horsepower that that condition rarely applies. On the other hand, a power station is run to be the most efficient it can as that maximizes the profit. A car going down the road has only a catalytic converter to more completely burn the fuel while a power station has all kinds of filters to remove the pollutants from the exhaust stream. That's why there is a difference.

 

[lohring]

OK, I give up. All you electric car haters need this Tesla. It made it to SEMA and attracted an interesting crowd.

Lohring Miller

 

[SmithDoor]

I am pro electric car by right now they still making adjustments.
It may take 20 years to get all bugs out and filling stations aka place to charge the battery.

Dave

OK, I give up. All you electric car haters need this Tesla. It made it to SEMA and attracted an interesting crowd.

Lohring Miller

 

[ajoeiam]

I agree that new vehicle have unneeded complexities and I don't need a cell phone connected to the car but along with that complexity come things like anti-knock sensors to increase the engine efficiency, fuel injection that give the precise amount of fuel for combustion, and minor things like tire pressure sensors that notify you of under-inflation that takes extra fuel.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm - - - - and why is it that in 1980 I could buy a vehicle where I could get 63+ mpg (imp) over the life of the vehicle and today I dunno if I can find one that gets anything over 50 - - - - - this is improvement (imo that 1980 vehicle drove and rode very similarly to the present circa 50 mpg present version)?
If one learns how to use one's eyeballs anything more than 10% variation in inflation is more than somewhat visible.
Contrary to what the experts say I can get perhaps even closer on tires rated to be inflated at 100 psi.

Any other 'improvements' you would like to proffer?

 

[ajoeiam]

Most use natural gas with a low cost cost catalytic converter.

Other that solar/geothermal/wind/wave everything has pollution.

We just need to build a solar engine. This was done in 1900 but low cost oil from USA made so could have electricity all night too.

Dave

Hmmmmmmmm - - - - there is even pollution in the manufacture of the solar panels (and other components), geothermal, wind and wave systems.
Even dying creates pollution!

 

[CFLBob]

Other that solar/geothermal/wind/wave everything has pollution.

Solar and wind in particular have horrible pollution, it's just that most of it is where you don't see it - at the factories and in the waste stream. Ever seen what gets done to wind turbine blades when they wear out? There's no known, good way to recycle fiberglass reinforced plastics. I've seen Denmark repurpose them for bicycle shelters, but mostly they just go into the landfill. With solar, the process to make the silicon wafers is the issue. I'm not as familiar with geothermal and wave power.

How about how wind and solar power kill birds and wildlife in huge numbers? I've seen the downstream effects of wind turbine farms on weather radars. It's not small. After all, if the wind turbines were 100% effective at taking energy from the wind, there would be no wind left after them and it would radically change the weather. Thankfully, 100% effectiveness just isn't going to happen, but I don't know that they aren't modifying weather now.

I think there are no exceptions to your statement that everything pollutes to some degree. The vast majority of the time, "pollution" means, "a resource in the wrong place." Back in the 1970s, detergents with phosphates were banned because of water pollution. Phosphates are fertilizers (the P in NPK fertilizers) that people pay good money for. Because sewage systems didn't get it out of waste water, it was fertilizing rivers and canals, causing overgrowth of plants. CO2 is plant food.

 

[vederstein]

The U.S. Clean Air Act was enacted into law in 1970. It's been 51 years under this law.

The issue now is that the law has done what it was meant to do. All the low hanging fruit is gone. No more leaded paint. No more leaded gas. No more casual dumping. etc.

But bureaucracies never die. They never ever die. They have to find new items to regulate to continue their existence.

So now we have carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide and water are the byproducts of perfect combustion. To label CO2 as a pollutant is asinine. It's what you want when burning something.

I'm still at the same point. Let the market dictate what technologies we adopt and when we adopt them. People don't want to be told what to do. There will always be smoother transition when an individual chooses to make the change.

...VEd.

 

[davidyat]

God, I love my 1967 VW. I can actually work on it. WHAT, you’re saying in the future I can’t drive it in California?

 

[Ken I]

God, I love my 1967 VW. I can actually work on it. WHAT, you’re saying in the future I can’t drive it in California?

I doubt you can license it there now - it will fail the annual emissions test (It might be exempt on account of it's pre-CAT age - but I doubt it).
As a visitor you might fail a spot check and be removed from the road.
You can probably get an After Market (AM) CAT replacement which has so little catalyst that it will only "work" for a few hours - but long enough to pass your annual emissions test.
I worked in the CAT industry (and to some extent still do - they are now customers) one of the things that puzzled us was how After Market units sold for less than "our" catalyst content.
The scam works like this - when your CAT dies after say 10 years - you fail your annual test - so you fit a U$4000 Original Equipment (OE) system.
Cool - but unfortunately your now old engine is pushing out more unburned fuel and lube oil smoke than a new vehicle and will poison your CAT within the year.
So you fail your next test anyways.
Solution buy a U$400 system every year - it will last long enough to drive to the test centre and get your clean air certificate. Just hope you don't get pulled up in a spot check tomorrow.
Regards, Ken

 

[SmithDoor]

God, I love my 1967 VW. I can actually work on it. WHAT, you’re saying in the future I can’t drive it in California?View attachment 130745

Just what we need a car built before 1975. No smog check and a classic

Dave

 

[mfrick]

So I have only one question, Where are we going to get all the Electracy to charge all the batterie powered equipment and cars since the move is on to dismantle power plants and tear down dams.

Mike

 

[timothysielbeck]

Just what we need a car built before 1975. No smog check and a classic

Dave

'78 Honda Accords would work, too. It was the last make/model that had no requirement for any anti-pollution stuff on the engine. Wish I still had one.

 

[davidyat]

Now everyone knows why I got out of that God forsaken piece of $hit state.

 

[MRA]

To give a little UK perspective - we are currently legislating against older (pre 2016) diesels in cities, owing to concerns about particulate pollution. I understand that, but it's a shame, because the kind of small diesels we were getting from 2000-ish onwards are capable of really remarkable mpg, and hence low CO2. By driving like a loony - which I mean 55mph for 200 miles down to see my mum, rolling down all the hills, pootling along behind slow artics - the best I have done (with 4 of us in the car and a little luggage) is 95 mpg (UK) - it's a 3 cyl VW 1.4 TDi. That's not much less than what I used to get out of a 125 motorbike, albeit I was 17 and nailing it. I changed a wheel bearing on the car once - they come in a (fairly cheap - about 30 quid) package already in the cast-iron hub with an abs sensor. No more opposed taper-rollers - I was frustrated by this at the time, but they don't half roll off-power for a long time with very small losses.

 

[GreenTwin]

California should pass a law requiring farm animals to wear clothes. and once that is in place, they can require all the wild animals to wear at least pajamas. Don't ou agree?

Well yes, that would be a good idea, but they would never be able to agree as to what clothing would be non-offensive to someone/something else.
In an era where everything apparently offends someone, and any activity triggers supposedly more global warming, then it would never get figured out.
And then throw PETA into the mix, and I would pay good money to see the fights it would cause (if someone made a video of it).
Oh the possibilities........LOL.
.

 

[SmithDoor]

Well yes, that would be a good idea, but they would never be able to agree as to what clothing would be non-offensive to someone/something else.
In an era where everything apparently offends someone, and any activity triggers supposedly more global warming, then it would never get figured out.
And then throw PETA into the mix, and I would pay good money to see the fights it would cause (if someone made a video of it).
Oh the possibilities........LOL.
.

Lets see PETA drive car or fly holding to there standards.
PETA has good points but they take there points to far for me.
I like give the cows a job.

Dave

 

[lohring]

This is my definition of better. This is a real all American car with the best performance in the world that still gets the equivalent of more than 100 mpg.

Lohring Miller

 

[GreenTwin]

This is my dream car, and if I live long enough, I will make one of these, but perhaps powered with a Frisco Standard style engine.
There is something very visually appealing about this car.

 

[GreenTwin]

God, I love my 1967 VW. I can actually work on it. WHAT, you’re saying in the future I can’t drive it in California?View attachment 130745

That was a great year for the VW, and the best year in my opinion.
The Super Beetle was not an improvement on this year.
I had one of those, but had to let it go.
I could work on all of it, which is the reason I had it.
There were no electronics to go bad and stop the car from running.

.

 

[Steamchick]

I know German cars have a lot of fans, particularly the super expensive cars. But having worked 30 odd years in car manufacturing, German production isn't always the most reliable. But VW advertising saying it is "the most reliable thing you'll ever own" is typical advertising of "selected (limited) truth". J D Powers surveys always rate Asian manufacturers much higher, and when I have asked random "breakdown mechanics", I hear much the same comments. American cars are now becoming very good all around, but until the 90s were pretty poor on global standards, but excellent for their market. I'll not say who I think are "best", as the judgement criteria vary from person to person.
Enjoy what you like!
K2