New England B.S. Thread

?!
I love the snow, so I'm not in any great hurry for winter to be over.
On the other hand, I was in the garage the other day and saw the bikes under their covers, and I did miss riding. Briefly. Then I went and pushed snow around the yard with the tractor and felt better.

 

I can see those batteries being replaced often, as Li-Ion batteries don't like to be drained all the way. Unless the Prius prevents that from happening.

 

Go on google maps and type in "Inco Superstack, Greater Sudbury, ON, Canada". A lot of the nickel used in hybrid cars' batteries is mined and smelted onsite there; NASA has declared the whole surrounding area a "dead zone". Nothing can live there even on a microbial level, and the acid rain the area has experienced is bad enough to destroy all plant life and ruin the soil.


Now I am not a huge environmentally conscious person (I hate litter and try to keep from killing everything in site), but I love to shoot that back in the faces of all the smug Prius owners. Especially when I was going to college at UMass Amherst.

 

Just about every LI battery on the market has a chip that prevents over or under charging. I'm sure they've got one on the Prius too.

 

Well the chip stops the battery from being so drained that it's no good anymore. But even in cell phones, even you run it to "0" all the time, you significantly shorten it's lifespan. I know people who drain the battery on their car all the time.

 

Hybrid tax credits expired long ago, along with the same tax credits for USA-market diesel cars. It has taken a while for the technology and market for hybrid battery recycling to develop, but it is now in full swing and will continue to grow with the number of hybrid and electric vehicles on the road.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tax_hybrid.shtml
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxLeanburn.shtml
http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/what-happens-to-ev-and-hybrid-batteries.html

No car is "good" for the environment. Hybrids are, at best, less damaging. I have been at the pointy end of U.S. foreign policy for all of my adult life. Anything we can do to reduce our dependence on imported oil seems like an advantage.

Some may see some bias here, but as a 2-time Prius owner I have grown to appreciate the consistent 50 MPG fuel economy. They seem quirky at first, and will never be accused of thrilling performance, but they perform exceptionally well at the commuter duty for which they are designed. It is, simply, a smarter way to build a car.

Mike

 

Nothing a BFH couldn't fix!!!

 

So you're going to swap a diesel in your wagon?

 

Any of you guys have a tool board in your house or garage?
I've been looking for ideas for my work shop area in the basement . Right now I have a lot of tools in storage bins because all my boxes are full.
Cheaper is better for now.

 

The Inco Superstack has been in operation since the early 70's, and most of the pollution and localized environmental damage took place long before hybrid cars came into existence...
The continued operation certainly isn't helping, though.

 

There are a lot of diesel BMWs and Audis in the US also, I think people just think back to the old diesels and are scared away from them. I have a feeling the EPA plays a role in why diesels aren't in mid-sized or half ton pickups...

The only good use for Hybrids that I see is they keep the gasoline engine relevant. As long as tree-huggers continue to purchase Hybrids, there will always be companies pushing the envelope and creating monsters like the Bugatti.

So what about the Jetta TDI? 50 MPG and none of the batteries, same independence from foreign oil, less byproduct from production. I'm bias because I don't believe the Prius is actually solving any problems.

 

In my basement over the work bench, I hung up 2 pieces of 24X48" tempered pegboard from Home Depot. There are a few different fasteners that hold a variety of different tools and keeps everything out in the open. Total cost was around $30.

 

When I built my workshop in the garage last spring I hung pegboard on all the walls rather than plywood or OSB. The cost was similar, maybe even a little less expensive.
This stuff:
(painted)
http://www.lowes.com/pd_15484-46498-150_0__?productId=3014308&Ntt=pegboard&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dpegboard&facetInfo=

(Unpainted)
http://www.lowes.com/pd_15497-46498-SSP2204825_0__?productId=3014321&Ntt=pegboard&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dpegboard&facetInfo=

 

$30 sounds good thanks I'll look into it .

 

I love snow also. I look foward to winter for snowboarding and snow wheeling, but working out in these sub zero temperatures is freaking brutal.

 

Ahh that's perfect thanks . I need containers for nuts and bolts etc etc . This should work out great.

 

You should really do some research before spewing this garbage. The environmental damage began in the 1850s, long before the first cars were invented and 150 years before the first mass-produced hybrid cars. Environmental remediation, including reforestation, began in the 1970s, during a global rise in awareness of such things that culminated in the creation of the EPA and environmental protection laws. NASA don't designate environmental "dead zones". I have done contract work in a couple of mines in Arizona. No active mining operation is a great place for agriculture or residential communities.

A good place to start reading:

http://activehistory.ca/2013/06/11360/

http://faculty.unlv.edu/abellas2/Restoration_course/Gunn 1996 restoring Sudbury Ecol Rest.pdf

Mike

 

Electrical nightmare. Never met a VW yet that didn't have electrical problems.
That being said, I'd rather have a diesel than a hybrid. When I was looking for a replacement for my old Tacoma (and that check from Toyota was burning a hole in my pocket) I nearly fell for a Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 with a 5.9 Cummins and a six speed.
Originally from Tennessee, 75k and a mint body and frame, not a scratch, dent or speck of rust. But, I realized that I didn't really need a 3/4 ton truck with a 4 door cab and 8 foot bed...

 

Sliders showed up at my office Monday, missing the hardware though....


Where the hardware looks like it was...

 

Dieseltoys.com.

If only I won $20,000.....

I'd make it a manual too