Transportation

A couple of weeks ago I got a letter from a reader of my column, ECOMMANDO TACTICS, which appears in the L.A. FREE PRESS. The reader–George Tucker–wrote, in part, thus:During the past eight months I have quite frequently ridden my motorcycle on the Pomona Freeway from L.A. to Pomona and back. Very early it struck me that I lost power at the intersection with the 605 Freeway, so much so that I usually pulled over to the right hand lane, minimized wind resistance and hoped for the best. During most of this time I knew the engine wasn’t working properly but I thought that it had just reached a point of warming up at that place, thereby causing some reaction . . . and that perhaps I was hitting a headwind coming from Pomona.Then I removed the instruction manual from its position blocking the air intake and made a few…
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On his return to England in 1955, Harold worked as an electrical contractor, started a ferry boat service and drove a taxi before turning his attention to unleashing the power hidden in manure.Detroit and the large petroleum interests keep saying it can’t be done but a 62-year-old English inventor has already done it. Harold Bate, British chicken Partner and experimenter, has developed a small conversion unit that makes any ordinary automobile virtually pollution-free. What’s more (and hang on to your hat for this one), the Bate convertor can also cut your fuel oil, sparkplug and other miscellaneous automobile operating expenses by a factor of ten!The Bate system accomplishes these amazing feats as naturally as a compost pile by recycling animal droppings and sewage into methane: a colorless, odorless, flammable gas. This means drat, as a bonus, Harold Bates development just may go a long way toward safely and naturally reclaiming…
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“Chicken Man” (England’s Harold Bate) is already marketing an alternative fuel kit which frees automobiles from the surly bonds of gasoline by unleashing the natural power found in humble chicken manure. On January 23, 1971, “Aqua Man” (Spanish inventor Eduard Estevel) unveiled his own version of an alternative fuel kit on European television, an engine powered . . . BY WATER. No, not a steam engine, but a natural water-powered car unit fueled by plain, ordinary water. It works, according to the inventor, on a principle of breaking down the water to the basic elements; hydrogen as a combustion fuel and oxygen expelled through the exhaust pipe. OXYGEN EXPELLED THROUGH THE EXHAUST PIPE!!! Here is an invention, then, which not only does not pollute, but could actually dilute the fumes from other engines a little. Whoever heard of an engine IMPROVING the atmosphere!? Furthermore, Eduard Estevel claims his clean engine gets 400 miles per gallon…
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Harold Bate, a British farmer, thought running his car on chicken manure would be a logical way to beat the high tax on his native England’s gasoline prices. And it is. But his countrymen’s traditional tolerance of eccentrics has been, in Harold’s case, unfortunate. While sympathetic ears and even radio and television time were accorded him in Great Britain’s time honored fashion, no attention whatever was paid to the scheme itself. Even the stamp of official approval that Bate received from the government’s Ministry of Transport did little to advance his case; the English placing harmless eccentrics and politicians in much the same category.So it was that Harold Bate and his chicken-powered 1953 Hillman, at 75 miles per hour, travelled the land virtually unnoticed and–after two or three years of this–a despondent Harold journeyed to Canada and explained his invention to television audiences there.Mr. Bate produces methane gas by simply sealing…
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Although purchase of a ready-made modern slide-in or chassis-mount camper on a pickup or cab type truck may seem the easiest way to become a motor-age gypsy, I feel there is much merit to considering the alternative offered by the numerous used, or compact vans on the market. If you find, as I do, laying out six or seven thousand dollars for a factory-built unit is a bit beyond your budget, then combining the used van with a bit of component buying and do-it-yourselfing may be your answer.By custom designing a motor home to your own requirements, you can make sure that there isn’t one precious inch of space or dollar wasted. You will not be trying to warp your living patterns to fit a space designed to attract the mythical average buyer. You can select components that best fit your needs and desires. You can have a choice of options…
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WELL FOLKS . . . UNTIL LEAR PERFECTS HIS DREAM CAR OR THE COST OF PROPANE CONVERSIONS COMES DOWN, IT LOOKS LIKE MOST OF US ARE STUCK WITH TRANSPORTATION POWERED BY GASOLINE-FUELED INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. AIN’T NOTHING SAYS WE HAVE TO BUY NEW ONES, HOWEVER. BY RECYCLING A GOOD OLD SET OF WHEELS ONE MORE ONCE YOU CAN DO YOUR POCKETBOOK A FAVOR AND CUT CONSUMPTION OF RAW MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING POWER JUST A BIT.A dependable used car for less than $100 appears to be a cross between a leprechaun and a will-of-the-wisp–something you hear a lot about but never see. Well, you don’t have to believe in fairy tales to believe this: sound cars, good for many thousands of miles of cheap transportation, are readily available, and bought every day, everywhere–for less than $100.My personal limit on a car is $50 (with a willingness, thus far untested, to go…
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What is clean diesel? With their superior durability and fuel economy, clean diesel technology enables diesel cars to rival hybrids.Whatever notions you have about diesel cars, forget them. Long gone are the days of smelly, black plumes of smoke, noisy engines, slow acceleration, and sometimes-finicky operation. The technology has evolved significantly in recent years. Diesel cars are now green cars and a strong green transportation option.Modern diesel powertrains are quiet, clean, smooth, reliable, powerful, durable and economical. A diesel vehicle will usually cost more than a comparable gasoline vehicle, but the diesel engine’s more robust design means that, with proper maintenance, it should last considerably longer.For generations, diesel power has been the best choice for work-intensive applications, with no other engine delivering as much stump-pulling power. What’s evolved is how the engine compresses and ignites the fuel to propel the vehicle — a change that has capitalized on diesel’s inherent…
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Stop looking to buy a new car once gas prices start rising. Optimize your current vehicle by learning how to save gas while driving.If you want to get better gas mileage and save big bucks at the pump, simply changing your driving habits can improve your miles per gallon by 30 percent or more. To illustrate this point, two General Motors fuel economy engineers each drove an identical 2011 Chevy Cruze on a combined city/highway route, each using a different driving style. The 2011 Cruze has an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy rating of 26 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway. The engineer who drove aggressively turned in an average of 20.5 mpg, while the engineer who employed fuel-efficient driving techniques delivered an average of 37.4 mpg on the same course. That’s a positive difference of 16.9 mpg due solely to driving style!Many people falsely…
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Electric cars vs gas cars, hybrid vs electric — what kind of vehicle is right for you? See how one Texas homesteader answers this question after trying all three.In the early part of the 20th century, New York City was filled with cars. Electric cars. To power the electric cars, there were charging stations. So many charging stations that maps could be purchased or obtained to find them.According to the website for the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, “Americans still drove electric cars in the 1920s. The New York Edison Company’s Automobile Bureau published this booklet for electric-car owners. It included a map and address listings for local charging stations in New York City. Stations outside the immediate area, as far as Boston and Philadelphia, were also listed.”Most people may be surprised to learn that electric cars aren’t a new idea. One hundred years ago, it was actually a…
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