6.) I've herd people say that they don't last as long as a gasoline engine. I can't prove or disprove this, but they saf when you get over 120,000 the risk of a major failure increases.
In the general case this is totally wrong. Diesel motors designed as diesels are deliberately overbuilt to handle higher compression. In cars with properly-designed diesel powertrains, such as those from Mercedes, the motor will still be perfectly usable after the car has entirely turned to rust around it. Benzes with 400000+mi diesels are pretty commonplace, and if you take care of your motor you can make it last for decades. Mine's a barely broken in 359kmi, which I'm hoping to hold onto until at least 500kmi. I've already gotten the GPS and bluetooth handsfree, so except for seatwarmers I don't need any other modern features;)
OTOH, American 'diesel' motors particularly from the early eighties were merely gas motor blocks converted for use with diesel. These motors couldn't stand the higher compression and more powerful detonation of diesel fuel in long-term use, and as a consequence failed much harder much earlier. There was also a fairly notorious 3.5l MB motor (notorious among MB dieselnerds at least) built in the late '80s that suffered from piston rod failures and cylinder warping, since it was just a stroked 3.0l motor that didn't have adequate piston rod stiffening. Those motors would start leaking huge quantities of oil and throwing rods between 60000 and 90000 miles, and as the last of these motors was sold in like 1994 they are pretty much long gone (or long repaired).
In general though, diesel motors built by diesel motor people (MB, VW, Cummins) are pretty much indestructible.
Where do you buy your groceries, toiletries, sundries, home furnishings, etc? How do _they_ get their products into stock? When fuel costs rise, to whom do they pass the difference (along with a few percent for the trouble)?
I personally wish they banned any vehicle over 4,000lbs from travelling on freeways between 6am-9am, and 3pm-6pm.
No taxicabs, cops or car services then. Or didja forget that many midsize (and up) cars tip the scales at 2 tons or more?
Hell, I'd say don't let anything on the road with a dry weight more than 1000 lbs, just so Harleys and Gold Wings can share the road with me and my 650lb panzerrad..
It is true that modern diesel engines produce a lot less carbon dioxide than before, so some people claim diesels are enviromentally friendly, but diesels produce much more of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and toxic particulate matter (or soot) into the air we breathe than petrol counterparts. These particles, because they are small enough to be inhaled deep into the lungs, can cause or exacerbate a variety of serious health problems.
Think global, drive local.
Also, diesel refining is less environmentally harmful than petrol refining. Also, biodiesel is a closed-cycle fuel that generates more power than it requires to produce, as opposed to E85 or other biofuels. You want a solar-powered car? Buy B100 biodiesel.
Until I can buy a hydrogen-powered car whose hydrogen is produced by an environmentally-friendly biotech process (trash-processing bacteria) I figure diesel is the way to go when I have to bring home a ton of grocery bags.
What I'm looking forward to is the phase-in of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel like what is used in Europe. That will enable companies to import even more advanced common-rail diesel vehicles to the U.S. VW will be able to bring in their high-performance VW GTI diesel. BMW will be able to bring in their high-performance diesels. So will Mercedes.
MB is bringing the E-class diesel back for 2004, though not in the 50-state-car-only states, among which are CA, NY and CT (which I would bet is 60-70% of their US market). I believe it has the common-rail motor, though it may not have the emissions controls that low sulfur diesel permits.
Here's hoping Ah-nuld puts forth an initiative to mandate biodiesel availability and permit new biodiesel-capable passenger cars to be registered..
The VW TDI engine can also run on biodiesel (unrealistic today, but possibly more available at some point in the future?)
You could, in theory, have 55gal drums of B100 shipped to your house. It's nontoxic and is as flammable as cooking oil, so you shouldn't need special licenses or anything to get it.
OTOH, pure biodiesel is expensive outside of local availability (and comparatively expensive to dinodiesel even with a refinery next door), and shipping costs are super high in personal-use quantities. Think upwards of US$4-5/gal.
Still, it doesn't hurt to have the fuel efficiency and durability today, and be able to use true altfuel tomorrow after the tax breaks are signed into law (1% off federal fuel tax per percent of biodiesel up to B20)..
And those old mercedes are the reason diesel has such a bad reputation in the states.
Bullshit! MB diesels last forever, get great mileage (27mpg @ 85-90mph, 4880 GVWH), have superb handling up to and over 100mph, and are very reliable. You have to go to the early 80s and before to get temperamental glowplugs. My '87 SDL is a creampuff... at ~359000 miles!
Diesel's got a bad rep because of shitty construction equipment, unmuffled trucks and gas-crunch American diesel cars (like the oldsmobile diesel)..
... Where are the diesel-electric hybrids? Diesel is more efficient and with the fixed-RPM optimizations you can do it makes tons more sense to go with diesel. Also, biodiesel is much better than e85 when it comes to practicality and efficiency: biodiesel provides more power than it consumes in its production, while e85 is a net negative; Biodiesel is also less abrasive (though more of a solvent) and can be used in any modern diesel (with non-rubber fuel lines). The main thing holding this back is CARB asininity, though there's also concerns over sulfur (think the diesel equivalent of lead in gasoline, with all the emissions control and lubricity issues that implies) and the slowness of the low-sulfur diesel mandate.
Back to the story at hand, I'm thinking the 2004 prius is the one to wait for, if you can't hold out for the diesel electrics..
Now VW, DaimlerChrysler, where are the diesel electric hybrids?!??!
yeah, and the buggy-whip manufacturers got screwed back in the day. As did the coach-builders, blacksmiths, stables, etc. So, they adapted (coach-builders built auto coaches, blacksmiths became mechanics, stables became hotels) or died.
Slashdot Mirror
and NVidia will care shortly after 2.6 is released as stable. Complaining about support in a testing kernel doesn't mean much to them I'm sure.
Where are the test binaries thru the 2.5 series then?
Am I to believe that the day 2.6.0 appears they'll launch a fully-tested and solid driver?
Then again, if I had wanted a fully-supported graphics driver, I wouldn't have bought an nForce board, right?
Oh well....
NVIDIA to me means aswome driver installation but be prepared to roll back.
To me, NVIDIA means closed-source kernel binaries and horrible searing stabbing pains when trying to get drivers working in 2.6 test kernels.
In 2.4, I could run glmatrix on root with no effect on the foreground apps (glmatrix nice'd to +20). No luck with 2.6...
It's BOOOOLLLLLDDDD!!!!!
Crown Victoria is shy of 4,000, which is the biggest of the police line.
Fill it with a cop alternator, computer equipment, donuts and fuel, then weigh it..
(oh, and the base curb weight of a 2003 crown vic stock? 4057 lbs.. Relocate that to your tobacco combustion device and ignite it..)
6.) I've herd people say that they don't last as long as a gasoline engine. I can't prove or disprove this, but they saf when you get over 120,000 the risk of a major failure increases.
;)
In the general case this is totally wrong. Diesel motors designed as diesels are deliberately overbuilt to handle higher compression. In cars with properly-designed diesel powertrains, such as those from Mercedes, the motor will still be perfectly usable after the car has entirely turned to rust around it. Benzes with 400000+mi diesels are pretty commonplace, and if you take care of your motor you can make it last for decades. Mine's a barely broken in 359kmi, which I'm hoping to hold onto until at least 500kmi. I've already gotten the GPS and bluetooth handsfree, so except for seatwarmers I don't need any other modern features
OTOH, American 'diesel' motors particularly from the early eighties were merely gas motor blocks converted for use with diesel. These motors couldn't stand the higher compression and more powerful detonation of diesel fuel in long-term use, and as a consequence failed much harder much earlier. There was also a fairly notorious 3.5l MB motor (notorious among MB dieselnerds at least) built in the late '80s that suffered from piston rod failures and cylinder warping, since it was just a stroked 3.0l motor that didn't have adequate piston rod stiffening. Those motors would start leaking huge quantities of oil and throwing rods between 60000 and 90000 miles, and as the last of these motors was sold in like 1994 they are pretty much long gone (or long repaired).
In general though, diesel motors built by diesel motor people (MB, VW, Cummins) are pretty much indestructible.
So how does that work? I drive a bicycle.
Where do you buy your groceries, toiletries, sundries, home furnishings, etc? How do _they_ get their products into stock? When fuel costs rise, to whom do they pass the difference (along with a few percent for the trouble)?
I personally wish they banned any vehicle over 4,000lbs from travelling on freeways between 6am-9am, and 3pm-6pm.
No taxicabs, cops or car services then. Or didja forget that many midsize (and up) cars tip the scales at 2 tons or more?
Hell, I'd say don't let anything on the road with a dry weight more than 1000 lbs, just so Harleys and Gold Wings can share the road with me and my 650lb panzerrad..
It is true that modern diesel engines produce a lot less carbon dioxide than before, so some people claim diesels are enviromentally friendly, but diesels produce much more of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and toxic particulate matter (or soot) into the air we breathe than petrol counterparts. These particles, because they are small enough to be inhaled deep into the lungs, can cause or exacerbate a variety of serious health problems.
Think global, drive local.
Also, diesel refining is less environmentally harmful than petrol refining. Also, biodiesel is a closed-cycle fuel that generates more power than it requires to produce, as opposed to E85 or other biofuels. You want a solar-powered car? Buy B100 biodiesel.
Until I can buy a hydrogen-powered car whose hydrogen is produced by an environmentally-friendly biotech process (trash-processing bacteria) I figure diesel is the way to go when I have to bring home a ton of grocery bags.
What I'm looking forward to is the phase-in of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel like what is used in Europe. That will enable companies to import even more advanced common-rail diesel vehicles to the U.S. VW will be able to bring in their high-performance VW GTI diesel. BMW will be able to bring in their high-performance diesels. So will Mercedes.
MB is bringing the E-class diesel back for 2004, though not in the 50-state-car-only states, among which are CA, NY and CT (which I would bet is 60-70% of their US market). I believe it has the common-rail motor, though it may not have the emissions controls that low sulfur diesel permits.
Here's hoping Ah-nuld puts forth an initiative to mandate biodiesel availability and permit new biodiesel-capable passenger cars to be registered..
The VW TDI engine can also run on biodiesel (unrealistic today, but possibly more available at some point in the future?)
You could, in theory, have 55gal drums of B100 shipped to your house. It's nontoxic and is as flammable as cooking oil, so you shouldn't need special licenses or anything to get it.
OTOH, pure biodiesel is expensive outside of local availability (and comparatively expensive to dinodiesel even with a refinery next door), and shipping costs are super high in personal-use quantities. Think upwards of US$4-5/gal.
Still, it doesn't hurt to have the fuel efficiency and durability today, and be able to use true altfuel tomorrow after the tax breaks are signed into law (1% off federal fuel tax per percent of biodiesel up to B20)..
Because you can't sell them in California, because in California they are retards.
And you can't sell them in NY because you can't sell them in California, because in NY they are even BIGGER retards.
Unfortunately, I live in NY, and someday maybe I'll be able to buy a diesel electric hybrid... in NJ.
And those old mercedes are the reason diesel has such a bad reputation in the states.
Bullshit! MB diesels last forever, get great mileage (27mpg @ 85-90mph, 4880 GVWH), have superb handling up to and over 100mph, and are very reliable. You have to go to the early 80s and before to get temperamental glowplugs. My '87 SDL is a creampuff... at ~359000 miles!
Diesel's got a bad rep because of shitty construction equipment, unmuffled trucks and gas-crunch American diesel cars (like the oldsmobile diesel)..
* diesel fuel has waaay stabler price (no high huckups) than gas
Try buying diesel in the northeast in the winter..
3 words: home heating oil...
Still, summer diesel prices can't be beat! Too bad I don't have an underground tank, but then again if I did I'd have biodiesel (or at least b20)..
btw, VW is coming out with a diesel V10 for the touareg, 320hp/550lbft IIRC...
... Where are the diesel-electric hybrids? Diesel is more efficient and with the fixed-RPM optimizations you can do it makes tons more sense to go with diesel. Also, biodiesel is much better than e85 when it comes to practicality and efficiency: biodiesel provides more power than it consumes in its production, while e85 is a net negative; Biodiesel is also less abrasive (though more of a solvent) and can be used in any modern diesel (with non-rubber fuel lines). The main thing holding this back is CARB asininity, though there's also concerns over sulfur (think the diesel equivalent of lead in gasoline, with all the emissions control and lubricity issues that implies) and the slowness of the low-sulfur diesel mandate.
Back to the story at hand, I'm thinking the 2004 prius is the one to wait for, if you can't hold out for the diesel electrics..
Now VW, DaimlerChrysler, where are the diesel electric hybrids?!??!
Doesn't this phone fail to support handsfree and headset profile standards, or lock you to Nokia(tm) brand accessories?
I was real excited about this one, but I'm just as pleased as punch with my P800...
Go tell a Scot that. Face to face.
You guys DO have national health insurance, right?
I think they could quite probably boast at being the greatest nation of inventors in the world.
Actually, that distinction probably rests with the Scots.
If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP!
.. cryptographically sign or hash the blacklist databases, and let mail admins p2p/rsync them..
Still, the only workable solution is cryptographically-secure signatures, probably with a SSL/TLS set of root certs.
Hell, sounds like a job for the post office! Keep it relevant in the age of email..
so when did you last fill up at a Standard Oil(tm) station?
http://www.us-highways.com/sohist.htm
(summary: Standard Oil DID break up, into many smaller brands such as Exxon, Esso (in Canada), Amoco, Chevron, etc)
Not all breakups are court-ordered, at least not yet. Capitalism still works.
To paraphrase Santayana: Those who don't know history are condemned to spout off ignorantly about it.
shipping costs are a bitch though.
yeah, and the buggy-whip manufacturers got screwed back in the day. As did the coach-builders, blacksmiths, stables, etc. So, they adapted (coach-builders built auto coaches, blacksmiths became mechanics, stables became hotels) or died.
That's capitalism for you.
... I guarantee my Cube runs iMovie, iPhoto and iTunes a whole lot faster than your PeeCee..
(though I'd definitely be online for a G5 laptop with which to play Simcity 4 on the ferry...)
The standard procedure in capitalism is charging what the market will bear.
And the rest will w@r3z0r their isos.
Though this time around I may actually buy, especially if the educational discounts are still there..
sure, if you leave the other one in its shipping box..
bwahaha
nope, Steve didn't invent this one either...
(yet another atari/apple coinky-dink.. chills...)