My teenage son, a new driver, comments often on my driving habits. Despite the fact that I drive a Toyota, he says my driving style would be more appropriate for someone driving--say a Hummer. "Mom, once they invent a Hummer that runs on water, I'm going to buy you one."
A fuel-efficient Hummer has already been invented, according to Clive Thompson's article in this month's Fast Company magazine on Jonathan Goodwin's motor mods on a variety of cars including Hummers, a Jeep Wagoneer for Arnold Schwarzenegger and a 1960 Lincoln Continental for Neil Young. His goal for the Lincoln is 100 miles to the gallon (for fans, I'm giving you the link to Rust Radio, playing Neil Young all weekend, every weekend.)
Goodwin, who converted a '65 Chevrolet Impala to biodiesel on MTV's Pimp My Ride, refers to the Hummer as a gas guzzling vehicle that zooms from "zero to 60 in two days." He converted the Hummer to go from zero to 60 in five seconds and get 60 miles a gallon.
More importantly, I think, is his vision of immediate solutions to automobile dependence on petroleum: diesel engines that can run on biodiesel or conventional diesel, then hybrid diesels instead of gasoline, then dual-fueled cars that run on ethanol or hydrogen or biodiesel.
11.09.2007
Biodiesel Hummer?
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