Kyoto Summit? Wasn't it the world's biggest polluter & manufacturer of big cylinder guzzlers that refused to even sign up to it??! Go on Mr.Bush - ya got it ALL right!!
What really frosts my butt is that we don't have any clean diesel choices over here other than the vw tdi. I've been begging for a diesel minivan. Heck, we won't even see the clean diesel you fellas have until later this fall.
Sweden has got a reputation of being an enviromentally concious country. Whenever I take my ´96 New Yorker to be tested, it always scores ZERO on the three emission tests, CO, CO2500 and HC. You cant get lower than that! Whats more, it uses way less fuel than any current Volvo. This is not unusual either - friends with late Pontiacs and Buicks get the same results!
So maybe it was just that George W didn´t need to sign the Kyoto agreement, but the the rest of the world had to!
I could go on, but thats enough for you all to digest for the time being!
Emissions measured at idle doesn't mean a lot. The Aston passed the emissions with flying colours. It was only after the test I fixed the float chambers to stop them dripping petrol into the carbs, and got a couple more cylinders firing (previously dropping neat petrol doen the exhaust). It passed emissions largely due to the US anti-smog gear which mostly consisted of a great big air pump throwing air into the exhaust to dilute the emissions.
Kyoto was more about C02 emissions than smog. You won't find America to be whiter than white in that respect.
Does seem mad that decent diesel isn't available in the states. Modern diesels are cracking engines.
It's OK - we've changed the way we measure those things so we should hit the targets.
It must be a pain if the Swedes do vehicle inspections at anything other than idle. Older vehicles without the anti-smog botches might start failing just due to a little wear. My argument is the car will have worn a bit - it's old after all - but it hasn't recently wasted a whole lot of resources by being manufactured which should offset the balance a little.
It's good to talk about things other than welding sometimes - welding all the time can get a bit dull.
Joe........You been listening to English news? In Scotland we got so much water it gets piped down to England. Plus with Hydro Electric and wind turbines........Who`s wasting any of it?
Alex
Renault 4's are great, so good in fact that Renault continued to make the vans for the French Postal service way on into the early 90's I think. As to the AC cobra it was designed at Thames Ditton near london as the AC ACE. However, I do love the styling of many 60's american cars and indeed my 67 Chevy C10 pickup. They have made some right stinkers too though and many US attrempts to make a compact cars are just downright fugly.
Yes, I have been looking at the english news! As I understand things, there are so many gallons of water being lost due to leaky pipes, there are hosepipe bans in certain areas. Use a bit of our local technology, and this can easily be avoided! As far as electricity is concerned, especially when used for heating water and houses, at least 60-65% (!) can be saved again using our technology. I know, we have just converted...
As far as American compacts being ugly, well, everyone makes mistakes! But at least its not all of them, as is the case of french cars.
American compacts have come a very long ways, but unfortunately they're not up to the standards the Japanese and now Koreans have set. I'd buy a Honda or Toyota long before I'd consider an American version.
I also have no doubt the Renault 4's are wonderful cars, but dang they're fugly!
Thats not fugle, its charm (not that I'd ever own one, or a 2CV) but I have to defend them or my neighbours in France would never speak to me again!
You have to remember that French cars were built to some very peculiar specifications, for example the original design brief for the 2CV was that it had to be able to carry a farmer and his wife both wearing hats across a ploughed field with a basket of eggs on the rear seat without breaking any!
4x4's are still very rare in France outside the mountain regions, my farmer neighbour has a little renault van that seems to go anywhere, in any condition (mud, rain or snow) with a bale of straw, a couple of sacks of cattle feed and two dogs in the back. A friend visited us last week (and our access road over there is not an easy drive in my Isuzu Trooper 4x4) in a aged Citroen Visa, the spiritual succesor to the 2CV, and it just breezed upn the track complete with his two enormous dogs in the back.
As to modern American compacts, lets face it, the succesful ones are either european or japanese designed/rebadged cars. Don't get me wrong, America has produced some wonderful cars. I love my truck, I have a couple of friends with a 69 Transam and a 68 Impala that are both very sexy cars.
True enough, Malcolm. As long as you can have fun driving it, sod what other people think!
One french car that I saw many years ago must have been hilarious to drive - a 4WD 2CV. It was done in a typical french way - another engine in the back! Replicas are (or were) being produced in the UK!
Yep, I think you can buy a kit to do that and its apparently quite simple to do. I would have a Citroen Mehari if I lived somewhere warm, thats the 2cv based plastic jeep-a-like, usually found in bright Kermit Green, absolutely insane! There was a very old scruffy 2cv being loaded up with building gear at my local Pointe P builders merchants in France, one of the rsally old corrugated ones, obviously still in daily use.
the ruggedness of the french cars may have somthing to do with who they are designed for.. for instance renault clio front wings are bendy plastic and £18 each painted for a reason. Im not saying the french are bad drivers but i did notice on a recent holiday the cars where either holiday hire cars, brand new or damaged. :P