Gas Guzzling to Gas Sipping... Hummers?
The title does pose a strange question... can gas guzzling, classic American cars as well as some late model vehicles (ahem... Hummer?), become fuel sipping econo-cruisers? According to Johnathan Goodwin of Wichita, Kansas they most certainly can!
Goodwin's company H-Line Conversions specializes in converting gas guzzling Hummer off-road vehicles (H1 and H2 models) into economical (and environmentally friendly) bio-diesel cruisers. The details of the CNN story is here and H-Line Conversion's web site is here.
The H2 Hummers go from 325hp, 8-12mpg binge gas drinkers to 650+ hp, 25mpg, bio-diesel and earth-friendly wonder trucks. The conversions are not cheap but the positive environmental impact is high--not to mention you will have one of the most unique vehicles on the road.
What really caught my eye was the conversion of rock legend Neil Young's classic 1959 Lincoln Continental from a big-block gas guzzler to a gas sipping hybrid gas-electric land yacht. Not only is the Continental one of the biggest and heaviest cars America ever produced but it is nearly 19 feet long and still, with the conversion, can achieve nearly 100 miles per gallon!
The conversions aren't exactly cost effective but they make a great statement. I would call them a great topic and centerpiece for conversation. If I ever decide to spend enough of my money to buy a gas guzzling truck or classic car I may consider a conversion like this to make a statement and spice things up a bit!
Very cool.
- Mitch G
posted by Mitch @ 6:24 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
A the top of the page you seem to have nothing but contempt for people that doubt Obama's strategy of spending ourselves into prosperity by borrowing our way out of debt. But... when it comes to Neil Young's 100 mpg 1959 Lincoln Continental, you buy everything on face value, no doubt in your mind, with no supporting evidence and simply state "Very cool!" $100,000 later, now that the car has been delivered, Neil will only say "We're almost halfway there!" While still offering no evidence to support even that claim. I guess a person's willingness to believe anything that supports their existing world viewpoint is limitless.
To respond to your misguided statement, I wasn't comparing the expense of and strategy behind converting a gas guzzling car into a fuel sipper to Obama and the government's bail-out plans. Frankly there is no legitimate comparison between the two...
When we (the country) are already overwhelmed with debt sometimes it does take the assumption of more debt to eventually become debt free. This is a common, but all too forgotten, business practice and it does work.
Take for example a small business that lost a majority of its repeat customers to the sour economy. Now the business is losing money each month and considers itself "in debt." That small business has essentially two options, close its doors and liquidate all assets to cover its debt OR borrow a sum of money to ramp up advertising and marketing to attract NEW clients. This plan, of course, banks of the fact that their "recovery" plan will yield a return on their investment. In this instance the investment capital comes by way of the new debt they recently assumed. Without it their option is to continue operating in the red, possibly declare bankruptcy (an option which then trickles down to all of their vendors) or liquidate. Sometimes it takes the assumption of more debt, disbursed and managed properly, to pull an already struggling entity out of the red. The government is attempting to do the same thing but on a very large scale. I'm not saying it WILL work but it doesn't have to be a poor decision all the way around.
As for the car article, you are absolutely right, I did said "very cool" and I fully stand by it. It IS very cool. It doesn't pose a complete solution to our environmental woes, or even a partial one for that matter. It is however a fun and empowering accomplishment from an independent shop in the mid-west. The money, time, effort and exclusivity of what takes place in the car article has nothing to do with our current economic and political climate--save for lofty expenses with unjustified returns. We have to start somewhere though.
I would be happy to respond in more detail if you'd elaborate on what comparison between my two posts you are trying to make. I certainly did not write them in comparison to each other, nor was there any cross referencing.
- Mitch G
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