VW was the only major automaker selling affordable diesel powered passenger vehicles in the United States. You could, for instance, buy a diesel-powered Jetta sedan, Golf or Beetle for about $22k.
Not anymore.
At least, not for awhile.
VW announced yesterday (Wednesday; see here) that it will withdraw emissions certification applications tendered to the EPA for all 2016 model year diesel-powered VW passenger car models. This means they will not be legal for sale in the U.S.
Which means they will not be sold.
Which means, if you want an affordable diesel-powered car, you had better hurry to your local (or not-so-local) VW dealer and buy a 2015 Jetta, Golf or Beetle TDI before the remaining inventory runs out.
After that, you’ll be out of luck.
With the diesel VWs out of the game, there is only one diesel-powered car remaining that costs less than $30,000. That would be the diesel-powered version of Chevy’s Cruze sedan, a kinda-sorta rival of the Jetta TDI’s. Kinda-sorta, because it’s about the same size. But it’s much more expensive. Base price: $25,660 vs. $21,640 for the VW.
A difference – a price jump – of about $4,000.
Now, the Chevy’s a nice car. But its price tag – the price difference – does a number on the economic argument for the diesel engine under its hood. You will have to drive many miles before the savings at the pump make up for what you paid up front. And that, as they say, is the rub.
VW’s “sin” was to sell affordable diesels.
When people ponder purchasing a diesel-powered car, they weigh the diesel’s mileage vs. that of an otherwise similar gas-engined car and base their decision about which to buy on whether the diesel’s higher price “up front” would be amortized over time by the diesel engine’s superior fuel efficiency. If it is, then the diesel makes economic sense.
If it’s not, then not.
The Cruze doesn’t make economic sense – even though it gets very good mileage (27 city/46 highway). Buy it because it’s well-equipped (it is; Chevy only sells the Cruze diesel in one “loaded” trim) or because you enjoy the right-now torque output of the turbo-diesel engine.
But if you’re buying it to save money, you’re math skills are lacking.
And it is the only remaining diesel-powered car on the market that’s priced under $30,000.
Next up after the Cruze is the Audi A3 diesel. It’s an Audi, so an entry-luxury model. Base price, $32,600. It makes even less economic sense than the Cruze diesel. After that, you’re definitely swimming in the deep end of the pool with models like the diesel-powered version of the BMW 3 Series sedan (the $39,000 to start 328d) and the Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec ($54,300).
Some inside baseball:
Mazda had planned to bring an affordable diesel to market. The 2014 Mazda3 sedan (and the 2015 CX5) were supposed to have been available with Mazda’s new “Sky-D” diesel engine. And they are.
Just not here.
Mazda was unable to figure out a way to make them compliant with federal rigmarole and both efficient enough and priced low enough to make them plausibly competitive in the U.S. market. Check Repco Catalogue and Autobarn Catalogue. To meet the federal requirements, efficiency would suffer – and the cost would go up. While people might pay $32k for an Audi diesel (or $54k for a Benz diesel) a $26k (or more) Mazda diesel is a much harder sell.
Ditto the Honda i-DTEC diesel. Available in the UK and Western European countries. But not here.
Ask Chevy how many diesel-powered Cruzes they sell.
The answer, Alex, is not many.
Because they cost too much. And because it’s a Chevy.
Meanwhile, in Europe, there are diesel-powered versions of practically every passenger car, from the humblest economy car all the way up to the highest-end cars (and SUVs, too). In Europe, diesels are not for-the-rich-only.
Here, they are.
Because of an out-of-control EPA and federal regulatory apparat that has imposed unreasonable – economically impossible to deal with – emissions rigmarole on diesel engines. If you have any doubt about this, ask yourself whether it’s an emissions-free-for-all in Western European countries like Germany and France. Do you believe their governments allow soot-spewing stinkpots on the road?
The problem is not that the diesels are “dirty.” It is that the EPA is out-of-control. This anti-democratic bureaucracy, subject to no vote, accountable to no American citizen, simply decrees standards that must be complied with irrespective of cost – or benefit.
And that is the nut of the problem here.
The people never had a say in this. No one ever empowered EPA to decide that a less-than-1-percent reduction in the overall output of oxides of nitrogen is worth whatever it costs to achieve compliance. EPA does not have to consider the economic impact of its fatwas. It simply issues fatwas – and leaves it up to the targeted industry to comply.
Regardless of cost.
The American people get no say. They simply get to pay. The best they can do is “call their representative” – which is like calling a “customer service” line in Mumbai to complain about a defective toaster.
Even Congress can do very little to rein in the EPA.
Because Congress has abdicated its legal obligation under the Constitution to pass laws. It has given to the EPA (and other federal “agencies”) de facto authority to legislate. What else is it, after all, when the EPA can issue a regulatory fatwa that has the force of law, that must be complied with?
This mess could be dealt with, if Congress would grow a pair. It need not even abolish the EPA (which would be like trying to abolish Kudzu in the South). However, it could actually pass a law to the effect that any diesel-powered passenger car that meets European emissions standards is automatically legal for sale in all 50 U.S. states.
Remember: European diesel emissions standards are not lax. They are in fact very strict. But they are different than EPA’s loony standards. And it is the cost of complying with both the European and the U.S. standards that is keeping clean, high-efficiency diesels (some of which deliver 60 MPG or more) out of the U.S. market.
There is no legitimate reason for that. EPA is run by maniacs, that’s all.
It’s time to chain them to a wall in a nicely padded room.
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Thanks for speaking the truth about these matters and not politically correct BS propaganda like most other sources.
Well,I guess you have a point about the dark areas,but still their energy consumption is way down from the bright areas(hate night lights) and of course not a whole lot of people live in the polar regions,seas,mountain tops,remote deserts ,etc.The point I was trying to make was,if its dry land,that doesnt mean its particulary habitable(North Korea isnt that great).some areas have been terraformed at the expense of others,consider Las Vegas,consider Scottsdale,consider the “Grand River”,consider the depletion of fossil water in the arid regions,tech better be put in play quick,cause there just isnt enough easy to go around as there used to be.
Gaia, the mother of the Titans, is consider a closed system. In simple terms, this means she has an answer to anything. She will seize opportunities. She will adapt to threats. She will thrive and endure.
An open system includes the transfer and exchange of both matter and energy with the system’s surroundings. All of the systems on Earth are classified as open systems. However, the Earth system as a whole is considered a closed system because there is a limit to how much matter is exchanged.
Man is barely able to tear apart a few atoms with particle accelerators. If he has no appreciable effect on a handful of them, with all his fury brought to bear, how then will he do much to all 10^50 atoms of this earth?
The micro quantum field that keeps individual atoms together, even when smashed together. Also protects the planet on a macro quantum gravitational field level.
The planet holds itself together and regulates itself using the same principles, all that is required to understand the entire planet is application of the exact renormalization group, so physicists can compare the small apple of a hydrogen apple to the giant apple of our entire planet, and have the calculations come out right. We’ll know we can kill and dissect a planet, when we can at last kill and dissect a single atom.
Worrying about the harm humans might due to even a few atoms, or to the entire planet is a waste of time. Better to dissect the earth into intelligible parts, and become familiar with its geo-anatomy. And then learn the cycles and metabolisms of each of these subsets of Gaia.
We’re a plasma center, surrounded by a solid core and mantle topped with life. Encircled by liquids like molten silica, viscous oils, and salted and fresh waters. Surrounded on its outer extremeties by gasses, and sun blasted plasmas.
This body is tethered via the gravity of our plasma ball solar orb. Which is itself tethered as is everything else in our galaxy to the 29 million mile diameter Sagittarius A radio emitting black hole center.
This is of course only 4% of the matter of the galaxy. Perhaps much of the 96% is also somehow connected to the milky way center, perhaps not. We have much to learn, but we’ve made a good start of it.
I think of each reality inhabits a world of its own. An instance of an anatomical part of the galactic whole. Saying water based natural life, or oil based modern life, or emerging silicon and electron based electromagnetic quantum data life is better or worse than each other is far outside my competency, and not something that must be decided, once the gunvermins are removed from your life.
Each of us is star of our very own fight club. This is a place to let go of all the garbage and shiny baubles and belief rituals that distract us from what’s truly real.
It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything. I don’t want to die without any scars. This is your life and its ending one moment at a time.
You are not your job, you’re not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis. You are the all singing, all dancing crap of the world.
Today is the sort of day where the sun only comes up to humiliate you. Nobody talks about fight club. The things you used to own, now they own you.
Before coming here, my life just seemed too complete, now I think maybe we have to break everything to make something better out of ourselves. Only after disaster can we be resurrected.
Nothing is static, everything is evolving, everything is falling apart. Yes these are all from Fight Club. Yet they are also a zen mantra if you want them to be.
I see in the fight club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential and I see squandering. An entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables, slaves with white collars, advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.
We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.
Warning: If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don’t you have other things to do?
Is your life so empty that you honestly can’t think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that claim it?
Do you read everything you’re supposed to read? Do you think every thing you’re supposed to think? Buy what you’re told to want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation.
If you don’t know what you want you end up with a lot you don’t.
We’re the middle children of the history man, no purpose or place, we have no Great war, no Great depression, our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives.
Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you’re alive. If you don’t claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned.
I let go. Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom. Maybe self-improvement isn’t the answer, maybe self-destruction is the answer.
Dang it Tor,you have pretty much described a great deal of my life,”We are all objects in space”.when push comes to shove,at that moment”Here I am”.
Truthfully a lot of bullshit in modern day life,matters little to me now,we cant fart i the spaceship without good air filters.
Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don’t you have other things to do?
I read constantly and love every second of it. When I was young I read while driving a truck and when I got out of one. At 55mph I found reading helped me stay sane.
At 55mph on the interstates the boredom is overwhelming. Reading material, television, anything…..
Inside the Saturn V designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun and Arthur Rudolph at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with Boeing, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft Company, and IBM as the lead contractors. Used from 1966 – 1973.
https://i.imgur.com/NAok3jp.jpg
To date, the Saturn V remains the only launch vehicle able to transport human beings beyond low Earth orbit. A total of 24 astronauts were launched to the Moon, three of them twice, in the four years spanning December 1968 through December 1972.
Work for Mazda at a low level and speak only for myself.
Eric, you said, “Which means, if you want an affordable diesel-powered car, you had better hurry to your local (or not-so-local) VW dealer and buy a 2015 Jetta, Golf or Beetle TDI before the remaining inventory runs out.”
A number of news stories have said these 2015 VW diesels left at dealers cannot legally be sold until they are modified to meet emissions regs. So the dealers are stuck with new vehicles they cannot sell until further notice. The one silver lining, and it’s pretty thin, is that once these cars are made fully in compliance, 2015 will be long past and deep discounts will be necessary to move them, which will be a boon for the value-savvy consumer.
A comment is necessary here, though. VW’s diesel design is in my opinion not what I would want for my own car. It is an interference engine using a timing belt, which to me makes little sense in a high-compression diesel engine. Clearly the intent was solely to save a little money during manufacture. If the belt breaks, the valves hit the pistons. Different VW models and years have different mileages for belt replacement, adding to the problem, and according to some online forums, on some models the recommended mileage was changed after the vehicle owner’s manual was printed, making that manual incorrect. To make matters even funner, the necessary belt replacement requires several special service tools (SSTs), involves replacing numerous other parts, and costs well over $1,000. You aren’t likely to be able to do this work in your back yard, unless you have a hell of a selection of tools. So think hard before you buy a cheap VW diesel, new or used, after the recalls.
Frankly, I think if the government is going to stick its nose in auto design, a good move would be to ban interference engines with timing belts—or at least to require that the manufacturer replace the belt free for the life of the car. And yes, some older Mazda models would have been affected had such a requirement been in place in the past.
For reference and not intended as a plug, the Mazda Skyactiv-D diesel has a timing chain, so this won’t be an issue if it ever gets sold here. But that’s gonna be a big if, I suspect.
Seems like the market place would have sorted out the timing belt thing by now. It sure did in domestic models.
Another issue with VWs – with DSG transmissions – is expensive routine maintenance and crippling replacement costs.
Happy to report my rolling timebomb was sold ‘as is’ a couple of weeks ago. Well below KBB retail. But so what! Gone is gone. Not my problem.
With regard to the timing belt issue. I’ve paid to have my Jetta TDI timing belt replaced the first time.. Cost me ~$700 (100k service interval).
I replaced it the second time myself. http://www.idparts.com/ has a timing belt kit that comes with tensioner, belt, water pump, and 3 little custom made aluminum ‘tools’ that basically hold everything at TDC when you’ve got it apart.
It’s no different than a typical gas engine timing belt job except in that way. Including the Bentley manual (factory service manual) my out of pocket for the 2nd timing belt was $450 plus about 6 hours of labor. The next one will only cost me the price of the parts as I know have the manual and tools.
Overall I avoid cars with rubber timing belts like I do cars with automatic transmissions.
Timing chain equipped Nissans/Infintis are what’s in this driveway with the exception of my little red wagon and my old Ford F100 with 351W/C6.
The Jetta TDI has been such a good car — with only 2 unplanned maintenance events (fuel pump, alternator clutch pulley) in 10 years and 204k miles (and counting), and averaging 43 mpg over its life, that I’m planning on keeping it until the wheels fall off.
Fortunately its exempt from this latest round of government sponsored bullshit.
Their edicts only matter if we choose to obey them. If I owned one of the TDIs in question, the last place I’d take it is to a VW dealer.
I’d be buying a re-flashed performance ECU right now and holding it.
Just in case. 😐
ekrampitzjr,
I have been burned by interference designed engine (2001 TDI VW Golf) so I will not buy another interference designed engine.
I followed the recommended (VW) time for changing the timing belts. What got me was the water pump. It seized. The seizure lead to the damage of the timing belt that damaged my engine. (If I was aware of the potential problems that other parts could have on the belt, then I would have replaced the other parts when I changed the timing belt.)
It was a bad for me since I really liked the VW diesel. A fun engine and car to drive — especially on the highway.
Eightsouthman,
For me, I will not buy any car with an interference designed engine.
I have no problem with interference engines, just sorry timing systems. I find it hard to believe a double roller chain requires any significantly greater power than a single chain of the lowest common denominator on most factory cars. Yep, a true double roller is a bit more expensive but it’s a forgettable item once installed. You’ll get plenty of warning if it gives it up. But even if it does soak more power, that’s what I use anyway.
We came close to buying my wife a car once with a timing belt until someone told me it was a timing belt engine. Her ’95 Cutlass has over 280,000 miles with only the alternator replaced twice and that was because of the shop we had to use put on a sorry rebuild alternator. It’s on its second a/c compressor. It still has the original water pump and power steering pump. I give GM most of the credit but Amsoil lubricants probably deserve some credit also, probably a lot. In our area 0-W30 seems to be the ticket for that era engine and probably 0-W20 for fairly recent ones. Their transmission fluid will bring one back from nearly dead…..or it did to hers.
ekrampitzjr, any engine, gas or diesel, with high compression ratios is going to be an “interference” engine. High compression means a smaller combustion chamber. Whether belt or chain driven, if something fails in the valve train, it’s going to bend valves, the only exception I can see would be a 2 valve per cylinder gas engine. We only specialize in VW’s and Audi’s here at my shop so I can’t say for sure how other manufactures are doing it, but on VW’s VR6 and 2.5L 5 cylinder, they put the timing chain on the transmission side of the engine (I believe Volvo does it also, don’t know how Mazda does it).
If you think a chain is the solution, think again. I have never seen a chain actually break, it’s the nylon guides and tensioners that fail, and they WILL fail. The problem with the chain setups on these is engines is many. I can’t say for sure on other brands, but on a VW they use a single row chain that tends to eat sprockets. The second problem is the length of the chain/chains because it has to go from the crank up to the overhead cams. Those of you that think a belt is a pain in the ass, just wait till you see the bill to replace chains. I would rather replace a belt any day over a chain. The first version of VW’s gas 2.0 TSI chain drive has a defective tensioner that was destroying engines.
I don’t think VW used a belt to “save money”, they did it because that was the best way to do it. I think manufactures are using chains now because it’s cheaper, plus they have done the engineering to determine how long it’s going to last, then make it so expensive to replace that one ends up having to make that decision whether it’s worth it to repair, or replace the car.
Roy Shroyer,
“Timing chain equipped Nissans/Infintis are what’s in this driveway with the exception of my little red wagon and my old Ford F100 with 351W/C6.”
I believe a 351 winsor has a timing chain.
mithrandir,
Hate to say it, but it was your fault for not replacing the water pump when doing the timing belt. Any online forum or good mechanic could have told you that.
Best place for timing belt kits that I have found online is;
http://www.dieselgeek.com
“I believe a 351 winsor has a timing chain.”
Pretty sure Roy wasn’t trying to say that a 351W doesn’t use a timing chain, merely that it is not a nissan or infinity…..
So far (so good) I’ve had timing chains stretch but never actually fail… but there is still time!
Ya, I guess it’s the way one interprets Roy’s statement.
> they put the timing chain on the transmission side of the engine
Audi did this on the 4.2 V8 used in the S4 as well. Only it wasn’t one chain, it was five of them. And two mechanical tension adjusters, two electrical adjusters, three hydraulic tensioners, and ten or so chain guides.
To get to all of the above, you have to remove the front clip (put it into “service position”), then remove the engine, as it’s all on the *back side*. Only a masochist would own this engine out of warranty.
“Only a masochist would own this engine out of warranty.”
The BNS and BHF engine code, again, single row chain that not only spins the cams but spins the A/C compressor and power steering, junk.
Its a crying shame you cant hardly swap a decent drivetrain into vehicle of choice now(due to the stinking computer being tied into everything)Not so awful long ago I heard that new fuels were being formulated that would pretty well destroy the older vehicles and by Gosh,its working,never going get off the treadmill or at least getting harder to do.
FUCK THE GODDAMN FUCKING GOVERNMENT!
Look at the bright side, folks. EPA just gave Americans another big reason to hate the government. When the revolution comes, there won’t be an EPA any more.
Well at least I have my 2013 Passat TDI. It will survive me, and I’ll pass it on to my son.
That’s a good point, PJ.
I am doing my damndest to get that story out. That VW was trying to end-run EPA for the sake of its customers; to give them a better-running/more efficient car.
The problem is that it’s hard – nigh impossible – to get that story out.
When I was in the MSM media, my editors stifled such stories – and still do.
Now that I’m off the MSM reservation, I’m not stifled.
But I am going broke!
As they say… in Japan anyway!
出る釘は打たれる。”Deru kugi wa utareru”
The standing nail gets hammered down…
We’ll help as we can!
They’re only targeting German automakers (US manufacturers have been doing the same thing for years too) because Germany won’t go along with the Russian sanctions.
Makes a lot of sense. The UK has always bullied Germany at will.
I’m sure its Frankensteinian American protegees are even more adept at making fun and profit at the expense of the Hun.
Both from it’s Ramstein Rhineland-Palatinate American Cancer Command Center Caliphate, and from it’s countless fortresses and idiot box chatter channels worldwide.
http://originalwavelength.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html
Poke Crazy Ivan the Bear when we say, you Occupied Teutonic Hun Patsies, or you’ll be sorry.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-west-cannot-keep-poking-the-russian-bear-9644509.html
“The UK has always bullied Germany at will” This dates back at least to King Edward and Kaiser Wilhelm, who were 1st cousins.
I knew Britain was conquered and populated by former Germans, I didn’t know they were still so incestuous so late in the game.
Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941), Germany’s last Kaiser, was the son of Frederick III and Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria.
Wilhelm’s upbringing was strict and authoritarian. Educated first at the Kassel Gymnasium and then at the University of Bonn.
Wilhelm became emperor of Germany in 1888. At the time of his accession Otto von Bismarck was still German Chancellor; however he was effectively dismissed from office by Wilhelm II two years later.
The elderly Bismarck proved unable – or unwilling – to manipulate the new Kaiser as he had his predecessor.
Wilhelm was an overtly militaristic man, and believed fervently in increasing the strength of Germany’s armed forces.
In particular he was keen to develop a German navy the equal of Britain’s Royal Navy. Wilhelm’s policy towards Britain was by turns contradictory.
Whilst supporting South Africa during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, he attempted a reconciliation shortly afterwards.
While holding a senior position within the British armed forces; he confessed he could not envisage a war with Britain. Yet publicly, he criticised King Edward VII, whom he described as Satan.
Even after war was declared in August 1914 he wrote that war would never have occurred had Queen Victoria, who died in 1901, still held the British throne.
Wilhelm suffered a nervous breakdown in 1908, consequently playing a lesser role in the government of Germany for the following few years. Wilhelm was no friend of democracy.
Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in 1914, Wilhelm and his Chancellor incited Austria-Hungary to exact revenge against Serbia.
Events spiraled until the First World War began. Wilhelm appeared not to foresee the consequences of an Austro-Hungarian attack on Serbia, pulling France, Russia and Britain into the war.
Too late he attempted to scale back German involvement: even as he was firmly dissuaded by the German military.
Wilhelm operated as Commander in Chief of the German armed forces throughout the war. Though in truth, the German military operated under its own control: Wilhelm was essentially a figurehead.
Despite the great push of Spring 1918, which nearly won the war for Germany, Germany’s ability to win the war in 1918 collapsed, as U.S. involvement took on real form, and shortages at home in Germany spun out of control. It became clear that Germany was set to lose the war.
With revolution spreading to Berlin, Wilhelm was forced to abdicate in November 1918. Chancellor Baden pre-empted Wilhelm’s decision by announcing his abdication to the public.
Wilhelm lived out the rest of his life in exile in Holland.
The text of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s abdication proclamation:
“I herewith renounce for all time claims to the throne of Prussia and to the German Imperial throne connected therewith. I release all officials of the German Empire and Prussia, all officers, all non-commissioned officers, and all men of the navy and Prussian army, as well as troops of the federated states of Germany, from the oath of fidelity which they tendered to me as Emperor, King and Commander-in-Chief.
Until the re-establishment of order in the German Empire I expect they shall render assistance to those in actual power in Germany, protecting the German people from the threatening dangers of anarchy, famine, and foreign rule. Amerongen, November, 1918
when Hitler rose to power in 1933, Wilhelm hoped for restoration of his throne, and made fruitless attempts to regain power, he through his support behind German nationalism as personified by Hitler.
This is the only sensible article, thus far, that I have read on this govt fatwas (like the term). I have been testing Jettas both on the highway and under the most strict and expensive systems in the world (Mercedes Benz Labs Detroit) for many years in conjunction with a frequency device that we invented.
In this process, we have recorded mileage numbers as high as 150mpg at 50 mpg steady speeds (cruise). These are amazing machines and when I bought my first one, a 2002 TDI Jetta (which I still use on a daily basis), i took it to our certified test lane to get a base-line emissions reading.
So here is what they told me: “Our equipment is not good enough to measure the low levels that your car emits.” I was irate and insisted that they test it anyway, After all, I was a tax payer and this was my vehicle.
Finally, after several minutes of arguing, they ran the car and gave me the report.
It was all zeros!!!!
Good read. And now you have documentation showing that your car is not polluting.
Wow Jim,you have discovered the secret to zero point energy or antimatter drive,your engine will destroy matter no wonder the mileage numbers are so high,(some Folks swear by HHO too)
Yes Guys,the world will not support the current standard of living for everyone,the Elite have known this for sometime now,better to have the subserviant cannon fodder for the war games(one reason we have an all volunteer army,is the economy)the middle class was actually starting to pull ahead a bit in the 90s,so a correction was issued.The population reduction is coming,but what form it will take is anyones guess(gotta go out the secret passage now,the MIBs are knocking)
“the world will not support the current standard of living for everyone”
Sorry Kevin, but I disagree. As things stand now, yes, there is a major problem. But if we can get rid of the gunvermin then there is plenty.
I really like that term “gunvermin.”
To me, it denotes also a logical fallacy, that we must accept living on this planet, under the current world-wide dictatorships of various war mongers and war profiteers.
Since such systems are only man made, and nearly entirely inhabit only our imaginations, we are of course able to dismantle or walk away from them at any time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BbuOn–ERI
= = = =
Consider that 108 billion people have been born on the Earth already to this point.
= = = =
Consider even the gunvermin-funded experts admit the world can support 10 billion people.
= = = =
Consider every new birth is another chance of creating the next Wernher von Braun who will finish the job of moving us beyond this planet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ch0OgkkJKI
= = = =
Consider this place might soon be considered a foolishly neglected origin world consumed by mousetrap enslaving gunvermins who sole purpose was once to hungrily consume every last morsel of decent productive humanity’s necessary abundant sustenance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IqxCuKR9PY
Sorry to disagree,if you ever totaled up what a Modern American consumes in their lifetime,you will see the math doesnt work,I dont know how many more Mt.Trashmores people are willing to tolerate,when the Snake river turned yellow that was enough for me.when the 40K tons of coal ash spilled into whatever that river was,when I haul to a “landfill” Mother earth can recover from about anything,given enough time,but things are so compressed now we do not have the time,the coastal fisheries are basically depleted(no sense arguing about that-ask the New
Englanders what the catch of the day is(dont think I want Hagfish,thank you),check out the fisteria epidemics on coastal carolinas,the list goes on and the burgeoning population doesnt help.What is the Sahara today?used to be a nice forest,the list goes on,I do know VA has more woods today then it had,so what,they are not near the same quality.
Sorry Tor,but we dont need anymore Nazis,Operation Paperclip,fit neatly into the NWO(see Bush’s 91 speech)you can only spread the resources so thin,I hope I’m wrong,but it appears to me the third world is rising to met us as we fall(everybody cannot have a service job-sooner or later the country will have to start producing again)you cannot print money forever.sooner or later,someone will want to cash the chips,people are not the resource now they used to be,automation and technology has seen to that and the PTB,know this,when 1500 control over 80% of the worlds wealth,the other 7X10to the 9th power may just come up short
Very few want to admit we’re killing the planet. A documentary years ago, For the Love of Water, specifically singled out Texas as having a significant amount of psych drugs in every stream and reservoir including water tables. I’m sure that’s not unique since most large rivers are running waste water of all sorts of poisons including sewage. The psych drugs are causing aquatic animals to become almost completely female, definitely not a good thing. The world’s oceans are so overfished there’s not much fishing left to do so most fish are farm raised, not the ideal venue.
It’s no wonder we have diseases now that didn’t exist when I was born and that’s not long ago in earth time.
I sure hope oil is a replenishable resource since the US consumes 22% of all that’s extracted with the DOD using more than all but a few countries. As an example, the Iraq war debacle the evil Shrub administration started used as much oil every 3 days as the total amount used in WWll, a hell of a shocking fact. The US govt. can’t shovel enough money to oil companies. I don’t even want to get my water tested and find out how much glyphosate it contains along with other ag chemicals.
“with the DOD using more than all but a few countries”
See, that’s what I’m talking about. When Uncle dies there will be plenty of oil for peaceful, productive purposes. (got a bit alliterative there)
You’re not disagreeing with me per se.
I’m not invested in any theory, belief, nor delusion about what the carrying capacity of the Earth is.
Instead you are disagreeing with what some mainstream scientists assert, and back up with great arsenals of studies and papers, for what they’re worth.
– – –
I believe in using the market to solve things. Which is trial and error activities. Where men of means take risks to solve problems, in the hopes of long term rewards:
Like the Great Green Wall project, only if it were re-imagined as a private enterprise endeavor.
The Great Green Wall. Sahel-Sahara project aims to combat land degradation
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/news/great-green-wall/
– – – –
Modern Americans aren’t the worst aren’t the highest consumers of the planet it turns out.
That distinction may belong to ancient hunter-gatherers. Of which the Earth can only carry about 100 million, some mainstreamers say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/opinion/overpopulation-is-not-the-problem.html
– – – –
I think of myself as more of a thought gunslinger and crisis fixer. A knight for hire, not a bishop, rook, queen, or king of the political chess board who is of the owner’s class, or is a go to expert in any field.
I don’t claim to know what’s best, or to dictate to others what the consensus “best understanding” of things even is.
– –
Have Gun, have Knight Chess Piece business card like Paladain
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dd/Haveguncard.png
Yep Tor,Men like you and Eight(persons of great intellegence-Paladin did come to mind)”Ye are the salt of the Earth,if Salt loses its savour,how can it be restored?”
Anyway that living off the land business,it want wash now,its easy to see were the people are concentrated on the Earth(at least the relatively well off countries)just look at a night time sat photo.The terrible truth is we literally eat oil and if as some assert,the good stuff is getting harder to find,and if that is the case then the future projects a certain scarcity of essential commodities.This silly ass dyed fuel business(which has screwed up the fuel systems on some aircraft)is one reason I favor a mileage fee.One Woman I heard of was out of fuel and pulled the farm truck over and put off road fuel in it(dont know if this ever happened to Her before or not .Guess what,it was dyestick day for VDOT and no amount of pleading changed the ticket the truck nazis issued(if it has a VIN you better put undyed fuel in it)heard the fine was close to 10K and the sad thing is,this fuel business never helped the enviroment that much,fuel vendors told me at least in those days the only real difference in the fuel was the addition of the dye,what really irks me is the smugness of the officials as they take your hard earned money away(certain groups in the 30s and 40s,must have felt that way)I if they done away with certain regs,some people would be out of a job.some record keeping on the local haulers was done away with(I suppose it overworked a certain group of bureaucrats)
Anyway,Ol Gaia is the only planet we can subsist on unaided in this Solar system and should probaly be treated as the closed system it is(except for energy{the Sun pours vast amounts of untapped energy on our planet everyday-almost a HP per sq meter}
Here’s a heretical neo-hippy thought:
If people were able to live a human-scale life without being chained to the debt-consume Gerbil wheel, most of not all of the issues associated with Gaia Rape would dissipate and not only that, half the population would no longer require psych meds just to function and the other half could get off statins and such, too.
Very profound,If only,if only,Mad Ave and the PTB,would have it.
That is a heretical thought, better dig a hole and hide ASAP.
And the truth is, it’s much worse than that. There has been a huge part of the US population that spends every cent of their paycheck every week. They don’t even seem to know there are grocery stores, instead eating every meal from some sort of food vendor, mostly of the national chain type. They have no regular doctor, instead going to the ER for a toothache, a bill they won’t have to pay except in increased taxes.
Of course medical insurance is too high for most of the population so it’s either pay a you go or don’t pay at all.
Then the doctors, and mine is the best I ever had right now, are still trying to push psych meds off on everyone. The wife had a skeletal problem that won’t ever go away so the doc put her on a psych med. I went ballistic and she did feel better so she said but I couldn’t tell it and she certainly wasn’t any smarter. I’d simply remind her now and then that having a drug that only made you feel better by screwing with entire thought process(of course this could describe any drug I suppose)wasn’t a big help and her personality change wasn’t any help either. She finally quit the damned things and then had to go through that adjustment period and I only wish she’d been the only one to suffer it but misery loves company. After my broken leg I had to go to the doc regularly. It wasn’t many visits before the old “there’s a drug I think would make you feel better, would help the pain”. I don’t recall my exact words but it’s never been spoken of again. Hell, I’m a crazy SOB anyway and it’s all that keeps me going.
The wife told me last year that I was angry. Hell yes, I’m angry and you’d better hope I stay that way. It’s the only thing that gets me up and keeps me jamming gears for 16 hours straight. When I’m not angry I’ll be room temperature.
Of course she sees he person whose buttons she likes to push whereas the people I work with think I’m the easy-goingest old man you could find.
But back the the prescribing of psych drugs, it’s rampant. Every doc you thought had better sense is on the bandwagon with them. Take this pill every day and in two weeks you’ll feel much better. And I’m convinced you won’t be able to quit eating too or either not eating at all.
I wouldn’t be surprised if grocery stores were phased out and if you want some water chestnuts or lettuce or tomatoes or lemons, etc. you’ll have to get a menu for the chain that best fits that bill (let’s see, I wanna Mac-choy salad with some McNuggets on top and some McHabanero sauce. Yes sir, that’ll be $21.23. Would you like a supersize drink with that or some fries?
You get a munchie and instead of buying some chips or corn torillas and making some nachos, you figure out which chain makes the nachos you like the best.
We’ve had people stay with us and get a munchie after hours, 6pm in these parts, and say “let’s have some ice cream”. Ok, _______ is twenty miles that way and good luck. But when everyone is jammed up everyone else’s butts, it’s just a coupe blocks to get whatever poison suits your tastebuds at the time. And don’t worry about walking in the dark, there isn’t any dark in this country. We are one of the few holdouts without a “security light”. My security light is darkness, Cholley Jack and an auto shotgun(thanks but no thanks on those pumps everybody pushes)with a super-bright torch in my hand……or that little red dot only I can see. Smile Christian, you’re about to test that eternal life thing.
8 – you are dead right about the drugs. My wife was having problem with a ‘spactic esophagus’ that made it difficult, sometimes impossible, to swallow. Dr. wants to prescribe an anti-depressant because one of the side effects might help relieve the symptoms.
Society is sick. People take corporate made drugs handed out by the medical cartel to cope and then consider this normal. A normal way of being. Anyone who objects to the hamster wheel is the problem and those who stay off are freaks.
It’s been engineered this way. State intellectuals like Krugman call for housing bubbles and the like to force us all on to the wheel if we like or not.
Kevin – that nighttime sat photo can be misleading. E.g., there are quite a few people in North Korea, but it’s practically black on the sat photo.
PtB, that can be said for all those dark land masses. Plenty people there, just no light. I wish I could find a sat. photo of west Tx. wind generator fields. I sometimes top a high hill range in the dark and am looking at 4 of the largest in the world. Not every generator has a red light but it’s quite a sight to see a hundred + miles of red lights all flashing simultaneously. There is a certain beauty to it although I hate to work under the things and find myself under them too often. Their service roads are the perfect roads to get to the pipelines that go through the same country. Right now they’re built in the ideal wind areas but since this entire part of the country is fairly much ideal, I wouldn’t be surprised to find one on the neighbors fenceline that would have it’s shadow over my house. Simply driving through a field in the daytime is unnerving.
Several years ago I was driving south on Tx. 70 south of Sweetwater, Tx. and hadn’t been that way in a few years. I was driving up this deep cut on what is known as 9 Mile Mountain when something caught my peripheral vision and I nearly jumped out of my seat thinking I was about to be hit by something really large, like a plane. But then it was gone and as I climbed through the pass, realized it was a blade from one of those behemoths close enough to the road as to make you think you were about to be hit. Then I turned on FM 153 and had to drive through most of the Trent field. I can’t begin to describe what it’s like to work under them, the vibration in the ground and air, the unholy noise the blades make or the groans of the generators and some other sound, probably vibration of the body itself. You won’t find any livestock near them.
And now I have to go do the tomato paste thing with Cholley Jack who got in a skunk this morning. Now that’s fun……and I have no nitrile gloves.
The dye is about road dedicated fuel tax and that’s it. There could be two diesel fuels, one with road tax and one without but since diesel engines can burn a variety of fuels the dye is to indicate that as well since people will use alternate fuels.
Home brewing bio-diesel in illinois will get you a visit from the illinois department of revenue. It’s happened to at least one guy. They sent two guys to his house. probably cost more than all the taxes the guy has avoided. They were going to fine him and require all sorts of insurances, bonds, licenses, etc. even without the fines it was going to be 30K to brew his own.
BrentP, just like any distillation in this country, the govt. will stop at no expense to insure they get their due tax. I think the US, a supposedly free(sic) country maybe the only progressive country in the world that denies people the right of free distillation of grain alcohol. Makes me want to have a still behind every tree and under every rock.
At least I’m accustomed to hiding from the law since I often take obscure routes to avoid the DOT. Don’t take it for granted on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere a big rig might not be boiling down on you at 60 mph. It might be me and a buddy or two trying to stay away from “the law”.
8 – My wife’s grandfather was a bootlegger back when all potable ethanol was verboten. Story goes he got arrested once. When he went to trial the judge says “So Mr. ___, I hear you make some of the finest bootleg whiskey in these parts.” He (foolishly) replies, “You ought to know Your Honor. You’re one of my best customers.” Hizonner was not amused and threw the book at him.
PtB, my grandfather never got caught because the local sheriff was one of his best customers. Besides that, revenooers got to the point where they wouldn’t come to Texas. They’d be sent to the high plains or somewhere like the hill country where Shiner was expanding left and right because of prohibition, not in spite of it. Once their paychecks weren’t cashed and nobody knew where they were, it was a sure sign they weren’t anywhere to be found. Once of the most famous bootleggers on the high plains first came as a revenooer. When he saw how much money could be made, he became one of the largest bootleggers and to his credit, he was amenable to change, not as if he wasn’t warned. So the books say, they quit sending anyone or at least, no one would go to that part of the country. Texans have always been hostile to the fed. govt. and still are compared to other states. But truth be known, the old bad feelings still exist all over the south.
3 years ago I did some work for the USDA and the first day of a school I had supper with the top dog from DC. He lamented things weren’t like they use to be since they had cut funding on a program that barely made it into the double digits millions wise, not a drop in the barrel. So just in conversation I right pointed out it was simply a political move, something to point to as cutting govt. when it didn’t mean squat when compared to the trillions the govt. spent every year that were deficits. I thought not much of the conversation since it was known by everyone. Next thing I know my phone is blowing up, ass-chewings from everyone above me for speaking bad of the federal govt. Gee, if just pointing out facts, and that’s what they were, is speaking bad of the fed. govt. then what would you call an actual criticism? A very innocuous conversation over supper and it causes that? Being the diplomat I am, my response was “Fuck That” and I waited for the axe to drop which it didn’t. I worked a few more months and told them to find someone else since my phone would ring and it would be a test message ass-chewing. i don’t do ass-chewings so my career was short-lived.
I had tried to work on another project years earlier in conjunction with the USDA and that was an amenable thing with the USDA actually being amenable to what we desired to do, grow Asian veggies with a complete structure of growers taking their produce to retailers with no middle men. It was stopped by the US Bureau of Customs who wouldn’t let us import the seed. The US Chamber of Commerce was completely on our side, helping in every way they could as were all other parties involved including the USDA. I guess we didn’t have enough money to buy off the Customs bunch. If it had been me doing the negotiating with them it would probably have flown but you never know, big seed companies and Big Pharm would probably have fought it. The S. American connection for produce probably viewed it as direct competition. I suppose it might have cut into their market but not by much. Free trade? Not in this country.
Yes 8 – it goes way back, all the way to Shay’s Rebellion. And all that was was a bunch of farmers in an isolated area of the country (transportation wise) trying to economically market their corn crop.
I’m surprised you or one of your buddies didn’t just smuggle the seed. Or was in not reproducible?
PtB, smuggling the seed in, something done all the time anyway was my answer but not speaking Chinese, I had problems getting that across. With the help of a woman from China who was a main operator I could have organized the entire operation. One problem though is the amount of seed needed would have taken some growers a year or two to produce and nobody had the time or money to expend on the lost cultivation land to other paying crops with irrigation being no small part of the expense. My buddy and I could have and would have contributed 30 acres of some of the finest riverbottom land you ever saw with great irrigation but we were fairly much alone in that endeavor. He was a big farmer and I had 15 acres of truck farming myself but without irrigation, something I remedied since. But the people dealing with the Chinese weren’t the smugglers we were accustomed to or either the lack of communication was probably more of the problem than anything. I think Chinese are probably more closed mouth and better at smuggling than anyone. They’d had plenty practice since the opium wars if not before.
My idea simply involved sea containers filled with something else or so the bill of lading would have said…..rubber ducks….
Tor, you said:
“I believe in using the market to solve things. Which is trial and error activities. Where men of means take risks to solve problems, in the hopes of long term rewards:”
Unfortunately, to paraphrase one of the lesser-known “Robber Barons”:
“Ain’t no brand loyalty 2 cents off can’t overcome.”
Bad money drives out good – Americans especially will trow money at the problem, find cheap ways of doing “band-aids” rather than spending $0.02 more to get a (permanent) solution.
No way to fix that Cloverism…
My guess is VW withdrew their original certification request because the 2016s must be altered to meet tailpipe emissions. So they must submit a new request once the fix is administered to those unsold vehicles. Just a short break, not the end.
Found a graph showing VW’s actual emissions.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/business/international/vw-diesel-emissions-scandal-explained.html
Same problem though, they apply the government standard to these new tests. We have absolutely no clue what the government test standard translates to for these UWV tests. No correlation work was done. It could safely be said something was a miss but we still don’t know what ‘passing’ performance is for these tests.
Many diesel “tests” have always been bullshit anyway. I know a guy who moves rv trailers, mostly for companies who sell them. He likes Duramax’s so tht’s what he uses. I believe it was the new ’09 model he got and disliked because it used more fuel, didn’t seem to have he pep of his ’07. He was cussing the particulate trap. It seems the particulate trap is made just large enough(well, think about it, it couldn’t be large enough for the life of a vehicle)for the EPA tests. Once the test is over, the trap is full soon thereafter. So how do you dispose of particulates? The sensors show the trap is full and then deliver a huge amount of fuel so that some will be unburnt and burn in the particulate trap emptying it. He said the engine lost power and you could see the exhaust during this cycle. So it’s never been a matter of making the engine clean but making it clean for the test. It’s not as if this wasn’t approved by the EPA and that makes it all the more egregious for lack of a better term. You save up pollutants and them dump them in a small space of time, the entire life of the vehicle. Insanity.
Reminds me of an old Irish drinking song, Drink and Fight. Drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and fight, drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and fight.
I am not familiar with the details but I’ve read enough public EPA documents to understand there is a negotiation and approval process to find ways to perform better in testing. For instance, skip shift.
VW could have probably done something close to what they did if they had filed the right forms, sent the right letters, and negotiated with the EPA up front and it would have been 100% legal.
These guys dyno tested a VW Jetta diesel. Their hypothesis was that when the rear, non-drive wheels were not spinning (i.e. the condition in which a static emissions test is performed), the engine is electronically de-tuned, causing exhaust emissions to be within the regulatory limits. But, when the rear wheels are spinning, the engine is then allowed to make full power (presumably causing more emission).
Check out the video. It’s interesting and seems to prove their hypothesis.
“Surprise! We Dyno a VW Dieselgate TDI Jetta to get the Truth about HP Loss”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhvI2oeBPtY
All the focus on car emissions is a ridiculous smoke and mirrors game. A handful of supertankers produce more emissions than all the cars in the world.
http://www.industrytap.com/worlds-15-biggest-ships-create-more-pollution-than-all-the-cars-in-the-world/8182
Keep the sheeple occupied with this VW ‘scandal’ or the crisis du jour so they can’t see the world burn around them.
I’m guessing these giant ships don’t serve the US anyway. Cause only a moron in DC would pass a law that they stay 230 miles out.
Audi is owned by VW. So good luck buying a diesel Audi, they’re going to be suffering from guilt by association at the very least.
I doubt the Audi A3 will be available. It’s a VW too.
Audi = overpriced VW
Whoops,forgot to check the box.
the root of the problem is too many people and on top of that,too many unproductive people.I despise the govr,but looking at the young people,think sometimes the draft should be reanacted,the reason the military is full now,is because of the economy and when the Vets come home they are left basically to their own devices(I think a vet should have lifetime real benefits,after so long a time)Anyway human nature will preclude any one single thing solving our ills(its the money,Jim) the uncivil warf was about two things slavery and the economy of the North(the North got most of their money from tariffs on the southern products(which you guessed it-mostly produced by slave labor)couldnt let that gravytrain leave the union{interesting factoid,but sides were still killing Native Americans during the “uncivil war”.
I have to agree Nixon was the original NWO champion,check His sordid career out,if you dont believe me.I do not wish to argue about anything,just calmly do the research yourselves and you will see who the NWO is(hint,who has most of the money) whoops gotta run,theres a couple of MIBs a knocking
Interesting perspective, Kevin.
#
I would consider myself a latter day Native American, version 4.0, living in constant fear of getting a knock on the door, a notice in the mail, or a voice message on my cell phone – telling me today is finally the day where my own Trail of Tears is no longer being postponed, and is finally about to begin.
##
To what degree would you consider yourself an anarchist, and to what degree would you consider yourself a statist, if applicable.
http://www.evolutionofdana.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/anarchist-anarchy-government-statism-2516907-1000×936.jpg
The Hockey Stick of Human Prosperity – How Did We All Become So Relatively Wealthy All Of The Sudden?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9FSnvtcEbg
It is the gov’t regs that are killing the middle class, by design of the new world order. Those seemingly harmless regs, or regs that supposedly benefit us, are full of evil intentions. The intention of the nwo is to create 2 classes of people. The ruling class and the super poor. The latter class consisting of all but 1500 of the richest families.
Until that happens, or the people take to Washington in force, nothing will happen. And it appears yanks love their new servitude to the nwo, the police, the armies that rampage and pillage, and the crats (krauts) that take away their freedom.
A Vegas Uber driver is facing a hefty fine after he tried to give a ride without using the ride-hailing smartphone app.
Mundane Doe was caught last Friday by a Nevada Transportation Authority enforcement agent when he approached her on the strip as an Uber driver and asked if she needed a ride.
She was performing a routine patrol at Miracle Mile Shops wearing plain clothes.
She told Mr. Doe she did not have the Uber app and did not have the credit card needed to get one.
Ebrahim said he’d give her a ride for $20 anyway.
That’s when the officer revealed who she was and other officers arrived to impound his car and issue a couple of citations.
He faces a $2,500 impound fine and two citations for soliciting rides without proper license and permits, and not displaying his Uber sticker and rideshare permit on his windshield.
The glorious NTA praises Uber for immediately and permanently deactivating Mundane from the Uber app.
Mundane is also a taxicab driver in Las Vegas.
Comrade Uber Corporation reminds all riders to always use the app, even if an Uber car is visible at your location of pick up, and that drivers/riders never use cash.
http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/30211971/vegas-uber-driver-faces-large-fine-for-not-using-app
This supports my theory that most present day evil can be traced back to the Nixon administration. Besides giving employment to Cheney, Rumsfeld, and a host of other assorted war criminals he also established the EPA, the DEA and it’s “war on drugs” (along with our rights), and opened the door to China sucking up a good portion of manufacturing jobs. No surprise middle class wages have been flat since the 70’s.
” No surprise middle class wages have been flat since the 70’s.”
You don’t think Nixon finishing the job of taking the US off the gold standard had anything to do with that?
The problem is that despite the “terrible” air pollution and irrecoverable damage done to the atmosphere, people continue to live longer. There are more trees in the United States then any time since the white man first settled, and more endangered species are recovering than ever. Of course Uncle takes the credit for all this, ignoring the fact that government generally creates rules of enforcement after private industry comes up with solutions. It’s when government attempts to defy the laws of physics (or at least exceed the engineering of the day) that we run into problems.
The government is happy to see inexpensive diesels off the road. Expensive diesels are great for the rich, since they can feel smug and get decent performance. But for you slaves, if you want to ride in a diesel you’d better get on the bus. Otherwise get back in your golf car and be happy.
Thanks all the same, I’ll just keep driving my ancient old Mercedes 300D 123 chassis. Comfortable, safe, handles well, nice looking, and, while not in the same category mileage-wise as the VeeWees just ripped out of the marketplace, these cars are still the cheapest to keep on the road of anything I’ve ever owned, other than the late 60’s Volvos fed by the amazing SU carburetters. For added economy I’ve fitted a large highway truck type fuel filter with separation bowl and can blend in up to five percent used motor oil, thus disposing of a “waste product” with minimal fuss and getting free fuel into the bargain. I believe my total cost for this car, on the road and running well, was in the neighbourhood of five hundred dollars…. I can buy a LOT of fuel at sub-two dollars fifty the gallon for the thousands I’ve saved in purchase over the modern now-outlawed diesel sedans. I live in a non-smog-check county, but this thing has passed the smog checks in the mandated areas, so it still burns clean enough I can register it anywhere.
A good plan but likely soon to be thwarted.
The VW scandal has allowed the state and its media minions to plant the diesel=death seed in the minds of the sheep. Expect many new laws to be forthcoming which will effectively outlaw older diesels either directly or through demands that they be retrofitted with modern emission controls.
The ultra-low sulfur diesel may already be the kiss of death for engines not designed to run on it.
yes, older diesels probably need an additive with each ULSD fill-up.
but there’s no fear about banning them – there aren’t enough 300 or 240 series diesels still on the road to worry about.
I run almost pre-ULSD engines every day and don’t experience problems. I’m guessing the signs on fuel pumps are there primarily to avoid lawsuits. I’ll check into what is now in #2 fuel oil for a lubricant. The fuel makers probably don’t want to discourage sales of aftermarket lubes either since they also make them. I’ve used everything from SeaFoam to Amsoil additives and can’t tell any difference in reliability nor, in the case of cetane boosters, performance. I never researched what happened to Red Devil, the additive I always used, after the change from clear fuel to green and red since RD turned your fuel red. More govt. bs. I know the TRCC has some people checking fuel but it’s done so rarely i’ve never seen it happen although I have known one person to get nailed on it and that was because he parked his diesel pickup, an obvious farm truck, at the courthouse on a day the person who checks fuel happened to be there. It was an easy knock-off, a 120 gallon nurse tank in the back of a farm truck. I ran out of fuel coming out of a quarry and since the green fuel trailer had a flat, we just drug the red diesel trailer over and put some fuel in. I didn’t think about it again since I added nearly 300 gallons once back to the fuel trailer. To be honest, I have to fuel every day and wouldn’t think twice about using red diesel every one of those days. Sex and fish heads come to mind.
I’ve been checked three times for off-road (red dyed) diesel. Twice north of Omaha, Nebraska and once just south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Probably because we were running drill rigs and they thought we would put the red fuel in the trucks too.
Right on target.
The reality is tailpipe emissions long ago met reasonable standards and then some, especially in light of the problems emissions controls were originally intended to solve back in 1969 when the first rudimentary controls were put in place.
The things is: if the EPA were to say back in 2005 that car exhaust was as clean as it should reasonably be and declare the emissions problem solved, then many people would have no jobs and the EPA’s role would shrink. So they have to keep the “ecobucks” flowing by constantly moving the target.
You got it, Adrian, just like any bureaucracy.
The official reason for continually tighter emissions standards is the ever growing population. To hold the pollution constant each vehicle on the road must emit less. Of course since the population is growing so large because of immigration which is the result of political and economic policies that attract immigrants in large numbers. Each intervention begets more interventions.
Keener Canuck Hoser Heroes’ Fatwa Halts VW Diesel Sales
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/vw-canada-halts-sales-of-some-vehicles-after-us-emissions-scandal/article26452624/
How many diesels was VW selling in Cali? Any chance they could sell a diesel meeting EPA standards, but not CARB?
This is *stealth* trade protectionism.
The critters are protecting their domestic manufacturing interests, as well as their investments in energy extraction.
Bring back tariffs, and stop killing local innovation, CONgress. Stop making bullshit treaties that increase foreign entanglements.
We don’t need tariffs – we need the gunvermin out of the way.
Free trade means free trade, not gunvermin managed trade.
I’m with you. I’m for deregulating the local markets (US) and slapping a frigging tariff wall around the cheap crap made in countries where people are tortured and treated like slaves. You can’t have free trade with unfree countries. Ban imports from Asia, Central America, and Africa until their standard of living resembles ours. There’s no other way, period. With 15 years of $500 plus billion a year trade deficits, falling real household incomes (from 68k in 1973 to 52k today in 2015 dollars), 92 million people out of work and the lowest labor participation rate in history, it’s time to throw these falling trade barriers into a trash pile and burn them.
If people here in the USA couldn’t buy cheap stuff from China we would feel the full brunt of the impoverishment. People wouldn’t be able to afford the goods made here so few would be made. The problem isn’t China and the rest, it’s the trade deals the political class makes, the regulations imposed domestically and how they are imposed, and the financialization of the economy.
It’s our own dear leaders that sell us out and having them impose tariffs will just change the dynamic of how they do it. We’ll probably end up even poorer.
You have a point in that the cost of goods would likely be more expensive if we stopped importing cheap Chinese crap. I have long said that the EPA and other regulatory agencies should be dismantled. The trade deals seek to give corporations absolute advantage over people.
All that said, if we keep on our current course of doing nothing, this house of cards is going to collapse. It’s going to be ugly. We haven’t tried trade barriers in a long time and it’s about time. My idea is that in a domestic market with tariffs, the money stays here, the need for foreigners to finance and monetize our debt is reduced. As a result of an expected improvement in the labor market, prevailing wages rise somewhat over what they would otherwise be and we begin to recover our standard of living. The country has a $700 billion trade deficit. We need to plug that leak first.
Trade barriers could do a lot of damage to the currency. That trade deficit is part of the function of the world reserve currency and having it held overseas. Last thing we need is for those dollars to come rushing back in to buy up real goods because trade barriers made them undesirable to hold.
All the real problems are domestic. Innovate or die but business deaths now exceed business births. That’s the problem and it was intentionally created. For decades established interests didn’t want to compete and used government to those ends. Now the established interests need less people and are dying off in favor of the stronger vested interests. There’s no where for people to go.
trade barriers will just mean doing without.
Let’s say there is a huge tariff on imported TV sets. Could you or I start a TV factory in this country? Not without greasing the right palms and having the right friends. Same with everyone else. The bigs would just pass the tariff on. They don’t have to fear a newcomer. If one tried, the bigs have better and more friends.
Swamp – you say, “Ban imports from Asia, Central America, and Africa until their standard of living resembles ours.”
But if they can’t sell their products, how are they ever going to improve their standard of living? What sounds like ‘slave wages’ to us may be 2 or more times what they could earn doing anything else – except maybe sex.
Are you willing to consign them to perpetual poverty? By what right do you make that choice? Let alone restricting my choice in what to buy.
Ok, arguably over the last 40 years, China has developed a middle class with help from the political class of the United States. The transfer of production, technology and the aid given to their economy has enabled China to have a middle class the size of ours. Of course, China as 4 times as many people, so the standard of living there is still pretty damned low. China has become “rich” not because of any particular innovation ground breaking inventions, it is because they are manufacturing the crap that used to be made here. The Chinese actually have a very protectionist and one sided model which has enabled rapid growth, one that we should attempt to model. I want everyone to be prosperous, but why does it have to come at our expense?
Whether the Chinese or a host of other third world countries improves their standard of living is not my concern. I know that before the free trade crony capitalism model was fully implemented in the 1980’s, there were many more middle class countries that actually had a worthwhile standard of living. Because of free trade and the flow of capital to repressive countries, those countries have collapsed. Some examples – Argentina, Romania, Chile, Hungary, etc.
We should be looking out for America First. We can’t solve everyone’s problems, but we can damned well make sure that their problems don’t export into our economy. Secure the economic border first.
If you cut off trade, but not remove what keeps people from doing things here, it will only make a bad situation even worse. Because it won’t just magically return. You will end up with,,,,,, nothing.
If you ask small business people who are willing to tell the truth, you will hear stories of the worst business climate they have ever seen. Ask the oldest ones first, as they know what it once was like economically and what is absent today. How it is so much harder to do, well anything in today’s economy.
Things that make making things here hard to impossible (or any economy activity for that matter).
1. Tax structure. This is the worst one and the most ridiculous of the bunch. Because all that “needs” to happen is to throw away the tax code and the problems largely go away. But it won’t go away because that is how the government, especially the federal government, can control the economy. Think about it a minute. You don’t even need out-sized regulation if you just make it so you can’t make any money.
Some states are just as bad as the federal government when it comes to tax codes, making the situation even worse. That’s how some states end up grabbing what is left, by loosening the noose a bit at the state level. But there is no real way out, as all states are under federal tax code. Just filling taxes is a waste of time, that you could be spending building your business.
So the next time some politician tells you he is working hard at making it easier to run a business, you know he is lying. He would prefer to control you, even if it means you can’t make dime one.
2. Regulations. Today there is a huge amount of regulation, from the federal government all the way down to your city and town. It grows thicker every day (at all levels), and only gets trimmed back a little when there is enough bad press to make politicians look bad. Whatever the tax code doesn’t shut down, or make far less profitable, a regulation (one you may not even know exists until you break it and get caught) will do the job. The variety of regulation will blow your mind, making it harder (and slower) to do just about anything. The old saying is “time is money”, well its so true, because the delays caused by nothing but a government regulation will make it so something NEVER HAPPENS because it takes to long and the time has passed on.
An example of what I mean by that. A friend had a business idea in about 2004-5 that he was working on before the economic crash back in 2008. But due to the delays caused by needing “permission” from the government, the economic crash happened. He got his “permission” in 2011, but by then, there no longer was a business to be had as the economy had declined. So its been shelved for close to a decade now. He still hopes it can happen someday, but it doesn’t seem there will ever be a case for that business plan ever again with today’s business and regulatory climate. Probably would have employed a dozen people or so. But how do you explain that to politicians that their policies kept a dozen people from having a good job?
3.Big labor unions. They are a problem due to their corruption and criminal behavior. They are shielded from some racketeering and monopoly laws that would get everybody else prison time. They are famous for being very inflexible. And often politic in things that have nothing to do with labor issues that don’t help their members at all. But compared the the first two problems, its not as big a problem.
At this point, all we are doing is moving the deck chairs around on the titanic. They will all end up in the water no matter where they are.
If you don’t want to buy ‘cheap junk’ from China or wherever, that is your right. But if you tell me I can’t, you are violating the NAP.
Besides, what are you going to do with these tariffs you want to collect? You are just feeding the beast.
NAFTA…..We did fine in the US paying for more expensive US goods because we had tens of million more manufacturing jobs. 50,000 manufacturers went belly up because of the N word. NAFTA was meant to do one thing, put the American people on the same playing field with starving people worldwide……and it’s working swimmingly.
8 – But NAFTA is not free trade, it is gunvermin managed trade.
Just as the MSM did with Ron Paul, they did before with Ross Perot. I didn’t agree with all his views but when he said that great sucking sound you hear after passing NAFTA would be the jobs leaving this country. You missed my point. This country hasn’t had free trade since the mid 1860’s.
Much as I like their vehicles, GM was the start of the huge corporation, being able to own mines, foundries, manufacturing facilities, easily beating all others prices. The Sherman act had two parts with the second section being what held GM back. It states that:
A Section 2 violation has two elements:[15]
(1) the possession of monopoly power in the relevant market and
(2) the willful acquisition or maintenance of that power as distinguished from growth or development as a consequence of a superior product, business acumen, or historic accident.
Harley Earl was The Power when a court ruling gave GM the green light to take any portion of the market they desired.
Before that, they had limited themselves to 49%, even pricing up cars to limit sales and holding back models for fear of being charged under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Once it was clear they could do as they pleased, things changed. Harley Earl was subsequently asked what market share they were going to attain after that. He smiled and said “75%”. He wasn’t just joking. GM produced everything it took to build autos much cheaper than any other company in the world. And they did produce more than the 51% they’d been scared to take before that.
In the 70’s though, they once again feared that another case in court would revisit that earlier ruling so they ponied up every penny it took to keep Chrylser from going under. They virtually let Ford take more of the market share to not have that case revisited.
The point I’m making is that after that first court case(I forget the name), other corporations began to virtually monopolize their own fields. GE was a giant in the energy sector. Think of a huge name in the 50’s and 60’s and they are still the very ones to dominate certain fields. Things have only gotten worse since it let the giants literally buy congress and write the laws for themselves.
We were screwed, blued and tattooed way back when but few knew it. I’d guess percentage wise, even fewer realize it now. Look how people pay huge sums for an iPhone. Microsoft dominates the computing world. GE still owns nearly all the big electrical production companies. Ciba_Geigy, etc. NAFTA just made them super-powerful and that was because they had already bought congress and gotten their way. They don’t worry any longer about US law, they don’t worry about anything except fighting each other for the whole world.
Trucks used to be independent companies. Now we have PACCAR. The list is long.
You got that right Eight, and just wait till they ram the TPP up our asses; that will be the final nail in the coffin for middle class jobs in the USSA .
Big corporations are the imperial overlords of the future – mining our data and eventually manipulating us with it, stifling innovation and competition through the patent system and keeping the government apparatus in their pocket through the ever-revolving door. All we can do is watch and weep.
The TPP is secret. Not even O-Bomb-a knows what all is in it. But it does include an extension of patent protection periods, something Big Pharma drools over.
The TPP(kills economic trade for Americans) and the TPiP(kills all spying barriers). that combo will make so much data available I really think they’ll choke on it, think they already do. Who could sort it all out? Big computers? And there aren’t enough people (in this country alone) to physically check it out. But that won’t matter if TPP is passed, the very reason they’re taking so long to dot their I’s and cross their T’s., trying to make it foolproof. And they will, for the fools, but never for those who aren’t. There was a good reason 50 million voters stayed home the last election. They know they have nothing to vote for. Excuse my preposition ending sentence.
NAFTA is manged trade. If we had free trade then what happens is that the stuff we don’t want to do goes to other countries and the new innovative high margin stuff and automated stuff stays here in the USA. With managed trade it almost all goes. Then domestic regulation mops up much of the rest.
Incandescent light bulbs. Cheap, domestically manufactured. Fully automated decades ago, too expensive to move the plants for mature low margin product. But the higher margin new bulbs are made in China as soon as volume ramps up. Moved there rather than automating here, automated there instead. Why? Trade policy and domestic regulation and tax policy. People buy the domestically made old tech. Nobody wants to be the first to stop making the old bulbs. Can’t move it to China, doesn’t make economic sense. They are stuck. Our dear leaders solve this problem for the bulb makers by banning the incandescent light bulbs.
Our dear leaders are intentionally destroying the manufacturing base here. They will use tariffs to the same ends. We need to be unfettered domestically. Domestic manufacturing can win in a fair fight, real free trade. The fight isn’t fair by design.
Spot on BrentP, but this comment is too short, so I am blathering.
It’s not America’s job to raise the world’s living standard. Enough here has been sacrificed on the alter of “free trade.” Let’s try a little nationalism. If it means your iPhone costs $700 instead of $600 so be it.
Hi Fred,
In principle, I support free exchange. The trouble here (with regard to China, etc.) is that the exchange is not free. The Chinese factory worker is arguably not free. The Chinese prison worker is absolutely not free.
NAFTA, GATT, and similar “free trade” deals are all about labor arbitrage by multinational corporate cartels. Lower costs of production by outsourcing the labor and manufacture to countries where people are not free and can be exploited in order to increase profits for the cartels.
Yes, we get lower prices. But we also get lower wages. The net effect is we’re impoverished.
***
Similarly, I support (in principle) open borders. But so long as there is a welfare state, it is (as I see it) madness to not restrict/control immigration.
eric, my friends here who are 1st generation born of Mexican descent and work hard and pay a lot of taxes don’t want to pay for immigrants from anywhere who come merely to take advantage of the welfare state.
Some politicians focus on Mexicans but walk across immigration comes from the whole of S. America. I know this having hired people from all over, people with green cards who worked hard.
I have a friend who is green card and has his own company and he hires wetbacks who are not on any program except bust ass all day every day. I don’t see anyone with a better work ethic.
We have people like BO’s aunt who is here illegally (and they won’t deport her)and works the system like a step child. There are people here from everywhere….and have been long before there was an immigration problem.
As a hispanic friend pointed out, were not the native Americans immigrants when they walked across the Bering Sea? The people who lived here when the first Spanish expeditions roamed the land were probably right to try to wipe them out. Just look how they faired a few hundred years later when the Union army went on a mission of genocide against them.
They had plenty till their food source was taken, their land and their health.
I look at TPTB now just like that army. They’re out to reduce the population here to nearly nothing, just enough people to do their bidding. There are plenty other people in the world to work for them and they’re going to reduce them by 99% also.
They are actively trying to get the world wide population down to a few million people or less. There’s a big problem for them in this country and many other countries in the middle east and that is people are armed to the teeth. First and foremost, Bloomberg, who sees himself as some sort of jewish Messiah will commit a small portion of his fortune just to see it done in his sorry ass lifetime.
Just after waking this morning I thought of the movie Fight Club. It’s a must see for every anarchyst, libertarian and prepper. It’s understandable why it hasn’t been seen by more people. With another name it might not be dismissed outright by many who fail to understand that Fight Club is just a small part of the message. I’m surprised the movie was made to be honest.