Comments for A 45 MPG Minivan? That's VW's Goal at http://ecogeek.org , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://ecogeek.org Mon, 20 May 2013 09:35:42 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2735#comment-28487 pretty slow, but better than regular gas - Fred Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:46:32 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2735#comment-26749 [quote]The government is charging the road use tax for using the road, buying the gas is just (currently) the most convenient/accurate place to collect it. As systems like this and EV cars become more prevalent, they will have to change their methods of collection, but until then, be careful trying to duck under the radar. [/quote] the government should look into collecting the road use tax via car license registration. higher tax for bigger vehicles and lower tax for smaller more efficient vehicles. it'll be an annual tax and collected the same time the vehicle owner renews their car registrations. no one will be able to avoid it and no one will end up paying more or less for it. - ed Tue, 12 May 2009 05:34:05 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2735#comment-26747 Be careful about extolling the bonus of not having to pay the road use tax when filling up. I've read news articles of people who have made their own bio-diesel or converted their car to use natural gas as you talk about here, and are then later hit with HUGE back tax bills later on after word gets out about what they were doing. The government is charging the road use tax for using the road, buying the gas is just (currently) the most convenient/accurate place to collect it. As systems like this and EV cars become more prevalent, they will have to change their methods of collection, but until then, be careful trying to duck under the radar. - Jim Tue, 12 May 2009 05:19:42 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2735#comment-26730 According to University of Vienna, the EU could substitute 97 % of its road transport fuel by domestically produced biomethane, without displacing food production. As far as I know, that calculation is not taking into account using algae as feedstock. Since algae can double its biomass in 8-10 hours I believe algae to methane would be a good option. Neither is it taking into account future efficiency gains. Even though biomethane might not be able to replace all fossile fuels, it is by far the best option. - Fabian Fjälling Mon, 11 May 2009 21:34:17 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2735#comment-26727 Definitely biomethane is preferable, and we should be burning it wherever possible (instead of letting it escape to be a greenhouse gas.) But the big problem with biomethane is the scale, there simply isn't enough of it. We can drill holes in landfills until the cows (with methane bladders strapped to their butts) come home, but we're not going to be able to maintain interstate commerce with biomethane. - Hank Mon, 11 May 2009 19:00:42 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2735#comment-26721 Natural gas is fossile fuel, but biomethane is not. They are both methane, but produced in different ways. Some scientists argue that biomethane, seen from a life cycle perspective, yields between 140% and 220% GHG reduction compared to driving with gasoline as fuel. It is with other words better to take your biomethane powered Touran for a spinn, than taking a walk in the woods, if you are concerned with the level of greenhous gases in the atmosphere. Biomethane also yields far more energy per unit biomass than any other biomass derived fuel. Neither does it displace food production to the same degree as any other biofuel, since the microbes producing methane are not picky with what type of biomass they are fed. I would say biomethane is one of many needed silver bullets needed to fix the climate crisis. Natural gas is needed to get gas powered cars on the roads in great numbers, but once the marke for methane as road transport fuel is established, the switch should be towards biomethans. - Fabian Fjälling Mon, 11 May 2009 14:43:23 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2735#comment-26718 Isn't this the same as propane injection for a diesel or NOS for a petrol engine? Also.. a propane engine can run a higher compression ratio than a comparable petrol engine. So the VW 1.4 sounds like it is nothing more than an enriched fuel burning high CR engine... - MD Mon, 11 May 2009 13:48:57 +0100