OMG get your survival seeds to prepare for the apocalypse

MrBishop

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

A 14yr old rebuilt Suburban? Hell, if you're willing to blow half your paycheck out your tailpipe, might as well go whole hog and pay the extra $150/year while you're at it.
 

Inkara1

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

Diesel Suburban though... diesels have a higher upfront cost but get better fuel economy cubic inch for cubic inch compared to gas engines. They don't rev high but make a lot of low-end torque... that works well for trucks. The better fuel economy is why diesels are so popular in Europe, but it's harder to make a diesel burn clean.
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

A 14yr old rebuilt Suburban? Hell, if you're willing to blow half your paycheck out your tailpipe, might as well go whole hog and pay the extra $150/year while you're at it.

Once again, Bish, you speak as an expert about something while lacking the merest shred of knowledge on the subject.

My daily commute is under 5km each way. I seriously doubt even this monster would consume 'half my pay'. Add to that friendships with several restaurants which use copious amounts of fry oil and I expect I could cut my fuel costs to a tiny fraction of what I'm paying today.

Add to that, if it's been rebuilt as well as it would need to be for me to buy it, repair costs would be minor for at least the first few years. Parts for it are abundant and inexpensive too. Diesels also are much simpler in operation than a gas engine.

Then subtract from the over all cost the fun factor of a huge 4x4 out in the bush, the tremendous towing power for pulling any sized camper anywhere we choose to go ....

Then top it with the fact that we own an inexpensive 5 seat sedan for any day-to-day driving and you can see that the fuel cost isn't my most worrying issue. Completing a transaction that allows the gov't to violate my wallet in yet another fraudulent attempt to 'clean up the environment', however, isn't something I'll allow without a fight.
 

valkyrie

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

Taxes don't clean up the environment. People (and their newly adopted, cleaner habits) clean up the environment.
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

Exactly. And a diesel burning used veggie oil has to be better than an econobox burning refined petroleum any day. When they say new cars are better for the environment, they're talking with blinders on. They're ignoring the environmental damages caused in the process of building that new car. They're ignoring the environmental damages involved in destroying my old clunker too. They're ignoring the greater economic value of my old car too. Unpaid, untaxed robots build new cars. PEOPLE make the parts and maintain old ones.

I'd love to see the actual number of how many jobs Obama's cash for clunkers lost for americans.
 

ResearchMonkey

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

Not to mention just how cool it is driving a beast of a 4x4 truck.
 

MrBishop

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

20l/100kms - toss what you like into the argument, it's still burning more fuel for the distance
 

ResearchMonkey

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

So what? Big assed truck are both fun and safe.

Its great to drop it into low 4x4 and spend the day running the hills for thrills.
 

Inkara1

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

20L/100km comes out to 11.761 miles to the gallon. I think a diesel-powered Suburban will get better than that.

What's the axle ratio in the rear end on that thing?
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

20L/100km comes out to 11.761 miles to the gallon. I think a diesel-powered Suburban will get better than that.

What's the axle ratio in the rear end on that thing?


Actually it makes 19MPG stock. With a few after market mods suggested by friends that own and specialize in said vehicle, 22-25 is possible. He didn't know the diff ratio, but I suspect it's the stock 3.42. An easy enough swap out.
 

MrBishop

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

Once again, Bish, you speak as an expert about something while lacking the merest shred of knowledge on the subject.

My daily commute is under 5km each way. I seriously doubt even this monster would consume 'half my pay'. Add to that friendships with several restaurants which use copious amounts of fry oil and I expect I could cut my fuel costs to a tiny fraction of what I'm paying today.

Add to that, if it's been rebuilt as well as it would need to be for me to buy it, repair costs would be minor for at least the first few years. Parts for it are abundant and inexpensive too. Diesels also are much simpler in operation than a gas engine.

Then subtract from the over all cost the fun factor of a huge 4x4 out in the bush, the tremendous towing power for pulling any sized camper anywhere we choose to go ....

Then top it with the fact that we own an inexpensive 5 seat sedan for any day-to-day driving and you can see that the fuel cost isn't my most worrying issue. Completing a transaction that allows the gov't to violate my wallet in yet another fraudulent attempt to 'clean up the environment', however, isn't something I'll allow without a fight.
If all you're planning on using this truck on is your daily commute, you're wasting your money..but that's not what you're planning on using it on, is it? No off-road trails leading to work and back... it's a 'fun truck', a take it to the cabin, road-trips, go muddin' kinda truck...and if it gets you to work and back, so be it.

So again... want the fun? Pay for it... don't want to pay for it? Buy a 90's era Jetta...it'll get you to work on that 5k trip, you can still use that fry oil AND you don't need to pay the tax-man for the privileged, eh. ;)
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

And again, you continue to try to dictate without all the facts. As a matter of fact, yes, there is a dirt trail from my house all the way to the office, not that that was ever my intention.

As for buying an old Jetta ... You'd have to be a certified moron to do that. 4x the price in parts? And unlike the Sub, the parts are built lightweight and unrebuildable. But then, you know this. You had one, didn't you?

But end all of it (which you still don't seem to get) is that the gov't is demanding money 'in the name of ...' none of which will ever go towards that end.
 

MrBishop

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

Par for the course. Taxes go into a pile and from said pile, services come. They can't have a specific tax for a specific end... wouldn't work. You'd need 10,000 different taxes each going towards a specific service...and that's just a start. Each tax with its own pile, and if it runs out..can't borrow from another pile. "Oops...we can't finish building that hospital, ran outta cash. Next year, we'll afford a roof."

The 'in the name of' is a promise as to where they plan on spending the money...or rather, a percentage of the whole.
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

Par for the course. Taxes go into a pile and from said pile, services come. They can't have a specific tax for a specific end... wouldn't work. You'd need 10,000 different taxes each going towards a specific service...and that's just a start. Each tax with its own pile, and if it runs out..can't borrow from another pile. "Oops...we can't finish building that hospital, ran outta cash. Next year, we'll afford a roof."

That's what quotes and budgets are for. I know it's a foreign concept for you, but try to follow this. I want a job done. I call contractors. They give me quotes. I accept a quote, balanced by a solid resume. That's all the money he's going to get for the job. I then look at my finances and budget the money to pay for it. Maybe I can't afford it, and I'm forced to finance it. If in the middle of the job, my contractor comes looking for more money, he's shit outta luck. If he under quote the job to win it, that's his lookout. I'll sue the fucker for breach of contract, take his assets and use them to pay the next contractor to finish the job. That's business.

Gov't can't seem to get that right. But to me, that's hardly an intelligent excuse for me to willingly allow them to pick my pocket. If there was a judge that wasn't in the gov't pocket, you'd be able to sue gov't for breach of contract too. That's a little hard to do, as no judge will pass judgement against his employer, will he?


Oh, and 10,000 taxes and fees? Dude, buy a fucking clue, willya? Have you even looked at your license bill? You're paying taxes on taxes on taxes ... and then a $4 fee for having the audacity to bother them with accepting your money.

Par for the course? No it isn't. Maybe for someone who can't remember yesterday's lunch, but for the rest of us, they've been steadily increasing the costs year after year after year. Not just increasing the initial fee, but adding sub-charges, and then changing from every second year (driving permit) to yearly bills. Par for the course? Do you remember that the SAAQ a short while back was running a surplus? Remember what happened to it? The gov't hoovered it up into their coffers. Then used the lack of extra funds as another excuse to raise fees.


The 'in the name of' is a promise as to where they plan on spending the money...or rather, a percentage of the whole.

Bullshit. The 'in the name of' is to allow gullible fucks a platform to snivel and moan while the pockets of others are emptied. They've got a similar 'tax' on luxury cars. If you pay over $40,000 for a car, you get similarly punished for it. With not a fucking penny going to anyone except gov't coffers. Mark my words, when they're done emptying my pocket, they'll be looking to see how they can empty yours. Are you prepared to pay $100 extra for having 4 doors instead of 2?
 

valkyrie

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

Exactly. And a diesel burning used veggie oil has to be better than an econobox burning refined petroleum any day. When they say new cars are better for the environment, they're talking with blinders on. They're ignoring the environmental damages caused in the process of building that new car. They're ignoring the environmental damages involved in destroying my old clunker too. They're ignoring the greater economic value of my old car too. Unpaid, untaxed robots build new cars. PEOPLE make the parts and maintain old ones.
In the US you have to pay taxes on the amount of vegetable oil you convert for your diesel unless you do it illegally with a still you make yourself and don't report. There are many people who go this route and keep it quiet.

We live in a throw away, consumer society. When something is old you throw it out even if it has a purpose. This is a mentality that gets under my skin. I applaud your willingness to repurpose or reuse anything old. I don't believe the suburban is a mistake if it's something you can use.

I'd love to see the actual number of how many jobs Obama's cash for clunkers lost for americans.
It lost zero jobs for Americans. It saved many sales jobs for people who sell cars, it saved many jobs of the people who finance the cars (pencil pushers). If you own an old car you're not going to buy parts every week. Besides most of those parts are made over seas and I will not shed a tear if they lose their jobs.
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

In the US you have to pay taxes on the amount of vegetable oil you convert for your diesel unless you do it illegally with a still you make yourself and don't report. There are many people who go this route and keep it quiet.

We live in a throw away, consumer society. When something is old you throw it out even if it has a purpose. This is a mentality that gets under my skin. I applaud your willingness to repurpose or reuse anything old. I don't believe the suburban is a mistake if it's something you can use.

A friend here at work sold me his old '93 grand caravan for $400 nearly 2 years ago. He was buying his father-in-law's '97 Montana. In the intervening time, he had to replace the engine, rebuild the tranny, and has since had an intake manifold gasket failure (coolant into the engine) and scrapped it. I've put a junkyard alternator on mine for $60. I'd stay with this one if it had sufficient towing power ... but FWD's never do.


It lost zero jobs for Americans. It saved many sales jobs for people who sell cars, it saved many jobs of the people who finance the cars (pencil pushers). If you own an old car you're not going to buy parts every week. Besides most of those parts are made over seas and I will not shed a tear if they lose their jobs.

This industry insider believes differently. And since he often serves as a prototype tester for the aftermarket, I'll take his word for it. I've also got it on good (although unconfirmed) authority that very little cash has been given to dealerships from the C4C program. A blogger on another site knew several people who were temp contracted for the C4C call centres. Stories from there were nightmarish examples of bureaucracy. An entire call centre without a single working computer ... everyone getting paid to sit with their thumb up their ass, and no supervisor on site to report the problem to. Dealers having to submit the same paperwork multiple times because there were issues with it that the receiver could easily have resolved, but choose to reject instead. I could search up the thread if needed, but as it's anecdotal, it's value would be limited.


And the one thing I kept hearing over and over during C4C was the question of why the purchase of cars not built in America was included. I know, to pay the salesmen ... but wouldn't the stimulus have been much more effective if they had restricted it to cars assembled in the US? That would have increased dramatically the number of people benefiting, no?
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

I take it you haven't heard that Stem Rust has been found in India, Pakistan and now is suspected in Iran then. 100 years ago, 100 different varieties of wheat prospered across the planet. Scientists bred a new Rust resistant strain and spread it world wide. Like polio, it seemed eradicated. Now it's back, better than ever, and 99% of the world's wheat is all the same strain, which is no longer proof. Stem Rust can spread 100 miles in a day on the wind. Africa is bracing for a nightmare, and everyone is praying (futilely) that it won't hop the Atlantic.

I hope for your sake you're still laughing this time next year when wheat bread is too expensive for your grocer to stock, and we're all hoping that the rice bread doesn't pass $3 a loaf.

And the horror story continues.

http://www.marketskeptics.com/2010/03/truth-about-indias-wheat-reserves.html
 

valkyrie

Well-Known Member
Re: OMG get your survival seeds to repare for the apocalypse

A friend here at work sold me his old '93 grand caravan for $400 nearly 2 years ago. He was buying his father-in-law's '97 Montana. In the intervening time, he had to replace the engine, rebuild the tranny, and has since had an intake manifold gasket failure (coolant into the engine) and scrapped it. I've put a junkyard alternator on mine for $60. I'd stay with this one if it had sufficient towing power ... but FWD's never do.




This industry insider believes differently. And since he often serves as a prototype tester for the aftermarket, I'll take his word for it. I've also got it on good (although unconfirmed) authority that very little cash has been given to dealerships from the C4C program. A blogger on another site knew several people who were temp contracted for the C4C call centres. Stories from there were nightmarish examples of bureaucracy. An entire call centre without a single working computer ... everyone getting paid to sit with their thumb up their ass, and no supervisor on site to report the problem to. Dealers having to submit the same paperwork multiple times because there were issues with it that the receiver could easily have resolved, but choose to reject instead. I could search up the thread if needed, but as it's anecdotal, it's value would be limited.


And the one thing I kept hearing over and over during C4C was the question of why the purchase of cars not built in America was included. I know, to pay the salesmen ... but wouldn't the stimulus have been much more effective if they had restricted it to cars assembled in the US? That would have increased dramatically the number of people benefiting, no?
Foreign built cars were included in the Cash For Clunkers because of external political pressure. Those countries threatened to put tariffs on our products being exported to them. It would have hit us harder elsewhere. This was the lesser of two evils. :-/ Sucks, I know. I sometimes wish we (as a country) would go back to our isolationist strategies, though I do recognize that our standard of living would decrease dramatically.
 
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