"A price to pay for alternative fuels"

[UlrikeDG]

A price to pay for alternative fuels (http://www.charlotte.com/112/story/153260.html)
BRUCE HENDERSONBob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

So last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost.

His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not paying motor fuel taxes.

He's been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.

And to legally use veggie oil, state officials told him, he would have to first post a $2,500 bond...

[lynsgirl]

:confused: Dh converted our F350 Powerstroke to run off of both regular diesel and waste vegetable oil [WVO] (dual tanks). We don't have the truck anymore, because we knew we'd be moving where it wasn't feasible at all (i.e. apartment or rental house for a good while) to have the set-up for pumping, filtering, cleaning, storing, etc of the WVO. So am I understanding correctly that we could have been in *trouble* for not paying fuel taxes? For fuel we weren't using? Nice.

[Judi]

I have an 81 Chevy Caprice Diesel. I no nothing about converting, but have been wanting to learn. I drive a 2000 Windstar now, and get just under 20 MPG. I spend, between to vehicles, about $180 a week in gas. That is most of my pay check!

[ThreeBeans]

:mad:

[UlrikeDG]

Amy, from the articles I read, fuel tax has nothing to do with fuel and everything to do with road maintenance. They want you to pay a certain amount in taxes for every gallon of fuel you use, regardless of what that fuel is or where it came from. So, if you are getting fuel (waste oil from a fast food place) for free, you should still be paying $.23/gallon in taxes on that fuel (or whatever the tax rate is where you live), because you're driving on the roads, and the roads must be maintained.

[joolsplus3]

Then the government had better get it's act together and find a way to politely tax biodiesel users for their road use, huh? Poor guy, what a pain in the butt!

[UlrikeDG]

Yeah, a per gallon tax doesn't make sense for alternative fuel users. Then again, I bet this guy (http://www.greenoptions.com/blog/2007/06/11/good_looking_ride_and_its_economical_too) wouldn't have a problem with being required to pay a per gallon tax.

[joolsplus3]

Heh, I had a neighbor like that, though 25 years ago the coolest thing he did was stick the front end of a diesel rabbit to the back end of a vw pickup...took a lot of welding, but got great gas mileage (i don't know if the vw pickups were diesel to begin with, if so, he just made a lot of work for himself for nothing, but it was cool anyway, lol).

[southpawboston]

Yeah, a per gallon tax doesn't make sense for alternative fuel users. Then again, I bet this guy (http://www.greenoptions.com/blog/2007/06/11/good_looking_ride_and_its_economical_too) wouldn't have a problem with being required to pay a per gallon tax.

that guy is ingenious... it just goes to show how easy and truly feasible it is to go electric... if only the auto industry (and big oil) lobbyists wouldn't fight tooth and nail against it.

has anyone here seen "who killed the electric car"? it is a great documentary about how the auto industry, big oil, conspired against the introduction of the mass produced electric car.

Heh, I had a neighbor like that, though 25 years ago the coolest thing he did was stick the front end of a diesel rabbit to the back end of a vw pickup...took a lot of welding, but got great gas mileage (i don't know if the vw pickups were diesel to begin with, if so, he just made a lot of work for himself for nothing, but it was cool anyway, lol).

yeah, i don't know why he did that. the rabbit pickup truck was diesel. unless the rear of the rabbit was smashed and the front of the pickup was smashed; in that case he took the good halves of two cars to make one car. that's done quite often by auto salvage rebuilders. of course, those cars are considered salvaged at that point.

[joolsplus3]

yeah, i don't know why he did that. the rabbit pickup truck was diesel. unless the rear of the rabbit was smashed and the front of the pickup was smashed; in that case he took the good halves of two cars to make one car. that's done quite often by auto salvage rebuilders. of course, those cars are considered salvaged at that point.

Ah, I hadn't considered that...I'm sure it was the case, he was a frugal and creative kinda guy, to be sure :)

[skaterbabscpst]

If he was anything like Cam, he did it just because he COULD. lol