automotive connectıon
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 program will
return up to $7,500 in rebates; selling the virtually new ICE, gas tank, catalytic converter
and other soon-to-be-nonessential parts to a
used-parts dealer could bring in $1,000 or
more; including a trade-in at the time of the
purchase would reduce the cost further, substantially minimizing the cost of the base car.
The approximately $25,000 conversion cost
could then be amortized in a little more than
100,000 miles by the lower operating costs of
a virtually maintenance-free electric motor
charged at home; amortization would occur
even more quickly if the engine being replaced
got poor gas mileage.
“If gasoline prices shoot up to $5 or $6
per gallon in the next few years, the payback
would be even faster,” says Schnitzius. “That’s
one of the other great things about EVs: The
price for electricity is fairly stable, whereas the
price of oil is very volatile.”
to 20 percent biofuel (expressed as B5 and
B20, respectively) work fine in virtually every
diesel engine in every climate, says Robinson,
who drives a 1980 International Scout with a
turbo-diesel engine.
Free-range
anxiety
Going the biofuel route
If you have a diesel engine in your car—
and many Americans already do, mostly from
Europe-based makers Audi, BMW, Mercedes
and VW—you can go green a lot quicker. “It’s
easier to drop biofuel into a diesel engine than
to drop an entire new engine into a car,”
observes Jessica Robinson, communications
director for the National Diesel Board.
Biofuels, made from a variety of organic
sources, ranging from corn to algae, are generally blended with petroleum-based diesel
fuel. Diesel engines can theoretically run on
100 percent biofuel, but they perform poorly
in colder temperatures. However, blends of 5
Other ways to go green
Even if you keep your current ICE vehicle,
you can shift some of your personal and business support to companies that do use biofuels
or electric vehicles in their fleets. For instance,
many car rental companies use biofuel-pow-ered shuttle buses. Some businesses rely solely
on vehicles converted to run on biodiesel fuel.
Use re-refined oil, which is used motor oil
that undergoes an extensive re-refining process to remove contaminants to produce a
good-as-new base oil. It’s then sold to blenders who mix in additive packages to produce
lubricants such as motor oil, transmission
fluid and grease.
Look for automotive businesses that
adhere to the Best Management Practices
Guide for Automotive Industries, such as
Luscious Garage in San Francisco. Owner and
lead technician Carolyn Coquillette says she
buys only energy-efficient power tools and
appliances, acquiring them secondhand when
possible. “Most of our equipment, from computers to oil drains, is purchased secondhand
through craigslist,” she says. “We recycle
DAVID W. SCHNEIDER
THE RANGE OF most EVs is
generally 80 to 100 miles, producing what some EVers refer
to as “range anxiety.” However,
an EV charging infrastructure is
being rolled out right now. The
EV Project (
www.theevproject.
com), launched in October 2009
and funded by $100 million via
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act through the
U.S. Department of Energy,
plans to establish 11,210 electric vehicle charging stations
over the next 36 months in
home-based, commercial and
public locations in major markets in five states: Arizona,
California, Oregon, Tennessee
and Washington.
The Costco Connection
Electric vehicle charging is available at select
western U.S. warehouses. See the specialty
services grid on page 66 for locations.
nearly everything: all fluids, metal, packaging
and parts. Seriously, we produce nearly zero
trash. We even compost.”
Going green automotively might be eas-
ier than you thought. C
Dan Daley is a journalist and author who
covers technology and business.
National Biodiesel Board
(for information on biofuels)
www.biodiesel.org
Resources
(to get your motor running)
Electric Auto Association
(all about EVs)
www.eaaev.org
CalRecycle (where to find
re-refined oil in California,
and other recycling info)
www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Usedoil/
RerefinedDistributors.htm
In the market for a new
car? Learn about the
hassle-free Costco Auto
Program on page 57.
Tire Buyer Buyer’s pıck
Pat McClintock
FRANCE FREEMAN
THIS MONTH’S cover story (page 24) extols
the benefits of the Costco Tire Centers with
regard to quality training and service, but
here’s a little more about the quality of our
tires. We recently added Bridgestone tires,
which means that, along with Michelin,
we now offer products from the top two
tire manufacturers.
What that means for members is that
Costco Tire Centers can provide expanded
fitments for many makes and models of
vehicles. For example, Bridgestone comes
as standard equipment on popular vehicles
such as Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, Toyota
and Subaru, to name a few.
As fitment technology becomes more
complex, the
need for a
wide base of
products is
necessary to fill
the majority of
the needs. We feel
the reintroduction of
Bridgestone to complement the already stocked Michelin products provides members with the best
opportunity to purchase the top two
brands at the most competitive prices.
At Costco you can leave your car with
the best technicians in the industry, choose
between the best two brands in the industry and get all your shopping done while
your car is serviced. C
