air cooled lovers out there

[ros74911]

i have a question for all you porsche 911 pre-watercooled.

what is our future for our beloved air cooled engines? i hear a lot of clean air stuff on news, tv, internest, green this, green that, clean air, discovering new type of gasoline, etc... are we all becoming extinct in 10yrs or so? thanks in advance for your reply.

[KFC911]

IMO, our beloved 911s are much friendlier to the environment than most of the huge gas guzzling SUVs you see on the road...i.e. it's a non-issue. Extinct....not even a snowball's chance

[moochie]

At least we don't have to change, and dispose of Anti Freeze. That's gotta be good for the environment.

[Noah930]

One word: grandfathering.

I'm guessing that whatever environmental laws get passed in the future will probably have some sort of clause stating that vehicles built prior to a certain year will be exempt from whatever standard they're trying to pass. However, if/when we run out of gasoline, that'll be a bit of a problem.

[jhubs]

I believe "classic cars" are part of the world culture and our P-cars will be thought of as "unusual", but not frowned upon. Maybe even admired!

I always take exception to the comment regarding, "huge gas guzzling SUVs", even though I understand it's origions and current usage to try blame or explain the USA's current dependency on foriegn oil.
I will defend the SUV, as I have 2 of them, by saying that SUVs are simply a covered Pick-up truck. My Expedition is simply a Ford F-150 body with a fancier cover. Granted it may weigh 700 lbs more, but most pick-up trucks I see in Colorado have a 150 lb. tool box, 200 lbs of tools, two 100 lb dogs and 100 lbs of empty beer cans in the back. )

My 98 Expy gets 15 mpg and my 06 Pilot gets 23 mpg...not too bad considering my 1980 F-150 PU got 11 mpg!

We have to stop picking on the car or kind of car as the problem and start demanding that the manufacturers get their acts together and start producing vehicles that use less fuel or a different kind of fuel that does not polute and does not support the middle east governments!
I drove a rental car in Italy last summer that got 50 MPG on clean diesel fuel that did not smoke or stink. Of course it cost $5.60 a gallon... It can be done, but the car has to evolve slowly in order for our world economy to remain somewhat healthy during that transition from oil to something else.......RANT...sorry!
Jerry

[oldE]

I think whenever we 'pick on' SUVs we really are getting on the case of the typical use most of these oversized vehicles (yes, including many p/u trucks) get.
A perfect case in point. One of my sister-in-laws and her husband bought a Ford Escape. They refer to it as "The Truck" and I have to laugh, as it is a V6 front wheel drive car on stilts that gets crappy mileage and doesn't handle very well. Given the same criterion, I would have recommended a Focus wagon, as it goes 50% further on a gallon of gas, handles pretty darn well and has about the same amount of room inside.
At the same time, my 2nd vehicle is a F-150 with a 4.2, as I needed something to haul the horses up the mountain and bring lumber home, but even though it has the smallest engine I could get, I still feel guilty driving it when I am the only one in it or it is unladen.
Any vehicle will be a compromise, most of us buy 'way more than we need.
Most SUVs don't ever see dirt roads, let alone off-road and the idea of a 2 to 3 ton vehicle to transport a 115 lb woman is almost an insult to our resources.
I'll get off the soap box, now and take my medication

Les

[jhubs]

Exactly, now that my blood pressure pill has kicked in, I feel much better!
Now, I just need to convince my wife to give up her Expedition, that we bought to pull the camp trailer and to pull the new horse trailer, neither of which has been out of the barn for 3 years, and to run her errands with my 911....maybe not...

[jmshepard]

The only off-roading most 4wd SUVs perform is driving through the flower bed next to the driveway.

[daepp]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by oldE
I think whenever we 'pick on' SUVs we really are getting on the case of the typical use most of these oversized vehicles (yes, including many p/u trucks) get.

All of the SUV owners I know use them to haul families around. Many kids = SUV - plain and simple. Not to mention the fact that they are frquently used to haul others' kids - which lessens fuel consumption overall. IMHO of course.

[therotman]

Originally posted by daepp
All of the SUV owners I know use them to haul families around. Many kids = SUV - plain and simple. Not to mention the fact that they are frquently used to haul others' kids - which lessens fuel consumption overall. IMHO of course. [/B]

It seems when most people have their first kid in Southern California they go and buy a SUV to take them to IKEA. Little do they know if they just bought a normal sized car they could afford to buy quality furniture and have it delivered will all the money they would be saving on gas.


If you have horses it's one thing, but I know many single young people who have SUV's that never have any other passengers in them. That is where the anti-suv rants come from.

[cashflyer]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by daepp
[B]

Originally posted by oldE
Many kids = SUV - plain and simple.

This is where I take exception with the SUVs.
This didn't used to be the equation, and it doesn't have to be now either. Kids (family) used to = station wagon. As station wagons fell out of vogue, the new equation was kids = mini-van. Now the mini-van is passé, and SUVs are the soccer mom vehicle of choice.

Kids =/= SUV. The SUV is a choice - not a default necessity.

[daepp]

I disagree. Try taking 3 kids and your wife to home depot in what passes for a station wagon today - or anywhere else for that matter. There is simply not enough room in a passenger car. And for that matter, look how small passenger cars are these days. In days past, a four door sedan could pull a house trailer - don't ask me how I know. And their trunks could hold numerouse bodies...

[jmshepard]

Gee, how did my parents manage to raise a family in normal-sized cars. Vehicles that had a floorpan less than 2 feet above ground and lacked four-wheel drive (in Michigan)?

[ros74911]

thanks to all for your opinion. how did we get to suv's? i'm just curious for aircooled lovers like me regarding our future.

p.s. good note on suv's - you can hide behind or on either side. if you're somewhat speeding. he he he.... : - )

[DanielDudley]

I think there are a lot of high octane late model cars around to assure us gas for our beloved P cars. There is certainly demand. If I had to build a low compression motor, I would I guess, and mothball my current motor.

Bottom line for me is that 911s aren't the dinosaurs, we are. I worried about new regulations and gas etc. ad infinitum until i burned out on it. When the world changes, so will I. In the meantime, I will continue to have a sports car on the road, even if I only drive it a few weekends a year. You can't take it with you, so enjoy it now. I could have been driving my dream may years ago. One day I woke up and realized that it was now or never. In reality I might have a piano fall on me tommorrow. The truth is all I ever really have is now. No, now, wait, NOW, Now , NOW ... Make it stop. No, don't do that ...

[Dantilla]

Originally posted by jmshepard
Gee, how did my parents manage to raise a family in normal-sized cars.

A "normal" sized car a few decades ago was called an LTD or Galaxie, and was larger than any "normal" car today. It had rear wheel drive, a big gas guzzling V-8, and could easily tow the boat or travel trailer on weekends.

It got about 10 mpg.

Now the car with the same capabilities is called an Explorer.

It gets better mileage, pollutes less, and is much safer for the occupants than it's ancestors.

I get a bit tired of guys an a Porsche board complaining about cars that are unneccessary. Should we ban track driving to save gas?

[jmshepard]

Originally posted by Dantilla
It gets better mileage, pollutes less, and is much safer for the occupants than it's ancestors.

perhaps for the SUV occupants but certainly not safer for those of us who drive cars.

[therotman]

Originally posted by jmshepard
Gee, how did my parents manage to raise a family in normal-sized cars.

My parents had a corolla- there must be something wrong with me!

[SCWDP911]

Originally posted by jmshepard
perhaps for the SUV occupants but certainly not safer for those of us who drive cars.

Then perhaps you should not drive into them...

[jmshepard]

that's good