Wow – a just in time response from my great friends – Lanny and Karina – got me into a working vehicle – an old Dodge Caravan – which just now carried me 80 miles so that I could play “Nana” tomorrow …

Ok, the full story – I spend every Monday with my grandson – Adrien – so his mom and dad can go to work, and we get to play together. It is important to the continuity of their lives that I make it when I promise – every time!

To my rescue was the loving generosity of my true friends – pure and simple. Now, this is not exactly car share officially – but isn’t it great that we can occasionally help each other out with an extra vehicle?

More on the embarrassing details…of…..BIODIESEL MAINTAINANCE

Despite the benefits of biodiesel- Yesterday I put some bad fuel into the tank of my Jetta, and now the filter is clogged, perhaps even the line – so, my car is out of order…no fuel is getting to the engine…it will cost me to make up for this simple mistake..

I knew better…that is the worst part…having not checked the bottom of my little storage tank in 2 years – not changing the pump filter also – always being in a rush!!!

Anyway, you know that sucking feeling when you suddenly realize that your fuel storage tank is emptying the dregs in the bottom into your car’s fuel tank? No? Well – learn from my story – if you are going to store and pump your own biodiesel, you gotta take charge of details like fuel quality and filtration! I won’t go into it here – click on that link for more…about algae, water, other  potential contaminants and how  to avoid them…

CAR SHARE

For several years in Willits we studied how to create an official “car share” in our small, rural town, and although we have not yet found how to do it economically (without simply creating a commercial rental business)…the unofficial sharing of vehicles is a family tradition that helps everyone get around.  Let’s face it- We have gotten used to the convenience of owning a separate vehicle, hopping in and going…………… wherever!

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

I could also go on a rant about the lack of convenient public transportation such that we could all find ways to get around without needing a personal vehicle. Multimodal transport – rail, bus, transportation hubs and small electric town cars in combination could free us from the burden of true personal vehicle cost. By the way, we are about ready to vote on 2 important propositions here in Calif & Northern Calif..I urge everyoe in Sonoma and Marin counties to vote YES on the SMART proposal this November! And – YES to High Speed Rail as well!

OWNERSHIP COST

Did you ever do the math on your car ownership costs? Try it! If you add up the various costs for registration, insurance, depreciation, maintenance and fuel, you find out that it costs about $7000-9000 per year to maintain a quality vehicle. How many days a year do you work to make up this expense? OR – how many bus tickets, rail trips and short rentals would it take to equal that amount? Think about it!!! I am sure that the recent increases in gas prices have put car trip costs on everyone’s radar, but most of us still have yet to appreciate the full story on the cost of car ownership. Only a few folks get it, although we are all riding more bikes, sharing rides, walking, making fewer unnecessary trips. By the way, my figure on the true cost of driving does not begin to include the subsidized cost of roads, the cost to the environment for cradle to cradle building and junking cars, sequestering carbon and cleanup of oil spills, and more…

So – although I am in total gratitude for the salvation of my schedule trip by my buddies with an extra car, I am still in a quandary about how to release myself from the ownership of this car!! Nearing retirement forces the question for many of us boomers who will not have the ongoing income to afford this luxury of a personal vehicle. What if I could work less, need less, rather than needing to earn more money to cover expanding expenses? Whew – the innovative possibilities in this answer…who will figure this out for the 78 million of us? Break the chain… Challenge. Change.

I flew to Boston to buy this car in October of 2005…since certain newer diesels are not readily available in California, I searched all over the internet for a diesel Jetta wagon, and hard to find they were! Worth it – power sun roof, lots of headroom, fold down seats with plenty of room to sleep in back or for gear – and even a small craft fair booth will fit! The top rack is built on, the lights a gauges are a wild blue neon enhanced with red – feels like a purple haze driving at night…

To get this baby back to Willits a great cross country road trip was created & enhanced by the shooting of a camcorder video of – “The Last Great American Road Trip”. Well, it could be a great video someday – when I have time to learn how to edit it…

Ok, I was a few years before my time – as usual, because for sure – people are still driving cross country in 2008, even in their RV’s – although fuel is now well over $4 and higher prices are certainly in sight. Diesel is even over $5!! With that in mind – Why did I want this diesel car so badly? Try 45mpg for a start, and I have been almost exclusively driving on biodiesel made by Yokayo Biofuels from completely recycled veggie oil… which I pump out of my backyard 200 gallon storage tank! Now – there is fuel security for ya. Much better than a foreign war, huh? In fact, my pal Mikey gets over 50mpg because he got a manual shift, same car – 10 more mpg. You can take that to the bank, er – tank.

To be sure – I have made my share of biodiesel errors…had hose melt downs, clogged fuel filters, etc…but – I still love the idea of driving – yet not supporting our energy wars, esp the one in Iraq which threatens to spillover into Iran, and is costing us Americans over $400 Million a day!! ! If you can even understand how much money that is – I can’t quite comprehend it myself, but I know that we could put a huge number of freight and passenger trains on the tracks, fix those tracks all over the country and build more so we have a 2 track system nearly everywhere for a fraction of our yearly dues in that misguided, may I say – illegal - “war”.

So – I encourage all of you to turn in those gas hog SUVs & cars, and if you must have one at all – go diesel! In fact – go biodiesel! Enjoy the ride…

By the way – I wrote this partially because of the guys who blog at http://thingsthatmakeyougogreen.com/…but, now I can’t find their cool post on diesel…if anyone can find it in their substantial archives…well, let me know and I will link it right HERE!