Gary Lewis Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Today we took Janey's 2014 GLK 250 (diesel) into the dealership for routine maintenance, new tires, and an estimate on collision repair. (We were rear-ended while stopped 10 days ago.) They gave us a loaner 2018 GLC 300, and it sparked a conversation with the guy at the dealership, wherein I learned that: Mercedes is leaving the automotive diesel market in the US. In toto. Nor more diesels. This thing has a way of saving energy while you drive. It has a 2nd battery that is said to store lots of energy but only for short periods, more like a capacitor than a battery. And it gets charged by regenerative braking. So when you touch the brake you see a "Charge" meter on the dash go up. Normal starts in the morning use the main battery, but when the engine shuts off at a light it starts when you hit the throttle using the auxiliary battery. Mercedes is changing to 48v electrical systems in the near future. In the next 5 years automotive technology will change more than it has in the history of the automobile. Interesting conversation. Oh yes, he said he had an 80's pickup many years ago. It was his father's and one day it just quit. His parents told him he could have it if he got it running. He said he tracked it down the thing thing on the distributor, sticking out at the bottom. I said "Oh, you had an '85 or '86 with the TFI ignition." He seemed surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Sorry to hear about the accident. I hope you and Janey are okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 Sorry to hear about the accident. I hope you and Janey are okay. Thanks. Janey was a bit sore the next morning but I'm fine. However, we had an older couple (yes, there is older than we) with us and she immediately complained of her back hurting. She's been to the chiropractor and had an x-ray, which showed a couple of discs out of place. He put them back and after a follow-up treatment she's doing well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Wow. That is terrible Gary. So sorry to hear about the wreck and I hope everyone makes a full recovery 😰 About the auto future, I will say that Jan tells me that diesel cars are now shunned in Europe and are flat out being banned and outlawed in some areas. Amazing. Europe has always championed the diesel power plant and now the attitude is completely reversed. They are viewed as Eco unfriendly in spite of their efficiency and the bio fuel potential. So it’s not surprising to hear that Mercedes is getting out of that market. Harnessing braking inertia is a great idea... but I do wonder what all of this high tech is going to cost and whether common people will be able to afford vehicles in the coming years. Don’t get me wrong, we are not on a sustainable trajectory which will have to end regardless... but it does make me pause to think.... On a similar line of thought, has anyone heard of the CO2 fuel factories? I saw this video on FB and it sounds way too good to be true, yet interesting: https://www.facebook.com/vicecanada/videos/2155210727842481/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotEnoughTrucks Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Wow. That is terrible Gary. So sorry to hear about the wreck and I hope everyone makes a full recovery 😰 About the auto future, I will say that Jan tells me that diesel cars are now shunned in Europe and are flat out being banned and outlawed in some areas. Amazing. Europe has always championed the diesel power plant and now the attitude is completely reversed. They are viewed as Eco unfriendly in spite of their efficiency and the bio fuel potential. So it’s not surprising to hear that Mercedes is getting out of that market. Harnessing braking inertia is a great idea... but I do wonder what all of this high tech is going to cost and whether common people will be able to afford vehicles in the coming years. Don’t get me wrong, we are not on a sustainable trajectory which will have to end regardless... but it does make me pause to think.... On a similar line of thought, has anyone heard of the CO2 fuel factories? I saw this video on FB and it sounds way too good to be true, yet interesting: https://www.facebook.com/vicecanada/videos/2155210727842481/ Too good to be true? Absolutely. You stumbled upon one of our Canuck struggles there. We are on the verge of what our federal government calls a carbon tax and some of us don't like it at all. That project is located in British Columbia and they support programs like this while opposing pipelines and domestic oil production. This does not play well at all in oil producing provinces like Alberta and Saskatchewan. It is a dreamers approach and CO2 is quite different from hydrocarbons, although the former is a product of combustion. I won't even start on whatever else our federal leaders are pushing our way, although legalized pot may make this easier to understand. I'll offer a counterpoint. https://www.wired.com/story/the-potential-pitfalls-of-sucking-carbon-from-the-atmosphere/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 About the auto future, I will say that Jan tells me that diesel cars are now shunned in Europe and are flat out being banned and outlawed in some areas. Amazing. Europe has always championed the diesel power plant and now the attitude is completely reversed. They are viewed as Eco unfriendly in spite of their efficiency and the bio fuel potential. So it’s not surprising to hear that Mercedes is getting out of that market. I took a picture of the "dirty" TDI VW's at the junkyard last week. They were bringing them in by the truck load and they were all getting lined up for the crusher. Mostly 2009-2012 models, and some of them looked perfectly fine too. Apparently they had a rep from VW there to witness them being crushed to make sure nobody removed any parts from them beforehand. I'm still driving an 06 BRM Jetta, so I don't have to worry about the emissions scandal, but still...I hate seeing all those cars go for scrap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 About the auto future, I will say that Jan tells me that diesel cars are now shunned in Europe and are flat out being banned and outlawed in some areas. Amazing. Europe has always championed the diesel power plant and now the attitude is completely reversed. They are viewed as Eco unfriendly in spite of their efficiency and the bio fuel potential. So it’s not surprising to hear that Mercedes is getting out of that market. I took a picture of the "dirty" TDI VW's at the junkyard last week. They were bringing them in by the truck load and they were all getting lined up for the crusher. Mostly 2009-2012 models, and some of them looked perfectly fine too. Apparently they had a rep from VW there to witness them being crushed to make sure nobody removed any parts from them beforehand. I'm still driving an 06 BRM Jetta, so I don't have to worry about the emissions scandal, but still...I hate seeing all those cars go for scrap. So much information! Ok, to start off, the GLK handled the rear impact admirably, and the more-believable of the two estimates is $2600, but that's before they get it apart and we all know it'll go up when they do. However, two days after the rear-ending a kid opened a car door into the driver's fender - and the estimate on that is $1400. We love the car so much that there's no thought of trading it. Nor is there an issue of emissions since it actually produces fewer of them than today's gasoline engines. So it is a keeper and we are keeping it well maintained. As for the carbon removal technology, that was an interesting video. I wasn't aware that they are doing that. And, while the article suggested that relying on that technology would be foolhardy, I can see that developing it would be a good approach - while still mandating the change necessary to reduce CO2 emissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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