A comment or two about your clean air bit.
First electrics are NOT, I repeat NOT, clean air cars. The source of the "uncleanness" may not be under your hood. But there is a price to pay for the generation of the electricity you use. It's just not immediately obvious where that uncleanness is.
Second, that carbon dioxide emitted by the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels is what the green life on this planet live one. in fact they would die without it. In fact, they are so voraciously consuming it that no matter how much we produce of the stuff, the CO2 content of the atmosphere has not changed in the whole of the time we have been measuring it - some 150 years now. That is to say - 79.5% of the atmosphere is nitrogen, 20% of the atmosphere is oxygen (thanks to the trees and other green plants that consume CO2, keep the carbon atom and release the O2 molecule), and of the last 0.5% (that's right one half of one percent) is ALL THE OTHER gases in the atmosphere. And the largest single portion of that last half percent is - drum roll please - ARGON. CO2 is about 5% of that last half percent. And it has been this way for 150 year now - more or less. The burning of my diesel fuel - a pure hydrocarbon fuel by the way - is in fact greening up the planet. It's called the carbon cycle. They used to teach it in public schools until it became politically incorrect to say that your carbon footprint was actually making the continuation of life on the planet possible.
Now if you want to talk about dirty let's talk about gassers. The primary material in gasoline is benzene - a powerful and well known carcinogen. But burned properly and completely, benzene produces the same products that any hydrocarbon fuels produce - water and CO2. But consider the 125 to 250 additives, many of which are based on heavy metals and none of which are tested for, and now you have a really filthy chemical witches brew filling the atmosphere with toxins that, as I said, no one is actually testing for. Suddenly my oil burner looks like a saint among automobiles.
As for the math, I will concede that it will cost you less to buy the electricity to run your car per mile driven than it does for me to buy the 5% of a gallon of diesel fuel I need to go that same mile. Since I get (again conservatively) 20 MPG and since in my part of Utah a gallon of diesel is $2.37 that's 5% of $2.37 or 11.85 cents to go a mile on diesel fuel. That's (conservatively) about the cost of 1.5 kWh (kilo Watt hours) or electricity. Can you actually go a mile on 1.5 kWhs of electricity? But I paid $700 for my 81 wagon back in 03 and have put about $2800 into it in the intervening 13 years. Thats about $18 per month. Now that price does not include the consumables - gas oil and tires. It does include two parts cars, a couple of alignments, two batteries,1 exhaust system fixup (13 years ago), and other parts like brushes to rebuild my voltage regulators, glow plugs, - that sort of thing. (I am currently running on a voltage regulator that is on its 3rd set of brushes.) And I certainly don't spend $240/month on fuel, oil, and tires.
So if the math you want us to do works out for you then I tip my hat to your best option.
But the math doesn't work out for me.
My best option is to keep driving this bulletproof German iron and I will spend a LOT LESS than you will by whatever metric you choose.
Thanks for letting me rant. I have been wanting to say something like this for a long time. And while these engineering marvels will eventually all be gone, (sniff, sniff), the last one will probably die while faithfully and reliably serving its master right up till the bitter end. It will probably be 50 years old when it does expire, it may well have over a half million miles on the clock, and the doors will open and shut just like they were made yesterday - right up until the time it gets retired by being side swiped or t-boned by someone else - in which case the power train will probably be harvested for someone else's jeep or antique truck project. (And we won't even talk about the safety differences in such a catastrophic event.) Your electric will never live to be half that age and it is likely that there will be NO reusable parts if it's involved in an accident. (Do they have battery containment systems in case of such an accident?) It will just not be built anywhere near as good as these 114s/115s/123s/126s. And there is no EMP or satellite signal or computer failure that will shut off my engine against my will or leave me stranded for no good reason.
I would like to say that I like to work on my car as a hobby. But, frankly, a hobby should actually take up noticeable portions of my spare time. Working on my '81 TD doesn't qualify that way - if you catch my drift. But I can work on it myself when it does need something - say like alternator brushes. I'm guessing repairs on your electric are strictly dealer or other repair shop problems. That's high cost and downtime I don't have. And even if all repairs are warranty covered, there is still the downtime. Which brings up one more question - how often are there going to be software upgrades?
Obviously the bloom is off the rose for you and/or your are tired of the "hobby". I get it. But the math does not work out for me.
Bogy.
"Hardware eventually fails. Software eventually works" - Michael Hartung
From: "Lawrence Rhodes primobassoon@sbcglobal.net [diesel_mercedes]" <diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com>
To: yahoogroups <diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 9:58 AM
Subject: [diesel_mercedes] Just do the math.
I am paying $258 a month(5 years & it's mine with no interest) for the privilege of driving a new car which is smooth & quiet. I spent 900 dollars to drive for 3 years(39k miles) in electricity on our first lease. It will cost $5,500.00 for a new battery in 8 to 10 years if I make past the warranty date. If not Nissan replaces the battery for free. I get in the carpool lane solo as well as reduced tolls.
I have been into the w123 vehicles as deep as any one. Put in a transmission by myself, starter, many alternators, self leveling system including a ruptured front high pressure hose as well as two rear modules, vac pump, cutoff switch, seats & many fiddly bits. I also saved 25k dollars or more in fuel by running vegetable oil in more than a decade of running these wonderful machines plus 20 conversions for myself & others. So I know what I'm talking about.
If you add up all the money you spent on acquisition, maintaining, fuel you will find electrics very attractive. They are also clean air vehicles which our beloved Mercedes are not. So no dirty hands & time spent on my back like a whore to these ancient chariots......just do the "complete" math. I have better things to do with my time and money...but they were fun while it lasted. Lawrence Rhodes |
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