Do you care where your tools are manufactured?

[B A R R Y]

Saw Stop is made in China.

[J. Clarke]

Huh? What, exactly, does a tax deduction on business use of a motor vehicle have to do with the fuel economy laws?

[Leon]

Since you know this to be true, a compairison was made between a Prius and a Hummer. The compairison included the energy used to manufacture every component of both vehicles, the energy used to maintain and operate the vehicles through their expected life spans, and the energy used to recycle the components of the two vehicles when the vehicles were considered worn out. Because the Hummer out lived the Prius by a margin of over 2 to 1 the Prius had the disadvantage of the energy spent on building, maintaining, and disposal being increased by the same margin.

The Hummer ended up being the most ecological and effecient vehicle to produce, operate, and dispose of.

This company has been producing electric vehicles for more than 10 years in California and has a great looking vehicle yet to come out called the Zap X. A very interesting vehicle.

Also Honda is selling a Hydrogen fuel cell car in California now.

[Leon]

Not to mention that fuels with alcohol have a negative effect on the engine. Alcohol attracts water and water does not settle out like it does in normal gasoline. The higher the alcohol content, the more likely it is to get fuel contamination.

[Leon]

I prefer the ZAP X.

[dpb]

I figured so, but wasn't sure...

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[Leon]

And is considered to be a high quality piece of equipment, further indicating that the cheap crap coming from China is per the American importer instructions. The good products coming from China are also per the American importers instructions.

[dpb]

Robatoy wrote: ...

For which cases would you be postulating that, and from what sources?

Only sources I've seen that draw that conclusion rely on assumptions that neglect portions of the cycle (such as the solar input on the input side or the usable byproducts on the output) or from very old sources/processes. These sources have uniformly been funded by groups whose agenda is to discredit them (like the ads run locally in this area against a new power plant permit on the basis of air pollution and carbon sequestration that were actually financed by a large natural gas producer who is lobbying for new natural gas-fired plants. Talk about a way to waste a much more valuable resource for other purposes in order to have a short-term gain! :( ).

While I'll agree wholeheartedly biofuels aren't going to be the full answer, they will make a significant conribution, particularly during a transition period until H or other more exotics are available.

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[John Horner]

Indeed it can. The US based Honda and Toyota factories are growing and successful.

[John Horner]

Indeed. This makes Delta/Porter-Cable's current attempt to reposition itself as the brand of choice for "professional woodworkers" seem like too-little, too late.

For a good laugh, check out the July 2007 press release:

guys used to be the top of the food chain, but now are somewhere in the middle.

[John Horner]

Good point. Our family is trying an experiment this year. We are having a Not Made in China Christmas. When we tell friends what we are doing the most common response is "Good Luck!".

So far so good though. We are buying less stuff and what we are buying is both more interesting and generally better quality than the mass of Chinese stuff on the market. We also aren't tempted to spend much time at Wal-Mart or Target which also has the side benefit of improving our quality of life:).

Several Lee Valley items made it onto my personal wish list :). It is also a big time saver to just throw the Harbor Freight catalog directly into the paper recycling bin!

[Robatoy]

And seeing that we're in 'not-to-mention' mode< G>, alcohol has no lubricity to speak of. The upside of that, is that it won't break down lubricating oil the same way as petroleum based fuels can and will. That fuel-based lubricity, imho, is one of the reasons diesels last as long as they do. Even with higher compression levels and a much heavier load on connecting rod and crankshaft bearings.

I still think that the train of thought of recycling entire cars is what's really screwed up. Like badger.badger pointed out, he's kept his Landrover running. It is a typical example of what proper maintenance will get you if you start with a decent vehicle. It also helps if manufacturers designed vehicles with maintenance in mind other than the dealership jockeys who only learn to replace parts....entire parts. Anybody out there still knows how to fix a fuelpump or alternator?

The energy consumed by melting cars and starting over may look nice as we 'recycle' metal, but iron isn't what we're short of, what is needed to melt the shit that IS in short supply and all wrong.

Two cases very close to me prove every day that proper maintenance can make a car last a long time. My daughter has put close to 400K on her diesel Jetta, another is a friend of mine with 500K. There are million- mile taxis in Stuttgart. So they may burn a little extra fuel, but they aren't getting melted down and rebuilt as a matter of regular course. Recycling engine oil works!

Off to work.

[John Horner]

When General Motors divorced Isuzu recently, Toyota stepped in a bought a minority interest in Isuzu. Isuzu is the source of GM's Duramax truck diesel engines. Dodge gets it's from Cummins and Ford's is from Navistar. So you see, the US truck makers only look like they have an edge in diesel powered trucks. In reality the engines are bought from third parties and are available in any interested enough maker.

[John Horner]

Congress is empowered to pass laws regulating international trade.

From Section 8: "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations'..."

The President is the Chief Executive and thus is charged with carrying out the provisions of said laws.

John

[John Horner]

It is called an anti-drainback valve and most oil filter incorporate one. Without it your engine would take longer to build oil pressure at start up, which is a bad thing.

[dpb]

No argument here on that score...each has a price point/market segment they're trying to hit and some are better at implementing controls than others. Mattel comes to mind as the latter, maybe... :)

OTOH, there are overseas importers selling direct who are pretty much "get away w/ whatever can" including direct patent infringement, counterfeit logos/brand marks, etc., etc., etc., ... So in some cases it's not the importers who are actually the "'Murricuns". There's plenty of shady folks on all sides of all bodies of water or territorial boundaries.

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[Leon]

[dpb]

Again, not for the proposed fuel cycles from any reputable analysis I've seen...

Actually, not really. Alcohol works just fine as an engine fuel for engines designed for it. The only real significant problems w/ early passenger cars was in plastics and rubber compounds that weren't designed to be alcohol-resistant and they dissolved.

Gasoline fuel "drying" products are essentially alcohol in which water is soluble so it is picked up in small quantities at a time rather than coming into the fuel system in sufficient "blobs" as to cause icing and/or misses.

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[Leon]

Correct but US based or not, they are Japanese owned and controlled companies. Additionally building a successful marketable product also includes the engineering and design.

[John Horner]

From:

"25. Where is your saw made? The electronics are made here in the United States and the saw and accessories are made in Taiwan. "