As green as it can be
So, what do you call a 1979 Corvette with a 365 horsepower motor? Okay, fuel efficient isn’t a term that would be used, but there is a LOT that can be learned by keeping older vehicles running — the embodied energy in a car is substantial, and the more that can be done to keep them going, the better. With reason.
Every year, for the past four years, whenever my Corvette needed a state inspection, I had them perform an emissions test as well. Not that it’s required — cars over 25 years of age are exempt in Texas — but just because it needs to be as green as it can be.
And the news — once again, it passed the high speed emissions test. It failed the low speed idle test by more than it has in the past, and I think I know why.
What good is this, you ask? As with the “Energy Star” program that has gradually forced consumers to buy more energy efficient appliances, I feel that letting lawmakers know that lower-polluting older cars are are possibility — consumers just need to be nudged in the right direction.
