Texas Jim Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 In praise of Cadillacs in general and mine in particular. In a similar vein to Warren's thread. Took a little 300 mile road trip today on business. Drove the DTS instead of my work van. Lately I have only driven the Cadillac a few miles a week. Go out to eat a couple of times a week. Thats about it. Been working a lot of hours. Left Ft. Worth at 7am heading south on Interstate 35. At that time, all the traffic was coming IN to town, so I had very little traffic to mess with. Stopped at McD's at the edge of town and got a large coffee and some sausage bisquits. Recently had all the tires balanced and some of the highway has recently been repaved and is pretty smooth. Cruising along at a pretty good clip...with the eight speaker, 450 watt, Bose Surround Sound playing... sipping coffee... isolated from outside noise and commotion... (except for the Radar Detector) .. it makes you want to just keep driving forever. Forget work... just DRIVE. It is so much fun to drive a good running Cadillac. It was so smooth and quite... (except for the XM playing) it made me realize all over again, why I love Cadillacs so much. Where this one really comes into it's own... is touring down the open road. Great feedback from the steering wheel lets you know EXACTLY what the front tires are doing. The wide (245X50) 18 inch tires hold the road really well and give you a fantastic sense of control of the car. Just barely nudge the gas and it goes from 75/80 to 100+ so easy it is hard to believe that you are going that fast with so little effort. The Cadillac makes high speed touring so effortless, that you can forget to watch the speedometer and be going WAY FASTER than you thought you were going. I know. Several months ago, on this same road they got me. Cost me $375.00... darn it. On the way back I filled up with gas that DID NOT have Ethanol in it. All the fuel here in the Dallas Ft. Worth area has 10% Ethanol in it. It sure makes a difference in the way it runs and in the improved mileage. I know...I know... I am not trying to start a gas war/mileage war. Just stating what MY car does. I have rambled enough. But I still love my Cadillac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Thanks for posting. I agree Cadillacs make terrific touring cars. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Glad to hear your impressions, I can only imagine how incredible it is, recently I have been thinking the same thing about my old Cadillac about how incredible it is and wanted to start a thread like this. You are correct, in the highway, the car is incredible, regardless of the weather. Glad to hear you are happy, now about that ethanol.. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted February 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Glad to hear you are happy, now about that ethanol.. I HATE IT. Don't get me started on THAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 What is the reason for using ethanol anyway? fuel savings? Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jking220 Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 What is the reason for using ethanol anyway? fuel savings? Most places here in Ohio add 10% ethanol in the winter... I know it is cheaper for them than just gas... It also absorbs water/moisture better than gas (due to alcohol content), so they say it helps prevent fuel line freeze. Had to do a feasibility report on it last semester... 30 pages of bashing ethanol. that was a long couple of days Jonah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 What is the reason for using ethanol anyway? fuel savings? Most places here in Ohio add 10% ethanol in the winter... I know it is cheaper for them than just gas... It also absorbs water/moisture better than gas (due to alcohol content), so they say it helps prevent fuel line freeze. Had to do a feasibility report on it last semester... 30 pages of bashing ethanol. that was a long couple of days Thanks Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel812 Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Maryland also adds 10% ethanol. I am not a fan - it lowers your fuel mileage. Also, It will never (In my opinion) catch on to be more than the 10% it is now. Ethanol is very hard to transport through gas pipelines since it absorbs water. Ethanol is made from corn and we do not have enough farmland to produce more ethanol. I know we werent supposed to start a ethanol thread - sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted February 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Maryland also adds 10% ethanol. I am not a fan - it lowers your fuel mileage. Also, It will never (In my opinion) catch on to be more than the 10% it is now. Ethanol is very hard to transport through gas pipelines since it absorbs water. Ethanol is made from corn and we do not have enough farmland to produce more ethanol. I know we werent supposed to start a ethanol thread - sorry Daniel812, I agree with you wholeheartedly. My car runs so much better on gas WITHOUT ethanol. And you are also correct in that it reduces your mileage. It does in my car anyway. Here in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area... ALL gas has 10% ethanol in it. The nearest place to get REAL GAS is Waco... almost 100 south of here. AND it is 93 octane vs the (mostly) 91 here locally. It doesn't make sense to me, that we are saving gas by burning 10% ethanol. I can't see any savings to it at all. Personally I think it is a big scam. Most of what I have read about it... it takes about as much energy to make it as what it produces. There is no benefit to THAT. If I get 10% LESS fuel mileage... I am still burning the same amount of GAS, PLUS I am also burning the ethanol and getting NO benefits from it at all. Except for higher grocery prices from anything made with corn... including the beef I like so much, which EATS corn. Have you priced any GOOD steak lately? It is almost enough to make you cry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Most places here in Ohio add 10% ethanol in the winter... I know it is cheaper for them than just gas... It also absorbs water/moisture better than gas (due to alcohol content), so they say it helps prevent fuel line freeze. Some of this is correct, some...not exactly. First of all, here in Ohio, 10% ethanol will be added year round, it's not seasonal. This idea seems to stem from a little confusion about summer/winter gasoline. Summer gas is lower RVP (reid vapor pressure) and it means that it has butanes removed...so it doesn't evaporate as readily. Winter gas has the butane left in, so it has a higher RVP, and promotes better cold weather starting. The colder ambient temperatures limit the evaporation rate, so the EPA says its ok for our cars to start in the winter. REGARDLESS of the vapor pressure, both mixtures will contain ethanol. AND surprise of surprises, it ain't just Ohio, it's coming to a station near you, very soon. It is only cheaper because there are government subsidies amounting to about $.50 / gal. of ethanol used. If it wern't for those subsidies (your tax dollars at work) ethanol would not be a viable gasoline additive. It will COMINGLE with any water present in your (or station) tanks. In most dry systems this is a good thing. If the water content becomes too high, you get phase seperation...ruining a whole tank of fuel (this usually occurs at a gas station) and causing cars to NOT run. If the system is dry, it will prevent fuel line freeze, but gasoline will not freeze anyway, so just keep the water out and all will be fine.....even without ethanol. It's our current president's effort to reduce the countries dependency on foreign imports of oil. No matter what can be said negatively about ethanol, it's not oil and it can be produced here in the USA. A new plant recently opened in Coshocton, OH with several more to follow. Ethanol might be here to stay this time, unlike the 70's when there was more common sense and less speculation driving the price of a barrel of oil. Finally, it is an oxygenate, which helps gasoline burn more completely without the smell and pollution of MTBE...a chemical recently removed from gasoline after finding that it migrated into ground water aquifers....and stunk to high heaven! So it reduces tailpipe emissions...a good thing in anybody's book,...... I think. Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 OH, By the way, raw material (grain prices, such as the cost of a bushel of corn) amount to about 4% of the cost of food items. The most significant cause of the increase in food prices can best be attributed to the cost of fuel and transportation. (speculation again) Cattle will still be able to eat the corn after it has gone through the process of producing ethanol. It will be in the form of DDG, Dried Distillers Grain....a useful comodity for LIVESTOCK feed (in case you like pork too) and an easily exported commodity. Just ask Anhauser Busch if you don't believe me. My problem with this is what happens with the genetically modified grains that will produce a higher yeild per acre, and more profits (yeah, right) for the farmer. Will THAT effect the quality of my beef? Only the results of the latest long term government study will tell....which hasn't begun yet. Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Ethanol is very hard to transport through gas pipelines since it absorbs water Actually, it is impossible to transport through pipelines. It is transported by truck (mostly) or train, (the plan for the east coast) and occasionally by tank barge if the plant is near the river. Truck is most common, but uses a lot of fuel to do it. Probably one of the factors not counted when trying to determine the economic feasibility of ethanol. Besides, there's precious little pipeline time left due to the introduction of yet another commodity....Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel. Thanks again EPA! Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Sorry Texas Jim, I didn't mean to highjack this thread, I just needed to vent....and add a little to the ethanol misconceptions. I love my Caddy too, and can only hope that I can find a 2006 DTS (real one, F55), when the time comes! Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Many ramifications to the production-transportation-use of corn crop based ethanol. Have you noticed the inflation in grain-based products (bread and cereals for example) over the past several years? Is it possible such price inflation "might" be related to diverting agricultural production from grain to more in-demand and profitable corn? The true "incremental cost" of ethanol fuel is at least difficult if not impossible to calculate. [soap box mode = OFF] Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 What is the reason for using ethanol anyway? fuel savings? VOTES! There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 What is the reason for using ethanol anyway? fuel savings? VOTES! From the Farm Belt Folk. Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Ethanol fuel additives have a net negative economic impact. Further, ethanol fuel additives have an adverse CO2 impact. They only advantage politician's reelection efforts. Nothing more. Your tax dollars are being wasted. Again. Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 OH, By the way, raw material (grain prices, such as the cost of a bushel of corn) amount to about 4% of the cost of food items. The most significant cause of the increase in food prices can best be attributed to the cost of fuel and transportation. (speculation again) BINGO! 'Nuff said. There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Sorry Tex, I went way adrift of the spirit of your post. YES DAMMIT! Cadillacs are darned (not to be smurphed) fine touring cars. Enjoy yours as I do mine. (and the other one also). Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted February 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 A great big Texas GOOD MORNING to all of y'all, Not a problem with talking about ethanol. It is part of the fuel we have to burn in order to enjoy our Cadillacs and therefore a necessary evil. Evil in my opinion anyway. I think we will be putting up with this for years. It has gone too far now... the goverment is like a losing gambler at Vegas. He has lost so much money... he keeps betting more and more trying to get his money back... till he is completely BROKE. The bad thing about that is... the feds are using OUR money to bet with. The Federal Goverment has NO MONEY except what they forcibly TAKE from ME and YOU. If you haven't noticed, I don't like ethanol. It is just the latest bandwagon the politicions have jumped on to make it seem like they are DOING SOMETHING. They don't care how much it costs or how much money is wasted. It isn't THEIR money.. it is OUR MONEY ... and I guarantee... they don't care what WE think. One of the sad things about the whole thing... if my experience is typical... it isn't saving ANYTHING. My car gets better mileage on fuel without ethanol, so I gain nothing from using it. Oh.. I forgot... in addition to getting less mileage, it does not run as well. So to sum up my experience over the last few years with ethanol... Less mileage... Poor performance... Higher prices for fuel... Higher prices for food... Billions of tax dollars WASTED... Possible negative effect on climate with millions of acres of farmland converted to corn instead of grassy crops... the list goes on and on. Oh well.. I will get off my soapbox also. I STILL love my Cadillac and it is one of (if not THE) best road cars ever made and I will drive Cadillacs as long as I can afford them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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