Posted on 06/17/2005 9:07:43 PM PDT by neverdem
Last October, New York City officials held a special auction of 27 heavily discounted taxi medallions that could be used only with cabs powered by natural gas or by a combination of gasoline and electricity.
Eighteen of the licenses were sold, at an average price of $222,743, one-third less than the cost of a regular medallion. The Taxi and Limousine Commission praised the program as a first step toward the reduction of harmful emissions.
One problem: The commission never got around to approving any alternative-fuel vehicles for use as taxicabs.
It is now trying to back away from the sale, asserting that there are no gasoline-electric hybrids on the market with enough interior space and legroom for passengers.
After months of talks with the city, the three winning bidders have filed a lawsuit, asking a judge to order the completion of the sale or award damages for breach of contract. The city's Law Department contends that the bidders never had a valid contract.
The three bidders, Russian immigrants, have hired a Washington-based law firm and a former State Assembly speaker, Mel Miller, to plead their case. Environmentalists have accused the commission of backpedaling on its promises. Now local lawmakers are threatening to step in.
At a hearing yesterday, a City Council committee discussed a bill, introduced by Councilman David Yassky, a Brooklyn Democrat, that would force the commission to approve a clean-fuel vehicle within 30 days. The taxi commission's chairman, Matthew W. Daus, told the committee that "the 30-day time frame is neither practical nor legal."
About 93 percent of the taxi fleet consists of Ford Crown Victorias, which use a traditional engine. Ford had been a leader in developing vehicles that run on compressed natural gas, but in January 2004 the company announced it would withdraw from the market.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sounds like a Rube Goldberg way to get the same result at considerable more cost in the propane/cold beer ratio. I am a strong believer in the KISS priviple of engineering; Keep It Simple Stupid!
Whether he burned it or just blew it off, releasing propane from a tank will chill the tank. Becomes obvious when you run into a tank with a leaking valve that isn't discovered until the tank is filled and it won't completely shut off. Best remedy on small tanks not worth pumping down is take out back and open her up, vapor out. As the pressure in the vessel reduces, the liquid remaining rapidly chills. Usually takes a third to half of the content before the remaing liquid is chilled to 44 below, the boiling point. Then we can remove and repair or replace the valve without fighting 200 PSI pressure. Repair and top it off, the frost line immediately vanishes. Why use up half a tank to get a less efficient cooling than my using about a gallon of liquid straight on the cans?
Because it was funny.
Years back, I knew a Citroen enthusiast who made a giant condenser coil on the flat bottom skin under his Citroen DS 21.
You could hang meat in the back seat, once up to speed.
All powered by a little bitty compressor.
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