Chabot Spectator

Issue date: 5/10/07 Section: In Focus

Media Credit: Photo Illustration by Paige Graham

V show on MTV which features old junk cars turned into works of art. In an episode which aired a few weeks ago, the intro started with a message from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He started off with the message that fossil fuels, including those in the oil fuel industry should help the environment.

The focus was a '65 Chevy, which was inherited by a person who's brother had recently passed away. The Chevy had always been a gas-guzzler and the owner knew that it gave off a lot of pollution. When the whole crew from Pimp My Ride went to work, they removed the body cast and its gas-guzzling engine and replaced it with an engine running off of bio-diesel fuel. That's right, bio-diesel.

Bio-diesel fuel comes out of canola seeds, the same seed that is used in making vegetable oil.After processing, the vegetable oil goes into a refinery plant where hydrogen and some extra additives turn the vegetable oil into bio-diesel fuel. Since bio-diesel adds twice the mileage and extra efficiency, the fuel is quickly becoming an alternative to crude oil in this country.

Two more reasons for the switch are, one, the fuel is friendly to the environment because it does not give off any pollutants, and two, because of the cost. It is 40 cents less than regular fuel to use bio-diesel.

The '65 Chevy was later remodeled and fitted with a cherry red body cast; the engine runs specifically on bio-diesel. The conventional pimping came when the back seats were equipped with four or five TV screens.

The governor made another appearance and said that the car works really well on bio-diesel. The stunt was stayed in hopes that the awareness of cleaner burning fuels would be heightened. What better way to do that than to use a popular series enjoyed by thousands of people around the country?

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