Automotive Onnes Specialty

ZDNet reports that a biodiesel conversion specialist, Jonathan Goodwin, has retrofitted a Hummer to run on ethanol, hydrogen, biodiesel or natural gas. The car gets the equivalent to 40 miles per gallon. Goodwin's company is an alternative energy start-up, SAE Energy. The company is filling an unlikely niche in the clean tech market: making muscle cars green. He's already converted about 60 H2 Hummers from gas to diesel and about 100 H1 hummers, including a Hummer that can burn the whole menu of clean fuels.

A gas-to-diesel conversion boosts a Hummer's mileage from about 10 miles a gallon to between 22 and 24 miles a gallon. Additionally, the horsepower jumps from about 325 in the regular Hummer to 650, giving the car more power.

Goodwin, who's based in Wichita, Kan., doesn't advertise or push the services through Web sites much because it generates too many inquiries. "I really get pounded with a lot of requests when I do," he said. "But it doesn't look like I will be able to hide much longer."

Gas-to-diesel conversions are the automotive equivalent of a heart transplant. The gas-burning engine and original transmission are removed and replaced with a Duramax diesel engine, typically inserted in Chevy trucks, and an Allison transmission.

With a Hummer, little retrofitting is required. With the Impala, the center divider in the car had to be widened. In the end, though, the car still accommodated four or more passengers, unlike the two-seater Lamborghini.

The performance increase comes in part from the inherent properties of diesel engines. Overall, a diesel can deliver more torque–the rotational force applied to an object, in this case the car's crankshaft–than a gas engine. A 500 horsepower gas engine might put out 600 foot-pounds of torque. A similar diesel might put out 800 to 900 foot-pounds of torque.

Chevrolet Bel Air is one of the most wanted classic car in the world. The total number of the Chevrolet Bel Air is only 702,220 units in the world. In new conditions, it sold for $2,238-$2,757. But, never think that you will ever get it for that price now. Because, more old this car, more people will look for it.

The 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air epitomized the newly-facelifted Chevy line and led the way for the '57 Chevy to become one of American's most memorable cars. What's hard to believe is that so many shoppers shunned Chevrolets back then, turning instead to restyled Fords.

Chevy trailed Ford in model-year output by 170,000 cars, as Plymouth rose to number three. Not until years later was the '57 recognized by many as the sharpest Chevy of the decade — best looking of the 1955-57 "classic" era, if not the make's full life span — as well as an engineering marvel.

Sure, the basic design was getting a little dated, but masterful reworking cleverly concealed the car's origins, making it look almost brand-new. Riding new 14-inch rubber, Chevrolets stood 2.5 inches longer and 1.5 inches lower. Twin lance-shaped windsplits down the hood substituted for the customary ornament. Modest, if sharp, fins brought up the rear — a mere hint of things to come.

Bel Airs came in seven models, wearing anodized aluminum trim panels on their rear bodysides. In pastel shades, such as turquoise and white, a '57 convertible or Sport Coupe is enough to send shivers through many an enthusiast today, especially when it's loaded with factory extras.

Nomad again was the costliest Bel Air, with just 6,103 built — far below the 166,426 Sport Coupes and 47,562 ragtops. For every Nomad, more than four times as many Bel Air Townsman four-door wagons were purchased. The best-selling Bel Air was a practical pillared four-door sedan.

Under the hood, customers could get anything from the long-lived six or 265-cubic-inch V-8, to half a dozen interpretations of the enlarged 283-cubic-inch engine. Some Bel Airs even carried fuel-injected V-8s, on loan from Corvette and whipping up as much as 283 horsepower — one horse­power per cubic inch — in an ordinary passenger car from the low-priced three.

It seemed only fitting that Ed Cole, who'd been responsible for the original V-8 and its offshoots, now served as Chevrolet's general manager.

Speaking of Corvettes, Corvette Guys is a your one stop shop for Aftermarket Performance Parts and Accessories. You'll find everything from Corvette Brakes to Exhaust, Wheels, Tires, and even Corvette Seat Covers. Oh, and there is free shipping on every order.