Is industrial hemp legal nationally, or on a state by state basis? As long as you gear it right, you could see at least 80mpg@60mph in that vehicle, just make sure your biodiesel doesn't oxidize and whatnot, since you'll only be filling up twice a year! :D

If you grow industrial hemp in the U.S., you will be arrested. You can thank William Randolph Hearst of the timber industry and his yellow journalism campaign, DuPont who had a nylon patent to protect, the cotton and textile industries who didn't want a fabric that could make clothing that lasted decades and was much softer than cotton to take hold, the oil companies, and a slew of other businesses for it being nigh impossible to legally cultivate hemp in the U.S. You can also thank them for starting the war on drugs. All to protect their bottom line, of course, at the expense of our civil liberties, the expense of our environment, and today at the expense of our chances of getting off of foreign oil.

Hemp yields roughly 300 gallons per hectare per harvest, can be grown in virtualy any climate, needs no pesticides, needs very little fertilizer relative to most other crops, can be used to make clothing, plastics, car bodies, biodiesel, medicines, and many other things that high profit margin oil is used for.

If I ever build such a vehicle as that buggy and put in the 4.2L, 324 HP V8 turbodiesel found in the Audi A8, I expect roughly 50 mpg and 0-60 mph < 4 seconds. This is with high rolling resistance studded tires for traction and offroad capability(Cr ~.015-.020). Imagine being able to drive coast to coast on one tank, go offroad, and have enough acceleration to get away from anything that might share the road. Then to have the low maintenance of a diesel to boot. Might become very handy in a post peak oil America.

Too bad it's of a variety that is almost useless for the applications I described above. The low THC variety that the governments in various states are pushing also has very low seed oil yields and its fiber tends not to be near as strong.

What is really annoying is that virtually all hemp by its nature is of low THC content, so low that you couldn't get stoned from normal industrial hemp(let alone the specially bred kind). But this still doesn't satisfy the various state governments or the Feds.

You might want to look for a mechanical IDI if concerned about maintaining that beast after TEOTWAWKI. Course, I don't think we'll see any significant destabilization from a peak in oil production. There's plenty on the shelf that can be rolled out in short order. If we can build an A-bomb in a few years, we can roll out fuel efficient cars pretty quick. We're just being led along so a certain group can make as much cash as they can. Shame about hemp in our enlightened western world... :rolleyes:

I've thought about that, but do you know of any with decent horsepower(say, 200+ HP) that weigh under 800 lbs? I couldn't find one, but do very well love the idea. Low maintenance is crucial, but parameters such as performance and weight still take precidence. It has to be able to perform and have a suitable weight distribution(~35-40%/60-65% FR with mid or rear engine)

I think so too, but the greater the crisis is, the higher the price of oil, the more money is made for the industry. A post peak oil dieoff is a very real possibility, even if it is entirely preventable with today's technology. Our current power elite will no doubt use such a crisis as a way to expand their control. They just don't care how this will effect the majority, as addressing this issue properly will hurt the bottom line of many industries and turn our tax structure around. Our government and corporations just won't have that...

And fuel efficient cars will only take hold if people have the money to buy them. If they're spending all their disposable income on fuel and on price increases from other products due to increased energy costs, they'll have no money left to put towards reducing their dependence on oil. Once the crisis is well underway to the point where all disposable income has been sapped, there isn't much one can do to get out of it. If we stick with oil, most people be trapped with using it. If gas gets $10/gallon, Joe Average now doesn't have the money to put into an EV conversion, even though he may be desperately considering it by that time. Hell, I was in this situation last year at $3/gallon gas. Needed to get to school somehow, and by car is the only practical means with a lack of decent mass transit(nevermind the cost of mass transit where I live and the time/travel distance needed to use it). There went a good chunk of EV money.

Um.... I'm pretty sure a VW I6 IDI can make ~150hp@5k rpm, maybe more, and weighs ~500lbs. Maybe one of the I5 TDIs with the mechanical pump from the VW I5 IDI (found in industrial equipment and Volvos iirc)? The TDI with a mechanical pump off of a VW 1.9L IDI a nice swap since the engine stays 100&#37; mechanical, but ~130-150hp is possible. I'm guessing a tweaked mechanical I5 TDI could make ~200hp/350ftlbs and weigh ~450lbs wet, but it'd run you ~$5-6k to put together right now, probably less later.

Joe Average can't really afford a V8(unless it's used). The problem seems to me to be more endemic to your upper middle class and wealthier. Joe Average can't really give a hoot about peak oil if he is unaware of it. While that responsibility does ultimately rest on Joe Average, much of the blame goes to our corporate media for not even giving lip service to the problem or explaining how it's caused and giving an honest overview of possible solutions.

5k RPM for a diesel? That sounds a bit high! 150 hp would be enough if I kept the curb weight down to about 1,500 pounds. That would theoretically yield 0-60 mph ~5 seconds, not spectacular, but good enough. 200 HP and such a weight would be much better. Maybe a duel engine setup with a 2,000-2,500 pound curb weight is doable. Price to build is not a concern if the build cost is kept under $20k. I'll have an electrical engineering degree in a few months, probably a job, and I'm single. I'll have more than enough money to play with.

Maybe if the electric GT6 works out good, try out that Battletruck idea as well. :p

If I were to get a motorcycle, I'd like a 70s era Kawasaki KZ1000, like Toecutter had in Mad Max. Maybe add a slightly modified mini-bullet fairing to complete the look of Toecutter's bike, but with some regard to aero efficiency as well. It would definately be converted to diesel. I don't like the idea of using petroleum at all.

Personally, I'm more a fan of cars.

IDIs make peak torque at really high speed for a diesel. The TDIs make it lower, and each one has it's pros/cons... Just make sure you don't go over 7k rpm, I've read the valves can float. ;) Good luck in the job market, my buddy is EE (I used to be until I was bored to death) and all he could find was a job fixing buses for $18 an hour iirc, but technical jobs are pretty region dependent and he didn't want to move so I suppose you can do way better if you have something local or don't mind moving. I'm waiting for a really nice gig, but if that doesn't pan out I'll probably end up teaching. Not something I want to do, but it'll get me enough for the many projects I have in my head! :D

I don't see why with a 1,500 pound car you would need anything more then 70hp, and for that the early 1980's vw diesel engine with a turbo would work fine, a new TDI in it and you would have loads of power.

the Biodiesel workshop that I was at was for Organic Farmers, and the presenter was pointing out that if you have the land to grow 10 acers of oil crop that you can grow more of your own fuel then if you used that ten acers to grow soy (less oil then sunflowers) and sell that soy to buy petrol diesel, and you then have controle over your fuel suply and can ignor the fuel prices everyone else pays, he was saying that after property taxes, and paying his time, and equipent deprciation (already owning equipent for other farming practices) and seed, and all the stuff to prosess it from raw oil, in to the thiner biodiesel, it came out to about $1.55 a gallon.
The reason for sunflowers as the crop was that they grow well in northern wisconsin, and he did point out that with research, and an investment in better seed that he could get higher yeld sunflower seed.