I see this fantastic old BMW 2002 driving around some days. Really mint shape. One day he passed me on my bike commute. Modern SUVs smell like roses in comparison to early 70's emissions technology. I can't imagine what it would have been like in the days when roads were full of nothing but.

We have a 2008 Honda Fit as the wife's commuter and the primary car for trips to the store and weekend trips. It gets driven about 12,000 miles per year.

"My" car is a 2000 f250. It gets some use as a backup car but mostly it is used to tow horse trailers and do other farm things. I get an oil change and general checkup at the end of winter and summer.

One other note on my car I realized last night when I was doing some bike maintenance (chain lube, etc.)...

I used to wash my car every two or three months. Would have washed it more but the car itself is a 1994 and not looking so hot washed or not, and washing can be difficult given I live in an apartment and my car is usually parked on street (though I can sometimes get it into the parking lot and use the building's hose.

Anyway, since I started cycle commuting last year and riding my bike 5-7 days a week, I regularly (once a month or so) give it a good wipedown with a damp rag to clean up grease and dirt, etc. Last night, this included the spokes on the wheels, the hubs, and other hard to reach areas in addition to all the easy to reach things.

Long story short, in that same year that monthly bike cleaning has become a regular thing, my car has not been washed, waxed or vacuumed even once... Guess I know which mode of transport I care more about!!! ;)

Junk wasn't tuned correctly. All modern cars do is control the fuel mixture. Thats what you smell is when it runs too rich. A CAT will remove some of that but eventually it will get clogged if left to run rich. My 79 K5 blazer with a modestly built 350 and a stout TH350 transmission that would bark 1st and second if you put your foot in it could pass a sniff test on the emissions with NO CATs and did two years running. The second year the guy actually did the visual and saw the cats were missing. ;) If it is running right it is running clean and getting the best possible economy.

Understand that a LOT of the emissions controls on automobiles are actually thanks to disinformation and political jockeying mostly by power companies trying to divert attentions off themselves. In Atlanta the biggest single source of polution in the 90's after Atlantic Steel shut down was GA Power. They were responsible for nearly 40% of the smog problem. Yet the villain was always advertised as the automobile. The Power plant inside the city of Atlanta has now been converted to Natural Gas. Atlanta's smog problem is almost non existent now as long as the prevailing winds don't blow the emissions from the coal power plant in Rockmart GA (about 35 miles NW of Atlanta) in.

Don't get me wrong..I want clean air but understand the Auto was not nearly the nuisance it is billed as since the early 80's and yes that is because the EPA forced cars to be tested. That stopped people from driving poorly maintained cars. That was the big plus.

Fuel Injection with LAMBA becoming pretty well standard in the 90's has resolved most of the pollution problem more so then the emissions controls like CATS do. It keeps the fuel mixture at a perfect 14.7:1. You would have to have a pretty damn sensitive nose to tell if a car was missing a CAT these days..

I mostly agree with you, but as atmospheric conditions change, the traditional carb remains constant. Judging by the care most people give their cars, 90% of cars on the road would be out of tune, most of the time, if they didn't tune themselves. You're probably right that "my" 2002 was a bit out. I've pointed out similar things to my son, like when we can smell raw gasoline fumes out of another vehicle.

Part of it is what you consider to be emissions. My '76 pickup 350-quadrajet kept failing emissions on Nox. I had to rejet the carb fatter and dump more fuel in - to cool the charge and lower Nox, but CO went up due to the extra fuel but still within range. I finally ended up later cutting a cheap cat into the exhaust rather than jet it even richer. Now it's old enough it doesn't get tested.

High NOX is a result of lean condition. At cruise the the vehicle does lean out and it is intentional. The EGR is what helps lower NOX it does this by reducing the amount of Oxygen available. That actually makes the fuel mixture come back closer to 14.7:1. Thats 14.7 parts O2 to 1 part fuel. So diluting the intake charge with exhaust gas has the same effect at that tail pipe as jetting up the carb. Just don't need the extra fuel to do it.

Your problems was probably clogged up EGR passages. ;)

I had a 76 Jimmy...one of the best things I ever did to it was put a air cleaner with the grill intake snorkel from the 80's. Fixed a ping problem and improved the MPG by not sucking all that super hot under hood air.

About 500 miles since February here, so looking about 200/month. Oddly, that's about what my commute is (that I almost always ride).

That's actually pretty brilliant. I wonder if I can rent it out on Craigslist or something, in case I have no friends. :)

I also forgot to mention in my earlier posts--get a car cover (if you park it outside)! It's a hassle (in my opinion) for a cover if you drive it daily, but in my experience the paint/body is the first thing to go if you're not driving it much--so cover it up and keep it looking nice.

No EGR engine. I'm assuming due to 8600 GVW rating. It was also a non cat regular fuel unit.

My 88 Burb was 8600GVR. Loved not having to deal with the smog tests. Really hated to sell it but was tired of feeding the 454.

Surprised 76 didn't have a EGR. Was it a Heavy half or a Big 10?

My 70 Suburban with a stock 68 327 from a Impala swapped in with double hump heads had a EGR.
Cats on 1/2 ton and up trucks didn't become standard till 78 except in Cali. Thats why the guy forgot to do the visual on the cats on my 79 K5. He saw the old style grill thought it didn't need it.


EGR is so misunderstood. People think it robs power and by pass it. Fact is is only works at steady cruise. You floor it it closes so if doesn't rob anything. It saves fuel. Other then it plugging up on occasion it is the best emissions device after the PCV.