1972 Mercedes 220D, Bergen Street and Smith Street

Now, at the risk of this blog becoming a bit Benz-heavy, I've added this photograph because it's one of the few biodiesel cars I've seen in New York. This is what we all should do. The engines in these things are as reliable as the planets, they're not that expensive to buy, and they've all long since worked off their carbon footprint. Buying a Prius seems to be a false economy to me. Why do we insist on something being new to save the environment? Buying a secondhand car that gets great, sustainable fuel economy is, in the long run, a better idea than buying a costly and environmentally questionable stopgap technology. Plus, what a marvelous city we would have if everyone drove a vintage Mercedes! Have one of these until hydrogen power is made more available. That's a technology that convinces me that a whole new line of production is merited. Then when you have your hydrogen BMW, the old Merc will be a fantastic weekend cruiser.