[Vwdiesel] speaks for itself redux

[Shalyn Shourds]

Sorry, I hate computers, but to join the Amish, I'd have to give up the 
Diesels too. 

Let's try this the simpler and more direct way:

Jan. 19, 2005, 8:41AM
Willie Nelson marketing 'BioWillie' fuel to truck stops
Associated Press

DALLAS  -- "On the Road Again" means something new for Willie Nelson 
these days -- a chance for truckers to fill their tanks with 
clean-burning biodiesel fuel.
ADVERTISEMENT

Nelson and three business partners recently formed a company called 
Willie Nelson's Biodiesel that is marketing the fuel to truck stops. The 
product -- called BioWillie -- is made from vegetable oils, mainly 
soybeans, and can be burned without modification to diesel engines.

It may be difficult to picture the 71-year-old hair-braided Texas rebel 
as an energy company executive, but the singer's new gig is in many ways 
about social responsibility -- and that is classic Nelson.

"There is really no need going around starting wars over oil. We have it 
here at home. We have the necessary product, the farmers can grow it," 
said Nelson, who organized Farm Aid two decades ago to draw attention to 
the plight of American agriculture.

Nelson told The Associated Press in an interview last week that he began 
learning about the product a few years ago after his wife purchased a 
biodiesel-burning car in Hawaii, where the star has a home.

"I got on the computer and punched in biodiesel and found out this could 
be the future," said Nelson, who now uses the fuel for his cars and tour 
buses.

Peter Bell, a Texas biodiesel supplier, struck up a friendship with 
Nelson after filling up one of the tour buses, and the business 
partnership came together just before Christmas.

Bell said Nelson's name will help the largely unknown fuel -- typically 
purchased by government agencies to promote environmental awareness -- 
gain wider national acceptance. The fuel's average U.S. price per gallon 
is $1.79.

"What Willie brings to this is the ability to communicate directly with 
a truck driver. That kind of community is hard for people to get to," 
Bell said. "When he starts talking, these folks really listen to him. 
... It's like having Tiger Woods talk about golf clubs."

Still, a driver can cover many miles without spotting a biodiesel pump. 
A map on the National Biodiesel Board's Web site shows a heavy 
concentration of distributors in the Midwest, but very few in other 
parts of the country.

Nelson's group is currently negotiating with Oklahoma City-based Love's 
Travel Stops & Country Stores to carry the fuel at its 169 locations 
nationwide.

Dan Gilligan, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of 
America, expects commercial expansion for biodiesel, but says that 
supplies are still limited and that making the fuel available in 
northern states is a challenge.

"For terminals to store biodiesel, they have to store it in heated tanks 
to avoid gelling problems. That's a challenge for the industry to 
overcome," he said.


LBaird119 at aol.com wrote:

> here it is: 
> http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Cleanburning-fuel-is-BioWillies-latest-gig/2005/01/16/1105810773911.html?oneclick=true
>
>
>   It wants me to register, give the name of my great grandchildren
> (anticipated) and next of kin.  The post for the Canadian tire gauge
> wanted a postal code, Canadian I presume.  What is the "it" that is
> here?  ;-)
>      Loren