RE: I NEED A DEAD CAT! (4KQ senior project)

[Mike Williams <mike@urquattro.com>]

yes, i agree 100% steve, as stated before in my post.  I think hat the
original poster to our responses is suffering from a logical
fallicy...from what i remember, this particular one is what, slippery
slope?  i think that is the one...

Michael Williams

On Fri, 5 Nov 1999, Buchholz, Steven wrote:

> Puh-leeze!  I'm sure that the only difference between LA and Mexico City is
> the use of catalytic converters on automobiles.  I've never been to Mexico
> City, so I can't speak to the emission control technology that is required
> on cars in that city, but I dare say that there are probably more
> differences than simply cats vs. no cats.  How many times have there been
> reports of cars that have been able to meet their emissions test without
> having a cat.  I did not know that my QTC was sold to me with a hollow kitty
> until I took it in for its first smog check ... where it passed the test,
> but the service adviser took me aside and told me that they tested the
> emissions at the CO tap tube and found them to be the same as at the
> tailpipe.  Manufacturers install catalyic converters as a means to ensure
> that every car that they build will have no worse than the specified
> emissions over a long time period.  This model has to incorporate the
> possibility of a lack of maintenance by the owner.  You might actually find
> that a car sans a cat meticulously maintained by its owner might well have
> better than average emissions.  
> 
> If you look into the rationale behind a lot of the initiatives like RFG-II
> they are not meant to improve the emissions of newer cars, but those of
> older cars that do not have the modern controls.  I'll bet the average age
> of a car in Mexico City is more than a couple years higher than the same in
> the LA Basin.  
> 
> Yes, my cars have catalytic converters ... now even the QTC, but I am not
> convinced that catalytic converters are all good.  My biggest issue with the
> catalytic converter is that one of its byproducts when mixed with water is
> sulfuric acid.  While sulfuric acid may not cause the clearly visible
> photochemical smog it isn't one of the best things to be inhaling either.
> Have you ever wondered why manufacturers have gone to stainless steel
> exhaust systems in recent years?  While they may claim it is to help in
> areas where salt is used on roads, it is just as much to prevent them from
> being eaten inside out ...
> 
> Just because our omniscient government requires something does not mean that
> it is a perfectly good thing ... MTBE and airbags submitted as examples ...
> 
> Steve Buchholz
> San Jose, CA (USA)
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > 
> > Your sarcasm could use a visit to Mexico City where you'll 
>