“GM Said This Wouldn't Work”
“Well, here it is,” says Johnathan Goodwin, a 37-year-old eccentric hailing from Wichita, Kansas.
More inventive than an average mechanic, yet more imaginative than an engineer, Goodwin is a godsend for environmentally conscious gear heads who demand 5 second blasts to 60 mph in two and a half ton behemoths, all the while getting 60 miles to the gallon.
And while this military-turbine powered hybrid Hummer H3 seems to be his most ambitious project to date, Goodwin has reached a level of notoriety in the automotive world usually reserved for race winners and custom hot rod sculptors.
By working in a shop since 13, Goodwin has developed an uncanny knack for mentally envisioning automotive systems, and has put his well honed edge to the grind stone time and time again, converting Hummers, Lincolns, and Jeeps-- just to name a few-- into 800 hp, eco-friendly, diesel powered hybrid hot rods.
As a matter of fact, he got a '65 Impala to beat a Lamborghini in a heads up drag on MTV's “Pimp My Ride” show... after doubling its fuel economy.
How you ask?
While looking to make the next step from biodiesel, Goodwin dug up some work by Uli Kruger whose specialty is making alternative fuel cocktails that mix the unmixable. Hydrogen and biodiesel, ethanol and biodiesel, natural gas and biodiesel... all of which cut the consumption of fuel close to half, reduce emissions considerably and help the engine hit that 800 hp mark.
Of course, with technology this good, there is a catch. Goodwin needs $28,000 and a vehicle to get you on the road to zero emission driving. And for $5,000 he has a take home kit that will convert any diesel to biodiesel in a weekends work.
But he's not trying to get the whole country into one of his rides single handedly. Currently he's patenting his system and hoping that a major American manufacturer will pick it up.
Unfortunately, the Big Three are hesitant to make such a move. Of course, these fears are legitimate... no one wants to buy a biodiesel car until the fuel is readily available and no one wants to make the fuel until the cars are on the road.
Obviously a natural problem solver, Goodwin has a solution to this predicament.
The first step would be for Detroit to aggressively push diesels – as a side note that would help them meet CAFE standards with very little fuss.
The second step to the hybrid biodiesel revolution would be teaming up the biodiesel powerplant with electric motors making plug in biodiesel hybrids commonplace.
And finally, once these vehicles are out in force, you switch these plug-in hybrids to dual fuel burning engines as laid out by Goodwin and Kruger.
The startling thing about this plan is that it would work perfectly, not just for the customer, but our whole planet.
The Department of Transportation said in 2004 that if a measly one-third of our nation's fleet converted to diesel our oil consumption would drop enough to essentially eliminate all of our imports from Saudi Arabia.
While thinking about this, Goodwin's jovial attitude changes slightly and he says with irritation, “I can go next door to Ace Hardware and buy a DC electric motor, go out to my four wheel drive truck, remove the transmission and engine, bolt the electric motor onto the back of the transfer case, put in a series of lead acid batteries up to 240 volts in the back of the bed, and we're good to go. I guarantee you I could drive all around town and do whatever I need, then go home at night, and hook up a couple of battery chargers, plug on into the outlet and be good to go the next day. Detroit could do all this stuff over night if they really wanted to.”
Thankfully, GM has taken notice of Goodwin's work and is promising an ethanol H2 by 2010. As sad as it seems, apparently GM does need help from a seventh grade drop out from Wichita, but, well, whatever gets the job done I suppose.
For more info on Goodwin's conversions, click here to get to his site...
Keep your hopes in the future but your sense in the present,
Field Palmer
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