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| SO DANG POPULAR YOU CAN'T SEE THE LOGOS... |
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| ...JOE WITH THE 'TOOMERHEADS' AT ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL CAMPUSES, AUBURN UNIVERSITY |
"What is lime green and smelly and greasy
all over? A 1984 lime green Mercedes powered by vegetable oil." - The Hawkeye
"You can't miss your lime green car!" - George, Greenville, Tennessee, after seeing the lime green
renewable energy machine during The 2006 Tour to baseball parks across North America (U.S. and Canada)
“If you’re driving around town today and catch a whiff of what smells like your favorite fast-food
joint, but don’t see any drive-thrus in sight, don’t panic. You’re not losing your mind. But you’re
probably driving behind Joe Connor.” – Auburn-Opelika
News, Alabama
"A SPECIAL THANK YOU to The Sponsors of the 2007 Green Power Sports Tour and to all the folks that helped make the trip so memorable, from biodiesel
owners and vegetable oil suppliers to tailgaters and sports fans!" - Joe Connor
Joe Connor's lime green renewable energy machine is a 1984 Mercedes 300D that operates on a two-tank
fuel system. He uses primarily biodiesel (but occasionally diesel) at start up. Biodiesel is a cleaner form of diesel that
is about the same cost in many parts of the U.S. as diesel, and can be used as fuel in any diesel engine car.
Once the car is started, radiator fluid transfers heat from the engine to the heat exchangers in the fuel system. These
exchangers heat the vegetable oil in the fuel filter, lines and fuel tank (The 13-gallon second tank is located in Joe's trunk
in the spare tire well). The heat reduces the viscosity of vegetable oil so that it is similar to biodiesel or diesel, and
can be injected into the engine properly. Joe simply presses a switch to run on vegetable oil once the car’s temperature
is between 80-100 degrees.
When the engine is shut down for several hours, Joe switches back to biodiesel or diesel so remaining “cold”
vegetable oil doesn’t clog up the injectors the next time the engine is started.
Joe gets used vegetable oil for his fuel from local restaurants. He has an elaborate filtration system in his
trunk that enables him to take waste vegetable oil and turn it into fuel. Learn specifics about both fuels and Joe's
mobile filtration system by checking out The Green Fuels page. Joe tailgates the car in a high-foot traffic area before games, and shows fans how the filtration system works.
| JOE IN THE EARLY DECEMBER SNOW - YES, DC! |
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| OUTSIDE THE HOOPS ARENA AT GEORGE MASON, THE GREEN MACHINE TAKES A SNOWFULL |
LIME GREEN RENEWABLE ENERGY MACHINE FAST FACTS:
Make: Mercedes Benz
Model:
300D
Year: 1984 (the year Joe was 12 and had barely show signs of puberty yet batted .490 for Oakwood
Restaurant and was a little league All-Star! It was his Joe Charboneau year!)
Ownership history: Joe
is the third owner of the car. All the owners of the car have been based in climate-favorable Southern California
Purchased
by Joe from a private party in: late 2005 for $2,000 (USD)
Number of miles upon purchase: 212,928
Original color: Navy blue
Color changed to lime green: February 2006
Converted to run on used vegetable oil: February 2006
No. of miles at conversion: 213,566
Claims to fame: Logged more than 100,000 miles since February 2006 thanks to a pair of sports
tour across North America (U.S. and Canada, The 2006 Tour to baseball parks and the The 2007 Tour to the premiere college and pro football, basketball and hockey venues.
Joe's car ownership history (in order): 1982 French LeCar (piece of junk broke down); 1986 Chevy Cavalier
(drove great but no interior lights!); 1995 Ford Aspire (got a bad rap, but drove fine); 1999 Chevy Cavalier (no problems);
1984 Mercedes Benz (bonita!)
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