Legacy Homes has revamped its vehicle fleet to benefit both the environment and the pocketbook. It's the kind of ecological and economical solution we look for," said Mark Isaacs, Legacy's CEO: "We have retired 4 gas guzzling trucks that were getting 10-15 mpg and replaced them with 6 VW diesel Jettas and one Beetle. The diesel engines will last 120,000-150,000 miles and get 44 mpg, so we have tripled our fleet efficiency with an investment in long-lasting vehicles."
But the Legacy Green team has gone further: "We also converted the cars to run off recycled vegetable oil, which costs 1/3 - 1/2 of the cost of diesel. The cars turn a waste product, used vegetable oil from restaurants, into a cost-effective resource. This eliminates a waste disposal and landfill problem, further benefiting the environment. And in lessening the use of diesel, we are lowering the CO2 emissions that come from refining and transporting the stuff. The vegetable oil burns as clean or cleaner than diesel. The car's exhaust may give a hint of french fries or egg rolls, which tells us where the oil came from."
The conversions were done by the Good Oil Boys, Phil Inman and Marty Hanka (see GoodOilOnline.com for more information). "We bought the kit and they installed it. The vegetable oil tank fits in the well where the spare tire would normally go and we have the cars carrying cans of Fix-A-Flat instead of the spare tire," says Isaacs. The cars start using diesel and then switch to the vegetable oil once they warm up. The Good Oil Boys keep the Legacy fleet supplied with the recycled vegetable oil through a convenient supply contract.
"I was worried that putting our burly construction managers into sedans instead of trucks would bruise their fragile male egos, but they have enjoyed the fuel economy, taking less trips to the pump, and they get a kick out of our using waste vegetable oil as a resource. We still keep a few gas-powered trucks in the fleet for hauling, but now we are looking to replace them with diesel trucks that we can convert. We also converted a large diesel flatbed truck."
"The cost savings in fuel alone pays for one of these cars each year," says Isaacs: "We're sold on the system. Rudolph Diesel originally invented his engine to run off peanut oil; the heavy petroleum-based fuel was a diversion from his original intentions. We're happy to be returning to the vegetable oil approach as Diesel originally intended, even if recycling vegetable oil from all the restaurants in the U.S. would only account for 1% of our nation's transportation fuel needs. Diesels are ubiquitous in Europe, where fleet efficiencies top 40 mpg and fuel costs $4-6 per gallon. The U.S. can't afford our current 25 mpg fuel standards; Legacy Homes couldn't afford its 10-15 mpg trucks either, but we've solved that problem with the vegetable oil diesels."
What's next? "The next wave will be electric cars, with electricity generated from solar photovoltaics," says Isaacs: "Give us a few years, but it'll happen."
