A Dedicated "Greaser"

If you like the smell of French Fries or other fried food, you might want to take a ride with Stacy Jurich in her 1981 Mercedes 240 (156,000 plus miles).

Stacy, a talented young woman from Toledo, who among other enterprises teaches tennis lessons at the Toledo Tennis Club, is driving the above mentioned Mercedes across the country using WVO (waste vegetable oil) for fuel. She left Toledo in February for the east coast (Carolinas) and took a southern route west. When she returns from the west coast she will follow a more northern route and expects to travel 8,000 miles or more before she returns. Her car, named "Vegipower, " has been converted to run on WVO in place of diesel fuel.

Exxon and BP do not, of course, sell vegetable oil and thus the question becomes: where does one obtain WVO, especially on a cross-country trip? Not a problem for Stacy. In whatever city she happens to be, she goes to a local Chinese restaurant, asks for their used vegetable oil, puts on her cover-alls, unpacks her 12 volt pump, hooks it to her battery, and pumps the used oil through a series of filters into her "gas" tank. And, no, she does not go to McDonalds, either to eat or to suck up their used oil. Apparently, the used vegetable oil from the traditional fast-food joints contains too much extraneous material.

In terms of miles-per-gallon, the WVO is somewhat better than diesel fuel--about 22 mpg. Not to mention, one has the added benefit of the aroma of fried food in the passenger compartment. It may be for this reason that in the world of WVO, the real afficianados refer to themselves as "greasers" and have a "greaser network" that informs the faithful about desirable sources of grease.

Those of us who are relics of the the Civil Rights movement often complain that this generation of young people is self-centered and not passionate about a cause that benefits the common good. Stacy's dedicated concern for the environment is much more than lip-service; she has taken three months of her life to demonstrate her convictions.

If you are interested in following Stacy's adventures or would like to learn more about her car, WVO, engine conversions etc., please go to her website: vegipwrseesamerica.com.