Being green in our motoring
A previous blog “Identifying and acknowledging excellence” posted on the 22/12/11 concluded “I know where I will I will be taking my car for it’s next MOT, exhaust tyres etc because Darren and Andy know something about delivering an excellent level of service”
So at the end of July I took my 1982 Ford Granada 2.8 Ghia X for it’s MOT at the Kwik Fit Centre.
She has now passed 200,000 miles on the clock and this year was thirty years old. Of course MOT time is always a tense time and this year was no exception. I prepared well, getting some essential welding done and renewing the starting electric’s (leads, plugs, rotor arm, distributor cap and coil) and with the help from a Granada Guild member replaced my ageing Pierberg carburettor with a thirty three year Weber carburettor which I then refurbished!
When the tester had finished the MOT test, he had a long and animated conversation with his manager (Darren) and I was called over. She had failed …….. on a loose rear light bulb.
Their conversation concerned the emissions test results. As an older car I am allowed
Hydrocarbon emissions 1200 parts per million My Granada tested 74 parts per million
Carbon Monoxide emissions 4.5% My Granada tested 0.143%.
In both cases my car would have passed the levels for a new car and all this without any fancy catalytic converters with expensive precious metals inside or having to build any new factories or production lines.
So not only does my Granada still attract interest, thumbs up from other drivers, even offers to buy, it seems she is not only running extremely efficiently but very kind to the environment as well.
