The fellows who aim to drive all of Route 66 from Santa Monica to Chicago in a 1966 Pontiac GTO and Ford Fusion powered only by compressed natural gas started their journey to the West Coast today, reported the Birmingham (Ala.) News.
Mark McConville and Keith Barfield will stop at CNG stations where they’re available along the Mother Road. If no refueling station is available, a CNG tanker truck is following to make sure they don’t run out of gas.
Their “Drive to Inspire” campaign, which they began planning nearly two years ago when gasoline hit $4 a gallon, is more timely than ever due to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, McConville and Barfield said.
“The opportunity is here to raise attention about this issue and lessen dependence on foreign oil,” McConville said.
WRBC in Birmingham also filed a story.
Here’s a video the duo posted a few days ago:
According to the A Drive to Inspire website, the actual trek on Route 66 starts Saturday and is scheduled to end in Chicago on July 4 … if everything goes well.
It’s a great achievement to drive all that way using compressed natural gas. I hope it catches on. I admire these guys.
One minor quibble: there’s no such thing as foreign oil and domestic oil. Regardless of origin, it’s all sold on the world market. The U.S. pays the world market price for oil, no matter where it’s produced. We don’t buy “U.S. oil.” The U.S. doesn’t get first crack at oil produced in the U.S. You could look it up.
If you want U.S.-produced oil to stay in the U.S., pass a law. There’s no such regulation now.
The world needs to lessen its dependence on oil. That’s a major effort, and can’t be done quickly. We need to get started.