One Slick Ride
On Earth Day this spring, Matthew Nicholas will surely be cruising a truly “slick” ride, a 1981 Mercedes that runs on … vegetable oil.
Driving a “vegetarian” car is not a new concept for this 31-year-old “minimalist.” Two years ago he opened a cab company that operated its two-car fleet on vegetable oil donated from local restaurants. Though the down economy got the best of his taxi service, Nicholas still rides around the Emerald Coast in a “veggie vehicle.”
Though he claims only to be a “tinkerer at best,” Nicholas has rigged three veggie cars himself. With “a little research and a lot of trial and error” he learned to convert a diesel engine into a two tank “green” car. The car begins operating on diesel fuel tank; once the engine is warmed up, Nicholas switches it to its vegetable oil tank.
Over time Nicholas has turned his well-oiled car into a small gold mine. He rides 1,000 miles for every paid gallon of gas. Working as a bartender at the Funky Blues Shack in The Village of Baytowne Wharf, Nicholas has scored gratis oil, saving even more.
For this Santa Rosa Beach resident, looking out for the environment is a natural. “I do what I can, live simply, ’cycle, the basic,” he says.
“I just wish I didn’t have to drive to the recycle place, you know?” Hmm … “green” waste management pickup trucks has a nice oily ring to it, don’t you think?
