haypops

Well don't two circles touching at a single point describe a figure eight. Are you trying to tell us that GM is getting into figure eight racing in a big way. Isn't it entirely necessary to have an OHC engine for such a vehicle. Will a beam rear axle suffice? Why doen't GM market the figure eight racer to taxi fleets since they already run around in circles. What does figure eight racing say about the 2008 presedential election. :CG_all: Happy new year!

Although polymer panels are not at the top of my wish list, tight panel gaps are a complete non issue for me. Just don't get it.

Don't mean to sound too sappy, but if you make everyone's life around you a little better, then they will think more of you than about you.

The Saturn 1.9 l. 4 cylinder was the precusor of the ecotec, performed well, very economical, and was long lived (400,00 plus miles).

Watch out for the sophmore jinks! Ouch!

It seems that everyone reports a long and productive "break in period" for the ectec engine over at saturnfans.com. Excellent gas milage is the results obtained after many thousand os miles of driving. This seems a little unusual for a modern engine. Isn't the car of the year award a rather unimportant victory for so much concern. It doesn't go to the most reliable or fastest car just the newest most significiant for its manufqctuere, what ever that is.

autoweek says that other than looking like an ION, it sucks GRITZINGER: I found myself longing for the Civic of old: a simpler, lighter, smaller and, at least for me, more fun-to-drive car than this latest interpretation. I could have done without its garish instrumentation, an uncomfortable seat and less-than-snappy performance. I think a lot of it has to do with the extra 150 or so pounds this car lugs around compared to the previous model. But it has also lost something in its driving dynamics; to me, this one says “dull” rather than “sporty.” One more thing: As much as I like the new styling, I almost thought it was a Saturn Ion from the rear three-quarter view. I also hate the inability to tell where the corners of this little car are—something that made the old car much easier to drive. No wonder Honda is bringing a smaller car into the market to slot below this one: It has managed to move the Civic out of the market it once ruled.

[quote name='regfootball' date='Dec 21 2005, 03:59 PM'] Again, they gave it to honda because of payola, ricer demographics they want to sell ads to, and the fact you can get the Civic with a hybrid for the ecoweenie factor. You forget the natural gas home refilled Civic also. That said; the civic leaves me cold as do these awards.

Joe's daughter was my #4 daughter's amigo. Ahh ... that and $2 will get me a cup of coffee.

An interesting side issue in these reports was the inside the UAW Deroit "beltway" workers verses these the are getting the boot. Sometime ago there was a post from a worker at Spring Hill who mentioned a change in attidue as UAW workers from outside of Spring Hill entered the workforce there and it wasn't pretty.

[quote name='FUTURE_OF_GM' date='Dec 20 2005, 02:06 PM'] This is a simplistic explanation of a drastic and huge problem. Another very important comparison. By comparison, those Toyota workers enjoy the same luxuries as those GM workers... (Sarcasm) Yep, Toyota sure does pay it's employees as well as GM does... (Sarcasm) Proving that once again, America will be the reason that Toyota prevails and GM suffers. Anybody else see anything wrong with this??? [QUOTE]Average Hourly Salary for Non-Skilled, Assembly Line Worker Source: Center for Automotive Research GM: $31.35/hour NOTE: Includes idle workers still on payroll and those on protected status. Toyota: $27/hour NOTE: Includes year-end bonus. Yep, Toyota sure does pay it's employees as well as GM does... (Sarcasm)[/QUOTE] You seem to be telling us that Toyota is paying its workers significantly less than GM. I don't think the 16% difference these figures represent tells the whole story. Since the GM workders average age and seniority is so much greater, these kinds of pay differentials are to be expected.

I listened to an interview with a big three auto designer. He is now retired and drives a Prius. He thought the design was exceptional.

Those are good prices! There is a smilar ad in todays Los Angeles Times and $8998 gets you a Cavelier and the 10 K for a malibu.

Perhaps Ford subsidized it.

Aren't bqankruptcy and bankruptcy protection almost opposites?

quote=Newbiewar,Dec 16 2005, 12:58 PM] when its a reality you'll see kirk pull out... and BofA wouldnt loan money to Kirk if they felt it wasnt a safe investment, heck BofA has a 10% share of GM as well as Kirk... those are 2 people/companys that wont let it happen... [post="59742"][/post] [/quote] some talk of Kerkonian here, but mostly talk of the board[

That is interesting. It means that that the RV and other business went from GM to Worhorse to International. When I was a young man International made direct competitors to what we now call the Silverado, the Surburban, and arguably the Hummer H3. In a way this parrales what happened with Detroit Diesel. GM sold the diesel engine builder to Penske Automotive who made it proftiable and then resold it to Freightliner (owned by Dailmer Chryler). Again a business unit's sale was "laundered" prior to sale to a direct competitor.

I drove a Susuki motorcycle to work for almost a year but had to quit because of bad(make that very BAD) rice drivers from the local community college. I did end up in the middle of the street with my bike lying on top of me. I imagine a bycycle would be worse.

don't go and get your self in a tizzy :)

That is the authors estimate, and it is incorrect. The Prius is $20,000, the civic as low as $17000. The average cost of a new car is close to $25000. The hybrid is as much as $8000 less not more. The idea of the hybrid is a joke. That doesn't mean we need to make stuff up about it. The author is also incorrect in his assumption that $10/gal gasoline will mean less dependance on Mid eastern oil. Even if the number of gallons of mid east oil drops, the total amount of dollars available to the terrorist to murder us will go up. Many of the authors assumptions are as silly as telling everyone to move to California because we are 95% self sufficient in oil production.

The auts club has done studies at odds with the author's conclusion that lower fuel prices lead to more driving.

It will be fine as long as it has removable doors and a central Instruement Panel.

I know it is not appreciated, but I have found the T100 to be a much nicer product than the tundra.

Lots of interesting information here. Certainly any consideration of Chernobyl is a waste of time. If the atomic grid were modernizied complete with efficient recycling of the spent fuel, then that sounds like a real oportunity. At the very least electricity for stationary coustomers could be produced with less demand on natural gas. With less polution from coal fired electricity plants, some of the strain on automotive sources would also be relieved.

France has been more dependant upon nuclear power than the U.S. for quite some time. The downside of nuclear power is usually listed as disposal of the spent nuclear material. Geographically France would seem to be at a disadvantage than we are in respect to the waste material. What does France do with their trash?