G. David Felt

Dessert "EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!"

Bummer as my custom 402 in my suburban runs Crane Cam. in regards to Holley, I have heard they had a great Fuel injection system that could replace the carbs on cars, but I think they sat on their past glory and did not move quick enough to embrace new technology and find a way to survive. Sad, but at this time I suspect we will see many companies close. Bright side is we can see new companies open based on new technologies that will embrace a whole new way of performance. Performance Battery packs for Auto's Performance Electric motors Performance suspensions and electrical enhancements for hybrids. This just off my head, but I do think we will have new oportunities, sad yes for these past companies and what they did for the performance sector, but not the end at all.

Helps if you know some people in the field as it helps to get interviews and get your foot in the door. Good Luck all,

Actually I will disagree with DF here as I think the Trailblazer SS is better than the 9-7x. I just did not like the interior or exterior. But to each their own.

True the GC SRT8 are HOT SUV's, Even come with plenty of "EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!"

Corrected! Thank you

Today I learned that clearly there are plenty of IDIOTS in upper mgmt that cannot seem to understand that an economic slow down will not change a rushed product with piss poor testing to be successful. Our current project is just broken in way to many ways. But it brings "EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

True, we all live and breath "EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Plus I bought one for my parents and they are in the mid 20's for gas milage pretty consistant compared to the high teens low 20's for v8.

For me this Auto as nice as it was and is for some people falls into the I DO NOT CARE!!! category, it is to small for me to get into. Not enough leg room, Headroom, shoulder and elbow room. Cut it loose and spend the dev dollars on better products.

Personally I think the Whole Pontiac line is silly and should just be retired. They can have performance fun under the GMC / Buick Banner.

We'll I for one would go for a nice 2 or 3 year old AWD SRX or Escalade. If you really want some fun, then get the AWD Trailblazer SS, that SUV Rocks!!! Personally it looks awesome in Black and take the OEM Chrome rims which are sweet and the Grill and have it black chromed and the windows limo tinted in the back section and the legal 35% on the front doors. That way you have a very stealth AWD SUV that will eat up the road with it's LS Corvette engine. Nothing wrong with 400 Ponies in AWD. Sweet!!!

Damn, that was a good read. Too Funny as we all have stated bits and parts of this. Hell for all we know he could have spent a few weeks drinking beer and reading our forums and then compiled this for the masses. Too Funny!

Magic Mountain! The ultimate Theme park!

:smilies-38096: Driving around in a DTS is a fun Float ride from your favorite Arm Chair. That is why I do not have a DTS but do have the Escalade, SRX and CTS as they both are fun driving machines. My dad loves his DTS and the Float ride. Most people if you have a reservation and fly in late morning will end up with an upgrade as by then the low end autos are almost always rented out. Yaris is a death trap on wheels, I am surprised it actually is allowed to be sold. One of Toyota's worst vehicles they have ever made. Course to me everything they make is crap as it is too small, all plastic and I have yet to really find a quality Toyota that was comfortable.

Lion King!

Why does engines always have to go up on Horsepower but be weak in Torque? I do love the idea of a microblock V8, but come on, if you are going to do 400HP at least get 400 LBs of Torque or more. I just have not been impressed with these high reving HP engines with little itty bitty Torque numbers. Reminds me of the Small Man Syndrome, Small man with little itty bitty Wee Wee drives big ass truck to make him feel important.

Panther

I have posted a small amount of the data and you can review the full PPT presentation here, very interesting info. Hawaii Studay on What controls Ice Sheet Growth? According to the University of Hawaii, here is their overview of: What Controls Ice Sheet Growth? Ice sheets exist when Growth > ablation Temperatures must be cold Permit snowfall Prevent melting Ice and snow accumulate MAT < 10°C Accumulation rates 0.5 m y-1 MAT > 10°C rainfall No accumulation MAT << 10°C dry cold air Very low accumulation Accumulation rates low, ablation rates high Melting begins at MAT > -10°C (summer T > 0°C) Ablation rates of 3 m y-1 Ablation accelerates rapidly at higher T When ablation = growth Ice sheet is at equilibrium Equilibrium line = Boundary between positive ice balance Net loss of ice mass Temperature and Ice Mass Balance Temperature main factor determining ice growth Net accumulation or Net ablation Since ablation rate increases rapidly with increasing temperature Summer melting controls ice sheet growth Summer insolation must control ice sheet growth Milankovitch Theory Ice sheets grow when summer insolation low Axial tilt is small Poles pointed less directly towards the Sun N. hemisphere summer solstice at aphelion Ice sheets melt when summer insolation high Axial tilt is high N. hemisphere summer solstice at perihelion Recognized that Earth has greenhouse effect Assumed that changes in solar radiation dominant variable Summer insolation strong More radiation at high latitudes Warms climate and accelerates ablation Prevents glaciations or shrinks existing glaciers Summer insolation weak Less radiation at high latitudes Cold climate reduces rate of summer ablation Ice sheets grow High summer insolation heats land and results in greater ablation Dominant cycles at 23,000 and 41,000 years Low summer insolation cools land and results in diminished ablation

A Warming Climate Can Support Glacial Ice New research indicates glacial ice existed on earth during intense period of global warming January 10, 2008 By Annie Reisewitz New research challenges the generally accepted belief that substantial ice sheets could not have existed on Earth during past super-warm climate events. The study by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego provides strong evidence that a glacial ice cap, about half the size of the modern day glacial ice sheet, existed 91 million years ago during a period of intense global warming. This study offers valuable insight into current day climate conditions and the environmental mechanisms for global sea level rise. Sea cliff at Tilleul Beach on the coast of Normandy, France are rich in microfossils and of the same age as the marine chalks used in the study to understand Earth's climate history. The new study in the Jan. 11 issue of the journal Science titled, “Isotopic Evidence for Glaciation During the Cretaceous Supergreenhouse,” examines geochemical and sea level data retrieved from marine microfossils deposited on the ocean floor 91 million years ago during the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum. This extreme warming event in Earth’s history raised tropical ocean temperatures to 35-37°C (95-98.6°F), about 10°C (18°F) warmer than today, thus creating an intense greenhouse climate. Using two independent isotopic techniques, researchers at Scripps Oceanography studied the microfossils to gather geochemical data on the growth and eventual melting of large Cretaceous ice sheets. The researchers compared stable isotopes of oxygen molecules (d18O) in bottom-dwelling and near-surface marine microfossils, known as foraminifera, to show that changes in ocean chemistry were consistent with the growth of an ice sheet. The second method in which an ocean surface temperature record was subtracted from the stable isotope record of surface ocean microfossils yielded the same conclusion. A micrograph of two types of foraminifera, M. sinuosa and W. baltica, and uses to study climate conditions during the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum, 91 million years ago. These independent methods provided Andre Bornemann, lead author of the study, with strong evidence to conclude that an ice sheet about 50-60 percent the size of the modern Antarctic ice cap existed for about 200,000 years. Bornemann conducted this study as a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Oceanography and continues this research at Universitat Leipzig in Germany. “Until now it was generally accepted that there were no large glaciers on the poles prior to the development of the Antarctic ice sheet about 33 million years ago,” said Richard Norris, professor of paleobiology at Scripps Oceanography and co-author of the study. “This study demonstrates that even the super-warm climates of the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum were not warm enough to prevent ice growth.” Researchers are still unclear as to where such a large mass of ice could have existed in the Cretaceous or how ice growth could have started. The authors suggest that climate cycles may have favored ice growth during a few times in the Cretaceous when natural climate variations produced unusually cool summers. Likewise, high mountains under the modern Antarctic ice cap could have been potential sites for growth of large ice masses during the Cretaceous. Ice sheets were much less common during the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum than during more recent “icehouse” climates. Paradoxically, past greenhouse climates may have aided ice growth by increasing the amount of moisture in the atmosphere and creating more winter snowfall at high elevations and high latitudes, according to the paper’s authors. Graph depicts geochemical data collected from microfossils on the growth and eventual melting of ice sheets during the Cretaceous Period. The results from the study are consistent with other studies from Russia and New Jersey that show sea level fell by about 25-40 m (82-131 ft) at the same time that the ice sheets were growing during the Cretaceous period. Sea level is known to fall as water is removed from the oceans to build continental ice sheets; conversely, sea level rises as ice melts and returns to the sea. The presence or absence of sea ice has major environmental implications, specifically in terms of sea level rise and global circulation patterns. As humans continue to add large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that accelerate the heating of the atmosphere and oceans, research on Earth’s past climate conditions is critical to predict what will happen as Earth’s climate continues to warm. This research study was supported by the German Research Foundation and the National Science Foundation under the management of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions. Media Contacts: Annie Reisewitz or Mario Aguilera, 858-534-3624

True, Politics aside, it is amazing how many Red and Blue States have been very poor at managing their money and need a bail out from the feds. We could truly make a revolutionary change if we spent the 800 Billion on Roads, Power, Parks etc. rather than bail out states or fund more unemployment. We could get america back to work by spending money on projects that will improve this country over time and state that any company that takes on one of these federally funded projects must supply insurance for all Part time and full time employees. We could wipe out most of the unemployement as these projects would take 2-4 years and by then the rest of the industries should be getting back on their feet! Very True and very fact based as even a standard person of normal intelligence can look at the northern side of Canada and see that they have longer warmer seasons, growing food has become longer, etc. Even Green Land which is mostly covered in snow and ice has gotten longer growing seasons and have started to grow their own Produce that they once exclusivly imported. Clearly anyone can see that humans have had an affect on this planet and it is changing. Since none of use lived 200 years ago or even 500 years ago, we lack the true long term data to see what kind of cycles this planet goes through, so as Oldsmoboi has pointed out, we take what we do have and Hypothesis. I have agree that we do not know how bad we humans have affected this planet and climate, but there is NO reason NOT to take measures to improve things and in the short term if it creates jobs for new technology, then better for it. Hybrid Auto Production is very destructive to the Environment. Look at all the waste produced by battery production and the amount of Green house gas produced during the battery production and it does not off set an efficent running gas econo box. Prius is just a marketing tool as I now see 18 Toyota Prius sitting on the lot here this morning in Kirkland Washington and they had 21 Highlander Hybrids. Guess that novelty has worn off for those over priced garbage machines. No wonder Toyota mothballed the new production plant, they can barely sell what they have.

What is "OBESE"!

All are nice rides, I do not think you could go wrong with any of them. Good Luck and Congrats on the wedding bells.

:sign0200: Saw a restored Studebaker this weekend. Actually was very nice looking, driven by an old man who probably bought it new and then restored it. Very nice though.

:rotflmao: The Disney Movie RocketMan with all the Fart Jokes! Love that movie, it brings tears to my face due to how hard I laugh! :rotflmao: +1 Poop Toyota's in Movies, -1 Toyota