PurdueGuy

I like it.

the UAW is just using their main leverage. It's just what they have to do to present as strong of a negotiation as they can. They have a lot against them this time around, and GM has done their share of hardball. I want to see concessions made by the UAW, but don't expect them to give the farm away, or not play some hardball right back.

+1, that makes me want to beat on people. Rude, lazy, arrogant... it just says a lot about the person's character. Mostly that they need to be beat.

Railroads are a business, and they choose their equipment on how well it does the job. The older streamlined locos were a pain in the butt to build from what I've read. The sucked-in sides let the locomotive operator see in both directions, which is vital for switching work. High speed is rarely an issue, so aerodynamics aren't high on the priority list - ease of use, maintenance, repair, and manufacture, as well as low purchase & operating costs are.

Ah, another "let's all panic about gas prices" thread.

While these have their place, they can also be a big annoyance. It may have to do with how they are set up, or the specific devices, but I think many of us can think of when we've been in a restroom or office, etc, and had the motion/heat sensitive lights turn off. Yeah, that's real fun, especially when the "WAVE YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR LIKE A MANIAC" solution doesn't work. lol Especially fun in rooms with no windows. Oh, and the outside security thing can be annoying too - cats & stuff turn on the neighbor's garage outdoor light, shining it in my window at night. Blah. Sorry, that one doesn't make my list. The others are good, though, and there are probably situations where these devices work well.

unfortunately, the site I hosted the in-thread pictures in is down. If you click the link to the full gallery, that is a google/picasa gallery, and it should work fine still for those that want to see pics (other than the big butts custom-s posted. lol)

Very well might, since by then the used models that use E85 will be affordable. BTW, the suburban is the "occasional use" vehicle as well, with the daily drivers of both my wife & I being our Saturns. Hard to get much greener than that, especially with my gold one having been saved from the junkyard. What better way to help the environment than to repair & reuse a fuel-efficient vehicle? The 'burban is for hauling and rough/snowy roads. In the about 2 months we've owned it, we've only gone though a tank & a half. The Saturns see much more use, and that's the way we planned it. Would've been hard to justify a newer model for occasional use.

Unless you're assuming delays, you're mixing calendar and model years again to support your high levels of pessimism.

While I support conservation and other "green" efforts, I still don't think it has been proven that the changes aren't at least partially natural climate change. Still, even if it's not completely our fault, that's no reason to justify irresponsibility. There are often reasons to save energy that appeal to the capitalist in me. As people check out doing things to save energy and such, be sure to check with your local power company for programs to help you afford efforts to "go green." Unfortunately, my local power company does about as little as possible, but still is subsidizing the compact florescent bulbs. The power company to the north of me will finance the purchase of an energy star appliance at 0% for 3 years. They basically buy the refrigerator or whatever, and then divide the payments up into 36 months and add it to the electric bill. That's cheap money, people. We also looked at a new washer/dryer. Dryers don't get energystar tags, so it's hard to tell if you're going to save anything by buying a new one, but we were able to compare our old & potential new washer, and even with super-cheap electricity here (less than 6 cents per whatever the units are, I forget), the new washer would still pay for itself in about 4 years time, mostly through water savings. It saved about $3/month in electricity, about $13/month in water costs. We're buying a house and have to put off buying the appliances, but it's definitely on the list. I may also look into some skylights someday to cut down on lighting usage. Sunlight is nicer anyway. I also need to look into differences in power usage between the CRTs my wife & I use on our computers (both dual-monitors), and LCDs. I'm not really a tree hugger (I'm loving my suburban), but don't see a need for blatant irresponsibility, either.

Yeah, this is in southeast idaho, in the snake river basin. This butte is about 2500 ft high.

I like big buttes. By the way, butte is pronounced like beauty, only without the y. It's essentially a lone mountain, and there are several near me. Today was my 2nd drive up the Big Southern Butte. Full Photo Gallery (click) Highlight pics: East side of the butte: OH NOES, I'M GONNA DRIVE UP THE BUTTE CRACK! (west side of butte) It's a long way down... It's an even longer way up! This might be about halfway up. Probably less... ONWARD! See that little tiny white box thing on top of the highest hill? That's where we're going... That last picture was taken from that bend in the road in the middle of this pic: You can still kinda see the house near where the first pic was taken and this is how big the building *still* looks from where the last couple photos were taken. Still a long way to go finally get to the building not great visibility, but still a nice view from the top those tiny lines are roads nice view driving back down... don't make any sudden turns. Pretty much needed 4wd going up, and going back down was done mostly in 4wd low, just letting it coast. It's not like it's a serious 4wd enthusiast challenge, but it's no place for a car. Beautiful place, and though it's a "National Landmark", there is little to tell you that's the case aside from a sign at the bottom and a couple spots where they've blocked off unofficial "roads" people have made. I've never seen anyone else out there. Of course, it is about a hour drive from the nearest large town...

That's funny. Let's see... Volt = electric car + engine & generator GM has experience building electric cars. GM has experience building engines. Attaching generators to engines isn't exactly rocket science. I fail to see how this comes close to a "moon shot". They can, and plan to put the basic system together by spring (if they haven't already). From there it's detail work. I think 3 years is entirely reasonable to put out a pretty refined product. You try to claim that you're not being a pessimist, but you're just as far over that edge as those yelling "THIS WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE WORLD!" As usual, you can expect the truth to lie somewhere in the middle.

What, no events in Idaho? Just cuz we only have 1 Saturn dealer in the state...

Now you're mixing calendar & model years to support your argument. Stick to one, please. If it's for sale in '10, it's available in '10, even if labelled as an '11 car.

I HAS THE SOLUTION! (any homestarrunner fans?) Design the car's computer to record both vehicle speed, and what controls are in use. Granted, it's not an instant solution, but it would be a very useful "black box" type of device that could be useful in many court cases, as well as figuring out these types of problems. If the computer says the car speed increased, and the brake was being depressed, and the gas pedal was not, then BOOM, you know there is a problem. If it says the car speed increased and the gas pedal was being pressed, and the driver swears they were pushing the brake, then the situation is a sensor-check away from strong evidence that the driver is an idiot. I wonder how much of this info is already recorded... anyone know?

very cool. I've recently been learning sketchup, and love it. I originally learned autocat lt in high school, and enjoyed it. Sketchup is so much easier to use, and still very accurate. AND FREE!!!

Saw that done to a late 80's Grand Marquis once...

Why does Toyota get so much credit for the Prius, anyway? Little, if any, of the technology was invented by them. They weren't first to market. They simply packaged it & marketed it better, and it took off. I'm not saying they should get no credit, but to treat 'yota as if they changed everything all by themselves is stupid. To poo-poo the EV1 because it wasn't mass produced and is now gone is dumb. Take away the technology that was developed for the EV1 from the Prius, and it would be nothing (namely: battery tech and regenerative braking).

Pretty sweet. If not watered down too much and priced right, I might consider one.

dang it, I know I've heard that before, but can't remember where.

I didn't really find a guy laying on his back funny, but the bike was awesome. and no, the sarcasm didn't quite come across clearly enough to me, sorry.

Going by the "track record", GM has a ton of experience with all the technology going into this car, except the new batteries (see EV1). The batteries are the only item that are still a bit of a wild card, and it is reasonable to wonder if they'll be ready in time. Even so, they could easily do an intro of the car with nickel-metal hydride batteries (successfully developed for the EV1... hmmm, sounds like GM experience in developing batteries in junction with suppliers?), and switch to lithium ion later.

Can't tell if the smilies mean you were being sarcastic, or what. Saw no battery-related problems in the video, just someone who admitted that he doesn't normally drive the bike, just builds it, and did a demonstration in an environment not suited to do so.

where did they add the cupholders? Are we sure this is the US interior and not the europe one?