Oracle of Delphi

That is her stance, even McCain does not agree with her on that and said so yesterday, by saying to the media, that is not Cindy's and my belief, when they informed him of her stance on abortion. She's a loose cannon, and will be McCain's undoing.

Problem? Not at all, they are guntily delicious.

As you know most people can't walk and chew gum at the same time. Ford most likely thought the same thing, can't shift and open the sun roof at the same time.

Buy them a hooker! Nothing says lovin, like something from the oven!

Al Gore

THE Chevrolet Volt is expected to be the icing on General Motors’ 100th birthday cake this week. The much-promoted sedan, which will operate as an electric car in typical local driving, is intended to provide a jump-start for the company’s second century. The timing of the Tuesday event is fortuitous, for much more is riding on the Volt than whether a new model using experimental technologies will be a hit. For if the Volt succeeds, it could put the troubled company on a whole new path after 10 decades tethered to the internal-combustion engine. If it fails, it could drag G.M., and perhaps the entire struggling American auto industry, even further behind Asian competitors. It was on Sept. 16, 1908, that William Crapo Durant filed the incorporation papers that formed G.M., with a revitalized Buick as its foundation. The centennial should be a time of joy at the company. But, with losses since 2005 approaching $70 billion, and Toyota having accelerated past G.M. into the No. 1 spot in global auto sales, the company’s staff won’t be dancing in party hats. Instead of toasting the glory days when G.M. owned half of the United States car and truck market — its share peaked at 51 percent in 1962 amid suggestions that it should be broken up under antitrust laws — G.M. executives are looking expectantly ahead to November 2010. That’s when the Volt, expected to break cover this week in close to final form, is due to reach customers. By mobilizing its formidable marketing resources, G.M. has piqued interest in the Volt. Anticipation is high; when unauthorized photos and surreptitious video footage emerged recently, they spread across the Internet with viral intensity. (The photos and video can be seen at autobloggreen.com.) The interest goes beyond the usual curiosity about the styling and features of a wholly new model. The public, like industry veterans and seasoned experts, seems to grasp the potential: the Volt could revive Detroit’s fortunes while loosening OPEC’s stranglehold. Burt Rutan, the aerospace visionary whose accomplishments include the Voyager round-the-world aircraft and who is also an electric-car enthusiast, is among the believers. “I expect the Chevy Volt to be both a success and a transportation game-changer,” he said. Though electric cars were common in the early 20th century, gasoline models had won out by the 1920s. Since then, the concept has surfaced again and again, but never in a car with mass-market appeal. Still, throughout the 20th century G.M. was developing breakthroughs in electrical systems — coil ignitions, electric starters, computerized powertrains — that mainly ended up advancing its fossil-fueled vehicles. But at the same time, G.M. researchers were quietly investigating alternatives to internal combustion. In the 1960s, the research and development staff experimented with fuel cells, hybrids and plug-in electric cars. By the mid-1990s, G.M. took a gamble that electric propulsion was ready for public consumption. It leased 1,100 two-seat EV1 commuter cars, based on the Impact electric concept car. The EV1 was stymied by its short range — sometimes only 50 miles on a charge. And unlike the Volt it had no backup power if the batteries ran down. Yet the EV1 had a devoted following, and lessees protested when G.M. took back the cars to crush them. G.M. called the EV1 a $1 billion learning experience. Those lessons, and recent knowledge gained developing vastly superior lithium-ion batteries, are the Volt’s great enablers. But despite widespread enthusiasm for G.M.’s brilliant 2007 Volt concept car, there are growing doubts about the Volt’s chances of success. Some of that uncertainty can be traced to G.M.’s reluctance to put its cards on the table, potentially ceding a competitive advantage more than two years before the car goes on sale. But there is also considerable doubt about whether lithium-ion batteries can meet the public’s high expectations for range and durability. It is clear that both Toyota and Honda, which have done lithium-ion research, are taking a wait-and-see approach toward lithium-ion — and may actually be moving to other technologies. (All current hybrid cars use nickel-metal-hydride batteries, an older but hardly ideal technology.) Finally, there are questions about the cost. G.M. executives concede that they are revising the price upward. While the company initially hinted at a $30,000 starting price, executives have recently suggested that the Volt might end up in the mid- to high-$40,000 range. What is not in doubt is that the Volt will be a four-passenger, front-drive compact sedan. But the high-style design of the Volt concept, which captivated crowds at the 2007 Detroit auto show, has given way to a more conventional look that fits without flamboyance into the Chevrolet family. Recent spy photos reveal that the roof has been raised and the window sills altered, presumably to provide a more usable passenger cabin. G.M. still stands behind its pledge that the Volt will be able to travel at least 40 miles with no exhaust emissions on a fully charged battery. The sole propulsion source is a 160-horsepower alternating-current motor. The 1.4-liter gas engine runs only when necessary to power a generator, which in turn supplies electrical current to both the battery pack and the drive motor. The concept had a turbocharged 3-cylinder; the production car will have a naturally aspirated 4-cylinder. Electric motors, generators and engines are old hat at G.M., in contrast to the Volt’s lithium-ion battery pack, a leap into uncharted territory. The 400-pound T-shaped pack provides 16 kilowatt-hours of electricity (equivalent to 21 horsepower for one hour), and is nestled between and behind the seats. After studying lithium-ion batteries for decades, G.M. began working last year with two organizations to move them from the lab onto the road. The development partners are Compact Power, a subsidiary of the Korean battery maker LG Chem, and Continental Automotive Systems of Germany, using battery cells designed by A123Systems of Watertown, Mass. G.M. recently decided which of two competing lithium-ion chemistries it will use and which company will make the batteries, but it has made no public announcement. The Volt is such a departure from the fossil-fuel age that there are different views on how to categorize it. Mr. Rutan calls it a “proper hybrid” because owners have the option of driving on electricity or on a combination of electricity and gasoline. Most engineers prefer “series hybrid,” which means an electrically driven car that employs a second form of power conversion to supplement the battery’s energy reserve. G.M. hopes to distinguish the Volt from ordinary hybrids by labeling it an electric car. Plugging into a standard household socket for six or so hours to charge the batteries, and topping off the 12-gallon gas tank, will provide 400 miles of driving range, G.M. says. An electric car that spews no emissions and consumes only a few pennies’ worth of energy commuting to work, while also capable of several hundred miles of range, is the better mousetrap that appeals to green advocates and auto industry pundits alike. The actor Ed Begley Jr., a former EV1 leaseholder who owns a Toyota Prius, said: “I think the Volt’s going to be good for everybody. None of us needs a sledgehammer to install a carpet tack. By that, I mean most trips are short — to and from work, to a restaurant or store.” Mr. Begley said he and his wife used their Prius for long trips, and an electric car (a 2003 Toyota RAV4 EV) in town. Chris Paine, who wrote and directed the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” concurs. “G.M. seems motivated and ahead of the competition,” he said. “It’s a cultural shift of huge proportions for a vast auto company to embrace the concept of a car that’s more than an internal-combustion engine. “Of course, there are huge technical and financial challenges,” he added. Still, “The price of oil and consumer interest in change should make the Volt a success.” Industry watchers are more cautious in their optimism. Csaba Csere, editor in chief of Car and Driver magazine, said, “The Volt could put G.M. in the most positive light it’s enjoyed in 30 years, but its success depends on solving two issues: battery durability and cost.” Mr. Csere (pronounced CHED-uh) noted that lithium-ion batteries had proved successful in laptop computers. “But to serve the car world, they’ll have to last 10 years, versus the typical two- or three-year laptop lifespan.” Manahem Anderman, president of Advanced Automotive Batteries and an electric-car consultant, is also unconvinced. “Without three or four years to test battery life in both the laboratory and in the field, prudent engineering steps have to be bypassed,” he said. “Lacking long-term data, G.M. might have to include the cost of a battery replacement in the Volt’s price.” Mr. Anderman added: “Rushing to deliver 60,000 electric vehicles per year poses a phenomenal risk. The business case for a vehicle with a $10,000 battery is problematic. I predict G.M. will end up building only a few thousand of them.” He said he did not expect the Volt “to be either a commercial success or a long-term benefit” to G.M.’s image. An auto industry analyst, Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Mich., takes a more sanguine view. “You’ve got to consider the Volt an investment in new technology,” he said. “As was the case with the Prius, G.M. won’t earn a profit during the life cycle of the first-generation Volt, but they will gain a foot in the door with this new technology.” G.M. has said that its next-generation Saturn Vue hybrid, due in fall 2010, will also receive lithium-ion batteries and be capable of plug-in recharging. Robert C. Stempel, the former chairman of both General Motors and Energy Conversion Devices, the Michigan company that developed the nickel-metal-hydride battery, relishes what lies ahead. “The Volt has the possibility of being one of the most successful vehicles in G.M. history,” he said. While the Volt is on track to be the first quasi-electric car capable of replacing the conventional sedan, there is no guarantee that it will trump the Prius to become the new green-car king. Mr. Hall said: “If G.M. were alone in this initiative, the Volt probably would be enough to boost it back to the top of the technological heap. But in Toyota City, there’s a seven-story tower called the Electric Powertrain Building. And Chrysler has a hybrid project called ENVI that’s progressing more quickly than expected. So the best that can be hoped is that the Volt will move G.M. to the front row of companies with contemporary propulsion technology.” Maintaining front-row status is the key to a G.M. that thrives in its second century. David Cole, the chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., put a fine point on what lies ahead. “The plug-in hybrid is the most notable technological advancement of the past 50 years,” he said. “G.M.’s challenge is making them profitable and continuing to invent a broad range of advanced vehicles.” Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/automobi...ref=automobiles

Because I am Texan, and I stand with Texas in her hour of need.

Here's the question, how many foreign auto plants are in Alabama? Hmmmmm?

September 12, 2008 - 12:01 am ET UPDATED: 9/12/08 1:31 p.m. EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. government should not back $25 billion or more in loans to help General Motors and the other domestic auto companies, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee said on Friday. "I would say no to them," Richard Shelby of Alabama said as Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate seek to push through a measure in the coming weeks that is necessary to put the credit program in motion. "I don't see this as a national problem," Shelby said in an interview on CNBC television. "I see this as their problem." He also noted the government -- which has spent billions to prevent the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns in March and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week -- needs to move away from the notion that major institutions are too big to fail. Among U.S. lawmakers, Shelby's comments were the sharpest yet that automakers do not deserve help -- that huge financial losses on the sharp decline in domestic market share and sales are largely a problem of their own making. "They've seen this coming for a long time," Shelby said. The loan program is open to all auto companies, but was designed primarily to help sagging U.S.-based manufacturers retool factories and develop new technologies necessary for meeting a government mandate to improve the fuel-efficiency of their vehicles by 40 percent by 2020. Detroit is pitching the assistance as a way for automakers to better help reduce America's dependence on imported oil. RISE IN GM, FORD SHARES Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said in a note to clients that GM stood to benefit the most from the program, potentially meeting half of its cash needs through 2009, or about $3.7 billion out of $7.3 billion. Ford could raise about $2.2 billion through the program, but does not require external financing, he said. Shares of GM and Ford rose again on Friday as analysts said they believed carmakers are more likely than not to obtain at least some of the $25 billion package. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that Democratic leaders would like to see Congress act within the coming weeks to activate the loan program. Energy Department regulators have begun drafting criteria for how the loan program would work and who would qualify. Pelosi said she was looking to include a provision for the auto companies in a spending bill or other must-pass legislation likely to be signed by President George W. Bush. The current thinking among Democratic leaders is to propose funding for $25 billion in loans that could be tapped as early as 2009. Automakers have said they would like the package to go as high as $50 billion, a legislative challenge some insiders say may not be practical with the compressed congressional calendar. The White House has been skeptical of direct financial help for auto companies, saying on a number of occasions that it does not want the loan program to be used as a bailout. "Obviously we want to be very, very careful about the government's role with private enterprise," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. "There are lots of industries that are dealing with challenging economic conditions, and it's always important to be very cautious about the federal government's role." Link: http://www.autonews.com/article/20080912/A...paign_id=alerts

I didn't know Pennsylvania had an ocean!

Hurricane Ike is upon you, stay safe, let us know when you return. Edit: To the rest of C&G, fill up your vehicles tonight, 20 refineries are now shut down, if they are damaged you may see gas prices you never imagined.

Enjoy:

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Well they were right about John Edwards, now they are investigating that she's been screwing her husband's business partner. Maybe that baby they have isn't his after all. That should get the Republican base energized! :rotflmao:

I like my cats cooked well done, with fava beans and a nice chianti.

Like Oldsmoboi said, Jesus was a Community Organizer, Pilot was a Governor!

The best is have your wife cook the fries for you, while you watch TV.

There is a movement in the Southwest US that is being funded by the Mexican Government, that consist of Mexican Nationals and Mexican Illegals in the USA. It's goal is the Reconquista (Reconquering) the states of California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and large portions of Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, and creating the Nation of Aztlán. See Map:

Face

Well it will have to be redesigned when Puerto Rico becomes a State. That's as good a design as any. However if the Alaska Independence Party has it's way, we could continue with the current design of 50 stars after Puerto Rico joins. If Alaska does leave the Union, would Palin be ineligible to run or hold national office since technically Alaska would be a foreign country. Oh and blu please explain to me how that's a desecration of our flag? You do know that's their flag too, if they become a state, the Puerto Rican flag would only become their state flag.

blu, perhaps you need to buy fries like this? This looks right up your alley! Doesn't look limp at all.

Come on Satty, they are playing good cop, bad cop.

Hernia

Your poll needed more choices.

Oh but they do, and they are working towards that. Here is the flag that they are using at their rallies now. It has 51 stars. By the way they are U.S. citizens, just in case you didn't know.