Oracle of Delphi

Jeez, I've seen that somewhere before, oh yeah, the Wilmington Plant.

Title says it all!

Group Hug!

In a word YES! http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/29/next-ge...due-july-2008/2

Hmmmmmm?

Messerschmitt

Ironic!

Awwww, how sad that I won't be there this year, no visits to the inlaws (AKA: Outlaws) on Long Island, no Garden City Hotel room bill to pay for, no traffic, and of course sadly, no unusual sights and smells of NY.

You have been barred from Europe!!! :AH-HA_wink:

US Lawmakers are intently watching how the EU is enforcing the new CO2 regulations. I would get ready for some new Federal vehicle taxes, coming after a November election near you! :AH-HA_wink:

David Barkholz and Lindsay Chappell Automotive News March 17, 2008 - 4:31 pm ET UPDATED: 3/17/08 5:38 p.m. EDT DETROIT -- A union vote is set for Thursday, March 20, at Toyota's assembly plant in Canada. The Canada branch of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union is trying to organize about 3,100 workers at the plant in Cambridge, Ontario. The plant is about an hour west of Toronto. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. is disputing a union's bid to organize the assembly plant. The union is optimistic about the vote in light of a reduction in new-hire wages and other benefit cuts over the past several months, said Ian Morland, lead organizer for the union's Canada branch. Toyota produces the Corolla and Matrix cars and Lexus RX 350 crossover in Cambridge. The automaker also plans to open an assembly plant in Woodstock, Ontario, this autumn to produce the Toyota RAV4. On March 14, Toyota filed a challenge to the Machinists, claiming that the union miscalculated the number of eligible workers in Cambridge. The union claimed to have support from a pool of 3,100 eligible employees. According to Toyota's paperwork, the plant employs more than that. Toyota's challenge asks the Ontario Labour Board to seal the election results until it rules on whether the union has correctly identified the plant bargaining committee. A statement issued on Monday by Toyota said, " The company will challenge the union to prove that they have enough signed cards (40 percent of the bargaining unit) and will request the vote be sealed until the Board provides a ruling." The Canadian Auto Workers union has tried and failed on numerous occasions to organize the Cambridge plant. The last effort was in 2000. Similarly, the UAW has been trying to organize Toyota's U.S. plants -- particularly the sprawling assembly operations in Georgetown, Ky. The UAW Web site has been maintaining a " Support Toyota Workers!" link for several months. In Cambridge, Morland said the Machinists union set the stage for the vote by collecting signatures of more than 40 percent of the plant workers. In September, Toyota cut new-hire wages from $30 an hour Canadian to $25 an hour, he said. Workers also have faced more out-of-pocket costs for supplemental health care coverage, he said. Workers are worried that Toyota will try to take advantage of new-hire UAW wage reductions negotiated by the Detroit 3 to drive down wages even further, Morland said. He said results of the vote probably would be unavailable until after the weekend.

Reuters March 17, 2008 - 6:25 am ET NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- General Motors wants to launch a second small car in India in the next two years as it looks to capitalize on growth in emerging markets to offset any sluggishness in U.S. sales, a senior company official said. The model will not compete directly with Tata Motors' low-cost Nano but will be cheaper than GM's current lowest priced car in India, David Reilly, GM group vice-president, told a news conference on Monday. Small cars less make up nearly three-quarters of India's market. GM offers the Chevrolet Spark in the sector for about 300,000 rupees ($7,350). "We need some thing lower than what we have got now. I think if we could find a vehicle less than that, it would not only benefit India but could benefit other places also," Reilly said, without detailing how much the new model would cost. "But I would not call it an equivalent of Nano." Tata Motors unveiled the $2,500 Nano, the world's cheapest car, in January and said the new four-seater would roll out later in the year from its West Bengal factory. Reilly said sales growth in emerging markets would outpace any softening in established markets like the United States and would help maintain the firm's total global sales expansion. "I don't predict a slowdown, but this year U.S. would be tough," he said. GM, which has a 3 percent share of the Indian vehicle market, has a manufacturing plant in the western state of Gujarat and is building a second facility near Pune in neighboring Maharashtra state. Reilly said the first trial car from the Pune plant, which will begin commercial production in the last quarter of 2008 with an initial production capacity of 140,000 vehicles, would be rolled out on Wednesday. The company also plans to build an engine plant in India, but Reilly would not share details. "We are still in some negotiations ... We absolutely intend to go ahead with it," he said, adding that the company would be give further information within the next two months.

Visions of things to come in North America? Lawrence J. Speer Automotive News Europe March 17, 2008 06:01 CET PARIS -- CO2 taxes are convincing car buyers across Europe to shift from mid-size and larger vehicles to smaller models with lower emission levels. Industry experts predict the shift will accelerate over the coming years, as most EU member states enact emission-oriented tax regimes to fight climate change. " The market is changing, and we feel the market will continue changing," said Patrick Blain, Renault's executive vice president of sales and marketing. Fourteen of the EU's 27 member states currently tax vehicles based on CO2 emissions, fuel consumption or a combination. Most are expected to have CO2-based levies by 2010. The shift to smaller cars is already forcing some automakers to adjust their product plans. Such action is essential to meet profit targets as a move to smaller cars will be at the expense of more profitable bigger models. Clear air patrol Maximum CO2-based taxes in EU's major markets France: €2,600 for new cars that emit more than 160g/km UK: £300 annually for cars with more than 225g/km Spain: 14.75% on price of new car that emits more than 200g/km Germany: Considering tax for 2009 Italy: None Sources: ACEA, countries New and planned CO2 taxes " will progressively push the segment mix downward," Renault's Blain told Automotive News Europe. At Renault, the mix is shifting because the new upper-medium Laguna is selling fewer than expected, while sales of the low-cost Logan are soaring. The shift toward smaller, low-emission cars has been most evident in France, which enacted a new system of CO2-based purchase price taxes on January 1. Sales of SUVs and large sedans are down significantly in the first two months of 2008, as are those of all vehicles with CO2 emissions topping 160 grams per kilometer, the level at which the new taxes kick in, according to data from the French carmakers association (CCFA). Market share for vehicles forced to pay the tax -- which runs from €200 to €2,600 -- has been cut in half, while market share of fuel-efficient smaller cars is soaring, according to CCFA data. " The shift toward lower-CO2 products is quite obvious," said Neil Hall, market analyst with researchers JATO Dynamics. The early winners in France are manufacturers with competitive smaller models such as Renault's Twingo and Clio, Peugeot's 207, and the new Fiat 500. At the other end of the scale, companies focused on large sedans, such as Audi, BMW, or Mercedes-Benz, or luxury SUVs, such as Nissan and Mitsubishi, have seen sharp declines, as the CO2 tax convinces consumers to downsize. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said he hasn't seen a major change in buying habits yet. But, in a reference to London's congestion charge, Stadler said: " If you have a daily penalty of £25 a day for bringing your car into the city, I'm sure it's going to affect your decision." The new French data echo the dramatic shift seen in the UK in 2001, when a CO2-based road usage tax on new cars was introduced. Sixty-one percent of all cars sold in the UK today are in the lowest CO2 bands, compared with just 43 percent in 2000, according to the SMMT, the British motor industry association. Mercedes-Benz Cars Chief Operating Officer, Rainer Schmückle predicted the industry will see " huge stresses and strains around CO2 challenges." As customers are not likely to pay for cleaner technology, Schmückle says, " We have to find balancing potential." PSA/Peugeot-Citroen CEO Christian Streiff agrees the focus on CO2 is redefining priorities in the industry. " It's changing the business for the coming decades," Streiff told ANE. " The average power of the car will go down, the average weight of the car will go down, it's changing the shapes of the car."

I will be driving a 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP with EU German plates, coming though via the Chunnel.

CPF had that done. :AH-HA_wink:

Now NOS you know better than that.

aatbloke, I have a question for you, what would be easier to do, to gain access to the UK coming from Switzerland and driving? Entering the UK with my EU German passport or my American passport. I have dual citizenship, but I'm thinking coming in with my EU German passport would be easier? What do you think? I'll be driving from Switzerland to Scotland.

My spies say you don't have blond hair. :AH-HA_wink: Who is this?

Is it my daughter you want to meet , or my 1969 A body? She's going to marry a German boy, and give me blond, blue eyed grandchildren. :AH-HA_wink:

Not even close enough. :AH-HA_wink:

I know it like the back of my hand, speaking of hands! :rotflmao:

My daughter will marry a good German boy! :AH-HA_wink:

She would kill you, you'd be whimpering for your mama.

God only knows, feel free to use it. :AH-HA_wink: