pow

Agreed. The Corolla is safer in every possible crash test than the lame-duck Cobalt. The 2011 Cruze should level the playing field. "Marginal" structure: "Good" structure: The Corolla comes standard with ESP, whereas you can't get it on any Cobalt sedan.

I like the idea as a motorist... I'll be able to get from Eagle Rock to East LA in a jiffy, and I don't really care about South Pas, since it's gonna be a tunnel, anyway. My only concern is that this will encourage even more truck traffic on the 710, which is already burdening communities along the corridor. I'll be in favor of the tunnel if only goods-movement vehicles can use some alternate, low-polluting path (rail? Alameda corridor? ZEV trucks?) that doesn't screw over these poorer, working class, immigrant communities. The current 710 proposal (Alternative 6B, I think) is 10 lanes for normal vehicles, plus 4 on top for trucks. Crazy. In a few years, it will be congested like it is today with "only" 8 lanes.

Yeah, I don't see the need to expand the northern 110. It's twisty, narrow, and bumpy, sure, but it's hardly ever clogged up with traffic. It's mostly neighborhoods on each side. And on and off ramps are plentiful.

What do you think of the proposed 710 corridor tunnel underneath the SGV?

One can only dream... right? http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/10.../#comment-12132

Wasn't the program run by the Department of Transportation? It should be interesting to see how NHTSA's administrative budget changed in FY 2009.

The protectionist, mercantilist Japanese economy has never exactly prospered, has it? Their recession has gone on forever. No American would choose to have the same limited consumer choice and freedom. If the US government were more like Japan's government, GM and Chrysler would have been dead long ago. The success of some Asian industries came from the government picking winners among domestic players, withdrawing support from those that are revealed failures, so that resources don't get bottled up in unproductive companies.

The plant in Lordstown isn't ready yet? The Cruzes in Europe, I believe, are made in South Korea, while the ones in China are made in China. The US-market Cruze will be assembled locally.

<- Not a fan of BFGs, btw. Had a set of Killer-Dry-Wet-Snows on the Bimmer, and treadlife was poor. I got them because one of the tires were flat, and I wanted a cheap pair of tires for the affected axle. I had Bridgestones (Turanza LS-H) on the other axle with 50% tread left, and those tires outlasted the brand-new BFGs. I've had nothing but good experiences with Bridgestone tires, btw, but they are pricey.

The current Camaro. I can "stand" it, but I certainly don't like it. I'd much rather have, say, the similar but less garnished G8/Commodore or its competitor, the Mustang.

Extended-range fuel economy would probably be spectacular, if the engine could directly turn the wheels, it seems. The Prius manages 50 mpg combined with a 1.6 kWh battery pack. Imagine if it had a 16 kWh pack that could properly capture *all* the regen. According to Ford, their 10 kWh plug-in Escape Hybrid gets 88 mpg city and 50 mpg highway in traditional hybrid mode! In plug-in mode, it gets 120 mpg for the first 30 miles. It seems like all the extra energy storage in the Volt should *increase* extended-range fuel efficiency, not hinder it.

2010 Passat and CC get DSG, by the way. Fuel economy goes up from 19/29 with the six-speed automatic to 22/31 with the DSG. That means V6+ punch during low revs, sub-7 second 0-60s, and absolutely no difference in EPA fuel economy compared to a N/A four-cylinder - Accord 2.4 gets 21/31. Now that's EcoBooooost.

The Passat loses its manual option in the US, although nobody buys the Passat anyway, now that the CC is here - which is available with MT. On a dyno, the 2.0T motor makes Accord V6 power up until 5,000 rpm. Interestingly, all but the Accord have six-speeds... Does the Jetta, particularly the wagon, count as a midsizer? You can get a manual with the 2.5, TDI, or 2.0T. Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima offer five-speed manuals as well.

The Prius has both the best highway and city fuel economy of any car sold in the US or Canada.

More... http://gm-volt.com/2009/10/27/bob-lutz-imp...ustaining-mode/

At least it's a loan with considerable potential returns...

We have General Altimax HP tires on the 5er, and they're inexpensive, quiet, and comfortable. General is now owned by Continental, and ours were made in France. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...romCompare1=yes H-Rated, 440 treadwear, 55K mile warranty, $109/ea You can get them from TireRack and have them installed locally.

http://gm-volt.com/2009/10/25/chevy-volt-w...ustaining-mode/

My grandfather's written test was in poorly-translated Chinese. There's surprisingly technical language in there... especially about booze.

Really? I don't see it as a problem in L.A... I have an internship in the City of Commerce, which is 98% Latino, and I walk through neighborhoods in East LA, Bell Gardens, Pico Rivera, Montebello, and Huntington Park all the time and have rarely encountered language as a problem. There's almost always a few people in the household who speak English - young adults and children are always fluent, while older immigrants tend to struggle with it. It's a generational thing. My grandparents who came from Asia in their sixties 20 years ago still can't speak it... when you're working 60 hours a week, there's no time to take English classes, and frankly, you stop learning new things at that age. The main problem I see with those immigrants not learning English is in the workforce. It must have been frustrating walking into an establishment expecting a service and not getting it. I don't think, however, that your experience can be extrapolated to reflect the attitudes of most Latino immigrants. Most *want* to learn the language and would use it if they could. On the other hand, I've heard of loud, obnoxious, ethnocentric Anglo Americans abroad who simply refuse to speak the local language, but I won't generalize...

That's what lights are for... I like white paint on cars you don't expect to be white. Lime green Lambos are so cliched, so it's refreshing when there's one that's white. However, if you ever go to an Audi display at a major autoshow, one can argue that white is starting to be overplayed...

If the car's hot, white.

Reading is a lot easier than speaking or listening. I turn on Univision and have no idea what they're saying, but I can get by with closed captioning.

Two Corvettes...

Agreed... the new Cadillac site sucks. Ford, on the other hand, knows how to do a good website. Ford, in general, tends to have very good branding. I like their awesome greenwashing campaigns: http://www.thefordstory.com/your-stories/w...the-environment Cheerful, friendly, positive... people love that stuff.