Flybrian

Dear God let it be...more on that when I turn 'er in and write my review.

I would turn down the Accord for...anything. If you're not bored with that car by now...

Also, the challenges faced with hydrogen seem daunting, imagine if we were sitting here in 1900 running out of wood (you know what I mean) and facing the precipice of engineering a petroleum economy from scratch. How impossible would it seem for us to collectively try as a world to develop large-scale drilling, gigantic tanker ships, refining techniques, the internal combustion engine, distribution methods, safety regulations, laws, statues, rules, and also to convince the world it makes good sense to do so. Our luck that it just...happened. Things are always more challenging if you have to plan them out.

I'd rather not own a car everyone else owns...hell, not even own...leases.

Electric cars and plug-in hybrids have their own problems to deal with as well. I'm only arguing for diversification and doing something instead of nothing. Speaking in regards to only the automobile industry, I'd rather have every organization working on several different approaches than just one. Crossover in these technological developments for fuel cells, biodiesel, hybrids, electric cars, and whatever else is inevitable. Also, with high-temperature electrolysis, hydrogen could be separated using the thermal output of a nuclear reactor. Prototype reactors designed in this country can already yield a heat level consistantly hot enough to economically do this. In fact, this process could almost halve the current price of hydrogen extraction and use our existing power grid at its maximum efficiency, running atomic reactors to generate electricity during peak hours and producing hydrogen at other times.

The entire point is a diversity of our energy sources from the near singularity of today's petroleum-based economy. A nation in which renewable and non-renewable sources of fuel are all used in their own most efficient capacities would reduce the overall detrimental environmental impact and - more importantly to the average person - eliminate the single-source fuel monopoly and lower prices across the board. Also, if you believe petroleum to be a finite resources, you're going to need to generate electricity for those electrics and use some sort of fuel for the other half of the hybrid. Hydrogen can be that source, and it is almost infinite in abundance. And on the subject of hydrogen, I read a recent "article" - I struggle to call it that - in a local paper on the future of hydrogen cars. The writer referenced the Hindenburg not once, but twice. What the hell is up with that?

For the 2007 model year, GM is retailing both the all-new pickups and 'Classic' pickups, much like Ford did in 2004 with the F-150 Heritage.

GM developing home hydrogen refueling device 24-September-2006 Source:Chris Woodyard-USA Today General Motors is building a prototype for a home hydrogen refueling unit in hopes of selling fuel-cell cars by 2011. The unit, which would make hydrogen using either electricity or sunlight, would help sidestep one of the most vexing problems surrounding the creation of the pollution-free, alternative-power cars: how to persuade oil companies to invest in expensive new hydrogen stations that would compete with their core product, gasoline. The automaker's goal is an affordable, compact unit that would allow customers to fill their cars overnight in their own garages, says GM spokesman Scott Fosgard. GM would join Honda, which has already created a model for a home refueling hydrogen unit. Home refueling makes the possibility of fuel-cell cars "much more real," especially since building hydrogen fueling stations would be a "massive undertaking," says Ron Cogan, publisher of the Green Car Journal. GM is starting to seriously plan a business case for hydrogen vehicles, which up to now has been a long-range research project eclipsed by more market-ready fuel-saving alternatives, such as gas-electric hybrids. Next year, GM plans to put 100 hydrogen fuel-cell versions of its Chevrolet Equinox SUV into the hands of consumers — from teachers to government officials — in Washington, D.C., California and New York. And Vice Chairman Bob Lutz recently predicted that GM fuel-cell-powered vehicles could go on sale in as few as five years from now, beating previous forecasts by a decade. He said fuel cells could create a new golden age for GM hearkening back to the 1950s and 1960s. Fueling is a problem. California, with the most hydrogen filling stations of any state, has just 23 and another 15 on the drawing boards. Even GM's oil company partner, Shell, has immediate plans for only six, two outside New York and four on the drawing board in Los Angeles. One big reason: expense. Shell's only existing hydrogen filling station, in the Washington, D.C., area, cost $2 million. As for how many it eventually might build, "We haven't hung numbers on it," says Shell Hydrogen's Tim O'Leary. GM isn't alone in home refueling. Honda unveiled the third generation of its home unit last year, created in conjunction with a fuel-cell company called Plug Power. It produces enough hydrogen from natural gas to power both a car and a home. Honda also has a solar-powered refueling station in operation at its test center in Torrance, Calif. It makes enough hydrogen for 30 miles of driving a day. Honda today demonstrated its next-generation hydrogen car in Japan. Honda says its new FCX, with a smaller, lighter fuel cell, has a range of more than 270 miles. It's due to arrive in the USA in 2008. Honda has 15 current-generation FCXs being tested by consumers. Other automakers have hydrogen programs as well, but aren't as far along.

Testing GM's `Sequel' Fuel-cell concept vehicle peppy, smooth, silent But fuel tanks, batteries make it unusually heavy Sep. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM LINDSAY BROOKE NEW YORK TIMES NEW YORK—If an afternoon behind the wheel of General Motors' latest prototype hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the Sequel, is any indication, powertrains of the future will not feel much different from the engines that drive today's cars and trucks. By a seat-of-the-pants evaluation, the Sequel feels reasonably peppy; acceleration is smooth and nearly silent. And it is capable of reaching 90 miles an hour, said Mohsen Shabana, chief engineer for the Sequel program and my passenger. More important than its performance or apparent normalness, though, is its role as a development mule for future production models. Next year GM will demonstrate the real-world capabilities of the Sequel's fuel-cell technology when it begins to deploy a fleet of more than 100 fuel-cell-powered vehicles in the United States. Vehicles for this program, called Project Driveway, will be powered by the same fourth-generation fuel cell used in the Sequel I drove, but installed in a Chevrolet Equinox crossover sport wagon. According to Larry Burns, GM's vice president for research and development and head of strategic planning, a variety of drivers — families, fleets, government and utilities — will operate and regularly refuel the fleet in three regions: California, the New York metropolitan area and Washington. There's more: GM promised three years ago that by 2010 it would have a hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion system, fully validated for production, that would compete head-to-head with the internal combustion engine in overall performance and durability. By all indications, that fuel cell — a development of the Sequel's powertrain — will be installed in a redesigned Equinox body scheduled to makes its debut in 2009. The Sequel is the latest milestone in GM's fuel-cell-development program, which has shown steady progress and has the support of the company's top managers, including the chairman, Rick Wagoner, despite GM's financial challenges. Though large-scale production of fuel-cell cars faces many hurdles — high costs and the ready availability of hydrogen, to name just two — their environmental friendliness makes them attractive. Combining hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, fuel cells are typically made up of many small units, clustered in stacks. The car emits only trace amounts of water vapor. The Sequel, originally shown by GM at the 2005 Detroit auto show, also compares favourably with conventional vehicles in another crucial attribute — it can travel 300 miles between refueling stops, GM says. A 480-kilometre operating range is the current benchmark for hydrogen-fueled vehicles, because it is the minimum distance customers expect from a tank of gasoline in their current cars, explained Burns. Range is likely to be of great interest among the test-fleet drivers. Sequel trades its 480-kilometre envelope for a curb weight of 2,100 kilograms — portly indeed for a rather small 5-metre-long sport wagon that seats four. And that's despite its weight-saving aluminum body shell and carbon-fibre front fenders. The primary culprits in the car's extra mass are three large cylindrical tanks, made of a tough carbon fibre composite and nestled underneath the specially designed centre tunnel of the aluminum chassis (where the driveshaft would reside in a rear-wheel-drive vehicle). Adding pounds is the rectangular pack of lithium-ion batteries under the rear seat area, a backup steering column (in case the steer-by-wire system fails) and those wheel-hub motors. "To meet our range target, we needed to carry eight kilograms of hydrogen, which has the energy equivalent of 16 gallons of gasoline in a conventional vehicle," Shabana said. One kilogram of hydrogen is roughly equal to one gallon of gasoline in terms of energy content, GM says. Fuel cells, which work without combustion, derive about twice as much work from each unit of fuel. Since hydrogen takes up a lot of space as a gas, it must be stored under high pressure in a car. On the 480-kilometre Sequel, that required large tanks that hold hydrogen at 10,000 pounds per square inch. They are arrayed along the centre line of the vehicle as a consideration toward meeting federal crash standards; GM has demonstrated the car's compliance by computer simulation. Sequel's travel range, which GM promises to prove publicly early next year, is considered somewhat of a breakthrough, said Burns, whose team of engineers and scientists in the United States and Germany is working to put hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles into the transportation mainstream. But notions that the technology has the potential to reduce transportation's dependency on petroleum fuels are rife with caveats. How will hydrogen fuel be produced? What energy is consumed in the process of producing hydrogen? How will the fuel be distributed? Burns suggested that one solution might be nuclear reactors, situated on high-security U.S. military bases and dedicated to making the electricity needed to produce hydrogen.

Clicky I'd buy it, then kick my own ass.

1961 Cadillac Jacqueline by Pininfarina.

ACNA is a great forum, by the way. Lots of knowledgable and helpful people, like C&G but Aurora-specific. Anyway, here's the forum leader, a 308,550-mile 1995 Aurora, arguably the 'worst' year for an Aurora due to everything being completely, 100% new. Finally gave up and replaced her with an STS, but it shows that America could build that's luxurious, gadget-laden, and reliable, even in the mid-90s.

If the Altima's CVT is anything like the CVT in my '06 Murano rental, it sucks.

No surprise that the LX car aura wore off quickly. Once you realize the 300 is all flash with little substance, your left with a midgrade large midsize sedan with many compromises.

Its a very lousy look.

The sort of says how really strong the current Titan's frame is, doesn't it?

In any case, this can just as easily be discussed in that aforementioned Saturn topic where this thread is going...

U.S. Army Takes Delivery of GM's Latest Fuel Cell Vehicle Army First Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell Vehicle Customer Washington, D. C. - The U.S. Army became the first customer of General Motors Corp.'s latest fuel cell technology today as the automaker deployed the first vehicle of its next generation Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle fleet. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a champion of fuel cell technology, and Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development and strategic planning, gave the Equinox Fuel Cell keys to Army Maj. Gen. Roger A. Nadeau, commander of the U.S. Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command. On Sunday, GM announced "Project Driveway", a comprehensive market test to place 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles with consumers in three key U.S. regions: California, Washington, D.C. and the New York City metropolitan area. A variety of drivers, including individual consumers, will begin driving the vehicles in the fall of 2007. The fuel cell vehicle the Army received today is a vehicle which will enable a direct performance assessment of GM's latest generation of fuel cell technology. "The delivery of this vehicle today illustrates what is possible with the powerful collaboration of industry and government," said Sen. Levin. "The Army's involvement with this important program demonstrates the military's commitment to develop and test alternatives that will offer tremendous potential to reduce our dependence on oil on the battlefield. This vehicle also highlights the important work occurring in our domestic auto industry to move toward fuel cell vehicles, and the Army provides an important test bed for this technology." The Army's fuel cell vehicle will be used for non-tactical transportation purposes, primarily on military bases in Virginia and California. It is powered by GM's fourth generation fuel cell propulsion system, offering significantly improved performance, refinement and range as compared with earlier generation vehicles. The Army's vehicle is a four-passenger crossover vehicle, with 186 miles of petroleum-free operating range. Safety features include driver and passenger airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS) and OnStar. "GM is demonstrating its commitment to hydrogen fuel cells as the answer for taking the automobile out of the environmental debate and reducing our dependence on petroleum," Burns said. "The U.S. Army is an important partner in validating GM's fuel cell technology in real use operation. Delivery of this vehicle is an important milestone in the Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle program announced last week, and in our ongoing relationship with the U.S. Army." GM has a history of working with the Army on demonstrating and evaluating fuel cell vehicles. In April 2005, the U.S. Army took delivery of the Chevrolet Silverado Fuel Cell truck, the world's first compressed-hydrogen fuel cell pickup, for demonstration and evaluation in different climates and locations around the U.S. In addition to using the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle to evaluate the performance of GM's latest fuel cell technology, the military will continue to obtain first-hand experience with the operation, maintenance and logistics of fuel cell vehicles. This vehicle is an engineered prototype of the 100 vehicle Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell market test fleet that GM will deploy to various customers beginning in the fall of 2007. The U.S. Army has one of the largest fleets of vehicles in the world and GM produces more than half of the non-tactical U.S. military vehicles purchased each year. Improving fuel economy and reducing the logistics of the fuel supply chain could save millions of dollars. U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command gets technology out of the laboratories and puts it into the hands of warfighters as quickly as possible. RDECOM manages eight laboratories and research, development and engineering centers, plus the U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity, System of Systems Integration, international technology centers, and capability and technology integrated process teams. RDECOM maintains liaisons to the field, hundreds of international agreements, and engineer and scientist exchange programs. RDECOM has more than 17,000 military, civilian and direct contractor personnel, a multi-billion dollar annual budget and is responsible for 75 percent of the Army's science and technology objectives. RDECOM provides direct support of the technical base to Future Combat Systems and Future Force, ensuring the nation has the protection it needs for the 21st century and beyond. More information on the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command can be found at www.rdecom.army.mil.

1) I believe some dealerships do this on a dealership level. I know a Lincoln-Mercury dealer near me offers this. 2) GM-sponsored home delivery is part of a larger market test by Saturn and Google via Saturn's advertising agency. The entire article has already been posted and can be viewed below... Google, Saturn Explore New Ads As indicated, its not a new corporate mandate for all dealers to follow, only part of a test campaign. 3) I don't think its necessarily accurate to give Buickman 100% credit on this as various dealers have been doing this on an individual basis for awhile now. The L-M dealer I mentioned above has been doing this for about fifteen years now and Coastal Cadillac has been picking up and dropping off customers' vehicles at their home or work for servicing for at least several years.

I would say this is the 300 of SUVs, in other words, a big grille, lots of chrome, OMG TORTUS-SHEL!!, a Gottahemi??, and not much else.

Hood props are teh suxxorz

Well, they can be expensive to work on if you take it to a dealership. Many, many basic to moderate maintenance can be done at home with the proper tools and a buddy and the engine bay is suprisingly DIY-friendly...for a FWD TRANS-VERSAL POS UNIBODEE CAR LOLZ. Plugs and wires are a 30-minute job, so are the rear air shocks, etc and most repair work can be done at any good shop. Certain aspects, however, will be pricey, such as major transmission/engine servicing, etc because of the Oldsmobile-exclusive parts and don't fool yourself, the engine is Oldsmobile. No other vehicle in the entire world has the exact 4.0l Aurora engine, though it shares much in common with Cadillac's Northstar, meaning a Cadillac dealer will be required since most Olds retailers around here at least sell non-GM cars now. For your consideration: 163,795 <-- Total number of 4.0l Auroras sold, including '01-'03 136,289 <-- Total number of Classic ('95-'99) Auroras sold. That many Camries are sold in about three months, and even just-as-rare cars like the Riviera still have drivetrain commonality with popular LeSabres and Bonnevilles. I don't know the attrition rate, but I'd assume less than 100,000 are still on the road and their numbers keep dwindling. Keep in mind, its a car that is 7-11 years old today. Factor in the small total build numbers and you have an automobile that gets harder and harder to find parts for. If you do buy one, don't get in an accident because it will likely be totalled. Read my story, as I'm sure you already have. I know its sounds sour and bleak, but its a fact Aurora owners have to face. We're driving something endangered that is quickly becoming a true boutique car. This is something you have to prepare yourself for if you intend to buy one and keep one. Knowing all that I do now, would I do it again? Yes. Because to me, the benefits of this car outweigh the hardships and hassles. You will never find a car that rides like this one does. You will not find a more stable sedan because automakers no longer make cars that are long and low like Aurora. You will not find a car that is so smooth in power delivery or shifting. You won't find a car with such distinctive lines, with such dynamic styling and proportioning. You won't find seats as comfortable or an interior so well laid-out. To me, its one for the ages and a car that people regret not buying, at least from the dozens of times its been told to me by complete strangers. All I warn is know what you're getting into. If you're looking for a no-hassle luxury sedan, I'd honestly recommend something else. If you want a car you don't have to think about, don't even look at it again. But if you want to be uniquely rewarded by a car that gives what you put into it - and one that few have - you just may want an Aurora. If you still want it, here's what to get on your next visit: *Mileage (d'uh) *VIN number/build date - I call tell you more about the car from that info, whether or not it has the Autobahn package. *Take photos if you can. For you to do: *Drive it - see how it sounds, how it rides, any weird noises *Fuel Rail - check the condition of the fuel rails, which are towards the cowl on the driver's side. If they are steel (metal), you're good; if they're nylon, you need them replaced immediately. Oldsmobile issued a recall on nylon fuel rails circa 1999 as they may deteriorate and lead to a fire. I know one Aurora that burned up because the recall wasn't performed. Again, this is a matter of having a shop simply do it. *Window Seals - having frameless windows, seal deterioration can be an issue. Check and make sure all the seals are tight and leak-free. A preferred way of checking is to drive through an automated brushless car wash or one of those self-serve high pressure washes. Resealing the car isn't incredibly expensive, though. *Equipment - make sure all the power equipment functions correctly - both seats, mirrors, windows, radio, steering wheel controls, HVAC, foglamps, cornering lamps, etc. *Radio - bring along a music CD and try it out.Make sure no E21/22/23 error comes up on the radio. These Olds head units are notorious for eating CDs. *Power Antenna Mast - the mast on this car is retractable. It should raise when the radio is on and lower when its off. A replacement is $50. Those are mainly FYI things. I'd also have it looked at by a mechanic you know. If you have any other questions at anytime, just let me know.

You're back-asswards. Deadplates are noticeable, especially how the Japanese do them. Koreans are worse, though...sometimes the coloration doesn't even match right. I challenge you to find an average person to be able to tell the difference between the faux wood on a 2007 Escalade and the real Zebrano wood on a 1999 Escalade.

The J30 was hillarious. Cavalier roominess and Samsonite carryon trunk space for a Cadillac price.