thegriffon

The LS-F was a preview of the current Lexus LS (although the name is mostly coincidence).

The Pontiac Malibu is the one which runs until 2013.

You're missing the point—there is not a single standard which favors smaller cars. Each car has to meet an individualized standard based on wheelbase and track. A smaller car must meet a tougher standard than a larger car—41.6 mpg for an Aveo in 2015 but only 32.9 mpg for the new Maxima for example. As long as your average for cars (trucks don't have a corporate minimum at all) is at least as good as that required for the Maxima, you'll meet the standard. Only when you get to the largest (e.g. Town Car, which must meet the same minimum standard as the Charger) and smallest vehicles (e.g. Chevy Beat, which only has to meet the same standard as the late Echo would, and only .1 mpg less than the Aveo) is their any clear advantage to downsizing.

See my posts under the Earthday thread for the real rules and the effect it will have. Don't panic, it's mostly good (unless you want a two-seat sports car). In practice the minimum average for light trucks is 24.8 mpg by 2015, but it varies by footprint (wheelbase by track)—smaller trucks will require better fuel economy, even a Yukon XL would need to get 25.4 mpg (under the old, old test, not the recent or current EPA tests). If, on average, each model meets its individual target, then you'll pass. The maximum required for the smallest "trucks" is 34.3 mpg. For cars, the minimum corporate average is 32.9 mpg by 2015, but targets range from 31.2 mpg for the largest cars (for rwd cars say Charger and up, bigger for shorter-wheelbase fwd cars) to a maximum of 41.7 mpg required from the MX-5, and 41.6 mpg for most subcompacts such as the mini and Aveo. Like trucks cars will be given a target based on the footprint, as long as each model meets its target, and you don't have too many getting less than 32.9 mpg, you're fine. If some models don't meet their targets, whether a small car that doesn't get better than 40 mpg, or a large car that gets less than 31.2 mpg, then you have to have others that do better to balance. But a rwd car can have a better than 1 mpg advantage over a fwd car, right up until the largest models (even a Lucerne must meet a higher standard than a similar rwd sedan). I've taken the formula given by the NHTSA, and plugged in their target numbers for each year (maximum and minimum mpg figures, plus the correction factors which also change every year), combined with the relevant dimensions of current and past models. The only unknown is what the CAFE fuel economy numbers for the current models are now, and how it compares to the targets. Now, it's clear that vehicles over a certain size (more than a 3.1 m wheelbase) are at a disadvantage, since the size bonus doesn't get any larger (a Maybach 62 and TownCar have to meet the same standard as a Charger), and the smallest vehicles (smaller than the current market offerings, say a Chevy Beat) have an advantage as they don't have a higher standard than a larger, heavier subcompact. It will also mean future sports cars will need to have longer wheelbase and wider track than current models, and that rwd cars may actually be favored because of the inherently longer wheelbase (wheels at the corners instead of behind the engine).

It can present a problem for 2-seat sports cars though—by 2015 a Corvette, in its current form, would have to average as much as 39.2 mpg, a Viper 40.7 mpg, a Gallardo 38 mpg, a Murcielargo 32.5 mpg. An MX-5's target would be the maximum 41.7 mpg, and a Solstice not much lower than that.

The proposal (it still has to attract comment and feedback and finally approval before it takes affect), shifts cars to the similar footprint-based targets as light trucks. Footprint is based on wheelbase times track in square feet, rounded to the nearest tenth. The formula is continuous rather than segment-based, with different targets for cars and light trucks only, updated every year. Essentially every car has its own fuel economy target to meet, as as long as, on average, you meet the targets for each vehicle, you're sweet. Every year has a maximum expected fuel economy a vehicle has to meet, adjusted downward by footprint, and a minimum target that you have to meet as well. The idea is that a company should be free to make only the most fuel efficient fullsize truck possible, and not be forced to sell a potentially under-performing subcompact to balance the numbers. As a result there is an inherent bonus built in for rwd cars because of their longer wheelbase. Longer wheelbase = larger footprint and thus a lower target to meet. For e.g. a 2009 Nissan Maxima would have to meet a target of 32.9 mpg (the minimum CAFE required for a manufacturer's passenger fleet) by 2015, but a Pontiac G8 would only have to make 31.4 mpg. A Chevy Impale must make 32.7 mpg, a Dodge Charger 31.2 mpg. For sedans the maximum target in 2015 will be 41.7 mpg, required of cars like the late Echo sedan. An Aveo or Accent etc. would typically have to achieve 41.6 mpg, if that's all a company offered. A Maybach or Phantom in contrast would only have to meet 31.2 mpg (the minimum required by an individual vehicle—the same as the Charger), as long as Daimler could sell enough cars with better than 32.9 mpg to balance it. For trucks there is only an individual vehicle target, by 2015 ranging from 34.3 mpg (only the Indonesian Suzuki Katana is small enough to warrant that target) to as low as 24.8 mpg for the longest-wheelbase fullsize vans (and it would have to be a monster). The average GMC Yukon XL would have to make 25.4 mpg.

The CAFE targets will protect rwd cars by a simple equation: rwd cars have a longer wheelbase than a comparable fwd car, and will thus have a larger footprint and a lower CAFE target. The formula for calculating the required fuel economy is continuous, not segment-based so a rwd car gets a slight boost over a fwd car. Last I heard the next gen G6 was going to be a rebadged EPII Chevy, no separate development program, but perhaps PCS has some inside info favoring one.

This is what it really looks like: 6.0 L V12, 402 hp, 406 lb-ft.

Here's a hint—the only reference to it by FAW is to the gochi.sohu.com article. They also reference spyshots of another car published by worldcarfans (with the wrong model code). You'll find a lot of these foreign car companies list press clippings about themselves or the industry rather than, or as well as, publish their own press releases

http://www.gmeurope.tv/index.php?amount=10...lInsigniaTeaser I like it. Bigger than I thought it would be, and like the Mondeo not easy to tell the difference between the sedan and hatchback. And hey, you get 4-door coupe styling you have to pay extra for in the Passat.

It's Beijing and it's the 20th onward. GM will have it's premiere night on the eve of the show (Saturday the 19th). Expect the Invicta concept then. http://vipchat.sina.com.cn/content/auto1/3222.html Chevrolet, Wuling and Opel will be on the 20th, on the show floor.

http://www.buick.com.cn/newexcelle/

No, it is small. Wheelbase is probably c 2750 mm (around 100 mm or 4" less than the Aura), and probably around 4.7 m long (about 8" or so less than the Aura).

The new L9H 6.2 L is just a FlexFuel version of the L92 6.2 L offered previously. It is still VVT, the order guide just doesn't mention it, although the output diagrams do. Other than E85 compatibility, no other changes have been made. It replaces the L92 completely, in every model offered in North America at least, and adds a few new applications as well (Sierra and Silverado).

The official release implies there will be a next0generation QX56 and Quest minivan. The QX56 does not do too badly considering. The logical site is Smyrna, alongside the XTerra, Frontier and Pathfinder (in fact it's the only other site in the US). The new products are a commercial van, Classes 1 to 3, and new trucks in classes 1 through 5.

Only hp given is the same a the Escalade and Denali, but final numbers for the other versions may change.

Nahh, just the Brazilian name. I just have "E85" in my spreadsheet.

These 09 details are still incomplete anyway.

New: LAQ 1.2 L 16V DOHC B-series, replaces 1.2 and 1.5 L SOHC engines in Gentra/Aveo (non-US), and Wuling Sunshine and Hongtu compact vans, and new van to be unveiled later. 85 hp @ 6200 rpm in cars, 108 hp @ 6000 rpm in vans. 1.4 L Dual VVT Ecotec Family 1 Gen III, replaces 1.4 L E-tec II in Aveo (Europe) final hp unavailable. LXV 1.6 L Dual VVT Ecotec Family 1 Gen III, replaces LXT 1.6L E-Tec II in Aveo. Power up from 103 to 107 hp. Essentially the same as GM Europe's Z16XER, but with less power, slightly higher compression ratio. 1.8 L Dual VVT Family 1 Gen III, replaces 1.8 L Ecotec Family 1 Gen II in Lacetti/Optra (6-speed auto also replaces ZF 4-speed). Final hp unavailable. essentially the same as the European 2H0/ZX18XER in the Astra. LAP 2.2 L Dual VVT Ecotec Family 2, replaces L61 2.2 L in Cobalt and G5. Power up from 148 to 155 hp. LE8 2.2 L Dual VVT Ecotec Family 2 FlexFuel, replaces L61 in HHR. Final hp unavailable. LE9 2.4 L Dual VVT Ecotec Family 2 FlexFuel, replaces LE5 in HHR. Final hp unavailable. LLT 3.6 L Dual VVT DI V6, replaces LY7 in Outlook, Acadia and Enclave, new in Traverse. Two versions (single [Outlook, Traverse] and dual exhaust [all]) Final hp unavailable, but could be something like 285 PS/hp and 290 PS/hp. LCS 3.6 L Dual VVT DI V6, tuned for dual-mode hybrid in Vue Greenline. Final hp unavailable, estimated 255 hp. LZ9 3.9 L VVT V6 (California etc.), and LGD 3.9 L VVT FlexFuel V6 new for Lucerne, replaces 3.8 L. Estimated 227 hp, final hp unavailable. LH8 5.3 L V8 Gen IV aluminum block, 300 hp, new in Colorado and Canyon. LS3 6.2 L V8 Gen IV aluminum block, 402 hp SAE, 425 hp DIN, new in G8, HSV Senator, Grange, Clubsport and Maloo. L9H 6.2 L VVT FlexFuel V8 Gen IV aluminum block, replaces L92 across the board (Sierra Denali, Yukon Denali, Tahoe, Escalade, H2), new in Sierra and Silverado. 403 hp, 417 lb-ft. Final hp unavailable for all versions. LSA 6.2 L Supercharged V8 Gen IV aluminum block, new in CTS-V. 550 hp estimated, final hp unavailable. LS9 6.2 L Supercharged V8 Gen IV aluminum block, dry sump, new in Corvette ZR1. 620 hp estimated, final hp unavailable.

New, more revealing spy shots, not too bad: Auto Motor und Sport: Alle Erlkönige April 2008

If the various Bentleys, Dusenberg's Bugattis etc. are too low-volume for you, then there are still the 16V Lotus engines, which I believe were used in a number of vehicles before the Dolomite, and in relatively high numbers (several thousand at least).

Not as long as it helps you think well of it.

Ahh, yeah, maybe if your world consists of a 10 acre site in Britiain. Duesenberg offered a DOHC 32V 8-cylinder in 1921, and I'm sure there were others (1919 Bugatti Type23 for example, a 1.45 L 16V DOHC engine).

err, isn't that down 12.8%? The only up vehicles are the tribute, and the Mazda5 (finally taking off in an era of $3+ gas).

And now we know, it was actually Cummins. Oh, and the HD's are coming, all the way up to Class 5.