G. David Felt

I recommend holding off as there is a ton of updates and new models coming over the next year. My gut tells me the auto companies are going to clean house on old tech / parts to then release far superior products. Plus why not save a bit longer and get a nicer auto that lasts longer than to get some instant gratification now. Just IMHO. Agree, in today's market, why the hell still have rear drum brakes when there is clearly superior products that the competition use in this same category.

Yes splatters suck, but happen with algae. Africa has the worst sanitation in the known world. We might have started on that continent according to evolution but I am sure glad to not be there.

It is not irrelevant as Electric will improve but it is not going to take over the entire industry in all areas. It will still take all variations of energy to meet the needs and desires of customers. While technology will improve we are still decades from infrastructure that will meet the needs to most people. Hell there are still many places with out cell coverage yet today and will not have it in the near future. Not everyone lives in a metro area. I don't think it is unrealistic to think that in 2050 every new car sold will be electric. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen in time. Electricity is more readily available than gas also. And electricity has better performance too. Cost is the obstacle, eventually they will overcome that. To be totally honest there will be a place for many forms of power. Electric will grow but unless there is some major advancement in charging times and ability to charge just about anywhere. Electric cars to many owners are life style changing to live with them and until that is handled it will remain a hurtle. When will these changes come. Next year? 10 Years or 75 years. You can not predict advancements. More money is going in and will increase the odds but there is no way to predict it. As it is most market watchers that are stable and intelligent agree that Gas will still be a part of the market for a good time into the future unless the government out laws it like some EU countries are trying. Just received my EGO Electric Blower, weed wacker and lawn mower today. http://egopowerplus.com/collections/products All are pure cordless electric and uses a 56V Lithium-Ion 7.5Ah battery. The battery recharges in less than 30 min and yet I have over an hour of use in the lawn mower or almost 1 1/2hrs of use in the blower or weed wacker. I love who quiet they are and yet how fast they get the job done. Truly some companies are figuring out how to get a battery recharged fast.

For a moment, I was scratching my head as to which Volkswagen model equipped with 2.0L TDI would get $44,000. Then I remembered the Audi A3 is also involved. Yeah, I actually just talked to a lady I work with who has an A3 and she took a trip last year and averaged 52mpg. INSANE mpg. I guess that's possible when it's an engine that isn't compliant with regulations..lol Yep and Hybrids are hitting that MPG now so Diesel is gonna have a hard time justifying itself for dirty exhaust for high mpgn when a Hybrid much cleaner can do it.

Not bad ccap, good start to the day!

Marketing might think they need to follow everyone with turbo this, turbo that, but GM is more than capable of building a high quality long life NA DI V6 or V8 that would fit the bill running on regular gas or going the Hybrid or EV route.

Keep in mind that the 1300 to 1500 range is for a person out of shape, needing to drop stored body fat. As you get lean and mean and you are growing yourself in working out, 1800 to 2200 is pretty common for a man looking to maintain being lean and fit. If you want to bulk up then you have more intake. Course then you have peeps like Michael Phelps and his 12,000 calories a day to feed his swimming practice of 2 - 3 times a day. Crazy!

So if I am reading this right, 14.7 billion settlement with the feds and another 603 million with all the states, so a 15.3 billion cost and this is only one engine. VW said they set aside 18.2 billion for this issue globally. I suspect this will cost them $30 Billion or more when all done. After all this is just one engine in the US and they still have the rest of the world to deal with. OUCH!

Welllllll... I'll give my opinion on the matter but this is not fact.. hopefully dfelt can answer. If you're cutting way back on your overall calories and working out, aka burning more calories, are you taking in too few of calories now? And because your body is getting what sounds like higher quality foods maybe your body is also absorbing the foods and utilizing them much better a long with fewer calories and burning way more you might have swung a little too extreme for your body.. Do you count your calories? if so, about how man have you taken in and burnt a day for this week? CCAP has hit on a very important point, calories. Average male needs only 1200 to 1500 calories a day. If you are below that, then you body will use everything up and you will not have much waste, above this and you will have a hard time loosing the fat, but fat will burn off and muscle grow depending on how hard your workout are. If you have fat, want to slim down, then you do need to stay around 1200 to 1500 calories a day for your core 3 meals. People are surprised by the amount of calories in fruit and veggies and with that said, everyone in the work out industry has their own idea of what is a free munchie / snack and what is not. I tend to go with the not everyone likes the same thing and a small amount of fruit or veggies is better than a candy bar any day. http://www.calorieking.com/calories-in-fruit.html Good place to check calories if you need a source, many others out there also.

Yes, Diet will change the way your body removes waste. Cutting breads and increasing vegi's can cause runs as the body clears itself. Also if you have reduced your food intake and increased your activity, then the body will use it up more and reduce the #2 out put. If you are not going #2 at least every other day, then you need to increase your vegi's and fruit intake. You need to be regular! Also drink, drink and drink. You should be peeing far more often as you clean out your body and it will thank you.

If you have not done stomach exercises in forever, then start out slow and start out with crunches and variations. Here is a great link to a large selection of ab exercises so you can tone without killing yourself. http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/muscle/id/13/muscle/abdominals

Clearly interesting but an exaggeration as Opel has not been proven that they cheated yet.

They were Michelin tires.

I would totally agree with what Europe is staying, yes VW could probably reduce what they have to pay out but by treating Europeans on a lesser level, VW is also saying screw you we will take the cheaper route cause we can and we really do not care about you. We just want to get back to selling auto's and making money. I think if Europe is OK with the US settlement, it would be in VW best interest to role out this settlement worldwide.

Frozen is fine, but stay away from canned herrings or sardines, way overload on the salt which causes bloating. There are plenty of good frozen fish options. Even breaded fish that you instead put in your oven are not too bad compared to frying them. Plenty of good ways to poach various frozen fish and still have a yummy protein based meal.

So my sister loves this auto and took it for a second road drive. Very positive, so she asked me what competed against it from BMW or MB. I was not totally sure but looked up and emailed her the comparisons. So fully loaded Envision AWD with Premium II package MSRP $50,240 Equal BMW X3 equipped the same is MSRP $55,520 Equal MB GLC 300 4matic equipped the same MSRP $58,577. Both BMW and MB are in the mid 183 inches long like the Envision, but the rear seat room is much smaller than the Envision. Also both 4 banger motors are much less HP and Torque. Over all Buick built a superior product than the Germans.

No I do not think so as this was a petro engine, that really did not deliver the MPG of a hybrid in competition. I think this is the over all casualty of VW finally doing what they should have done years ago in reducing the number of models that really made no sense. Poorly executed Hybrid is what this was.

I agree that Enthusiast buyers will know the power of the engines, but most BMW / MB badge snobs will not.

So here is my 36 years of working out input: You have hit on the 3 points of the healthy crown, and cardio is good but not King. Yes you will burn fat but without core weight lifting Cardio only gets you so far. Food is the 3rd point I will cover at the end. Stretching is a requirement each time you go to work out first. Then start out with 10-15 min of cardio at MOST. Proceed to your weightlifting routine and alternate upper body with lower body every other day. Also remember, start out with lite weights for the first month to allow your tendons and over all body to tone up first before you push to heavier weights. Remember when you have not worked out in a long time, your body will drop some weight at first and then go into conservation mode to see if the diet changes, regular feeding and working out will stick. This is what is called the 30 - 60 - 90 day process. First 30 days body will drop some fat, body will tone up some, mostly just tightening in the muscles and strengthening the tendons around joints and muscle attachment. The next 30 days most people will not see much change due to the body is in a phase of change and not sure if you will stick with it or not. The Day 31 to 90 is the hardest and where most people drop out of working out, only those sticking it out see the long term benefits. Remember, even when your tired, a sucky tired workout is better than no workout and the body will thank you for it. Day 61 to 90, the body will start to continue to drop weight and tone up as you push yourself. Sticking out this far is a hard thing to do for many people but those that do are rewarded with some amazing changes. This is also when the body will make some weight gain due to increased muscle mass as you tone up. You will drop size in clothing due to body fat loss but also get tighter in other places due to muscle mass growth. All normal and of course how big one gets depends on the weight they use. You stated you wanted to be toned and lean so you will need to as you train increase the number of reps you do in comparison to increasing weight. You will still need to increase the weight as you get stronger but not for bulk. 3 sets of 15 reps is your goal and when comfortable you increase the weight by 5lbs and plan for 3 reps of 12 building up to 15 before increasing weight again. Final part is Food, remember that there's good fats and bad fats. Sugars in natural form in moderation is fine also, but moderation is what it is all about and having trained for so many years, I will go against the grain of all the fad diets with just cutting out sugar, cutting out carbs, etc. This is a recipe for FAILURE! Your body will drop weight fast in the early days but bounce it will come and hit you hard. You have to reduce over time or at least reduce to moderation and give the body time to adjust as well as your taste buds time to adjust and you will notice the change. 3 Health Benefits of using Virgin Coconut Oil or Virgin Olive Oil. 1) They contain antioxidants that can decrease oxidative stress. This help to reduce blood pressure, reduce buildup of plaques in the arteries and overall lower inflammation in the body. 2) They reduce total and bad cholesterol. Both oils help in the removal of bad fats from the body leading to a lowering of bad cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol count. 3) The oils help with weight loss through increased calorie burning. They contain medium-chain fatty acids that your body uses as efficient energy sources increasing calorie burning and promoting weight loss. Right now more data is on Olive Oil, so I would use that for cooking. Here is some good comparison data from the health clinics trying to help people live better lives. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/10/olive-oil-vs-coconut-oil-which-is-heart-healthier/ Here is a great short read with a suggested mixture for a solid pre-workout drink of Creatine, Beta-Alanine with Caffeine mixture. http://easacademy.org/research-news/article/caffeine,-b-vitamins,-amino-acids,-creatine,-and-beta-alanine-before-exercise-delays-fatigue Here is another good medical info supporting the mixture also. http://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-9-28 Remember that a High Veggie / Protein diet with a large breakfast is the best way to go in reducing fat, increasing muscles and leaning out. Just keep a balance as you still need some carbs.

Not surprised, if it does not outshine brightly a normal gas powered auto, then the Hybrid will not be in position to sell. MPG must be double of the Petrol only model to sell.

This will be interesting to see how it goes over.

Agree that this is a total black mail by the greedy lawyers and stupid tree huggers here in seattle that might understand the law but really just want to get out of their diesel auto and not be held responsible for their own decision of what they bought. GM should fight this and hopefully tort reform will happen where people who file frivolous lawsuits has to pay. I am so tired of the greedy lawyers going after companies with issues that really do not affect or impact society and only they get money out of it. Sadly, this is why we will see Diesel autos die and the various forms of hybrid will be the new high MPG auto's of the future.

Mazda

Very cool, look forward to hearing about the Fusion drive. So for such a basic auto, what was the one major thing missing that you wished it had?

So I really think we have room to improve the steering wheel and even some of the current concept cars show we can do better. Just wonder if the feds can let go of the stupid Steering wheel airbag or if it can be made to fit into some of these designes. 200c Aston Martin Hyundai GMC & Hummer Ford Peugeot VW Nissan Others