PurdueGuy

It IS good to note, however, that many businesses that want to test-market products do so in Indiana. This may not be true across all product fields, of course, but with many products it is said "if it can do well in Indiana, it will probably do well elsewhere in the US". I can believe some of the things you said quite easily, turbo200, but you have to remember that not all of the world is "worldly" and "adventurous". Learning from a variety of markets is, of course, best. I hope GM is doing some things like this in other areas, but don't dismiss something as worthless just because you don't like Indiana.

I've seen Mustangs with that - the last design before the current one. I think it was an aftermarket setup, but it was sweet. The S-series fits that bill pretty well. Any ol' mechanic can work on it, if you even need to take it to a mechanic instead of DIY'in it. Weights about 2300 lbs. I would love to see a modern incarnation of the S-series - something smaller and about 500 lbs lighter than the Ion. GM brags about how many cars it has that can get 30 mpg, but they no longer (to my knowledge) have a car that can get 40 mpg. The Metro, Prism, and S-series all fit that bill. Now we have the Aveo, which only gets 35 mpg. :unsure:

Dodge had a concept like that in the mid-to-late '90's. I wanna say it was called the t-rex, but I don't remember for sure. *edit* Ah - here we go. http://dodgeram.org/ki4cy/ram_picts/Trex.htm

You're comparing ecnomy numbers of a upper-midsize car to a tiny 2-seater. It would be pathetic if the Insight couldn't get better numbers.

Dang it, now you're making me want my next car to be a classic to restore rather than a newer car to make fast. :P

Did they take this "axis" site down? If not, then they might start by making it EASIER TO FIND. I googled "gm axis" and general motors axis" and found nothing within the first page or so, which is where I would expect to find it.

:huh: It's one thing to say "I don't think it will work", it's another thing to be a naysayer with no point.

+1

Looks pretty good, but I'm kinda bothered by one thing - why doesn't it get better fuel economy? The drivetrain design is, what, 15 years newer than that of my s-series. The car is about the same weight, about the same power, and gets 5 mpg highway less? The best explaination I've heard for this is aerodynamics, since the Aveo looks taller than the s-series, but still - 15 years should give some mpg improvement... Another Q, though - are the HP ratings now wheel HP ratings? I know they changed something about how HP was measured several years ago, and haven't quite understood what changed. If the 103 hp stated is at the wheels, then it does have more power than my sohc s-series, and is just under the power of a dohc s-series, and at about the same economy as the dohc s-series. Add in the aerodynamics difference and it all makes sense. Still dissapointing not to have a bit of a mpg advantage from the overall equasion, but understandable.

I would find that kind of gamble disturbing, since they could really get hurt financially if gas prices shot up.

I agree, that back windshield doesn't look very good. Should be replaced with a single curved rear windshield.

I had a '90 grand marquis. Nice car. I always wanted to get/make a "Land Yacht Club" front plate for it, but never got around to it. :) My first car was a '76 Mercury Monarch. Gotta love the land yachts. :)

Business in China is highly intertwined with the government. "Owned" may not be the right word to describe the relationship, but it's typical that business executives are also government officials, so there is natural government control.

Don't forget the army* of cheap workers. It's the same basic cost savings: labor costs. Of course, US workers are more educated. I know an engineer that works for a company that makes electric motors. He was involved with (much to his own dismay) the opening of a plant in China, closely followed by the closing of a plant in the US. The first products they got from China would catch fire (these were motors for ceiling fans - I suggested they just call it a heating feature :P). Then they couldn't get the Chinese workers to put the proper amount of oil in the motors. One batch would be bone dry. They would contact the Chinese plant management so they could correct the procedure. The next batch would have oil dripping off the pallet, and they would literally dump oil out of the motors, and again, the motors were junk. Too many companies underestimate the value of an educated (even if it's just high school!) work force. *(the "army" of cheap workers is kind of a scary descriptive word, considering a) China can forcibly recruit anyone at any time to be in the military, and B) the huge amounts of Chinese exports into the US is comparible to an economic war in some senses...)

Yeah, while the plant design that Chernobyl (and several other Nuclear plants of the former soviet union) has is a fairly bad design (doesn't have many of the fail-safes, safety systems, and natural safeties that US plants have), it still took a LOT of human error to cause that screw-up. Never underestimate how much people can screw up...

When they're ready, within reason (as mentioned with the winter convertible).

Rather late on comments, but Toxic's grill makes me think it's a ford (a'la new fusion grill).

thanks. :)

I was reminded yesterday of an idea I had a while ago, and thought I'd share. This does go in the far-fetched idea category, but I kinda like it, so here it is. A while back, I was thinking about what Cadillac in particular could do to differentiate itself in the luxury brands, and it occurred to me to start pondering... What is the greatest luxury? Leather? A nice audio system? Powerful engine? Navigation systems and other gadgets? Nah. SERVICE! Think about it - what is more the picture of luxury: a guy with a fridge by his hot tub, or a guy with someone who will go get him a drink or whatever he asks (maid, butler, etc). Service is the greatest luxury, IMO. So, continuing the thought - how can Cadillac, for example, provide great service? Of course we all think about mechanics doing good work when something needs fixed. No, think outside the box! Cadillac service stations. Not simply a gas station, but more like little oasis. You drive a Cadillac, we pump your gas for you, check your fluids - all the full service station stuff. Then expand on that. Bring customers things they want in their cars (like a Cadillac Big Gulp :) ). At stations in colder climates, figure out a way to have more shrouded stations, so you get in out of the cold. Make it refreshing to go to. Make it very, very clean, and include the A&S theme in the station. Over time, implement technology to it. Automated gas pumps. Let the car communicate anything it needs (top off a fluid, etc). Also, have one or two repair bays in case a Cadillac needs service there instead of at a dealership (for simpler repairs), and send a tech to the station. Of course, for economic reasons, the stations would probably serve any vehicle, just not cater to them as much, and charge them for some of the things that are perks to Cadillac owners. It could also make other car owners jealous of those with Cadillacs, as they get the preferred service. The thought also crossed my mind that many people would see this as an unhealthy relationship between GM and the oil companies (selling gasoline). That might be true, but another advantage to this concept is that it gives GM an easier avenue through which it could do early hydrogen infrastructure implementation. So there ya go - my wacky idea. I have no idea if it's economically feasible or not, and there are probably big problems with the idea, but I kinda like it anyway. :)

Dunno, but I hate these new triangle-middle steering wheels. I like to be able to put my hand at the bottom of the wheel when cruising on the interstate.

Very good article. I do still look forward to more, cheaper hybrids, but there are excellent points made to show that it's not worth the premium, unless you feel it's worth it for the fuzzy (and seemingly unjustified) feeling.

I, too, am done with classes. Seven years of college are over! Well... sort of. No more classes, still have directed project to finish. :P Having all the course work done is nice, though. :)

the use of fuel cells makes sense to start in places other than cars, really. The biggest problems (from what I understand, which is probably only a moderate amount) is the cost of the cells and storage of the fuel. The cost factor is coming down, and could be quite reasonable somewhat soon. The storage factor is what makes other implementations make sense first. Generators for buildings could have storage containers that are far less in need of compactness/lightness, since they could be put on the ground, or a roof if the building is strong enough. On cars, the weight of the fuel storage system affects the overall system efficiency, so it's a bigger problem. Would still like to see it in cars someday. You might see if you can find & share more of that article. What you've stated so far doesn't make much sense to me. First, it adds batteries to the car (more weight and cost), and what is the electricity being used for at the station? Is it supposed to be a way to take the station off the power grid/suppliment it's electricity supply, or is it part of the hydrogen generator's process? The fuel cell is already a generator itself, so that part is taken care of. If the electricity is meant to make hydrogen, then it's a self-defeating system. The process creates hydrogen to power a car to make electricity to make hydrogen? If that's the process (which it's probably not since that doesn't account for the natural gas), then it's just a pointless loop. Is the idea to pull hydrogen from natural gas? I'm far less familiar with those types of processes, so I won't speculate on that... :)

to quote my wife (a nuclear engineer), "waste is such a bad word for it." Almost all of what is called "nuclear waste" can be refined back into fuel. It's just currently more expensive to do that than to use the fuel we currently use (part of which we purchase from the former soviet union - they need the money, we want less nuclear proliferation).

Sure looks like the matrix/vibe to me.