balthazar

>>"If we impose high tariffs on their imported products, they will just build them in America and still destroy American companies. "<< That's a tax loophole. Close it. Gub'mint adds new taxes as a whim with no opposition. Add a 'business license' fee to all foreign corporations selling product here. Whether assembled here or there should not make a difference- they need the U.S..

Agreed. -- -- -- -- -- >>"marketshare"<< In & of itself- meaningless. In this instance of 'viability' we need profit. The 2 are not directly linked, ie; a -say- 10% marketshare could be more profitable than a 20% share. Want to up the marketshare immediately? toss a few foreign brands out of the country- those buyers 'will likely go to GM'. Or do what should've been done 50 years ago; charge business license fees to the foreign companies based on a scale related to volume. No one will leave- toyota makes 75% of its global profit in the US.. All that licensing fee money (lost) could have already built multiple alternative fuel infrastructures, instead of taxpayer funds. >>"But the task force noted that GM earns a large portion of its profits from high-margin trucks and SUVs, "which are vulnerable to a continuing shift in consumer preference to smaller vehicles.""<< In light of the 6-month backlog of priuses on dealer lots, obviously smaller-margin small cars & hybrids are also 'vunerable to the ever-shifting consumer preference.'

Safety has been on the minds of maufacturers since pretty much the beginning. For example- electric starters came about when someone was killed via kickback attempting to crank-start their car. This was 1912. 100s & 100s & 100s of design improvements ever since. Ignoring these is like saying no one cared about TV picture quality until HD.

>>"provided the trees roots dont slowly destroy the foundation that is."<< 1. they don't have to be that close, and 2. I've yet to see tree roots damage a foundation. Pipes, of course, but not a block or poured foundation. An old stone foundation, maybe.

>>"I'm assuming you mean the very same one that is hibernating under a cover in bay No.3 of your garage?"<< Same car.

Liked it thoroughly. IMO, it's a worthwhile piece to try and get back into it & expand it. Any chance the Ideal will throttle Joe and bury him in the flower bed head down, then neatly replant the Rudebeckia right on top of the soles of his LL Beans ?? BTW, Kelly doesn't happen to pole-dance on the west side of town on 'Jazzercise Tuesdays' to pay for her Botox, does she? It'd be a shame to let an ass like that go to waste. -- -- -- -- -- A long-time buddy of mine is a writer, sends me stuff all the time to read, ironically I just read a short scrible from him 30 minutes ago.

>>"One big drawback to polypro is that it is expensive to paint because it requires a lot of prep to get the paint to adhere."<< I remember one BMW long-term test w/ pics where the paint was heavily chipping off the interior plastic. Same stuff?? If it's molded in color, why does it need to be painted ??

I'd like to see the 4.5 in the light duty trucks, but to be honest, with diesel seemingly permanently higher than gas... the 5.3 AFM motors get exceptional economy as is, with cheaper fill-ups. Seems to make financial sense given the state of things.

The only American hardtop I'm aware of that was built by welding a roof on a convert is possibly the '46/7 Chrysler T&Cs. 'Hardtop' did sort of come about to distinguish them from convertibles, aka "hardtop convertible", since they had that same, open & airy appearance. Also enabled the ad writers to get the most desirable & attention-grabbing descriptor in print("convertible"). But officially, the manufacturers called them what they were physically, ie; "1949 Buick Roadmaster Riviera hardtop coupe". Even Ford's Skyliner retractable was officially called merely a 'convertible'. Hardtops were not traditionally heavier that their sedan counterparts... unless you consider circa 30 lbs (less than 1% or thereabouts) to be 'notable'. The strength of the body relied primarily on the frames, and well-engineered ones were overbuilt to begin with, thusly they seldom required structural changes under a hardtop. Said frames also provided the bulk of side impact protection (talking about perimeter frames here), until the additional advent of door beams circa '70. Convertibles were another matter, tho. But once corners were cut & cut again in the interest of saving money (& weight), and overbuilding anything went out the window, yes; beefing up a unibody to support a hardtop design would require a much greater percentage of weight gain.

Welll, that would depend on how you weigh & measure that superiority now, wouldn't it ??

I'm not aware anyone has ever done a study on this: just the right amount & placement of trees by a house could strike a near-perfect balance between windbreak & warming sunlight in winter & cooling shade in summer. Moisture control is another factor: too many trees keep things damp, often requiring dehumidifiers (electricity hogs), while less allow more breeze/sun to dry things up. Seems to be a relatively simple thing to do a quick study of a property over the course of a year, then make recommendations from an energy standpoint. I have a wooded lot- plenty of summer shade & winter windbreak. Faces north, too, so A/C usage is not much. In the winter, my wood stove cranks on free firewood. Right now I have Winter '09 & '10's wood stacked out back, and I have a line on Winter '11s wood, too

^^ Uhhhhh....... nice try Ford, but NO SOUP 4 U!

No money here, but I could do the graphics package (pro bono) and design / build the building for you (that's gonna cost you, tho).

Talk about defeating the purpose : >>"Earth Hour is about more than dimming lights for sixty minutes; it's about making a commitment to reduce energy consumption throughout the year."<< >>"Join Earth Connect and share your opinions about climate change through blogs, e-mails, and Twitter. The goal is to gather one billion words..."<< :wacko: :wacko:

You know- it does seem to be a missing hobby component: a sort of speed shop that can order you any part, shipped to the store, buyer can hold/evaluate it in person, then buy or not. Hook up with all the aftermarket/repro vendors. Add a few bays for work like stated: lesser resto/parts installation & performance, and you could have a happening place. I was looking thru a thread on another board on vintage speed shops- one of which is still open right near me. Such a cool, hoppin' place, as opposed to -say- any chain autoparts stores with isles of air fresheners & neon wiper blades - sorry I missed the bulk of that era. BTW- the aforementioned speed shop is really just a shadow of it's former self. Save a bay for my B-59- I need someone to do a dry-fit of the front clip.

WTF is 'Earth hour' ?

I've looked at it- my buddy is on it. I'm not. IMO, it's a waste of time.

Actual animated anime: creepy? yes; quite. Still-drawn anime (I assume this is what's called magna, tho I could be off) is moreso wretchedly bad, visually. IE; the artwork is just terrible; flat, lifeless, poor proportions, there's really nothing I can point to that's 'good'. Ironic IMO: as much as movies in general have improved visually, comic art has generally gone the completely opposite direction, esp the 'anime' style. I wonder to what degree computerization plays in this, I suspect it's a LOT.

That passage RE coupe/sedan IS completely absurd. IIRC, it was the EPA, not the SAE that determined that interior volume should mean something as far as what a car is called. And who can look at a car, estimate the interior volume, and call it whichever ? Utter nonsense. For a hundred years, these terms were descriptors of body style. 70 years ago, there were dozens & dozens & dozens to clarify. But the definition of 'coupe' is derived from 'close-coupled', and RE modern body design- this is aptly applied to cars such as the Corvette & the Viper. >>"Actually there are four-door coupes, and two-door sedans"<< Loads & loads of 2-dr sedans- most 2-dr on the market are 2-dr sedans, no matter how much their manufacturer wants you to call it a 2-dr coupe. For EX: BMW 3-series 2-dr is a 2-dr sedan- no buts about it. Don't sound as sexy, tho. 4-door coupes, however, are an oddball coachbuilt rarity, and no; mercedes doesn't build one. Then again, calling a hatchback a "3-door" car, as if one climbed in each of the 3 portals, is likewise ridiculous... but that persists too. -- -- -- -- -- >>"For practical purposes, a coupe has 2-doors and a sedan 4."<< Yep- that's the long-n-short of it for most people. It works.

>>"You're right, you're all right--Cadillac hasn't halfassed a single vehicle since the Cimarron."<< The thread is about the current european situation, and part of that is the BLS. To bring up the Cimarron.... AGAIN... in another slap-fight / giggle-fest, is totally off topic, as is the Catera, esp when there's ALREADY a current thread dedicated to beating it to a bloody pulp. >>"Every single model has been a gift to humanity."<< Overblown scarcasm, much?

>>"Do you have actual numbers to back this up or are you just making an anecdotal point? Call me a dork, but I love proof. "<< Glad to oblige : Dork. Oh... hard numbers, no, I doubt there are any reliable ones... but there were numerous stories in the news of people taking huge depreciation hits trading in SUVs on tiny econoboxes and the market demand swing along those lines. More than enought evidence right there (prius supply has gone from 2 days to 180+ since gas flip-flopped). Also: stories about people running out of gas on the road because they couldn't "afford to fill the tank"- those brainacs can be tossed in the same rubber basket. -- -- -- -- -- I haven't heard of specific negative stigmas RE driving a prius, but they sure don't have a believably positive stigma that I've heard, either. Nothing remotely cool or interesting about them, IMO.

>>"I can't tell you how many times I've heard that when I was in the U.S., just as recently as last month. Regular people can't tell the difference..."<< May say a lot about who you hang around with, both socially & professionally.... :wink:

>>"I think corporations should be held accountable for their actions."<< I think the government should be held accountable for their actions, at the very least on a pay basis, but more effectively, on a retention of job basis. Because they're all on a taxpayer-funded payroll every day.

Ohh goodie: yet ANOTHER opportunity to trot out the 30-yr old Cimarron. Nicely done, guys, clearly your day job skills nailing coffins shut is working overtime for you. Hammer! Hammer! Hammer! BTW- I must commemorate you all on doing a similarly fine job posting pictures of audi 5000s in living rooms & backyard pools- don't want to forget that either !!

>>"Why this basic lesson has been lost lately perplexes me."<< Agreed. It's high time a compression occurs to the point that more styles are built on the same platforms- the constricted market has already pointed that way, but more and more ground-up cars keeping popping out. Does mercedes really need 7 SUVs?? C- & E- are only 9" different in length- what's the point?? Build one model ( the 'D' ?? :wink: ) to replace both, get the quality up to expectations, and pour the rest into future powertrains. But the consumer has yet to let go of the 'billion choices = more gooder' mindset, so every model has either/or a unique body/platform. Wasteful & unneccesary.