thegriffon

It may prove too narrow compared to the competition. I expect decent, and possibly great legroom for a midsize crossover (although not as much as fullsizers such as the Acadia and Flex), but the elbow and shoulder room could put many buyers off when they compar it to wider Pilot, Edge and Highlander.

You may know it, and I may know it, but not everyone would have been clear on that. I should have known it would be "Journey" I had in my list of trademarks "Journey/Chrysler LLC/SUV" and still didn't twig

It's not a difficult process as far as adding another model to the lineup-engines, powertrain and front body structure are identical, so as long as the Dual-VVT 1.8 (and not the older 125 PS engine) is offered in the sedan it should feasible in a relatively short time, and as the sedan will be around longer than the hatch, so potentially not as much of a stop-gap as the hatch. It will I think depend more on European demand and capacity at Gliwice more than any certification problems.

I'm sure the LS3 will drop right in, of course it will be pushing 300C SRT-8 pricing-wise, so Not Cheap.

Saturn doesn't get the sedan, yet. The sedan is new, so you never know, it could be added to the lineup later on.

They need to do something like this in more than European markets. It sounds like a great reality tv show concept: "Competitors must race each other around Road America for 20 laps. The last contestant to finish, may be eliminated." Casting calls and training sessions like American Idol, racing legs like The Amazing Race—you could even do a Celebrity Race Camp to prep a group of drivers for a support race like they do for the Australian F1 Grand Prix.

OPC Race Camp makes racing dream come true The fourth level of the OPC Race Camp that starts today on the Nordschleife is the perfect stage for presenting the Astra OPC “Nürburgring Edition”. Opel breaks new ground with the OPC Race Camp – a professional talent casting that helps ordinary drivers discover and develop their motor racing skills. 500 candidates were chosen from the almost 18,500 applicants in the first round, which took place in April. Since then, further selection has taken place and today, 20 racing talents go into the fourth round hoping to capture one of the coveted eight positions in the race team that will participate in the legendary 24-hour race on the Nürburgring in 2008. With its sporty OPC model range (Opel Performance Center) and OPC Race Camp, Opel now opens up a new range of possibilities in its traditional domain of popular motorsport. Candidates must have the talent and determination to achieve their dream of race car driving, while Opel provides them with the cars, the professional training and the necessary organizational support. After all, the dream of being a racing driver often dissipates because of the high investments that are required. Alain Visser sees the OPC Race Camp as a motorsport venture with good prospects for the future: “With the OPC Race Camp, Opel opens a completely new dimension in motorsport. The Race Camp addresses friends of motorsport that would otherwise experience car racing from the sidelines at best. It is an ideal project for Opel’s participation in popular motorsport because we can get our fans even more directly involved.” The concept includes several new ideas. Firstly, it is aimed at drivers looking for a special challenge, regardless of their age, sex or current brand of car. The only condition is that they may not have any previous experience in motorsport. After all, the key question is: “Is it possible to professionally train performance-oriented drivers for a 24-hour race, and perhaps even guide them toward their dream job of being a racing driver?” Opel racing driver star wanted Another new idea is the focus on people and excitement at the OPC Race Camp. The fortune of the candidates at the various casting levels captivates both the media and outside observers, as do the demands of the thrilling selection processes and training stages. As a result, the OPC Race Camp has strong media partners in print and television, who accompany the entire project with regular and extensive coverage. The Race Camp candidates use several 177 kW/240 hp Astra OPCs as training vehicles, and two racing versions of the compact sports car are ready for later competitive races. In addition, Opel has a long tradition associated with the Nürburgring. A few months after setting this record with the Astra OPC in 2005, Opel reproduced this feat with the Zafira OPC as one of the world’s fastest series production vans. Opel plans further record drives with its OPC models. Because of the positive response to the OPC Race Camp – with almost 18,500 inquiries from German-speaking European countries – Opel is considering expanding the Race Camp concept to other European countries.

This is what I like to see, sensible pricing that separates the brands.

err, the latter is quite possible. It's been known to happen, after all if the retailer won't order it, then the consumer has no chance to decide whether they want it. Plenty of products have died sight unseen because retailers (or even one major retailer) wasn't interested. Some products (and the companies that make them) have even been killed because a retailer accidentally stops stocking it (it happens more easily than you'd think—trust me I work in retail and I've seen product lines killed because a clerical error blocked orders somewhere in the distribution point, or someone never got around to putting on the floor so people could buy it, and no-one bothered to ask why we weren't selling any, or believed the reason if they were told).

For anything in Autonews, check Autoweek. They often have republish Auto News articles (including this one) a little later, and without a subscription required.

GM's Baltimore Transmission Facility Achieves Landfill Free Status Plant's manufacturing process wastes are completely reused or recycled Baltimore, Md – General Motors Corp.’s Baltimore transmission plant, which will build the industry’s first two-mode hybrid transmission for GM’s full-size SUVs and pickups, announced today that it has officially achieved “landfill free” status – meaning it will no longer send any waste from its production operations to landfills. Changes at the plant – the new landfill-free manufacturing process and a new hybrid drivetrain – will provide significant environmental benefits. “Our Baltimore facility is a great example of how GM is working to reduce the impact of both our operations and our vehicles on the environment,” said John R. Buttermore, GM Powertrain vice president of global manufacturing. “Many manufacturing plants generate waste along with their products but here at our Baltimore plant, fuel-efficient transmissions for our vehicles are our only output. All wastes generated here are recycled or reused in some way. We are very proud of the environmentally responsible work that has been done working jointly with the leadership of UAW Local 239 and our Baltimore employees that made this possible.” The GM Powertrain Baltimore plant will be the exclusive manufacturer of GM’s all-new two-mode hybrid transmission. This leading hybrid technology will increase the fuel efficiency of GM’s full-size SUVs and pickups up to 25 percent over conventional gasoline Powertrain systems. The transmission will debut in the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon two-mode hybrids that will be available in the market later this year. Buttermore added, “With today’s announcement, Baltimore becomes the eighth GM facility worldwide to reach zero landfill status. Eliminating waste to this degree is a GM manufacturing priority and is the right thing to do for our business and the environment.” As of May, the GM Powertrain Baltimore transmission facility has been operating with landfill-free status for waste materials generated directly from its daily operations. This year, approximately 97 percent of the waste materials from the site (7,300 tons) will be recycled or reused and 3 percent (215 tons) will be converted to energy at a waste-to-energy facility. In 2006, the plant was close to landfill-free status, with 99 percent of its waste recycled, reused or converted to energy. Items that are recycled or reused at the site this year will include approximately 510 tons of aluminum, 600 tons of steel, 10 tons of alloy metals, 360 tons of wood pallets, 3 tons of paper, 20 tons in empty totes and drums, 250 tons of used oil, 220 tons waste water residual, and 5,400 tons of returnable packaging. Part of the challenge in reaching landfill-free status is finding uses for recyclable materials. Today, even the tiniest scrap of trash is put to beneficial reuse. Aluminum is recycled by GM foundries that produce engine and transmission components. Steel, alloy metals, and paper are sent to recyclers for reconstitution into a variety of products. Used oil is reconditioned for use as a manufacturing fuel additive. Wood pallets are given to Baltimore area fire departments or sent to energy recovery. Empty drums and totes are refurbished and used again and again. The plant’s total elimination of waste is having an immediate impact on carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. Over 13,000 tons of CO 2 will no longer enter the atmosphere each year as a result of the plant’s manufacturing operations, which avoid CO 2 emissions normally generated when waste is landfilled. Additional reductions in CO 2 emissions will occur when GM’s hybrid vehicles using the new two-mode transmission begin appearing on roadways late this year. A 25 percent increase in fuel economy, and associated CO 2 emission reductions, will result from the hybrid system. The hybrid system uses both electric motors and a gasoline engine to power the vehicle. Previously, General Motors announced a goal to reduce CO 2 emissions from its North American manufacturing facilities by 40 percent by 2010, based on 2000 baseline levels. In addition, General Motors recently became the first carmaker to join the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a non-partisan group of companies and non-governmental organizations formed to support a mandatory, economy-wide, market-driven approach to climate protection. Baltimore Transmission is the eighth GM facility to reach landfill-free status. Other GM landfill-free facilities include plants in Tonawanda, NY; Flint and Wixom, Mich.; Gunsan and Bupyeong, Korea; and Kaiserslautern and Eisenach, Germany. In North America, GM facilities have reduced non-recycled waste by over 76 percent since 1997, by either eliminating the generation of waste or increasing recycling. These same North American facilities currently recycle nearly 88 percent of the waste they generate. Globally, the recycling rate for GM facilities is approximately 86 percent. GM was one of the first organizations – and to date is the only automaker -- inducted into the U.S. EPA WasteWise Hall of Fame. This recognition was the result of continual outstanding waste reduction and recycling efforts at GM. For more information about GM environmental initiatives go to www.gmability.com. The GM Powertrain Baltimore transmission plant, which is located in White Marsh, Md., employs approximately 400 people. Last year, the plant produced 189,000 transmissions that are featured in the award winning Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups. The 425,000 square foot facility opened in 2001.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition

New twinturbo (true twin turbos, not one for each back of cylinders for eg) applications have been introduced for diesel engines, but have not been done in other automotive applications. They borrow an idea from active intake manifolds and have two different routes to the intake port at low speeds flow goes through the small turbine, at medium speed the large turbine is phased in, and at high speed the small turbo drops out. The GM-Fiat Twin turbo 1.9 works like this (9-3 1.9 TTid), as does BMW's 3.0 L twin turbo (535d etc). I believe a gas engine with a similar setup is on its way. VW instead favors what it calls a TwinCharger—combined mechanical and exhaust driven compressors.

It didn't come with one? Check your manual (you do have a manual?) and the manufacturers website for accessories. If you have a photobucket account you can email the photos from your phone to your photobucket album email address.

There is no 2.3 L Ecotec motor. You must be thinking of the Saab 2.3 L, which is completely unrelated to any other GM engine family and uses a wider bore spacing (and hence a longer crank). The Saab Family 3 4-cylinder is a pre-GM block dating back to 1972, redesigned in 1984, and originally based on the smaller Triumph slant 4 previously used by Saab.

Good grief, next you will be telling me that since the Avenger ad G6 etc. don't offer the same interior and cargo volume as the Accord, and are much cheaper, that their natural competitors are the Civic and Corolla. You could at least have compared it with the much larger 3-row Santa Fe and Outlander (at the lower end of the D-segment), the latter offering the same 4-cylinder and using a smaller version of the same platform.

It's more comparable to the XL-7 (lwb Theta) than anything else. It's quite narrow for the midsize D- and E-segments (like the Thetas), and is built on a lighter architecture than the Endeavor, Tribeca, and Veracruz (the next closest in size). Expect weight and price to be closer to the XL-7 (quite a bit cheaper than other E-segment crossovers) as well (with an even cheaper 4-cylinder starting price). It's not as long, and nowhere near as wide as the Pacifica, Taurus-X, Acadia, CX-9 et al.

Photobucket will upload pics from your cellphone.

Errr. I think they are pitching this against the Highlander more than the RAV4: Equinox 3.6 awd: 16/23 Highlander 3.5 L awd: 17/23 Journey 3.5 L awd: 16/23 Pilot 3.5 Lawd: 15/20 XL7 3.6 L awd: 17/23 (2007 data so lop off 3 mpg or so) Endeavour 3.8 awd: 17/21 (2007) Edge 3.5 awd: 17/24 (2007) Decent fuel economy it seems.

That's because it looks like the Montero Sport, which was a somewhat smaller, rwd/awd crossover.

From GM's press release: An HCCI engine ignites a mixture of fuel and air by compressing it in the cylinder. Unlike a spark ignition gas engine or diesel engine, HCCI produces a low-temperature, flameless release of energy throughout the entire combustion chamber. All of the fuel in the chamber is burned simultaneously. This produces power similar to today's conventional gas engines, but uses less fuel to do it. Heat is a necessary enabler for the HCCI process, so a traditional spark ignition is used when the engine is started cold to generate heat within the cylinders and quickly heat up the exhaust catalyst and enable HCCI operation. During HCCI mode, the mixture's dilution is comparatively lean, meaning there is a larger percentage of air in the mixture. The lean operation of HCCI helps the engine approach the efficiency of a diesel, but it requires only a conventional automotive exhaust after-treatment. Diesel engines require more elaborate and more expensive after-treatment to reduce emissions.

HCCI requires a lowr compression ratio than a diesel, and with a different type of fuel doesn't produce the same particulates or NOx that a diesel engine does. There is a spark though, as the engine doesn't operate in HCCI mode all the time. Even in the final optimal version there will still be a spark-ignition mode during start-up at least. Take note though—this development engine operates in HCCI mode only during it's midrange (a band around 3000 rpm or so), yet peaks at 180 hp and 170 lb-ft somewhere above that (i.e. in DI spark ignition mode), a nice boost on the current 2.2 L DI engine.

It is a lot like a diesel. Daimler calls their version Diesotto, since they are a combination spark ignition and compression-ignition engine. It is more than a diesel tuned to run on gasoline however. The trick is the homogenous charge for complete, efficient, and clean combustion, something neither conventional diesel nor otto-cycle engines can do.

That's because it's not a new Aveo, it's just an MCE. The new cars in this segment are the Renault Clio III, Fiat Grande Punto, Peugeot 207, Opel Corsa and Hyundai Accent, against which the new Fiesta is just playing catch-up. Other than the fancy startrek-meets-Nokia center console, it's not anything special in that crowd.BTW, I have Realvideo of the concept being built+soundbites at AutoReport.

The Spark is the next smaller car than the Aveo in the GM Daewoo lineup, but there is a larger class of vehicles (A-segment) between the Spark and Aveo not produced by GM, although they continue to sell vehicles in that size produced by Suzuki.B-segment: Aveo, Colt, Fit, Fiesta, Corsa, 207, Clio, Rio, Mini Clubman, C3 etc. A-segment: Mini, March, Swift, Sirion, Vitz, Ka, C2 etc., and the taller Materia, Agila, Modus, 1007 and Cube MPVs A0-segment: 500, Spark, Picanto, Charade, Panda, Twingo, C1, 107 etc.