thegriffon

Except that a concept platform basically just has to be the right size and shape, it doesn't have to be engineered to meet safety, NVH or production requirements etc. Welding up a custom body under those conditions is relatively easy, and you don't have to worry about making an existing platform match the size you want for the concept design. You can save money by using other off-the-shelf components, such as engines, transmissions and chassis components that don't affect the design of the concept.

One gunman in a classroom full of people, should not be able to kill more than two or three people. People just don't know how to respond in a situation like that.

Absolutely necessary in the markets it was designed for.

Not a good article, and factually wrong in many areas. For one thing GM has already anounced which diesel will go in the H3.

From the NHTSA: "A manufacturer’s CAFE is the fleet wide average fuel economy. Separate CAFE calculations are made for up to three potential fleets: domestic passenger cars, imported passenger cars and light trucks. … … Credits cannot be passed between manufacturers or between fleets, e.g., from domestic passenger cars to light trucks. … … There is a statutory “two-fleet rule” for passenger cars. Manufacturers’ domestic and import fleets must separately meet the 27.5 mpg CAFE standard. For passenger cars, a vehicle, irrespective of who makes it, is considered as part of the “domestic fleet” if 75% or more of the cost of the content is either U.S. or Canadian/Mexican in origin. If not, it is considered an import. … … The two-fleet rule was instituted largely at the request of the United Auto Workers to prevent Big 3 companies from simply importing more fuel efficient captive import vehicles to offset the poor fuel economy of their domestically produced models, and therefore keep production of highly fuel-efficient vehicles and the associated jobs here in the U.S. [And hasn't that worked out well—they may simply lose both]. It should be noted that, unlike with light trucks, the agency does not have the statutory authority to eliminate the two-fleet rule for passenger cars."

It's just a concept, so it probably isn't "actually" based on anything, even if it's meant to show what is possible on a certain architecture.

It's no where near that big. These are essentially pickup-based compact MPVs, commonly called AUVs (Asian Utility Vehicles), about the same size as the Zafira, Mazda5 or Kia Rondo. The old models are represented by the Isuzu Panther/Tavera, and the Mitsubishi Freeca. The longer, wider new generation are represented by the Toyota (Kijang) Innova and the Taiwanese Mitsubishi Zinger. The Tavera Neo is an Indian upgrade of the original Panther/Tavera built in Indonesia and related to the earlier Isuzu compact pickup/SUV platform. Its success in India forced Toyota to introduce the Innova to India to replace the 1st generation Kijang, not part of the original plan. Isn't competition wonderful? GM is expected to lead development of a new-generation Tavera (probably in India) based on the next generation pickup platform being developed by Isuzu under the LPEC joint venture.http://www.isuzu.co.jp/world/press/2006/p_0613.html BTW it's no coincidence the only running minicar concept was built in India.

Remember the age of this design—clearly Nissan was so impressed by the Forenza they are now copying Daewoo.

It's not even China, it's just a styling concept, one that bears cues from future Buicls being penned in NA as well as China.

It's a browser thing, common to Mozilla (Firefox) and Opera, although I don't recognise that application. It should only work in a browser page, not in an entry box, basically a shortcut to CTRL+F (find in page). The normal key is / but ' also works (at least in Firefox and your browser).

Hint: look for mods for the 2.2 Vectra and esp. the Zafira, as the 2.2 Astra is unique to Holden AFAIK.

No, but VW lost $1billion trying to sell W8 Passats and Phaetons. Beside which, it's a Chinese-made 530Li.

Since there are no temperature records, it depends what you count as the beginning—the ice packs moving further south, or the Thames freezing over in London. I think the latter was really the peak of the cooling, not the beginning. The main point is that there is no such thing as a "normal" climate, and that past temperatures are merely guess work. Claims that it was just 1 deg warmer or colder don't seem credible, and can hardly be backed up by the absence of hard data. Outrageous claims, and poor fact-checking (such as the "stranded" polar bears photographed in midsummer, not winter or spring as claimed) simply undermine the credibility of global-warming doomsayers.

I will amend my statements about cooling in Europe, howver it seems to me the so-called medieval wam period ended very early, and that most of the "middle ages" was affected by the Little Ice Age. While climate change was a factor in the 1st century migration of the german tribes, increased storms along the coasts and a wetter, rather than colder climate were contributors (although the freezing of the Rhine did allow tribes to cross into Roman territory).

No, bowtie, the warm period preceded the dark ages. The mini ice age began not long after the Norman conquest of England, and ended during the 18th or 19th centuries. The Norse colony of Greenland was frozen out of existence, the Thames in London (a tidal estuary) froze over annually, something unimaginable now. Before that however, Northern Europe was already cooling, and climate change (along with population pressures) was one factor behind the Germanic migrations of the first millennium (reduced growing seasons, the freezing of the Rhine).Atmospheric CO₂ is just a small factor in human contributions to climate change however. The amount of sunlight converted to heat, and subsequent local and global warming is influenced much more by the human influence on local geography. Let's go through some basic considerations—plant life absorbs sunlight that would otherwise be converted to heat (you should all know that a clay court is hotter than a grass court, that sand, concrete and asphalt surfaces get much hotter than adjacent grassed areas). Dense forests in turn absorb more sunlight than grassland, and native grassland more than crop land, which has more bare earth, both around plants and between crop plantings. Thus deforestation on a broad scale, the conversion of grassland to carbolated etc., and in many areas, resulting desertification, all contribute substantially to global warming, and have done for thousands of years now. On the other hand, irrigation of former arid areas, and reforestation in Northern latitudes following the industrial revolution all reduce global warming. Even in the classical age people noticed a change in climate in the Hellenic world, caused by wide scale deforestation. Scotland suffers in the opposite way, with deforestation leading to cooler winter temperatures that were once ameliorated by the forests. Agriculture and suburban sprawl have a much bigger contribution to global warming than CO₂ levels, and can have a far more rapid effect. Multi-storey housing reduces the roof area creating radiant heat, allows more room for grass and trees to absorb sunlight and reduce CO₂, and reduces transport and other energy costs. Solar panels or even better living sod roofs and roof gardens reduce radiant heat directed into the atmosphere. Reforestation, and panting of hedgerows and tree corridors in agricultural areas (much of which was formerly forested, in pre-historic if not not historic times) also reduce global warming, reducing not only heat-trapping CO₂, but also radiant heat produced. Water also absorbs a lot of sunlight, and while much is reflected back, little is converted into heat. Thus land "reclamation" and drainage of wetlands also contributes to both local and global warming. How else can we reduce the amount of heat in the atmosphere? In areas plants do not grow well, solar panels can convert some sunlight into electricity rather than radiant heat. Wind turbines remove energy from the atmosphere. Just as winds are generated by heating, removing energy from the air through wind turbines cools the atmosphere (not by much, but it all adds up). Restored freshwater wetlands, lakes and salt marshes not only reduce warming, but provide local climate benefits, wildlife habitat, reduced flooding and protection from storm surges. Reforestation, especially in marginal agricultural areas such as rainforests and semi-arid areas. Even scattered tree-planting in semi-arid areas can rapidly turn back desertification, as has been demonstrated in Niger. Even in more productive agricultural areas planting of windbreaks and small woods and hedgerows not only has environmental benefits, but provides protection for crops and livestock, stock feed (both leaves and mast), habitat for insectivores and pollinators, and an alternative source of income from timber, fruit and nuts and even sap.

Possibly. The Aura could be the lwb version though. It will depend on whether GM thinks the new Opel is big enough to take on the Accord and Camry.

I don't think they have "yabbies" in South Australia anyway. I think yabbies are strictly an eastern states crayfish, and probably the only one without a catch limit. They have some other kinds of freshwater crayfish in South Australia.

weenie

By '09 it won't be that wagon though, but the new one, which apparently won't be a Vectra even in Europe.

barbed wire

and that should be at least your second clue.

GM Seeks to Fill up to 400 Specialized Engineering and Technical Positions through Career Fair DETROIT—GM today announced plans to host an Engineering and Technology Career Fair in the metro Detroit area on Saturday, May 5, seeking candidates for up to 400 highly specialized engineering and technical positions within the areas of Powertrain Engineering, Product Development, Fuel Cell, OnStar, and Information Technology. “GM is truly committed to being the automotive leader in energy diversity and advanced technology. We’re accelerating work in emerging technologies, and that creates a significant demand for talent in fields like hybrid and diesel powertrains, telematics, fuel cell development and systems analysis,” GM North America President Troy Clarke said. “We’re looking for people with the technical expertise to help us change the way the world drives.’’ Interested candidates can learn more about the immediate openings and register for the career fair by visiting www.gmcareerfair.com. Candidates must submit their resumes through the website. Hiring Managers will review submitted resumes, and qualified candidates will be invited to the event. All positions require a minimum of a four-year degree in engineering or a technology-related field. The career fair will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 5.

The PA is not imported—it's made in China, and priced not much more than the Statesman built and sold in Australia with far less equipment. Of course GM is probably making more money than it does on the Lucerne, but another $5K in profit still leaves you with a $45K Buick unless you decontent it as you all complain GM has done to the Lucerne. You can't have it both ways. Shipping it across the Pacific will also add to the cost (not to mention the added greenhouse gases and exotic parisites carried by the transport ships—save the environment—don't buy imported products).

:rotflmao: Volcanoes also send dust high into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight and resulting in lower temperatures. The "little iceage" dropped temperatures by far more than 0.5 a degree, which followed a prolonged warm period. A drop in temperature of 0.5 degrees doesn't allow a tidal estuary like the Thames in London to freeze over every year for hundreds of years. Exact temperature change is hard to assess, since there are no accurate records anywhere going back much more than 100 years. Climatologists have to guess past temperatures based on things such as the coming of spring and autumn (winter occurs later, spring earlier now), pollen records, growth cycles recorded in tree rings etc. Long term effects are hard to predict and may not be so bad for everyone. Britain can already grow grapes again, something not possible since the Roman occupation. Growing seasons are lengthened in northern latitudes. On the other hand ski resorts are hit hard with shorter seasons, and winter coat manufacturers and sellers take a beating. Some desert areas may get more rain as oceans warm. Other areas may lose rain. Will sea levels rise? Maybe, but sea levels have been rising steadily since the last ice age, and we haven't yet seen any acceleration. You also have to take into account subsidence, compaction of sediment, tectonic action and in some areas such as Hudson Bay and the Baltic (slowly draining into the Atlantic as the sea floor rises), the slow rise of sea beds created by the weight of long-gone ice sheets. Melting ice in the Arctic and Antarctic will not have much effect—most of it is already floating in the water already, or resting on land well below sea level. The media say stupid things, such as attributing record temeratures to global warming, however "hottest day in 70 years" implies it was just as warm 70 years ago. Extremes are irrelevent and may not change much, since they are due to short-term weather patterns, not climate. Median temperatures in spring and autumn will change most. Blaming global warming for the loss of low-lying islands in the Bay of Bengal and other areas is also stupid. These islands are (or would be) still above sea level, as much as they were when people settled them in the last 200 years. What has caused their destruction is not rising seas, but erosion. Loss of the mangroves, and several big storms have not flooded them, but washed them away like sand castles on the beach. Surprisingly small local actions can have a bigger effect on climate than global warming. Deforestation, water management, the diversion of rivers (natural or human) can all have big impacts on local climate. Tree-planting in Niger has reversed desertification in the last 10 years. Just imagine what would happen to the climate in North America if all the rivers draining into the Great Lakes were diverted for irrigation and drainined into the Mississippi instead? In the USSR, that's exactly what they did to the Aral Sea, and the smaller Aral sea has almost completely vanished. A large trapped body of water like that has a big impact on the local climate, moderating temperatures and providing a continual source of moisture for rain clouds.

Yugo was the export name used on Zasatava's cars, not a subsidiary. "Zastava 10: The Savior?" Provides a detailed history. See also http://zastava-automobili.com/sr/ and http://www.zastava10.com/ While based on Fiat designs from the '70s, most Zastavas now offer more modern Peugeot engines (albeit old versions no longer used by Peugeot) with EFI.