thegriffon

It's a nice update of the old Twingo, with design cues from famous old Renaults. You know the Japanese aren't original ;-)

especially the latter.

Of course if it were a Corolla, we'd have you committed.

There is another advantage to ethanol as a gasoline alternative—even if it costs more, the money flows into the American economy, not overseas. Fuel taxes aso flow back into the economy, and could potentially be used to improve transport efficiency (a big expansion in rail infrastructure for both commuters freight networks would help cut demand for fuel as well, without prohibiting the cars people want).

For crying out loud, who do so many moaning joans think the conflict in Iraq is about oil? Iraq was selling oil on the international market before the invasion, and is still doing so now. The only difference is that now the the money isn't going into the Swiss accounts of Baathist leaders and corrupt UN officials, but to the Iraqi government (not the American). The US has never started a war over oil, and I don't see any reason they would. The major producers are going to sell, they want the money. The republicans think it should be bought on the open market, and the democrats think it's use should be banned completely (hello, UAW, are you paying attention here?) Wars for oil are started by governments facing sanctions for previous aggressive behavior and corrupt leaders attracted to the oil revenue they can siphon off from the state oil company. If Bush and co were somehow stealing Iraqi oil money, you'd already be walking to work complaining about a Democrat president. Not gonna happen.You won't get biofuel production under the democrats. They don't believe you shopuld even own a car. They're already calling for caps to be placed on engine output, and I can see some of them seriously planning on banning anything with an engine with more than 2.4 L and 150 hp. Is it just me or did it take a replublican governor to bring ethanol to CA, and a replublican president to support the switch to ethanol in cars. The agreement with Brazil to promote fuel ethanol production throughout the Americas will probably have a bigger impact on global warming than anything in Kyoto or mandated by the EU. Toyota and Honda may not like it (flex-fuel engines would cost them trillions, as they currently have none [GM has at least 13]), big oil may not like it (ethanol and biodiesel are produced and distributed by small, entrepeneurial American companies, not oil refiners), but it is the single most realistic and immediate way of reducing oil consumption globally. Fuel cells? Decades away from widespread use, even if GM and Honda can produce affordable vehicles. Dreastic CAFE increases? Good for sales of the Civic and especially Corolla, bad for everyone else (so long UAW, hello $20K Mexican Aveos).

I guess replacing thew 3800 with a new production site for the 3.6 dual-VVT shows GM doesn't care huh? Oh, and I see the 3.6 gets better mileage than the 3800 in the LaCrosse too.

A diplomatic car perhaps? (How far from Washington?) If it has local plates then someone has had a registered importer do the safety and emissions compliance checks, so a gray import of further cars would be much cheaper now. An Astra TwinTop would not be cheap though.

If you're getting 34 mpg in the Impala, you will get better than 24 mpg in the Acadia, and you may even get better than 30. Of course in most states an Impala comes standard with the Flexfuel V6, and that's not yet an option when you fill up the Acadia.

"plowing, planting, fertilizing and harvesting all require machinery that burns fossil fuel." Unless you do something sensible like rotate your crops and produce something like rapeseed oil or peanuts for biodiesel. "They tell me I spend too much on fuel to make ethanol production environmentally friendly, but I say it costs me peanuts, LOL" The only reason you have canola at all is because farmers needed a bigger market for rapeseed planted to replenish soils.

Current Astra? The critical thing to look for would be manufacturer plates, but you have to ask what it would be doing in VA. Opels, being European, are usually LHD. Only South African Opels are RHD AFAIK. In other RHD markets they are badged as Vauxhalls (UK) or Holdens (Australia/New Zealand).

Which cities? A search through the biodiesel association only finds outlets supplied by Gull Petroleum in WA and SAFF in SA, and B100 is only available in three SAFF outlets (a few more have B20 marketed as Premium Diesel).

"Biodiesel" is usually only a diesel blend with "some" biofuel. Pure biodisel conversion kist include a fuel heater to ensure the oil is fluid enough. Pure biodiesel will "freeze" in the tank at refrigeration temperatures, a frequent occurance even in Australian winters.

A 2.4 L G6 is now rated 20/30, so 28/35 for the hybrid system is a nice jump.

2008 Mileage ratings for comparison Camry Hybrid-33/34 Altima Hybrid-35/33 Accord Hyrbid-24/32 (Ouch!)

The J30 was a rebadged JY32 Nissan Leopard, a size up from the G35/Skyline. The JY32 was a rebodied versuoin of the Y32 Cedric/Gloria, as was the FY32 Nissan Cima. The FY33 Cima replaced the previous G50 Q45, while the Y34 Cedric/Gloria became the M45, at which time the Leopard was discontinued. In size and development the Y50 Fuga/M45 succeeds the Leopard/J30/Cedric/Gloria.

"Confirmed"? Blade=restyled Auris with 2.4 L and IRS (not standard on the Auris). For the US Blade is dead. The US was not part of the original markets to get the Auris, but Toyota recently decided to at least consider it. It would be additional to the Matrix replacement, which is nothing like the Auris except that both have five doors. While the Auris is intentionally similar to the Golf and Astra, the next Matrix appears to be more like the Mazda3 and Caliber, which are as much wagon as hatchback (as are the current Matrix and Vibe). If Toyota was really aware they are uncompetitive they would have redesigned the Corolla sedan on the larger T-body platform of the tC and Caldina, instead of simply upgrading the smaller Corolla E-platform; and designed the Yaris hatch on the larger platform of the sedan.

wiggles

The Toyota information is confused and worthless. The Blade is a bloated Toyopet version of the Auris, which is not coming to the US. The US might get the Auris, a very belated decision by Toyota Motor sales, but it will not replace the Matrix. The Matrix may indeed be more like the Mazda3 hatch, bigger than the Auris, but won't be renamed Blade.

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/2006/...60727-01-e.html

I would think Nissan would simply use the new cab-forward truck platform, rather than use the same platform for the Frontier and Titan.

Wait a sec—wasn't someone claiming the battery would cost $28K? Can't help thinking that it will cost GM a lot less than $9500 right now, let alone in 3-4 years time.

No, these are awd crossovers similar to the HHR currently produced in Mexico, so yes it could include an awd replacement for the HHR as well as a GMC model. Think of something like the Patriot, X-Trail or the swb RAV4 sold in Europe and Japan.

wooden

FYI "me thinks"="seems to me". In this context "think" is a different, although related, word to "think" in "I think" or "he thinks" (the connection highlights the difference between what you think and what you know). Once the spelling and pronunciation of both words became the same the "seem" version dropped out of use except in this particular phrase, however "that Pontiac thinks in need of some work" is at least semantically correct.

African warlords have to buy Toyotas. About the best that can be said is that it's more popular than the Mercedes G-Class. Ford sells three times as many Range Rovers, and even Infiniti can sell twice as many of the butt-ugly QX56.