A cruise does seem to be a wonderful holiday - I know a few people who've cruised various different parts of the world and had a wonderful time - often single and/older people as you say.


This, Audi, has a bit of personality at least.

Snazzy, old-fashioned cruising

This thing stops your engine at traffic lights and so on and then starts it again when the gear is engaged. Bosch have delivered 500,000 of them now to BMW and Mini. It will require the vehicle to use 5% less petrol. presumably over a year or more. CO2 will be cut by 8% because of this little thing.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/07/15/bosch-delivers-500-000-auto-start-stop-starters/

That thing is just a starter motor.
I know because mine is broken and I've had it out of the car 4 times in 2 days.
And I need to buy a new one.

AfricanDave wrote:

That thing is just a starter motor.
I know because mine is broken and I've had it out of the car 4 times in 2 days.
And I need to buy a new one.

Is your one solenoid engaged or bendix engaged Dave ? Have you figured out what's wrong with it ?

It uses a solenoid. As far I know bendix motors are fairly old and not really used anymore.
The solenoid isn't pushing the gear out when it's supposed to so the starter motor is rotating freely without engaging the flywheel and cranking the engine.
The big problem is that the motor is so old the screws holding the solenoid on are rusty and I can't get them off.
I've tried attacking them with an impact driver but the heads are just mashed up now so I'm never going to get them off.
All I'm doing now is taking out the starter whenever it doesn't work and throwing loads of grease into the starter motor driveshaft.
It's working ok but it's a serious pain.
I just have to wait until payday so I can buy a new one.

Yeah. I had one on an '81 Metro with a bendix. It used to get clogged up with dust from the clutch plate and other goo, and then one day it would not engage, you just hear a loud whirr of the motor and no crank. Those were the days... Sounds like yours is fecked alright.

Fecked is a fairly accurate description alright.
There's nothing more embarrassing than sitting in the middle of Dublin City Centre with a car that won't start

What's the story with this yoke? Is it such an aerodynamic car that it uses lift to attain it's mileage of 300mpg? It's gone into production it seems and google have invested a measly $2.75 million on it ...



http://www.autobloggreen.com/category/aptera/

Cool. I didn't read the article but I'd guess the lift was designed in to reduce the surface (tyres) friction inefficiency. Could make for a smooth ride on the motorway.

Coupled with that, is an obvious attempt to reduce air friction and turbulence. And probably a dramatic weight reduction.

I like it.

It's really obvious idea isn't it to try to use lift. The link is really a pile of articles that autobloggreen has been following for two years so I did a 15 minute scan through it but didn't see much about lift but I'm guessing it makes use of it.

I think the manufacturers are making it electric too.

Maybe I'll throw 3 Million at it myself...who knows..

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Maybe I'll throw 3 Million at it myself...who knows..

Is that all?? I've got that much credit on my pay as you go phone

I thought the google investment very stingy altogether although I'd say Dave Cochrane will be delighted with what they're doing with his fees as he likes gadgets.

Putting a subject in a post acts like a tag too I think though that's off topic.

While p.ie is down please tell us if the Chevy Volt is causing much fuss in the states and could GM get rid of much of that 15 billion debt - or is it more - through sales of this thing?

It would be a start. GM owes 292 billion dollars. The 15 billion is just the amount of money it lost last quarter. I can not see GM surviving unless the government saves it or the dollar collapses.

About the car. 150MPG if driven and charged correctly. A big market out there. The problem is the price 40000 dollars. That is break even. Anyone that can afford a 40 grand car can afford 4 dollar gas.

Any news on the air car that was to debue this August. Much more promising. Otherwise pay 2300 for the Indian car and use the savings on gas. You save 20000 so thats 5000 gallons. That is 100000 miles so problem solved.

Did you see this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ffNWkefyY&feature=related
2500 watts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl6m4emdeBI&feature=related

500w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGSlzj99pWc&feature=related

10000w a big mama which looks very heavy

youngdan wrote:

It would be a start. GM owes 292 billion dollars. The 15 billion is just the amount of money it lost last quarter. I can not see GM surviving unless the government saves it or the dollar collapses.

About the car. 150MPG if driven and charged correctly. A big market out there. The problem is the price 40000 dollars. That is break even. Anyone that can afford a 40 grand car can afford 4 dollar gas.

Any news on the air car that was to debue this August. Much more promising. Otherwise pay 2300 for the Indian car and use the savings on gas. You save 20000 so thats 5000 gallons. That is 100000 miles so problem solved.

Did you see this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ffNWkefyY&feature=related
2500 watts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl6m4emdeBI&feature=related

500w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGSlzj99pWc&feature=related

10000w a big mama which looks very heavy

youngdan, is the situation with GM that serious? Is the expectation that before the end of the year, GM will go into Ch. 11?

It is dire. Anyone can do the sums. 292 billion of bonds outstanding needs a lot of sales to service. The end of the year is not to far off so maybe next year. The July sales just out showed an annualised total of 12.5 million which is a 16 year low. Worse yet each month has been lower than the last for 9 months. They are trying to sell the Hummer brand and they have a big financial business but I don't think anybody has any money to buy new cars with the way things are going. There is no sale for 2nd hand cars either.

If you want to buy a gm bond the price has fallen so much that it pays 14%. Now gm is not paying 14% but the origonal buyer has lost a lot of money(half) due to the fear of default. Were it not for the hope the government will rescue them these bonds would be worth even less.

youngdan wrote:

It is dire. Anyone can do the sums. 292 billion of bonds outstanding needs a lot of sales to service. The end of the year is not to far off so maybe next year. The July sales just out showed an annualised total of 12.5 million which is a 16 year low. Worse yet each month has been lower than the last for 9 months. They are trying to sell the Hummer brand and they have a big financial business but I don't think anybody has any money to buy new cars with the way things are going. There is no sale for 2nd hand cars either.

If you want to buy a gm bond the price has fallen so much that it pays 14%. Now gm is not paying 14% but the origonal buyer has lost a lot of money(half) due to the fear of default. Were it not for the hope the government will rescue them these bonds would be worth even less.

Thank you for that. Where can one get more information on the GM bond situation?

I can't remember where, but I posted some figures on the relative scale of national economies and private corporations. General Motors is much bigger than a lot of national economies.

If I had something to do with GM I would be splitting it up and trying to salvage a section that was unencumbered by debt. You know the method sell part off and then let the rest go under.

Squire wrote:

If I had something to do with GM I would be splitting it up and trying to salvage a section that was unencumbered by debt. You know the method sell part off and then let the rest go under.

Incredible how it got to such heights of debt. They must have some dinosaurs in the belfry. Massive corporations like that aren't into 'retiring' some of their offending plant gracefully over time so if the strategy you talk about above is the only route. Shareholders don't really concentrate on the storyline of the film do they?

Auditor #9 wrote:

Squire wrote:

If I had something to do with GM I would be splitting it up and trying to salvage a section that was unencumbered by debt. You know the method sell part off and then let the rest go under.

Incredible how it got to such heights of debt. They must have some dinosaurs in the belfry. Massive corporations like that aren't into 'retiring' some of their offending plant gracefully over time so if the strategy you talk about above is the only route. Shareholders don't really concentrate on the storyline of the film do they?

If America wasn't running the IMF, the IMF would have shut up the shop long ago.

cactus flower wrote:

I can't remember where, but I posted some figures on the relative scale of national economies and private corporations. General Motors is much bigger than a lot of national economies.

I remember seeing those figures also, cf, and thanks for posting them. I think, however, that the capitalisation figures must be read in conjunction with the corporate bond debt GM has around its neck and the 14% coupon which is, to my mind, an abstract figure, in that it has no relationship with reality.

Slim Buddha wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

I can't remember where, but I posted some figures on the relative scale of national economies and private corporations. General Motors is much bigger than a lot of national economies.

I remember seeing those figures also, cf, and thanks for posting them. I think, however, that the capitalisation figures must be read in conjunction with the corporate bond debt GM has around its neck and the 14% coupon which is, to my mind, an abstract figure, in that it has no relationship with reality.

Now this is what money is all about isn't it - allowing this level of debt as cactus says above about the IMF. youngdan has been on about this since we opened - the pumping of money into the economy is possibly to prop up the likes of GM who haven't managed themselves in the free market - because it's not free it's protected by the will of people who want to protect it because they somehow can.

You can see the argument for backing a currency with something solid like gold given the above (I always felt a currency was determined by solvency at a corporation level) but I don't think it's gold that's sufficient for today's planet. American national debt is astounding and then they have some nerve to go and lecture the world on monetary prudence and development and production - I'll finish Stiglitz book one day I swear.

Ecogeek, reporting IBM, believes that by 2020 all cars will be hybrids... I'd love one myself - would you?
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2024/

And here's ecogeek reporting on the battery life improvements that have been made this summer
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1705/74/

GM will market the Chevrolet Volt as an Opel here in Europe, according to the Irish Times on Wednesday.

Quote :

GENERAL MOTORS (GM) is planning to re-badge its Chevrolet Volt electric car as an Opel and bring it to Europe as part of the plans to expand the model range of its highly anticipated new vehicle.

GM is so encouraged by the development of the Volt that it has started work on several other derivative vehicles.

Bob Boniface, the Volt's design director, said more than two other models were at the scale-model stage of development. One of these follow-up models will be an Opel for sale mainly in Europe.

And what it is the Chevy Volt anyway and why is it so special?

Quote :

The Detroit carmaker has staked its reputation on the Volt, heavily promoting each stage of the car's development since a concept version was displayed last year. The first production version is due to roll off the assembly line in late 2010.

The Volt and its derivatives will share many components - including a 400lb battery that is 5ft in length - enabling GM to achieve economies of scale.

GM promises that the Volt's lithium-ion battery will have a range of at least 40 miles with a minimum life of 10 years. The car will be recharged either by plugging it into a normal power socket or, when it is in motion, by a four-cylinder internal combustion engine. Petrol consumption is estimated at about 150 miles per gallon.

If it does 150 miles per gallon without being plugged in then that's one massive jump in savings on fuel with this car. My own car does around 40 mpg so that would be like the fuel cost dropping by almost three-quarters ... Might it be worth saving up for this yoke when we know it's going to roll off production lines at the end of 2010? That might depend on the price but if the fuel figures and tax drop are all they're slated to be then it could be a saving of over €1500 per year based on 15000 miles per year - something to think about.

So, if they get the battery right then it will roll off in 2010 in the States and possibly not long after over here. Since it's something you plug in, could enough of these things put together in an economy work as storage for excess alternative energy capacity on an entire grid? I've seen the idea spoken of before in Slashdot.

Interestingly, GM are going to look for a government subsidy for the price and the way oil is going up they might get it.

Quote :

GM has yet to disclose the retail price of the Volt but is lobbying for a government subsidy to bring the car within reach of the average Chevrolet customer.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2008/0820/1219158396874.html