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Automotive News & Views Are automobiles a major cause of global warming?
6790 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 7:44 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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thank you for that input on safety. Very valid point. Pininfarina-Bollore don't spend too much time on their website touting the car's safety, they do mention, however, that it's going to handle well because of the center of gravity of the battery packs between the axles underneath. Safety looks to me to be an area of concern, but, upon reflection, look at cars like the Chevy Aveo, similar size, heck, look at the SmartCar! Huhh-huh...I just verified that the Pininfarina-Bollore B0 should make it in to the U.S. just fine. Look at how small the SmartCar is, it is, however, very well designed for safety, from what I've read. So, crash-testing is going to be interesting on this one. I put a lot of merit in that testing. BTW-only 2,000 B0's are coming in late 2010. I am going to research this thing to the hilt, gagrice. Stick with me on this one and we'll learn together. Your input is very much respected by me and valued greatly. Thank you! I've got that kid-in-a-candy-store feeling about this car, but my wife is going to be a very difficult sell on this. But, she didn't want our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS, either, and I think she would admit that it's been a great compact car for the both of us. I can be a feisty Norwegian/English mix, oh yes I can.  If I want something I usually get it. Within reason, of course. This little car is well within reason. Humm...a Pink Floyd song just popped in to my head. Over and out, for this minute, anyway. Come on back now, ya hear?
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Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Nov 16, 2008 2:14 pm)
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Replying to: kernick (Nov 17, 2008 5:33 am) Yes, I admit that this is, to some extent, simplistic and I'm sure we can all think of circumstances where you'd only survive a crash by being in a main battle tank or similar. However, I believe modern car design and materials have improved survivability rates in smaller vehicles tremendously. EU testing regimes certainly point to this. A question : What is the max permissable GVW, (i.e. fully laden weight), of standard American trucks ? Here in Europe it's 60 Tonne, (120,000lbs), but UK has deemed a national limit of 44 Tonne, (88,000lbs), to be appropriate for our islands roads and towns. From travels around USA I always regard your trucks as "huge" but that's mainly because mose seem to be of the "conventional" layout with all the mechanical gubbins under a bonnet, (sorry, hood), out front rather than the European norm of "cabover" style. This is all down to our strict overall-length limits which would preclude your long chassis tractor units from hauling anything but the shortest of trailers. Would be interested in seeing what the figure is.
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The following from Wikipedia: North America, For starters ..."The D.O.T. has established vehicle limits of: 102 inches wide, 13.5 feet in height, and 80,000 lbs gross weight. [2] These limits can be exceeded as individual states have the right to issue temporary oversize and/or overweight permits."... But wait: ..."The United States also allows 2-axle tractors to tow two 1-axle 28.5-foot (8.7 m) semi-trailers known officially as STAA doubles and colloquially as doubles, a set, or a set of joints on all highways that are part of the National Network. The second trailer in a set of doubles uses a converter gear, also known as a con-gear or dolly. This apparatus supports the front half of the second trailer. Individual states may further allow longer vehicles (known as "longer combination vehicles" or LCVs), and may allow them to operate on roads other than those part of the National Network. LCV types include: Triples: Three 28.5-foot (8.7 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 129,000 pounds (58.5 t). Turnpike Doubles: Two 48-foot (14.6 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 147,000 pounds (66.7 t) Rocky Mountain Doubles: One 40 (12.2 m) to 53 (16.2 m) foot trailer (thought usually no more than 48 feet) and one 28.5-foot (8.7 m) trailer (known as a "pup"); maximum weight up to 129,000 pounds (58.5 t) In Canada, a Turnpike Double is two 53-foot trailers and a Rocky Mountain Double is a 50-foot trailer with 24-foot "pup" Regulations on LCVs vary widely from state to state. No state allows more than three trailers without a special permit. Reasons for limiting the legal trailer configurations include both safety concerns and the impracticality of designing and constructing roads that can accommodate the larger wheelbase of these vehicles and the larger minimum turning radii associated with them. Most states restrict operation of larger tandem trailer setups such as triple units, the "Turnpike Double" (twin 48-53 ft units) or the "Rocky Mountain Double." (A full 48-53 ft unit and a shorter 28 ft unit) In general, these types of setups are restricted to tolled turnpikes such as I-80 through Ohio and Indiana, and select Western states. Tandem setups are not restricted to certain roads anymore than a single setup. The exception are the units listed above. They are also not restricted because of weather or "difficulty" of operation. The long-haul tractors used in interstate travel are often equipped with a "sleeper" behind the driver's cab, which can be anything from a small bunk to a rather elaborate miniature apartment. link title |
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Replying to: alltorque (Nov 17, 2008 8:16 am) Looks like the length varies between 53 and 57' feet and that rule is left to the states to decide.
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Replying to: steve_ (Nov 17, 2008 8:35 am) 
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Replying to: ruking1 (Nov 17, 2008 8:38 am)  I was wondering how they handled the doubles and triples. I saw one of those Euro rigs intentionally "jack knife" on itself last year. The rig was made for little roads and tight turns I guess - the cab was able to turn so sharply, the front tires could almost touch the trailer. |
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Replying to: ruking1 (Nov 16, 2008 10:00 am) |
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oil field fires lit by Sadaam.... We have rich college students !!! Student bonfire blamed for 1 of 3 Calif. wildfires By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER, Associated Press link title Seems they missed Campfire 101. 
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Replying to: ruking1 (Nov 19, 2008 7:18 am) |
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