It looks like the UAW (and Obama) took GM out behind the shed for a little talk... GM is announcing that the will re-tool on of their U.S. plants (not "North America") to produce a small car (maybe the Spark).
Actually, it was not just coercion, but negotiation. According to news reports, the UAW gave GM further concessions, such as broader job classifications, to allow a small car plant to be profitable.
GM was looking at a public relations mess, with Ford previously announcing that the European Focus would be built in a re-fitted Michigan Truck plant, and the UAW howling that taxpayers should not fund more off-shoring of vehicles. By bringing a b-car line to the U.S., GM leapfrogs Ford, which is going to build its Fiesta in Mexico.
The whole thing makes me wonder, though. Was GM's plan to import Chinese cars a business plan, or was it a bargaining stick?
GM Announces U.S. Small Car Plant
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Digging Into "Dealergate", Part II
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Doug Ross continues to assert that the Obama administration chose to close Chrysler dealers based on their political donations, but he relies on some one-sided data, hanging a lot on the closing list.
For my second look at the issue, I thought I'd look locally. What I did was tabulate the Chrysler dealers in the greater Metro Detroit area which are on the closing list, and also the ones on the stay-open list and take note of their political donations. Here are the results:
Closing:
Dealer, Donations
Metro Detroit Chrysler dealers who donated did so overwhelmingly to the Republicans.
The only example of a Metro Detroit Chrysler dealer who gave money to Democrats was "Hoot" McInerny, who gave large amounts to both sides. It would also be very bad press for Chrysler to try to axe McInerny's dealership, because he is a well known local personality and a big philanthropist.
I don't think you can argue any political bias in Metro Detroit, based on the data.
NX-1337 Flame Thrower Art Car - SS Alpha Fox
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NX-1337 Flame Thrower Art Car
NX-1337 Flame Thrower Art Car in action
by jurvetson
Don't know much about the NX-1337 Flame Thrower Art Car but It seems to be at every event. Its also the vehicle featured on the Maker Faire Button every hear so cudos to you NX-1337 Flame Thrower Art Car owner. Hopefully I will see you in about 9 hours and find out more about you.It sorta looks like a meter maid car out of a star treck movie or something. When you park your star ship illegally in dock 54 you get flamed.
Rock the Bike a Pedal Powered Music Stage by Fossil Fool
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Paul the Fossil Fool's Bike
by xtracycleinc
Paul the Fossil Fool is the only MC who can rock a mic while he rides his bike. He is the inventor and producer of the Soul Cycle, an on-board audio system for bikes and the Down Low Glow, a neon lighting system that he designed and built. I met Paul two years ago at my first Maker Faire, where I saw his incredible bike for the first time. Last year he organized Rock The Bike a human powered music stage and this year will feature 10 local bands. Hey paul do you think I have enough links up for you? See you this weekend
Video from Last Years Rock The Bike
Scraper Bike - By Tyrone Stevenson Jr
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Photos by Jacob Fenston
The scraper bike was birthed in Oakland by Tyrone Stevenson Jr., a 20 year old. AKA Baybe-Champ Da Scraper Bike King/Creator/Inventor. The idea came from cars that ride in Oakland called scrapers — basically an old model car, such as a Buick, that's painted a custom color to match the bright rims that are so big that they scrape the inside of the wheel well. Stevenson and his friends took those aesthetics and applied them to bicycles, fitting large wheels on small frames.The movement went viral when a video about scraper bikes when up and went global with 3 million views. Tyrone is right now working on getting his own store front and working in is his community to help keep the youth out of trouble and in a positive frame of mind.
"The Scraper Bike Movement seeks to capture the creativity of youth living within dangerous communities. It gives them a positive outlet that is fun, educational, and promotes healthy lifestyles. The Scraper Bike Movement offers youth a sustainable group of peers that is positive and motivating. They want to expand and enlighten young people's perspective on life through fixing and painting bicycles. Our goal is to support youth entrepreneurship and cultural innovation. The Scraper Bike Movement has been around for about 5-6 years and is now starting to get exposure worldwide."The Scraper Bikes will also be at this years Maker Faire
-Tyrone Stevenson Jr
Porsche GT3
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The Porsche GT3 car is the most powerful race car based on the Porsche 911, which last year scored wins at the 24 hour races of Le Mans and Spa as well as overall victory at the Nuerburgring 24 hours, competes in the GT2 class at international long distance races. The most distinguishing feature of the new GT3 RSR is the front end which received major improvements to the aerodynamics. The majority of innovations however are hidden under the weight-optimised body. The Porsche GT3 powered with 3.8-litre boxer engine. It delivers 465 hp (342 kW) at 8,000 revs per minute and delivers a maximum torque of 430 Nm at 7,250 revs. The rev limiter of the efficient six-cylinder kicks in at 9,400 rpm.
Porsche GT3
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The Porsche GT3 car is the most powerful race car based on the Porsche 911, which last year scored wins at the 24 hour races of Le Mans and Spa as well as overall victory at the Nuerburgring 24 hours, competes in the GT2 class at international long distance races. The most distinguishing feature of the new GT3 RSR is the front end which received major improvements to the aerodynamics. The majority of innovations however are hidden under the weight-optimised body. The Porsche GT3 powered with 3.8-litre boxer engine. It delivers 465 hp (342 kW) at 8,000 revs per minute and delivers a maximum torque of 430 Nm at 7,250 revs. The rev limiter of the efficient six-cylinder kicks in at 9,400 rpm.
Porsche GT3
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The Porsche GT3 car is the most powerful race car based on the Porsche 911, which last year scored wins at the 24 hour races of Le Mans and Spa as well as overall victory at the Nuerburgring 24 hours, competes in the GT2 class at international long distance races. The most distinguishing feature of the new GT3 RSR is the front end which received major improvements to the aerodynamics. The majority of innovations however are hidden under the weight-optimised body. The Porsche GT3 powered with 3.8-litre boxer engine. It delivers 465 hp (342 kW) at 8,000 revs per minute and delivers a maximum torque of 430 Nm at 7,250 revs. The rev limiter of the efficient six-cylinder kicks in at 9,400 rpm.
Aerodynamics In Car Racing
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Aerodynamic efficiency is the goal of all race car designers. It is the most important element in developing a competitive race car.
1. Car Development
2. Racing Physics
3. Front Wing Assembly
4. The Chassis
5. The Rear Wing Assembly
6. Design and Test
7. Future Designs
8. Glossary
9. References
Aerodynamics In Car Racing
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Aerodynamic efficiency is the goal of all race car designers. It is the most important element in developing a competitive race car.
1. Car Development
2. Racing Physics
3. Front Wing Assembly
4. The Chassis
5. The Rear Wing Assembly
6. Design and Test
7. Future Designs
8. Glossary
9. References
Aerodynamics In Car Racing
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Aerodynamic efficiency is the goal of all race car designers. It is the most important element in developing a competitive race car.
1. Car Development
2. Racing Physics
3. Front Wing Assembly
4. The Chassis
5. The Rear Wing Assembly
6. Design and Test
7. Future Designs
8. Glossary
9. References
Mercedes Pens Art Car at Maker Faire 2009
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Costas Schuler aka The Pen Guy is a graphic designer, artist, motivational speaker comedian, husband and proud father of three beautiful girls. Life has always been interesting but never quite the same ever since he started working on his Mercedes Pens Art Car now covered in 10,000 pens that was inspired from reading a book called "Art Cars" by author Harrod Blank. Now that the car is pretty much done he has set his sights higher and want to collect a million pens in the next five years to make more pen art.
Lunapillar Mutant Vehicle - Human Transport at Maker Faire
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Lunapillar Mutant Vehicle
Hennepin Crawler by Krank-Boom-Clank
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Hennepin Crawler at Burning Man
Hennepin Crawler at Handcar Regatta 2008
This four wheeled pedal powered monster is called the Hennepin Crawler and created by a group called Krank-Boom-Crank . They are a kinetic industrial arts collective located in Santa Rosa, CA, who made this giant mutant vehicle from about 90% recycled material, such as:
- Discarded lawn furniture
- VW Bug & antique Cadillac parts
- Old wooden furniture
- Industrial culvert pipe & aviation wire
- Plenty of old bike bits
- Other minor found parts
No Obvious Political Bias In Chrysler Dealership Closings
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In his original post (here), Ross found that out of a collection of 39 dealers he checked, 4 gave half or more of their contributions to Democrats (10%)
As much as I would like to believe it to be true, I don't think it is. There is a major flaw with his analysis: he didn't bother to check the dealers that are staying open to see how their political contributions broke down.
My hypothesis is that Chrysler dealers, being small businessmen, are more likely to donate to Republicans than Democrats, for predictable reasons. Like any small businessmen, car dealers want lower taxes, a lower minimum wage, fewer regulations, etc.
The list of Chrysler dealers that are staying open is here. This is a list of the dealers whose contracts will be assumed by the new Chrysler-Fiat.
What I did was go down the list and copy names into the search box at OpenSecrets.org until I got a clean hit. I did this until I got 25 dealers with donation records for the 2008 election cycle. The results can be considered randomized, since we don't expect a correlation in the alphabetical name of the dealership with their political affiliation (or geographic location).
If you run these numbers through a binomial distribution, you get a 2-tailed P-value of 1! That means that the hypothesis that the two distributions are identical is correct. Chrysler dealers (and probably all auto dealers) who donated for the 2008 election cycle overwhelmingly supported the Republicans.
Here is my "raw data", if you want to spot check me.
| DEEBY | R |
| AKINS | R |
| SMITH | R |
| MELLOY | R |
| SANZI | R |
| MCKAY | R |
| SIX | R |
| UDD | R |
| ANCIRA | R |
| ANDERSON | R |
| NOKES | R |
| HOSSLER | R |
| MAROONE | R |
| MORELAND | R |
| HADDAD | R |
| ALBRO | R |
| THOMASON | D |
| WYANT | R |
| BAUMANN | R |
| LANPHERE | R |
| SPITZER | D |
| BENSON | R |
| BERGERON | R |
| BERGSTROM | R |
| GERBAZ | R |
Whirlygig Emoto - Battery Powered Steam Punk Electric Scooter
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More photos via flickr
Tom Sepe is the creator of Whirlygig Emoto Art Bike, a Battery Powered Steam Punk Electric Scooter. And if you think that's a mouthful, lets break it down for you one piece at a time. Yes this is a scooter that looks like its steam powered but in fact runs on a couple of batteries. Its also made to look like something made in the early 19th century around the Victorian era called "Steam Punk", look it up because its too long to go into it. Tom is also a multidisciplinary artist, performer, video editor and chef who also worked on Draka the Dragon, a 140-ft Flaming Metal Dragon, and The Runamock Fishvan. He also does custom fabrication work that can be seen in clubs, restaurants and private homes throughout the Bay Area. Check out Whirlygig Emoto in action.
Fiat Croma Review
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The Fiat Croma - it is debut in the mid-80's. 5-door body, combining impressive external dimensions and large interior space, all it buyers rated highly.2005 Fiat CromaFiat CromaRuler engines in early years consisted of: 1.6 litre petrol engines (83 litres), 2.0 litres (90/120/115/155/150 litres), Diesel 2.5 litre (75 litres). And turbo diesel 2.45 litres (100 litres).Fiat CromaIn 1988, upon
Fiat Croma
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The Fiat Croma is the brainchild of a joint project company Fiat, Lancia, and Alfa Rome Saab.These companies, rather than German Volkswagen, the first in Europe realize idea of a single chassis for different vehicles.2008 Fiat CromaFiat CromaThe first model Fiat Croma, which began to go with conveyor since May of 1986, offered in five versions, with the amount of petrol engines from 1600 to 2000
How to Reduce Oil Dependence Costs
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Today, over half of the oil we use is imported (58%), and our dependence will increase as we use up domestic resources.
Most of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in the Middle East, and about two-thirds are controlled by OPEC members.
Oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession.
Solutions
We may never eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand.
Congress recently passed legislation to decrease our dependence on oil by increasing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards on new cars and trucks to 35 mpg by model year 2020. This could reduce our petroleum use by 25 billion gallons by 2030.
Ultimately, the solution to this problem lies in technological progress:
* Developing advanced vehicle technologies that use energy more efficiently
* Creating new energy sources that can replace petroleum cleanly and cost-effectively
How to Reduce Oil Dependence Costs
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Today, over half of the oil we use is imported (58%), and our dependence will increase as we use up domestic resources.
Most of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in the Middle East, and about two-thirds are controlled by OPEC members.
Oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession.
Solutions
We may never eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand.
Congress recently passed legislation to decrease our dependence on oil by increasing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards on new cars and trucks to 35 mpg by model year 2020. This could reduce our petroleum use by 25 billion gallons by 2030.
Ultimately, the solution to this problem lies in technological progress:
* Developing advanced vehicle technologies that use energy more efficiently
* Creating new energy sources that can replace petroleum cleanly and cost-effectively
How to Reduce Oil Dependence Costs
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Today, over half of the oil we use is imported (58%), and our dependence will increase as we use up domestic resources.
Most of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in the Middle East, and about two-thirds are controlled by OPEC members.
Oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession.
Solutions
We may never eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand.
Congress recently passed legislation to decrease our dependence on oil by increasing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards on new cars and trucks to 35 mpg by model year 2020. This could reduce our petroleum use by 25 billion gallons by 2030.
Ultimately, the solution to this problem lies in technological progress:
* Developing advanced vehicle technologies that use energy more efficiently
* Creating new energy sources that can replace petroleum cleanly and cost-effectively
Lego Jeep Art Car - On the road again headed to Maker Faire 09
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LEGO Jeep at Maker Faire almost done
by bonniegrrl
LEGO Jeep Art Car with climbers
by Paula Wirth
LEGO Jeep Hood Close Up Art
I cant believe I have not posted the famous Lego Jeep Art Car on ACC. Here in all its glory entertaining kids of every age, who are all over it having fun. Legos are for everyone and Kevin Mathieu creator of the Jeep Lego Car has apparently not left his inner child behind. How awesome it is to be able to just pull over any time and play with your legos. Those famous Bay Area traffic jams seem less insane now that the lego car is on the road headed to this years Maker Faire.
Hand made bikes of a very unusual nature
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Office Chair Bike
Wood Bike
Drift Wood Bike
Wood High Wheel
Compact Bike
Triangle Bike
Scooter Bike
photos via woodenbikes.com
Tom Kabat is a former serious cyclist who still loves bikes. An engineer, 30 year bike commuter and bike tourer (Trans America 1976), Tom was inspired to build bikes after seeing other great home built pedal machines at Kinetic Sculpture races and a wide variety of antique bikes on display in museums. I had the weird pleasure of riding on a few of these bike at the maker faire last year and trust me, they don't ride like a "regular" bikes. But the beauty of these strange contraptions is that you get to see your life flash before your eyes over and over again. Once you get the hand of it then you are free to ride around maker faire as much as you can take. I know I am going to try it again this year.
Breckland Beira V8
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