Mallard

The loss of life on american soil was far greater during 9/11 then any other terrorist attack. Plus it was broadcast all over television from start to finish. Every American that had a tv was sitting in front of it for hours in horror. Yes, a terror threat existed before 9/11, but it didn't hit home for most Americans until that day. That's why I'm saying most peoples fears changed on that day. You can call everyone that disagrees with you a Bush supporter that was too wrapped up in blowjobs to notice, but that would be far from the truth. I watched the news and I knew who Bin Laden was before 9/11. In fact, when I woke up to see what happened I said to my roommate, "It had to be bin laden." His response was, "WHO??" I had to explain to him that he was the guy responsible for the attacks on US ships in the middle east, etc. etc. The fact of the matter is, yes, some people knew of the threat, but the average American was ignorant until that day.

Which seats were in the car? They can come with standard SRT-4 seats or the "viper" seats. Jesse, that detached feeling you hear about is due to the LSD. What year SRT-4 was this? They didn't start coming with the LSD stock until 04.

CAFE is a bunch of BS. Some people think that manufacturers hold some knowledge that will allow every vehicle to get xx mpg but they hold back on it. Fact of the matter is that the manufacturers struggle to meet the CAFE standards, mostly because of consumers buying habits. If a majority of people gave a shit about CAFE they would stop buying SUV's. Some manufacturer's (I believe BMW is one of them) doesn't even try to make CAFE. They build the cars they want and charge more for each so they can afford the fine from the US government. Plus, fuel economy is not the same as low emissions, so don't even try to link that to the clean air act. Although it would help conserve supply. You can't even compare those times. Clinton was pre-9/11 and times were much different. Most people didn't even know about a terrorist threat. People were more carefree, not because of Clinton, but because 9/11, Russia, Britian, etc. scared the shit out of people and now they worry about safety and security. In reguard to the topic question: I'm not sure why you think you're paying more where you are, but there are some stations around here charging 3.40/gal for regular. Not to mention in Britian it's over $6/gal.

$73.33 a month. With 2 points, 2 moving violations, and 0 accidents in the last year. I'm about to switch over to MI insurence and dreading it. Not to mention now I have another ticket. p.s. I'm 23 and that's with State Farm.

They have a solid engine in them and seem to be put together well. The front does look a lot like the PT Cruiser but I assume you're buying it because of interior space, gas mileage, and because it's comfortable on long trips. For that I have no problems with the HHR.

:thumbsup: Nice car. I'm waiting for the GXP.

GM just announced Stage 1 and 2 packages that will be out for the SS.

A few stations up here are up to $3.40/gal for regular

85% Ethanol, 15% gas. Not all cars can take it straight from the pump as alcohol is corrosive to seals and hoses. But some cars are built to run on gas or e-85. (So called "flex fuel" vehicles) It's 105 octane and alcohol has a cooling effect when burned. Although you will get fewer MPG with E-85 because it's energy content (Lower Heating Value) is much less then gas and stoiciometric A/F is much less then gas's 14.7:1. (Straight Ethanol is 9:1). Although it's about 1.85 per gallon right now in WI.

Ok, it seems there is a boost control system that will bleed off boost pressure from the manifold if the ECU determines that there is a danger to the engine. However, I have not found out when that actually happens. There are guys who have hit upwards of 18psi on them. EDIT for more info: http://www.cobaltss.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4433 Read that link if you're interested. Sounds like the internet people only know what it does, but not how it does it. There's some really bad backyard engineering going on with some of these guys. Don't listen to their 'mods' but read what the valve is. I haven't researched the Cobalt that much but I could always ask my buds the the GM inline engine group what the deal is if I have to. It's quite possible that this so called 'boost control' is an urban legend. It sounds as if the valve is operated mechanically and some people's might just be sticking open. I'll find out soon.

Shuh!

http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/events/racing/ecotec_20L_supercharged.pdf I have also heard about a limit on 12psi max, but it's not because the s/c can't make more efficiently, it's because of some electronics that limit the amount of boost. I'll look for the info.

I wish E-85 were more readily available. In WI it's not even to $2 a gallon yet and would be perfect for more boost.

Stuttgart

not what i heard.

+1 How about they moved there because they're in the center of everything, they can basically sit on their lawn and get spy photos, and they're closer to where all the development takes place so it's easier for them to get to ride-and-drives or on to manufacturer facilities. C&D still sucks Honda's balls more then anyone IMO.

If you seriously think that car could weigh in at 2200 lbs for a production convertable with all steel body panals then you're crazy. (I still don't think 2800lbs is heavy for a production car. I'd call it a little portly if it passed 3k) Things have to be added to cars to make them production viable (crash safety, smooth operation of a top with no leaks, stell body panals vs. AL or some other exotic material that costs money). It's a $20,000 car for Christ sake. You'd be luck to get any car that's fun to drive for anything near that price.

I used to run 2 miles in 12:30 during soccer conditioning in high school. Then I went to college and stopped working out. I'm actually doing a 5k in about 2.5 weeks and my goal is under 30 min. I'm feeling a little more confident since I see you were about there. I think I'm in almost the same shape as you right now.

werd

I'm not at liberty to talk about anything. The only known information is that there will be a GXP model (like every other Pontiac). Other then that, you'll have to wait for auto shows.

Huh!? The Solstice is about as true to a concept as you can get. I'm not sure what you're talking about with a fuel saver engine. 170hp may be a little less then what you thought was a mini-Viper but it's not bad for its class. I'll be waiting for the GXP to hit the market before I throw down my money though. The Solstice concept had an EcoTech in it so I don't know how you were mis-led to believe it was a mini-Viper.

Nope. There are a lot of cars up here driving around that aren't out yet. For instance, I've been seeing Solstice's since I moved up here in May.

2300lbs??!! Do any of those high HP Honda's upgrade their tranny?

Don't mess with Texas

I did the traction circle in both directions and came up with 1.04 g in both directions. Sadly, most entrance/exit ramps are right handers so I could not run that backwards. Although they are close to constant radius and I can hold a sustained speed around them. When we do testing at work we hold a constant radius and drive faster until the car understeers past a certain point. Then we can look at the data trace and see what the max lateral accel is. Essentially that's what I did except I only had a 270 degree circle to test on so I had to keep repeating it until max speed was reached. You talk like I slolomed the car to hit this number for an instant. But in reality this was a sustained G for around 2 seconds of duration. The car was stable and it could have been held longer if I had a continuous circle. Sadly, my car can't get into any of the test facilities I have access to so I'll continue looking for a better surface for further tests.