Recent Comments:
2011 Buick Regal revealed live at the Hollywood Palladium {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:54PM Well, I'm somewhat under the average age of the current new Buick buyer, and I totally want this. High on the short-list for my next car.
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:48PM Rail's great (will be even greater when hybrid tech is applied to locomotives). But it's not as flexible as trucks.
I'll agree that much more of the balance of goods shipped can and should go by rail, but you'll always have long-haul trucks for expedited loads.
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:45PM Who said you have to give up 10% of your load capacity? Just put regulations in place that these can only be deployed on the Interstate (they won't be any good in urban traffic, anyway).
All your other enhancements are totally sound ideas, but this isn't mutually exclusive, either. Add this to skirts, diffusers, etc, and you probably get that 20% improvement. Any fleet manager would kill for that kind of cost savings.
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:42PM It totally depends on the application. If a trip is, say, 1000 miles with no intervening stops, the added time is minimal. If it's all Interstate, all the better.
OTOH, if the driver has to stop at a dozen different docks, then, sure, this is going to be a pain. Unless there's a way to electrically retract...
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:24PM Actually, the Australian "road trains" are the ideal application for these devices. They travel long distances non-stop, with little interaction with other traffic. In fact, if a means for collapse/storage can be figured out, those trucks could probably use a full teardrop fairing.
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:21PM I could easily imagine regulations around such devices as this that they can only be deployed on the highway.
Yes, the driver would have to pull over and deploy them. Seeing that there are numerous reasons why a driver might pull over briefly anyway, I don't see a problem.
(and, yes, I'm a former long-haul trucker...)
MP3 in its sights: Peugeot shows off Concept HYbrid3 Evolution {Autoblog Green}
Nov 13th 2009 12:20AM This is a nice, aggressive-looking vehicle. I wouldn't mind being seen on this at all.
Rupert Murdoch to remove News Corp sites from Google, institute paywall {Download Squad}
Nov 9th 2009 11:39PM Not many people have made money by second-guessing Rupert Murdock, so it's entirely possible that he has something up his sleeve. Perhaps he's trying to get Fox News viewers off the Internet completely. We can only hope.
Otherwise, it's business suicide.
REPORT: Mullaly says global Ranger and Ka won't be offered in Ford's U.S. showrooms {Autoblog}
Nov 9th 2009 11:54AM Hear, hear. The current Ranger is sooo old, and is really too heavy to run with a 4-banger.
Yes, the Ka is too small. For me? No. For most AB readers? Probably not. To sell well amidst a market newly-flooded with mini-cars without cannibalizing Fiesta sales? Absolutely.
New iMac and MacBook touchscreens debut, thanks to Troll Touch {Engadget}
Nov 9th 2009 11:41AM Isn't "Troll Touch" an indictable offense?
