Detroit auto makers try some new tricks

But it was not sold as an Opel (even though it was). My next door
neighbor had one. As far as I know it never broke, but then she was
very old and the car was only driven about once a month.

Ed

 

Actually, you have it backwards, the current Opel GT is a rebadged
Saturn Sky / Pontiac Solstice. The V-6 powered Vues use the Opel V-6
for the first 2 or 3 years, then switched to a Honda V-6. The current
Vues are back to GM engines. In the early 00's GM and Honda had an
engine swapping arrangement - GM provided diesels in Europe to Honda
and Honda sold V-6 drive trains to GM for use in Saturns.

One thing about the Opel GT - it should not really be called a "GT" at
all, at least as this designation was originally used in Europe. GT
was short for Grand Turismo, which were generally coupes, not
convertibles. Of course Ford, GM, and all other US manufacturers slap
letters wily nilly on cars, so I guess GT has no real meaning these
days. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Turismo_(racing) )

Ed

 

But as we see when two SUVs with little crumple zone hit one another the
people in both vehicles are often seriously injured.
A high percentage of todays vehicles are large SUVs with little crumple
zone.

Then there is the single vehicle accident situation when you hit a hard
object, but you will never do that will you!

 

So true.
Of course it's better not to wear a seat belt when on a motorcycle or
perhaps even when in a convertible without a roll bar.

 

It didn't in the early 80s implementation.
The early Chrysler Horizons had shocks supporting the bumper bar.
I was rear ended hard twice ('81 Horizon) with no more damage than a
scuff on the plastic bumper cover.
The easing of regulations resulted in more fragile bumpers that are
trashed in slight bumps.

 

No - we don't see that at all. If you're going to make things up, at least
make up an accident scenario where what you claim is likely.

 

Who is we? I don't see this scenario. I see more hurt people come
from the small car vs SUV scenario where the small car gets clobbered.
SUV vs SUV doesn't seem to result in any more injuries than car vs
car.

In my post that you quoted I said that I would rather be in a new car
if I was going to hit a brick wall. Just in case you haven't noticed
brick walls are hard objects.

Steve B.

 

Pintos did not have gas tanks like "old Mustangs." Old Falcons and
Fairlanes did (assuming you are talking about the drop in style tanks
where the top of the tank forms thebottomof the trunk floor). Pinto
gastanks wereinstalledfrom below and there was a seperate steel trunk
floor. Neither Mustangs nor Pintos were particularly fire prone no
matter what the urban myths claims.

People are always talking about olf Mustangs with the drop in tanks
like they were esppeically dangerous.How about old Corollas where the
tank was mounted in the trunk? Or Camry's where the tank sseems to
have a propensity for rusting out on top and leaking?

Ed

 

You don't have this quite right, but it is close. The Henry Ford Motor
Car Company went backrupt. The principal investors took possesion of
the assest and hired Henry Leyland to run a new company, eventually
called Cadillac. I don't think you can say that the original name of
Cadillac was the Henry Ford Motor Car Company, although certainly
there is a connection. I don't think Mr. Leyland ever was the
principal owner of Cadillac, although he certainly was the early
managing force. Henry Leyland did found Lincoln, which Henry Ford
eventually purchased and then forced out Henry Leyland (and son). A
lot of historians paint this as sort of a revenge play by Henry Ford.

Ed

 

GM management always seemes to ignire the fact that Oldsmobile existed
before GM. GM was born in 1908 (ten years after Oldsmobile) and
initially was just a holding company for Buick. The early history GM
is just a bunch of stock manipulation used to accumulate other
manufacturers (including Oldsmobile). GM under Durant even tried to
buy Ford. Supposedly Ford was ready to sell, but only for cash. Durant
had no cash, only inflated stock. Ford said no deal.

Ed

 

You haven't been to a body shop lately have you.

Ed

 

You haven't been in an accident lately have you? (no smiley)

 

Now you've got me thinking and I can't remember something. Wasn't Ford
(1903-present) Motor Company Henry's 3d car company? Seems to me like there
was a car company before Henry Ford Motor Company.

Charles of Schaumburg

 

You haven't seen what hospitals charge, have you?

Charles of Schaumburg

 

"n5hsr" ...

I just got my statement ("This is not a bill") on my cardiac stress test -
$5,500! That's just the treadmill test itself - not even the doctor's fee!

What a ripoff.

Natalie

 

And have you seen the price of drugs lately? They're trying to get rid of
quinine, which is a naturally occuring substance, so they can't really
charge a ton for it. But the drug companies have been trying to get rid of
quinine since the 1990's. They try to give dialyis patients Robaxin, but it
doesn't work on me or my dad. (I think Robaxin is some sort of muscle
relaxant.) Next they'll try to get rid of asprin. Now I can only get some
artificial quinine substitute that costs me $110 a month, whereas before the
quinine I took cost less than $10 a month.

Charles of Schaumburg

 

Like Big Bill Teague said after he knocked out the two guys in Oh Brother
Where Art Thou, "It's all about the money, boys."

Charles of Schaumburg

 

Find a good herbalist that carries quinine bark and white willow
(natural aspirin the way it used to be obtained before they learned how
to make it synthtically).

We should always have those available in the U.S. unless Hillary and
Teddy get there way on outlaewing herbal medicine (which I don't think
will ever happen).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

They'll try. Big Pharma has been trying to stick the Quack label on herbal
medicine since probably 1906.

Do you know the most common medicine to control diabetes in India?
Cinnaomon! I had an Indian doctor friend tell me as much. A lot cheaper
than the dollar-a-pill stuff they had me on, and for me, it actually works.
My numbers are almost too good.

Charles

 

"n5hsr"...

Yet men gladly pay $10 a pill for Viagra

The substitute for quinine is usually Neurontin or Lyrica these days.
Sometimes the antidepressant Cymbalta is used as well.

Quinine, unfortunately, becomes tolerant to the patient, then stops working.
It also can have a few side effects (like anything).

I don't know much about dialysis-related meds, but it seems weird to use a
muscle relaxant in someone with kidney failure.

Natalie