MetaFilter posts tagged with gm

When mod doesn't mean truck nutz

Mitheral — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:19:00 -0800

Whether it's trailer hitches or complete rebody customizations; Ford, GM and Dodge all provide guides to body builders or upfitters to make safe and reliable modifications to light and medium duty trucks and vans. The guides contain wiring diagrams; dimensions and specifications (eg: how much weight can you put on your van's roof); emissions information; and information on areas to avoid mounting equipment in for safety. GM also makes available extensive information on best practices to maintain fit, finish, safety, reliability and noise standards. The electrical guide[pdf] should be required reading at every stereo and lighting installation outfit.

gravity

plexi — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:25:55 -0800

Saturn is no more. "Other industries could learn from the Saturn Corporation. Certainly GM is taking what they have learned from their Saturn investment and incorporating it into their existing plants and facilities where practical. It will not be an overnight experience. Like Saturn, it will take time, investment and a strong commitment to regain the role of world leader in the automobile industry."

The 31-year-old in charge of dismantling General Motors

445supermag — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:24:50 -0800

"There was a time between 4 November and mid-February when I was the only full-time member of the auto task force,” Deese, a special assistant to the president for economic policy, acknowledged recently as he hurried between his desk at the White House and the treasury building next door. “It was a little scary.” Finish his law degree? No, Brian Deese has G.M. to dismantle. He was also part of the transition team (video).

Karma police, arrest this man

cashman — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:59:49 -0800

GM is struggling to survive, announcing today tens of thousands of layoffs and plant closings by next year, and eliminating the Pontiac Brand. Meanwhile just a few weeks ago, the president announced a high speed rail plan [pdf] between many major cities. An interesting turn of events since the documentary Taken For a Ride uses interviews and public records to argue that GM deliberately killed off transportation via rail.

War on photographers: no advance, no retreat. Just keep shooting.

infinitefloatingbrains — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:38:38 -0800

Commercial artists have always had it tough, and photographers are no exception. Magazines are folding. Advertising is down. And to make things worse, this week large companies like Omnicom and GM shifted the financial burden to the artist. Some say production insurance, commonly used in film, is the answer. Others recommend fighting the already bad contracts by demanding payment before usage rights are released. Of course, if things go wrong you can always file for bankruptcy.

The Beast

chuckdarwin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:45:48 -0800

Apparently, the president-elect is getting a new limousine. Details are sparse, but one thing is certain: it's damned ugly.

“Although many of the vehicle’s security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to say that this car’s security and coded communications systems make it the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world,” Nicholas Trotta, assistant director for the Office of Protective Operations, said in a statement. Not surprisingly, a Secret Service spokeswoman would not be drawn on whether the vehicle was resistant to bomb or chemical attacks. But it would be a safe guess to say it is. Cadillac, a division of General Motors Corp., issued its own statement on the new vehicle, saying it had taken steps to ensure no details of its design leaked out during its manufacture. It said the vehicle, which is completely different to the one now being used by President George W. Bush, had been subjected to “an extreme testing regimen,” for which read: a lot of prototypes were blown up. “The rear passenger area includes an extensive executive compartment with ample seating space, outward visibility and useful mobile office features,” it added.

No word on an iPod dock.

Bridge Loaner? But I hardly know her...

jourman2 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:21:57 -0800

Andrew Ross Sorkin takes apart GM piece by piece. While furiously selling off assets, its stock at a 40 year low, a 38 billion dollar loss in 2007, and 25 billion loss so far in 2008, GM seems to be in a worse position than ever. Some argue GM and the big 3 automakers are too interconnected to let fail. But are they? What's the solution? A whole variety of opinions

Bt Cotton and Farmer Suicides in India

bodywithoutorgans — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:28:10 -0800

A recent study shows that farmer suicides in India have not increased due to introduction of GM crops The Washington based research organization IFPRI claims that "Bt cotton is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for the occurrence of farmer suicides. In contrast, many other factors have likely played a prominent role." Their study has been wielded in the empirical arms race by big pharmaceutical corporations such as Monsanto against NGOs that oppose GM modified crops in India such as Gene Campaign and activists such as Vandana Shiva.

The cars of tomorrow

fixedgear — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:32:47 -0800

The cars of tomorrow, today. Link goes to NYT, you may need to use BugeMeNot. Slide show. Futurliner previously on MeFi.

Global food studies

stbalbach — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:49:19 -0800

Exposed: The great GM crops myth. A new study shows some genetically engineered crops (soy, cotton) produce less than equvilent conventional crops. Meanwhile the IAASTD - sort of the IPCC of agriculture composed of 400 experts from around the world - has concluded in a major report that GM crops are not the answer to world hunger and there must be a "paradigm shift" (IAASTD report summary). They predict global demand for food will double in the next 25-50 years, but with the current food crises, some GM crops are already less taboo, but PETA is banking on vat grown meat.

General Motors Heritage Center houses four decades of GM's electric drive vehicles

445supermag — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 13:16:25 -0800

General Motors Heritage Center houses four decades of GM's electric drive vehicles (via Digg)

Chevy Volt

Brian B. — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 19:37:49 -0800

The Chevy Volt, GM's new plug-in hybrid electric car. For a customer driving about 40 miles a day or about 15,000 miles a year, compared to a 30 mpg car, the Volt would save about 500 gallons of gasoline per year. If the car is charged every night, the driver should be able to achieve that mileage using virtually no gasoline. That same example would also save 4.4 metric tonnes of CO2 every year from each car. All it needs for mass production is a supplier for its untested lithium ion battery concept.

But there are such sweet ass cars out there!

tgrundke — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:48:00 -0800

Audi released its new super-sportscar, the R8, at the Paris Autoshow today. With cars like the R8 and the Bugatti Veyron at the top end and the Toyota, Volkswagen or Lexus, there's lots of neat stuff going on in the automotive world...just not from GM, Ford or Chrysler. Maybe it's just me, but pumping out crap like this may be part of the reason. Just guessing.

Terminator Seeds

stray — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:24:24 -0800

The 8th Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity begins March 20th. On the agenda? The possible overturning of the 2000 de facto moratorium on genetically modified Terminator Seeds. The US, Australian, New Zealand, and most recently Britain are already on board. Other countries and environmental groups are not so keen, and are pushing to ban terminator.

Restoring the GM Futurliner

327.ca — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 14:56:04 -0800

The Futurliners are imposing vehicles, 33 feet long, 8 feet wide and standing 11 feet 7 inches tall at the top of the driver's canopy. The driver's eyes are about 10 feet off the ground and in front of the steering wheels. This site updates a 2002 post on the restoration of one of these magnificent vehicles. via Boing Boing

goodness.

delmoi — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 12:44:31 -0800

Glowing green pigs. Scientists from Taiwan have successfully created a bioluminescent pigs with genes from a jellyfish.

GM fires 9% of their workforce

SharQ — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 07:09:48 -0800

General Motors is cutting 9% of their workforce. Some fear it is too little, too late. Chicago Tribune fear this is only the beginning. Detroit News has an FAQ for those affected. A sad day for the US automotive industry indeed.

When GM food is fed to rats it affected their kidneys and blood counts. So what might it do to humans?

Lanark — Sun, 22 May 2005 02:09:55 -0800

Rats fed GM corn develop abnormalities A new study reveals that rats fed on a diet rich in genetically modified corn develop abnormalities to internal organs and changes to their blood, raising fears that human health could be affected by eating GM food.

No 'dead babies' in my beer? Oh my...

vhsiv — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:52:04 -0800

In a surprise move, Anheuser-Busch has gone up against some of the biotech firms that would like to grow genetically-modified (GM) rice containing human DNA. The biotech firm that grows it says that their rice contains synthetic human genes which the company hopes to harvest and refine for use in medicines to fight diarrhea and dehydration.

Anheuser-Busch's concerns are not with the science of biotech, but rather the risk of crop-contamination, as has happened with farmers not only in the U.S. and Canada, but all over the world. The USDA has issued rice-tweakers Ventria Bioscience and 300 other biopharmers permission to plant various augmented plants around the country since 1995, but Anheuser-Busch is the first large corporation to threaten a boycott - unusual, because poultry and beef stock (PDF) are fed this kind of thing every day, and have been for the past 20 years. I guess the Budweiser brewers just don't want to see 'dead people' in their suds...

On the flip-side of this occurrence, the response of the anti-stem cell activists has been nothing short of sensory-deprivation. Shouldn't six-packs, cornfields and Porky be given the same human rights as the unborn?

Also related: Contaminated: The New Science of Food (quicktime movie)

What's good for General Motors is good for America

bowline — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 19:14:06 -0800

GM in trouble: "If you erased the company name from the balance sheet and showed it to a forensic accountant, the recommended treatment would probably be to seek protection from creditors by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. " GM's troubles are as much a result of the exploding costs of health care as they are due to the company's dropping market share. In Canada increasing health care costs (PDF with many charts) are taking a greater and greater share of government expenditures. In the US it's hurting big employers and regular people. But either way the problem doesn't seem likely to get better any time soon.

Weird world Series

magullo — Fri, 05 Sep 2003 03:19:38 -0800

Carter defends GM crops

40 years?

Trans Ova Genetics: Pharming Cows

hobbes — Mon, 25 Aug 2003 10:05:17 -0800

In lieu of today's posts on GM foods and meat, Trans Ova Genetics is pharming cows in hopes of creating one capable of adminstering human antibodies.

The HRE was neither holy nor roman, talk amongst yourselves (about GMOs)

turbodog — Mon, 21 Jul 2003 14:10:26 -0800

Today the British government released a major report on the safety of genetically modified foods. According to New Scientist, "existing genetically modified crops and foods pose a 'very low' risk to human health and are 'very unlikely' to rampage through the British countryside", but others disagree.

GM announces hybrids

logovisual — Mon, 06 Jan 2003 10:28:31 -0800

GM announces plans to roll out gas/electric hybrid cars for consumers in the next four years -- including pickup trucks and SUVs. Plus a brief discussion of ways to get the general populace to buy hybrid... apparently tax breaks are being mooted? Interesting. The cost increase / gas savings breakdown still isn't as impressive as one might like it to be, though... would you give one a try?

Only 12 were built.

snez — Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:45:57 -0800

The GM Futureliner It began with the Streamliner and GM’s 1936 Parade of Progress, the brainchild of inventor Charles F. Kettering. The show was a tremendous success. Redesigned in 1941 and again in 1953, the 12 Futureliners and its band of Paraders were ready to hit the road, set up shop in a town near you, and showcase the marvels of science. Of the original 12 built, 9 have been found, 2 are being used for parts, 1 is for sale, and 1 is being lovingly restored by a group of volunteers. [more inside]