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For the last 20 years, the midsize sedan market has been dominated by a pair of cars…

For the last 20 years, the midsize sedan market has been dominated by a pair of cars that can charitably described as appliances. Functional and reliable yes, but when not in use they simply disappear into the background. +Ford Motor Company brought in artist Liu Bolin to help create some ads for the #2013FordFusion in his signature style that take that invisible car theme to a whole new level. http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2012/10/24/ford-new-fusion-makes-other-sedans-disappear-video/

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Canada and the United States have the largest bilateral trade in the entire world… 10

Canada and the United States have the largest bilateral trade in the entire world and nearly one-quarter of those goods cross over at just one of the two border crossing points between Detroit Michigan and Windsor Ontario.

Did you know that both the Detroit River Railroad Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge are owned by one man? Matty Maroun has become a billionaire in part by having a monopoly on the cross border traffic in Detroit. That fact alone is shocking. Now Maroun is waging a very expensive campaign of disinformation to try to convince Michigan voters not to accept a second bridge over the Detroit River that is to be paid for entirely by the Canadian government so that he can maintain his monopoly on this critical traffic.

I suggest we all tell Maroun to go jump off a bridge! 

‘Greedy’ U.S. billionaire urges Michigan voters to reject free bridge to Canada | Canada | News | National Post
Canada is picking up the tab for a new Detroit-Windsor bridge, but Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun warns nothing is for free

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The world needs to just stop feeding trolls like Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Mike… 8

The world needs to just stop feeding trolls like Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Mike Huckaby and so many more.  As long as pay them attention, they will feed on it.

Reshared post from +C.C. Chapman

People like Ann Coulter piss me off to a whole new level.

People like John Franklin Stephens remind me that there are more good people in the world than the idiots who drive us nuts.

An Open Letter to Ann Coulter
The following is a guest post in the form of an open letter from Special Olympics athlete and global messenger John Franklin Stephens to Ann Coulter after this tweet during last night’s Presi…

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Once upon a time, all new model year cars were launched at the same time at the beginning… 2

Once upon a time, all new model year cars were launched at the same time at the beginning of September every year and no one saw the new cars until they were revealed to the world. 

Now the explosion of media outlets means that automakers have an insatiable appetite for coverage on every corner of the web, TV and print and the desire to one-up each other. With the enormous cost of developing new vehicles, no one can really afford a big miss anymore.  But is the continuous tease over the course of many months, the best way to make consumers aware that you have something new coming?

Look at Apple. They issue no press releases, teaser videos or anything else until they are ready to show the whole world. They don't even send out invitations to the announcements until 7 days before the event. The speculation and coverage reaches a fever pitch that every automaker would envy. 

As always the Peter De Lorenzo (aka the AutoExtremist) has some strong opinions as GM begins the big tease for the C7 Corvette. What do you think?

THE AUTOEXTREMIST – Rants – Autoextremist.com ~ the bare-knuckled, unvarnished, high octane truth…
October 24, 2012 Mind Manipulation: Nothing will be the same. By Peter M. De Lorenzo (…

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If I were a cop, this is +Ford Motor Company Police Interceptor I'd want to…

If I were a cop, this is +Ford Motor Company Police Interceptor I'd want to be driving, although with a more discrete livery. Actually, just toss the whole police thing and give me a Focus ST wagon.

Ford Prepares Focus ST Wagon Interceptor for UK Police Force – Carscoop
Having prepared UK cops through the big screen and the use of a new Focus ST hatchback as the unmarked car of Flying Squad detectives Regan and Carter in the crime thriller “The Sweeney”, Ford is now …

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Will a flywheel hybrid, replace the battery-powered version of the Audi R8? 1

Will a flywheel hybrid, replace the battery-powered version of the Audi R8?

+Car and Driver Magazine is reporting that new +Audi International R&D boss Wolfgang Dürheimer has paused the development of the battery-powered R8 e-tron and may kill it entirely. 

Apparently the cost of the batteries needed to provide the combination of range and performance needed for the R8 remains way too high. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see the R8 BEV scuttled and instead replaced with an R8 e-tron quattro using the same flywheel hybrid system that served Audi so well this year in winning at Le Mans. Dürheimer was still in charge of R&D at Porsche when they developed the 911 GT3R hybrid with the flywheel system in 2010. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-fuel/hybrids/porsche-911-gt3r-hybrid-flywheel

Since the original 911 raced in 2010, the flywheel unit has been shrunk to half it's original size and weight and it could easily fit into the front luggage compartment along with the motors that drive the front wheels. In the hybrid 911 racer, fuel efficiency was boosted by 30%. 

In the 911, the flywheel could provide 163 hp of boost. Imagine combining that with the 350 hp, 4.2-liter diesel V8 from the A8 sedan and you could have a really high performance sports car that is also very efficient, and much more practical than a battery powered version would have been. 

Audi R8 e-tron Program on Hold, Could be Killed
For a car that debuted just three years ago and still isn’t available for public consumption, Audi’s R8 e-tron has a bit of history. Launched as the e-tron concept at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show, we …

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Frankly the hybrid "fusion drive" for the new iMac was the most interesting… 2

Frankly the hybrid "fusion drive" for the new iMac was the most interesting part of the Apple announcement today.

I have no interest in iPads of any size since I just don't care for iOS.  However, I could go for storage that combines the speed of flash with the capacity of rotating magnetic media. The downside of course will be the price.  

OCZ already sells its RevoDrive hybrids and the 128GB/1TB version clocks in at a steep $399 on Newegg, compared to well under $100 for conventional 1 TB drives. Apple notably neglected to mention pricing for these optional drives for the iMac but I would be surprised to see it come in at closer to $1,000.

Apple adds new ‘fusion drive’ to iMac and Mac mini, combines SSD and standard hard drive
As part of its radically-redesigned new iMac, Apple announced a new hybrid “fusion drive” for both the iMac and Mac mini. This drive combines a 128GB flash storage drive with a 1TB or 3TB HDD, and…

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Otto Blopnik digs deep into the Lincoln design center story

Just in case there is any doubt, I am not Otto Blopnik. I don't know who Otto really is, although I have my suspicions and clearly he or she is someone that is almost certainly a current automotive journalist that knows everyone in this business.

Lincoln opens new design studio
Ford Motor Company announced the opening of a new design studio exclusively for the Lincoln division, which it hopes will help with the turnaround of the ailing luxury brand. “We’ve spe…

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