#top 10 electric car companies

[cybervehiclebuilding]

Pravaig DEFY SUV India: A Comprehensive Review of Design, Price, Range, Features, Specs & More

The Pravaig Defy SUV emerges as a pioneering creation in India’s automotive industry amidst the gradual global shift toward Electric Vehicles (EVs). Crafted meticulously to combine efficiency, reliability, and style, this innovative electric car beckons to those embracing the electric revolution while offering a compelling choice for both prospective EV buyers and the merely curious about this transformative mode of transportation.

Unveiled on November 25, 2022, in India, the Pravaig Defy EV epitomizes an efficient and dependable daily mode of transport that aligns with the safety standards of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles while significantly reducing carbon footprints. The SUV offers an impressive array of features, including sleek design elements, all-wheel drive, spacious interiors, comfortable seating, and an unwavering commitment to safety — all in a single variant, providing a streamlined choice for those venturing into the realm of electric driving.

The Defy’s exterior presents an angular and bold styling, blending rugged aesthetics with subtle crossover elements, creating what Pravaig aptly terms “brutal sophistication.” From the sharp front-end cuts to the panoramic fixed roof, this SUV exudes an aerodynamic design boasting a drag coefficient of 0.33. Additionally, its 18-inch alloy wheels and optional “aero covers” not only enhance its range but also contribute to the SUV’s highway driving efficiency.

Step inside, and sustainability takes the center stage within the Defy’s interior, showcasing sustainable fabrics crafted from recycled materials like PET and vegan leather upholstery. The cabin offers a seamless blend of technology and comfort with a 15.6-inch touchscreen display, onboard gaming capabilities, 3D sound from Devialet, and separate climate control zones for front and rear passengers. The SUV’s security measures, including a unique key card and a robust data privacy policy, reinforce the user’s peace of mind.

The Defy’s safety suite encompasses adaptive LED headlamps, a 360-degree camera system, and a 77GHz solid-state radar. Meanwhile, its dedicated skateboard platform, housing a 90.9kWh lithium-ion battery, positions the Pravaig Defy at the forefront of sustainable electric powertrains. The dual electric motor setup delivers an impressive 407 horsepower and 620 Nm of torque, offering an exhilarating driving experience comparable to established EV SUVs.

Charging options are versatile, allowing owners to opt for home charging using an optional 7.2kW home charger or rapid charging at 150kW DC stations. These charging solutions, coupled with a range of over 500 kilometers, cement the Defy’s practicality for daily usage.

Pravaig’s emphasis on user data security and a comprehensive service network spanning across 34,000 PIN codes in India complements the Defy’s overall offering, ensuring a reliable and customer-centric ownership experience.

In conclusion, the Pravaig Defy India spearheads India’s electric mobility sector, combining striking design, sustainability, robust powertrain, and user-centric features into a package that epitomizes the future of electric vehicles.

[top10trendslist]

Top 10 Longest-Range Electric Cars In 2024

Top 10 Longest-Range Electric Cars In 2024 | Highest-Range EV Cars:- Ready to hit the road without worries? Whether it's your daily commute or a fun adventure, having a car means freedom. But if you're thinking about getting an electric car, you might stress about

which car has the highest EV range?

But guess what? You're not alone!  In a recent survey by Cars.com lots of folks – like 68% of people thinking about buying an electric car and 63% of those who already have one – care a lot about how far it can go.  Read More

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #10

March 15-22 2024

The EPA announced new emission standards with the goal of having more than half of new cars and light trucks sold in the US be low/zero emission by 2032. One of the most significant climate regulations in the nation’s history, it'll eliminate 7 billion tons of CO2 emissions over the next 30 years. It's part of President Biden's goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 on the road to eliminating them totally by 2050.

President Biden canceled nearly 6 Billion dollars in student loan debt. 78,000 borrowers who work in public sector jobs, teachers, nurses, social workers, firefighters etc will have their debt totally forgiven. An additional 380,000 public service workers will be informed that they qualify to have their loans forgiven over the next 2 years. The Biden Administration has now forgiven $143.6 Billion in student loan debt for 4 million Americans since the Supreme Court struck down the original student loan forgiveness plan last year.

Under Pressure from the administration and Democrats in Congress Drugmaker AstraZeneca caps the price of its inhalers at $35. AstraZeneca joins rival Boehringer Ingelheim in capping the price of inhalers at $35, the price the Biden Admin capped the price of insulin for seniors. The move comes as the Federal Trade Commission challenges AstraZeneca’s patents, and Senator Bernie Sanders in his role as Democratic chair of the Senate Health Committee investigates drug pricing.

The Department of Justice sued Apple for being an illegal monopoly in smartphones. The DoJ is joined by 16 state attorneys general. The DoJ accuses Apple of illegally stifling competition with how its apps work and seeking to undermining technologies that compete with its own apps.

The EPA passed a rule banning the final type of asbestos still used in the United States. The banning of chrysotile asbestos (known as white asbestos) marks the first time since 1989 the EPA taken action on asbestos, when it passed a partial ban. 40,000 deaths a year in the US are linked to asbestos

President Biden announced $8.5 billion to help build advanced computer chips in America. Currently America only manufactures 10% of the world's chips and none of the most advanced next generation of chips. The deal with Intel will open 4 factories across 4 states (Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon) and create 30,000 new jobs. The Administration hopes that by 2030 America will make 20% of the world's leading-edge chips.

President Biden signed an Executive Order prioritizing research into women's health. The order will direct $200 million into women's health across the government including comprehensive studies of menopause health by the Department of Defense and new outreach by the Indian Health Service to better meet the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native Women. This comes on top of $100 million secured by First Lady Jill Biden from ARPA-H.

Democratic Senators Bob Casey, Tammy Baldwin, Sherrod Brown, and Jacky Rosen (all up for re-election) along with Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Sheldon Whitehouse, introduced the "Shrinkflation Prevention Act" The Bill seeks to stop the practice of companies charging the same amount for products that have been subtly shrunk so consumers pay more for less.

The Department of Transportation will invest $45 million in projects that improve Bicyclist and Pedestrian Connectivity and Safety

The EPA will spend $77 Million to put 180 electric school buses onto the streets of New York City This is part of New York's goal to transition its whole school bus fleet to electric by 2035.

The Senate confirmed President Biden's nomination of Nicole Berner to the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Berner has served as the general counsel for America's largest union, SEIU, since 2017 and worked in their legal department since 2006. On behalf of SEIU she's worked on cases supporting the Affordable Care Act, DACA, and against the Defense of Marriage act and was part of the Fight for 15. Before working at SEIU she was a staff attorney at Planned Parenthood. Berner's name was listed by the liberal group Demand Justice as someone they'd like to see on the Supreme Court. Berner becomes one of just 5 LGBT federal appeals court judges, 3 appointed by Biden. The Senate also confirmed Edward Kiel and Eumi Lee to be district judges in New Jersey and Northern California respectively, bring the number of federal judges appointed by Biden to 188.

[weareeternalnerds]

I don't have a big following and I don't expect this to go crazy viral but wanted to get this out there. I'm in western North carolina we are more than 300 miles from the coast above 2000 ft in elevation. Hurricanes don't devestate the mountains like this, The mountains usually get some rain maybe a small bit of flooding, maybe lose power for a day 2 at most. This is unprecedented. Not to mention we had a front go through that dropped between 8-15 inches of rain before Helene even got to us. Places were already flooding and then helene dropped another 8- 15 inches of rain. My local lake rose 14 feet that's 10 foot over max capacity. Evacuation orders came at 3 and 530am morning of, to late to be of use. When we say whole towns have been washed away we aren't exaggerating at all. Whole towns are just gone. So many people are without power, internet and cell reception we still don't know anything really. There are so many missing and dead and no one can give an accurate total because we still don't know the extent of the damage. The news says 166 dead but just 1 city still has over 600 missing. As people get cell service and internet the totals will rise rapidly. You can see bodies washing down the river *multiple rivers*, through parking lots and in tops of trees. They aren't reporting it. They've brought in mobile morgue and are filling them up and not trying to identify bodies at this time. Whole towns are completely gone and many others are completely cut-off due to landslides. Bridges, roads, and driveways are either washed away or damaged so badly they cannot be used. In some places the land where the road was is gone and cannot be rebuilt. Some are covered in trees and mud and just everything to the point it's going to take weeks to clear the road enough for a car to pass through. Driveways and roads are gone and people are stranded with no way to get help, no way to get to the supply drop offs. 911 was down for days. Private citizens and fema are trying to bring in helicopters to help but there is no where for them to land in the mountains. The terrain is just too difficult and unstable. Elevation changes too quickly and nowhere to land for emergency landings. I personally know people who have been told they likely won't get running water again for at least a year. The infrastructure is gone, the reservoir that supplies the area is gone, the pipes that carried water throughout the area have been washed down the mountain and are so damaged it can't be used even if it was recovered. The electric companies can't get out to fix the power because of impassable roads. So many lines and poles are down with trees covering the lines and roads. People are being told they won't get power back on until the end of October, beginning of November. Water treatment facilities are completely underwater and shut down so there is no water either and when it does come back it'll be unusable. Stores are either out of everything or about to be. Looting has started. People are out of medical supplies and can't keep their prescriptions cold even if they had them. People on life saving equipment and oxygen are just watching their batteries run out hopelessly. Fema and military are telling people who come to help to not come and to leave. We still need the help especially in our mountain communities. WE STILL NEED HELP.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 26, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Nov 27, 2024

Today presented a good example of the difference between governance by social media and governance by policy.

Although incoming presidents traditionally stay out of the way of the administration currently in office, last night, Trump announced on his social media site that he intends to impose a 25% tariff on all products coming into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump claimed that they could solve the problem “easily” and that until they do, “it is time for them to pay a very big price!”

In a separate post, he held China to account for fentanyl and said he would impose a 10% tariff on all Chinese products on top of the tariffs already levied on those goods. “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.

In fact, since 2023 there has been a drop of 14.5% in deaths from drug overdose, the first such decrease since the epidemic began, and border patrol apprehensions of people crossing the southern border illegally have fallen to the lowest number since August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. In any case, a study by the libertarian Cato Institute shows that from 2019 to 2024, more than 80% of the people caught with fentanyl at ports of entry—where the vast majority of fentanyl is seized—were U.S. citizens.

Very few undocumented immigrants and very little illegal fentanyl come into the U.S. from Canada.

Washington Post economics reporter Catherine Rampell noted that Mexico and Canada are the biggest trading partners of the United States. Mexico sends cars, machinery, electrical equipment, and beer to the U.S., along with about $19 billion worth of fruits and vegetables. About half of U.S. fresh fruit imports come from Mexico, including about two thirds of our fresh tomatoes and about 90% of our avocados.

Transferring that production to the U.S. would be difficult, especially since about half of the 2 million agricultural workers in the U.S. are undocumented and Trump has vowed to deport them all. Rampell points out as well that Project 2025 calls for getting rid of the visa system that gives legal status to agricultural workers. U.S. farm industry groups have asked Trump to spare the agricultural sector, which contributed about $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, from his mass deportations.

Canada exports a wide range of products to the U.S., including significant amounts of oil. Rampell quotes GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, as saying that a 25% tax on Canadian crude oil would increase gas prices in the Midwest and the Rockies by 25 cents to 75 cents a gallon, costing U.S. consumers about $6 billion to $10 billion more per year.

Canada is also the source of about a quarter of the lumber builders use in the U.S., as well as other home building materials. Tariffs would raise prices there, too, while construction is another industry that will be crushed by Trump’s threatened deportations. According to NPR’s Julian Aguilar, in 2022, nearly 60% of the more than half a million construction workers in Texas were undocumented.

Construction company officials are begging Trump to leave their workers alone. Deporting them “would devastate our industry, we wouldn’t finish our highways, we wouldn’t finish our schools,” the chief executive officer of a major Houston-based construction company told Aguilar. “Housing would disappear. I think they’d lose half their labor.”

Former trade negotiator under George W. Bush John Veroneau said Trump’s plans would violate U.S. trade agreements, including the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) that replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump killed. The USMCA was negotiated during Trump’s own first term, and although it was based on NAFTA, he praised it as “the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It’s the best agreement we’ve ever made.”

Trump apologists immediately began to assure investors that he really didn’t mean it. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted that Trump wouldn’t impose the tariffs if “Mexico and Canada stop the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the U.S.” Trump’s threat simply meant that Trump “is going to use tariffs as a weapon to achieve economic and political outcomes which are in the best interest of America,” Ackman wrote.

Iowa Republican lawmaker Senator Chuck Grassley, who represents a farm state that was badly burned by Trump’s tariffs in his first term, told reporters that he sees the tariff threats as a “negotiating tool.”

Foreign leaders had no choice but to respond. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum issued an open letter to Trump pointing out that Mexico has developed a comprehensive immigration system that has reduced border encounters by 75% since December 2023, and that the U.S. CBP One program has ended the “caravans” he talks about. She noted that it is imperative for the U.S. and Mexico jointly to “arrive at another model of labor mobility that is necessary for your country and to address the causes that lead families to leave their places of origin out of necessity.”

She noted that the fentanyl problem in the U.S. is a public health problem and that Mexican authorities have this year “seized tons of different types of drugs, 10,340 weapons, and arrested 15,640 people for violence related to drug trafficking,” and added that “70% of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country.” She also suggested that Mexico would retaliate with tariffs of its own if the U.S. imposed tariffs on Mexico.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau did not go that far but talked to Trump shortly after the social media post. The U.S. is Canada’s biggest trading partner, and a 25% tariff would devastate its economy. The premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, seemed to try to keep her province’s oil out of the line of fire by agreeing with Trump that the Canadian government should work with him and adding, “The vast majority of Alberta’s energy exports to the US are delivered through secure and safe pipelines which do not in any way contribute to these illegal activities at the border.”

Trudeau has called an emergency meeting with Canada’s provincial premiers tomorrow to discuss the threat.

Spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington Liu Pengyu simply said: “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war” and “the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality.”

In contrast to Trump’s sudden social media posts that threaten global trade and caused a frenzy today, President Joe Biden this evening announced that, after months of negotiations, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France, to take effect at 4:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel shortly after Hamas’s attack of October 7, 2023. Fighting on the border between Israel and Lebanon has turned 300,000 Lebanese people and 70,000 Israelis into refugees, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s tunnel system and killing its leaders. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,000 people and injured more than 13,000, while CBS News reports that about 90 Israeli soldiers and nearly 50 Israeli civilians have been killed in the fighting. Under the agreement, Israel’s forces currently occupying southern Lebanon will withdraw over the next 60 days as Lebanon’s army moves in. Hezbollah will be kept from rebuilding.

According to Laura Rozen in her newsletter Diplomatic, before the agreement went into effect, Israel increased its airstrikes in Beirut and Tyre.

When he announced the deal, Biden pushed again for a ceasefire in Gaza, whose people, he said, “have been through hell. Their…world is absolutely shattered.” Biden called again for Hamas to release the more than 100 hostages it still holds and to negotiate a ceasefire. Biden said the U.S. will “make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released and the end to the war without Hamas in power.”

Today’s announcement, Biden said, brings closer the realization of his vision for a peaceful Middle East where both Israel and a Palestinian state are established and recognized, a plan he tried to push before October 7 by linking Saudi Arabia’s normalization of relations with Israel to a Palestinian state. Biden has argued that such a deal is key to Israel’s long-term security, and today he pressed Israel to “be bold in turning tactical gains against Iran and its proxies into a coherent strategy that secures Israel’s long-term…safety and advances a broader peace and prosperity in the region.”

“I believe this agenda remains possible,” Biden said. “And in my remaining time in office, I will work tirelessly to advance this vision of—for an integrated, secure, and prosperous region, all of which…strengthens America’s national security.”

“Today’s announcement is a critical step in advancing that vision,” Biden said. “It reminds us that peace is possible.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[darkmaga-returns]

Tens of thousands of Volkswagen employees have halted production to protest proposed pay cuts. The German automaker has stated it will need to close three manufacturing plants due to rising labor expenses, material shortages, and, most importantly – the climate change agenda that has demonized fossil fuels.

Over 120,000 workers now face a 10% pay cut if they can manage to keep their jobs. The IG Metall union has warned that protests will be fierce. Volkswagen remains Germany’s top-selling car brand, composing 19% of the market share. Yet profit margins have dropped from a forecast of 7% to 5.6% for 2024 after the company’s cash flow turned negative in the first half of the year. The company states it needs to save 10 billion euros by 2026 in addition to finding a way to cut another 4 billion euros. Operating profits have fallen by 11.4% and they simply cannot continue producing these EVs at the same pace they were producing dreaded fuel-powered cars because the demand is not there.

Now many blame China for providing state subsidies for EVs that are far cheaper than the vehicles produced in Germany. This is why places like the US have placed a 100% tariff on those vehicles so that there is no demand. However, there is simply low demand for electric vehicles everywhere. You cannot force people to buy EVs even if you destroy the energy sector and make prices skyrocket 300% as they did by killing Nordstream. Pushing manufacturers to switch to meet these arbitrary emission targets is killing the entire auto sector which is about 17% of Germany’s entire GDP.

Germany believes it can reduce carbon emissions by 65% by 2030, followed by an 88% reduction into 2040 before meeting gas net neutrality in 2045. They claim that Germany is five years behind on its adoption of electric vehicles as it is far from meeting its goal of 15 million EVs by 2030. The average EV price in euro shot up 7.5% in the past year to €56,669. Infrastructure and charging stations remain inadequate to meet these goals.

Germany relies heavily on automotives, and Europe relies heavily on Germany as its top economy. Now, due to climate initiatives, Volkswagen is closing plants for the first time in its 87-year history. Pay close attention to Germany’s automotive sector, as it could easily cause a ripple effect throughout the entire European economy.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (March 10-16, 2024)

"It looks as though its Japanese producers, assisted by a stray American—fellow named Terry Morse, who is an alumnus of Hollywood's Poverty Row—made a close study of the old film, "King Kong," then tried to do substantially the same thing with a miniature of a dinosaur made of gum-shoes and about $20 worth of toy buildings and electric trains." —Bosley Crowther, reviewing Godzilla, King of the Monsters! for The New York Times

"The special effects are hardly special, but hey, what do you expect in a Japanese monster movie?" —Tony Kiss, reviewing Godzilla 1985 for the Asheville Citizen-Times

"Sure it's bad filmmaking. Sure it's a guy—actor Tsutomu Kitagawa—clad in a nearly vintage latex Godzilla getup and stomping through Tokyo, knocking down cardboard mini-buildings and upending toy-sized cars with his gnarly feet. But that's the point." —Bob Longino, reviewing Godzilla 2000 for The Palm Beach Post

Godzilla Minus One won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards, sending a stunned Takashi Yamazaki (VFX supervisor), Kiyoko Shibuya (VFX director), Masaki Takahashi (3D CG director), and Tatsuji Nojima (VFX artist/compositor) to the Dolby Theatre stage. Said Yamazaki, reading from prepared comments in English, "To someone so far from Hollywood, the possibility of standing on this stage seemed out of reach." I could scarcely believe what I was watching myself, despite having given a presentation for a Wikizilla stream mere hours before on Minus One's very real chances of beating more expensive American contenders. Everything I said about its nomination goes triple for its victory; we'll be talking about this one forever. To those of us who remember when Godzilla was basically a joke in the American consciousness (including my Wikizilla colleague Darthlord1997, who had a speech of his own prepared), it's the ultimate vindication.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Takashi Yamazaki directed an ad for Ajinomoto about food waste which released this week. It features the unsubtly-named Foodlosslla attacking Tokyo and facing an Ultraman-esque defense team. As with Minus One, the ad's visuals are a clever combination of high-end (a detailed CG monster) and low-end (dropping plastic fruit on top of fleeing extras).

Last year, the 4Kids Flashback podcast interviewed Mike Pecoriello, producer and writer for the company's renditions of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Ultraman Tiga, and he delivered some major news about the latter. Although only 23 episodes of Tiga aired in the U.S., 4Kids dubbed the whole thing. At the time of the podcast's recording, he thought he made copies of all the episodes, but while that doesn't seem to be the case, he did provide 4Kids Flashback with the series finale. It's a good deal more serious than the episodes which aired, with the quips kept to a minimum. Let the hunt for the rest commence!

SciFi Japan has details on Kaiju Yarrow, a Japanese comedy doubling as a tourism ad for the city of Seki. The premise is very self-aware:

KAIJU YARROW! is set in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture. One day, 30 year old Ichiro Yamada, who works in the tourism department of a government office, is ordered by the mayor to produce a "local film.'' However, Yamada, didn't want to produce the typical "mediocre local movies'' that are everywhere nowadays, so he comes up with the idea of making a "monster movie'', which has been his life-long dream. However, his dreams develops into a major incident involving the city government...! Will Yamada be able to complete his life goal of making a monster movie??

Junichiro Yagi will direct; YouTuber Gunpee will star. Unknown quantities both when it comes to kaiju, so how this will turn out is anyone's guess.

Tickets for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire have gone on sale in the U.S.—and as a reminder, the brief GKIDS theatrical release of The End of Evangelion wraps tomorrow.

[floridaboiler]

What Is The Main Ingredient of WD-40?

Before you read to the end, does anybody know what the main ingredient of WD-40?

No Cheating.....

WD-40 ~ Who knew!

I had a neighbour who bought a new pickup.

I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that someone had spray

painted red all around the sides of this beige truck (for some unknown

reason).

I went over, woke him up, and told him the bad news.

He was very upset and was trying to figure out what to do ....

probably nothing until Monday morning, since nothing was open.

Another neighbour came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off.

It removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his paint

job that was on the truck. I was impressed!

WD-40 who knew?

"Water Displacement #40".

The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and

degreaser to protect missile parts.

WD-40 was created in 1953, by three technicians at the San Diego

Rocket Chemical Company.

Its name comes from the project that was to find a 'Water

Displacement' Compound.

They were finally successful for a formulation, with their fortieth

attempt, thus WD-40. The 'Convair Company' bought it in bulk to

protect their atlas missile parts.

Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40

that would hurt you.

When you read the 'shower door' part, try it. It's the first thing

that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic,

it works just as well as on glass. It's a miracle!

Then try it on your stove-top.

It's now shinier than it's ever been.

You'll be amazed.

WD-40 Uses:

1. Protects silver from tarnishing.

2. Removes road tar and grime from cars.

3. Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.

4. Gives floor that 'just-waxed' sheen without making them slippery.

5. Keeps the flies off of Cows, Horses, and other Farm Critters.

6. Restores and cleans chalkboards.

7. Removes lipstick stains.

8. Loosens stubborn zippers.

9. Untangles jewellery chains.

10. Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.

11. Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.

12. Keeps ceramic/terracotta garden pots from oxidising.

13. Removes tomato stains from clothing.

14. Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.

15. Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.

16. Keeps scissors working smoothly.

17. Lubricates noisy door hinges on both home and vehicles doors.

18. It removes that nasty tar and scuff marks from the kitchen

flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to

scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some

windows if you have a lot of marks.

19. Remove those nasty bug guts that will eat away the finish

on your car if not removed quickly!

20. Gives a children's playground gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.

21. Lubricates gearshift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on

riding mowers.

22. Rids kids rocking chair and swings of squeaky noises.

23. Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.

24. Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.

25. Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well

as vinyl bumpers.

26. Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.

27. Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.

28. Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons and bicycles for

easy handling.

29. Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.

30. Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.

31. Removes grease splatters from stove-tops.

32. Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.

33. Lubricates prosthetic limbs.

34. Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).

35. Removes all traces of duct tape.

36. Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve

arthritis pain.

37. Florida 's favourite use is: 'cleans and removes love bugs from

grills and bumpers.'

38. The favourite use in the state of New York , it protects the Statue

of Liberty from the elements.

39. WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a little on live bait or lures and you

will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than

the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep

in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing

are not allowed in some states.

40. Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and

stops the itch.

41. It is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray it on the marks

and wipe with a clean rag.

42. Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed

and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the

lipstick spots with WD-40 and rewash. Presto! The lipstick is gone!

43. If you spray it inside a wet distributor cap, it will displace the

moisture, allowing the engine to start.

My discovery, Ants don't like it..................

P.S.

As for that Basic, Main Ingredient.......

Well.... it's FISH OIL....

Now This Is Definitely Worth SHARING!!

[diabolus1exmachina]

Aria FXE 

America is due for a legitimate competitor to the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren, and you’ve never heard of the company that says it is the one to take on those storied brands with an all-wheel drive hybrid-electric 1,150-horsepower. It is the Aria Group, an industrial supplier best known for the high quality of the carbon fiber bodywork it provides Singer for that company’s amazing Porsche 911 builds.Aria will take on the world with the FXE, which  use a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine  from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Aria claims 720 horsepower for the engine, but that may have been an early estimate, because Chevrolet announced the ZR1 at 755 horsepower. The small block will drive the rear wheels through an 8-speed sequential transaxle, surely from one of the usual suspects in the racing/supercar community such as Xtrac, Hewland, or Graziano.The FXE enjoys another 540 horsepower from the twin electric motors driving the front wheels, which also provide all-wheel drive and regenerative braking to recapture energy. This is powered by a 10 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack (about the same capacity as that in the upgraded BMW i8).

Together, they accelerate the FXE to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and to a top speed of 220 mph.

A less expensive FE model will use a naturally aspirated version of the gas engine driving the rear wheels, with no electric motors on the front axle.

In either configuration, Aria’s cars will be a technological tour de force, employing patented new techniques for fabricating its carbon fiber chassis and 3D printing to create various titanium and aluminum parts.

[yourreddancer]

Heather Cox Richardson

November 26, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Nov 27

Today presented a good example of the difference between governance by social media and governance by policy.

Although incoming presidents traditionally stay out of the way of the administration currently in office, last night, Trump announced on his social media site that he intends to impose a 25% tariff on all products coming into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump claimed that they could solve the problem “easily” and that until they do, “it is time for them to pay a very big price!”

In a separate post, he held China to account for fentanyl and said he would impose a 10% tariff on all Chinese products on top of the tariffs already levied on those goods. “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.

In fact, since 2023 there has been a drop of 14.5% in deaths from drug overdose, the first such decrease since the epidemic began, and border patrol apprehensions of people crossing the southern border illegally have fallen to the lowest number since August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. In any case, a study by the libertarian Cato Institute shows that from 2019 to 2024, more than 80% of the people caught with fentanyl at ports of entry—where the vast majority of fentanyl is seized—were U.S. citizens.

Very few undocumented immigrants and very little illegal fentanyl come into the U.S. from Canada.

Washington Post economics reporter Catherine Rampell noted that Mexico and Canada are the biggest trading partners of the United States. Mexico sends cars, machinery, electrical equipment, and beer to the U.S., along with about $19 billion worth of fruits and vegetables. About half of U.S. fresh fruit imports come from Mexico, including about two thirds of our fresh tomatoes and about 90% of our avocados.

Transferring that production to the U.S. would be difficult, especially since about half of the 2 million agricultural workers in the U.S. are undocumented and Trump has vowed to deport them all.

Rampell points out as well that Project 2025 calls for getting rid of the visa system that gives legal status to agricultural workers. U.S. farm industry groups have asked Trump to spare the agricultural sector, which contributed about $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, from his mass deportations.

Canada exports a wide range of products to the U.S., including significant amounts of oil. Rampell quotes GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, as saying that a 25% tax on Canadian crude oil would increase gas prices in the Midwest and the Rockies by 25 cents to 75 cents a gallon, costing U.S. consumers about $6 billion to $10 billion more per year.

Canada is also the source of about a quarter of the lumber builders use in the U.S., as well as other home building materials. Tariffs would raise prices there, too, while construction is another industry that will be crushed by Trump’s threatened deportations. According to NPR’s Julian Aguilar, in 2022, nearly 60% of the more than half a million construction workers in Texas were undocumented.

Construction company officials are begging Trump to leave their workers alone. Deporting them “would devastate our industry, we wouldn’t finish our highways, we wouldn’t finish our schools,” the chief executive officer of a major Houston-based construction company told Aguilar. “Housing would disappear. I think they’d lose half their labor.”

Former trade negotiator under George W. Bush John Veroneau said Trump’s plans would violate U.S. trade agreements, including the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) that replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump killed. The USMCA was negotiated during Trump’s own first term, and although it was based on NAFTA, he praised it as “the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It’s the best agreement we’ve ever made.”

Trump apologists immediately began to assure investors that he really didn’t mean it. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted that Trump wouldn’t impose the tariffs if “Mexico and Canada stop the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the U.S.” Trump’s threat simply meant that Trump “is going to use tariffs as a weapon to achieve economic and political outcomes which are in the best interest of America,” Ackman wrote.

Iowa Republican lawmaker Senator Chuck Grassley, who represents a farm state that was badly burned by Trump’s tariffs in his first term, told reporters that he sees the tariff threats as a “negotiating tool.”

Foreign leaders had no choice but to respond. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum issued an open letter to Trump pointing out that Mexico has developed a comprehensive immigration system that has reduced border encounters by 75% since December 2023, and that the U.S. CBP One program has ended the “caravans” he talks about. She noted that it is imperative for the U.S. and Mexico jointly to “arrive at another model of labor mobility that is necessary for your country and to address the causes that lead families to leave their places of origin out of necessity.”

She noted that the fentanyl problem in the U.S. is a public health problem and that Mexican authorities have this year “seized tons of different types of drugs, 10,340 weapons, and arrested 15,640 people for violence related to drug trafficking,” and added that “70% of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country.” 

She also suggested that Mexico would retaliate with tariffs of its own if the U.S. imposed tariffs on Mexico.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau did not go that far but talked to Trump shortly after the social media post. The U.S. is Canada’s biggest trading partner, and a 25% tariff would devastate its economy. The premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, seemed to try to keep her province’s oil out of the line of fire by agreeing with Trump that the Canadian government should work with him and adding, “The vast majority of Alberta’s energy exports to the US are delivered through secure and safe pipelines which do not in any way contribute to these illegal activities at the border.”

Trudeau has called an emergency meeting with Canada’s provincial premiers tomorrow to discuss the threat.

Spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington Liu Pengyu simply said: “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war” and “the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality.”

In contrast to Trump’s sudden social media posts that threaten global trade and caused a frenzy today, President Joe Biden this evening announced that, after months of negotiations, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France, to take effect at 4:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel shortly after Hamas’s attack of October 7, 2023. Fighting on the border between Israel and Lebanon has turned 300,000 Lebanese people and 70,000 Israelis into refugees, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s tunnel system and killing its leaders. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,000 people and injured more than 13,000, while CBS News reports that about 90 Israeli soldiers and nearly 50 Israeli civilians have been killed in the fighting. Under the agreement, Israel’s forces currently occupying southern Lebanon will withdraw over the next 60 days as Lebanon’s army moves in. Hezbollah will be kept from rebuilding.

According to Laura Rozen in her newsletter Diplomatic, before the agreement went into effect, Israel increased its airstrikes in Beirut and Tyre.

When he announced the deal, Biden pushed again for a ceasefire in Gaza, whose people, he said, “have been through hell. Their…world is absolutely shattered.” Biden called again for Hamas to release the more than 100 hostages it still holds and to negotiate a ceasefire. Biden said the U.S. will “make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released and the end to the war without Hamas in power.”

Today’s announcement, Biden said, brings closer the realization of his vision for a peaceful Middle East where both Israel and a Palestinian state are established and recognized, a plan he tried to push before October 7 by linking Saudi Arabia’s normalization of relations with Israel to a Palestinian state. Biden has argued that such a deal is key to Israel’s long-term security, and today he pressed Israel to “be bold in turning tactical gains against Iran and its proxies into a coherent strategy that secures Israel’s long-term…safety and advances a broader peace and prosperity in the region.”

“I believe this agenda remains possible,” Biden said. “And in my remaining time in office, I will work tirelessly to advance this vision of—for an integrated, secure, and prosperous region, all of which…strengthens America’s national security.”

“Today’s announcement is a critical step in advancing that vision,” Biden said. “It reminds us that peace is possible.”

[misfitwashere]

November 26, 2024 

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

NOV 27

Today presented a good example of the difference between governance by social media and governance by policy.

Although incoming presidents traditionally stay out of the way of the administration currently in office, last night, Trump announced on his social media site that he intends to impose a 25% tariff on all products coming into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump claimed that they could solve the problem “easily” and that until they do, “it is time for them to pay a very big price!”

In a separate post, he held China to account for fentanyl and said he would impose a 10% tariff on all Chinese products on top of the tariffs already levied on those goods. “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.

In fact, since 2023 there has been a drop of 14.5% in deaths from drug overdose, the first such decrease since the epidemic began, and border patrol apprehensions of people crossing the southern border illegally have fallen to the lowest number since August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. In any case, a study by the libertarian Cato Institute shows that from 2019 to 2024, more than 80% of the people caught with fentanyl at ports of entry—where the vast majority of fentanyl is seized—were U.S. citizens.

Very few undocumented immigrants and very little illegal fentanyl come into the U.S. from Canada.

Washington Post economics reporter Catherine Rampell noted that Mexico and Canada are the biggest trading partners of the United States. Mexico sends cars, machinery, electrical equipment, and beer to the U.S., along with about $19 billion worth of fruits and vegetables. About half of U.S. fresh fruit imports come from Mexico, including about two thirds of our fresh tomatoes and about 90% of our avocados.

Transferring that production to the U.S. would be difficult, especially since about half of the 2 million agricultural workers in the U.S. are undocumented and Trump has vowed to deport them all. Rampell points out as well that Project 2025 calls for getting rid of the visa system that gives legal status to agricultural workers. U.S. farm industry groups have asked Trump to spare the agricultural sector, which contributed about $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, from his mass deportations.

Canada exports a wide range of products to the U.S., including significant amounts of oil. Rampell quotes GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, as saying that a 25% tax on Canadian crude oil would increase gas prices in the Midwest and the Rockies by 25 cents to 75 cents a gallon, costing U.S. consumers about $6 billion to $10 billion more per year.

Canada is also the source of about a quarter of the lumber builders use in the U.S., as well as other home building materials. Tariffs would raise prices there, too, while construction is another industry that will be crushed by Trump’s threatened deportations. According to NPR’s Julian Aguilar, in 2022, nearly 60% of the more than half a million construction workers in Texas were undocumented.

Construction company officials are begging Trump to leave their workers alone. Deporting them “would devastate our industry, we wouldn’t finish our highways, we wouldn’t finish our schools,” the chief executive officer of a major Houston-based construction company told Aguilar. “Housing would disappear. I think they’d lose half their labor.”

Former trade negotiator under George W. Bush John Veroneau said Trump’s plans would violate U.S. trade agreements, including the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) that replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump killed. The USMCA was negotiated during Trump’s own first term, and although it was based on NAFTA, he praised it as “the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It’s the best agreement we’ve ever made.”

Trump apologists immediately began to assure investors that he really didn’t mean it. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted that Trump wouldn’t impose the tariffs if “Mexico and Canada stop the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the U.S.” Trump’s threat simply meant that Trump “is going to use tariffs as a weapon to achieve economic and political outcomes which are in the best interest of America,” Ackman wrote.

Iowa Republican lawmaker Senator Chuck Grassley, who represents a farm state that was badly burned by Trump’s tariffs in his first term, told reporters that he sees the tariff threats as a “negotiating tool.”

Foreign leaders had no choice but to respond. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum issued an open letter to Trump pointing out that Mexico has developed a comprehensive immigration system that has reduced border encounters by 75% since December 2023, and that the U.S. CBP One program has ended the “caravans” he talks about. She noted that it is imperative for the U.S. and Mexico jointly to “arrive at another model of labor mobility that is necessary for your country and to address the causes that lead families to leave their places of origin out of necessity.”

She noted that the fentanyl problem in the U.S. is a public health problem and that Mexican authorities have this year “seized tons of different types of drugs, 10,340 weapons, and arrested 15,640 people for violence related to drug trafficking,” and added that “70% of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country.” She also suggested that Mexico would retaliate with tariffs of its own if the U.S. imposed tariffs on Mexico.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau did not go that far but talked to Trump shortly after the social media post. The U.S. is Canada’s biggest trading partner, and a 25% tariff would devastate its economy. The premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, seemed to try to keep her province’s oil out of the line of fire by agreeing with Trump that the Canadian government should work with him and adding, “The vast majority of Alberta’s energy exports to the US are delivered through secure and safe pipelines which do not in any way contribute to these illegal activities at the border.”

Trudeau has called an emergency meeting with Canada’s provincial premiers tomorrow to discuss the threat.

Spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington Liu Pengyu simply said: “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war” and “the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality.”

In contrast to Trump’s sudden social media posts that threaten global trade and caused a frenzy today, President Joe Biden this evening announced that, after months of negotiations, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France, to take effect at 4:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel shortly after Hamas’s attack of October 7, 2023. Fighting on the border between Israel and Lebanon has turned 300,000 Lebanese people and 70,000 Israelis into refugees, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s tunnel system and killing its leaders. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,000 people and injured more than 13,000, while CBS News reports that about 90 Israeli soldiers and nearly 50 Israeli civilians have been killed in the fighting. Under the agreement, Israel’s forces currently occupying southern Lebanon will withdraw over the next 60 days as Lebanon’s army moves in. Hezbollah will be kept from rebuilding.

According to Laura Rozen in her newsletter Diplomatic, before the agreement went into effect, Israel increased its airstrikes in Beirut and Tyre.

When he announced the deal, Biden pushed again for a ceasefire in Gaza, whose people, he said, “have been through hell. Their…world is absolutely shattered.” Biden called again for Hamas to release the more than 100 hostages it still holds and to negotiate a ceasefire. Biden said the U.S. will “make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released and the end to the war without Hamas in power.”

Today’s announcement, Biden said, brings closer the realization of his vision for a peaceful Middle East where both Israel and a Palestinian state are established and recognized, a plan he tried to push before October 7 by linking Saudi Arabia’s normalization of relations with Israel to a Palestinian state. Biden has argued that such a deal is key to Israel’s long-term security, and today he pressed Israel to “be bold in turning tactical gains against Iran and its proxies into a coherent strategy that secures Israel’s long-term…safety and advances a broader peace and prosperity in the region.”

“I believe this agenda remains possible,” Biden said. “And in my remaining time in office, I will work tirelessly to advance this vision of—for an integrated, secure, and prosperous region, all of which…strengthens America’s national security.”

“Today’s announcement is a critical step in advancing that vision,” Biden said. “It reminds us that peace is possible.”

—

[cybervehiclebuilding]

Embarking on the quest for the best electric bike under 1.5 lakh opens up an exciting realm of affordable yet high-performance two-wheelers that are redefining the commuting landscape. In this exploration, we’ll delve into five standout electric bikes, each offering a compelling blend of cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness, and cutting-edge technology. 

[entailglobal]

The Role of Automotive Exporters in the Global Economy

The automotive industry has long been a pillar of global economic development.  It connects nations through a complex web of trade, technology, and innovation, driving significant contributions to GDP and employment worldwide.  Among the various contributors to this global sector, automotive products exporters in Gujarat play a crucial role in cementing India’s position as a key player in the global automotive market.

The Rising Importance of Automotive Exports

Automotive exports have become a cornerstone of international trade.  From passenger cars to commercial vehicles, spare parts, and other components, the automotive sector’s products are in constant demand globally.  Emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and South America are hungry for affordable, high-quality automotive products, and nations like India are stepping up to fulfill these needs.

India, being one of the largest automotive markets in the world, has not only catered to domestic demands but has also established itself as a significant exporter.  Gujarat, in particular, has emerged as a hub for automotive production and export.  With state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, world-class infrastructure, and a business-friendly environment, the region has become home to some of the top 10 automotive products exporters in Gujarat.

Gujarat:  The Automotive Export Hub of India

Gujarat’s strategic location, robust port infrastructure, and pro-industrial policies make it a natural choice for automotive manufacturers and exporters.  The state’s ports, such as Mundra and Kandla, enable seamless export operations to global markets.  Additionally, Gujarat’s proximity to major industrial clusters enhances its appeal as a center for automotive exports.

Some of the top 10 exporters of automotive products operate from Gujarat, leveraging the state’s logistical advantages and skilled workforce.  These companies specialize in a diverse range of products, including:

Passenger Vehicles:  Compact cars, sedans, and SUVs.

Commercial Vehicles:  Trucks, buses, and trailers.

Auto Components:  Engine parts, brakes, clutches, and transmission systems.

Electric Vehicles (EVs):  Batteries, chargers, and EV-specific components.

Key Contributions of Automotive Exporters

Automotive exporters from Gujarat and other parts of India contribute significantly to the global economy.  Here are some of their key contributions:

Employment Generation:  Export-oriented automotive companies create numerous job opportunities.  From manufacturing to logistics and sales, the industry employs millions directly and indirectly, ensuring economic stability for many families.

Boosting India’s Economy:  The automotive sector accounts for a significant portion of India’s exports.  By shipping vehicles and components to over 100 countries, automotive exporters strengthen India’s balance of trade and foreign exchange reserves.

Technology Transfer:  Collaborations with international partners often lead to the adoption of cutting-edge technologies.  Indian automotive exporters benefit from this knowledge exchange, enhancing their manufacturing capabilities and global competitiveness.

Improved Standards:  To meet international demands, automotive exporters in Gujarat adhere to stringent quality and environmental standards.  This not only boosts the reputation of Indian-made products but also raises the bar for domestic markets.

Top Automotive Products Exporters in Gujarat

Gujarat is home to some of the top 10 exporters in India, specializing in automotive products.  These companies have achieved global recognition for their commitment to quality, innovation, and timely delivery.  Some of their key attributes include:

Global Reach:  Extensive networks in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Sustainability Practices:  Adoption of eco-friendly manufacturing processes to meet global environmental regulations.

Customer-Centric Approach:  Customized solutions tailored to the specific needs of international clients.

India’s Automotive Export Strengths

The success of automotive products exporters in Gujarat is a testament to India’s broader strengths in the automotive sector.  Here are some factors that give Indian exporters a competitive edge:

Cost Advantage:  Indian manufacturers offer high-quality automotive products at competitive prices, making them attractive to cost-conscious international buyers.

Diverse Product Range:  From two-wheelers to heavy-duty vehicles and specialized auto parts, Indian exporters cater to a wide array of market needs.

Strong R&D Focus:  Indian companies invest heavily in research and development to stay ahead in innovation, particularly in the EV segment.

Government Support:  Policies such as the 'Make in India' initiative and export incentives encourage Indian companies to expand their global footprint.

Challenges and Opportunities

While India’s automotive exporters, including the top 10 exporters of automotive products from Gujarat, have achieved significant milestones, they also face challenges:

Global Competition:  Exporters must compete with established players from countries like Germany, Japan, and South Korea.

Regulatory Barriers:  Varying import regulations and standards in different countries can complicate export operations.

Supply Chain Disruptions:  Events like the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions can impact the availability of raw materials and shipping routes.

However, these challenges present opportunities for innovation and growth.  By embracing digital technologies, enhancing supply chain resilience, and diversifying export markets, automotive exporters can secure their place among the best exporters in India.

Future Prospects

The global shift towards sustainability and green mobility opens new avenues for automotive exporters.  Electric vehicles and related components are expected to dominate exports in the coming years.  Gujarat’s manufacturers are already investing in EV technology, ensuring their readiness to meet future demands.

Additionally, partnerships with global OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and participation in international trade fairs will help Indian exporters showcase their capabilities to a broader audience.

Why Gujarat Stands Out

Among the top 10 exporters in Gujarat, the state’s automotive sector shines due to its:

Strategic Initiatives:  Government-backed policies that promote exports.

Robust Infrastructure:  Advanced manufacturing facilities and ports.

Skilled Workforce:  Availability of technically proficient labor.

These factors make Gujarat a preferred destination for global buyers seeking reliable automotive products exporters.

Conclusion

The role of automotive exporters in the global economy cannot be overstated.  They not only drive economic growth but also foster innovation and international collaboration.  As India continues to establish itself as a global automotive powerhouse, the contribution of automotive products exporters in Gujarat remains indispensable.

Whether you are looking at the top 10 automotive products exporters in Gujarat or the top 10 exporters in India, their commitment to excellence and sustainability is a common thread.  As the industry evolves, these exporters are poised to lead India’s charge into a future defined by green mobility, advanced technology, and robust global trade.

In a rapidly changing world, automotive exporters from Gujarat and India as a whole stand out as beacons of quality, innovation, and reliability.  Their journey of excellence underscores why they are among the best exporters in India, contributing to the nation’s growing stature on the global stage.

[scattered-sense]

Somewhat going against the whole faces theory I put forward, I guess this is what a face would look like on an F unit. I imagine the B unit is faceless, but does have intelligence and can talk with other engines via the MU cable. Or maybe it doesn't and it's just a regular, mundane piece of machinery.

Tennessee & Atlantic Railway really didn't buy that many diesels; in 1940, Charlotte, NC (followed by Asheville in 1946) banned steam and diesel workings within city limits for pollution reasons; so, many routes in the Appalachian Mountains that were already better suited to electrification were staffed by, initially, Baldwin-Westinghouse 2-C+C-2 boxcabs (pictured below in service with the NYNH&H):

and later on, in the 1950s through 1970s, by converted FTs, F2s, F7s, and English Electric-built units to the same design (but regauged) as the ones they built for Victorian Railways:

Until eventually they ended up buying EMD AEM-7s in 1986, having 98 delivered in 1987-93, which displaced their older units.

As such, diesels tended to be reserved for routes avoiding the Blue Ridge Mountains and western North Carolina in particular. Eventually, the cities lifted these laws, but not before the Tennessee & Atlantic was merged with two other neighboring railways into the North Carolina Western Group on January 1, 1968. T&A was the largest merging entity, and so the other railways' operations were restructured to fit theirs.

As for the lore of this/these engine(s) in particular, they're diesels reserved and painted for use with the Mockingbird, a Memphis-Nashville-Atlanta-Jacksonville train (continuing to Miami via SAL) that ran twice a day in both directions (four total), alongside 2A/B, 3A/B, and 4A/B. Built in 1946, F3 1A/B was delivered new to the T&A, where they (or she if we're going by only the A units being alive, which I will write as if is the case from here on) and their sisters started on fast agricultural freight while the steam engines rode out their last few years on the Mockingbird, gaining experience to ensure even higher passenger safety.

During one of these trips, on a stop at Atlanta coming from Jacksonville with Florida agriculture, 1A, or Margaret E. C. French, had a careless driver accidentally top her fuel tank off with water from a pipe still up for their steam; since 1B was still providing power they could still move at first but eventually, French had to stop after her engine block started making noise; the water bent her piston rods. A steam engine that had treated her with open disregard at the yard and 1B had to haul her train to Bowling Green, and her to repair shops in Chattanooga, TN.

Another notable incident happened on January 8, 1955, when 1A nearly collided with a slower passenger train, barely avoiding coupling at a speed difference of 30 mph, after noticing the train before her driver and warning him.

Eventually, on May 31, 1955, the Mockingbird's last steam-hauled trip (pulled by one of the company's many 4-8-4s, which they called "Generals" rather than "Northerns") reached Jacksonville and back, with engine changes at Atlanta, where 1A/B, freshly repainted in the red/maroon/silver scheme depicted at the top of the page (previously in the silver/maroon scheme depicted later down) began to pull the first northbound (train 10). They would handle this job, albiet not necessarily on the same timeslot, for roughly 45 years, before being replaced by custom SD60M-based units in 1999. Amtrak wouldn't take the train over until 2010, at which point, Amtrak's power replaced NCW's, and the SDP60Ms were sold to shortlines.

Generally, these trains had exceptional safety records, with fewer than 10 total incidents over the 1955-99 span. However, 3A/B taking train 14 did collide with the car of the Secretary of Transportation of Georgia in 1974, having left it after it stalled on the level crossing. Nobody was hurt, but train 14 did need to be towed to the station in downtown Atlanta, where the train was taken over by an SD40-2.

Based on Clarabel's face from Tramway Engines - Mavis.

[hirocimacruiser]

This month's car review (from a Navi magazine)

difficult for men

Nissan March Cabriolet (CVT) 1.79 million yen

NISSAN MARCH CABRIOLET

The ``Cabriolet'' has been added to Nissan's ``cash cow'' March, with approximately 300,000 units sold each year around the world.

This model was originally exhibited as a reference at the 31st Tokyo Motor Show, but it was decided to go on sale this time because ``many customers requested that it be commercially available.'' However, it's already been two years since the last motor show, so I can't help but wonder, ``Why now?''

Regarding this, when the current March was announced in 1992, it was declared that there would be no model changes for 10 years. However, if we think about the next five years, we cannot rest on our laurels, so we announced the Cabriolet as the top grade of the March brand, creating a buzz and drawing attention to the March again. This seems to be a more realistic reason.It is produced by Takada Kogyo, a Nissan affiliate company that also produced the previous March-based Be-1 and Pao.

The exterior of the March Cabriolet is quite cute. In addition to simply removing the roof, a light notch was added to the rear end of the body to tighten the buttocks.

It somehow reminds me of the Peugeot 205 cabriolet.

The interior is basically the same as the March, but the seat fabric is modeled after a Milan city map and is exclusive to the Cabriolet. The chic sand beige hood is electric, so it doesn't take much time or effort to open or close it, and it only needs to be locked in two places at the top of the front window. The lowered top fits almost within the waistline of the body, but in order to secure that space, the interior length is about 10cm shorter than that of a hatchback. As a result, the rear seat has just enough space to accommodate two adults.

Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy that day, but it felt great to drive fully open on the highland roads around Risonare Kobuchizawa, which was the base for the test ride. Generally speaking, a 4-seater that opens up has a wide opening, which means that the wind is forced into the cabin, but in the case of the March, the high A-pillar of the tall boy style remains, so the side windows can be opened. Once you raise it up, the wind doesn't really bother you.

The closed-body March is available with two engines, 1ℓ and 1.3ℓ, but only the 1.3ℓ, which produces 79 ps, is available in the Cabriolet. However, due to the reinforcements added to the open body, the vehicle weighs 110kg more than before, so its power performance is on par with the liter version of a hatchback. When you step on the accelerator, the exhaust pipe emits a brave sound, but the speed does not increase as much as that sound. A roll bar (which guarantees safety in the event of a fall) is installed to ensure rigidity.

Although the roof rails (which Nissan calls them ``roof rails'') are still in place, the floor trembles when you go over a large step. Well, in any case, it's not so much that it's a hindrance to driving normally around town.

According to the person in charge of development, the keyword for the development of the March Cabriolet was ``a usable cabriolet.'' To achieve this, we focused on four points: (1) electric soft top, (2) heated glass rear window, (3) 4-seater seating, and (4) trunk-through mechanism. By the way, the Fiat Punto Cabrio, which is seen as a rival, does not have (2), and the Toyota・The Cynos Convertible does not have ① or ④. The price of the Punto is 2.45 million yen, and the advanced grade Cynos is 2.103 million yen. The March on the other hand costs 1.79 million yen for the NCVT specification, so it can be said that the March has the advantage in terms of equipment and price.

Regarding the March Cabriolet, I thought the styling was good and the construction of each part was okay, but to be honest, I felt like it was a little out of place. So, I thought, ``Why is that?'' But in the end, I thought that the March Cabriolet was too cute, or rather, it gave the impression that it was ``for girls.'' It was said to be strong. At least I can't imagine myself, a 30-year-old man, driving one, or rather, I don't really want to imagine it.

March Cabriolet, difficult for men. (Kawanishi)

PIC CAPTIONS

The March Cabriolet has a total length x width x width = 3720 x 1585 x 1430mm, and is 25mm longer and 5mm taller than the closed body. The body color is green, red, and silver as shown in the photo. Regardless of the body color, it is combined with a beige hood. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, power steering, front seat double airbags, ABS, and seatbelt pretensioners. The price is 1.79 million yen for the CVT model and 1.69 million yen for the 5MT model.

Photo = Daijiro Gun

Photography cooperation = Quatre Karl 0266-66-2722

[beardedmrbean]

Big taxes will be imposed on imports of electric vehicles from China to the EU after the majority of member states backed the plans.

The move to introduce tariffs aims to protect the European car industry from being undermined by what EU politicians believe are unfair Chinese-state subsidies on its own cars.

Tariffs on electric cars made in China are set to rise from 10% to up to 45% for the next five years, but there have been concerns such a move could raise electric vehicle (EV) prices for buyers.

The decision, which split EU member states such as France and Germany, risks sparking a trade war between Brussels and Beijing, which has condemned the tariffs as protectionist.

China has been counting on high-tech products to help revive its flagging economy and the EU is the largest overseas market for the country's electric car industry.

Its domestic car industry has grown rapidly over the past two decades and its brands, such as BYD, have begun moving into international markets, prompting fears from the likes of the EU that its own companies will be unable to compete with the cheaper prices.

The EU imposed import tariffs of varying levels on different Chinese manufacturers in the summer, but Friday's vote was to decide if they were implemented for the next five years.

The charges were calculated based on estimates of how much Chinese state aid each manufacturer has received following an EU investigation. The European Commission set individual duties on three major Chinese EV brands - SAIC, BYD and Geely.

EU members were divided on tariffs. Germany, whose car manufacturing industry is heavily dependent on exports to China, was against them. Many EU members abstained in the vote.

German carmakers have been vocal in opposition. Volkswagen says tariffs are "the wrong approach".

However, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland were reported to have backed the import taxes. The tariffs proposal could only have been blocked if a qualified majority of 15 members voted against it.

Germany's top industry association, BDI, called on the European Union and China to continue trade talks over tariffs to avoid an "escalating trade conflict".

The European Commission, which held the vote, said the EU and China would "work hard to explore an alternative solution" to the import taxes to address what it called "injurious subsidisation" of Chinese electric vehicles.

China's Commerce Ministry called the decision to impose tariffs "unfair" and "unreasonable", but added the issue could be resolved through negotiations.

The dispute has raised fears among industry groups outside the car sector that they could face retaliatory tariffs from China.

A trade body for the French cognac industry said the French authorities "have abandoned us".

"We do not understand why our sector is being sacrificed in this way."

It said a negotiated solution needed to be found that would "prevent our products from facing a surtax that could exclude them from the Chinese market".

'Serious concerns' over UK sales

Figures show that in August this year, EU registrations of battery-electric cars fell by 43.9% from a year earlier.

In the UK, demand for new electric vehicles hit a new record in September, but orders were mostly driven by commercial deals and by big manufacturer discounts, according to the industry trade body.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said firms had "serious concerns as the market is not growing quickly enough to meet mandated targets".

The industry has warned that drivers need better incentives to buy electric to help manufacturers ahead of the planned ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles. Under the Conservative government the deadline for this ban was pushed back to 2035 from 2030, but Labour has pledged to bring it back to 2030.

Car makers are required to meet electric vehicle sales targets. Under the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, at least 22% of vehicles sold this year must be zero-emission, with the target expected to hit 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

Manufacturers that fail to hit quotas could be fined £15,000 per car.

The bosses of several car companies, including BMW, Ford and Nissan, wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Friday saying the industry was likely to miss these targets.

They said economic factors such as higher energy and material costs and interest rates had meant electric cars remained "stubbornly more expensive and consumers are wary of investing". The average cost to buy an electric car in the UK is around £48,000.

They said a "lack of confidence" in the UK’s charging infrastructure was another barrier to encourage people to switch to electric.