John in Leeds

Such dilegence in the service of your fellow fans deserves our gratitude and appreciation

It's not on y' know. This is a pathetic attempt to raise the tone of this thread by inserting a discussion on a writing style that is to some reminiscent of a snake oil salesman Please can we get back to the comparison of the physical attributes of two 'hostesses' carefully selected from tv shows in the US and Italy

A man's got to do........

Following the Italian actress theme Claudia Cardinale did it for me - mesmerizing in my favourite film Sergio Leone's epic Once upon a time in the west

And I thought I was cynical

Could be a fair comment but the study is by CNW Marketing - always a little wary about that. I would certainly agree that the success of the Prius is a triumph of Toyota marketing and not a genuinely environmentally friendly car. FYI information I run a Toyota Ago (1 litre petrol eco car), averages round 50 mpg imperial driven a good highway speeds. No where near the claimed 60+. However my experience of Toyota is they do not break down, rarely in the shop except for routine servicing.

And it's a noisy bugger! Dave will be back when he has managed to get the battery out this winter He really is a V11 man under the skin

This may seem naive but why can't the US sell steroid free beef to the EU? Does US beef have to contain steroids?

Looks good. What we need now are some reviews and testing

There is usually more than one side to a story. No manufacturer will produce a profitable line if it interferes with profitability in other areas of the business. Whether or not there was an anti successful electric car 'conspiracy' is now irrellevant. The unsuccessful motor industry is now begging for some $35 billion of taxpayer guaranteed cash, with promises to curb excess, directors to work for $1 per annum (plus of course expenses) and a focus on production of more environmentally friendly vehicles. You couldn't make it up.

This profit driven manufacturer is producing electric only vehicles range up to 150 miles, speed limited to 50 mph. Now being purchased in quantity by TNT freight and Sainsbury supermarkets. Government action has helped to kick start this process, economies of scale will hopefully 'make it cheaper to be green'. Smiths Electric Vehicles I should add that as well as profit being a big driver, personal advancement of the very senior executives scores very highly too. In fact recent events show conclusively that is the biggest motivator taking priority over corporate profit. Personal advancement can be more than financial. It is hard to dismiss conspiraces when the profit element is unclear and the motivations of the decision makers are unknown.

IMHO that is not true - Oil and motor industry are in it for profit ONLY. They will 'guide' the public and governments towards the most profitable products. Anyone who believes corporations are in business for ecological or altruistic motives I think are mistaken. My understanding is that in UK lead acid batteries are probably the most recycled product. Again I believe the same holds true with recycling - when it becomes profitable all will change.

Must get some of those 'good feel on ice' tyres Guy Though about you folks on Saturday night - brass monkey weather brrrrr. nice one

God and patriotism hmmm - Please excuse my discomfort. However - Happy Thanksgiving Ratchethack A little morsel after the big dinner has been digested

The hydrogen fuel cell thing seems like a red herring. Unless hydrogen can be stored long term in a dense (liquid) form it does not add up. Expensive pressure vessels and super cooling don't seem cheap to me Go on tell me I'm wrong - you know you want to.

Skeeve, thanks for the explanation.

For your interest Joe - the Kawa 500? 3 cylinder and the Suzuki GT750 belonged to the guy who commissioned the Spondon Highland bike. They were both fully restored mint bikes sold a few months ago on ebay. He purchased a dual independent runner engine from Highland and got Spondon to fabricated a light fine handling frame. Highland saw it, liked it and have tried to further it in a joint venture with ATK. Like all prototypes this cost a fair bit but to my mind was worth it. The possibility of a 135 kilo 130 rwhp v-twin road iron for me is mouthwatering. Please say a little more about the Aprilia pictured.

Next time you go give me a call and I'll take some action pics, maybe a bit of video.

Wish they were a big hit here. In Holland where the majority of riding is flat there would seem to be little advantage. In Uk particularly where there are many hills and few cycle only facilities they are extremely appropriate. Commuting with assist allows a closer speed to the accompanying traffic and where congestion is high really cuts down journey times. They are catching on slowly as the battery technology improves. However unless there is a catastrophic change in car use I don't think it will become mainstream.

But send them ALL to the crusher with buyers queing round the block? Come on. All prototypes cost a shed load of money, everyone understands that. I think GM produced nearly 1100 vehicles. GM had the opportunity to sell these cars off and make a contribution towards that investment. They will have patents to protect their R & D yet they chose to destroy them all. How do we know the technology was not cheap enough to be viable? Sorry mate, to me it just does not add up. One thing I'm very surprised about though - I would have thought some of the lessees would have had a good look at the 'technology', unless of course it was sealed and there were special terms in the lease. Just a few awaiting the crusher

Nice one mate. The daft thing was the posts I was referring to were the links recording ATK's progress.

Joint ventures are always complicated and the players keep their cards close to their chests The original announcment - Spondon bike second down Some of the ATK - Highland Sweden saga No mention was even made of Spondon in these posts - wierd

As a design brief it looked quite sophisticated - although I'm not sure of the benefits of tranvers V twin and chain drive. I'm sure others will enlighten me. Would like to post a pic of a bike ATK in Utah were considering producing but has recently fallen through. 950 - 1200 vtwin decent power already but a dry weight of some 135kilos - you will already recognise the engine from my pic on the top left. Pretty bike, sad it will not see production

Did you learn this riding method from direct experience?

For a couple of years I have subscribed to A to B magazine in UK. A to B site You may find it interesting for the in depth reports on electric assists and folders together with ideas for life less dependent on the car. I regularly use a folder (Brompton) but have not yet found the need for electric assist.