HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rjwade@rainbow.ecn.purdue.edu (Robert J. Wade)
Subject: oldsmobile sales plunge
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 13:54:35 GMT

oldsmobile sales for october plunged 21.9% amid continuing rumors of it's 
demise.  jack smale, chairman of gm has said the board has no thoughts of 
killing the division, yet the olds 98 has been cancelled and the remake of
the cutlass cierra has been cancelled as well.  supposedly olds will have 
a new car called the aurora for 1994.  i'd speculate that olds will have a 
name change and give up competing with buick/cadillac and try to make their
own unique cars.  maybe that is why olds management is being sent down to
saturn for some 'fresh-thinking'.

Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond)
Subject: LIDAR 
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 09:46:09 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

tedebear@leland.Stanford.EDU (Theodore Chen) writes:

>how long does it take for the LIDAR unit to acquire a reading
>when the pig gets a lock?
>how much time do you have to nail the brakes once your LIDAR
>detector goes off?

Theoretically a fraction of a second. In the practical world, both as
witnessed on several TV demos and in the approx 5 minutes I had
to handle a unit a couple of months back, it takes several
seconds.  The pig has to get a stable sight picture on the target
and quit jittering long enough to get a succession of low deviation
readings.  It is almost identical to acquiring a sight picture with
a conventional firearm and about as tedious.

John
-- 
John De Armond, WD4OQC               |Interested in high performance mobility?  
Performance Engineering Magazine (TM) |
Marietta, Ga                         |Interested in high tech and computers? 
jgd@dixie.com                        |Write me about PE Magazine
Need Usenet public Access in Atlanta?  Write Me for info on Dixie.com.
From: hagger@cs.umd.edu (Paul Hagger)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Potential Ka band false alarms
Date: 9 Nov 92 16:29:23 GMT
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742

In article <qZ2TTB1w164w@cellar.org> blu@cellar.org (Dan Reed) writes:
>russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) writes:
>> >
>> >Only had the Ka go off once (full blast), down in Maryland..
>> 
>> Interesting.  MD isn't supposed to have photo-radar.
>
>I know, thats what got me (or didn't get me..).  It might have been an odd 
>blast of interf. but it was a *big* blast.  Still, never the less, its the 
>only time it (the Ka Trapshoter 3) went off on Ka full tilt.

In their never-ending attempt to pullover everyone for revenue enhancement,
the MD police did install photo-radar around the DC beltway for a number of
weeks to test it.  I don't remember any complete news coverage, so I assume
they never actually issued any photo-radar based tickets.

Because I never heard any more about it (and the MD NMA does not inform their
members of any MD photo-radar practices) I assume they stopped testing/using
it.  I guess you just made it through MD on a special day.

-hagger
From: ofross@uhuru.uchicago.edu (Oliver Fross)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Collegiate Driving Challenge
Date: 9 Nov 92 19:08:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: midway.1992Nov9.190822.9140
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Chicago


	All that said about lack of publicity about the challenge leads me to ask the following leading question:  Does anybody have a list of sights and times for the rest of the "Collegiate Driving Challenge"??

Thanks.

__
ofross@uhuru.uchicago.edu
From: wwein@scott.skidmore.edu (warren wein)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Night vision
Date: 13 Nov 92 00:07:48 GMT
Organization: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]


	Testing?  More Restrictions?.... Its a good idea but it is not
feasible.   In NYC, where I grew up, I knew people that had been
driving regularly since they were 14.   They caused many accidents but
were never involved in one.  If the police can't keep underaged
drivers off the road then how would they control those with bad night
vision?
							-Warren

wwein@skidmore.edu
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In no sense?  Nonsense." AON

"Female Cathons pick their mates by the size of their balls" -TN
From: seanr@lobo.rmhs.colorado.edu (Sean Reifschneider)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Quick Poll
Date: 9 Nov 92 18:04:58 GMT
Article-I.D.: lobo.1992Nov09.180458.25247
Organization: Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins, CO

In article <92312.152446KANTOLA@NDSUVM1.BITNET> <KANTOLA@NDSUVM1.BITNET> writes:
>In article <1992Nov6.143126.16998@osf.org>, kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup) says:
>>Quick poll- how many of you out there turn off *everything* in your car
>>(radio, heater fan, etc.) before you shut the engine off?
>>More importantly, why?
>>--
>     My exgirlfriend used to do that all the time when she got her new car.  I
>don't mind turning the radio down and the fan off, but she turned the radio

I will turn the fan down the the minimal setting (not nice to have 32degF air
blowing on you full blast), and if it's the summer I'll turn the A/C off if it's
on (takes lots of power).  If I have the tunes cranked WAY up, I'll turn them
down so as not to freak me out when I start it up again.  Any in my RX-7, I
trn the CD player off (so it can re-position the heads, not worth taking the
chance that something will go wrong).  Basically, I just try to leave everything
in a sane state, as opposed to 'off'.

Sean
Xref: sparky rec.autos.driving:6467 rec.motorcycles:38476
From: joe@woody.mpd.tandem.com (Joe Senner)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving,rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: Police bike/cruiser safety (was: Perot's proposed gas tax)
Date: 6 Nov 92 17:07:35 GMT
Reply-To: joe@mpd.tandem.com
Followup-To: rec.autos.driving
Organization: Tandem Computers Inc., Austin, TX.

]It may also be that police motorcycles are generally not used in
]hazardous situations in which a car would be safer, e.g., high-speed
]pursuit.  I suspect that once a cruiser arrived on the scene of a
]chase, the motorcycle would be called off for the safety of the
]officer.  In other words, cruisers may see more hazardous duty than
]motorcycles.

no way! Ponch and John were always leading the chase for the bad guys
when I watched them on TV!!! pretty cool how people on the freeway
would slow down to < 20mph when they were after some crook. LA must
be a really nice place to live and drive with all those friendly people :-)

-- 
Joe Senner                                          joe@rider.cactus.org
Tandem Computers Inc.                               joe@mpd.tandem.com
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: whs70@dancer.uucp (22501-sohl)
Subject: Re: LIDAR demo on Discovery Channel
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 20:09:30 GMT

In article <1992Nov11.184554.5971@news.columbia.edu> scs8@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Sebastian C Sears) writes:

>	[stuff cut]
>>Another thought crossed my mind as I was watching this.   brakingsi
>>at the instant of alarm would cause the car to brake OUT of the field
>>of view of the LIDAR, particularly if the cop is panning smoothly.  
>>Hard braking should be an even better defence than with conventional radar.
>
>	Although this may work, it has to be smooth. You have to train yourself
>	to brake hard without stomping on the brakes in reflex. I know from
>	experience that, without any other data, a cop can pull you over for
>	braking hard when hit with a radar gun. They *can* and *will* dredge
>	up some bullshit law you broke, because they (in all their infinite
>	pig wisdom) *know* you were being naughty. :-(

Please elaborate on your "experience."  Being pulled over is one thing,
being given a ticket AND making it stick is yet another.

Question:  Under what motor vehicle were you (or someone you
know of) charged for braking hard?

Q2 - If braking hard, how does the cop even know it if he doesn't get
a "fix" and therefore some reading which indicates a rapidly 
decreasing speed indicative of hard braking?  LIDAR needs to be
exactly on the car, if it isn't there's no reading that
reflects a changing (decreasing) speed.

Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.
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Morristown, NJ             email via UUCP      bcr!dancer!whs70
201-829-2879 Weekdays      email via Internet  whs70@dancer.cc.bellcore.com
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: aefron@cornerstone.com (Andrew Efron)
Subject: Re: I-84 Patrols (Conn.)
Reply-To: aefron@cornerstone.com (Andrew Efron)
Organization: Cornerstone Research, Cambridge, Mass.
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 15:13:36 GMT

In article <1Fa1TB1w164w@upchrch.UUCP>, joel@upchrch.UUCP (Joel Upchurch  ) 
writes:

> I think I saw somewhere where some police forces are experimenting
> with using ultra-light aircraft for traffic enforcement. Apparently
> the cost per operating hour are only a fraction of a conventional
> aircraft.

I pity the cops who pull that assignment.  I hear ultralights have an abysmal 
safety record.

Andy


---
"I have seen the truth and it makes no sense."
From: K.Buck@ma30.bull.com (Ken Buck)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Night vision and road markings
Date: 13 Nov 92 19:39:57 GMT
Reply-To: K.Buck@ma30.bull.com
Organization: Bull HN Information Systems Inc.
Originator: buck@granite.ma30.bull.com

In article <62022@mimsy.umd.edu> hagger@cs.umd.edu (Paul Hagger) writes:
>I was wondering why the US has not imposed equivalent road marking
>requirements as I have experienced in Europe. [...]
>Does anybody know if the US ever attempted to improve the visibilty of
>road markings in any way?  And if not, why not?

i don't know, but i think they certainly _should_...

i *do* know from experience that even some small things can make
a big difference, though.

for example, recently i had the pleasure of driving in the State o' Maine
at night in fairly heavy fog and rain.  some roads had nice reflective
paint, others did not.  it's really amazing how much difference that makes
- the reflective lines help show you where the road goes for quite a long
distance.  the non-reflective lines were essentially useless, they might
as well have not been there at all...

i'll grant, reflective paint costs more, but it's a small price to pay,
especially in coastal areas that experience lots of fog.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving,rec.motorcycles
From: randy@megatek.com (Randy Davis)
Subject: Re: Police bike/cruiser safety (was: Perot's proposed gas tax)
Reply-To: randy@megatek.com
Organization: Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 02:19:58 GMT

In article <1992Nov5.184618.1581@miki.pictel.com> harling@miki.pictel.com (Dan Harling) writes:
|>>cam@castle.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm) writes:
|>>> In fact, police motorcyclists have 20% less accidents than police car
|>>> drivers, which fits quite nicely with the above estimate, and in this
|>>> case we _are_ comparing like populations of drivers and uses.
|
|It is possible that police motorcyclists are better trained, or drive
|more conservatively, than the average citizen motorcyclist, whereas
|police car drivers may not be given special attention, and thus drive
|no differently from anyone else.

  "Motor-officers", as they are called, have to pass very stringent
qualifications before they are allowed to *be* motor-officers.  To drive
a patrol car is trivial, compared to the tests and other qualifications
that motor-officers must satisfy.  In many localities, it is a matter of
prestige to be a motor-officer, possibly because of this testing.  Typical
requirements consist of a minimum age for motorcycle officers - I remember
a minimum age of 30 or 35 for some departments.  In addition, they often must
have a clean patrol driving record as well as personal driving record (which
probably isn't too hard in many instances - just "flash the badge" to get out
of a lot of tickets), and must often pass a special training course for
motorcycle operation for police officers.

  A combination of these factors would more than likely make a motor-officer
a safer driver.

  As a contrast, have you ever checked on insurance rates for police officers?
You would expect them to be LOW, but they are quite the opposite.  If you
state your occupation to be a police officer, it has the effect with many
insurance companies to raise your rates non-trivially (double in some cases).
Most of the younger police officers I've known drive like total assholes in
their personal cars, so I'm not too surprised at their insurance rates...

Randy Davis                            Email: randy@megatek.com
ZX-11 #00072 Pilot                            megatek!randy@uunet.uu.net
DoD #0013                                     ucsd!megatek!randy
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Quick Poll
From: <KANTOLA@NDSUVM1.BITNET>
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 15:24:46 CST
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computer Network


In article <1992Nov6.143126.16998@osf.org>, kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup) says:
>
>Quick poll- how many of you out there turn off *everything* in your car
>(radio, heater fan, etc.) before you shut the engine off?
>
>More importantly, why?
>
>        -Kenny
>--
     My exgirlfriend used to do that all the time when she got her new car.  I
don't mind turning the radio down and the fan off, but she turned the radio
off, the fan speed on low, the fan off, the heat on cold, etc...  IT DROVE ME
NUTS!
From: uznerk@mcl.ucsb.edu (Andrew Krenz)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: What's the "Collegiate Driving Challenge"?
Date: 5 Nov 92 18:49:59 GMT

I saw a flyer posted in one of the buildings here that advertised the 
"Collegiate Driving Challenge" which supposedly lasts all weekend.  There's
a picture of a '93 Ford Probe GT on it.  It says it's sponsored by the 
Society of Automotive Engineers and it says all you need is a student ID and
a drivers license.  Does this mean we get to tear it up in a new Probe
or do we all get to race RC cars or something and admire the Probe at the
same time.  Basically just curious...

|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Andrew Krenz       | Visit          | Chevy Caprice 9C1 Police Pkg |
| uznerk@mcl.ucsb.edu| Beautiful      | Bad Boys Bad Boys...         |
| UC Santa Barbara   | Isla Vista, CA | What ya gonna do...?         |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------|

Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: essbaum@rchland.vnet.ibm.com (Alexander Essbaum)
Subject: Re: OK to drive 5 miles without coolant?
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1992 22:20:31 GMT
Distribution: na
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM Rochester
Keywords: hyundai excel radiator leak

In article <1992Nov9.175640.17551@cbfsb.cb.att.com>, ashaw@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (andrew.shaw) writes:
|> This is a (technical) driving question, so I'll ask it here.  Sorry if
|> it annoys, but I don't read the other.
|> 
|> My wife's 4-cyl Hyundai Excel (no more jokes, please) developed a
|> coolant leak in the passenger compartment.  The seal around the
|> piston that goes up and down to control the coolant flow behind
|> the dash (heater valve?) presumably no longer seals.  To keep this
|> from flooding the interior, I drained the radiator.  Now I want
|> to take it to be fixed.  Can I drive ~5 miles to the shop without
|> coolant (ambient temp about 45F), or do I have to refill the radiator,
|> drive it with a pan to catch the drips, and then drain it again?
|> Alternatively, can I disconnect the hoses into the interior, or will
|> all the coolant boil out of the hose ends if I do so?
|> 
|> Thanks in advance.
|> 
|> 	Andrew Shaw
|> 

i would say:

1) just drive it the 5 miles.  i've driven several ~5 liter engines (350 olds,
350 chevy, 351W ford) lots farther than 5 miles with no coolant.  never any
problems.  they overheat and start to run "poorly" and then you stop for 15
minutes and listen to the radio while the engine cools.  i suppose there's a
small chance this could do some damage ;).

2) disconnect the heater hose at the two places it goes to the heater core
(firewall).  now connect the two hoses together.  the hot water leaves the
engine and instead of going through the heater core, it goes right to the water
pump (or radiator maybe).  this is a perfectly reasonable long term fix as long
as you don't need the heater.  now put in coolant and drive as far as you want.

axel
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: michaet@hubcap.clemson.edu (michael dale townsend)
Subject: Re: Quick Poll
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 18:13:47 GMT

hugo@bluehau.bubble.org (Hugo Bueno) writes:

>kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup) says:
>>Quick poll- how many of you out there turn off *everything* in your car
>>(radio, heater fan, etc.) before you shut the engine off?
>>
>>More importantly, why?
>>
>>        -Kenny

>Well, let's see....

>I turn the radio off because I don't want to be blasted with loud
>music the next day when I turn the car on :-)

>I turn off the fan because I don't want cold air in winter (or hot
>air in summer) blowing on me when I start the car.

>I turn off the lights because it's a good idea.

Same here for all of the above reasons including:
 I know the accessories are disabled when the starter is engaged, but why
send a quick transient to the accessories as the key is passing through
the "on" position?

I don't like to warm the car up with the compressor on.     

The rear windshield defogger does not time out, so I turn it off so I
won't forget about it and drive around all summer with it on.  You know
with all of this talk about exploding rear windshields . . . .

Michael Townsend     <michaet@hubcap.clemson.edu>

Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: goudreau@batman.rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau)
Subject: Re: Paying a Reasonable Price for Gas
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 20:49:54 GMT
Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC

In article <92311.081953SROWELL@ESOC.BITNET> SROWELL@ESOC.BITNET writes:
>
>>> In Germany a pride is taken in protecting the environment and the
>>> US should do the same.
>>
>>Given all this German pride, why was the US the world leader in
>>phasing out the use of leaded fuels?  And why does Germany still
>>*subsidize* the production and use of coal?
>>
>
>a) Phasing Out Leaded Fuels
>
>   Just because the US did it first (because your cities became all
>   smogged up one day and somebody noticed!) does not make you a
>   world leader I'm afraid.

Gee, in my book doing something first *is* being a leader.  What
a strange vocabulary you seem to have!  Anyway, smog (something
most areas of the country never see, BTW) has nothing to do with
lead content.


>b) Subsidisies on Coal
>
>   I'm surprised you picked coal (I thought it was rape oil seed these
>   days).

Why are you surprised?  The subject of the discussion is environmental
effects, not farm trade disputes.  

> Subsidising an industry is an attempt to preserve the indutry
> and to preserve the thousands of jobs that are associated with it.

Yes; so?

> It is not an attempt to screw up the US.

Nor did I imply that it was.  My point is that eco-smugness looks
pretty hyprocritical when it applies only to certain types of
pollution.  Given that Germany subsidizes coal, and penalizes
a cleaner-burning fuel (petroleum), one can easily see that even
Germany is motivated by more factors than just "pride ... in
protecting the environment".

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Goudreau			Data General Corporation
goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com		62 Alexander Drive	
+1 919 248 6231			Research Triangle Park, NC  27709, USA
From: rhaar@albert.cs.gmr.com (Bob Haar)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Driving patterns (was Re: Flashing Headlights)
Date: 10 Nov 92 18:50:10 GMT
Reply-To: rhaar@albert.cs.gmr.com
Organization: G.M. Research and Environmental Staff

In article 5ot@news.cso.uiuc.edu, tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan) writes:
|>
|>In article <1992Nov6.202829.12266@ncsu.edu> bcrulifs@eos.ncsu.edu  writes:
|>>
|>>	My problem is that many people around either mis-intrepret my meaning
|>>or I just don't understand what I'm telling them.   Is this practice inherently
|>>rude?	Or does it purely depend on the perosn driving in front of you.
|>
|>The latter. There seems to be two distinct tiers of drivers, at least in
|>the US: there are the enthusiast drivers, those who keep right except to
|>pass, never tailgate, drive "fast but safe," understand the language of
|>headlight flashing, etc. Then there are the Homer Melchromes
|>(unfortunately, Homer and his kin are the vast majority). Homer
|>Melchrome drives ploddingly and slowly, drives at 55MPH in the left
|>lane, passes other vehciles with a speed differential of 0.0001 MPH even
|>if there is a traffic backup a mile long behind him, and wouldn't
|>understand what your headlight flashes mean even if he were awake to
|>notice them.

I consider myself to be part of the "fast but safe" group. I drive
faster than most people, but only when I can do so without
casuing distress to others around me. But I do find that I slow
down more than most people when the conditions are unfavorable -
weather, congestion, construction, etc.

Around here (Detroit Metro area), there is a third class that is
larger and which has more effect on the general level of driving.
This category consists of the fast and un-safe drivers. Not only do
they driver faster than the prevailing traffic, but they do so in
ways that increase the risks for everyone around them. They exhibit 
behavior such as frequent lane changes, not signalling lane changes,
passing on the right when the left lane is clear, cutting across
many lanes of traffic at once, etc. These drivers are likely to
tailgate and high beam someone who is legitimately passing slower
traffic, or who is already in the right hand lane.

The increase that I see in this type of driving behavior seems to
be related to a general decline in the general "civility" of
driving.  There was an article in the local newspaper a couple of
days ago about studies done by university psychologists that
calimed to show an increase in what they called sociopathic
driving.  And when we encounter overly agressive driving, we 
all to often respond in kind.

What we should work on is developing more cooperative driving
behaviors. 


---
	Robert Haar               InterNet : rhaar@gmr.com 
	Computer Science Dept., G.M. Research and Environmental Staff
DISCLAIMER: Unless indicated otherwise, everything in this note is
personal opinion, not an official statement of General Motors Corp.


Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: hasch@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Veljko Roskar)
Subject: Re: ***Police intimidation ???
Reply-To: roskar@kavazi.uucp.jhu.edu (Veljko Roskar)
Organization: Acme Money Launderers, Inc.
     
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 03:06:33 GMT

In article <1992Nov11.033647.1875@unixland.natick.ma.us> bill@unixland.natick.ma.us (Bill Heiser) writes:
->
->'points'?  "disobeying a police officer" is a TRAFFIC offense?
->
Maybe not. But it would still go on my record if found guilty, and
no insurance co. likes to see that. 



Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving