Since the regulatory system was put in place after the oil shocks of the 1970's, the industry has not only invented the minivan and greatly expanded the sport utility and pickup markets, but also started selling wagonlike "crossover" vehicles, like Chrysler's PT Cruiser, that blend cars and S.U.V.'s but are designed to meet the specifications of light trucks.
"Britain is buggered," it bellows from a darkened doorway, "so let's crack open the all-butter Viennese biscuit assortment and watch Gabriel Byrne do Big Acting in a M&S wool-blend car coat".
With its blend of car and truck characteristics, the RX practically invented an automotive category that keeps expanding despite its lack of a clever label.
The Pontiac Sport Truck, based on the new G8 sedan, is a blend of car and truck akin to the Chevy El Caminos of the past.
But the E-85 ethanol blend the car uses actually makes it less fuel efficient: running the ethanol blend through the twin-turbo 5-liter V-8 pushes its output to 1,115 horsepower.
But this off-the-shelf blend of car chases, fireballs and the rat-a-tat, thunk-a-thunk of automatic weapons fire is not likely to go out of style.
The frenzy spilled into Granville Street (Vancouver's version of Bourbon Street), where a blend of car horns and chants from an estimated 20,000 fans continued until the early hours.
One new product application: a lightweight steel-plastic blend for car bodies called "quiet steel".
Future systems will include navigation, paging, and even the ability to let passengers watch satellite-fed movies.Unsurprisingly, the potential blending of car and computer technology has strong support in Silicon Valley, which senses a lucrative new market just around the corner.
It recently announced that in 2009 it will offer a sedan, the Panamera, which will take on BMW's 6 Series and Mercedes-Benz's CLS-Class in a segment that blends sports-car performance and styling with luxury-car interiors.
When she gets in, she sniffs the chemical blend; as the car pulls away, she glances down at a hole in the floor of the car, through which she sees the asphalt below.
