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To help enhance service reliability for customers, Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) is continuing construction work this summer and throughout the remainder of 2016 on distribution and transmission infrastructure projects totaling approximately $387 million in its northern and central New Jersey service areas.
A helicopter pilot carefully guides a lead line onto a pulley as one of the first steps in the transmission cable pulling process.
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2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia: Looking for American Success
Alfa Romeo first roared into the lives of Americans in 1961, gaining a passionate following thanks to models like the Giulietta Spider convertible, a version of which was featured in Dustin Hoffman's classic "The Graduate." With its throaty exhaust note and luscious Anne Bancroft curves, Alfa Romeos seduced Americans with sumptuous Italian luxury. But the love affair was short-lived, and amid struggling sales and concerning reliability issues, the brand exited the market in 1995 -- less than a decade after it was acquired by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
Today, Alfa Romeo is slowly emerging from its 2-decade hiatus from the U.S. thanks largely to FCA's chairman, Sergio Marchionne, who vowed in 2006 to reintroduce the brand. In 2008, the very low-volume and impossibly emotional 8C Competizione coupe emerged. It was followed in 2014 with the low-slung, slightly more affordable (and arguably as emotional) 4C Coupe and Spider.
Low Volume, High Hopes
Overall sales numbers of the 8C and the 4C combined have been extremely low -- fewer than 1,200 units (Honda sells nearly that number of CR-Vs in one day). It's difficult to sustain a profitable business model with such trickle volume, so Alfa Romeo set out to engineer a world-class vehicle that would serve a larger audience, be competitive and deliver sales numbers that were maintainable. The company's answer is the new 4-door 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia, built to challenge the world's best compact sport sedans.
The compact sport-sedan segment is popular and competitive, so finding a place for the 2017 Giulia won't be easy. Brand loyalty, cachet and prestige are every bit as important to this segment's buyer as are luxury and performance. Yet Alfa wanted a piece of the pie -- combined, more than 275,000 vehicles were sold in 2015 by a quintet including the Audi A4, the BMW 3 Series, the Cadillac CTS, the Lexus IS and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Italian Performance Sedan
To that objective, Alfa presented the world its Giulia. A traditional front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan, the Giulia fits the requirements of the job perfectly. A passenger cabin loaded with luxury, innovation, technology and Italian flair -- aromatic leather, beautiful trim and one of the best sport steering wheels in the industry -- checks off all the must-have boxes within the competitive set.
A recent day we spent with the Giulia proves that it also has the driving dynamics to back up its impressive styling. The standard model, available in rear- or all-wheel drive, packs a 280-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder that effortlessly outguns its competition. The range-topping Giulia Quadrifoglio boasts a 505-hp twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6. Combined with a capable suspension, oversized carbon-ceramic brakes and tires that are so sticky that they won't last more than 6 months, the 4-leaf-clover-emblazoned sedan embarrasses most dedicated sports cars at what they do best.
The Giulia's strength is its sportiness. The steering ratio is lightning-fast, the throttle response is immediate, and its aluminum suspension has been tuned to deliver a firm ride. I'm going to say it's the most out-of-the-box track-capable vehicle in the segment, especially in Quadrifoglio trim (watch out, S4, M4, CTS-V and C63). Even its base model with the 4-cylinder engine will put smiles on an enthusiast's face.
The focus on styling, which is pleasing from just about every angle, means there were compromises. Most of this is evident from the cabin. Tall drivers will note that the front seats align with thick B-pillars, limiting outward vision. And rear-seat passengers will find things on the cramped side of the scale. No vehicle in this segment will be called roomy, but the Giulia forces second-row passengers to press their knees against a front seatback.
Brand Success
The success of the Giulia, and the whole Alfa Romeo brand, relies on showroom traffic. Consumers need to identify with the brand, which will lead to sales. Rebecca Lindland, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, says that while there aren't a lot of people shopping for an Alfa Romeo, consumers are getting the message. "Current consideration is quite low, but shoppers contemplating purchasing the brand identify as thrill-seeking, tech-oriented and image-conscious, perfect for the passionate, rear-wheel-drive-based Italian vehicles."
In addition to luring shoppers away from their loyal brands (known as "conquest sales"), automakers rely on current customers for repeat sales, but that's simply out of the question for Alfa Romeo -- its volume has been too small. Where will Alfa get its sales? "Alfa's sister brand Maserati may provide some clues," explains Lindland. "On Autotrader, based on the last six quarters of Maserati sales, about 20 percent of new owners traded in a Mercedes, 13 percent traded in a Jaguar, about 12 percent came from BMW, and 10 percent from Lexus." And there may be hints elsewhere. "Jaguar recently experienced a renaissance of its own, launching the Jaguar XE midsize sedan and F-PACE SUV, so it's a good brand to monitor."
As of today, Alfa Romeo only has about 168 dealers in the U.S. (BMW has about 340), and most of those are tied to existing FIAT or Maserati franchises. Convincing buyers to consider Alfa a premium brand without standalone stores may be another challenge.
The good news is that the Giulia won't have to accomplish this task alone. "Alfa's current lineup of 4C and Giulia will expand in 2017 with a wagon version and an SUV, effectively covering about 45 percent of the luxury market," reports Lindland. "Subcompact and compact luxury SUV sales are surging, but midsize sedans continue to be the biggest segment of luxury sales, so Alfa's portfolio strategy is sound."
And those wondering about the clover that adorns the side of the Quadrifoglio (Italian for "4-leaf") will be interested in its meaning. "Four is an important number in the brand," says Lindland. "The symbol of this deeply Italian brand is a green 4-leaf (Quadrifoglio) clover -- more reminiscent of an Irish leprechaun than an Italian stallion -- whose backstory stems from Ugo Sivocci, a perennially second-place, chronically superstitious professional driver for the brand who first put a broke Enzo Ferrari behind the wheel of a race car."
"One day in 1923, desperate for a win, Sivocci decided to paint a 4-leaf clover on his car for luck, encasing it in a square. Ugo promptly won his next race, and a tradition was born. Tragically, later that same year, Sivocci was testing a prototype under a deadline too tight to emblazon the car with the clover... and in a cruel twist, he was killed. Since then, the clover appears on all Alfas, encased in a triangle instead of a square, paying tribute to the loss of the cornerstone of Ugo Sivocci."
Alfa Romeo has nearly everything relying on the success of the Giulia. But thankfully, the sport sedan is a solid competitor. The unanswered question isn't about performance, style or flair -- the Italian 4-door tugs on a driver's emotion -- it's whether the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia is received well enough to fill showrooms with conquest customers. In short term, we'll see whether the luck of the Quadrifoglio still holds.
Penelec, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has begun a significant project to help prevent or minimize service disruptions in downtown Johnstown, Cambria County, by reinforcing its underground electrical network.
Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
Uptime Elements and Certified Reliability Leader at the Oracle Work and Asset Management User Group in 2015
Hans Koenigsmann, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability with SpaceX, speaks to members of the news media during a postlaunch news conference at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 4, 2019, for SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission to the International Space Station for the agency. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 2:48 a.m. EDT. The Dragon cargo module will deliver about 5,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
JCP&L plans to spend $357 million in 2018 on infrastructure projects and other work to enhance customer reliability across its 13-county northern and central New Jersey service area. Major projects scheduled include replacing remote-controlled substation equipment used to monitor and respond to grid conditions, replacing 34.5 kilovolt (kV) substation circuit breakers and upgrading distribution circuit breakers and more than 90 circuit upgrades.
2016 Lexus LS 460 Reliability 2016 Lexus LS 460 Reliability -Â The only typical problems I hear with this design is wind sound, however then once again the car is damn peaceful Car USÂ Review and I would like to get one if I choose to ditch my strategies for a 2011 GTR. You're not going to get
Specialized pipeline inspection equipment is used to inspect the inside of natural gas pipelines to look for dents, corrosion and other items. Consumers Energy is inspecting nearly 300 miles of natural gas pipeline in 2015 to proactively seek and repair imperfections that could compromise the integrity of those lines and potentially affect their operation.
Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
Crews work on the Southwest Michigan 1200B Pipeline, The $120 million project will run 24 miles through St. Joseph and Branch counties and completes a 90-mile dual gas transmission pipeline corridor, which will increase value, reliability and safety for Consumers Energy’s 1.7 million natural gas customers.
Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
Power outages caused last year by squirrels, raccoons and other curious animals getting into Consumers Energy’s substations dropped by more than 50 percent as construction work continues across the state to keep animals out and the lights on.
To help enhance service reliability for customers, Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) is continuing construction work this summer and throughout the remainder of 2016 on distribution and transmission infrastructure projects totaling approximately $387 million in its northern and central New Jersey service areas.
Power outages caused last year by squirrels, raccoons and other curious animals getting into Consumers Energy’s substations dropped by more than 50 percent as construction work continues across the state to keep animals out and the lights on.
Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
Squirrels, raccoons and other animals will have a more difficult time getting into Consumers Energy’s substations and disrupting power because of control measures being put in place in Michigan. Hard plastic caps cover energized equipment to keep animals from making electrical contact.
FirstEnergy expects to invest about $113 million in 2017 on distribution and transmission infrastructure projects to help enhance reliability for more than 300,000 customers in Toledo Edison’s western Ohio service territory. The work includes installing breakers, relays, switches, capacitors and other equipment.
Jersey Central Power & Light has completed upgrades on 16 major circuits serving more than 30,000 customers in the counties of Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren.
The work is part of the company’s effort to use advanced technology to help enhance service reliability to customers. The upgrades included installing more resilient polymer fuses, adding larger 10-foot cross-arms to increase wire clearance, and installing fault indicators that help identify problem areas on a circuit which helps speed the restoration process if an outage occurs.
Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
FirstEnergy expects to invest about $371 million in 2017 on distribution and transmission infrastructure projects to help enhance reliability for customers in the Ohio Edison service territory. Major projects scheduled include building new substations and transmission lines, installing equipment in existing substations, adding remote control equipment on circuits, and the inspection and replacement of utility poles.
Pictured: Similar work was completed last year, including installing large transformers and breakers at a substation in West Akron and rebuilding a 69-kilovolt transmission line in the Medina area.
Penelec, a FirstEnergy utility, is installing laptop computers on more than 400 line trucks and support vehicles to enhance service and manage repair work more efficiently. Using the new laptops will help crews save time by viewing work orders electronically rather than writing the information down when radioed or phoned in from the company’s dispatching office. It is anticipated the new equipment will help company personnel calculate more precise estimated restoration times, particularly during large-scale outages, because dispatchers can immediately see when crews are on site and engaged in repairs.
Last weekend the motorcycle section of the Vintage Car Club of NZ ran a reliability trial and invited the Canterbury Classic Trials group to put on a demonstration and also take part in their event. The trials area also attracted members from the Vintage Club on suitable machines who tried the obstacles. These were largely man-made and included pallets (Thanks Palletmakers in ChCh), fence posts, tyres, a bank, tree stump, and logs. Due to the range of machines lined up for the reliability trial these sections were easier and included tight turns, tree roots, and banks. As well as trials bikes other contenders included trail bikes, 1970’s Vespa and Honda scooters, 1960's Royal Enfield and BMW motorcycles , 1937 Ariel, 1927 AJS, 1924 Triumph, as well as a Velosolex. A laid back and fun day mixing two groups both interested in classic motorcycles. Enjoy the photos.
FirstEnergy expects to invest about $113 million in 2017 on distribution and transmission infrastructure projects to help enhance reliability for more than 300,000 customers in Toledo Edison’s western Ohio service territory. The work includes installing breakers, relays, switches, capacitors and other equipment.