1. Industry History & Current Overview Since the invention of the Ford’s Model T, the modern automobile industry has been manufacturing affordable automobiles for everyone in the U.S. The age of design of cars boomed as people started to demand more customization of their cars (Model T only came black). This began the shift from manufacturing-driven automobile to a more design-driven automobile. The Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) emerged in the 1990s based on the negative image of the minivan, which was developed throughout the 1980s on a bland and purely functional platform. In 1996, the Ford Motor Company began building the Expedition, its new, full-sized SUV in Michigan. The Expedition was essentially the F-150 pickup truck (the best selling pick-up truck) with an extra set of doors and two more rows of seats. Ford marketed the SUV at a ticket price of thirty-six thousand dollars. The average cost to build these trucks was no more than twenty-four thousand dollar, and in the automobile industry, this is a high-profit margin. By the late 1990s, the SUV market has become the most profitable in the automobile industry. The move toward a more aggressively styled and higher riding vehicles have caused unintended consequences and risks. The risks include decreased “drivability”, obstruction of vision, and concerns surrounding safety. Current trends in vehicle design focus on addressing these problems to achieve appealing designs with the best qualities of both cars and trucks, as seen in all the new designs from the Land Rover. 2004 will be remembered as a pivotal year in the automobile industry. It was a year in which high gasoline prices started a sea change among U.S. consumers that will finally create significant demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. Gasoline prices of $2.00+ per gallon started taking a huge bite out of family budgets, and many middle-class consumers who own fuel guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks began to wish they had vehicles that were much less expensive to operate. Demand for hybrid cars (ie. Toyota Prius) was so high that many customers had to wait six months or longer to get there car. Other carmakers, including Ford and GM, saw the opportunity and introduced their own brand of hybrid vehicles to market. Ford launched its first hybrid: a small SUV. Other fuel-efficient vehicles, such as BMW’s MINI Cooper, also enjoyed soaring demand. Meanwhile, sales of heavy SUVs lagged miserably, and automakers such as Chevy, Hummer and Cadillac offered unprecedented dealer incentives and rebates in an effort to move these vehicles, Land Rover Range Rover has increased due to efficient newly designed models as shown from the stats below.
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Show MoreTradition is a central theme in Shirley Jackon's short story The Lottery. Images such as the black box and characters such as Old Man Warner, Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Hutchinson display to the reader not only the tenacity with which the townspeople cling to the tradition of the lottery, but also the wavering support of it by others. In just a few pages, Jackson manages to examine the sometimes long forgotten purpose of rituals, as well as the inevitable questioning of the necessity for such customs.
The windigo narrative is a tool used by Boyden to create a threshold between fiction and reality with the use of symbolism. In Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road, the windigo narrative symbolically represents the loss of control over the self. Xavier and Elijah are transformed into a monstrous condition. Both are dependent at some point on morphine, as the windigo is dependent on flesh. This is a result of the extreme conditions imposed by the First World War. This key element of choice and consequence for actions taken is the main critique of Boyden on World War I, crossing the line from literary fiction to critique of factual
They have taken America by storm. Defined as “rugged automotive vehicles similar to a station wagon but built on a light truck chassis” (Gurlanik 723), Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have taken over the roads. The automobile industry is full of them and nearly every automaker has its own version of the vehicle. Drivers like the roominess, the comfort and the status they provide and SUVs are springing up across suburbs and cities like mushrooms (Davidson 1). Americans are in love with the luxuries involved with SUVs: the 4x4 capabilities, being able to sit higher on the road and the sense of control.
Since the early 1990s, the car market has become saturated with sport utility vehicles. While SUV’s have been enthusiastically received by a wide spectrum of the demographic – everyone from teenagers to soccer moms -- not all are excited by its arrival. Some of the current complaints with SUVs have to do with their ridiculous size and relative fuel inefficiency. Others criticize the vehicles as being unsafe, and certainly unnecessary, for the tasks for which they are commonly used. But even with the recent campaigns to educate the public on the possible physical and environmental risks posed by the automobiles, SUV purchases continue to be on the rise. Indeed, with car sales on the decline, and the SUV being seen as a possible savior -- or at least band-aid -- for the struggling motor industry, any movement to ban SUVs in the near future is unlikely.
was oil prices softened and the demand for small cars that were the most efficient
Certain societies rely heavily on tradition to uphold rules, regulations, and positions of power. Tradition allows for younger generations to relate to their elders by leading by example. Shirley Jackson wrote “The Lottery” in the late 1940’s, when society was dealing with the aftermath of World War II and the setting of the world was changing. Before the war, the world was more pleasant and safe. After the end of the war, America entered into a period of uncertainty and danger with the start of the Cold War and the boom of nuclear weaponry. In Jackson writing “The Lottery,” she is commenting on the time period saying that it was a time of unpredictability and immorality. She achieves this effect by using setting to depict the irony of the tradition of the lottery.
Set in 1948 and published in The New Yorker, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson describes a village ritual of sacrifice. Contrary to the positive feeling associated with the word “lottery,” the story strikes fear into the readers’ hearts as the winner is stoned to death. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” uses symbolism and genre conventions of a classic dystopian story to show the different ways in which human cruelty can occur.
Volunteering during a gap year is very beneficial. It would help you find yourself or find out what you would like to do in college “60% of Gap year graduates said the experience either "set me on my current career path/academic major" or "confirmed my choice of career/academic major", and 88% said that it added to their employability.” (American Gap). Volunteering also helps you grow as a person. According to USA Gap Fairs Princeton and Harvard University was on cutting edge;
Hybrid vehicles are gas-electric vehicles. They provide gas mileage that is more efficient than that of conventional gas only powered vehicles. For the Ford Motor Company, an increase in its demand of hybrid vehicles seems to be a double-edged sword. It is profitable that there was an increase in demand; however, they have not been able to keep up with the demand. Ford introduced the first hybrid SUV, the Ford Escape, to auto showrooms in 2004. This was one of the few hybrid vehicles available to consumers. Upon introducing the Ford Escape and increased fuel prices, Ford experienced an unexpected increase in demand for its Escape, which rendered the company unable to keep up with the demand. Dealerships began selling out of this popular hybrid model as soon as it hit the showroom (Freeman, 2006). With gas prices constantly on the rise, consumer interest continued to rise. The demand for the hybrid vehicle became higher than the supply. With Ford Motors inability to keep up with demand, its sales for the vehicle fell from 2,526 in June of 2007 to 1,578 in July of 2007 (Freeman, 2006).
The famous civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people,” capturing the main message of the short story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, perfectly, because of the themes of peer pressure and tradition present throughout the story. In this story, the people of a small village gather for their annual tradition, a lottery, in which one person is picked at random out of a box containing each of the villagers’ names. The village, which is not specifically named, seems like any other historic village at first, with the women gossiping, the men talking, and the children playing, but soon takes a sinister turn when it is revealed that the “winner” of the lottery is not truly a winner at all; he or she is stoned to death by everyone else in the village. The purpose in this is not directly mentioned in the text, and the reader is left to wonder about the message the story is trying to convey. But there is no purpose; instead, the lottery is meant as a thinly veile...
Martin, A. J. (2010). Should Students Have a Gap Year? Motivation and Performance Factors Relevant to Time Out After Completing School. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 561-576. doi:10.1037/a0019321
But there are many countries where a gap year is encouraged and forced. "There is no point in taking a gap year if you do not plan to make the most of your time off," says Prakriti Malhotra, Director of Operations for Gap-Guru, a U.K.-based gap year organizer specializing in trips to India (Tomer). Gap year programs are offered at many universities and would be the best choice to make when deciding to take a year off. With a gap year program, it gives you a way to learn and experience new things even though you are not in school. “’A gap year program offers a valuable break from the relentlessness of the education system and gives students a greater perspective on their own life and the world around them,’ says Malhotra. ‘Gap year travelers often return with greater confidence and a much more open-minded and mature approach to life, which can help them to gain greater focus for college life and improve their interpersonal skills for their future career.’ Plus, students get to travel to incredible locations (literally, pick a spot on the globe) and discover new cultures, often while making a difference in underprivileged communities”
The automotive industry has been witnessing a steady growth over the years, owing to a steady demand across segments and the customer's willingness to opt for technologically advanced products which enhance the ownership experience. Though recent months have seen a slight dip in sales, experts are of the opinion that it is a temporary trend, expected to get over soon.
SUV’s have become the center of a large controversy in the last couple of years. Many studies have been conducted on the relation to the economy and the popularity of the SUV. The sport utility vehicle not only affects the economy with its gas-guzzling capabilities during a time of war, but with the safety questions that have continued to arise.
Would you take a year to experience an extraordinary adventure if you could? Well, you can with gap year. Gap year is a year in between your senior year of high school and your freshmen year in college. Gap year is a wonderful opportunity with lot of rewards. In gap year you can do all these things,travel, volunteer work, or even just to evaluate where your life is going. All the students willing to take this opportunity will be able to create a strong foundation the for future. Many students approach the senior year they can feel burnt out and dissatisfied with the routine of school. One gap year choice is to immerse oneself in other cultures. Travel is looked upon as a rewarding and educational tool. Students often feel they lack meaningful experiences before entering college. Exploring foreign countries or even just a new place can enrich the student's life, giving them new topics to debate as well as new cultures to share with classmates and instructors. (Admissions.) Some students may decide to volunteer while they travel. Volunteer work can be done by any student and only ...