Ford Motor’s Chairman Bill Ford Jr. has recently called for a national energy policy saying that the auto industry together with the energy companies, government and other industries should cooperate in developing a comprehensive plan.

Chairman Ford Jr., addressing the Detroit Regional Chamber said that the auto industry is not looking for handouts nor it is trying to evade its responsibilities. On the other hand he said that he would like to move beyond the “patchwork” of current fuel-economy rules and “arbitrarily set standards.”

The executive said that all of the stakeholders should help to create a more comprehensive plan for cutting carbon emissions. He also stressed that Ford is continuing to invest in cleaner, more fuel-efficient technology in spite of its restructuring program.

Chairman Ford Jr. said, “Environmental sustainability is a critical issue for our future growth and prosperity.”

He further added that although the company has been able to develop the first hybrid SUV which is the Ford Escape and redeveloped its Rouge plant in Dearborn, Mich., in what he termed as “environmentally friendly way”, the Chairman wishes that the company would have done more.

Chairman Ford Jr., also said during a question-and-answer session that the company “didn’t stretch far enough in the past few years” on design but the new vehicles such as the Edge crossover utility and the Ford Flex are “really indicative of the kind of design we want to have in the end.”

Despite the fact that Ford did well at truck and SUV design, Chairman Ford said, “I think as we started getting back to the car business, we weren’t perhaps bold enough.” He also said that he was “Very disappointed” by the comments made by Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-III., at his recent speech in Detroit wherein Obama has criticized the US automakers and calling them to do more to build furl-efficient vehicles.

Chairman Ford Jr., added that he would like to invite Obama to Ford’s plant in Chicago “where we make a vehicle that’s more fuel efficient than the one he’s currently driving.” He further stated that it is not only the stressed on the production of more fuel-efficient vehicles that’s weighing on the US automakers but also the rising cost of health care that leaves US manufacturers at a disadvantage. “Unless, nationally, we get our arms around this, it’s going to be very hard to be a manufacturer in this country of anything,” he said during a question-and-answer session.

However Chairman Ford has also made it clear that he is not at all endorsing a national universal health-care system but he did say that the present system is “broken”. US automakers are facing a growing burden of providing heath care for thousands of retirees and active employees. But he didn’t mention just how Ford will deal with its health-care costs especially since its talks with the United Auto Workers union are getting near.

It can be remembered that Ford the producer of high quality car accessories such as Ford floor mats has taken a big step in changing its management stature when it hired Alan Mulally who is a former Boeing Co. (BA) executive as the new Chief Executive. And just recently, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger while speaking to the same conference has made a call for a national, single-payer health-care system. Gettelfinger said, “Our continued failure to enact serious health-care reform puts U.S. companies at an enormous competitive disadvantage. All of our major trading partners, every one, have national health-care systems which deliver quality care at an affordable price.”

Hybrid technology is, by and large, a good thing. On that we can all agree. But clean-running and environmentally responsible though they may be, hybrid cars have been out of reach for all but well-heeled buyers. Most consumers simply aren’t willing to – or can’t – shell out the $30,000 – $40,000 needed to get behind the wheel of a part-internal combustion, part-electric automobile.

There are a few exceptions, of course. General Motors’ Aura Greenline sedan has a reasonable price tag, all things considered, as does the Chev Malibu Hybrid, but in terms of what you get for your money, hybrid vehicles have yet to attract consumers in any significant numbers….especially younger buyers.

Honda is hoping to change that with the introduction of its second generation Insight hybrid. Priced below both the Civic Hybrid and popular Toyota Prius, it’s aimed squarely at first-timers and buyers under 35, according to Honda Canada manager of production planning, Ryan Kelly.

“The number of hybrid products on the market is six times greater than it was when we first introduced the Insight, in 2000,” he observed at the launch, in Scottsdale. “And there are 38 times as many of them on the roads….but few of them are being driven by younger buyers.” So when it goes on sale this Spring, the 2010 Honda Insight will be priced in a “sweet spot” around $20,000 or below, according to Ryan Kelly.

With technology fundamentally similar to that found in the current Civic Hybrid, the new Insight is expected to yield fuel consumption of 4.8 L/100 km in town and a miserly 4.5 L./100 km on the highway. These are better numbers than the Toyota Prius and only marginally inferior to those delivered by the first generation Insight, which is still the fuel consumption champ in Canada.

Like the Civic and original Insight, the new Insight will have a compact electric motor sandwiched between the vehicle’s internal combustion engine and a gearless CVT transmisison. The engine displaces 1.3 litres and the electric motor develops 10 kilowatts. Together they generate some 98 horsepower and 123 foot-pounds of torque. The engine also features Honda’s i-VTEC variable valve technology, drive-by-wire throttle, and is virtually identical to that found in the Civic Hybrid, if a smidgeon less powerful. It is purpose-built just for hybrid drivetrains and is what Honda calls a “low friction” powerplant. Total output for the nickel metal hydride battery pack is 128 volts, and Honda claims it will last for 15 years or 240,000 kilometres….whichever comes first.

Managing the combined output of the batteries, electric motor, and gas engine is Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, which in this configuration, is more powerful and lighter than that found in the Civic or the original Insight. The IPU (Intelligent Power Unit) for the new Insight is located under the floor in the rear cargo area, along with the battery pack. Unlike its predecessor, this model will actually seat five adults, but back seat elbow room is still at a premium, and the guy in the middle will be snug. With the back seats folded flat, the Insight provides some 450 litres of cargo space.

Behind the wheel, drivers are confronted by a “two tier” instrument panel and multi-information display. An eye-shaped nacelle above the tachometer and IMA readout displays vehicle speed with a tri-colour background that shows you at a glance if you’re driving sensibly and gleaning maximum mileage from the drivetrain. Top fuel economy gives the display a green background, while “somewhat less than efficient” shows light blue, and inefficient driving behaviour shows dark blue. Like all good hybrid vehicles, the new Insight has regenerative braking that harvests electrical power during deceleration.

But that’s not all. An “Econ” switch located on the left side of the dash allow s you to choose driving modes, and the multi-information display also has a cute little “tree” graphic that “scores” your driving performance.

“The economy mode harmonizes the engine, electric motor and transmission,” explains Yuji Fujiki, Honda’s project leader for the Insight, “as well as reducing the time the air conditioner operates, and controlling the idle time of the engine when the car stops.” To wring optimum fuel economy out of the entire system, the driver would ideally be in “green” mode, with all the “leaves” of the tree in place.

It may sound kind of childish and maybe even a tad precious, but the whole arrangement actually works well and is easy to get along with and quite user-friendly. On a 45-kilometre driving loop laid out at the product launch, I managed a 5.0 L/100 km fuel economy average, and that was while keeping up with traffic and staying at the speed limits. The key is to avoid jackrabbit starts, letting the engine’s momentum carry the vehicle, coasting downhill, and braking gently and well ahead of stop signs/traffic lights. The system is designed to allow drivers to closely monitor their performance, and it’s almost fun to use. According to Honda, the whole idea is to encourage drivers to “take an interest in developing fuel-efficient driving habits over the long term.”

The new Honda Insight will be offered in two trim levels: LX and EX. Most of the usual modcons – power windows, etc – will come standard with the LX, and the EX will have extras such as a Navigation system, steering wheel-located paddle shifters, Bluetooth capability, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, and lightweight alloy wheels.

Vietnam is a culturally diversified nation with 54 ethnic groups with multiple customs and traditions. Although Vietnamese culture was strongly influenced by traditional Chinese civilization, the struggle for political independence from China developed a strong sense of national identity in the Vietnamese people. Nearly 100 years of French rule introduced important European elements into the culture of the country, but the Vietnamese still attach great importance to the family and continue to observe rites honoring their ancestors, indicating the persistence of tradition.

The first flourishing of Vietnamese art occurred with the emergence of the Dongson culture on the coast of Annam and Tonkin. The inspiration for the magnificent bronzes produced by the artists of Dongson originated from China: the decorative motifs have clear affinities with earlier Chinese bronzes. At the same time, the exceptional skill of production and decoration argues that these pieces represent among the first and finest of Southeast Asian works of art. The period during which the central Vietnamese kingdom, centered on the Annamite coast was under the Champa rulers saw the ‘golden’ period of the Vietnamese art and architecture. Valuable works of Vietnamese Art comprise of the historic and treasured form of art executed on extravagant, fine and delicate silk. Created by artists including Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu and Vu Cao Dam these pieces of art are pristinely preserved. Lacquer practice has held a major role throughout the history of Vietnamese Art, and particularly so in 20th Century Vietnam, when a new approach, through color and form, was employed to develop this ancestral technique in order to promote it as an aesthete that is unique to Vietnam.

Vietnam has longstanding folk traditions. Techniques and styles are often handed down within families from generation to generation. Vietnamese Art shows a strong Chinese influence. Traditional Buddhist art forms are very much evident on the sculptures and paintings of Vietnamese artists. These art forms are made to complement and enhance traditional practices found in temples, monasteries, centers, hermitages, the home and places of retreat. Contemporary artists may use traditional or contemporary forms separately or in combination e.g. film, sculpture or in painting used together in an installation piece. While there may be a deeply felt spiritual context to the work, it would not necessarily be intended to go in a monastery, center or temple and would not have to be made according to econometric recommendations.

Many contemporary artists also use themes such as impermanence, delusion; interdependence, compassion commonly studied in Buddha dharma, and may feel a link with Buddhist ideas without necessarily calling themselves Buddhists. Contemporary art also assists in viewing the Vietnam War and war experience in general through art. It helps to forge a link between the common man, soldier, art and history. Contemporary Vietnamese art focuses on analyzing how art relates to historical themes and issues, interpreting and understanding art as a tool of communication, synthesizing and assimilating information from different disciplines into demonstrated comprehension, and further developing abstract and critical thinking that can be applied throughout the learning process.

Despite the shortages and censorship of the war years, quite a bit of world literature was carefully translated into Vietnamese and widely distributed gradually. This translated world literature greatly influenced the spiritual life of Vietnam. The small chunk of world literature that was allowed to circulate in Vietnam during the “years of the march towards socialism,” the years of heroic warfare” and the “gloomy immediate post-war years,” had been carefully filtered and wrenched from their original contexts. Efforts of contemporary Vietnam artists have been successful in reviving the exquisite and inimitable elements, not only of erstwhile Vietnam but have also raised some of the present-day humanitarian issues. Vietnamese art has thus taken a stride ahead towards presenting South-East Asia as a cultural patron in the field of global fine arts.