title: Ustad Hotel

text: "Ustad Hotel" was scripted by Anjali Menon; it was the first script she wrote for someone else. The film was born from the friendship Anjali and Anwar Rasheed shared when they worked together in "Kerala Cafe", in which Anwar directed the featurette "Bridge". Narrating the way the idea evolved, Anwar Rasheed said, "the thread of the movie came out in a telephonic conversation with Anjali Menon, script writer of the movie. Post "Bridge", we decided to do a movie together. After discussing two-three projects, we thought why can't we do a food related movie. We postponed the movie idea and then "Salt N' Pepper" was released. This movie has no similarity with "Salt N Pepper" except that both deals with food."


title: Ustad Hotel

text: Anjali says, "When we met and talked about his past films, Anwar Rasheed told me once, 'Anjali, I want to make a film in which I compromise the least.' That kind of stuck in my head. I wanted to write something in which he wouldn't have to compromise." Anjali wrote the script during a stay in Calicut. She says, "Soon after I discovered I was pregnant, I moved to Calicut to be with my mother. As she and the rest of the family showered me with affection as only Kozhikodans truly can ... I began to think of the peculiarity of the local culture especially with food and hospitality. I started to read up about the Arab past and for some reason ended up with Sufi philosophy. Many folks ask me if I had researched the hotel industry, food preparation etc but the truth is that the core of my research was around Sufism, which celebrates food, music, dance, creativity, art, romance and finds the divine in all such aspects of life. It seemed natural that the film, too should be such an exploration of a new generation person into such mode of thought and life." Anjali wrote the film in English, in which it remained until the seventh draft, then rewrote it in Malayalam. She said, "I remember the opening line‘The idea of Faizi began before him.' When I wrote in Malayalam it became, 'Faizi-nte katha oon janikinnekal munpe todangi.' That is when it really hit Anwar." The film was produced by Listin Stephen, and production began on 21 November 2011 with a pooja ceremony organised at Hotel Sarovaram in Kochi. It was planned for release in April 2012.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: The project was announced in November 2011. The first actors cast included Dulquer Salmaan, Nithya Menen and Thilakan. Initially, Tamil actor Siddharth was considered for the lead role, but he rejected the offer, which was later given to Dulquer Salmaan. When asked why he chose "Ustad Hotel" as his second film, Dulquer said, "This is a coming-of-age film and it is a genre I rather like; I enjoyed films such as "Wake Up Sid" and "Udaan" and wanted to do one like that myself. I like the character of Faizi too." Director Anwar Rasheed was sure none other than Thilakan could do justice to Kareem Ikka's role and, despite his health problems, it was instantly given to the veteran actor. Thilakan said, "It is a great role, the kind that I enjoy doing at this stage of my career. I want to do roles like this that offer me some challenges as an actor".


title: Ustad Hotel

text: Nithya Menen was cast for the female lead despite a ban imposed upon the actress by the producers's association. Footballer Suvith Krishna, who represented the Kerala team from 2004 to 2010 and is a professional model, made his film debut as a keyboardist in the song sequence "Appangalembadum". Singer Reju Joseph's son Jagan Reju played the role of teenage Kareem. Anwar Rasheed says that he accidentally saw Jagan's Facebook profile and was stunned by the boy's resemblance to Thilakan in his teenage years. Jagan says, "Anwar Rasheed Sir just saw my photos on Facebook. It was an unexpected call and when I went to meet him, he was surprised and asked me whether I will play the teenage role of Thilakan Sir." The only drawback was that Jagan was too tall compared to Thilakan; he covered this by taking some close and mid-close shots. Jagan was shown only in flashback without any dialogue.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: The cinematographer was Loganathan Srinivasan, the film was produced under the banner of Magic Frames, and the songs were composed by Gopi Sunder with lyrics by Rafeeq Ahmed. Praveen Prabhakar edited the film, art direction was by Bipin Chandran and Sameera Sanish designed the costumes. The sound designing was done by M. R. Rajakrishnan. "Ustad Hotel" was in production for one-and-a-half years. Anwar says, "From the time the script was written till it hit the screen, I was out of the house. It took one-and-a-half years."


title: Ustad Hotel

text: Filming began in January 2012 and the main location was Calicut Beach. It took a full day for art director Anand to build the restaurant on the beach-side. A report by "The Hindu" said, "There are quite a few people on the beach and they are surprised to see a new hotel named 'Ustad Hotel' that has sprung up overnight. It is only a little later that visitors to the beach realise that it's not a real hotel, but the set for Anwar Rasheed's new film "Ustad Hotel"!"


title: Ustad Hotel

text: Food and its nuances becomes a central character in the film and act as a catalyst of personal transformation. There are many references to Malabari cuisine, including long sequences of cooking, of main characters enjoying cooking and of actors talking about food. In one of the scenes, the obsession with a good cup of "Suleimani" (black tea) and the paraphernalia that surrounds it is shown. When asked about the origins of this story, Anjali Menon replied, "I am a complete foodie and I believe that every time we consume something we must give it full attention to enjoy every flavor. That is the root of the story. Distinct flavors of tea, sweetness and sourness come together in a "Suleimani" creating a blend of experience that stimulates usquite like romance, I think."


title: Ustad Hotel

text: The story revolves around a typical Mappilla community from Kozhikode, with several lingual references, accent references and other signifiers. Anjali says, "Any script or film deserves to be treated with full respect for where it is located because at the end there is a reason why a certain story is set in a certain place. To me, it is the most basic thing to find signifiers from within the location to propel the story ahead."


title: Ustad Hotel

text: After its release, claims arose that it has faint resemblance to the 2009 German comedy film "Soul Kitchen". Anjali Menon denied the accusation outright and stated, "I haven't watched "Soul Kitchen". There are a lot of food films all over the world and many that are centred around the renovation of a restaurant. I am a big fan of food films." It also has similarities to the 2009 comedy "Today's Special".


title: Ustad Hotel

text: The five-song soundtrack was composed by Gopi Sunder, with lyrics by Rafeeq Ahammed. Satyam Audios bought the audio rights. The soundtrack album was released on 2 June 2012. The score features adaptations of the tracks "Nemo Egg (Main Title)" from "Finding Nemo" and "Road to Chicago" from "Road to Perdition", both original scores composed by Thomas Newman and nominated for Academy Award for Original Music Score. The highly acclaimed background score in the scene where the hero and heroine run away alighting a lorry, is a rip-off from the piece "La petite fille de la mer" by Vangelis.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: "Appangalembadum" sung by Anna Katharina Valayil is based on a traditional Mappilappattu, which is sung during Muslim weddings. The song is portrayed in the film as being performed by a fictional band named "Kalumekkaya" (meaning Mussels) which is known for combining traditional folk songs with western music. The song became popular among children and young adults and was one of the biggest hits of the year.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: "Mel Mel Mel" sung by Naresh Iyer and the folk song "Vaathilil Aa Vaathilil" sung by Haricharan became successes. The fourth song "Subhanallah", a Sufi-Spanish mix, features in the background score.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: The film was scheduled to release on 11 May 2012 but, due to some issues, the release was delayed. In July 2012 some media reported that the release would be delayed again as it was not approved by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), which received a complaint stating that camels were used in a song sequence without permission. The reports said that the releasing board prevented the film's screening. Director Anwar Rasheed denied the charges and said, "The song sequence was shot in Rajasthan after getting the permit and there is no complaints against the movie."


title: Ustad Hotel

text: "Ustad Hotel" was released on 29 June 2012 on 73 screens across India, alongside "Namukku Parkkan" and "No. 66 Madhura Bus". "Ustad Hotel" was also released in major cities outside Kerala and in the United Kingdom, United States and Persian Gulf countries on 20 July 2012.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: In October 2012, Movie Channel released "Ustad Hotel" on Blu-ray and DVD. Following a petition filed by Movie Channel, the 6th Additional District High Court of Kochi issued a John Doe order that empowers the film's owners to restrain suspected and unknown defendants from illegal distribution. "Ustad Hotel" was one of the first Malayalam films to be granted the John Doe orderso called because it is an injunction sought against someone whose identity is not known.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: In its opening day "Ustad Hotel" collected around ₹40 lakhs in Cochin box office and ₹10 lakhs in United Kingdom. The film grossed ₹7.65 crore in 28 days from 60 screens in Kerala. The film completed 50 days in 22 theatres and collected ₹10 crore from the Kerala box office. It collected 2178 from the UK box office. The film became a box office success and completed 100 days theatrical run.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: Aswin J. Kumar of "The Times of India" gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "There is a certain warmth about "Ustad Hotel". In a film that gently meanders along touching upon facets of love between a man and a woman, a father and a son, and a grandfather and grandson, the elements are infused with precision." Dalton L of "Deccan Chronicle" gave 3/5 stars, and wrote, "Fusing the conservative with the modern, a virtuous woman happily swaps her purdah for a pair of jeans and a mike, and a traditional mappila song reverberates, powerfully, with a rocking punch." In her review for "The Hindu", Nidhi Surendranath stated, "Ustad Hotel" "is a mix of endearing characters and poignant images that hits the audience with warmth and energy." Anil R. Nair of "The New Indian Express" called "Ustad Hotel" an "appealing film which seems to have got everything simply right especially because of the star cast." He praised the script, direction, cinematography and music.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: Paresh C. Palicha of "Rediff" gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, saying that "Writer Anjali Menon and director Anwar Rasheed have given us a delicious meal at "Ustad Hotel"." Sify gave a verdict of "Go for it" and wrote, ""Ustad Hotel" may not shock you with some thrilling plots or dramatic twists, but it is an entertaining watch that can bring smiles on your faces or at certain other instances can make your eyes moist. It could definitely have been less lengthy and more gripping, but it is worth a watch even in this form."


title: Ustad Hotel

text: Malavika Velayanikal, in an article written for "Daily News and Analysis", criticised the Mappila dialect used by the lead actors and wrote, "They [the lead actors] have acted well, but messed up the accent. Salmaan can be forgiven since his character supposedly lived in the Persian Gulf and studied in Switzerland. But the others have no such excuse. I enjoyed the film, loved its spunky and real characters, but the wrong pronunciation took away some of the pleasure."


title: Ustad Hotel

text: "Ustad Hotel" became controversial when some accused it for promoting "Love Jihad". Anonymous posters urging Keralites to be cautious against "Love Jihad" appeared throughout Kerala alongside the posters of "Ustad Hotel" and "Thattathin Marayathu"the latter film's plot involves a Hindu boy falling in love with a Muslim girl. The campaign was also active on social networking sites such as Facebook. The film crew denied the accusations; Anjali Menon said, "Those who have pasted these posters have obviously not seen the film." Shaan Rahman, music director of "Thattathin Marayathu", said, "I noticed a photo on Facebook uploaded by a friend of mine in which a Love Jihad post was pasted in the Ustad Hotel poster. The trend is disturbing. It's quite unfortunate that some people are not even sparing films from their stupid ideas".


title: Ustad Hotel

text: A Tamil remake of this film titled "Thalappakkatti" was announced in 2014, with Vikram Prabhu, Nazriya Nazim and Rajkiran reprising the roles of Dulquer Salmaan, Nithya Menen and Thilakan respectively however it got shelved. The film was remade in Kannada as "Gowdru Hotel" in 2017.


title: Ustad Hotel

text: A restaurant named Ustad Hotel, said to be inspired by the film, was opened at Pettah Junction in Trivandrum. The restaurant board, its use of colours and the tyre with the name Ustad Hotel mimic those portrayed in the film.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John Stewart, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics and was the second African-American superhero to appear in DC Comics. The character was created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, and first appeared in "Green Lantern" (Volume 2) #87 (December 1971/January 1972). Stewart's original design was based on actor Sidney Poitier.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: The character is primarily voiced by Phil LaMarr in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). David Ramsey portrays a character named John Diggle (né Stewart) / Spartan in the Arrowverse television series franchise, who is indicated to become a Green Lantern in the series finale of the former series. Wayne T. Carr was cast as John Stewart in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) director's cut "Zack Snyder's Justice League" (2021), although his scenes were cut from the initial release of the film.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John Stewart debuted in "Green Lantern" vol. 2 #87 (December 1971/January 1972) when artist Neal Adams came up with the idea of a substitute Green Lantern. The decision to make the character black resulted from a conversation between Adams and editor Julius Schwartz, in which Adams recounts saying that given the racial makeup of the world's population, "we ought to have a black Green Lantern, not because we’re liberals, but because it just makes sense." The character was DC's second black superhero.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John Stewart has become a major recurring character in the Green Lantern mythos within the DC Universe. He became the primary character of "Green Lantern" vol. 2 from issues #182 through #200, when Hal Jordan relinquished his place in the Green Lantern Corps (1984–1986). He continued to star in the book when the title changed to "The Green Lantern Corps" from issue #201 to #224 (1986–1988). He would continue to make key appearances in "Action Comics Weekly" after "The Green Lantern Corps"' cancellation (1988). He starred in the comic "", which DC spun out of "Green Lantern" vol. 3, with a four-part storyline titled "Mosaic" (issues #14–17). DC published 18 issues of the ongoing "Green Lantern: Mosaic" title between June 1992 and November 1993.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John Stewart was featured as one of the lead characters on the television cartoon "Justice League" from 2001 until 2004. He continued to appear as a major character on the show's 2004–2006 sequel, "Justice League Unlimited". In 2011, John Stewart starred in the New 52 relaunch of "Green Lantern Corps" alongside Guy Gardner, and became the sole lead character of the title from 2013 until the series' conclusion in 2015. "Green Lantern Corps" was replaced by "Green Lantern: The Lost Army", which also stars John Stewart as the lead.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John Stewart is an architect, later "retconned" into a veteran U.S. Marine from Detroit, Michigan, who was selected by the Guardians as a backup Green Lantern to then-current Green Lantern Hal Jordan after the previous backup, Guy Gardner, was seriously injured after getting hit by a car while trying to save a civilian. Although Jordan objected to the decision after seeing that Stewart had a belligerent attitude to authority figures, the Guardians stood by their decision and chided Jordan for his supposed bigoted outlook on the issue. Jordan explained that he just felt that even though Stewart might have the integrity for the task, he "obviously would have a chip on his shoulder bigger than the rock of Gibraltar."


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Jordan's opinion was that Stewart's first mission began badly. His assignment was to protect a racist politician, and Stewart, while averting an accident, took advantage of the situation to embarrass Jordan in the process. When an assassin shoots at the politician, Stewart does not intervene with Jordan in response to the attack, which initially makes Stewart seem suspect. However, it turns out Stewart had good reasons for this apparent dereliction of duty because he was stopping a gunman from killing a police officer in the outside parking lot at the event while Jordan was pursuing a decoy. When Jordan confronts Stewart about his actions, Stewart explains that the politician had staged the attack for political advantage. Jordan then concludes that Stewart was an excellent recruit and has proven his worth.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: For some time, Stewart occasionally filled in as Green Lantern when Jordan was unavailable, including some missions of the Justice League.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: After Jordan gave up being Green Lantern in the 1980s, the Guardians selected Stewart for full-time duty. Stewart filled that role for some years. During that period he worked as an architect at Ferris Aircraft Company, battled many Green Lantern villains, and fought against the Anti-Monitor's forces during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. John was trained in usage of his power ring by Katma Tui, the Green Lantern of the planet Korugar. The duo went on many adventures together and eventually fell in love. Kat and John went on to serve within the Green Lantern Corps of Earth alongside Hal Jordan, Arisia, Kilowog, Salaak, and other alien Green Lanterns, during which time they were married.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: After John's ring was rendered powerless through the schemes of Sinestro, and Katma Tui was murdered at the hands of the insane Star Sapphire, Stewart's life began to unravel. First, he was falsely accused of killing Carol Ferris, Star Sapphire's alter ego, and then falsely accused of theft by South Nambia (a fictional nation within the DC universe similar to apartheid-era South Africa). Jailed and tortured in South Nambia for weeks, John freed himself with his old ring, now re-powered thanks to the efforts of Hal Jordan. In his escape, John inadvertently frees both a serial killer and a terrorist. When Jordan confronts John over his actions, the two friends come to blows until John realizes the "revolutionaries" he had been aiding intended to murder innocent civilians.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Afterwards, John left Earth for space, where he participated in the Cosmic Odyssey miniseries event, and failed to prevent the destruction of the planet Xanshi by an avatar of the Anti-Life Equation. The incident earned him the ire of J’onn J’onzz the Martian Manhunter, who was with him at the time. This series of tragedies left John a shattered man on the brink of suicide and created the villainess known as Fatality. J'onn J'onzz has since, at least civilly, forgiven him.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John finally forgave himself for his past mistakes and grew into a stronger, more complex hero when he became the caretaker of the "Mosaic World", a patchwork of communities from multiple planets that had been brought to Oa by an insane Guardian who had invaded John's mind. Although bitter and sullen at his assignment at first, he overcame this and, using his formidable intellect and talent for unconventional thinking, Stewart forged the Mosaic into a new society and eventually became the first mortal Guardian of the Universe, known as the Master Builder. As his reward for this new level of awareness, John was reunited with his late wife, Katma Tui. However, tragedy struck once again and Hal Jordan, possessed by Parallax, destroyed both the Guardians and the Central Power Battery, robbing John of his newfound powers and his resurrected wife.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Following "Emerald Twilight" and the collapse of the Green Lantern Corps, Stewart was recruited by the Controllers to command the Darkstars, another interstellar peacekeeping force. Using the new resources at his command, Stewart evacuated the Mosaic cities from Oa prior to its destruction and served the Darkstars with distinction until he was crippled in battle with Grayven on the planet Rann. Stewart eventually regained the use of his legs as a parting gift from Jordan before Jordan sacrificed himself to destroy the Sun-Eater during the 1996 "The Final Night" storyline. As a result of Jordan healing him, he began to exhibit random bursts of energy from his hands that he was able to discharge on three different occasions. Though he had initially refused a new Green Lantern ring months prior, he eventually accepted a new one entrusted to Kyle Rayner by a time-lost Hal Jordan, and joined the Justice League to fill in for Rayner as he took an extended leave of absence from Earth.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: With the return of Hal Jordan and the Guardians, the Corps has been reorganized. Each sector of space now has two Green Lanterns assigned to it, and Stewart and Jordan now share regular duty for Earth's sector, 2814. After the dissolution of the Justice League in the aftermath of the events depicted in the 2004 miniseries "Identity Crisis", and the destruction of their Watchtower headquarters on the moon, Stewart has begun playing a larger role in metahuman affairs, working with many former Justice Leaguers.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: During the "52" storyline, John Stewart alongside Hal Jordan are involved in one of the first post-Freedom of Power Treaty confrontations. After a battle with the Great Ten and Black Adam, John and Hal are escorted to Russian airspace by the Rocket Red Brigade.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: During the opening "One Year Later" storyline of "Green Lantern", Hal Jordan tells Green Arrow that John Stewart is on an off-world undercover mission. The details John Stewart disguised himself as the bounty hunter "Hunger Dog" to undercover in Europe. When John hears that Hal Jordan is being held captive by Amon Sur and Loragg, he goes off to rescue him. This led to a confrontation with Amon Sur, who turns out to be the son of their predecessor, Abin Sur. During the fight, Amon receives a ring from the Sinestro Corps and vanishes.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: In "Justice League of America" vol. 2, #7, he and Wonder Woman designed one of the League's new headquarters, "The Hall". John later resumes his role as the League's resident Green Lantern upon Hal Jordan's request.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: In the "Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special", the Green Lantern Corps are attacked by Bedovian, the sniper of the Sinestro Corps, who is capable of taking out a target from three sectors away, all from the inside of a red Sun-Eater. After Bedovian takes out several Green Lanterns, John Stewart uses his power ring as a scoped sniper rifle to track the nearby sectors. He eventually discovers Bedovian's hiding spot and shoots him. As Green Lantern Corps member were forbidden from killing sentient beings at that time, Bedovian survived the attack, as recently seen in the Blackest Night crossover. John and Guy Gardner are captured by Lyssa Drak and taken back to Qward, where the two Lanterns are held captive. Hal manages to defeat Lyssa and free John and Guy from their nightmares, while the Lost Lanterns recover Ion. The earth-based Lanterns then return home, only to find that New Earth, as the center of the Multiverse, is the Sinestro Corps' next target.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: The Sinestro Corps and the Manhunters invade Earth. The Cyborg Superman and Superboy-Prime attack Superman, while Hal confronts Parallax, who has possessed Kyle Rayner, just before the latter is about to kill Hal's family. John orders Guy to retrieve a painting by Kyle Rayner's mother. When Parallax absorbs Hal inside himself, John looks on with sudden shock. Guy returns and shoves the painting into Parallax's eyesight, allowing Hal to use it to help Kyle overcome his fears and expel Parallax. Now in its original form, Parallax is then contained by Ganthet and Sayd within the Power Batteries of Hal, John, Guy, and Kyle. Ganthet and Sayd then reveal that they are no longer Guardians. Ganthet gives Kyle a new power ring and asks Kyle to become a Green Lantern again, to which he agrees. The four then race off to finish the fight. At Guy Gardner's suggestion, John and the other Lanterns use Warworld as a gigantic grenade, badly wounding the Anti-Monitor, who is then thrown into space by Superboy-Prime.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John Stewart witnessed Guy being infected by the Sinestro Corps member who is a living virus, named Despotellis, and asked Soranik Natu to help Guy. Soranik used the Green Lantern Corps smallpox virus named Leezle Pon, who stops Despotellis. John Stewart was later approached by the Guardians to become one of the Alpha Lanterns, a new division of the Corps devoted to the internal affairs of the Corps. Stewart, desiring more information about the secrecy of the Alpha Lantern program, declined the offer, to the extreme disappointment of the Guardians.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: It has also been revealed that John served in the Marine Corps as a sniper prior to becoming an architect. While the idea of John being a Marine veteran was taken from the "Justice League" cartoon, the sniper angle is a new addition to the character's background. During his time in the Marines, John met the then young Hal Jordan when he was in the Air Force before they both join the Green Lantern Corps.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: During the "Rage of the Red Lanterns" story arc, John Stewart is one of the guards assigned to escort Sinestro to Korugar to face execution. However, the Green Lanterns are ambushed by the Sinestro Corps and then the Red Lantern Corps under Atrocitus. The Green Lanterns are left to die in space after Atrocitus captures Sinestro, but they are saved by Saint Walker of the Blue Lantern Corps. John, however, is infected with the Red Lanterns' rage. Saint Walker conjures up a blue energy construct of Katma Tui, who heals John and calms him by showing him a vision of flying with Katma. John later tells Kilowog that he is going to see Katma again, saying that "the universe said so". In that same issue, Fatality is converted into a Star Sapphire, and orders her ring to locate John Stewart. When she tracks down John, she tells him she forgives him, and kisses him. Before departing, she encourages John to forgive himself for what happened to Xanshi.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Stewart appears in the "Trinity" series. He is the one to first attack the alien creature Konvikt, but when he's on the verge of defeating him, his concentration suddenly snaps, and starts muttering incoherently in binary code. A moment later, he spontaneously generates complex weapons from his body, by means unrelated to his ring. Later, he attempts to overexert himself to know how he generated those weapons by running a brutal training session against holographic Qwardian Thunderers, which does not work. He later shows Firestorm the machinery used to monitor the Cosmic Egg imprisoning Krona, but as he leaves again, he suffers from a relapse and start generating knives from his uniform, and it is revealed the entire system is broken.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Later, on board the Antimatter Earth Crime Syndicate satellite, he again loses control and nearly brings down the satellite with his blasts. It is revealed these discharges are brought about due to John's absorption of a Qwardian superweapon, the Void Hound, which has been trying to escape its containment, or at least seize control of Stewart. After the sweeping, devastating effects of the spell engineered by Morgaine le Fey and Enigma, he is seen in an Earth under the control of a totalitarian Justice Society, where all Green Lanterns are forbidden to be. He eventually starts breaking down, and with the Void Hound gaining enough hold on him to force him to create a black hole which forces him back to Earth, he has no choice but to comply. The Void Hound is later revealed to be a servant of Krona, and its hold over John is broken when Krona is defeated.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: After a massive battle between the JLA and the Shadow Cabinet, John chooses to stay with the League despite many of its members choosing to leave. After Kimiyo Hoshi goes missing while tracking down Shadow Thief, John blackmails the armored vigilante Hardware into helping the team track her down. The League arrives in the Himalayas, discovering Kimiyo and Superman's friend Icon engaged in a fierce battle with the cosmic vampire known as Starbreaker. The JLA defeats Starbreaker, and John takes a leave of absence to go to Xanshi.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: When John visits the grave of planet Xanshi, thousands of black rings fly into the planetary debris, and reconstitute the entire planet. Xanshi itself then speaks to John, telling him "I can help you save them." Against his better judgment, John descends to the planet's surface. Once reaching the surface, John finds himself confronted by Katma Tui and the entire population of Xanshi as Black Lanterns. While battling them all, Katma tries to weaken John by claiming that he caused the planet's destruction. However, John, spurred on by Fatality's words, says that he wasn't the cause of it all and successfully fights off the Black Lanterns. After escaping Xanshi's atmosphere, John realises that the planet is headed for Earth, along with every Black Lantern in the universe, and contacts Hal, warning him of the impending threat. Later, John is saved by combined efforts of the various Lanterns corps, who had just arrived to battle the Black Lanterns.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: In the events of Brightest Day, John is seen on Oa, supervising the demolition of the buildings left in ruins after the Black Lanterns attack, and planning the reconstruction. Suddenly, he is called to the Guardians' chamber, where they order him to join Alpha Lantern Boodikka in a mission to robot planet Grenda, Stel's homeworld, where the communications ceased abruptly without explanation, and Lantern Stel and the population are missing. John agrees and departs with Boodikka.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: After arriving on the planet, the two confirmed the Guardians report: the entire population has mysteriously disappeared. John asks Boodikka if something of her older self remains despite being turned into an Alpha Lantern, after she asks him why he refused to join the Alpha Lanterns. Boodikka responds that her changes are only physical, and she still has her former personality; John doubts this affirmation. The two discover what seems to be a Green Lantern House Sector, that, according to Boodikka, is not registered. After entering inside, they discovered Green Lanterns Horoq Nnot and Stel; the last one tells John he must flee from the planet immediately. Suddenly, Boodikka turns against John and attacks him; John fights back, but he's surrounded by more rogue Alpha Lanterns and is defeated. It's revealed that the Alpha Lanterns have begun a revolt against the rest of the Corps, and have allied themselves with the Cyborg Superman (now with an Alpha Lantern battery), taking control of Grenda to use the planet as their hidden base to turn Green Lanterns into Alpha Lanterns. John Stewart is last seen wounded and bleeding, being taken to Henshaw by Boodikka. Cyborg Superman then begins the cosmetic surgery to turn John into another Alpha Lantern.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Before starting the operation, however, Henshaw connects Stewart's brain to his memories to see why he was turned into a cyborg. He also reveals to John, that, after being resurrected by the Manhunters after the Sinestro Corps War, he returned to Earth in the middle of the "Blackest Night", and pleaded to the Black Lanterns (among them are the former crew of his space shuttle) and Nekron to kill him, only to discover that because he did not have a physical heart, he was invisible to them. Angered for being ignored by death itself, the Cyborg Superman encountered the mysterious hooded stranger who abducted the entities of the Emotional Spectrum. He convinced him that Ganthet has the power and knowledge to turn Alpha Lanterns into normal beings again. John realizes that Henshaw organized the revolt of the Alpha Lanterns with the sole purpose to attract Ganthet to the planet Grenda and forced him to turn Henshaw into a mortal being again. Kyle and Soranik burst into the lab and manage to rescue John, but Ganthet is captured. They hide in a cave, where John informs them about the Cyborg Superman's true plan. They also discover the missing robot inhabitants of the planet, trapped in the depths of the cave by Henshaw. Mounting a defense, they battle against Henshaw and his forces, destroying the cyborg's body. Henshaw leaps into Boodikka's body, but her consciousness manages to defeat his, seemingly destroying him. John later joins Kyle Rayner and Ganthet in a mission to the anti-matter universe to save Soranik Natu.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: On their return to the matter universe, John and the others are affected by the return of Parallax to the Central Power Battery by Krona. Their previous experience with Parallax allows John, Kyle and Ganthet to escape its control, but they are forced to fight their fellow Green Lanterns. Affected by Parallax's fear powers, John and Kyle are forced to remove their rings and escape through Oa's underground. They then meet up with Guy and Hal, who has the rings of the other corps' leaders. John initially chooses Larfleeze's orange ring, but is convinced by Hal to use Indigo-1's ring instead due to the debilitating effects of the orange ring on the wearer's psyche. When the corrupted Green Lanterns attack, John has difficulty channeling the various corps powers through his ring. Things are made worse when Mogo joins the attack. While Hal and Guy go to remove Parallax from the Central Power Battery, John and Kyle attempt to free Mogo from Krona's control. On the way, John attempts to stop the flow of tainted rings sent by Mogo, but fails. As he and Kyle head for Mogo's core instead, they discover residual Black Lantern energy around it. John absorbs the Black Lantern energy, along with all the Green Lantern energy, and regretfully uses it to destroy Mogo, knowing that they lack the time to heal Mogo before Krona uses it to 'recruit' a wave of reinforcement Green Lanterns. In the fallout, the two regroup with Hal, Guy and Ganthet, using the full power of the emotional spectrum to crack open the Battery and release Parallax. Their job done, the Lanterns regain their original green rings, in preparation for the final confrontation with Krona.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Following the War's conclusion, John assists a new Green Lantern from Sector 282 'selected' during the period when Mogo was under Krona's control in adjusting to the power of her ring despite the possibility that she will not be allowed to keep it by assisting her in halting a war taking place in her sector, the original Lantern for that sector having died during the war. When John is able to help the two sides find a peaceful resolution to their conflict, his new student reflects that, despite John's reputation after destroying two worlds, she now knows that nobody could regret that action more than John himself.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: After Hal's expulsion and Kyle's departure in "The New 52", John joins Guy Gardner and others in investigating recent attacks in a distant sector of space, which are revealed to be the result of an old Guardian experiment. At one point, John is forced to kill Kirrt Kallak, another Lantern who was about to give in to torture and reveal the access codes to the Oan defence network. John is approached by the Alpha Lantern to arrest him for that murder. He is found guilty for this crime and sentenced to death. However Guy Gardner and other fellow Lanterns free him before the execution, resulting in the destruction of the Alpha Lanterns when the Green Lanterns refuse to allow John to be executed. During the fights, the Alpha Lanterns (revealing to the reader that the Guardians set up these events as part of their plans to destroy the Corps) realize that all the Alpha Lanterns had become dangerously mentally unstable. Alpha Lantern Varix caused a reaction which killed all the Alpha Lanterns, including himself.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: During the "Rise of the Third Army" storyline, the Guardians contact John and state that Mogo's remains appear to be moving, The Guardians have come to the conclusion that Mogo is trying to reform and assign John to track it. While tracking the Mogo fragment's destination, he is discovered by Fatality, who is seeking a sundered love in danger. After they find Mogo's pieces – realizing that the endangered love is the male and female elements of Mogo's personality trying to come back together- John figures out that the Guardians want to use Mogo. After the villainous First Lantern is destroyed and the unemotional Guardians are killed off by Sinestro, John begins a relationship with Fatality in-between on Mogo.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: After the invasion of Durlans, John discovered that a Durlan impersonated Fatality delectably throughout the months. John defeats the imposter and vows to search for the real Fatality. When John locates and reunites with her on the Durlan prison planet, Fatality attacks him. She revealed to him that the Zamarons had influenced her into becoming a Star Sapphire, forcing her to love him when she actually hated him. After John refuses to fight, Fatality leaves, telling John that he and the Star Sapphires are her enemies leaving John in sorrow.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Following the events of "Lost Army" and "Edge of Oblivion" leading to "DC Rebirth", John and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps return to their universe and are about to attack Warworld when it is destroyed by Hal Jordan. After meeting up with a previously captured Guy Gardner and newly turned Sinestro Corp leader Soranik Natu and saving the Xudarian homeworld from a joint invasion from Brainiac and Larfleeze, the remains of both corps join forces.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: As a Green Lantern, John Stewart is semi-invulnerable, capable of projecting hard-light constructions, flight, and utilizing various other abilities through his power ring which are only limited by his imagination and willpower. John's unique combination of military and architecture expertise makes him one of the Corps most exceptional members.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Unlike other Green Lanterns, John doesn't wear a physical Green Lantern ring. Following an attack by The Legion of Doom, and a confrontation with Sinestro, John has a Green Lantern symbol branded on his finger which allows his body to act as his power ring, with his heart functioning as his power battery. John's physical power ring was destroyed when Sinestro infused him with the Ultraviolet Light of the Invisible Spectrum down to the cellular level. John was able to overcome Umbrax's influence and turned his UV Lantern Corp tattoo ring into a Green Lantern tattoo ring. The full nature and extent of his capabilities are unknown.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: As well as his obvious powers as a Lantern, John has also demonstrated a willingness to kill when he is certain the situation requires it, destroying Mogo to save the universe from the army of Krona-controlled Green Lanterns that Mogo would have created and later killing a fellow Lantern who was about to give in to torture and reveal vital information to their enemies.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John appeared as a reserve Green Lantern in "Justice". The Legion of Doom kidnapped all friends and relatives of the members of the League and mind-controlled the youngest generation of heroes to watch over them. John hadn't got a power ring at his disposal and was captured together with everyone else.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: Eventually Green Arrow and Black Canary found the place where the Legion's hostages were locked and handed Hal's Power Ring to John. John quickly used the Ring to destroy the mindworms controlling Supergirl, Batgirl, Robin and other young heroes and wipe the knowledge of the League's identities from their enemies' minds. Afterwards he sent the Ring back to Hal when his friend was fighting Sinestro.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John, known now as Power Ring, is shown to be a member of the anti-matter universe Crime Syndicate that attempts to kidnap Power Girl in "".


title: John Stewart (character)

text: In the "Flashpoint" universe, John Stewart was a member of Team 7, an elite unit of soldiers led by Grifter. John and most of his teammates were ultimately killed during a botched attack on a terrorist training camp.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: The later years of the animated version of John Stewart are detailed in a flashback story in "Justice League Beyond". It is revealed that sometime after the events of the series finale of "JLU", Vixen was murdered by a vengeful Shadow Thief on the night he planned to propose to her, forcing John to partner with Hawkgirl and Adam Strange to bring him to justice. John ultimately killed Shadow Thief via a gunshot wound to the skull, and was thus forced to resign from the Green Lantern Corps (with his ring later passing to a Chinese teenager named Kai-Ro decades later). After retiring from the Justice League, he ended up marrying Shayera and together they had a child, Warhawk.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: In the distant future, the Book of Oa shows that John will one day become a United States Senator and marry Fatality.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: John appears in "" Year Two series where he is summoned to Oa to join other Green Lanterns. He discovers the Guardians are dispatching Lanterns to Earth to retrieve Superman, who has taken control of the world and enforced peace. When Hal Jordan renegades and tries to leave, John joins the others in subduing him. However, this is a front: he later helps Hal escape, believing Superman has only good intentions. He goes back to Earth with Hal and discovers him and his Regime facing the Lanterns, with Sinestro and his Corps aiding the Regime. Once the Green Lanterns are taken prisoner John joins the Regime in enforcing peace around the world. Once an entire armada of Green Lanterns come back seven months later, Guy Gardner tries to make peace before things get out of hand. Shocked when Superman coldly rebuffs him by breaking his arm, John tries to stop the war to the best of his ability, though he is stopped by Sinestro. Having realized the Regime is not as well intentioned as he thought, John is killed by Sinestro to make sure Hal at least remains steadfast, with Guy taking the fall for John's death and being killed in turn by Hal.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: In the comic book continuation of the television series "Smallville," Stewart is a member of the Green Lantern Corps who works as a police detective for the NYPD in his civilian identity. He helps train Clark Kent in the use of his power ring, and later teams up with the hero to defeat Parallax.


title: John Stewart (character)

text: IGN ranked John Stewart as the 55th greatest comic book hero of all time describing him as one of the first dominant African-American heroes in the pages of DC Comics; IGN also stated that John Stewart has gone from "semi-obscurity in the mainstream to absolute recognition" thanks to his starring role in the acclaimed Justice League cartoons.


title: Pretty Hard Cases

text: Pretty Hard Cases is a Canadian police comedy-drama television series that premiered on CBC Television on February 3, 2021. Originally announced with the working title "Lady Dicks", the series was created by Tassie Cameron and Sherry White. In March 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on January 5, 2022. Amazon Freevee will become official co-producer from the second season. The second season released on IMDb TV on April 22, 2022. In June 2022, at CBC's upfronts announcement event, the show was renewed for a third season, with Freevee still committed and on board to co-fund, co-produce and broadcast in the US. Season 3 is set to premiere on January 4, 2023 on CBC and CBC Gem in Canada and later on in US on Freevee starting around the spring, mostly likely in April again like with the second season if the series follows the same release pattern for episodes.


title: Pretty Hard Cases

text: The series follows two detectives in their early 40s: Sam, an uptight and by-the-book guns and gangs detective, and Kelly, a streetwise narcotics detective. Both are ambitious and accomplished in their own way excelling at work while struggling with their personal lives. They drive one another crazy, but also appreciate each other's strengths, and somehow manage to work together.


title: Pretty Hard Cases

text: On February 11, 2020, CBC, along with NBCUniversal International Studios, announced that it had given the series, then titled "Lady Dicks" a series order. It was also revealed that Tassie Cameron and Sherry White would act as co-showrunners with David Wellington would direct the first episode. The launch of production was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada; during the summer, further, the racial protests associated with the murder of George Floyd in the United States and the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Canada led Cameron and White to rewrite some of their scripts.


title: Pretty Hard Cases

text: On February 11, 2020, it was announced that the series would star Meredith MacNeill and Adrienne C. Moore. On September 8, 2020, CBC announced that Karen Robinson, Tara Strong, Dean McDermott, Al Mukadam, Percy Hynes White, Katie Douglas, and Ronnie Rowe would be joining the cast.


title: Pretty Hard Cases

text: Filming was set to begin in early spring, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. In September 2020, filming was underway in the Toronto area.


title: Pretty Hard Cases

text: In the United States, the series premiered on September 10, 2021, on IMDb TV. In the UK, the series premiered on 19 January 2022 on Alibi.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Mathias Fassou Pogba (born 19 August 1990) is a Guinean professional footballer who most recently played as a forward for Championnat National 2 club Belfort.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Having started his career as a youth at Celta Vigo, Pogba played briefly for Quimper in France before following his more famous brother Paul to the United Kingdom, where he played for Wrexham and Crewe Alexandra. After four years in the English leagues, he moved to Italian Serie B side Pescara in 2014, but returned to England with Crawley Town only a few months later. After short spells at Scotland's Partick Thistle and in the Netherlands at Sparta Rotterdam, he joined Tours in September 2018. During the 2019–20 season, he played in Spain for both Manchego and Lorca. Pogba has also played five times for the Guinea national team since his debut in 2013.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: After growing up in Paris, Pogba joined the youth system at Spanish side Celta Vigo along with his twin brother Florentin. The pair left the club in 2009, with Pogba stating his time there was difficult due to language barriers, living abroad and being away from his family. He returned to France to join fourth division side Quimper, scoring twice in the league during one season at the club. While at the club, he lived with Algerian international Riyad Mahrez.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: In September 2010, Pogba joined Conference National side Wrexham after a successful trial spell in August 2010.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Pogba made his Wrexham debut seven days later, coming on as a substitute for Curtis Obeng in the 75th minute, in a 0–0 draw against Fleetwood Town. It took until 3 January 2011 for Pogba to score his first Wrexham goal, in a 2–0 win over Bath City. Pogba then scored two goals in two games against Cambridge United and Mansfield Town. His fourth goal later came on 22 February 2011, in a 1–0 win over Wimbledon. His scoring form in January soon led Pogba to sign a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2012. Pogba made 29 appearances and scored four times in his first season at Wrexham.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: In the 2011–12 season, Pogba played in the first two games, but was then dropped for two matches, due to an off-the-pitch issue. He returned to the first team against Alfreton Town and scored his first goal of the season in a 4–1 win. By the end of December, Pogba had scored a further six times (against Grimsby Town, Hayes & Yeading United, Luton Town, Lincoln City. and two against Gateshead) in 22 appearances. After being sidelined for two games due to fitness, Pogba made his return against Forest Green Rovers, only to be sidelined for the third time after suffering an ankle injury. On his return, Pogba scored in a 4–1 win over Hayes & Yeading United on 18 February 2012. He later added three more goals (against Ebbsfleet United, Darlington and Braintree Town). He was voted the club's young player of the year during the 2011–12 season.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Out of contract at the end of the year, Pogba was offered a new two-year deal by the club, which he rejected in a bid to play football at a higher level. Wrexham boss Andy Morrell criticised Pogba's handling of the situation, describing him as "disrespectful" to the club after not informing them of his intention to leave until 48-hours before the start of the club's pre-season.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: After leaving Wrexham, Pogba signed for Crewe Alexandra on 7 July 2012 on a two-year deal. After scoring eight goals in 11 pre-season friendly matches, Pogba was given the number 9 shirt ahead of the new season.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Pogba quickly made an impact when he scored twice on his debut against Hartlepool in a League Cup first round tie on 11 August. A week later, he scored on his league debut, notching a 78th minute consolation in a 2–1 defeat to Notts County, which Pogba scored two weeks later, in a 5–1 loss against Brentford. However, Pogba suffered a knee injury that kept him out of action for the most of September. He made his first team return, coming on as a substitute for A-Jay Leitch-Smith in the 62nd minute, in a 1–0 loss against Milton Keynes Dons on 29 September 2012. By the end of December, Pogba scored four more league goals in 20 appearances (against Doncaster Rovers, Colchester United, Sheffield United and Oldham Athletic), while scoring two more goals in separate cup competitions against Wycombe Wanderers and Doncaster Rovers. After two months without scoring, Pogba ended his goal drought when he scored in a 2–1 loss against Bournemouth on 12 February 2013. Pogba later added four more goals - one each against Portsmouth, and Colchester United and a brace against MK Dons. However, Pogba suffered a torn thigh that sidelined him for the rest of the season, resulting him having an operation. Despite missing out for the Football League Trophy Final and the club's promotion to League One, Pogba made 41 appearances and scoring 16 times (making him the club's top scorer of the 2012–13 season) in all competitions.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Ahead of the 2013–14 season, the club's head physio Rob Sharp expected Pogba to be fit for the start of pre-season friendlies. Pogba was included in five pre-season matches still in shirt number 9. However, he sustained a medial ligament injury to his right knee during a 2–0 defeat to a Manchester United XI. It was announced that he would be out for at least three months. By the end of October, Pogba returned to light training under supervision from the club's head physio and conditioning coach. While regaining his fitness, Pogba signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him at the club until 2015. By the end of December, he returned to full training to maintain his fitness. Pogba made his first team return, coming on as a substitute for Leitch-Smith in the 62nd minute, in a 4–2 loss against Rotherham United on 11 January 2014. He then scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season, in a 3–3 draw against Bradford City on 8 February 2014 and scored two weeks later, in a 3–1 win over Port Vale. On 22 March 2014, he scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–1 win over Gillingham. Pogba later added two more goals towards the final month of the season (against Shrewsbury Town and Preston). Despite an injury-hit 2013–14 season, he made 22 appearances and scored five times.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Ahead of the 2014–15 season, manager Steve Davis was determined that Pogba could play as a central striker, but Pogba wanted to leave Crewe despite the club's attempt to persuade him to stay. Crewe accepted a bid from Pescara. Pogba later explained in "The Guardian" that he wanted to leave Crewe to step up to new challenges.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Pogba signed for Serie B team Pescara in July 2014, joining his brother Paul of Juventus in Italy for an undisclosed fee. He made his Pescara debut on 28 September 2014, coming on as a substitute for Matteo Politano in the 84th minute, in a 2–1 loss against Catania. After six months at the club, Pogba was released by Pescara, after four appearances and no goals. He said that his time at Pescara was not good, as the manager Marco Baroni did not see him play and rarely talked.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Pogba signed for League One team Crawley Town on 4 February 2015 after his release by Pescara. Three days after signing for the club, he made his Crawley Town debut, in a 2–1 loss against Yeovil Town. He scored his first goal for Crawley Town during a 4–3 defeat to Peterborough United on 25 April 2015, ending a 15-game run without scoring. Pogba scored once more in the last game of the season, a 2–1 defeat to Coventry City which resulted in Crawley's relegation from League One. Days later, he left the club.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: On 3 August 2015, Pogba signed a one-year contract with Scottish Premiership side Partick Thistle, with an option to extend by a further year. He made his Partick Thistle debut, coming on as a substitute for Steven Lawless in the 50th minute, in a 2–1 loss against Celtic five days later. Pogba scored his first Partick Thistle goal in a 1–1 draw with Hamilton on 24 October 2015. He scored his second Partick Thistle goal against the same opponents on 19 March 2016, in a 2–1 victory at New Douglas Park.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Pogba scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season in a 4–1 Scottish League Cup win over Stenhousemuir. On 31 August 2016, he was released from his contract by mutual consent.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: On 31 August 2016, Pogba signed a one-year contract with Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam. He made his Sparta debut on 27 November 2016 in a 2–2 draw with Roda. Pogba scored his first goal for Sparta on 5 March 2017 in the first minute of the game against Feyenoord.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: In August 2018, Pogba trialled with German third-tier side KFC Uerdingen. The trial, however, was cut short after one day with coach Stefan Krämer stating that Pogba, following an injury, was not in the physical shape required to be of any help to the club.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: On 28 July 2019, Pogba completed a move to Spain's Manchego; a team in the Castilla–La Mancha group of the Tercera División.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: On 16 February 2021, Pogba joined Slovenian PrvaLiga team Tabor Sežana for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Pogba made his debut for Guinea in an international friendly against Senegal in Paris on 5 February 2013. He came off the bench to play alongside twin brother Florentin Pogba for the final 30 minutes of Guinea's 1–1 draw.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: Pogba has two brothers who are also professional footballers. His twin brother, Florentin, plays for Indian side ATK Mohun Bagan and his younger brother, Paul, plays for Italian side Juventus and the France national football team.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: The Pogba brothers grew up in Paris. Mathias and Paul lived together while playing for Wrexham and Manchester United respectively. Mathias was at the Stade de France watching his brother Paul play an international friendly against Germany when the Paris attacks occurred on 13 November 2015.


title: Mathias Pogba

text: In 2022 Mathias was charged and detained over an alleged plot to extort money from his brother, Paul the France and Juventus midfielder. Paul filed a complaint with Turin prosecutors on 16 July claiming he was the target of a €13 million (£11.29 million) blackmail plot.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Ranthambore National Park is a national park in Rajasthan, India, with an area of . It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which lies within the park.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Ranthambore National Park was established as Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955, initially covering an area of . It was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973 and became a national park on 1 November 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary. In 1992, the Tiger Reserve was expanded to include the adjoining Keladevi Sanctuary in the north and Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary to the south along with other forests.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Ranthambore National Park harbours dry deciduous forests and open grassy meadow. The flora of the park includes 539 species of flowering plants.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Ranthambore Fort was built in the 10th century at above the surrounding plain. Inside the fort are three red Karauli stone temples devoted to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji. There is a Digamber Jain temple of Lord Sumatinath and Lord Sambhavanath. The temples were constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Padam Talao is the largest of the many lakes in the park. A red sandstone Jogi Mahal is at the edge of the lake. A gigantic Banyan tree, considered to be India's second largest, is also near the lake.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: The national park covers a total area of 392 km, including buffer zone. The core area is about 275 km. The tiger reserve area was about 334 km. Today, it covers an area of 1334 km. The elevation is about 215 to 505 meters above mean sea level. The land features dense tropical dry forest, open bushland and rocky terrain interspersed with lakes and streams. Ecoregion includes Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Ranthambore National Park hosts deciduous forests and wildlife such as Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, Indian elephant, Wild water buffalo, Gaur, nilgai, Barasingha, Black buck, Chinkara, Chousingha, wild boar, sambar, Indian muntjac, Indian hog deer, Spotted deer, striped hyena, Dhole, Indian wolf, Bengal fox, Desert fox, Golden Jackal, Caracal, Jungle cat, Rusty spotted cat, Leopard cat, Asian palm civet, Indian grey mongoose, Ruddy Mongoose, Long-eared hedgehog, Northern palm squirrel, Indian Porcupine, Indian Hare, Lesser bandicoot rat, Honey badger, Indian Flying Fox, Greater false vampire bat, Indian gerbil, Indian pangolin, sloth bear, southern plains gray langur, rhesus macaque, mugger crocodile. The sanctuary is home to a wide variety of trees, plants, birds and reptiles, as well as one of the largest banyan trees in India.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Ranthambore is known for its large tiger population. During the past few years, there has been a decline in the tiger population in Ranthambhore due to poaching and other reasons.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: As park tourism and the population of neighbouring villages increased, there were more frequent fatal human-tiger interactions and poaching. The Indian government started Project Tiger in 1973 and allotted an area of 60 mi of the park as a tiger sanctuary. This area later expanded to become what is now the Ranthambore National Park.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: In 2005, there were 26 tigers living in the park. This was significantly lower than the recorded tiger population of the reserve in 1982, which stood at 44. According to non-government sources there were 34 adult tigers in the Ranthambore National Park in 2008, and more than 14 cubs. This increase was attributed largely to sustained efforts by forest officials to curb poaching. Villagers in the region were being given incentives to stay out of the park, and surveillance cameras were also fitted across the reserve. The Indian government committed US$153 million for these efforts. They were successful enough to make Ranthambhore eligible to participate in the Sariska Tiger Reserve relocation program. The first aerial relocation, of the male tiger (Dara) from Ranthambhore to Sariska, was done on 28 June 2008 by Wing Commander Vimal Raj, using a Mi-17 helicopter. This translocated tiger died on 15 November 2010 due to poisoning.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: A tigress known as "The Lady of the Lakes" was separated from her parents at a very young age because of poaching. The young tigress was named Machli after the mark on her body that resembles a fish. She gave birth to three female cubs, one being dubbed 'Machli - The Junior'. The father of Machli Jr. died early from an unknown disease, as confirmed by forest officer Fateh Singh Rathore. Machli Jr. mated with the male tiger Bumburam and gave birth to two cubs, Slant Ear and Broken Tail. Baccha is believed to be her grandson. Machli recently went missing, raising concern among forest officials, as hunting is difficult at her age. After twenty-six days Machli was spotted and located by forest officials. At 20 years old, Machli Sr. was the world's oldest living tigress and she died in August 2016. She was the most famous tigress in the world holding the title of the most photographed tigress in the world. She was single-handedly instrumental in increasing the flow of tourists from all over the world to Ranthambore National Park. Machli's daughter T19 (Krishna or Unis) is the current queen tigress of Ranthambore. In 2014, she gave birth to four cubs fathered by Star or Zalim (she was seen mating with both of them), with three surviving, these cubs are now known as T-84, T-83 and T-85. She became the longest living tigress in wild environment recorded till date. Another popular tigress from Ranthambore is tigress T39, also known as Mala or Noor. Her name comes from the decorative bead-like stripes on her body. She was born to tigress T-13 and fathered by T-12. In November 2016, she was seen with her fourth litter of two cubs. Noor is 9 years old and her son, T72, or Sultan, is from her first litter and is approximately six years old.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Broken Tail was given international publicity in a film made about his life. He left the park area and traveled from Ranthambore to Darra, where he was killed by a train while crossing the railway tracks. The documentary film called "Broken Tail" features his last journey and has been shown worldwide on many TV channels.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: T - 25 also known as Dollar male or Zalim is another famous tiger in Ranthambore, he sent observers and tiger researchers in a tizzy when he fathered his 2 female cubs as their mother died of a disease, this two cubs are now known as Bina 1 and Bina 2 and both were relocated to Sariska National Park in November 2012 when they were 2 years old.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: According to the 2014 census of tigers, there were 62 tigers in Ranthambore National Park. The number of tigers was 48 in 2013 and 25 in 2005.


title: Ranthambore National Park

text: Economic valuation of the tiger reserve estimated that its flow benefits are worth 8.3 billion rupees (0.56 lakh/hectare) annually. Gene-pool protection services (7.11 billion), provisioning of water to the neighbouring region (115 million) and provisioning of habitat and refugia for wildlife (182 million) were some of the important services that emanated from the tiger reserve. Other services included nutrient cycling (34 million) and sequestration of carbon (69 million).


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The Chevrolet Vega is a subcompact automobile that was manufactured and marketed by GM's Chevrolet subdivision from 1970 to 1977. Available in two-door hatchback, notchback, wagon, and sedan delivery body styles, all models were powered by an inline four-cylinder engine with a lightweight, aluminum alloy cylinder block. The Vega first went on sale in Chevrolet dealerships on September 10, 1970. Variants included the Cosworth Vega, a short-lived limited-production performance model, introduced in the spring of 1975.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The Vega received praise and awards at its introduction, including 1971 "Motor Trend" Car of the Year. Subsequently, the car became widely known for a range of problems related to its engineering, reliability, safety, propensity to rust, and engine durability. Despite a series of recalls and design upgrades, the Vega's problems tarnished both its own as well as General Motors' reputation. Production ended with the 1977 model year.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Chevrolet and Pontiac divisions worked separately on small cars in the early and mid 1960s. Ed Cole, GM's executive vice-president of operating staffs, working on his own small-car project with corporate engineering and design staffs, presented the program to GM's president in 1967. GM chose Cole's version over proposals from Chevrolet and Pontiac, and gave the car to Chevrolet to sell. Corporate management made the decisions to enter the small car market and to develop the car itself.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In 1968, GM chairman James Roche announced GM would produce the new car in the U.S. in two years. Ed Cole was chief engineer and Bill Mitchell, vice-president of design staff, was the chief stylist. Cole wanted a world-beater in showrooms in 24 months. Roche noted that GM had a team of "stylists, researchers and engineers" who had worked on the vehicle code-named XP-877 for years. John DeLorean later challenged this notion and stated that no prototypes or test properties had been built before Roche's announcement. Blueprints apparently did exist; however, they were an amalgam of competitive subcompact vehicles from overseas, including some that GM overseas operations produced.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: A GM design team was set up, headed by James G. Musser Jr., who had helped develop the Chevy II, the Camaro, the Chevrolet small-block V8 engines, and the Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. Musser said, "This was the first vehicle where one person was in charge", and that his team "did the entire vehicle".


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The Vega was conceived in 1968 to utilize newly developed all-aluminum die-cast engine block technology – the first sand-cast aluminum blocks had preceded the decision to build the car by two years. A relatively large displacement engine with good low-speed torque was decided on, with gear ratios for low engine rpm to achieve fuel economy. Engine testing totaled 6,000,000 miles. A pre-test engine was installed in a Fiat 124 sedan for development of the aluminum block, while several 1968 Opel sedans were used for drive train development


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Chevrolet instituted a new management program, the car line management technique, to produce the all-new car in two years. The chief vehicle engineer had overall charge of the program. Fifty engineers, dedicated to the design of the entire car, were divided into groups: body, power train, chassis design, product assurance, and pleasability. The latter would check continuously on the vehicles on the assembly line, with computers in another program monitoring quality control of every vehicle built. Fisher Body engineers and draftsmen moved in with the Vega personnel.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In October 1968, there was one body style (the "11" style notchback sedan), one engine, one transmission (MB1 Torque-Drive manually shifted two-speed automatic), one base trim level, a bench seat, molded rubber floor covering, no glove box or headliner and no air-conditioning (ventilation was through the upper dash from the wiper plenum). As the market changed, so did the car in development.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In December 1968, hatchback, wagon, and panel delivery styles were added; also floor-level ventilation, and an optional performance engine ("L-11" two-barrel) which, predicted as 20% of production, accounted for 75%. Bucket seats were standard. Hatchback and wagon received carpeting and headliners. Optional air conditioning, predicted as 10% of production, was actually selected 45% of the time.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In February 1969, Opel three- and four-speed transmissions (three-speed standard, others optional); Powerglide were added (now four transmissions); mechanical fuel pump replaced by in-tank electric pump (making this the first GM product with an in tank fuel pump prior to the adoption of fuel injection); power steering option; base "11" style notchback trim upgraded to match hatchback and wagon carpet and headliner.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In April 1969, the car gained gauge-pack cluster, HD suspension, wider tires; adjustable seat back (45% of production); bumpers restyled, lower valance panels added; swing-out quarter window option (10% of production).


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In July 1969, an electrically heated rear window option (10% of production); "GT" package, $325.00 extra (35% of production); bright window-frame and roof drip moldings added to hatchback and wagon.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: This is essentially how the car launched as a 1971 model. Production began on June 26, 1970. After the national GM strike (September to November 1970), bright roof drip moldings were added to the base "11" notchback, with moldings sent to dealers to update units already in the field.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: "Cars" magazine said in 1974 that in the rush to introduce the car with other 1971 models, "[t]ests which should have been at the proving grounds were performed by customers, necessitating numerous piecemeal "fixes" by dealers. Chevrolet's "bright star" received an enduring black eye despite a continuing development program which eventually alleviated most of these initial shortcomings."


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The wheelbase on all models is . Width is . The 1971 and 1972 models are long. The 1973 models are longer due to the front 5 mph bumper. Front and rear 5 mph bumpers on 1974 to 1977 models add another .


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The hatchback, with its lower roofline and a fold-down rear seat, accounted for nearly half of all Vegas sold.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The sedan, later named "Notchback", is the only model with an enclosed trunk, and had the lowest base price. The Kammback wagon has a lower cargo liftover height and a swing-up liftgate.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The panel express has steel panels in place of the wagon's rear side glass, an enclosed storage area under the load floor, and a low-back driver's seat. An auxiliary passenger seat was optional. The low back seat was the result of this model being classified as a truck, which had fewer safety requirements than required for passenger cars.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The aluminum-block, inline-four engine was a joint effort by General Motors, Reynolds Metals, and Sealed Power Corp. The engine and its die-cast block technology were developed by GM engineering staff, then passed to Chevrolet for finalization and production. Ed Cole, involved with the 1955 small-block V8 as chief engineer at Chevrolet and now equally involved with the Vega engine as GM president, often visited the engineering staff engine drafting room on Saturdays, reviewing the design and directing changes, to the consternation of Chevrolet engineers and manufacturing personnel, who knew he wanted a rush job.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The engine in development became known in-house as "the world's tallest, smallest engine" due to the tall cylinder head.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The Vega's suspension, live rear axle, 53.2% front/46.8% rear weight distribution, low center of mass and neutral steering give good handling. Lateral acceleration capacities are 0.90 g (standard suspension) and 0.93 g (RPO F-41 suspension). Steering box and linkage are ahead of the front wheel centerline, with a cushioned two-piece shaft. Front suspension is by short and long arms, with lower control arm bushings larger than on the 1970 Camaro.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The chassis development engineers aimed for full-size American car ride qualities with European handling. Later torque-arm rear suspension eliminated rear wheel hop under panic braking. Brakes (front discs, rear drums) copy an Opel design, with diameter single-piston solid rotors, drums and 70/30 front/rear braking distribution.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: All models share the same hood, fenders, floor pan, lower door panels, rocker panels, engine compartment and front end. In mid-1971, Chevrolet introduced an optional GT package for hatchback and Kammback models, which included the RPO L11 two-barrel 140 engine, F41 handling option, special tires, and trim.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: For 1972, models had a revised exhaust system and driveline to reduce vibration and noise; also revised shock absorbers. Turbo Hydra-Matic three-speed automatic transmission and custom cloth interior were optional and a glove box was added.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: For 1973, 300 changes included new exterior and interior colors and new standard interior trim. Front and rear nameplate scripts "Chevrolet Vega 2300" were changed to "Vega by Chevrolet". To meet the 1973 5 mph front bumper standards the front bumper, on stronger brackets, was extended , with a steel body-color filler panel. US-built Saginaw manual transmissions and a new shift linkage replaced the Opel units. The RPO L11 engine had a new Holley 5210C progressive two-barrel carburetor. New options included BR70-13 white-stripe steel-belted radial tires, full wheel covers, and body side molding with black rubber insert. Two new models were introduced mid-year: the estate wagon with DI-NOC wood grain sides and rear trim, and the LX notchback with vinyl roof finish. On May 17, 1973, the millionth Vega left the Lordstown Assembly plant – an orange GT hatchback with white sport stripes, power steering, and neutral custom vinyl interior including exclusive vinyl door panels. A limited-edition "Millionth Vega" was introduced replicating the milestone car, with orange carpeting and Millionth Vega door handle accents. Sixty-five hundred were built from May 1 to July 1. For the first time, cloth upholstery was offered, with the Custom interior in black or blue.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: For 1974, the major exterior changes were a revised front end and 5 mph rear bumper, increasing overall length , and a slanted front header panel with recessed headlamp bezels. Louvered steel replaced the egg-crate plastic grille. Front and rear aluminum bumpers with inner steel spring replaced the chrome items, with license plate mountings relocated. A revised rear panel on notchback and hatchback models had larger single-unit taillights, with ventilation grills eliminated from trunk and hatch lids. A fuel tank replaced the tank. Side striping replaced the hood and deck stripes for the GT sport stripes option. The custom interior's wood-trimmed molded door panels were replaced by vinyl door panels matching the seat trim. January saw plastic front fender liners added after thousands of the fenders were replaced under warranty on 1971–1974 models. In February, the "Spirit of America" limited-edition hatchback was introduced, with a white exterior, white vinyl roof, blue and red striping on body sides, hood and rear-end panel, emblems on front fenders and rear panel, white "GT" wheels, A70-13 raised white-letter tires, white custom vinyl interior, and red accent color carpeting. Seventy-five hundred Vegas were built through May. Sales peaked at 460,374 for the 1974 model year.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The 264 changes for 1975 included H.E.I. (high-energy) electronic ignition and a catalytic converter. New options included power brakes, tilt steering wheel, BR78-13B steel-belted radial tires, and special custom cloth interior for the hatchback and Kammback. In March the Cosworth Vega was introduced with an all-aluminum engine and electronic fuel injection, the first on a Chevrolet passenger car. The panel express version was discontinued at the end of the model year. Its sales peaked at 7,800 in its first year, then averaged 4,000 per year. Over 1,500 1975 models were sold. Total sales fell to 206,239.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: For 1976, Chevrolet claimed 300 changes were made. A facelift included a revised header panel with Chevy bowtie emblem, wider grille, revised headlamp bezels – all in corrosion-resistant material – and new tri-color taillights for the notchback and hatchback (although the amber turn signals were nonfunctional). The cooling and durability of the Dura-Built 2.3 L engine were improved. The chassis received the Monza's upgraded components including box-section front cross-member, larger front and rear brakes (with the fronts gaining vented rotors), and torque-arm rear suspension. Extensive anti-rust improvements to the body included galvanized fenders and rocker panels. New models were introduced: GT estate wagon, Cabriolet notchback (with a half-vinyl roof and opera windows similar to the Monza Towne coupe), and a limited-edition Nomad wagon with restyled side windows.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: New options included BorgWarner five-speed manual overdrive transmission and houndstooth seat trim named "sport cloth" at an additional $18. A "Sky-Roof" with tinted reflecting sliding glass and an eight-track tape player were options from January. The Cosworth was canceled in July after 1,446 1976 models were built.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: For 1977, models had few revisions. The notchback was renamed "coupe". On the Dura-built 140 engine, a pulse-air system met stricter Federal emission standards. The single-barrel engine and three-speed manual transmission were dropped. Interiors received a color-keyed steering column, steering wheel, instrument-cluster face, and parking-brake cover, with a color-keyed full console a new option. The GT models received black, exterior moldings (lower moldings deleted), black, sport mirrors and wheels, Vega GT bodyside and rear striping as well as a Vega GT ID


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The Vega engine is a inline-four with a die-cast aluminum alloy cylinder block, cast-iron cylinder head and single overhead camshaft (SOHC).<ref name="TAM74/75"></ref> The block is an open-deck design with siamesed cylinder bores. The outer case walls form the water jacket, sealed off by the head and head gasket, and the block has cast-iron main bearing caps and crankshaft. The cast-iron cylinder head was chosen for low cost. A simple overhead valvetrain has three components activating each valve instead of a typical pushrod system's seven. An external belt from the crankshaft drives the five-bearing camshaft plus the water pump and fan.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Compression ratio for the standard and optional engine is 8.0:1, as the engine was designed for low-lead and lead-free fuels. The single-barrel carburetor version produces ; the two-barrel version (RPO L11) produces . From 1972, ratings were listed as SAE net. The engine is prone to vibration, which is damped by large rubber engine mounts. The 1972 Rochester DualJet two-barrel carburetor required an air pump for emission certification and was replaced in 1973 with a Holley-built 5210C progressive two-barrel carburetor. The 1973 emission control revisions reduced power from the optional engine by , and its noise levels were lowered. A high energy ignition was introduced on 1975 engines.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Serious problems with the engine led to a redesign for 1976–1977. Marketed as the Dura-Built 140, the new engine had improved coolant pathways, redesigned cylinder head with quieter hydraulic valve lifters, longer-life valve stem seals that reduced oil consumption by 50%, and redesigned water pump, head gasket, and thermostat. Warranty was upgraded to five years or . In 1977 a pulse-air system was added to meet stricter 1977 U.S. exhaust emission regulations and the engine paint color (used on all Chevrolet engines) changed from orange to blue.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In August 1975, Chevrolet conducted an endurance test of three Vegas powered by Dura-Built engines, advertised as a "60,000 miles in 60 days Durability Run".


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Supervised by the United States Auto Club, three pre-production 1976 hatchback coupes with manual transmissions and air conditioning were driven non-stop for in 60 days through the deserts of California and Nevada by nine drivers, covering a total of . With the sole failure a broken timing belt, Vega project engineer Bernie Ernest said GM felt "very comfortable with the warranty."


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: "Motor Trend" said "Chevrolet chose the 349-mile Southwestern desert route in order to show the severely criticized engine and cooling system had been improved in the 1976 model." In ambient temperatures between and the cars lost of coolant (normal evaporation under the conditions) during the 180,000 miles. They averaged and used one quart of oil per 3,400 miles. Driving expenses averaged 2.17 cents per mile. One of the cars went on display at the 1976 New York Auto Show. The 1976 Vega was marketed as a durable and reliable car.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The optional L-11 engine was part of the Vega development program from December 1968, initially with a tall iron cylinder head that had an unusual tappet arrangement and side-flow combustion chambers. The Chevrolet engine group then designed an aluminum crossflow cylinder head with single central overhead camshaft, "hemi" combustion chambers, and big valves. This was lighter and about lower than the Vega production head. Although numerous prototypes were built and manufacturing tooling started, the engine did not receive production approval. It would have given higher performance than the iron-head engine, without its differential expansion head gasket problems.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In November 1970, GM paid $50 million for initial licenses to produce the Wankel rotary engine. GM president Ed Cole projected its release in October 1973 as a 1974 Vega option. The General Motors Rotary Combustion Engine (GMRCE) had two rotors displacing , twin distributors and coils, and an aluminum housing. RC2-206 Wankels were installed in 1973 Vegas for cold weather testing in Canada.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: "Motor Trend"s 1973 article "The '75 Vega Rotary" said, "[M]ileage will be in the 16–18 mpg range. Compared to the normal piston [engine] Vega's 20 to 26 mpg, the whole rotary deal begins to look just a little less attractive, what with the price of gasoline skyrocketing..."


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: GM thought it could meet 1975 emissions standards with the engine tuned for better fuel economy. Other refinements improved it to , but brought apex seal failures and rotor-tip seal problems. By December 1973 it was clear the Wankel, now planned for the Monza 2+2, would not be ready for either production or emissions certification in time for the start of the 1975 model year. After paying another $10 million against its rotary licence fees, GM announced the first postponement. In April 1974 "Motor Trend" predicted the final outcome: on September 24, 1974, Cole postponed the engine, ostensibly due to emissions difficulties. He retired the same month. His successor Pete Estes showed little interest in the engine and GM, citing poor fuel economy, postponed production pending further development. Estes had previously decided to let the Corvair, another Cole project, expire, well before the celebrated attacks of Ralph Nader.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: One complete GM Wankel engine exists. It is displayed at the Ypsilanti (MI) Motor Heritage Museum, along with many Corvair cars and exhibits.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In July 1972, "Hot Rod" tested a prototype Vega fitted with an all-aluminum V8, the last of several 283 cu in. (4.6 L) units used in the CERV I research and development vehicle. Bored out to , it had high-compression pistons, "097 Duntov" mechanical-lifter camshaft, cast-iron four-barrel intake manifold, and a Quadrajet carburetor. With stock Turbo Hydramatic, stock Vega rear end and street tires, the car ran a sub-14-second quarter-mile.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: GM built the $75 million Lordstown Assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio near Youngstown to make the Vega. It was the world's most automated auto plant, where approximately 95 percent of each Vega body's 3,900 welds were carried out automatically by Unimate industrial robots. Engine and rear axle assemblies positioned by hydraulic lifts with bodies overhead moved along the line at per minute. Sub-assembly areas, conveyor belts, and quality control were all computer-directed.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Production at Lordstown was projected at 100 Vegas an hour—one every 36 seconds—from the outset. Twice the normal volume, this was the fastest rate in the world. Within months Lordstown produced 73.5 Vegas an hour.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Lordstown workers had 36 seconds to perform their tasks instead of the customary minute. With 25 percent more line workers than needed, they formed groups in which three worked while a fourth rested. Although there were mechanical flaws, the quality of early Vega assembly, e.g. fit and finish, was acceptable. The car earned "Motor Trend's" 1971 Car of the Year award. In October 1971, General Motors handed management of Lordstown from Chevrolet and Fisher Body to General Motors Assembly Division (GMAD). GMAD imposed more rigorous discipline and cut costs by dropping the fourth "extra" worker. The United Auto Workers (UAW) said 800 workers were laid off at Lordstown in the first year under GMAD; GMAD said 370. Management accused workers of slowing the line and sabotaging cars by omitting parts and doing shoddy work. Workers said GMAD sped up the line and cut staffing. Quality suffered. In March 1972, the 7,700 workers called a wildcat strike that lasted a month and cost GM $150 million. Vega production rose by over 100,000 units for 1972, and would have been stronger but for the strike. 1975 was a "rolling model change" at 100 cars per hour with no downtime.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: As production approached 100 vehicles per hour problems arose in the paint shop. At 85 units per hour, nearly all required repair. Conventional spray pressures and atomizing tips could not apply the paint fast enough, but increasing pressures and tip apertures produced runs and sags. Fisher Body and lacquer paint supplier DuPont, over one weekend, developed new paint chemistry and application specifics: Non-Aqueous Dispersion Lacquer (NAD). The new formulation raised paint shop throughput to 106 units per hour.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Although Lordstown Assembly had a purpose-built exit off of the Ohio Turnpike built to make shipment easier, the Vega was designed for vertical shipment, nose down. General Motors and Southern Pacific designed "Vert-A-Pac" rail cars to hold 30 Vegas each, compared with conventional tri-level autoracks which held 18. The Vega was fitted with four removable cast-steel sockets on the underside and had plastic spacers—removed at unloading—to protect engine and transmission mounts. The rail car ramp/doors were opened and closed via forklift.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Vibration and low-speed crash tests ensured the cars would not shift or suffer damage in transit. The Vega was delivered topped with fluids, ready to drive to dealerships, so the engine was baffled to prevent oil entering the number one cylinder; the battery filler caps high on the rear edge of the casing prevented acid spills; a tube drained fuel from the carburetor to vapor canister; and the windshield washer bottle stood at 45 degrees. The Vert-A-Pacs were retired after the Vega's 1977 model year.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Total Vega production, mainly from Lordstown, was 2,006,661 including 3,508 Cosworth models. Production peaked at 2,400 units per day. In 1973–1974, Vegas were also built at GM of Canada's Sainte-Thérèse Assembly plant in Quebec.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Due mostly to inflation, but also because of emissions and safety mandates, prices of all automobiles rose 50 percent during the Vega's seven-year lifespan. The same basic Vega that cost $2090 in 1971 carried a retail price of $3249 by the end of 1977. And since all other cars suffered the same inflationary rise, less expensive cars were in greater demand than those with higher prices which helped Vegas sell. The 1975 Cosworth Vega at $5,918 was priced $892 below the Chevrolet Corvette. "Cosworth. One Vega for the price of two", as it was advertised, was priced out of the market, and fell well short of its projected sales goal.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: GM Vice President John Z. DeLorean, appointed Chevrolet's general manager a year before the Vega's introduction, was tasked with overseeing the Vega launch and directing operations at the Lordstown Assembly plant. As problems with the vehicle became apparent, he put additional inspectors and workers on the line and introduced a computerized quality control program in which each car was inspected as it came off the line and, if necessary, repaired. He was also tasked with promoting the car in "Motor Trend" and "Look" magazines. He authorized the Cosworth Vega prototype and requested initiation of production.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In "Motor Trend"s August 1970 issue, DeLorean promoted the upcoming car as one that out-handled "almost any" European sports car, out-accelerated "any car in its price class", and would be "built at a quality level that has never been attained before in a manufacturing operation in this country, and probably in the world."


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In the 1979 book "On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors" by J. Patrick Wright, DeLorean spoke of hostility between Chevrolet Division and GM's design and engineering staff; of trying to motivate Chevrolet engineers to resolve the car's problems before introduction; and of initiating quality control. He also said, "While I was convinced that we were doing our best with the car that was given to us, I was called upon by the corporation to tout the car far beyond my personal convictions about it."


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Although the Vega sold well from the beginning, the buying public soon questioned the car's quality. The issues with the vehicle practically went back to the beginning of its development. For example, the front end of the vehicle separated in only eight miles on the General Motors Test track. The engineers had to add twenty pounds of structural reinforcements to pass durability. In "Comeback:The Fall & Rise of the American Automobile Industry", the authors write: "In 1972, GM issued three mass recalls, the largest covering 500,000 Vegas, to fix defective axles, balky throttles and problems that caused fires. The Vega's aluminum engine was notorious for buckling and leaking." By May 1972, six out of every seven Vegas produced was the subject of a recall. Development and upgrades continued throughout the car's seven-year production run, addressing its engine and cost-related issues.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The first Vega recall, Chevrolet campaign number 72-C-05, addressed engine backfires on 130,000 cars fitted with the L-11 option two-barrel carburetor. An engine that backfired with specific frequency and magnitude weakened and ruptured the muffler. Hot exhaust gases then, in turn, spilled out and heated the adjacent fuel tank which expanded, ruptured and spilled fuel that ignited and caused a fire. The second recall in early summer 1972, Chevrolet campaign number 72-C-07, involved 350,000 vehicles equipped with the standard engine and single-barrel carburator. It concerned a perceived risk that a component in the emission-control system (idle stop solenoid bracket) might fall into the throttle linkage, jamming it open. Chevrolet told customers that if the throttle stuck open while driving, to turn off the ignition and brake the vehicle until it stopped.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: In July 1972, the company announced the third recall, "in as many months," campaign number 72-C-09, which affected 526,000 vehicles, the result of which was a rear axle which could separate from the vehicle. As it was recorded by NHTSA, the "axle shaft and wheel could then move outboard of the quarter panel and allow vehicle to drop down onto rear suspension."


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Other quality issues plagued the engine. Faulty valve-stem seals caused excessive oil consumption, but this was not addressed until the release of the updated Dura-built engine in 1976. According to an article in "Popular Mechanics", "When the engine got hot, which wasn't uncommon, the cylinders distorted and the piston rings wore off the exposed silica that was meant to provide a tough wall surface. Then, at best, the cars burned more oil. At worst, the distortion compromised the head gasket."


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: With its small capacity and tiny two-tube radiator, the Vega cooling system was adequate when topped off, but owners tended not to check the coolant level often enough, and in combination with leaking valve-stem seals, the engine often ran low on oil and coolant simultaneously. Consequent overheating distorted the open-deck block, allowing antifreeze to seep past the head gasket, which caused piston scuffing inside the cylinders.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Chevrolet added a coolant-overflow bottle and an electronic low-coolant indicator in 1974 that could be retrofitted to earlier models at no cost. Under a revised engine warranty for 1971 to 1975 Vegas, the owner of a damaged engine could choose a replacement with a new short block or a rebuilt steel-sleeved unit, which proved costly for Chevrolet. GM engineer Fred Kneisler maintains that too much emphasis had been put on overheating problems, the real culprits being brittle valve stem seals and too-thin piston plating. Regardless of the cause, damaged cylinder walls were common.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: On the early Vegas, Fisher's rustproofing process did not treat the entire chassis. The six-stage zinc phosphate rustproofing process began with the untreated steel body shells spending two minutes submerged in a electrophoretic painting vat (Fisher Body Division’s "Elpo" "e"lectrophoretic "d"eposition of "po"lymers process) to prime and further protect from rust. Assembled bodies were dried, wet-sanded, sealer-coated, sprayed with acrylic lacquer and baked in a degree oven.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: However, there was a process failure during the vat treatment stage because a trapped air pocket prevented the anti-rust coating from reaching a gap between the Vegas’ front fenders and cowl. Under normal driving conditions, this allowed moist debris and salt to build up and rust the untreated steel on early Vegas because they had no protective liners. The finance department had rejected liners as they would have added a $2.28 unit cost. After GM spent millions replacing thousands of corroded fenders under warranty, Chevrolet installed stopgap plastic deflectors in late 1973 and full plastic liners in 1974. Rust also damaged the rocker panels and door bottoms, the area beneath the windshield, and the body above the rockers. It sometimes seized the front suspension cam bolts, preventing alignment work, necessitating removal with a cutting torch and replacement by all-new parts.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: From 1976, anti-rust improvements included galvanized steel fenders and rocker panels; "four-layer" fender protection with zinc-coated and primed inner fenders; wheel-well protective mastic; zinc-rich pre-prime coating on inner doors; expandable sealer between rear quarter panel and wheel housing panel; and corrosion-resistant grill and headlamp housings.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: The 1976 to 1977 Dura-Built 140 engine had improved engine block coolant pathways, redesigned head gasket, water pump and thermostat, and a five-year/ warranty.


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: from "Motor Trend"; "best economy sedan" in 1971, 1972 and 1973 from "Car and Driver"; and the 1971 award for "excellence in design in transportation equipment" from "American Iron and Steel Institute".


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: Favorable reviews at launch included "Motor Trend" which in 1970 described the Vega as enjoyable, functional, comfortable, with good handling, and ride;


title: Chevrolet Vega

text: "Road and Track" who praised its visibility, freeway cruising and economy. and others who praised the 2300 engine's simplicity, the handling package and brakes, and one said the car was well matched to the tastes and needs of the 1970s,