So next month, GM will shut down for a week the factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the sports car is made.

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It's a mix of prosperous green suburbs, wooded rural areas, and old-line factory towns trying to adapt to the service economy.

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Their vision: architect- designed, factory-built, single-family dwellings with green accents (including energy-efficient appliances and airtight construction) that appeal to higher- income, eco-conscious buyers.

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Lights in the warehouse are now green fluorescents, scraps and rainwater runoff are reused, and the LEED-certified factory is aiming for zero waste.

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Next head across the Brooklyn Bridge to stroll the deliciously breezy Brooklyn Heights Promenade, catch an outdoor Shakespeare performance in Brooklyn's vast green Prospect Park, and scoop up a butter pecan sundae at the waterfront Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (1 Water St), housed in a 1920s fireboat house.

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Pink-and-green rubber flaps hang on the freshly painted cars to guard against scratches, one of hundreds of thousands of ideas factory workers continually submit to improve Toyota, and one that is now a common feature in car factories worldwide.

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