Just a car guy: Ekim 2014

17 Ekim 2014 Cuma

Meter maids take meter feeder "Robin Hoods" to State Supreme Court in New Hampshire, because city is losing ticket revenue

http://www.wmur.com/news/keene-robin-hooders-get-case-heard-by-state-supreme-court/29146494

For years, groups of Keene residents known as “Robin Hooders” have walked the streets filling expired parking meters with their own money, in order to save people from getting parking tickets.

Occasionally, when they encounter an angry parking enforcer, they are prepared to film the situation with their smart phones.

When the Robin Hooders come across a car that already has a ticket on it, they will place some information on the person’s windshield, which provides tips on how to beat the ticket in court.

Robin Hood activist and radio show host Ian Freeman estimates that they prevented at least 8,000 tickets in 2013, saving Keene motorists an estimated $80,000 in that year alone. These savings have not gone unnoticed by the local government, who have become concerned about the revenue that they are missing out on.

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/activists-face-supreme-court-ruling-paying-parking-meters-saving-motorists-80000/#WAs8JECMIOoz4JzP.99

"...TO PROTECT THE ECONOMIC INTEREST OF THE CITY" quote of the city attorney when stating his case int he supreme court of New Hampshire

https://www.facebook.com/KeeneRobinHood

Ruxton, the car with the Woodlite headlights, the colorful stripes, and front wheel drive. Only 96 made, by Hupp and Kissel

Launched in 1929, the Ruxton automobile had a short but fascinating live. The driving force behind the car was notorious stock broker Archie Andrews, who recognised the potential of a front-wheel drive prototype being readied in the experimental department of the Edward G. Budd Company of which he was a major shareholder and board member.

The car itself had been designed by William J. Muller and featured a novel front-wheel drive system, which allowed the car to be significantly lower than its contemporaries. By manipulating stock and strong-arming Edward G. Budd, Andrews seized control of the project. In an attempt to secure additional funding from William Ruxton, Andrews dubbed the new front-wheel drive car the Ruxton. Even though the plan backfired, the name was retained.

In addition to the pioneering front-wheel drive layout, the early Ruxtons also grabbed the attention through the striking striped colour scheme designed by artist Joseph Urban. Andrews himself had no manufacturing capability and as a result the cars were built by others, including Hupp and Kissel. The stock market crash late in 1929 could not have come at a worse time, killing the demand for luxury cars. Production ceased the following year by which time only 96 were built, only 15 of which had been delivered to clients. Of the surviving cars, no fewer than 16 lined up at Pebble Beach this year as a testament to the design brilliance of William J. Muller and the blind ambition of Archie Andrews.

Found on http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/event/340/2014-Pebble-Beach-Concours-d-Elegance.html

16 Ekim 2014 Perşembe

still running with a Sun Tach... that's style

Dual quads are always an eye magnet

if this isn't a fake video, it's an OMG moment of a drunk cop pulling people over. Whoa....

Post by Daniel Ramos.

Funny marketing ploy on Craigslist

Volvo XC90 $6,000 Fredericktown Ohio
2.5L 5-cyl. Turbo engine AWD 6 CD Changer Heated Leather Seats Sunroof
First car on the moon
First daily driven car to win the Indy 500
"It's a total chick magnet" -Zac Efron

Found in Autoweek, Sept 15-29 issue 2014

I did not think this was going to work!

Post by Mavi Kocaeli.

What a difference 50 years makes

in 1969 Don Schumacher made his first trip to Indianapolis to drag race, spent less than 500 bucks.
Towed his race car on a trailer behind his mom's Cadillac. Stayed at Howard Johnsons for 18 a night
2014: close to 2 million dollars, 20 tractor trailers, 115 employees, 7 competitive nitro teams, bought 3100 tickets for guests.

What changed the racing world from polo hard hats to modern cushion lined, live savers?

The tragic death of Pete Snell, during a 1956 race, from head injury. And that is why helmets have a Snell rating, that establishes the effectiveness of the helmet in protecting your noggin.

Snell Standards significantly surpass those set by:
the United States Department of Transportation,
the American National Standards Institute,
ASTM International and
the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's

The Snell Memorial Foundation is a non-profit, and doesn't make helmets, they only test them. Also, they are ISO certified on the calibration and testing accuracy.

one hell of a nice trailer!

Found on https://www.facebook.com/isabelle.bracquemond.7

Murphys Law, when the worst thing could happen, it will

great compilation of tow truck, and towing, fails

The "Sleeping Beauties" on their way out of storage

Found on http://www.bugattipage.com/book19.htm

15 Ekim 2014 Çarşamba

A car museum is set to open near Portland Oregon in April 2015... The World Of Speed

In an 80,000 sq foot former car dealership, this car museum and educational interactive auto enthusiast destination is planning to help spur auto shop in local high schools, and is already sponsoring the local Woodburn Jr Drag Racing series.

"That said, the real purpose of World of Speed is to provide an experiential environment in which young people can explore the exciting world of motorsports and the career opportunities it offers. If America is to retain its world leadership roll, we need mechanics and engineers—Honda and Toyota say 100,000 now—yet our schools have all but abandoned auto shop. World of Speed is dedicated to addressing that need." http://worldofspeed.org/news/

It will encompass many aspects of motorsports including drag racing and road racing, land speed racing, motorcycle racing, as well as open wheel and NASCAR.

Where possible it will tell the story of local tracks including Jantzen Beach and Portland International Raceway and local racers such as the legendary Indianapolis racecar builder Rolla Vollstedt.

Through interactive exhibits and hands-on activities, World of Speed will offer visitors a behind-the-scenes view of the world of racing. Programming and activities will expose young people to the opportunities available in the auto industry, and to help educate them to enter the workforce or advance to specialized education.

For example, Ford Motor Company recently donated a Mustang to World of Speed that will be reconfigured into a hands-on display to showcase how a car is constructed, what materials are used and how materials are recycled. A real Indy car will function as a simulator for fans of all ages, while a car formerly raced by Danica Patrick should appeal to female visitors.

Education

World of Speed’s mission is to serve a wide range of audiences through varied, interdisciplinary educational programs, integrating the study of history, art, culture, science and technology to appeal to all ages, backgrounds, and interests. World of Speed aims to build the community by being an educational resource for local schools, institutions, organizations and groups, facilitating life-long learning, growth, and a lasting relationship between these public groups and World of Speed.

The Greater Need

World of Speed will do that with historic racecars and numerous interactive exhibits that excite and inspire young people to explore career opportunities in the auto industry. The industry employs nearly 2 million people but impacts about 8 million jobs - everything from designing the exterior and interiors of vehicles to, well, tightening lug nuts at the assembly plant.

Beyond the auto industry, there's a sub set of people working in the performance aftermarket and racing industry that the Specialty Equipment Market Association says is worth $30 billion annually. There are many career opportunities here that few know about: everything from the chef who cooks the race team’s food to the marketing and PR person who tells the world how the team did. In between there are a myriad of jobs from actual vehicle fabrication to the guys tightening the lug nuts at the track. A typical professional NASCAR team might employ 140 people - jobs for the boys, and girls.

World of Speed’s goal will be to expose young people to the opportunities, educate them to a level where they can either enter the work force or go on to more specialized further education and give them a fun and exciting environment in which to learn. http://worldofspeed.org/education/

As envisioned, it will house and display more than 100 vehicles, a workshop and space for educational activities. World of Speed’s collection includes race and performance cars from NASCAR, land speed racing, drag racing, open wheel, sports cars and motorcycles. It will include classic American muscle cars, historic race cars and race cars with a Pacific Northwest connection.

For Thacker, the venture is about educating the public about the value of the automobile to American culture. In addition, a more practical side of that equation also will be emphasized.

“Vocational education has all but disappeared from our schools at a time when the auto industry needs designers, engineers and mechanics more than ever,” said Thacker, who has the backing of the Marie Landform Charitable Foundation, according to documents submitted to the city of Wilsonville. “Oregon is the perfect location to attract and inspire young people to explore the array of promising careers in a very dynamic and popular industry.” http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/158468-museum-to-bring-the-exotic-to-wilsonville

The building will feature more than 100 vehicles, including cars from the likes of such famous racers as NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and off-road racer Mickey Thompson, said Tony Thacker, the executive director of the museum.

The exhibit will also showcase motorcycles, sports cars, American muscle cars and racecars with a tie to the Pacific Northwest, including the Formula Atlantic car Patrick drove several years ago fit with an engine built in Portland. Many of the cars – Patrick's included – will be open for visitors to sit in and explore up close.

"It's a car you can touch and feel and get an experience of what a real race car is like," Thacker said. "In most car museums, you're not allowed to touch or sit in the cars."

One of the purposes of creating an interactive exhibit is to give visitors a chance to learn about the auto industry, he said. In addition to a 45,000 square-foot display area, the building will house classrooms and a shop where visitors can observe mechanics and participate in workshops on trades, like welding and painting. http://www.oregonlive.com/wilsonville/index.ssf/2013/08/wilsonville_prepares_to_welcom.html

why trailers were invented

Post by Scuttlebutt Sailing News.

When you have an extra gas tank, and no room in the garage

that the driver kept this Toyota balanced so long is ridiculously impressive. That 5 teens did this stunt is stupid.

Post by ‎المغرب اليوم - Morocco Today‎.

California politicians passed a law to raise the price of gas. AB 32 will increase prices at the pump in 2015

Based on input from various industry organizations and consumer groups, it’s estimated that the cap and trade "tax" on carbon emissions has the potential to increase California’s retail gasoline prices from 16 cents to 76 cents per gallon. Most expect at least a 15-cent increase beginning in 2015.

California drivers already pay the highest prices for fuel and the second highest fuel taxes in the country – 68.1 cents, second only to New York’s 68.9 cents per gallon.

found on http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2014/09/10/california-carbon-gas-tax-could-cost-drivers-big thanks to Dan

the same architectural firm that built the Beijing Olympic stadium, built this parking garage

Found on http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/herzog-de-meuron-parking-garage?context=featured

14 Ekim 2014 Salı

it was auctioned off 2 years ago, but John took a great gallery of the rare micro cars before it closed... The Bruce Weiner Micro Car Museum

An ol friend of mine has gotten down to the wire in a voting war to win an invitation to the Goodguys Southwest Nationals showdown against Craftsman's Comet.. could you help him out with a vote or two?

Mike is the Mustang owner, and part of the Hotchkis Team... and recently completed 20+ years as the manager of the Miramar Auto Hobby Shop, which was Navy when I was stationed there, and then the base switched to Marines... I can tell you first hand he's helped a hell of a lot of sailors and marines out by giving them hands on mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and every other kind of help with their cars and trucks.

Now the small pain in the ass is that we have to register to vote, and of course, that involves giving your email to Sears, (and making up a password... I use PASSword123! for all bullshit things like this) but you can opt out of all the bullshit, and then you have to verify it. Typical corporate crap. But Mike needs some more votes, and right after this contest is over, we can unsubscribe and delete ourselves from the Sears database.

click on https://club.craftsman.com/community/#!/madetorace/ to vote

You can vote very easily once you're registered, fast clicking on the "vote" box results in up to 10 votes at a time, and clicking on the link https://club.craftsman.com/community/#!/madetorace/challenge brings you right to the Vote page, without signing back in... and you can vote more every day by clearing your cookies, and voting again.

Nothing in the contest says you can't vote like mad every day, as Smokey Yunick might do

Thanks!

Some cars have remarkable stories, this one also tells it in a remarkable way

Found on http://justacargal.blogspot.com/

great photo of the movie Batmobiles

Found on http://themanlyblog.tumblr.com/

Lemme toss some news to you... headline "Tickets tossed after speeding police weren't cited"

The Washington State Patrol is dismissing speeding tickets issued to drivers near Cashmere last Tuesday and Wednesday because as many as eight police officers blasted through a speed trap there without being cited.

Post by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

The officers were headed to a drug-recognition conference in Chelan, The Wenatchee World reported (http://is.gd/plpF92 ). An Arlington man, Bill Gillam, recorded video showing that while other drivers were pulled over and cited for speeding through the trap, the officers were not cited.

State Patrol spokesman Bob Calkins said he didn't immediately know how many tickets were issued, but dismissing them is "simple fairness."

"There weren't many written on Wednesday because the troopers were fundamentally uncomfortable with what was going on anyway," Calkins said. "They saw the inequity. They were still stopping people, but they gave them warnings."

One woman was pulled over, but she was let off with a warning after she reported being the wife of a state trooper, he said.

Some of the officers who sped past were in unmarked cars, making it tough to know the agency to which they belonged. But some were with the State Patrol, the Auburn Police Department and the Seattle Police Department.

State Patrol Chief John Batiste made that decision late Friday morning to dismiss the tickets after Gillam's video surfaced online. The reprieve applies to anyone who got a ticket between midmorning and mid-afternoon on Tuesday or Wednesday on Highway 2/97 between Cashmere and Wenatchee.

The State Patrol will notify ticketed drivers about how to get their tickets voided, Calkins said. Tickets already given to a court will have to be voided by a judge, but those still in the State Patrol's possession will be voided by troopers.

Info from http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/10/11/3427098_tickets-tossed-after-speeding.html?sp=/99/296/&rh=1#storylink=cpy via https://www.facebook.com/gavinseim for the video / audio of the cops that were incredulous and deliberately not slowing, stopping, or warning the cops in POVs while they continued their speeding trap for everyone without a badge