Thursday, August 13, 2026

This i respect.... cops vs driver, one on one.... In an effort to catch more drivers illegally using their phones, police in Dunellen New Jersey dressed up in a hunter ghillie camo suit and stood next to an extra-leafy tree, looking for drivers who were holding their phones in violation of a statewide ban.


the results? 74 citations for distracted driving in six hours.

Cost to build a Goodyear tire in the USA... about 87.00. Cost for the Chinese competitor? 12 dollars.

 and that would possibly be a reason Goodyear has lost 2 billion dollars in the last 5 business quarter years

https://www.thedrive.com/news/goodyear-cant-make-a-tire-for-12-like-china-heres-its-plan

Chinese knock offs from FullGood Motors, a company in Beijing



the YouTube channel Project Farm did a comparison test of car batteries


In the overall scoring, O’Reilly batteries took the top two spots, and all O’Reilly lead-acid batteries outperformed their less-expensive Walmart equivalents.

you've heard about all the cities looking to cash in on Flock surveillance cameras with tickets on registration and speeding... but anyone ever heard of a city FINDING an UNAUTHORIZED Flock Camera? Millcreek Utah discovered one that they did NOT pay for, and don't get the data from

A Flock automated license plate reader was recently discovered on Millcreek city property. City leaders say they did not authorize its installation and do not know who did.

The camera has since been removed, but its discovery raises broader questions about how it got there and whether unauthorized cameras have been installed elsewhere.

What are the implications? ANYONE can put up a Flock Camera LOOKALIKE and data gather until it's discovered. 

Yup, if Iran wants to snoop on Washington DC? Get some Flock Cameras installed.

If the Bin Ladens want too keep an eye on One World Trade Center in time for the 9-11 anniversary? Install some Flock Cameras. 

That right there is an example of how the govt won't have a damn clue who put up how many or where, or for what reason, because the govt isn't keeping an eye on what cameras are installed, they are only keeping an eye on the people they can fine and ticket. 

So, how long until TMZ and other paparazzi install cameras that look like Flock, and track Hollywood celebs? How long until China installs Flock Cameras to track who and what comes and goes off military bases, air fields, and ports? 

Just sayin, Big Brother ain't the only one who wants cameras watching us, and Flock doesn't care who pays with a credit card. They'll get a subcontractor out there installing them.

I think it would be a hoot to have hundreds or thousands installed, get an AI bot to monitor and edit a highlights reel of all the illegal things that any police department does.

The Danube's water levels have been falling, revealing finds from as far back as the Ice Age. Near the Serbian port of Prahovo, the remains of dozens of German battleships sunken during World War II, and the foundations of a bridge commissioned by Roman emperor Constantine I in 328 CE, near Gigen, Bulgaria



found in a mothers garage - autographs include Ken Tyrell top right, Mike Hailwood, Graham Hill, John Surtees, Emerson Fittipaldi


concept art vehicle from Jorodowsky's Dune movie project


He had some great casting choices! 

"Borate Bomber" -- The Forest Service did not discover unti the 1956 season, that a borate mixture for fire fighting sterilized the ground. They first started in Lake Elsinore Ca (Near San Diego) in 1954

 https://forestservicemuseum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/4425BC77-1AEE-48E1-AE9A-522470117511




borate bomber is an affectionate historical nickname for an aerial firefighting airtanker. 

The term originated in the mid-1950s when pilots first began dropping water mixed with sodium calcium borate—developed by the Pacific Coast Borax Company—to slow down and suppress wildland fires.

Pure water evaporated too quickly before hitting hot flames, so chemists added borate compounds to improve retardant capabilities.

interesting simple way to get cargo into forest dept serviced areas in 1960, when motorcycles wouldn't be able to, horses or mules might get hurt, and ATV 4x4s hadn't been invented yet



At its peak in the 1950s and '60s, Ford Times reached nearly two million households a month — circulation in the neighborhood of Time —

It rode along on the great postwar road trip: the interstates unspooling, the station wagons loading, the two-week summer vacation as a national institution. 

It was corporate media, yes — nobody pretended otherwise — but it was corporate media that believed its highest duty was to be useful and beautiful, in that order, and it kept the faith for half a century. 

Then corporate was over the Ford Family, and what they'd stood for, and handed the magazine to outside publishers in 1987, and in January 1993, in a season of cost-cutting, the last issue went out. 

No one cares about your project when you are gone... 

https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2026/introducing-ford-from-the-road-travelogue

I look at this, and suppose, I'm required to ask... is the water stored in those two trailer tires? This is around 1960, Missoula Montana

 

https://forestservicemuseum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/75265528-5B77-44F6-9521-310853268536

Cobra in The Gumball Rally wasn't a prop. Warner Brothers put two genuine 1966 Shelby 427 Cobras on the road, CSX3255 and CSX3243



the ol papermill in my 2nsd home town of childhood years (k-2nd, 1976 to 1979) has finally found a new company to take over the ol papermill (after 26 years of being empty, and 2 decades of cleaning up the industrial pollution)


Classic Auto Factory, a DeKalb, Illinois-based classic automobile restoration and fabrication company, is expected to establish a large restoration, showroom, storage and event complex inside the historic mill property 

 After more than two decades of demolition, environmental cleanup and redevelopment planning, the former Plainwell Paper Mill appears poised for its most significant transformation since production ceased nearly 26 years ago.

The Plainwell location would represent a major expansion for the company while giving it access to one of southwest Michigan’s largest historic industrial complexes, with ample space for restoration shops, vehicle storage, showrooms and public events.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Singer and Louis Vuitton 911, unveiled on Wednesday at Pebble Beach, Calif., as part of Monterey Car Week,


The Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic Turbo designed in collaboration with Nicolas Ghesquière, artistic director of women’s collections at Louis Vuitton

The conversation with Singer began with a simple request. The bespoke auto workshop, founded in 2009 by Rob Dickinson, the former frontman of English alternative rock band Catherine Wheel, wanted to commission a detachable dashboard clock based on Vuitton’s signature Tambour watch.



“In addition to the design and production of this clock by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton workshops in Switzerland, it quickly became apparent to us that this collaboration with Singer could extend to the personalization of every functional element of the vehicle, enhancing them through our expertise in leather craftsmanship and watchmaking,” said Jean Arnault, Louis Vuitton’s watch director.



the Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run is next month in September, and will mark the French luxury brand’s first classic car rally in 14 years.

 https://elitetraveler.com/motion/cars-and-bikes/louis-vuitton-singer-one-off-porsche-911-monterey-car-week

a DKW NZ 350, and the remains of two German soldiers, were recovered in Budapest because the Danube river is so low, exposing the WW2 machine (Thanks to Sam Joe!)










the Hungarian Institute and Museum of Military History recovered the machine on 2 August at Batthyány Square, opposite parliament. The motorcycle is almost completely intact. Because it was saturated with water and mud when it was salvaged



In this saddle bag were the following artifacts:
 a Bosch W 175 T 1 type sparkplug, oil canister, grease tube, insulation tape, cylinder head and sparkplug sockets, small screwdriver, air pressure gauge, inner tube repair kit, glue and stain material, a chain link, a pair of screwdriver heads, a hammer head, and Y-shaped screws





In recent days, further parts of the original equipment have been found in the dried-up riverbed of the Danube alongside the Wehrmacht motorcycle, including a petrol can, a Y-strap and a bayonet frog.

A Y-strap was a leather harness worn over the shoulders and joined at the front and back with additional straps. It was used to attach equipment to the body, such as bread bags, ammunition pouches or canteens. The name "Y" comes from the shape of the shoulder straps.

The mortal remains of two German soldiers were discovered beneath the motorcycle. Their fully preserved identity discs could, for the first time in more than 80 years, provide information about who they were and what happened to them

In 1932, DKW merged with Audi, Horch and Wanderer to form Auto Union AG.




If you're a Tony Hawk fan, and collector... there is an upcoming auction you'll want to look through





https://www.juliensauctions.com/en/auctions/tony-hawk-unlocked

terrific cameo in the movie Eenie Meenie - Dean Winters, the actor that played "Mayhem" in the commercials for Allstate, plays a fun car dealership salesman

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/dean-winters-was-mayhem-way-before-he-landed-in-allstate-s-ad-campaign/ar-AA1LINwI?cvid=24197487d0ea49e4b6c9221ba5a18c03&ocid=olconob

JCB went to Bonneville and hit 406.320 with their hydrogen powered internal combustion engine streamliner, the fastest a hydrogen internal combustion engine powered vehicle has been driven, driven by Andy Green



interesting brakes! 

a 60 yr old farmer in Poland protested a road on his property, that he claims belongs to him, by hitting it with a plow for an 1/8th of a mile... but the town insists it's not on his property


https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/08/11/man-remanded-in-custody-in-poland-after-driving-tractor-onto-fresh-asphalt-and-churning-up

the National Motor Museum of British motoring at Beaulieu is at the end of it's lease and is moving

Many vehicles and artifacts to leave Montagu estate – and its monorail – in 2030, but museum won't close

The NMM Trust has announced that it won't renew its lease at Beaulieu when it comes to the end of its 60-year term in the coming years and has begun the hunt for a new site for its collection.

The Trust and the Montagu family, who still own the Beaulieu Estate, have discussed investment and redevelopment plans in line with that strategy but have concluded that the best option is to relocate the collection.

The NMM plans to find a "suitable new home" that will allow it to "share the stories of motoring heritage more widely than ever before". It also plans to develop a training center for heritage engineering apprenticeships.

The collection currently comprises around 285 vehicles. However, the Beaulieu Estate said it owns "a significant amount", which "will continue to stay" at the Hampshire site.

The Trust, founded in 1970 to take over the management of what was previously a small collection run by estate owner Lord Montagu, said the move is part of a "long-term strategy to secure the future" of the museum.

late 1950s ATV testing



the old fashioned way of doing the math on something... was a couple whiz wheels on a "computer" that would calculate


https://forestservicemuseum.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/4DC629ED-46C0-4252-8036-920519243300

Gyro-Stabilized Cargo Carrier, a 1970 Missoula Equipment Development Center project







I've seen a lot of license plates, but never one like this



An Early 60s Forest Service fire truck


scam alert, Jackson Michigan for example... has a parking law... you get 2 hours downtown free... then you get a ticket. Doesn't matter if you move the car, that does not restart the clock. This is street and parking lot (like the library) OR YOU pay 7 dollars for a daily pass


 Moving your car to a different spot or leaving and coming back does not restart the two-hour clock. Enforcement runs Monday through Friday from 8:01 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with parking free on weekends and city holidays

here's something very cool that Marc just told me about... Hot Wheels neighborhood "Little Libraries" in Newark and Ashville Ohio (lots of residential areas in San Diego have similar bird house size book libraries)


https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=29127194360203586&set=gm.4550040521948697&idorvanity=2642861779333257

estate sales are the gold mine of cool stuff that's been hidden for decades... this original fiberglass ESSO Tiger was for sale at a July estate sale in West Hills, California




Esso was not the only company to use the tigers, they were sold to car dealerships, amusement parks, zoos and high schools as well.


made by International Fiberglass in 1966