did you know Car Max bought Edmunds?



 I just found out

In January of 2020 they purchased a minority stake in the digital car shopping leader. 

CarMax announced a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining stake in Edmunds on April 1, 2021, for $404 million, with the deal expected to close in June 2021.

The transaction valued Edmunds at $404 million.

Edmunds is headquartered in "EdQuarters" in Santa Monica, and was founded in 1966



I'll be danged, it's a 92 Autozam. I know, right? WTF is an Autozam? A JDM market car rarely seen anywhere.... but this neighborhood.

 Probably has the South Dakota plates for emissions exemptions. I doubt the car would pass California emissions, if they could even get a computer to connect to it's data. 

Hard as it is to believe, I've actually seen 2 of these in person before. One at the 50th anniversary Hot Wheels show, and one at SEMA 2024

the last time Google drove by with the cameras to make a street view, here's what it saw, but tonight on the walk, they were working on a 57 Chev


That one on the right is unusual, I can't recall having seen a Caddy with the trunk covered with what seems to be belt straps



an interesting analysis of why decent seeming cars end up in junkyards

abandoned, results in no title or keys
250k miles, so no useful life left
since it's so high miles, other similar cars are move valuable, 
few people want OEM parts from a junkyard car, most buy the cheapest parts available online

Under Florida law, vehicle owners must surrender the title of any car, truck, or SUV deemed a total loss within 72 hours.

"If you're dealing with an older car that's been in a minor crash, try to get an independent adjuster or auto body shop to assess the damage," said Michael Delong of the Consumer Federation of America. "Insurance companies often direct customers to their own preferred shops, which may be biased. Don't just take the insurance company's word for it."

Why is this an issue?

"A State Farm representative said that they sent our Lexus to the body shop and that the body mechanic himself was the one who determined it was a total loss. (Later) A State Farm supervisor confirmed that the agent who told us that was the party who determined it was a total loss."

The agent informed the couple that the repairs would exceed the car's value, estimating costs at over $12,000

Three months after the crash, State Farm finally agreed to an independent inspection, Haddon said. The new estimate came in at under $7,000.

So, State Farm lied. Imagine that, a for profit insurance company has employees that lie

the city of Chicago systematically overcharged residents for city stickers and other parking violations for more than a decade.

This class action lawsuit involves more than 1 million tickets issued between 2012 and 2022, most of which involved city stickers.

The lawsuit stems from an Illinois law that prohibits the city from assessing more than $250 in fines and penalties for standing, parking or compliance violations. According to the suit, the city assessed as much as $400 for city sticker violations.

"The problem with the city of Chicago is... it can't help itself when it comes to ticketing revenue," said 
the plaintiffs' attorney, Jacie Zolna.

Zolna says it has been an eight-year battle in court, and at no point did the city of Chicago try to settle or compromise on this lawsuit.

Zolna pointed to a November 2022 City Council Finance Committee meeting when a city attorney appears to admit that its ticketing practices were found to be in violation of the state imposed $250 limit.

"It would be illegal for us to fine... to issue these fines under the court's ruling. So, if we did issue them, we would expose ourselves to litigation," said City Attorney Mark Siegel.

The city of Chicago's Law Department says it's evaluating all legal options, including an appeal. However, as attorneys for the plaintiffs point out, an appeal would just go up to the appellate court that ruled against the city three years ago.

I admire this effort to help just ONE employee ( he must be amazing!) A US-based tech firm stepped up to help one of its employees of 3 years, leave the Mexico safely.

Cloud platform company Vercel arranged seats on every available flight headed to the United States from Guadalajara in a bid to ensure their employee and his wife could get out of Mexico pronto.

The Chaos in Mexico on Sunday forced flight cancellations, with flights called off at several of the country's busiest airports

Meanwhile,  San Francisco-based Vercel's leadership team in the United States mobilized, determined to secure a safe exit, they purchased tickets on all US-bound flights from the airport, hoping at least one aircraft would manage to depart.

Their strategy ultimately succeeded. Barba and his wife were able to board one of the flights that took off and later arrived safely in Dallas, Texas. 

I bet there would be some great cars, trains, and airplanes illustrated in this, with Alley Oop on adventures in 1939-41


But the people selling these on Ebay and Amazon want bonkers money for them. 

Maybe someday I'll find a library that's really well stocked, and enjoy them then. I seriously doubt I'll ever pay 150 to 250 for a book I only want to ever read one time. That's way outside my financial ability

Stuart Ng in Los Angeles has what seem to be the best prices, and they are at 125.  https://stuartngbooks.com/products/alley-oop-the-complete-sundays-volume-1-1934-1936

interesting update on the nationwide Big Boy tour, the Union Pacific Museum will be AUCTIONING OFF two CAB RIDES in the locomotive on April 17 in Utah, with proceeds going to the nonprofit museum. The auction starts Monday, March 2, and ends Thursday, March 19.


the Big Boy will leave its home base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on March 29, traveling across Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California

Four public display days are planned for this mighty steam locomotive during the western leg of the tour, with two days each in Roseville, California, April 10-11 and Ogden, Utah, April 18-19.

In addition to the public display days, rail fans can see this historic machine in action at whistle-stops in communities along its journey. Whistle-stops are generally 15- to 30-minutes long.

Details of the eastern leg of the coast-to-coast tour – including whistle-stops and public display days - will be released at a later date.

Dan Blocker, who played Hoss on Bonanza, was the 1st tv star to be hired by a car dealership, to help sell cars. Nickey


 The source for this bit of trivia, is the MCACN magazine, and I guess they meant that it wasn't a celeb hired by the manufacturer, as so many radio and early tv stars were part of the advertising of cars in magazines, newspapers, and commercials.

Maybe he was the 1st tv star that was hired by a dealership, and not the manufacturer. 

But what's the real interesting point, is that he was hired by Nickey

Ever heard of Sign Post Forest near Yukon?


The Sign Post Forest is Watson Lake’s most famous attraction. Travelers from around the world have been bringing signposts from their hometowns to the Sign Post Forest since 1942 and continue to do so today.

The tradition began during the Alaska Highway Project in 1942, when U.S. soldier Carl K. Lindley spent time in Watson Lake recovering from an injury. A commanding officer asked him to repair and erect the directional signposts, and while completing the job, he added a sign that indicated the direction and mileage to his hometown of Danville, Illinois. Others followed suit, and the trend caught on.

this is really impressive up close and in person...


 


First time I've come across a GTR in a residential, and it's a Hennessey? Damn, there are some RICH people in San Diego