Camino Ruiz, I believe is known as the Kings highway
Gold Coast
Mayor, Lady Bess
Royal Arms
Empress
Baroness
Embassy
Ambassador
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
did you know vehicles radiators can be coated with an ozone reducing catalytic coating? Manganese oxide, a catalyst, not consumed during the conversion of ozone; therefore the catalyst’s lifetime is extensive, usually several years.
as it drives along, it reduces ozone, a component of smog, capturing about 75 percent of ground-level ozone and converts it to ordinary oxygen
The New York Times had an article on it in 2000
in the 1990s, Volvo worked with New Jersey-based catalyst company Engelhard to use the radiator as a sort of "filter" for smog-producing, ground-level ozone that passed through it in a system called PremAir.
Ford tested the smog-eating radiator concept in 1995 and was, for a time, enthusiastic about the prospects for PremAir. Engelhard said Ford found no technological or cost problems with the technology.
The problem was volume.
Ford said that not enough air passes through a radiator to make much of a difference in fighting air pollution.
the coating Ford rejected cleaned up not just ozone but also carbon monoxide (presumably turning it into carbon dioxide), and thus included precious metals like platinum that would have added between $500 and $1,000 to the cost of each vehicle.
Volvo's PremAir coating, the representative went on, only added about $50 per car because it focused solely on ozone reduction, and required just a cheaper "base-metal catalyst."
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/classic/msprog/nvepb/macs/_MACs/mac9906/att.pdf#:~:text=While%20this%20MAC%20is%20drafted,manufacturer%20seeking%20to%20certify%20other
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/14/automobiles/autos-on-friday-technology-carmakers-to-put-smog-eating-radiator-in-some-models.html
https://www.jalopnik.com/how-volvo-once-used-a-catalyst-coated-radiator-to-remov-1831438959/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/14/automobiles/autos-on-friday-technology-carmakers-to-put-smog-eating-radiator-in-some-models.html
What is ozone?
All the science stuff about ozone? https://wcponline.com/2001/03/15/catalytic-destruction-ozone-cost-effective-approach-controlling-off-gas-ozone-emissions/
72 Datsun spotted on the walk today
How important is it to look for the gas station that isn't price gouging you? This one is 1.50 more a gallon than others within a mile.
this reminds me of that gas station on Coronado in the bay, that I posted in the summer of 2024 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2024/09/it-wont-surprise-anyone-that-gas-prices.html
.jpg)
Wow, original design art from Fleetwood (thank you Doug! )
The aristocratic-sounding Fleetwood, which came to epitomize fine automotive design throughout the world, had humble beginnings not in some lordly English village, but rather a small town between Kutztown and Reading where autos were custom-built for the likes of Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, the Emperor of Japan, Italian noblemen and an Indian Prince.
Cadillac stopped manufacturing its largest flagship model bearing the proud Fleetwood nameplate after the 1996 model year
So, this happened about 830 this morning...
A police pursuit on Interstate 15 northbound resulted in a standoff Tuesday morning as officers worked to resolve an incident involving a stolen trailer, according to the San Diego Police Department. The suspect is now in custody.
Officers responded at approximately 8:30 a.m. to a report that a female suspect was attempting to steal a trailer in Clairemont Mesa, police said. The suspect then fled the area with the trailer attached to her SUV. When officers located the vehicle and attempted to stop it, the suspect led police on a pursuit onto Interstate 15 northbound.
Officers blocked the vehicle and attempted to talk to the driver but she did not respond. After an hour of negotiations, pepper balls were shot into the vehicle according the SPDD. The driver pushed the police cars out of the way and was able to exit at Miramar Way. After traveling southbound on I-15, the driver did a U-turn and started driving the wrong way along the freeway, prompting the officers to stop the pursuit temporarily due to collision concerns.
The woman then got out of the damaged vehicle with a dog and appeared to try to force her way into several other vehicles before officers subdued her with a stun gun and took her into custody, SDPD said.
the Jeep Wrangler is the most stolen vehicle in San Diego
Honda Civics were just behind as the second most stolen with 190
followed by the Toyota Tacoma with 151
Monday, February 09, 2026
One Oakland police officer made $490,000 in overtime. The city can’t find records detailing much of what he did
In Dolan’s case, he earned at least $100,000 in overtime — and possibly far more — solely by reviewing paperwork for traffic collisions, records reveal.
The paperwork for Dolan’s overtime also reveals that OPD failed to document almost half of the overtime hours he worked, making it impossible to determine what he was doing much of the time.
Dolan spent over 800 hours of overtime in 2024 reviewing collision reports — the equivalent of about five months of work in a normal full-time job.
In 2024, Dolan logged an eye-popping amount of overtime — 3,304 hours, records reveal. This was on top of the 1,938 hours he worked as part of his normal shifts, for a total of 5,242 hours. That’s the equivalent of more than two and a half full-time jobs.
Some work stretches were seemingly superhuman, according to the records OPD provided us.
On July 9, Dolan reported he worked 23 hours. The next day, he worked 16 hours, and for the following three days, he worked 15 hours each.
Dolan’s overtime records raise concerns about how he, or any officer, can safely and effectively do their job without taking time to rest; he didn’t respond to questions about that.
“Truck drivers are only allowed to drive so many hours in a day for safety reasons,” said Julian Ware, vice president for IFPTE Local 21, a union that represents civilian city employees and which has been critical of OPD’s use of overtime. “I don’t think it should be any different for sworn officers who are carrying guns, tasers, and pepper spray, and driving vehicles. It’s a tremendous amount of responsibility that they have.”
“There’s so much research and data just in general about sleep deprivation and safety,” said Brooks. “It also impacts your irritability, your mood, mood swings.… How are you treating Oaklanders that you come in contact with? There’s no way that you’re having capable or competent judgment.”
according to his Overtime Worked Forms, he worked at least 19 days in a row — and Dolan worked 15 hours or more on all but two of these days. The department didn’t respond to questions about whether Dolan was authorized to do this.
Dolan spent over 800 hours of overtime in 2024 reviewing collision reports — the equivalent of about five months of work in a normal full-time job.
In 2024, Dolan logged an eye-popping amount of overtime — 3,304 hours, records reveal. This was on top of the 1,938 hours he worked as part of his normal shifts, for a total of 5,242 hours. That’s the equivalent of more than two and a half full-time jobs.
Some work stretches were seemingly superhuman, according to the records OPD provided us.
On July 9, Dolan reported he worked 23 hours. The next day, he worked 16 hours, and for the following three days, he worked 15 hours each.
Dolan’s overtime records raise concerns about how he, or any officer, can safely and effectively do their job without taking time to rest; he didn’t respond to questions about that.
“Truck drivers are only allowed to drive so many hours in a day for safety reasons,” said Julian Ware, vice president for IFPTE Local 21, a union that represents civilian city employees and which has been critical of OPD’s use of overtime. “I don’t think it should be any different for sworn officers who are carrying guns, tasers, and pepper spray, and driving vehicles. It’s a tremendous amount of responsibility that they have.”
“There’s so much research and data just in general about sleep deprivation and safety,” said Brooks. “It also impacts your irritability, your mood, mood swings.… How are you treating Oaklanders that you come in contact with? There’s no way that you’re having capable or competent judgment.”
according to his Overtime Worked Forms, he worked at least 19 days in a row — and Dolan worked 15 hours or more on all but two of these days. The department didn’t respond to questions about whether Dolan was authorized to do this.
For five years now, Oakland has struggled with immense budget deficits.
One major source of overspending in the city is the police department. By far the most expensive city service, the Oakland Police Department’s $386 million budget this year is about 19% of Oakland’s total spending. And each year, OPD has come under scrutiny for its runaway overtime spending, routinely blowing past its approved levels by millions of dollars. Last fiscal year, the Department spent over $55 million on overtime. Thirty-one million of this was over budget.
But historical data throws into question whether increasing staffing will rectify OPD’s chronic overtime overspending. A recent report by several civilian city unions found that over the past 15 years, even when department staffing increased, overtime continued to go up. From 2011 to 2024, staffing increased by nearly 9%. Over the same period, overtime went up by almost 200%.
Recent financial pressures have caused the city to lay off scores of civilian employees and freeze spending across a range of programs. Meanwhile, the number of police officers bringing in six-figure overtime packages rose dramatically.
In 2021, 58 officers were paid over $100,000 in overtime. By the end of 2024, the number of officers paid this much for overtime nearly tripled to 169.
And the number of officers making over $200,000 in overtime more than quadrupled from six to a total of 27 over the same period.
https://oaklandside.org/2026/01/29/oakland-police-overtime
One major source of overspending in the city is the police department. By far the most expensive city service, the Oakland Police Department’s $386 million budget this year is about 19% of Oakland’s total spending. And each year, OPD has come under scrutiny for its runaway overtime spending, routinely blowing past its approved levels by millions of dollars. Last fiscal year, the Department spent over $55 million on overtime. Thirty-one million of this was over budget.
But historical data throws into question whether increasing staffing will rectify OPD’s chronic overtime overspending. A recent report by several civilian city unions found that over the past 15 years, even when department staffing increased, overtime continued to go up. From 2011 to 2024, staffing increased by nearly 9%. Over the same period, overtime went up by almost 200%.
Recent financial pressures have caused the city to lay off scores of civilian employees and freeze spending across a range of programs. Meanwhile, the number of police officers bringing in six-figure overtime packages rose dramatically.
In 2021, 58 officers were paid over $100,000 in overtime. By the end of 2024, the number of officers paid this much for overtime nearly tripled to 169.
And the number of officers making over $200,000 in overtime more than quadrupled from six to a total of 27 over the same period.
https://oaklandside.org/2026/01/29/oakland-police-overtime
Mexico is racing to finish the new trade route "the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec" across its narrow southern waist, linking the Pacific with the Gulf of Mexico along a 303 kilometer railway backed by upgraded ports and industrial parks.
Containers leave a ship on one coast, cross the country by train, then board another ship on the other side. With drought and heat already slowing the Panama Canal, a land bridge that sidesteps queues and extra fees looks tempting for shipping companies and for anyone tired of delayed deliveries.
Here's a strange, but car related news item, A man named Allen Rex Roberts was charged with possession of a stolen car in August 2021. Now, the severe shortage of public defenders has resulted in 1400 cases getting dismissed
The charges were dismissed in October 2022 because of the state’s failure to appoint him a lawyer, but in April 2024, prosecutors re-indicted Roberts on the same charges. For the next year, Roberts repeatedly returned to court for hearings where he was supposed to be appointed counsel, but each time no attorney was available. Eventually, his case was again dismissed due to a lack of attorneys.
The case highlights the situation that resulted in the Oregon supreme court ruling that a large number of criminal cases across the state must be dismissed due to a severe shortage of public defenders, a major decision that attorneys say will impact more than 1,400 pending cases.
The problem has been years in the making and has become a significant constitutional crisis, as people charged with crimes are routinely unable to fight their cases as they wait weeks, months or sometimes years for the state to appoint them lawyers.
The attorney shortage is a systemic and statewide problem in Oregon, and the causes are complex, with criminal defense lawyers noting the state has long underfunded public defense, leaving few public defenders overwhelmed with massive caseloads. A backlog of cases during the pandemic and increasing time required to review materials like body-camera footage and digital evidence has further strained the system, advocates say.
Nadia Dahab, a Portland-based attorney who argued the Roberts case, said she hoped the ruling would force the state to pursue a “solution that recognizes the importance of access to counsel for people charged with a crime and allocates the resources necessary to make sure the public defense system adequately protects them”.
“Roberts,” she added, “is one of thousands, and the harms he suffered through the arrest warrant when the state recharged him and through the impact of having to take off work to go to court every month – those are very exemplary of what lots of others are facing.”
Oregon’s department of justice had argued against blanket dismissals in the Roberts case.
For years, truck drivers and farmers have complained about newer diesel engines that require DEF systems. In addition to sudden shutdowns, drivers have reported reduced engine lifespan and performance.
Last August, the EPA announced new guidance for engine and truck manufacturers. The agency urged them to update the DEF system software on current vehicles.to prevent sudden shutdowns.
That guidance applies only to model year 2026 and older trucks. DEF systems for model year 2027 and newer trucks are regulated under a separate heavy-duty NOx rule passed in 2022.
EPA is demanding that info from the top 14 manufacturers that account for more than 80% of all products used in DEF systems. Manufacturers have 30 days to comply.
What does the EPA plan on doing with information? Simply put, the agency is setting the stage to withdraw the 2022 heavy-duty engine and vehicle NOx rule. While that may not get rid of DEF, it could eliminate derating requirements “permanently” and “entirely,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.
A California jury has awarded roughly $52 million to a group of truck drivers and yard workers who were retaliated against after raising safety, wage and regulatory concerns at Sysco
The jury found that Sysco violated California Labor Code Section 1102.5, the state’s whistleblower protection statute, which prohibits retaliation against employees who report or oppose illegal activity — even when complaints are made internally.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has closed 7,500 commercial driver training schools in a first year of enforcing federal laws governing trucking to increase road safety.
Three top trucking-related accomplishments made his total list of accomplishments:
Removing more than 11,500 drivers who failed to meet English-language proficiency standards.
Shutting down 7,500 CDL training schools that failed to meet readiness standards — up from 3,000 school providers removed by December from a federal Training Provider Registry.
how is it California fails to regulate most of the schools that train truck drivers? This allows nearly 200 unlicensed schools to operate with effectively no oversight, according to a CalMatters analysis of state and federal records.
Both the federal government and the state of California have systems for regulating trucking schools, making sure that they adhere to the curriculum, that the tuition costs are fair and that students are ultimately prepared to get behind the wheel of a truck.
But in California there is a loophole: Private trucking schools that charge students $2,500 or less don’t need state licenses, effectively exempting them from oversight.
When the state has tried to discipline schools, some reduced their tuition to $2,500 or less, at which point they no longer needed to heed the state’s orders. Other schools just disregarded the state’s orders altogether, the analysis shows.
But in California there is a loophole: Private trucking schools that charge students $2,500 or less don’t need state licenses, effectively exempting them from oversight.
When the state has tried to discipline schools, some reduced their tuition to $2,500 or less, at which point they no longer needed to heed the state’s orders. Other schools just disregarded the state’s orders altogether, the analysis shows.
Whoa, Nick made a seriously thorough collection of gas station maps!
Just one example, and the top half is the front, and the bottom half the back
another example. Each map shows what that oil company made for that year, and the collection is for other map owners to be able to have one site to look at with a nearly complete collection so they can date their maps accurately
"a photo map dating website for Oil Company Road Maps, so map collectors and sellers can date their maps as easily and accurately as possible. Also, new and experienced collectors will be able to see what is out there to collect"
Sunday, February 08, 2026
C.L. "Outdoor" Franklin standing beside the Richfield Scout Car, with some interesting luggage under his elbow, 1930. (thank you 49er Badger!)
https://forums.aaca.org/topic/341211-period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress/page/694/
I've never heard of Outdoor Franklin, but, looking for info on him resulted in learning that he was working for Richfield in publicity and promotions
"Outdoor" Franklin was born on March 30, 1877, in LeMars, Iowa. While a young boy he traveled from Iowa with his parents to Everett, Washington.
During the long trip by stagecoach, the party fought for their lives during an Indian attack.
Franklin grew up, got married, and started a family in Washington. Following his wife's passing, he moved to southern California.
In the years to come he would travel, write, and test equipment for Richfield Oil Co., Howard Buick Co., Western Auto, and the Automobile Club of Southern California.
A still tangible example of his work are the beautiful pamphlets on wildflowers handed out by Richfield stations.
Franklin was the first to drive the Tioga Pass Road each spring into Yosemite National Park. The highlight of his "drives" is probably one made to the tip of Baja, California. He was the first to ever drive this route, felt at the time to be impassable.
He authored a book too, Wild Flowers of Northern California, Oregon and Washington,
it's kinda weird to see a but pulling a wagon trailer... not a luggage type, it looks like a garbage type
"BAKERIZED Ford SERVICE is the maximum in automobile value"
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)