How often have the Presidents of countries met with business execs to learn about the problems of international businesses? I'm not sure, but, it happened today, and POTUS was pissed to learn how lopsided tariffs are. Harley Davidsons might just get cheaper overseas in the near future if the pres hammers out some international tariff reform

I'm surprised to hear in the speech to congress today that other countries double the cost of HDs for no reason other than to get their citizens to buy fewer of them, and more of the native bikes that need extreme helping measures to sell in their own countries.

“We want to make it easier for business to create more jobs and more factories to be made in the U.S. and you’re a great example of that,” Trump told the executives.

Trump is seeking to uphold campaign promises to return lost manufacturing jobs to the U.S. The president has met with the CEOs of the traditional domestic automakers as well as the heads of Dow Chemical Co., Whirlpool Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and U.S. Steel Corp. all in his first two weeks in office, indicating he’ll take a hands-on role in U.S. corporate decision-making, especially if it’ll lead to job creation for middle-class Americans.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-02/trump-welcomes-harley-davidson-ceo-in-latest-white-house-session

Believe it or not, as I find it really odd, but the threat of extensive protests made it unlikely that a visit to the HD factory could be anything productive and it was found to be far cheaper and more effective to have the HD executives fly to Washington DC and meet the pres at the White House and bring some Harleys.

http://www.wisn.com/article/harley-davidson-executives-to-travel-to-dc-meet-with-president-trump/8663879
https://qz.com/921722/the-country-trump-mentioned-with-a-100-tariff-on-harley-davidson-motorcycles-india/

During his speech the president mentioned that the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company faces a 100% tariff in in at least one country.

Fact check: True. The tariff, applied by India on motorcycles with engines larger than 800cc, is a full 100%, according to the International Trade Centre. Other notable countries with high tariffs on large motorcycles are Thailand, China, and Malaysia.

The US’s tariff on large motorcycles from India is 0% and can range up to 10% for other countries.

Clearly, that isn't good for business to be an importer of inexpensive items, and exporting the same type item at double the cost. How pharmaceuticals get cheaper when exported from the USA is a complete mystery, but it's true.


President Trump used Harley-Davidson motorcycles as a metaphor for the obstacles faced by American companies on the global market.

“I just met with officials and workers from a great American company, Harley-Davidson. In fact, they proudly displayed five of their magnificent motorcycles, made in the USA, on the front lawn of the White House,” Trump said, and he related what he said the company’s executives had told him about global tax rates.

“At our meeting, I asked them, how are you doing, how is business? They said that it's good,” he continued. “I asked them further how they are doing with other countries, mainly international sales. They told me – without even complaining because they have been mistreated for so long that they have become used to it – that it is very hard to do business with other countries because they tax our goods at such a high rate. They said that in one case another country taxed their motorcycles at 100 percent.”

“They weren't even asking for change. But I am.”

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-harley-davidson-joint-session

Thanks Doug! A Steve McQueen photo I haven't seen before!

and these drawings were true masterpieces... they were done without computers, xrays, or modern tech of any kind.

http://scootermcrad.blogspot.ca/2016/07/friday-cutaways.html

Cool gas tanks

A cardiologists bike.

Mario has a Tanks For Tuesday bonanza every week. He posts about a dozen cool tanks a week
https://www.facebook.com/bigislandchopper/posts/1663754020318272

most realistic rc truck I've seen, it even breaks like a Chevy!

http://goldengeesenews.blogspot.com/2017/01/realistic.html

the Detroit Mower Gang... (since 2012) picking up where Detroit fell down on the job, it closed 74 parks... which, really, only means they stopped mowing them. So this cool group does a Motown Mowdown

No grass too tall, no park too small!

Every other Wednesday in the srping summer and fall, The Mower Gang gets together to mow the abandoned playgrounds of Detroit. They are a crafty crew that refuses to let small budgets and bureaucracy stand in the way of a great playground. Sears donated $20,000 in mowers!



And Every May they throw down a Motown Mowdown.  https://www.facebook.com/events/1182948361813409/

It's The Detroit Mower Gang's largest volunteer event. They mow and clean parks for 12 hours straight. It is a marathon of mowing. Each year they prepare a bunch of parks and playgrounds for the upcoming holiday weekend. It's a great event, and a ton of work.

https://www.facebook.com/MowerGang/
https://club.craftsman.com/events/when-it-matters

They even made a 2nd life for the Detroit Dorais velodrome!

http://www.mowergang.com/index.html

Parisian delivery tricycle, 1912

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208825734100867&set=a.1617402035143.2077580.1239146710&type=3

old Dutch tandem delivery bike, wow, that sure did have a big load of stuff

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208825688219720&set=a.1617402035143.2077580.1239146710&type=3

the taco truck El Tajin, opened for lunch while stuck in Seattle’s big I-5 closure, due to an accident blocking all lanes yesterday Monday, Feb. 27, 2017

The taco-truck owner, Thomas Lopez, said that the truck and his three employees were headed to South Lake Union to serve lunch before the tanker crashed.

The tanker truck rolled over on the freeway, around 10 am, and caused a 8 hour traffic stop, The crash closed the freeway in both directions between Interstate 90 and the West Seattle bridge for about eight hours, causing traffic congestion to spill over to surrounding streets, creating massive gridlock.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/semi-rollover-on-i-5-near-west-seattle-bridge-blocking-lanes/
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/taco-truck-stuck-in-seattles-big-i-5-closure-opens-for-lunch-anyway
top photo by Rachel McQuade

Virgin Galactic, a pioneer of private corporate efforts to replace the space shuttle program

skip the 1st minute

It had a huge setback in 2014 when it's spacecraft crashed into the desert, but they are back to testing and making press releases about space tourism

On Friday, Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft successfully completed another flight test over California’s Mojave Desert.

The company’s space craft, called Unity, was carried up to about 50,000 feet by the mothership - Eve, the dual-fuselage, four-engine aircraft that piggybacks the spacecraft for a mid-air launch.



This flight was Eve’s 226th flight, so it seems safe to say that the craft has proven itself. The other half of Virgin Galactic’s human spaceflight system, still has some way to go in this respect, though.

But after the fatal crash of Virgin’s first SpaceShipTwo in 2014, this successful test suggests that things may be back on track for Virgin Galactic.

Founded by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic aims to build a fleet of SpaceShipTwo vehicles to fly paying passengers on round trips to suborbital space. The spacecraft is designed to launch six passengers and two pilots 62 miles above the planet, where they will experience several minutes of weightlessness and witness views of Earth from space. Tickets for the flight cost $250,000.

I find the lack of  pretentiousness amusing, the place they fly from is just named Space Port, and the manufacturing of the craft is named The Spaceship Company



https://www.inverse.com/article/28324-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-glide-flight-test
http://www.space.com/35834-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-unity-3rd-glide-test.html
http://thespaceshipcompany.com/

Boom Supersonic, setting out to build and test planes to succeed at less than ridiculous prices for mach 2 flights across oceans (most countries have banned supersonic commercial airline traffic overland)

Virgin has also signed an option to buy 10 of the planes to hopefully reintroduce 3.5-hour passenger flights between London and New York 13 years after Concorde was decommissioned.

The Spaceship Company will provide engineering, design and manufacturing services, flight tests and operations and Virgin have an option on the first 10 airframes.

Virgin is partnering with a pilot and former Amazon executive, who is building a prototype of the new jet, called Boom, in an aircraft hanger in Colorado. While several other companies, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are developing new supersonic jets Scholl said his plan is likely to beat them to market as it does not require any new technology that would need approval by regulators. It's all currently on the shelf parts.

“We are talking about the first supersonic jet people can afford to fly,” Scholl, the founder and chief executive of Boom, said. “You will be able to fly New York to London in three-and-a-half hours for $5,000 return, [which is roughly] the same as [the cost] of business class.”

“There is a huge market out there, more than 20 million a year fly business class internationally. We can take them to Mach 2.2 (1,451mph, and faster than Concorde which flew at a top speed of Mach 2.04) and save them half their journey time.”

Scholl reckons there is so much demand for faster international travel that affordable supersonic flights could become a $100bn market. He said his plane will concentrate initially on London to New York, San Francisco to Tokyo, and Los Angeles to Sydney.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/mar/23/boom-supersonic-jet-travel-affordable-business-class
http://boomsupersonic.com/
http://thespaceshipcompany.com/supersonic-travel-and-the-spaceship-company/

But is this missing the obvious? We can video chat across the world with our cell phones. We no longer have to be in the same room to see and hear other people

An idea has been brought up by Bruce and Mike, so I open the discussion and call for a vote.

a tip cup.

A way to donate if you feel generous, and want to send a few bucks in my direction

I've been reluctant to put something like this on the blog, as it's been a place you can come and see nothing but entertainment and informative car stuff.

What would I do with the tips? Well, my R/T just found the limit of life on the back tires and there are some other much needed repairs I've been putting off for a long time, like the headers (rusted out) and a leaky brake slave cylinder. You know, things you put up with until you win the lotto

So send in your votes, let me know in the comments or email jbohjkl@yahoo.com if this would be okay, or really out of place. 

February banners