Saturday, November 17, 2018

Good lyrics to a country song, Young To See, by Charlie Worsham

Friday night, what the hell, let's go
And just like that we were on a roll
Three best friends and a radio, that was all we'd need
We put a thousand miles on an old red jeep
Just to watch the sun rise on the beach
It's just one of those things you gotta be young to see

unfortunately there is no music video... that would do this song a lot of good considering the cool nature of the song lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6-SIdYD3_c
found on the tv show Bones http://www.soundslikenashville.com/news/charlie-worsham-appear-foxs-bones/

Fabreeze has a clever funny bumper sticker on thier booth prop


Auto Sno Brum with telescoping handle... that stows away pretty small and easily fits in a vehicle, and has an ice scraper on the other end





https://www.snobrumusa.com/  but shop for best price, it looks to be a lot cheaper at Home Depot than direct from the manufacturer
http://angelguardproducts.com

A couple of big drops





air freshners shaped like t-shirts, advertised on a t-shirt shaped board

how to tell you are luckier than hell, and ought to get a lotto ticket on the way home

a cow INSIDE the truck? that is going to make stains and smells that won't go away soon

turn down your volume before pressing play



I can't easily find the original of this clip, but they certainly found a unique location and road for the car to create the ripple across the lake

the place I found it had no picture in picture, and no music http://darkdraggon.tumblr.com/post/180070141755 

Coffee and donuts video of the day, if right now it's too late for that, save it and watch it tomorrow

Friday, November 16, 2018

How many major (not boutique) American tire companies have there been, in the USA, and are any still in business but not merged or owned by an overseas corporation? Did they all die off or sell out?


Fisk - killed by the depression, bought by US Rubber - Uniroyal, which was bought up by Michelin around 1990

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisk_Tire_Company

Kelly Springfield was started in 1884, sold in 1935 to Goodyear, which dissolved the entity of Kelly Springfield around 1990.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Springfield_Tire_Company

Lee Tire and Rubber lasted from 1909 to 1987, bought by Kelly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Tire_and_Rubber_Company

Firestone opened for business in 1900, sold out to Bridgestone in 1988. Fyi, they made helmet liners in WW2, and surface to surface missiles in the early 50s. Firestone bought Dayton Tires in 1961, Dayton Tire division from the Dayco Corporation. Dayco later sued both Firestone and Goodyear, alleging that the two companies conspired to monopolize the tire industry in the United States.

in 1979 Firestone was on the precipice of complete collapse having not acknowledged the good days were over, and that making radials on the machines used to make bias ply was the cause of 9 million bad tires, and the 70s were killing them. In 1974 they shut down the racing tire department to cut the 8 million dollars annual loss to 500,000. Phoenix drag slicks were Firestones competition to Goodyear slicks

In late 1979, Firestone brought in the ex-head of Zenith Electronics to save the hemorrhaging company from total collapse. It was more than a billion dollars in debt at the time, and losing $250 million a year. Things that were a waste of money, like the Firestone Country Club, were cut.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_Tire_and_Rubber_Company

General Tire expanded and diversified into cold war era military subcontracting, until it was forced to sell what by now was no longer their core functions, and sold the tire division to German tire manufacturer Continental

https://www.generaltire-tyres.com/car/news/2015-02-18-100-years

BF Goodrich was a subsidy of Goodrich, and was sold to Michelin in 1990. BFGoodrich was the first American tire manufacturer to make radial tires. It made tires for the Winton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFGoodrich

Goodyear was founded in 1898, and in 1999 Goodyear announced a $1-billion global alliance with Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which has rights to the Dunlop tire brand.

https://corporate.goodyear.com/en-US/about/history.html

Cooper tires was formed around 1920, grew constantly and bought Avon in 1997, then Mickey Thompson in 2003, and bought into a partnership with Mexican tire manufacturer Corporación de Occidente SA de CV to get a part of the market in Mexico

Cooper owns Avon, Dean, Eldorado, Mastercraft, Mentor Starfire, Definity, Roadmaster, Mickey Thompson, Dick Cepek, Chengshan, Austone, Fortune, Hercules and Ironman.

http://coopertire.com/About/History.aspx

Kokomo tires was mostly bikes and motorcycles, however, they may also have made the 1st pneumatic tire... anyway, they were in business from 1895 until the great depression

https://bikersinc.org/articles/KokomoRubberCompany
http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/local_news/city-of-innovation-inventing-the-pneumatic-tire/article_18e3c165-15e1-5a1a-bd11-9f27ff3d27bf.html

Hoosier tires was nearly the last independent tie maker and if I'd made this post two years ago, they would have been the last big American tire maker... but they sold out to Continental for 140 million 2 years ago. 4 years after the founder died, his wife sold the company, she died 2 years later.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosier_Racing_Tire

If you're thinking, what about Coker? Yeah, that was just sold yesterday to it's president and CEO, Wade Kawasaki, and his investment bank partner... so, I don't think it qualifies as being an independent company anymore. Corky and his family are keeping Honest Charlie Speed Shop, for now, I expect that will only be around as long as Corky is.

https://www.moderntiredealer.com/news/732092/the-coker-group-has-new-owners

Bandag, famous because of a racing semi truck, was started by converting a sauerkraut factory to recapping tires... and sold out to Bridgestone in 2007

https://www.bandag.com/en-us/bandag-60-years

So, the only major tire company that I can think of that remains American, non multinaitonal corporation, is M and H.

M and H racing slicks were the first of the modern racing slicks, though they probably sold more dirt track tires. Harry Rifchin started the company, and were the real competition that Firestone and Goodyear had to beat on the drags strip. When the son, Marvin Rifchin decided to sell, he went to a light truck offroad tire company, Interco Tire Corp about 150 miles from New Orleans

https://www.intercotire.com/mh_legend




seems to have everything there ever was to know about making tires in 1922, and you can read it online if you're looking to cure insomnia, at https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7aI7AAAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=related:q7VG6O-sIsIJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=MKGCNRFmSo&sig=OtK6kvhxGok1_C7Ki2PQSCqR09E#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-history-review/article/structural-change-and-competition-in-the-united-states-tire-industry-19201937/9F72A61A22FF742E5CD16FE906F2F639

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tire_companies


http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/126382/11/VOLUME02-%280361-0390%29-Chapter04.pdf

Vogue tires... a small company that did something the biggest car companies never did... invented the white wall!

Harry Hower, a chauffeur in the Chicago area in the early 1900s, got into the tire business and proposed an idea about the whitewall to the Woodbury family. By 1918, the Woodbury’s and Harry were in business and the Vogue Tyre Company was born. Over the decades, celebrities and notable people have used Vogue Tyre products on their vehicles with Vogue whitewall tires.

In 1928, Mr. Lloyd Dodson contracted with Vogue Tyre owners Harry Hower and Margaret Woodbury to begin selling their distinctive whitewall tires. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, he turned to the local entertainment industry to sell upscale tires to the movie stars. In 1942, he bought Vogue Tyre and remained its chairman until his death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_Tyre

the Great American streetcar scandal

In 1950, Firestone along with General Motors and Standard Oil, were found guilty, charged and convicted, of criminal conspiracy for purchasing streetcar systems throughout the United States and dismantling and replacing them with buses.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_Tire_and_Rubber_Company

They got a pilot nicknamed Psycho, flying one of those water bombers

1971 Beetle with no rust, that has to sell this weekend and get out of this guys garage... he's making it impossible not to buy it, for only 2500 dollars


I'd crawl a mile on my hands and knees to hand over the money, then never have car payments again


https://www.facebook.com/scruffy50chevy/posts/10157135075046435

And just how are out of staters supposed to learn these stupid laws when driving cross country? When driving home for the holidays?


The law signed Thursday by the governor of Michigan takes effect in mid-February. Michigan drivers will be required to slow down when passing an emergency, maintenance or utility vehicle that is on the side of the road.

It mandates that motorists slow by 10 mph below the posted speed limit and, if possible, move over a lane when passing a police or emergency vehicle on the side of the road and replaces a current requirement that drivers proceed with caution and move over when passing such vehicles.

Just how many local laws are made to generate revenue from out of staters, or international tourists, that are passing through, and won't be around when it would be possible to be in court to fight nuisance tickets

https://www.abc12.com/content/news/New-law-Michigan-drivers-must-slow-by-10-mph-to-pass-emergency-vehicles-500622982.html

Nice piece of bike art!


motorcycles, zinging in the rain



http://darkdraggon.tumblr.com/

Tony found it this is the the Armoy (The Dunlop family's home village) road races in Northern Ireland





 https://amrrc.com   Thanks Tony!

Funny car forensics

The Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals starts tomorrow, and I hope some of you attend, and get great photos of the Mopar Prototypes!



There will be an online streaming Saturday Night November 17, at 8:00 PM Central for V8TV's  broadcast from the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals!

Featuring interviews and cars from the show in an informal, after hours setting.

Click
 http://v8tvshow.com/V8TV_2/index.php/en/events/muscle-car-and-corvette-nationals-videos/1017-v8tv-mcacn-after-hours-live-guest-application-form

to watch the YouTube stream or catch it live on Facebook, V8TV, MCACN, Mecum, and more will be sharing the video.

Bruce Crower, still in business, 70 years after opening a small auto repair garage in Phoenix in 1948

Thanks for the inspiration Irv! This planet won't be the same without you out there somewhere, on the road, heading towards 4 million miles on your Volvo


Irv has went on to his great restful reward, his time on this world was spent enjoying the drive

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/irv-gordon-who-drove-his-1966-volvo-over-3-million-miles-dead-at-78

Thanks for the news tip Gary!

how to make a cool garage wall... outboards, from floor to ceiling

Convair B-36 and Northrop YB-49 over the White House in 1949.

bonus extra cool factor for being in Asia somewhere!

points for trying

Thank you to Pat E. for his compliment, and contribution, of the day!

Thanks for all the cool things you put out on your blog and for all the effort it must take you Jesse. Best part of the my morning is checking out what new things you have to entertain me. Please press on good sir.

Awww shucks! You're certainly welcome Pat, and thank YOU for the compliment that I'm doing something to be the best part of your morning! You just set my weekend off to a great start.

I hope the feature this morning on Bob Haro's incredible life so far was the best thing you've seen all day! It sure made my day to discover that he'd been a standout competitor on bikes, invented the BMX fundamental front forks n whatnot, then got into the BMX scene in ET, and choreographed that Olympic dove ride... but beyond all that he is a FANTASTIC comedy cartoonist! 

in addition to being a BMX pioneer (Haro designed the first BMX bike for freestyle in 1982), and stunt rider in the movie ET, Bob Haro was also a damn fine cartoonist!

http://dragfepic.pw/Bob-Haro-1979-Bicicletas-t-Bobs-BMX-and-Bike-art.html



http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/ok-guys-lets-see-some-cool-bike-art.8001/page-8





http://ignoredprayers.com/bob-haro-cartoonist-bmx-freestyle-pioneer/



http://www.bmxsociety.com/topic/56550-the-offical-bob-haro-artwork-thread/page-2


Above, the star of ET, Henry Thomas and the director, Steven Spielberg






In the coming months, as adults and kids of all ages flocked to see the blockbuster, that chase sequence inspired thousands around the world to ride BMX bikes. Such bikes, or Bicycle Motocross bikes, are designed for dirt and motocross cycling. What sets them apart from “normal” bicycles is their ability to withstand the impact and rough terrain of a motocross track as well as the gyroscopes that allow their handlebars to spin freely.

One of those thousands of BMX newcomers was Chris Hoy from Edinburgh, Scotland, who later went on to become one of the most successful Olympic cyclists of all time. “I was watching E.T. when I was six years of age,” Hoy told the Telegraph in an interview when he retired from cycling earlier this year. “I’d never seen a BMX bike before and it was the scene at the end where they are getting chased by the police and they’re all hammering through the streets in their BMX bikes. And I just thought, ‘wow, I’d like to give that a go.’”


https://narratively.com/the-bmx-boys-of-e-t/
http://www.xgames.com/xgames/gallery/11910703/image/1/godfather-freestyle
https://lapicesybalones.wordpress.com/tag/steven-spielberg/
http://anello-grande.blogspot.com/2011/01/illustrations-by-master-bob-haro.html



in 1981, Haro was involved in the Steven Spielberg production of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial as a stunt rider.

In 1981 Bob Haro designed the first frame and fork tailored to freestyle BMX.

He stopped riding in 1985 after four knee surgeries



be sure to watch the last video to at least the 4 minute 15 second mark... there are some really fantastic tricks



In 2012, as part of the London Olympic Games, Bob Haro choreographed the Dove bike sequence in the Opening ceremony.



https://www.facebook.com/bhikonix
http://www.espn.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/7780343/bob-haro-release-limited-edition-freestyle-bike-commemorate-thirty-years-bmx
http://www.bmxsociety.com/topic/56550-the-offical-bob-haro-artwork-thread/page-2

Chris Steiner’s incredible hand built Art-Deco inspired “L’Angelo di Ferro.”

this is pretty cool... and fun. There simply isn't enough fun cool stuff anymore.