Saturday, August 05, 2023

Ford sold a million cars in it's first 12 years, so has Tesla. Here is how long it took 7 car makers to make 1 million cars

 

well said

 

it has been years and years since I've seen a good quote

the Kia Telluride does not have front or back tow points for the new towing bolt (known as Tow Eye, screws in to the front or back bumper area behind a disguised small 3" square panel, usually)

 so, if you get the damn thing stuck, you're going to need some traction planks like Max Tracks

this is proof that Cadillac is still stupid about marketing

 it's been a long time since I've made the time to read magazines, and Road and Track sure has a lot of articles and information, that hasn't got shit to do with the road, or the track... but is still interesting. Good writers.

I'm intrigued by vehicles that are sold in Mexico, but not in the USA, and yet, allowed to drive here (not safe enough to sell, but allowed to drive here anyway? Makes no sense logically) here's a VW CrossFox

 

I'm guessing food delivery scooter, Door Dash or similar. Hell of a way to keep the tablet handy, and the drivers eyes off the road by looking down at it (which was why I noticed it)



I figure that one way to drive safe, is to try and see who around me is likely to cause a crash, and this scooter driver who was looking down and using the tablet while riding, was making me aware they are an idiot

license plates


Jaguar... I am a growler? Odd

Not sure, but must be a vanity plate

Maserati at the mall found the motorcycle parking was very shady, and for some reason, had no cars it it, so... why not? Entitled rich asshole with dealership temp plates



sign of the times

 

Ever heard of Gardiner's Island, New York?




In 1639, this 3300 acre island at the east end of Long Island, 6 miles long, 3 miles wide and has 27 miles of coastline in what is now New York State was settled by Lion Gardiner. 

The island was made a proprietary colony, granted via a royal decree by Charles I that gave Gardiner “the right to possess the land forever.”

The descendants of Lion Gardiner still hold the 3,300-acre island, making Gardiners Island the oldest estate in the United States and the only royal grant from the English Crown still intact in the country.

In the mid 70s, the inheritor gave tours to non-profits, as required by laws about non-profit foundations, for educational purposes, with two trucks - often to the Boy Scouts

the trucks are probably still there (not easy to get them off the island)



in 1978, there was a camera crew that filmed this short tour, historically interesting, especially if you see it, as propaganda from the last proud family member to be public about the family and the island, before you watch either of the next two videos:



I'm sure that due to the cost of taxes, the amount of neglect to the few buildings there and the hurricanes and winter storms that give Long Island annual trouble, and the singular number of inheritors who can sell it for a ridiculous amount of money to the neighboring billionaires who have homes on Marthas's Vineyard, Long Island, and the Hamptons - it will soon have a new owner

another moron in Arkansas with a badge and a gun, "afraid for his life" no doubt, from a Pomeranian (asshole dogs, but they can't kill you) shoots the dog's owner because he's 1) trigger happy 2) stupid and unaware of the projectile dynamics 3) untrained in the legal use of Deadly Force


as always, the video has one minute of wasted time you should skip. Hell, skip to 1:15. 

Then notice, there is one cop on the porch, unaware his partner (Columbia County Deputy Brian Williams) is a trigger happy moron, and being on the porch, is being in the firing zone. 

A lawsuit has been filed against a Columbia County deputy, the sheriff, and the sheriff's office, it also names Columbia County Sheriff Mike Loe.

“We’re also alleging that the sheriff of Columbia County clearly did not train him, did not educate him, and if that kind of behavior is appropriate in Columbia County there's a bigger issue with that department in general,” Kitchens said.


If you didn't know, the "afraid for his life" quote in the title of this post refers to the ubiquitous lie /excuse cops use for shooting and killing people. If they claim to be in a situation where the dead people made them afraid for their life, they are claiming to be using self defense, and that's where the legal usage of "reasonable person" and "reasonable doubt" get them out of legal problems, usually

The Barbie Truck Dreamhouse Living Tour (merch unavailable in other ways) is coming to a mall near you


a way to increase merch sales, and get free marketing and publicity (hmm, I'm fell for it, damn.) 

This isn't the first time this happened, the original Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Tour kicked off was in Los Angeles in 2019, followed by the Barbie Malibu Truck Tour in 2021. 

The Barbie Truck Dreamhouse Living tour will continue to travel to different cities throughout the U.S. for the remainder of the year.

the variety of merch can be see at https://www.instagram.com/barbietrucktour




Thursday, August 03, 2023

it's a good trick to get the Land Rover back on it's wheels when you have nothing to lift or lever with. Long walk back to where you last got gas, and no trees to escape the direct sun on that long walk


https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2023/08/how.html

the shells of 200 New York subway cars were sunk on the Florida coast in an experiment to provide new habitat for marine life. It worked pretty well evidently


just how well you know your area, depends on how long you've lived there. Because there are a lot of miles of road in most states, 700,000 just in Texas, it's not even possible to be well acquainted with very must territory in one life time

 Most of us get pretty well acquainted with any city we live in, all of it's major interstates, etc. 

If you've been in the military, and traveled more than most people who just get a diploma, a job, and a home, you probably know several cities pretty well. 

I learned Orlando, Oahu, San Diego and LA pretty well, Vegas a bit, and some small towns near the bases I was stationed at, and my home towns. (yes, two, I covered that in previous posts) 

I think it might be aspirational to decide to just wander around the country, and get to know it in retirement, like some people with RVs have. It certainly is a goal of mine I can see no way to realize, as that simply is a very very expensive thing to do and still have money for food, and a place to sleep, without a job - without even mentioning the gas you'd have to pay for now that it's 5 bucks a gallon in California, and about 3 bucks a gallon everywhere else. 

The charm and the attraction of the snake ...


Look at that stick shift!

Crowley's Bentley has the license plate, "Niat Ruc," is a reference to Monty Python's The Meaning of Life and signifies death as the "final curtain," a theme in Good Omens. (Curtain backward)


30 some years later, and the Lamborghini Countach is still an impressive looking design

must be fake, cops aren't likely to cruise in such a dangerous, and small margin for error, situation (if the trucker had to hit the brakes because of road debris) but it's interesting

Wednesday, August 02, 2023

the 2nd trailer for Gran Turismo, in movie theaters August 25.

I dig Natalia's ink and watercolor style.




https://parakid.com/projects/4239053 is a good place to start

The pits at the Indy 500 in 1913


 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=698334215644756&set=a.217147193763463

rich kids heading south on the 5 to Del Mar, to bet on horses probably



green Lambo


there was a McLaren too, it zipped by and I didn't get a photo of it

Cool news to share with you




The New York Yankees and Matbock presented Army Veteran Bryon "Pete” Sutherland with an all-terrain trackchair at their game last night.

Sutherland was in the Army from 94 to 96, and he reentered the Army following 9/11. He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with 2/5 Cav, 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division in March of 2004. 

In April 2004 while on patrol to rescue soldiers pinned down under heavy gunfire in Sadr City, he took gunshot wounds to both legs from enemy fire, ending his military career, and received a Purple Heart.

Having an all-terrain trackchair will give Sutherland the opportunity to “navigate the extreme terrain located on his property and hunt, opportunities that are unavailable to him in a traditional wheelchair.”

the headers are wrapped! They are the 2nd set I've ever bought, the last set was in 1991 in Hawaii, on my 72 Demon. I think I got much better ones this time around


Aluminized, wrapped, and painted with the super hot clear so the fiberglass doesn't fray as bad, or soak up water during puddle splashes

license plates


tiny and mighty?

 

the Stig was photographed by a trail cam in the Black Forest, testing an electric trike in off road conditions for R&D, before the trikes are sent to Ukraine to help fight Russia

https://www.autoweek.com/news/a44700586/new-electric-drift-trike-toy

Tuesday, August 01, 2023

I'll give him a score of 10 for the nonchalant dismount with style


https://ogdaa.blogspot.com/2023/07/damn-is-it-monday-again-gifdump.html#more

ummmm, there must be a reason. It might even have a smidgen of sense somehow

 
https://ogdaa.blogspot.com/2023/07/and-here-you-thought-monday-was-almost.html

have you seen these new automatic car tents? Very interesting!



see this for video https://www.tumblr.com/periperico59/724439413057306624?source=share

there are other versions of course, the inventor was ripped off and duplicated immediately I have no doubt, by lots of cheap imitators who use umbrella pods that suction cup to the roof, but not while driving. 

This one 

is roof rack track mounted from what I see


I doubt we'll learn of the inventor, or a reputable manfucturer, but - hey, it's a pretty cool new way to keep the sun out of your car without unrolling a car cover! 

an artist I found at Comic Con, Sang Lam, has this very cool and tranquil type style with street scenes



Her home interiors are equally calm and peaceful, very warm and with superb details

Not a surprise at all, Sang has won awards, and illustrates for Penguin Random, Oxford Press, and others. 

not the car you want, but it's the car that has a damn funny written advert (thank you Jim S!)


You want a car that gets the job done? You want a car that's hassle free? You want a car that literally no one will ever compliment you on? Well look no further.

The 1999 Toyota Corolla.

Let's talk about features.
Bluetooth: nope
Sunroof: nope
Fancy wheels: nope
Rear view camera: nope...but it's got a transparent rear window and you have a fucking neck that can turn.

Let me tell you a story. One day my Corolla started making a strange sound. I didn't give a shit and ignored it. It went away. The End.

You could take the engine out of this car, drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge, fish it out of the water a thousand years later, put it in the trunk of the car, fill the gas tank up with Nutella, turn the key, and this puppy would fucking start right up.

This car will outlive you, it will outlive your children.

Things this car is old enough to do:
Vote: yes
Consent to sex: yes
Rent a car: it IS a car

This car's got history. It's seen some shit. People have done straight things in this car. People have done gay things in this car. It's not going to judge you like a fucking Volkswagen would.

Interesting facts:
This car's exterior color is gray, but it's interior color is grey.
In the owner's manual, oil is listed as "optional."
When this car was unveiled at the 1998 Detroit Auto Show, it caused all 2,000 attendees to spontaneously yawn. The resulting abrupt change in air pressure inside the building caused a partial collapse of the roof. Four people died. The event is chronicled in the documentary "Bored to Death: The Story of the 1999 Toyota Corolla"

You wanna know more? Great, I had my car fill out a Facebook survey.
Favorite food: spaghetti
Favorite tv show: Alf
Favorite band: tie between Bush and the Gin Blossoms
This car is as practical as a Roth IRA. It's as middle-of-the-road as your grandpa during his last Silver Alert. It's as utilitarian as a member of a church whose scripture is based entirely on water bills.

When I ran the CarFax for this car, I got back a single piece of paper that said, "It's a Corolla. It's fine."

Let's face the facts, this car isn't going to win any beauty contests, but neither are you. Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to your wife. This isn't the car you want, it's the car you deserve: The fucking 1999 Toyota Corolla.


I have only found about 4 other examples of this type of sales pitch, here is the link http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/selling 

camping in Yellowstone 100 years ago

I'mjust going to be over here listening to Brendon's Firebird, come get me if something happens, but if not, I'll just be listening to the horsepower roar, and admiring the custom body mods explained


Pat Hall on his 1914 Harley, just before a trip from Brownsville, Texas to Indianola, Nebraska. He had completed his National Guard duty after being deployed to the border to keep Pancho Villa at bay.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10160374330988822&set=p.10160374330988822&type=3

I posted about the Pancho Villa invasion (he was a governor of a Mexico province I read somewhere) https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search?q=+Pancho+Villa

In 1916, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren completed a 5,500 mile journey across the continental United States on separate motorcycles. They were also arrested constantly for their villainous behavior of wearing pants



Gussie and Addie set out from Sheepshead Bay in New York City to begin their transcontinental journey. They left on July 4th and arrived in Los Angeles on September 8th after traveling 5,500 miles

Their twin 1,000cc Indian Power Plus motorcycles (equipped with gas headlights) were purchased from the Indian Motorcycle Company. Back in 1916, these were the motorcycles to have, and they ran to an exorbitant US$275 each in the day.

Being from the wealthy family, descended from President Van Buren, this wasn't a problem.

They were part of a 'preparedness' organization, and wanted to show that women could be a productive part of the US war effort - as the US was steaming quickly towards entering World War I - and demonstrate that women could help to shoulder the burden of sacrifice for their country, even if they weren't allowed to fight. 



Specifically, they wanted to show that women could become dispatch riders on the front-lines, able to travel long distances quickly and efficiently.

Ultimately the sister's petition to be allowed to be come dispatch riders was denied.

They each had successful later lives, however. Augusta went on to become a pilot, and Adeline became a lawyer.


(PS, they are in my family tree, as I'm distantly related to pre Van Buren)