During the Vietnam War, the United States military lost almost 10,000 aircraft and helicopters. (thank you George!)



In total, the United States military lost in Vietnam almost 10,350 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (3,744 planes, 5,607 helicopters and about 1,000 UAVs.).

U.S. Air Force
The U.S. Air Force lost 2,251 aircraft, with 1,737 lost to hostile action and 514 lost in accidents. The U.S. Air Force's loss rate was about 0.4 losses per 1,000 sorties.

F-4 Phantoms
More F-4 Phantoms were lost than any other type of aircraft during the war.

A-6 Intruders
Of the 84 A-6 Intruders lost during the war, 56 were lost to conventional ground fire and AAA, 16 were lost to operational causes, 10 were shot down by surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and two were shot down by MiGs.

F-111A
Between October 1972 and March 1973, F-111A crews flew over 4,000 combat sorties and lost only six aircraft.

Suffolk County, New York, red light cameras are being deactivated, ending over a decade where the cameras resulted in the number of crashes with injuries dropped, but the total number of accidents rose over the program's 14 years.

Suffolk County's new Republican administration claims the red light cameras were never about safety, since most tickets were for turning right on red violations.

"It's about time that taxation through citation has ended," County Legislator Anthony Piccirillo said.

County data that caused the controversy to swell showed an 11.3% drop in accidents with injuries, but an overall increase in crashes by 8.6%.

Last week, a New York state appellate court ruled the sizeable administrative fees that Nassau and Suffolk counties have been charging with red light camera tickets are illegal.

here's what the electric car looks like that Jaguar says is going to be the new line of cars after it converts to making electric vehicles only. If that even happens. Not many concept cars get put into production. These will cost double what the current Jaguar does

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/jaguar-type-00-is-the-name-of-the-design-vision-concept-they-copy-nothing-except-243656.html#

This reminds me, I meant to post some excepts of the reaction articles that happened in the past 2 weeks:


Picture the champagne corks popping as the socials are timed to post the video at the appointed hour. “I hope the pre-order guys are ready for an onslaught – because we’ve got eight capital-D diverse models in category-five tulle busting out of a pink-planet lift wielding a hammer – and precisely NO cars! Let’s make some sales history!”

As far as I can make out, the best this ad’s defenders can come up with is that “the internet is talking about it”

But the one thing we can be absolutely sure of is: not a single one of those defenders will be buying a single one of these cars.

There is something ludicrous about a guy poised to roll out cars that are going to start at a hundred grand boasting about being mega-inclusive. 


“More importantly, the campaign appears disconnected from the very traits Jaguar spent decades building. Gone are the understated elegance, performance nods, and any clear connection to British heritage…For a car company to launch a rebrand video without a single reference to its cars—its core product—is simply mind-boggling,”

“Unfortunately, it appears Jaguar went too far in its attempt to be bold. The rebrand has created a crisis because they have successfully denounced what the brand has become known for and respected. This challenge is hard for humans because its a ‘redefining’ moment where they have thrown out the preexisting ‘meaning’ assigned to the perception of the automaker and then told the same audience a new ‘meaning’ that lacks substance and appears to be progress for the sake of progress,” he noted.

Tata-owned JLR might have had record sales in the most recent financial year and sold over 400,000 cars. But almost all the profit came from the Land Rover side of the business. The Jaguar CEO Adrian Mardell reportedly told investors that the Jaguar models were generating “close to zero profitability”. Rather than wait to see the inevitable losses as Jaguar’s tired brand declines further, JLR has decided to shake things up and take the business firmly upmarket. Jaguar reportedly expects 85 per cent of future sales to be from customers completely new to the brand.

Amanda Stretton, a racing driver and motoring journalist, said that the size of the new car appeared to be "absolute nonsense". "It needs to be shrunk by about 50% to be practical."

Bernie Ecclestone is selling 69 Grand Prix and F1 cars from his private collection

Ferraris raced by legendary drivers such as Mike Hawthorn, Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher, while Brabham, the marque that helped catapult Ecclestone to the top, is well represented, too. Many of the Brabhams have never previously been sold and for many the star car will be the one-off Gordon Murray designed Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46B ‘fan car’, which raced only once, victoriously, to win the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp in 1978 by more than half a minute.




Cars being offered include everything from Maserati 250F and ex-Chiron 4/CLT plus a brace of 6CMs to Lancia-Ferrari D50 replica and 1931 Bugatti Type 54 ‘Tiger Two’, one of only three survivors, plus two (!) Talbot Lago T26Cs, a significant Delahaye and Connaught.

Ken Block's Gymkhana #9 Focus RS RX is up for sale


It’s one of just three examples of Focus four-door Rallycross race cars built by the folks at M-Sport, and is arguably the most recognizable machine out of Block’s stable.

Sadly, advertising is prioritized over saving lives in emergencies.

 

Above, that IS a tire rack commercial BEFORE the video on how to use a defibrillator. (and tire commercials are what I post about, so I feel validated about posting about this issue) 

Why the hell am I grouching and grumbling about a video on defib's?

I am currently watching a favorite tv series "Ghosts", season 2 episode 10, and the characters had a situation where they needed to use a defibrillator, and when trying to save a life, they grabbed a cell phone to see how to use the defib, 

"OK I got the defibrillator" 

"Everybody stand back"

"I just have to check a quick youtube video"

and then remarked "why would they put an ad in front of something like this?" 

and THAT got me wondering, IS Youtube SO DAMN GREEDY that they will push a commercial before you can see a video as potentially emergency life saving as a How To Use a Defibrillator?

Yes. You can see the title of the video "How to use an AED" 

That's how terrible a value system the people who run Youtube have. 

I didn't find out why this is halfway through a paint job


Now I remember, it was a booth for sandpapers for sanding down and doing paintjobs

Watertown Tennessee bought a round table, and relocated it, so the steam locomotive they are restoring will have a turn about for its future as an tourist excursion steam train. When's the last time a round table was made for a steam train?


The locomotive will be operated by the Nashville Steam Preservation Society in partnership with the Tennessee Central Railway Museum and RJ Corman Railroad Group, Bryan said. 

The locomotive is currently being restored at the Tennessee Central Museum in Nashville.

“The turntable will serve as both a historical and operational asset to the future operation of No. 576,” Bryan said. “It will give our passengers a first-hand view of the infrastructure that was needed to operate trains in the steam era and will allow the steam engine to pull trains both to and from Nashville."

Finally, the news is out that the last decade of pearl white paint put on Hondas and other cars was a screw up. First, Hyundai engine oil consumption, then massive thefts due to no immobilizer, now the paint peeling issue. My Hyundai has been a problem




A class-action suit was filed this month against American Honda Motor Company alleging defective paint was used in 2013 and newer model-year Honda and Acura vehicles. Filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the lawsuit alleges that some white paints are so poor that the finishes “inevitably fail, peel, delaminate (that is, the separate paint layers separate due to adhesion issues), bubble, and flake.”

The four shades of white currently named are: 
White Diamond Pearl (paint code NH-603P) used on Acura MDX, Honda Odyssey 
Taffeta White (NH-578) used on Honda Odyssey, Honda Pilot 
White Orchid Pearl (NH-788P) used on Honda Fit, Honda HR-V 
Bellanova White (NH-788P) used on Honda Fit, Honda HR-V

A similar class-action suit filed in Canada was settled in 2022 for upwards of $27 million

The affected vehicles are found nationwide, meaning the paint issue is unrelated to specific regional climates, for example. The suit alleges that the paint defect “existed in latent form when Honda manufactured the vehicles and when Plaintiffs purchased the vehicles” but will “manifest itself” during vehicle ownership. Also, per the filing, the vehicles were manufactured at Honda’s plant in Lincoln, Alabama, with the paint applied via a “robotic paint system.”

The plaintiffs have requested a jury trial and seek a host of remedies, including but not limited to compensation for repainting work, reimbursement of counsel fees, and “restitution, compensatory damages, and costs for economic loss and out-of-pocket costs.” Honda has yet to comment on the class-action filing.

Why is this something I'm posting? 

Same paint problem happened to Hyundai, and I happened to buy one, with pearl white paint, and JUST last week, I was talking to people at the dealership, and found out that they already know that the problem is the primer under the paint. The formula was wrong, and the pearl white paint didn't stick to it like it should. 

Class action lawsuits have been filed against Hyundai for this issue in different countries. The issue seems to be with only pearl white vehicles, with Quartz White Pearl and Frost White Pearl paints cited in the Technical Service Bulletin. the vehicles which have suffered from this all originate from the same plant in Alabama

a 99 Viper RT 10's owner commissioned oceanic artist Lassen to decorate it. Oddly, it didn't get a typical scene of whales, sea turtles, and dolphins, but tit





  Lassen in Hawaii, who contemplated the car’s transformation. He painted a raging inferno of flames that fire from the car's mouth and leach all the way to the back quarters. The flames start white, like the burning rock of a meteorite, and become gradually more yellow, orange, and red. He named the car Meteorite.

 To compliment the artistic interpretation of the car a signature Lassen ornate marine scene of two dolphins, under a beautiful Hawaiian sunset was added to the hood.

Austria-based Pierer Mobility Group, after years of successful sales and acquisitions of iconic moto brands like MV Agusta, Husqvarna, and KTM - is nearly bankrupt.

 After recently buying MV Agusta, ( Mar '24) the company teeters on the brink of bankruptcy. 

Pierer Mobility AG also owns high-end bicycle maker Felt along with some tech and R&D companies associated with two-wheeled mobility in general.

But sales are down about 25%, and there was a quality scandal over cams... and now the company is a “self-administration,” a European market measure that allows for a 90-day effort to reorganize and secure financing to continue operations before the company falls into insolvency.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/billroberson/2024/12/01/pierer-owner-of-ktm-and-mv-agusta-teeters-on-the-brink-of-insolvency/