in October 1976, an Oshkosh, Wisconsin newspaper first said, " You have to kiss a lot of frogs " and that must have been after trying to find a good garage to get some work done

my brakes are overdue for replacement, I'm talking grinding of course, but instead of tossing some new brake pads on, and getting the rotors turned, the way we've been doing it since 1969 when disc brakes started becoming a part of day to day life, I learned (and posted about it) last summer that no one wants to turn rotors anymore. 

And the price of rotors has dropped, so damn low for the basics ones, that it's just cheaper to bolt on new ones. Of course, I hadn't needed to do brakes in decades to any step past pads or shoes. So that was a surprise to me. 

Then problems with jobs and income made brakes something that would have to wait until the last minute, and a payday not already reserved for rent. 

So, for the past couple days I've stopped into 4 garages (wanting to get the shocks and struts done too, as the car has 105,000 miles, and why the hell not replace them too? And since I don't have a spring compressor... )  

The 1st one would only get parts from O'Reillys. What the hell is that about? the next one wanted to get paid 100 to "inspect" my car. 

I don't need to waste 100 on an inspection that is unnecessary. I know that I want the rotors replaced, the pads replaced, and the shocks/struts replaced. I don't need the rest of the car "inspected" to waste my time and money. 

They, and the next place, REALLY want to get rid of the customer, and have the car dropped off. The less time the owner is nearby seems to be the goal... of them making money by getting the cars dropped off, and the owner to pay by credit card when they pick it up, with zero interest in what was done, how, or with what parts. 

Yeah, I don't operate that way. I tell my barber what I want, I tell a waiter what I want (if I could afford a sit down restaurant) and I tell a rental car assistant what I want. 

That's how things go in the Merry ol Land of Oz, am I right? 

So, since I'm not in jail, and no longer in the military, I don't get told what to do. I don't work for them, they are in business to work for whoever walks onto the lot. When that's me, and my paycheck, I expect that any business that wants my money, and "please give us a review on Yelp" has to ask me what I want, and then (referring to a brake job) give me a written estimate 

California law (BPC § 9884.9, CCR § 3353) requires automotive repair dealers to provide a written, itemized estimate for parts and labor before beginning any work.

So I emailed on Saturday, they ignored that. I stopped by on Monday, asked for an estimate, didn't get one, stopped by on tuesday, got a verbal and a look at the computer screen, but nothing in writing. 

So I called and texted, and got an estimate without part numbers, and asked for the part numbers to verify those would be what I asked for, rotors that are drilled (hopefully giving better braking, shorter stopping distance) and got those on the drive over today to visually check the rotors they got. 

They didn't get what I told them to. 

How can any shop be so inept when they've achieved this many customer voted awards? 

So, failure to respond to email, failure to come through on the 1st request for an estimate, failure to put in part numbers when 1)requested 2) after saying they'd email me the estimate with the part numbers and failure to get the parts I requested. 

Oh, yeah, and they spelled my name lower case, and misspelled it. How do you take that

THEN when I pushed the issue, the young guy in the office, who I doubt knows a Haynes from a Rand McNally, a socket from a paper weight, and I know has never used a pickle fork on a vehicle and wouldn't recognize a strap wrench if it would save his life. If he's not a nepo baby I don't know what he is. 

Anywho, he proceeded to tell me to get lost, and I told him that where he was working wasn't one I expect to last long enough to see 2030. Then he confessed that it was a horrible place. Well, I wasn't looking to contradict that. I left. 

I had another place in mind, over close enough to my garage that I can walk over and putter around, also walking distance to a Starbucks, Denny's etc. 

I stopped in, and this guy was FRIENDLY. I'll keep you posted, I'll be there at 730 am tomorrow, and already plan to get them breakfast/coffee and lunch. Yeah, I do that. I did pizza for the shop that upgraded my 69 R/T

how did airlines get fooled into letting a nobody get onto airplanes, at airports, and how does that not violate all the DHS, TSA, and FAA security and procedures, for FOUR YEARS?

A former flight attendant accused of posing as a pilot and working airline employee fooled three U.S. carriers into giving him hundreds of free tickets over a span of four years

Dallas Pokornik, 33, of Toronto, was arrested in Panama after being indicted on wire fraud charges in federal court in Hawaii last October. He pled not guilty

According to court documents, Pokornik was a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline from 2017 to 2019, then used fraudulent employee identification from that carrier to obtain tickets reserved for pilots and flight attendants on three other airlines. Court documents contained no explanation of why, in an industry focused on flight and airport safety, the airlines didn’t recognize the credentials as invalid.

https://apnews.com/article/fake-airline-pilot-fraud-58a2d18d66aabe462e11c3d72002c8ec

just when I think the govt can do a halfway decent job of something as easy as airline and airport security, having learned from the nose dive of it's utterly inept failure to stop the Covid from entering the USA in the ONE SIMPLE WAY by stopping any flights and passengers from China, the proof smacks me in the face that the govt can't learn from it's mistakes, can't realize how important airline security is (9-11 was the only example we needed or ever will need, of how any airliner can be a suicide bomber guided missile)

So WHY the eff isn't the GDMFing govt doing the ONE job it's got 8 alphabet agencies over-budgeted to do? High security enforcement and intel. Time for all of them to self check their commitment 

In 2023, an off-duty airline pilot riding in the cockpit of a Horizon Air flight said “I’m not OK” just before trying to cut the engines midflight.

Park officials are searching for two people who drove a white 2021 Tacoma illegally off road in Death Valley on Dec. 17 on five miles off road that may have caused significant damage to rare and sensitive desert plants.

At least 74 plants were damaged or destroyed, including one Shining Milkvetch, a rare species found only on sand dunes in Death Valley.

Vehicle tracks also passed close enough to other rare plants, and could have caused underground root damage.

https://www.kolotv.com/2026/01/28/officials-searching-suspects-accused-illegal-off-roading-death-valley/

call me crazy, or uneducated, or maybe worse, but I'm just a car guy. I'm not an ecologist, or herbalist, etc. I don't care that a rare weed got killed. It's only found in Death Valley - ergo, no one ever heard of it, will ever know it existed, no one will ever go to see it, or even look it up.

Since it only exists in one place, well, yeah, it would be nice to not kill it while off roading in the middle of no where, but is the planet going to miss that weed? Nope. It's not a tiger, a whale, a forest in Brazil, or something that matters to an ecosystem, the survival of bees, or moles. 

It's a damn plant, and not a plant that matters in any way, but the game of  trivial pursuit " what's the name of the sand dune plant in Death Valley?"

Why not have an understanding that the desert between the Pacific, and the midwest, is there to be used in any damn way that anyone can figure out how to enjoy a moment in it. Solar farms, off roading, making more Mt Rushmore size art statues, or using a really big method to create zen gardens like the Japanese rake/sand/rock tranquility experiences, or colored sand mandalas the scope of which would please Tibetan monks.  Why not? There are probably hundreds of thousands of square miles of useless sand and rock. No one seems to have ever figured out what to do with sand, I say because of all the sand left all over the planet that hasn't been used yet. It's all there waiting for a great use. Until then? Lets drive dune buggies on it! Lets race the Baja 1000 on it! Lets climb the rocks, make petroglyphs like the strong ones did in prehistoric times, lets make land speed racing areas, dry lake sailboat areas, Burning Man events, concerts, and Nazca line art that tells the astronauts we applaud them

So... Monday... do not think you can mess with Monday and get away with it. In fact, I recommend staying home in bed instead of going out

 I went out to get a haircut, as my new job starts tomorrow... 630 am

Seemed the sensible thing to do, but then, when I got out of my car at the barber, I smelled antifreeze. I popped the hood on the commuter, and saw some steam... and that's when I suddenly went from poor to broke. 

We are all just a moment away from it, some have homes by rivers, and poof, one hurricane, one flood, and it's all gone. some have trailers, and one tornado rips through and it's gone. Or a house in California, a million dollars worth, but one wildfire. Gone. 

So, I got off lightly compared to so many. All I lost is the remaining space on my credit card. One radiator is 800 bucks, that's what it cost to replace the one in my 69 Dodge, that's what Hyundai charges too... ironically, for one 1/3rd the size. 2 hoses, the upper and lower, and a new radiator, and it's more for the labor at the dealership than the parts. 

It's 2 or 300 just to troubleshoot and determine exactly what is broken or leaking, and since I am guessing that the upper tank cracked from the cooling fins, but regardless I am determined to prevent a colling system problem from happening in the next 5 or 6 years for trouble free use of my commuter. So, I told my old pal, who's been my service adviser through the replacement of the Turbo, under warranty, and the engine, and the trans, all under warranty, that after the testing, and figuring out the problem, I require that the radiator and upper and lower hoses get replaced in addition to another part if that happens to be the case. 

Plus 50 a day for the rental car

And the estimate, on the parts and labor for just the radiator, and the analysis of what IS the problem, is 2400. That's the start, then they add whatever else has broken, or is highly likely to break in the near future. I suppose I really should insist on a new water pump, as long as everything is going to be torn apart. I bet labor just to replace the water pump is a 1000. If that were to happen at a different time, that is. 

So there it is, my 10 year old, 103000 mile Veloster, blew a hole in the cooling system the day before I start my new job. A month ago, I could have replaced that damn thing myself, saved all the money from labor, but now? What, after work, after the engine and coolant chills down to where it's less than scalding, and as long as nothing goes wrong, have it all back together in time to get some sleep? Not likely. 

because this is my blog, and not some subscription .com site that sells advertising... I feel free, now and then (but rarely, maybe once a year) to just comment or rant

 that's really what blogs were meant to be. 

Then Facebook was invented, and that is seriously a daily blog format. 

Anyway, it occurred to me the other day, as I sit and wait for the new job to commence, as they did job interviews a month ago, then took 2 weeks off for holiday vacations, and now are waiting for the results of the standard background check and drug test (that could have been done and in process while this companies HR was on vacation) results to come back. 

So far the back ground investigation amateurs have had ME do the research on the companies I've worked for and get their emails, addresses, phone numbers, etc. Twice. Not just once, and that's because they suck at THEIR job and I'M the one doing the work for them. 

I had to upload a pay stub/paycheck and time card to prove I worked there. OMFG. Ever had to PROVE you worked somewhere? WHY? Just do YOUR damn job and use your computer to look me up after getting my drivers license and social security card, and have the programs and applications you're paying for do all the digging and bring up search results. 

I can't remember the last time I've seen some outsourced agency be so inept and incompetent at their work. How did they ever get the contract to do background checks? 

So that has wasted time for me, when I ought to be on the job, making real money. 

Well, I've spent my time between jobs blogging like a kook, realizing that I'd be pretty happy to be turned loose with my laptop, wifi, and someone proving a paycheck that covers bills and pizza. Damn. Why the hell has the world decided that my blogging skills are not something any company needs to exchange a paycheck for? 

By the way, thoughts on the FAA / Airline / Airport issue

 Must SUCK to try and catch a flight from SEMA to get home (I drive from Vegas to San Diego, 5 hours, and sure would be less risky to fly instead of deal with TIREDNESS for a boring 5 hour steering wheel chokehold.... trying to rely on caffeine and  podcasts to combat being up for over 20 hours on the drive home, since waking up a 3 am to get to SEMA to hit it at about 10 am that morning. 

Also, just my 2 cents, as what is the point of a blog if not to make a place to give your two cents about whatever... right?

Sure seems sunlight bright and clear to me that the US Govt isn't playing by the rules of "pass a damn budget, on time, every time, no delay, and balance the damn thing, and consider not blowing a couple trillion more that just gets added to the 34 trillion dollar deficit / bankruptcy thing no one deals with" that they once did, and wouldn't it be nice if instead of the repercussions and fallout being something only the regular citizens have to cope with (no airline traffic controllers getting paid, and neither are the other airport govt workers, are the soldiers, sailors and Marines getting paid?) 

It sure would be nice to see that by not passing a budget (and I don't mean a month to month spending bill that only delays the inevitable "where's the next annual budget?" problem) the hundreds of millionaires that are supposed to work for the citizens, who aren't millionaires (huge gap of wealth between politicians and voters on that point) the politicians, and their office budgets, and their govt provided vehicles, transportation budget, per diem food allowance, and gas cards are all frozen from the day the govt gets into shut down mode, until they work out the solution and get the govt budget passed for the next annual cycle... and that they have to show up to work, in the big ol voting chamber where the House of Representatives, or Congress members, plus the VP and the Pres, sit at those desks and don't get to do anything but look at each other with hate and discontent, and eat cafeteria food made by unpaid US Capitol Building cafeteria workers, and use the bathrooms that unpaid US Capitol Building janitors clean... while those politicians are on a pay freeze. 

But, more interesting than my notion of how the politicians should have to be burdened by the results of their lack of results on doing the only job they are hired to do - do not vote for a single one of them to get re-elected, they obviously are not capable of doing their job, and only us regular people have to bear that burden -  

is it NOW clear that a high speed rail system around the country would be a great idea, and a way to avoid using the airlines/airports/air traffic controller who are not getting paid, and actually govt ordered to cut 10% of all flights? 

Yes, a high speed rail system is expensive, and so are airline tickets. It would be nice to avoid the monopoly, and instant death of transport when the airports shut down, if we had a high speed rail system. 

We've recently seen just how paralyzing the airlines are when ONE little thing happens, like

the volcano in Iceland diverting all air traffic from that New York to Europe route in April 2010, 

or the covid pandemic cutting 90% of all air travel at it's worst, 

the combo 1-2 punch of 2008 recession and jet fuel price surge, 

the 2019 Boeing 737 Max groundings, 

the 2017 British Airways data center power fail, 

the Feb 2018 and Jan 2021 storms that screwed up Europe's airports

the Jan 2023 Southwest Airlines snafu back to back with the NOTAMS failure

the June 30th 2023 United Airline fiasco in Seattle-Tacoma airport

the March 2025 electrical substation explosion at Heathrow

Fall of 2025 drone intrusion into European airport airspace

Anyway, clearly, airports can be easily shut down by tech fails, uncommonly harsh weather, and paychecks getting cut off. 

Sure would be a good thing to have another fast transportation way to get around the country, instead of driving your own car

Jake, from State Farm, is now a funny one liner in Spike Lee's latest movie, Highest To Lowest, his 5th collaboration with Denzel

 

Referring to the pistol, when Denzel's character ask's him what's with the pistol, he replies, "Insurance, that's Jake from State Farm"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh8yqcozfn8 to watch the preview, which, looks to be quite dull and unimaginative, but, since it's a remake of a 60s movie, that inspired countless other movies, it's likely to be entirely predictable because it's likely to be little more than a safe financial risk on a remake of a movie from a legendary director, Akira Kurosawa's 1963 film High and Low, just remade as so much of Hollywood's elitists do, with a different racial cast in order to appeal to that smaller market, and as a method for getting more audience for Lee's musical tastes with the people that will watch this version of Kurosawa's film to see one of the last movies we'll get from the incredibly talented Denzel. 

Sadly, Lee's award winning directing talent (Do the Right Thing, just a damn good down to earth movie) isn't likely to be applied to an original work in the future, because no matter how talented the cast, crew, director, scriptwriter, and the story, if a100 million or more in investments aren't readily signing on with the anticipation of a 4 to 1 return on investment, a movie doesn't get made. And Spike Lee's movies have limited appeal to anyone white, outside of New York, or not interested in movies about racism.

unbelievable... someone named TJ decided to tell me I'm wrong, about a 1969 Coronet. I've owned one since 2002, and the other from 1995 -2002. But, really, anyone with Imcdb, 20-20 vision, or glasses, or Google Lens, or a car guy buddy, can easily identify this as a 1969 Coronet.

This above, is a screen shot of the comment he just added, and the post, he put it on

 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2013/12/did-you-spot-69-coronet-in-lethal.html

https://www.imcdb.org/v074842.html

Why? Why the hell did TJ try and share his supposed knowledge of this car, and think he was correcting me? 

I swear... nepo babies. 

Someone, tell your village idiot to shut the hell up. 

Ok, for everyone that isn't familiar with a 1969 Coronet, and wonders why I'm so certain... 

The 1969 Coronet, has a certain tail light, trunk lid, specific front bumper, and you can not mistake those, for a 1970 Coronet's tail lights, trunk lid, and one year only bumper, that can be easily identified from the side, if your eyes and brain work 

 as bugs bunny said, what a maroon. 

I think if I really said what's on my mind, I'd offend a lot of you. But, here's a hint, it has to do with this moron being adopted, or, his "dad" needs to get a paternity test. 

Regardless, it's pretty bold, and stupid, to show up on my blog, and tell me I've made a mistake, on a 1969 Coronet. 

I was just reminded of WHY it's a very bad idea to allow computers to decide what advertising happens and where, on my blog... because just look at this - a real example from my reading about a Mustang

 

I shit you not (pun intended).... some computer decided to insert this ad for toilet cleaning, into this Ford Authority article on a Mustang.  https://fordauthority.com/2025/07/vaughn-gittin-jr-adds-rare-fox-body-ford-mustang-to-collection-video/#google_vignette

The computer didn't place tires, rims, wax, or parts... nope. Toilet cleaning. 

So, though it's not something you'll notice, while reading along through my blog... there is no advertising like this sort that would happen if I changed the settings to hopefully get some change from clicks on ads. 

I don't like advertising in general, it's tacky and ugly, useless, and distracting. There aren't many blogs that do have ads, because they simply aren't lucrative, in fact... but they sure are ugly, and have zero relevancy to the main topic. 

If I had ads, they would be to hype Monster Truck events, Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival, cool car parts companies like those that pull parts off junkyard cars with exceptionally rare and hard to find things, Cragars, Mickey Thompson tires, autocross tires, paintjobs by exceptional painters, pinstripers and letterers, and lots of the artists that do car related stuff, like gear shifters that Tommy Powell makes (Gear Hedz) https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Gear%20Hedz%20Shift%20Knobs 

Anyway, back to what I was doing, before this stupid toilet ad sent me off on this rant.

Detroit's M-10 , the Lodge Freeway won't get a speed limit increase, regardless of the far improved abilities of cars now vs when that freeway was made, and everything had drum brakes, and lousy suspension, and bias ply tires. Not that the morons in the Michigan Department of Transportation realize these facts

The speed limit on the 70 year old M10 is officially 55 mph, and will never change, despite everyone speeding much faster than that, and why? The reason is geometry, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation traffic and safety engineer Josh Carey, he says it's not geometrically fit for a higher speed limit. "The curves, sight distance, shoulder widths and acceleration areas on the ramps all do not meet a 70 mph design speed," 

Carey is likely 41 years old, to young to have any first hand knowledge of bias ply tires, cars without disc brakes and airbags. 

Do those practical upgrades even register on the young engineers who are looking for a lifetime career of not rocking the boat at their hard to come by govt job in Detroit? Probably not. 

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2025/06/03/lodge-freeway-detroit-m10-speed-limit/83882183007/

https://www.facebook.com/aaroads/posts/john-lodge-freeway-now-part-of-m-10-circa-1962-in-detroit-michigan/10156655383417948/

"with a hearty scoff in the chamber, ready to lay snide critique" are the words the Autopian.com's new writer used in an article about the LaJolla Concours, which he described as being held on "a big patch of shabby lawn". Scoff, and snide, indeed.

He did pick a good range of cars in the show to highlight on the Autopian.com 

https://www.theautopian.com/im-a-designer-who-attended-a-fancyish-car-show-here-are-the-cars-that-stood-out-to-me/  and either has some in depth knowledge of them, or, is also good at researching the ones he finds interesting. 

It's too bad his editor is blind, and that he doesn't use some spellcheck software to ask about errors... this was a challenge to read.  

"I love me some coupé utility trucklets and this funktastic El Catalina" is quite the odd choice for a writing patter. But, when I read "dramatically sculpted hoof concealed" I realized, no editor was awake at the computer to rein in (no pun intended after that mention of a hoof) this guy's writing. 

"With its Kamm tail aerodynamic and only 1,370 lbs to move it pushed this sexy beast to a top speed of 152 mph. During its three years of production, TZ2s took class wins in the 1000 km of Monza 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio, 1000 km of Nürburgring,6 Hours"

That is an example of no proofreading taking place at all. From a teacher, among other things. I mean - he's a teacher, not that I am. I'm a proofreader. That's not the only example of not using a space after a comma, or not using a comma when needed, or a space after punctuation: "background in various aspects of design strategy, spatial design, branding, graphic design, production and project and team management, in small to large budget projects.Resume includes" https://cms.artcenter.edu/about/get-to-know-artcenter/people/detail.html?breadcrumb=565f1aae4d9b6fce4bd8c5f2&accdID=0110221

" As an articulate concept generator, I conjure the Big Idea but never forget the importance of details." Really? Seriously?

You forgot to proofread before or after posting... so... yeah, not so much on the importance of details. 

Why does it bug me? Well, I'm over here, just being a car guy, reading about a car show I like, and I guess I got a bit defensive over the "scoff in the chamber, ready to lay snide critique" and figured if he can state that's his status, he can sure as hell can take in what he dishes out. 

I vote for the Autopian.com to get a proofreader, and less Pasadena snobs in the car show reporting. If they want to be droll about 911s, and other similar boring snob cars, fine. But writing for a car enthusiast website doesn't seem to me to be a good fit. Especially for someone who can't spell "Peterson Museum" correctly. 

tangential to the whole driving thing, is that so many people are begging at intersections. Hopefully, it's not part of your daily drive, like it is mine, but I was surprised to learn that Alabama had outlawed panhandling

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Alabama’s anti-panhandling laws are unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that begging is protected speech.

ALEA had enforced the state’s anti-panhandling laws, which prohibited loitering or panhandling on state highways and roadways. Under Alabama law, a person who “loiters, remains, or wanders about in a public place for the purpose of begging” commits the crime of loitering.

Alabama’s pedestrian solicitation statute says “no person shall stand on a highway for the purpose of soliciting employment, business, or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle, nor for the purpose of distributing any article, unless otherwise authorized by official permit.”

The court’s brief says the “plain, ordinary meaning” of the pedestrian solicitation statute restricts other speech across Alabama, such as “charitable solicitation for nonprofit or religious organizations or solicitation of support for political candidates.”

https://www-wsfa-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.wsfa.com/2025/04/09/appeals-court-upholds-unconstitutionality-alabamas-anti-panhandling-laws

So, how much money did the state of Alabama waste trying to make begging, and panhandling criminal, in order to appease some rich people who find it ugly, and want to make the homeless and poor disappear without being inconvenienced by actively participating in doing a damn thing to create jobs, hire the unemployed, or create a better neighborhood? It must be onerous to have yoga, tennis, golf, and yachting to attend to. 

If you ever heard of the incredible Robin Williams, you'll possibly remember the charity fundraiser he, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg annually did in the late 80s on tv, Comic Relief. Robin also made sure that every film production he was a part of hired a number of homeless people. 

I believe in charity, generosity, kindness, productivity, efficiency, problem solving, etc. If the people who somehow make it into and succeed in politics were motivated as much to do civic good as they are to get ahead financially and retire young and rich from all the benefits of govt employment (aren't there about 2 million people employed by the govt?) I think the public works the govt does would significantly prevent the unemployment that causes homelessness, and after 6 or 7 decades of a war on drugs, would be quite efficient at having prevented the numerous drug related homeless. 

Tesla might not be doing everything right... but, respect where it's due, their cars park themselves at the factory when they roll off the factory assemblyline. That's pretty damn cool

I don't think it's clear that I'm absolutely not involved in the electric car vs internal combustion engine powered argument. 

I know just what a waste of energy, and how much pollution is added to the atmo to mine the amount of raw metals it takes to make the electric car... and how easy electric cars become useless due to the 100 year old power grid infrastructure the govt can't afford to upgrade, due to wasting money (hello 2023 Biden administration for throwing 73 billion dollars to foreign country aid instead of upgrading USA bridges, roads, high speed rail train tracks, solving the homeless issue, installing water resevoirs in California to provide water to prevent wildfires from destroying 14,000 homes in So Cal in jan 2025, feeding the poverty level kids in public schools 2 meals per school day, etc) 

But, I can certainly admire when a robo car can take itself from the factory, and efficiently park itself in synchronicity with hundreds of other cars, and await transportation for distribution. Makes me wonder... with the Tesla cars ever be allowed to DELIVER THEMSELVES to the buyer? After all, with manned charging stations? The cars would go from factory to new first buyer, without a driver, just getting charged along the way. Well, maybe robots from Boston Dynamics (those Terminator T-800 making bastards) could work the Super Charging stations... 

And I think everyone that has had a ride in a Tesla can say it's a good car. Plus, everyone that's had a ride in the underground tunnels around the Las Vegas convention center will agree, that's a damn remarkable accomplishment too.. and the rocket delivery of satellites by the Space X (another Elon Musk corporation) has done NASA's job with unbelievable cost savings to the tax payer, with superb results for Starlink, now available to T Mobile cell phone users (plus all the unknown to me phone users) in areas without cell tower reception, like the wildfire zones of So Cal. 

So, credit where it's due... Musk has accomplished as much or more than Henry Ford, or Edison, in a very different way, 100 years later. 

Now, if he could pull off a high speed rail that links San Diego to LA to San Fran to Seattle/Vancouver then to Denver to Omaha, with a line then running south to St Louis, and linking back up with the outer circle of rail at Dallas.. meanwhile, back to Omaha to Minneapolis to Milwaukee to Chicago, Indy, Columbus, Wash DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, link at Dallas with the North/South line, then west to El Paso then Tucson, Phoenix, and back to San Diego

So, both coasts would have a line through the biggest cities, from North to South, and across the north states from West to East, and one line in the midwest from North to South, and across the South states from West to East. 

That would get rid of the monopoly the airlines have on fast transportation, (anyone with a car can drive from California to Baltimore in 3 days, and Minneapolis to Orlando in 2) give the tourists a better way to see this country (similar to the European rail system) and possibly, if smart people realize how much power can be soaked up by solar arrays in the south west desert, the high speed rail could be powered without direct use of coal or oil burning power plants, but less expensive than nuclear power.

 If there are super smart people, they will add to the right of way given to the high speed rail, a power grid, for the trains and distribution of power from coast to coast, and even water or oil pipelines. 

It's potentially, as problem solving as the steam locomotive railway infrastructure was to pioneers who settled the west, installed power, telegraph and telephone, then finally got a power grid in the 1930s through the farming states, and the military was able to move vast amounts of materials and soldiers during WW2. 

Just a thought

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/30/is-the-us-sending-50m-in-condoms-to-gaza-as-trump-claims

FYI, Canepa is hiring, and there are some cool jobs in the Automotive/Vehicle field posted on SEMA.com

 Sadly, the perfect job for me, or, one of them, is in Diamond Bar California, where ever that is, and it's a computer job as a writer/blogger... but they are adamant that the job is in office only, and not work remote.  https://jobs.sema.org/jobs/20928422/associate-editor-performance-racing-industry-pri

How the hell a job publishing stories on the PRI can be done in the office but can't be done in the field? At the tracks, PRI convention, etc etc? Makes no sense to me. 

If I was running a magazine where the reporter had to be out getting stories, I would insist they NEVER be sitting at a damn desk in the office building were there are no auto shops, race cars, race tracks etc.

anyway, it must be great to make bad decisions based on trying to validate the ridiculous amount you waste on paying an office building lease. That's got to be the easiest job ever, and fastest way to ruin a business... and we all know, the famous decades old iconic car magazines have mostly went out of business because they didn't keep their journalists out in the field getting into garages, races, events, and shops finding new stories. 

the way Hot Rod, Road and Track, Car and Driver, Hop Up, and Automobile became such cool magazines was that they kept their reporters OUT getting great content and making cool feature stories. Them stories on racing on Bonneville, Indy, Daytona, and El Mirage didn't happen because butts were filling the seats in the office 

is a 1965 Shelby GT 350 Mustang a sports car? Seems like not everyone agrees with me on what qualifies as a "sports car"

 I call the Camaro, a sports car.... and BOOM! Instantly got pushback from a couple guys. 

Ok, not EVERY Camaro is a sports car! BUT, I don't think about every one of them. I think about the cool ones. Life's too damn short to give a shit about the lousy cars. 

I have a 68-69 Z 28 in mind when I think of Camaros, and the newest Camaros, on the track in the Optima Challenge. 

When someone commented that the Camaro was, at best, a Pony Car, maybe a muscle car... well, damn, I'm not the only one who has a specific car, or year of the car, in mind. Reggie Jackson knows they are muscle cars, he owned at least 1 ZL1 Camaro, and Don Yenko knew they were muscle cars. No one denies they are pony cars. That's not even this conversation. 

So, why deny they are sports cars? Just to wind me up and see if I'll vent? Ok

Don't tell Don Yenko, Roger Penske, Mark Donohue, and the SCCA that a Camaro isn't a sports car. 

There's not a lot of difference between the C7 Corvettes and the last gen of Camaros, and I think you'll agree that seriously makes the recent Camaros sports cars, else why else would so many of them be at the Optima Challenge? But no, the 70s Camaros, the 80s and 90s Camaros? Not so much, not unless they were track prepped like the IROC racers

You might argue that if it has to be track prepped and race ready to be a sports car than it isn't one, well, that's going to blow the argument that some have made that just being a British, Italian, or German 2 seater drop top or roadster, built with greater breaking and suspension, they are automatically a sports car. 

There are simple too damn many hundreds of thousands of mediocre cars made by sports car companies that prove that having the manufacturer Lotus Porsche, Mercedes, Jaguar, etc etc, name plate doesn't make their cheap junk a real sports car.... so, yeah, being a car made by a sports car company doesn't automatically make a car a sports car, and being made by Chevy, Ford, Dodge, etc doesn't automatically exempt their cars from being a sports car. 

So, getting back to the Camaro. If it's not a sports car, then why is Mark Donohue in the SCCA Hall of fame? Hell, the SCCA has an award NAMED for Mark Donohue! 

That is BECAUSE in 1968 Donohue had an unprecedented 8 race winning streak, and Chevrolet won 10 out of 13 races. That's just one example of why I am stating that the Camaro, especially the 67-69 Z-28 is a sports car. 

So then the guy argues with me that the Camaro was racing in the sedan or other class... well, I reply, in WHAT EFFING RACING SERIES? Oh, yeah, the SPORTS CAR CLUB of AMERICA (SCCA) ergo, to race in the SCCA, I'll just take a stab in the dark and say that to get a membership/racing number/accepted on their series/race tracks/championships/Gran Prix, it's a damn sports car. 

I think you'll all agree that some stupid cars have been anointed as sports cars, including the Crosley Hot Shot.   https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1657867_1657678,00.html 

Here's the argument I'm responding to

"SCCA does not have a class called "Sports Cars'. A Camaro could run under Sedan or Touring though. I assume you mention Penske and Donohue for their participation of racing Camaros in Trans-Am back in the day. But the TA series was originally known as the Trans-American Sedan Championship. The sedan word was dropped from the title, but sports car was never added."

Yes, let's take a moment.... and focus on that, that Trans Am Championship? THAT WAS THE SCCA's race, god damn it.  

The 1968 Trans-American Championship was the third running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series.

So your argument about the mistake you made about the Trans Am races? Clarified now that you have been informed that THOSE were SCCA races. 

So, I repeat, Camaro = sports car. 

Also - if you skipped past what the letters SCCA stand for, and go right to the classes, then, maybe you missed that they are all SPORTS CARS. 

More of the argument I'm responding to: 
To me a sports car has only 2 seats and a top that drops. Otherwise it's a GT or something else.

Anyone else instantly think they've just read a statement that wasn't thought about first?

So, my response?

Then to you it's not a sports car if it's a hard top? Really? So, no hardtop Corvettes are sports cars, to you? No Porsches, BMWs, Jaguars, Mercedes gullwings, Abarth Fiats, NSX, AMX, Aston Martin, Audi R8, Callaway Corvettes, Vipers, Panteras, Ferraris, GT 40, Lamborghini, Lancia Stratos, Lotus, Maserati, McLarens, Morgans, Fiero, Spyker, and Toyota Supra are sports cars if they have a hardtop? Really? Did you want to stand by that ridiculous definition? 

He... well, I imagine he regretted his earlier hasty statement about a top that drops. Not that he backed off the denial of the Camaro as a sports car.. but here is his latest... 

 what the letters in SCCA stand for is really not important.

(I shit you not, I am not making that up, that's either stupid or ignorant, am I right?) 

Yes, I will stand by my statement. Because I said, "TO ME a sports car has only 2 seats and a top that folds down". I realize that most people don't agree with this. But that's ok, they don't have to. I like this traditional definition from way back when. But I can compromise my definition. Some of the cars you mention: Corvettes - soft top or hard top - ok, sports car. Porsche - depends on the car. 911, Cayman, Boxster - yes. The 924, 944, 928 - no, those are GTs. I think it's obvious about their SUVs. 

Not obvious to you, the Macan or Cayenne outperformed the 911, I remember posting about it a long time ago

Jaguar - only the drop tops and definitely not any of the sedans. An E-type convertible is a sports car, but a E-type coupe is a GT. 

NSX - ok, yes a sports car 

AMX - no. Muscle car 

Aston Martin - really? They were always marketed as a GT car.  ( I don't car how the car was marketed. You're telling me that James Bond wasn't driving a sports car? Really?) 

R8 - ok 

Ferrari - depends on the model.  They make GT cars and sports cars. I would contend they have made more GTs than sports cars.

 Morgan - most all of them are 2 seat drop tops so not sure why you mention them. (their new Aerocar) 

 Fiero - LOL... really? That's what they promised, but the early ones were just commuter cars. The sportiest versions were actually called the GT as I recall.  (Again, I don't care what a car was called, or marketed as, what a car IS matters, NOT what the advertising and marketing department called it to make sales happen. If it quacks like a duck, and waddles like a duck, if it doesn't, it don't matter what color the racing stripes are. ) 

 Anyway, back to the subject of the Camaro. I love Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs, 442s, GTOs, Chargers, Challengers, etc. They can be fun and fast. They can be raced. I've even owned a few. But they are not "sports cars". In my opinion. (I didn't ask what your opinion was of the 442s, GTOs, Chargers, and Challengers, I pointed out that a hardtop Viper is indeed a sports car. Just admit it. )

Someone else emailed me to say that a mass marketed car wasn't a sports car. 

AND that "In order to race them thy had to build suspension that would keep them on the track but most people wouldn't like in their daily transportation."

Really? So, again, you're sure that you thought about that before hitting send? The Corvette, 911, etc are all mass marketed. 

No, they didn't build better suspensions to race them... anything can be raced. Fred Flinstones vehicle can be raced, Amish horse buggies can be raced. 

They built better suspensions to WIN races. And THAT is why all the sports car companies have RACE cars and gen pop cars. They DON'T take the gen pop cars to the ring to achieve impressive results, they only bring the race prepped cars. Same with the Vipers, Corvettes, BMWs, Porsches, Mercedes-AMG, Lamborghini, GTR, etc

And getting back to the Shelby GT 350 Mustang, which seems to annoy both those guys that it's called a GT, and it's a hard top, and a 4 seater... and I like this part the most, it proves that a Mustang could be a sports car.  The GT 350 was the B Prod champion 3 years in a row.  And it qualified as a sports car to the SCCA by tossing the back seat and putting in a spare tire in that place. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Trans-American_Championship
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars-vans/86123/fastest-nurburgring-lap-times

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Mustang#:~:text=The%201965%20GT350%20was%20built,champion%20for%20three%20straight%20years.

Summed up, I think anyone that prefers to define what some term is, rigidly, screws up. Hot rods, Muscle cars, and Sports Cars all have too damn many variations to be defined in a short couple sentences... but, guess what? I was emailed all the dictionaries definitions of "sports car".  Here's what a bunch of desk bound admin types who can't use a clutch think a sports car is:

 

WEBSTER; a low small usually 2-passenger automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving . 

CAMBRIDGE; a fast, low car, often for two people only. 

DICTIONARY DOT COM; a small, high-powered automobile with long, low lines, usually seating two persons. 

OXFORD; a low, fast car, often with a roof that can be folded back. 

COLLINS; A sports car is a low, fast car, usually with room for only two people. 

BRITANNICA; a low, small car that seats two people and that is made for fast driving

I'd like you to keep in mind, these are just as likely to be the definitions of Hot Wheels, Matchbox, toys, and race cars. Hell, these definitions allow for those automobile sto have a pickup bed... you know, like a truck, El Camino, Ranchero, and that cool old Hudson truck that looked like a car with a bed, as the Webster and Dictionary.com definitions didn't mention "cars" just automobiles, as, to define something has to cover the whole category. Like the earliest "sports cars" which I'll say include the Stutz Bearcat, and most websites and writers will agree with me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stutz_Bearcat  https://silodrome.com/stutz-bearcat-car/

Anyway, I've had my say, time for any of you who choose to, to say if a Camaro is a sports car, or not. use the comment section please, not my email. Most of you have had a couple more decades than I have to have formed an educated and experienced opinion on the Camaro's viability, or status, as a sports car 

grumpy old man who hates yuppies making Harleys crazy loud, wrote a really long article about it ("some of them wanted everyone to know their mufflers are broken")

"full disclosure, I do know a little about generating noise. I have an electric wood chipper that can scare off crows and terrify small pets. But I don’t fire it up unless somebody goes first with their leafblower. And I certainly don’t go riding it up and down the street to show off."

"if you need to wallow in the noise, rent Climate Pledge Arena and do it indoors the way nature intended. Instead of forcing your noise on people who just want to get home without feeling like they’re being buzzed by the Blue Angels."

for the full grouch out, https://mynorthwest.com/3990292/ross-enough-of-broken-muffler-noise-motorcycles/

Just look at this asshole. You know from the way he looks, he did awful things, and enjoyed it.

Maybe it's the Hitler mustache. 

Maybe it's because this asshole invented the speedbump. 

Yeah, this guy was a university chancellor (like that has ever been a role filled by anyone kind and generous? Hell no. There's never been a Jane Goodall, or Mr Rogers, Jim Henson, Mother Theresa, or Ghandi who were university chancellors) 

This smirking shithead was a physicist, named Arthur Compton, and he invented the speed bump in 1953.  He noticed how fast drivers sped by Washington university, and like most Karens, had to do something about it to wreck the fun for everyone, because he'd already yelled at all the students to get off the lawn, then needed to Grinch on something else... that's what university chancellors do when not cutting the budget, or playing golf

Print this picture, glue it to the dartboard, or use it for target practice. This sadistic bastard caused more front ends to get misaligned, more shock mounts to snap, more headers to get smashed... and more brakes to get stomped than anyone else in history. I hope he died of brain cancer after seeing his puppy get burnt alive. I hope he drank drano by accident, and got paper cuts on the corner of his mouth from licking the envelope too fast. Then drank pure lemon juice. 

I hope he believed he was going to heaven, ended up in hell, and he gets to be in the barrel more than anyone else, and that some demon takes a lot of pleasure in putting bamboo shoots under his finger nails, then smashes his toes with a hammer (Payback, Mel Gibson movie). I hope Joe Pesci gets gangster all over him... hammers, bench vices, everything!

great photo of that cool old style of helicopters I like the design of

1961, Jackie and daughter Caroline use the Army to give them a ride at taxpayer expense to their horse ranch. 

Yeah, waste of taxpayer dollars so the elite can enjoy the lifestyle of the megawealthy, instead of paying for schools to get text books. Seriously. It boggles my mind how much money is wasted by politicians in lifestyle stuff like this instead of filling potholes, fixing bridges, funding the education system... etc. 

Great photo, but, serious waste of money. Kids can't get a good satisfying lunch in public grade school? How much did it cost for the motorcade, it's security detail, the fuel, etc? Could have paid for a month of better meals in any school. 

https://kennedy-photos.blogspot.com/2013/02/page-2.html

I get some bizarre emails. Here's one for an example of how difficult people are.

Jesse I’m interested in knowing about the painting by NORMAN ROCKWELL of Henry Ford and his wife in the red brick shed. 

 How many oil on canvas paintings were done and what year? I’m having a very hard time locating in formation on this painting.  

Thank you for any assistance you might be able to provide, 

Sincerely Sam G.

......................................................................................................................................................................

Sam is asking website people about something, but not sending a link so I can quick and easy see what he's referring to. That is annoying. Now, to answer him, I have to figure out how to find it among the other 57000 articles.

 Wastes my time, just to answer a question, which he could use google to figure out, unless he's rich enough to care enough to learn this trivia, like an art collector, but too lazy to spend the time finding out.

 Get where I'm coming from? I'm not a Rockwell expert, nor, do I work at an art gallery, art museum, or art university.

I'm just a car guy. 

But I got this info in less than 5 minutes using google. Then I added the info to that post (link below) because I want my posts to be as informative as I can make them when it's interesting info

AITA?

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/11/norman-rockwell-automobile-paintings-i.html

So, what do we all know about all headers? They don't fit their stated make and model very well, none ever have, none ever will. So, what is a buyer to do with poor design?

I bought a pair of Hookers 13 months ago, https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2022/12/for-xmas-i-got-myself-hookers-and-its.html and you don't find out until after they are installed (12 months later) just how lousy the design is, and how little space the designer allowed for the #4 cylinder spark plug

Because the headers are only needed if the engine runs, and the engine doesn't run if the spark plugs can't be installed with a socket, or can't get a spark plug wire onto the plug because the header tubes weren't designed for enough space by bending them right. 

Hooker's website states "Your complete satisfaction is our priority" https://www.holley.com/help/

Now, don't that inspire you to be confidant that they are FOCUSED on making the headers right?

So, I'm going to see if it's just marketing bullshit, most likely, or, is there a spec of legit "give a shit" about making their headers right so they install right? 

Because, and I shit you now, their website also continues with "If an item purchased from Holley.com does not meet your expectations, it may be eligible for return."  Which is the same as "we don't care if it's crap, you can return it for a stocking fee if you don't want to keep it"

Notice that talks about body and chassis, NOT spark plugs. https://documents.holley.com/2463hkrrev.pdf

Let me set the scene... I'm not interested in returning these, and then trying the next, and the next, and the next, header companies to TEST THEM ALL to find out who is doing the best. 

I'm not paid to test headers for Consumer Reports. And I ain't got the money to go on a buying spree to see who has the best fitting headers. For pete's sake, anyone that is going to do that, is going to dyno them too. 

So, I'm not going to see if I can get to talk to management of Hooker, and see if they give a shit that the number 4 cylinder spark plug doesn't have ample space for the spark plug boot

CustomerHelp@holley.com   

Keep in mind, nothing is owned by small companies any more, about 1/3rd of SEMA companies are owned by investment LLCs. Holley went on a buying spree, then went bankrupt, just like other corporations like Audacy, 2 billion in debt after buying up radio stations. 

Well, Holley has been bankrupt a couple times, and bought Weiand, NOS, Demon carbs, Earl's, Accel, Mallory, Hays, MSD, Accel, Superchips, Diablosport, Edge, Flowtech, Mr. Gasket, Lakewood, and Hooker headers 
Now part of a conglomerate all owned by Sentinel, with the acquisition of Driven Performance Brands, an entity that original started as B and M Racing, Flowmaster, Hurst Shifters, Hurst Driveline Conversion, and even Dinan Engineering, the successful, long-time, California-based BMW tuning operation.

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/12/holley-has-been-sold-again-to-another.html
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/09/holley-now-owns-ridiculous-number-of.html

Consider what CJ Pony Parts wrote on their site:

The famous Hooker heart logo is among the most recognized in the performance aftermarket, and for good reason. It is a symbol of unmatched performance and quality, and that is exactly what Hooker has delivered to its dedicated customers for over five decades.

The dedicated team at Hooker sometimes spends twice as much time developing a header to find 10% better performance, and the results do not lie.  https://www.cjponyparts.com/hooker-headers/c/8_1001_70/

Who are they hoping to get free parts from to write that?