Friends, don't let your friends Ford off road. Be kind, let them know they can just say no to drugs

http://thefunnybeaver.com/when-ford-owners-try-to-go-off-roading/ 

What are the best selling car companies in the major markets? Well... just like you'd expect, they aren't native to the country, unless you're in Japan

Here's what bothers me... why can't any native car company make a car that outsells imports? (Does not apply to Japan)

Doesn't any car company CEO have any pride? Any business acumen? Well... of course Toyota and Nissan do, Honda as well.

Why don't GM, Ford, Holden, Chrysler, Jaguar, etc? Is it the food? The coffee? The beer?

In the USA the top 3 are the same as the top 3 makers in Japan

1.Toyota
2. Honda
3. Nissan

In Australia

1. Toyota
2. Mazda
3.Hyundai

In England

1. Ford
2. VW
3. Nissan

In Brazil

1. Fiat
2. VW
3. Chevrolet

In Japan

1. Toyota
2. Honda
3. Nissan

the best selling sports car in Germany? The Mustang. Not the 911. Why? Costs half as much

http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/australias-top-selling-new-cars-of-2015-37643
http://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/10-most-cars-here-are-the-bestselling-cars-in-america-for-2015
http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/recommended/best-selling-cars
http://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/the-30-best-selling-car-models-in-brazil
http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/08/autos/ford-mustang-sales-germany/
http://www.motortrend.com/news/a-tale-of-two-top-tens-japan-us-buy-very-different-vehicles-the-kiinote/

Nissan is seizing on a more than 40 percent plunge in Mitsubishi Motors’ market value to gain significant control, it just bought 14% more of Mitsubishi, than Mitsubishi owned.... 34%N to 20%M

The purchase makes Nissan the single largest Mitsubishi Motors’ shareholder.

The companies plan to sign an agreement by May 25 in which Nissan can name four directors to Mitsubishi Motors’ board, including the chairman.

The transaction eases concerns about the viability of a Japanese automaker which has dealings with 7,777 companies affecting 410,000 people.

 Mitsubishi Motors has manipulated fuel economy data of four minicar models, two of which are supplied to Nissan, and improperly tested other Japan vehicles since 1991.

After overstating the fuel economy of its minicars by as much as 10 percent, Mitsubishi Motors faces the prospect of compensating owners of those vehicles for their shortcomings in performance. It also may have to pay back Japan’s government for tax rebates that its minicars shouldn’t have been eligible for.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/nissan-buying-34-stake-hands-lifeline-to-scandal-hit-mitsubishi  via  http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/news-nissan-now-controls-mitsubishi/

The Navy still owns a PBY Catalina, though it's been abandoned in Brazil, and flipped over by a hurricane in North Carolina, it now hopes for restoration funds at an abandoned Brooklyn airport

“It was found at the end of a runway in Brazil about thirty five years ago, right in the middle of the rainforest,” he says.

According to Kuhnert, it had been leased to the Brazilian government during World War II for just $1—its mission, to patrol the waters of the Brazilian coastline for German U-boats.

Kuhnert said it still belongs to the Navy, but the Parks department arranged to bring it in pieces to Floyd Bennett to be restored.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/theres-an-art-deco-airport-lying-ruined-in-brooklyn

Several instruments are in that country’s language, Portuguese, and cartoons of a flying turtle in fading paint on either sides of the vertical stabilizer read “Devagar Mas Ciego Là”—“We’re Slow But We Get There."

Before the PBY became a HARP project, it was overseen by the U.S. Marines based in Cherry Point, North Carolina. It had just barely survived a hurricane. “The Marines loaded the wings with water for ballast but it flipped over anyway,” says Postel. “The wings were sheared off—the whole thing was a wreck.”

https://www.facebook.com/HistoricAircraftRestorationProjectHarp

http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/restoration-going-the-distance-3350061/?no-ist
https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=EFD24C1A-155D-451F-6737C82F6640C551

the "dead cat bounce" phrase meant that even a dead cat bounces once, and a bad situation may have a temporary relief when there seems to be hope, but isn't. That seems to be the issue with old Catalina planes

they can be found all over the world... dry lakes in Texas http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=100592

Halifax Canada

Columbia

Peru

Where ever this is in Canada when she was used for firefighting... and things went really wrong during the scoop

as a houseboat in NSW Australia

Tucson Arizona

Chile

and Wyoming

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/gec-military-moderated/eaZ0sQH9HlQ

Starting next month, cars produced prior to 1997 will be banned from Paris during weekdays

As air quality worsens in big cities around the world, lawmakers are scrambling to find solutions to curb pollution. Beijing last year issued a days-long ban of vehicles in the city when air pollution reached the highest level ever recorded. Meanwhile, Oslo, Norway, is proposing to ban all cars from its city center by 2019.

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/paris-banning-older-vehicles-city-curb-pollution/
http://www.lemonde.fr/pollution/article/2016/05/30/les-voitures-d-avant-1997-interdites-de-circulation-dans-paris-a-partir-du-1er-juillet_4929269_1652666.html#meter_toaster

When he was a young "wild and crazy guy" before he quit comedy for banjos, Steve Martin played a sadistic biker dentist, in the musical movie Little Shop of Horrors

found on https://themarquisblogger.wordpress.com/2014/11/22/a-sadic-dentist-riding-an-harley/

here's why they use heavy chain around car lots... it really stops cars

Thanks Steve!

Mike in Georgia wrote on http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5748790 :

I took that pic in the early 80s. I posted the pic in the early 2000s. The lot was Lephart Chevy dealer used car lot in Decatur GA.

My brother had calls me and said to get over there and take my camera. I was shocked to see this as I was still driving my 78 TA.I ask the people that were there if they knew what had happened.One person knew the driver and said he tried to steal the car when the police saw him and he tried to make a run for it.

The owner of the lot left the car in that spot for a week to let people know don't mess with my lot!

Finally, a Southern California rally tour for something other than expensive euro sports cars from Germany and Italy... the Tourge, for pre-1975 Japanese cars

For those of you unfamiliar with the Japanese word touge, it means “pass”. These mountain passes are quite common in Japan and serve the purpose of decreasing elevation in the road. As these twists and turns were built into the mountain, Japanese enthusiasts took to these passes for driving pleasure—and has the entire sport of drifting.

Ben Hsu and Patrick Strong went above and beyond to emulate a touge course in Southern California. The course started in Thousand Oaks, and ended in Torrance at the Toyota Museum in 2015

the Malamut collection in Thousand Oaks http://malamutautomuseum.com/index.htm

For coverage of the 2015 http://petrolicious.com/japanese-nostalgic-car-s-first-true-california-touge
and https://desktopconcours.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/touge-california-2015-presenting-the-birth-of-classic-japanese-car-rallying-in-america/

The 2016 touge, which was Saturday, April 2, put on by the hard-working people at Japanese Nostalgic Car who, along with rallymaster Patrick Strong and Jacob Brown from Touge-sponsor Mazda and a host of others, laid out a course from Mazda R and D in Irvine, South to Escondido, sorted through invitations and lined up all the cars for a long day’s drive into night.

 http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/touge-california-gives-classic-japanese-cars-their-spot-rising-sun

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/touge-california/

A fire starting from the electric distribution box caused a loss of 6 rare 1990's Skylines in an Ontario Ca importers warehouse

Lost to fire
1 : 1990 Skyline 4DR,GTS-T,
2 : 1990 Skyline 4DR,GTS-T,
3 : 1990 Skyline 4DR,GTS-4,
4 : 1989 Cefiro
5 : 1989 Skyline GT-R, KH2,
6 : 1989 Soarer
7 : 1990 Skyline GT-R, (NISMO)
8 : 2000 Skyline GT-R (R34 Race car)
9 : 1989 Skyline GT-R, KH2, ( R34 wheel),
10 : 1994 Eunos/Mazda Cosmo
11 : 1990 Skyline GT-R, KH2,
12 : 1990 Skyline GT-R, KH2,

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/list-of-cars-lost-in-international-vehicle-importers-fire/#more-49979
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/news/a29138/international-vehicle-importers-warehouse-fire/
https://www.facebook.com/importavehicle/posts/1157896960908837

worst crash I've seen in a while... some car was stopped in the middle of the freeway, and a tractor trailer already had hit it.... and the next tractor trailer just can't stop that fast, nor make an avoidance maneuver fast enough. Get a dash cam, drive defensively

https://www.facebook.com/Swift.Best.in.Crash/?fref=nf

It appears that one flatbed was stopped shielding the car.

The second flatbed caught the rear corner of the first flatbed sheering the front axles off as he was steering away from the right rear of the first semi 

How to shut down your competition... decisively. Proving, at the same time, to save gas and time, plus increase work accomplished per day, and week, and year

In honor of the 100th running of the Indy 500, Firestone offered fans the chance to race with one of the sport’s greatest champions, Mario Andretti.

The six-week online “Race Andretti” sweepstakes invited participants to outrace Mr. Andretti while performing everyday household tasks, the vacuum cord wrap, the fitted sheet fold, the light bulb replacement, the milk chug, the orange peel,




 The first challenge was to see how quickly participants can peel an orange.









One lucky racer won the chance to go to the 100th Running of the Indy 500 and meet Andretti. One weekly winner will receive a $500 Firestone Complete Auto Care gift card and a Firestone Racing hat signed by the racing legend himself.



http://leoburnett.us/chicago/article/firestone-raceandrettisweepstakes-gives-indycar-fans-chance-to-race-mario-andretti/
http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/20160425/NEWS/160429963/firestone-contest-pits-contestants-vs-andretti

John Force in 2008 celebrated his NHRA 1,000th round win milestone

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nhra/2008-05-04-gateway_N.htm

the interesting tale of the tires and all that went into the memorable photo of Force that was sent around the world. As you can imagine, getting "the shot" is often the result of good planning and anticipation. Such is the case here as well.

Obviously, with Force sitting on 992 wins entering this year, we all knew that if he was healthy enough to drive (and we all knew he’d be behind the wheel one way or another, right?), eight wins was light lifting for him. One thousand was just around the corner.

Force put in two right out of the gate in Pomona and two more in Houston to put him at 996 and within an event’s win of 1,000

The original concept began earlier in the year when the NHRA Marketing and Communications departments began to discuss ways to salute Force’s milestone achievement.

“There was some concern about the trophy/plaque being done in time for the Las Vegas NHRA event, the first race where he had a shot at 1,000, so we went into contingency mode. How could we illustrate this remarkable milestone – and this was important – and do it in a way that would represent the sport of NHRA POWERade Series Drag Racing?

“The idea of the three tires representing the zeros just sort of jumped off the page.”

NHRA’s Don Taylor came up with a quick sketch that would become the blueprint that everyone would work toward.

But then Force didn't qualify in Las Vegas, so, plans were reset for the photo-shoot in Atlanta.

Not only did Force qualify in Atlanta, but he won his first three rounds to push his total to 999 and set up a final-round date with none other than his daughter Ashley, who also was gunning for a piece of history, the first Funny Car win by a female racer. Ashley made history by defeating her father. And plans were delayed again.

Force qualified for the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals and was pitted against Ron Capps in the first round. NHRA Senior Vice President-Racing Operations Graham Light gave the green light to a short stoppage in the racing schedule should Force win the round, but with just 75 minutes between rounds, everyone wanted to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

At the top end, an actual line was painted on the return road to mark where Force's Castrol Mustang should stop. “X” literally marked the spot.

Force was finally brought up to speed on what he needed to do should he win. His role is simple: Come out of the car, do his ESPN2 interview, then pose for the photo.

Force beat Capps, and everyone rolled into motion. But as the green Ford was rolled toward the spot, the turn was made too wide, and his Mustang came to rest 30 feet from assigned spot.

Then the transmission locked up.

A mad dash was made to move the tires, signage, and photographers into the new location.

Force does his thing with ESPN, but instead of moving to the setup area, he wants to talk with Capps. As he’s doing that, Force’s newest protégé, Mike Neff, wins his first round of racing, so Force wants to congratulate him, much to the dismay of the assembled group

Force is finally corralled and photos are taken.

http://www.nhra.com/blog/dragster-insider/page/154/

interesting and unique Nascar trophies

http://hamptoncreative.com/foldsofhonorqt500/

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/photos/nascar-trophies-most-unique-victory-lane-celebrations-dale-earnhardt-jr-jimmie-johnson-kevin-harvick/16h3gmzexducg1pftd46dzrojb/slide/337000

Miles the Monster... represents the all concrete mile racetrack at Dover Delaware.

 It may not have as much storied history behind it, like winning a grandfather clock at Martinsville Speedway, nor may it carry the prestige of the Harley J. Earl Trophy for winning the Daytona 500. It certainly doesn't taste as good as a win in wine country at Sonoma Raceway or come with food like the lobster winners get at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. But it's coolest looking.

Martinsville gave away a grandfather clock from Ridgeway Clocks, and then that company was bought by the Howard Miller co, and they are now made in Zeeland Michigan. They are valued at about $11,000. Darrell Waltrip owns 12, Jeff Gordon owns 7

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2079380-the-best-and-worst-race-winning-trophies-in-nascars-sprint-cup-series
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2015/5/27/krafts-korner-miles-the-monster-dover-unique-trophy.html
http://dracoart-stock.deviantart.com/art/Monster-Monument-3-87668489
https://www.glassdoor.com/Photos/Lowe-s-Office-Photos-IMG35190.htm

Jeff Gordon's trophy room

https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/1zrkih/jeff_gordons_home_trophy_room_can_you_identify/

the biggest mural ever at a Nascar track... was Spongebob. WOW. May 2015, Kansas City

and for a trophy... that is cool! Brooklyn based artist KAWS created the SpongeBob trophy for “The Winner.”

and the 55 car happened to slide out onto the mural... coincidence, but incredible photo op

Nick Oudin, 8, of Kansas City, Mo., with the characters from SpongeBob SquarePants prior to the race. Oudin, who has an inoperable brain tumor, served as honorary crew chief for the SpongeBob 400 race teams.

http://www.vmg1.com/feature/spongebob-squarepants-400/
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/article20618250.html
http://wyandottedaily.com/more-photos-from-the-spongebob-squarepants-400-sprint-cup-race-at-kansas-speedway/

70's vans... hot rod style, flames and Cragar SS rims

http://rollinheavy.tumblr.com/post/114498435129/light-my-fire

sold at auction last fall (Profiles in History auction) the Impala from American Graffiti is now owned by Ray Evernham, and getting a thorough once over before being displayed at SEMA this fall

Ray Evernham has partnered with Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings, to bring this piece of movie history and Americana back to life. The car will go through a tedious forensic preservation and be unveiled in Axalta’s booth (Center hall just below Ford, right front corner pocket of the main floor) at the 2016 SEMA.

After being used in the film, Mike Famalette, only 17 at the time, purchased the car directly from Lucas Films for $285 in 1972. Famalette held onto the car from that time until the auction last fall

The only element Evernham is replacing is the engine, which was destroyed long before he purchased the car. As seen in American Graffiti, the ’58 Impala was equipped with a four-barrel 348, and three-speed manual transmission. Evernham found a 1960 327 Chevy.

With partner Axalta Coating Systems, Evernham will replace the exact paint and pinstripes on the vehicle.  “The paint scheme still represents the most recognizable aspect of this iconic car. Axalta’s goal with this restoration is to precisely match the original colors to preserve the vehicle’s heritage and protect this unique piece of history for years to come.” Harry Christman, North American Cromax® Brand Manager for Axalta. Axalta was able to recreate the exact paint blend, so we’ll return this car to the condition that moviegoers have seen for years.”

Evernham said the complexity of the restoration is daunting, and the time required will far exceed any project his team that has built award-winning, best-in-class cars for SEMA, Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and the Pinehurst d’Elegance.

“We are applying modern engineering with Bobby Alloway to return this car to the original movie condition,” Evernham said.

Thanks to Debby Robinson at Victory Management Group PR!  http://www.vmg1.com/