Performance Plus Tire

If you plan to buy custom tires you may also think about recycling your old tires. Here you’ll find a great selection of custom tires and discount tires. If you keep your tires properly inflated, you can improve your mileage and save on gas at the same time.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be on Monday August 25th - Topeka’s Steakhouse and Saloon, 1776 N. Parham Road, Richmond 23229, 804-346-3000 at 6:30 PM. We will eat in their banquet room before the meeting. The tip will be added to the check. If you need driving directions they are at this link: Driving Directions.

Wayne Balch Article

The Chesterfield Observer recently published a nice article about the Saturday cruise-in at Hardee's on Route 10 and Wayne Balch. You can read it at this link: www.chesterfieldobserver.com/news/2008/0618/home/003.html.

Car Hobbyist News

What is on the minds of everyone in this country right now? Could it be gasoline prices and the economy? I think the country has reached a consensus to drill off shore, in the Artic and anywhere else in the US where oil and natural gas can be found. That is we have all reached a consensus except those in Congress. It’s tough to understand why they would stand in the way of what all Americans want. Unfortunately the ban on drilling should have been lifted years ago so we could be using that fuel right now instead of hoping the ban gets lifted, then hoping that the oil companies will explore and drill, and then hoping that there is enough there to offset the high price until this country finally comes up with a comprehensive workable energy plan.

Those who remember the 70’s will recall that for well over 30 years we have known that the cost and availability of gasoline is going to be a problem. Oil is produced in places that don’t like us and is subject to all kinds of problems. Our elected leaders have done nothing for over 30 years to come up with an energy plan. Instead they have spent many millions of our tax dollars on research that hasn’t created anything. Sure we have electric cars that aren’t any better than they were in 1900. And yes Honda does have a fuel cell car that it is testing. But the fuel cell car’s cost is estimated at $1 million dollars and there are only a handful of hydrogen fuel cell stations so a fuel cell car is not a real solution at this time. And who knows how much hydrogen will cost? Just buying it for experiments in labs is expensive.

It’s simple – our elected leadership has failed us. I can sense the anger of a lot of Americans caused by that failure of leadership. It’s not just energy but in a lot of areas we feel our leadership has failed to lead.

Even on the state level we have a failure of leadership. It’s been three and a half years and once again the General Assembly is meeting to decide what to do about transportation funding. The governor has his plan and the GOP has a plan. Neither are perfect but we can all hope and pray that they will work together and come up with a plan that will go into effect really soon.

Why is it we have such a failure of leadership? I think there are many reasons but a major one is gerrymandering of districts. Right now in Virginia most districts are not competitive. In other words districts are drawn by members of the General Assembly after each census so that only a Democrat or a Republican can win a certain district. If only a Democrat can win a certain district then usually the GOP doesn’t even run anyone and vice versa. When the Democrats pick someone who cannot lose they usually pick someone from the far left. The GOP picks someone from the far right. Neither the far right winger nor the far left winger want to compromise and we have what is called gridlock and we the voters lose. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans select enough candidates that are in the main stream and are willing to compromise to move the locality, state or nation forward.

Unfortunately our elected leaders seem to be more interested in their own party, their own money, their re-election, fund raising and other activities and not for working for the betterment of our country and us.

Why Doesn't the Richmond Times Dispatch Cover Car Shows

I’ve been reading the Times-Dispatch for nearly 30 years until I stopped taking it in June. I had just had enough of the small print, cartoon caption contests on the editorial page, half pages, less newspaper at higher cost, opinion in places that it doesn’t belong, etc. After some careful thought I have come to a conclusion about why the paper doesn’t carry car shows.

The paper’s Flair section is about culture. It carries these stories on a regular basis. I guess this is what the paper considers “culture”.
Art shows and gallery openings
Festivals that have music or food
Charity fundraisers that invited “important” people to dress up and eat and drink
Recipes
Movies and TV

If you look at the Flair section you will see that the paper doesn’t miss a single art show or gallery opening. It does not miss an outdoor festival that has music or food as the main focus. And it loves to show color photos of rich, important people dressed up and apparently giving money to a charity.

What you won’t see in the paper are car hobbyists putting on a show with other activities that raise tens of thousands of dollars for area charities.

The newspaper staff can’t understand that cars and the car hobby are part of the culture of this country. Cars were once indeed art. Some automakers couldn’t even go a year without changing the appearance of the cars. Attention was spent on making the cars stand out from the rest of the autos on the roads. If you doubt cars are art look at the cars of the 50’s and early 60’s that had fins. What good are fins? They are just part of the design – the artistic design.

Car hobbyists are part of the unique culture of the automobile. We form clubs to share our culture with others. And most clubs give back to their community by helping to raise money for charity. It is very disappointing that the newspaper staff can’t understand that the car hobby is culture.

The paper’s circulation continues to decrease. Revenue from ads continues to decrease. The newspaper knows that most of its readers are in the 40+ age range. These are the same people that are part of the old car hobby. Too bad the paper fails to recognize our culture.

The managing editor of the paper has written, “if it’s important to you then it’s news to us”. Sure it is.

Senator Jim Webb Response to Climate Change Bill

This is the response I got to the climate change bill from our US Senator Jim Webb.

Dear Mr. Fann:

Thank you for contacting my office to express your concerns about America's Climate Security Act (S.2191/S.3036). I appreciate your taking the time to share your views.

As you know, this bill would reduce greenhouse gas emissions year-by-year at a constant, gradual rate. Electric power, transportation, and manufacturing sources would be required to reduce their emissions level to 15 percent below the 2005 level by 2020 and 70 percent below the 2005 emissions level by 2050. The bill would also strengthen energy efficiency standards for appliances and buildings in the residential and commercial sector not addressed under the cap system. This legislation was approved by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on December 5, 2007 and considered on the Senate floor the week of June 2, 2008.

On June 6, 2008, I supported a motion to end a filibuster on this legislation and move to the next step in the legislative process. While I supported the motion to move forward, I do not support the bill in its current form. I believe we must be careful to balance this legislative proposal with the potential effects on the American economy and the effects a carbon reduction strategy would have on lower-income individuals. Furthermore, it is also important to give attention to carbon capture and storage technologies, nuclear power, and the development of renewable energy sources. Finally, it is imperative to aggressively invest in new technologies and the deployment of existing technologies as we transition to a low-carbon economy.

You may be interested to know that I signed a letter with nine of my Democratic Senate colleagues to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, outlining our principle concerns that must be addressed in any final climate change legislation. A cap and trade system must not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but ensure that consumers and workers in all regions of the United States are protected from undue hardship.

As the 110th Congress continues to address global warming and other important issues facing the United States, please be assured that your views will be very helpful to me and my staff. I hope that you will continue to share your views with us in the years ahead.

I would also invite you to visit my website at www.webb.senate.gov for regular updates about my activities and positions on matters that are important to Virginia and our nation.

Thank you once again for contacting my office.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb

Antique Plate Info Flyer Online

The council delegates have approved the flyer with information on antique plates and a link to it is online here: flyer opens to a new window. Council members and antique owners may print the flyer for their own reference or distribute it to those who own or are considering registering a vehicle as an antique. It will remain on the site for an undetermined time. Council delegates will review the effectiveness of the flyer at a later date.

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