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When I read that I thought that doesn't sound right. So I looked up the Simpson-Mazzoli Act and found paragraph 19 which talks about documents for resident aliens and nothing about Rocktober. A $5,000 fine per day for not saying Rocktober? That just doesn't make any sense. Rocktober really came from a music store in Canada. Each year during the month of October the store ran a sale on everything called Rocktober. That makes better sense.
All Classic Car Enthusiasts and Clubs Are Invited
He has hosted more than 100 episodes of his Barn Find Hunter videos, now available on YouTube and the  |  |
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Next I setup my multimeter making sure the mode was set to DC amps and the range set to millivolts. Connecting the black negative lead onto the body ground (i.e. battery ground) and immersing the red positive lead into the radiator making sure the lead was in contact with the coolant and NOT anything else I observed a reading of 125.4 millivolts.(see picture #6). Far below the ranges noted above. In summary, the coolant in my GTO is fine. I will use the multimeter again since it checks against commercially available test strips and check the coolant before next season of cruising.
17th Annual Car, Truck & Motorcycle Show at Hyles Baptist Church September 7
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window
Defunding the police has done its damage. Every police department is faced with officer shortages, police officers retire as soon as they can and morale is low. The lack of police on patrol has resulted in more crimes and for us - more traffic violators that are not caught. This has made the roads less safe. All you have to do is get on any Interstate and see all the speeding and reckless driving that is endangering the public. We now have a 20 percent increase in roadway fatalities in Virginia since 2017 according to the Virginia State Crime Commission. There has also been an increase in drunken driving fatalities which has led to a call for increased education and enforcement from Governor Youngkin. For safer roads what we really need is more police on patrol.
See article below:
Roadway Fatalities In Virginia Spike As Speeding Tickets Decline, Report Says
From The Virginian-Pilot
More speeding drivers and “less proactive” police enforcement have helped to drive a nearly 20% increase in fatalities on Virginia’s roadways over six years, a recent state report says.
The Virginia State Crime Commission — which analyzed six years of state car crash data — said there were 1,005 crash fatalities on the Old Dominion’s roadways in 2022, up from 843 in 2017.
More than 5,300 people in Virginia — including 923 in Hampton Roads — were killed in car crashes during that stretch, the report says. That included people who died in cars and trucks as well as those struck while walking or riding bicycles.
The increase in roadway deaths, the state report said, is a result of “an escalation in risky driving behaviors,” such as speeding, impaired driving and failing to wear a seat belt. Larger and heavier vehicles also likely played a role, the report said.
The 19% jump in fatalities came despite a 4% reduction in total car crashes in Virginia over the same six-year period, the report shows.
Speed was a factor in nearly half — or 43% — of the state’s roadway fatalities, while alcohol was a factor in just over a quarter of them. More than a third of those killed — or 37% — were not wearing seat belts.
The increase in roadway deaths came as police and sheriff’s deputies throughout the state have sharply cut back on the number of speeding tickets they handed out.
“While Virginia has a number of laws meant to promote roadway safety, the enforcement of many of these laws has been significantly decreasing in recent years,” the report said.
Cutbacks in traffic enforcement that began during the pandemic have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2022, for example, there were just over 171,500 speeding tickets issued statewide for people accused of going up to 19 miles over posted limits. That was down 37% from the more than 274,000 such speeding tickets in 2017.
Tickets for “reckless driving by speed” — for going 20 mph or more above the limit — also fell sharply, the numbers show. There were just over 52,000 such tickets issued in 2022 — a 47% drop from the more than 99,000 handed out five years earlier.
Charges brought for failing to wear a seat belt have likewise dropped sharply — to about 21,000 such tickets statewide in 2022 from nearly 39,000 in 2017. That’s a reduction of 46%.
Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said the manpower shortages at the state’s police departments are real — and it affects basic public safety.
“We just don’t have as many people out there on the road as we need to have,” she said. “It’s a big concern.”
Aggressive driving, including people hitting speeds of more than 100 mph, is on the rise, Schrad added. The crashes that do occur, she said, “are more likely to have serious injuries and fatalities.”
Police manpower shortages, she said, began across the country with officer retention and recruitment challenges following the George Floyd protests in 2020. “They didn’t feel like they had the respect of the public anymore,” she said.
It’s been a struggle in many departments ever since, Schrad said.
Moreover, she said, there’s been “a hesitation” by some departments to conduct the high visibility traffic stops that once were routine.
“We’ve been trying to restore that positive relationship with our communities,” Schrad said. “To make sure people understand that when you pull somebody over for a traffic violation, you’re doing it not only in their best interest, but in the interest of other people on the road.”
The Virginia State Crime Commission first publicly presented the results of their car crash research at a meeting in November. But the commission completed the report this year — and first published it online June 30 as part of the board’s annual report to the governor and General Assembly.
The commission a 13-member state board that includes six members of the House of Delegates, three members of the state Senate, three citizens appointed by the governor, and a representative of the state attorney general’s office.
Among other things, the commission advises the General Assembly on possible changes that could be made to state law. In this case, for example, that includes changes “to promote roadway safety.”
To reduce traffic crash fatalities, the report said, Virginia should consider expanding remote speed monitoring and make failing to wear a seat belt a primary offense — which would mean someone could be pulled over for that alone.
States where not wearing a safety belt is a primary offense, the report said, tend to have better seat belt usage and fewer fatalities.
The commission said the state could also boost technology to help officers determine whether drivers are impaired by drugs. The state can also bar headphone use while driving and create a new criminal charge for injuring someone by reckless driving.
The study — conducted in 2023 at the request of the General Assembly — included examining six years of Virginia Department of Transportation car crash data, delving into traffic laws and talking with various stakeholders.
The report found that there were nearly 734,000 traffic crashes — and more than 5,300 roadway fatalities — in Virginia between 2017 and 2022.
More than 85% of the fatal collisions were on non-interstate roadways, the report said, and more than half — or 54% — were single-vehicle accidents. About 71% of those who died on the roads were male.
A significant number of pedestrians were struck and killed by cars in Virginia.
They accounted for 771 of the fatalities over the six years — or about 15% of the total. Their numbers spiked sharply to 171 pedestrian deaths in 2022, up 50% from five years earlier.
About a third of the pedestrians killed were above legal limits for intoxication, the report shows. Those between 50 to 69 were more likely than other age groups to be killed while walking. And most pedestrian fatalities occur at night.
Opinion: California Legislature Passes Speed Warning Chime Bill
At the end of their legislative session California lawmakers passed a speed warning chime bill. If the governor signs it into law – he has until September 30th to do so – then by 2030 all new cars sold in California (most likely everywhere in America) will have to have a speed warning that chimes briefly if the speed limit is exceeded by 10 miles per hour.
From The Drive: California could set an automotive precedent with a new rule. If Governor Gavin Newsom signs Senate Bill 961 by the end of September, many new vehicles sold or leased in the Golden State from 2030 onward will have to include a driver alert to discourage speeding. It’s not a speed restrictor being discussed here, but a “brief, one-time” audio and visual warning more like the seat belt chime your car already has.
SB-961 was introduced at the beginning of this year, then amended and discussed a few times, and has now passed through the state’s senate (26 in favor to 9 opposed) onto the assembly floor (47 in favor, 17 opposed). Next, the governor can sign it into law or veto it. If he vetoes, the legislature has 60 days to try to override it, if it wishes.
The exact language of what California may mandate is this:
“… commencing with the 2030 model year, every passenger vehicle, motortruck, and bus manufactured, sold as new, or leased as new in the state to be equipped with a passive intelligent speed assistance system, as specified, that would utilize a brief, one-time, visual and audio signal to alert the driver each time the speed of the vehicle is more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.”
A “passive intelligent speed assistance system” is also defined, as:
“… an integrated vehicle system that determines the speed limit of the roadway that the vehicle is traveling on, and utilizes a brief, one-time visual and audio signal to alert the driver each time they exceed the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.”
Motorcycles (thank goodness – you don’t need a distraction when riding one) and big trucks are exempt.
This looks like another “feel good” thingie that doesn’t really do anything. However there were a lot of people who apparently wanted this bill to pass. From Walk San Francisco:
Safe streets history is in the making.
The full California Assembly passed the speed technology bill, SB 961, late last night and in the nick of time before the legislative session ended! Read our press release.
This lifesaving bill is a really big deal: it would require vehicles made and sold in California to alert drivers when they’re 10 MPH+ over the speed limit starting in 2030. People around the country who work on safe streets are watching what’s happening with SB 961. Like when states first began requiring automakers to put seatbelts in cars, California can lead the nation.
I have two things to say: PHEW – and thank you. This bill’s fate was definitely hanging in the balance this week, and many of you got on the phone to legislators. It really helped to amplify Walk SF’s and Senator Wiener’s work to influence undecided Assembly members.
SB 961 is now headed to Governor Newsom’s desk. Newsom must sign the bill (or at least not veto it) by September 30 for SB 961 to become law.
When Walk SF became a co-sponsor of SB 961 in January, I knew we’d face plenty of powerful opposition, especially from the auto industry. And we have. That opposition definitely wants Governor Newsom to veto SB 961.
So we have to act quickly to show Governor Newsom that he must stand up to the auto industry and protect people from dangerous speeding.
Hard to believe that there are people who think a chime going off when they hit 10 over the limit is going to save a lot of lives. It’s like that speed reminder GM put in vehicles back in the late 60s and 70s – you would move it to a speed and if you hit that speed it would make a noise. I recall a buddy of mine had one in his parent’s big Buick with the 430 engine. It was fun to play with – in fact it could be a driver distraction. But let’s talk facts - speeding is the number one traffic violation by a lot! And yet speeding is not nearly as dangerous as other driving violations like blowing through a red light or stop sign, passing on double yellow lines, passing in curves, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving down the center of a bridge and I can think of many more. And think of the technology that would be required – the car would have to know what the speed limit is on the road the person is driving. Would it be able to do that using GPS? Would it make mistakes – I’m betting yes on that one. No wonder the automakers don’t want it. This would cost more and add to the price of new vehicles which are already too costly for many.
Oh, the do-gooders! Everything is just so simple to them. Pass a law and magically everything changes for the better. We have too, too many laws already. In fact many lawyers say we break several laws a day and don’t even know we are breaking them. But this chime law could be used in a comedy. Dumb and dumber could see how often they can make the chime work.
I have to wonder if a lot of state legislatures would be opposed to this because of all the money made from speeding tickets. Here in Virginia the State Police write a lot of speeding tickets during a holiday weekend like Labor Day or Memorial Day. Here is the break down on the recent August 30 to September 2 Labor Day weekend:
VSP troopers wrote these tickets:
3,078 speeding tickets
1,376 reckless driving (usually for speeding)
77 DUI (may have stopped a speeder and discovered they were drunk)
261 for hands free cell phone law
463 seat belt violations (may have also stopped them for speeding)
105 child safety seat violations (may have also stopped them for speeding)
Those figures total over 5,000 tickets. My point is speeding makes a lot of money for the state and localities. Adding a chime to new vehicles will make them more expensive to purchase. And someone will figure out a way to disconnect the thing. Too bad those do-gooders cannot legislate a way to make people drive better.
Jewels Found On Ebay
Here are a couple of hot finds from Ebay Motors.
eBay item number: 395674834758
$2,500 or best offer
eBay description: This is a complete vehicle missing 1 hub cap. Cranks but does not start. This would be a great parts car or great for someone with a good body but needs everything else. Clean NJ title. I started throwing new parts on it but I found a 69 Falcon I am exited to start working on and I have too many projects and need to thin the heard. New starter, relays, fuel filter, ignition switch assy. and coil. Has the original spare jack and tool kit. All the glass is good. 5 speed trans. Also have another complete center console without speaker holes and radio with faceplate.
This is a 1977 Datsun Z-Series. Yes cars and trucks from Japan can rust and rust very badly. Japan used something called high strength steel which was supposed to be just as strong as regular steel used for building cars but it was thinner. And when the rust worm hits that thin stuff it eats it right up as it has done to this vehicle.
Next up is another "project".
eBay item number: 355941203684
$1,500 starting bid
eBay description: 1946 Chevy 3/4 Ton Pickup
Barn-find from Minnesota originally, now in the Philadelphia area.
6 Cylinder, Column Shift
Hasn't Run in years - Good roller.
We have the original split wheels and additional parts that are included.
This vehicle is being sold with a bill
of sale only.
Another no title gem of a vehicle. What do these people do - just find a vehicle and tow it away and then try to sell it? Think they know getting a title can require a lot of work and money? And how did it get from Minnesota to Philly?
eBay item number: 326275007200
$6,500 or best offer
eBay description: 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback
T code 6 cylinder car automatic transmission, did not mess with motor as its missing parts and obviously no good
Good vins on fender and door tag
Good title numbers matching
very rusty car as shown in photos, will need complete restoration
complete interior
can deliver anywhere or export
please ask questions before you bid/offer
can take more photos/video but the cars super rusty, will need all sheet metal underneath replaced
This is one serious Rust-stang. Not sure I've seen one in person this bad. I guess the seller might as well see if anyone besides scrap metal recyclers will take her. Take a careful look and you will see the car is bent from having nothing but rust on the underside. Note in the second photo the rear leaf spring has escaped to inside the trunk.
Richlands Creamery Cruise September 8 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
Does Being Around Old Cars Make You Feel Younger
By Fred Fann
I recently read a book called Counterclockwise, A Proven Way To Think Yourself Younger And Healthier by Dr. Ellen J. Langer. The book is about thinking yourself younger and healthier. Many think of themselves as mind and body when you should think of your mind and body being one. Your mind can change how your body looks and feels. A great example of this is the placebo effect: The placebo effect is a real phenomenon where an improvement is observed in a person's condition despite receiving a treatment that has no active substance. It involves the mind influencing the body, often through expectations and conditioning, and can lead to measurable physiological changes similar to those seen with actual medications.
In fact when new drugs are tested the people doing the research have to factor in the placebo effect in order to find out the effectiveness of the new medication. Your mind can affect your body.
Langer performed a study in 1979 which became very famous. Below is from a review of the book about the study:
In Counterclockwise, Ellen Langer, a renowned social psychologist at Harvard, suggests that our beliefs and expectations impact our physical health at least as much as diets and doctors do. She argues that, as we grow older, our physical limitations are largely determined by the way we think about ourselves and what we're capable of. As a result, we need to challenge our socially constructed, implicitly learned assumptions around health and aging in order to take control of our own well-being.
For evidence, Langer draws on her 30 years of pioneering mind-body research, including her 1979 "Counterclockwise" study in which eight elderly men lived in a residential retreat that recreated the social-physical environment of 1959. After one week sequestered in this virtual 20-year journey back in time, all eight participants showed marked improvements in their hearing, memory, dexterity, appetite, and general well-being. They even looked younger to outside observers who saw photos of them before and after the experiment.
Langer cites other research that has made similar findings. In one study, for instance, 650 people were surveyed about their attitudes on aging. Twenty years later, those with a positive attitude had lived seven years longer on average than those with a negative attitude. (By comparison, researchers estimate that we extend our lives by four years if we lower our blood pressure and reduce our cholesterol.) In another study, participants read a list of negative words about aging; within 15 minutes, they were walking more slowly than they had before.
The men in the study were in their 70s and 80s, that had declined in both mental and physical health. They boarded a bus to go to a retreat and when they got on the bus only music from 20+ years was played. When they got to their retreat they had to carry their own bags and suitcases like they would have 20 years earlier. The men only watched TV with shows and movies from 20+ years ago. Their rooms had only decorations and magazines from 1959 or earlier. They were told to wear clothing similar to what they would have owned in 1959. As noted above the men showed improvement in both mental and physical health. A team of volunteers viewed photos of the men from before and after the retreat and they picked the after photos to be younger men than the before photos.
Can you think yourself younger and healthier? That is what the book is about. It is interesting when I read an article in a car magazine or online about how someone bought an older vehicle and driving it takes them back in time. I’ll bet you’ve read similar articles. Do we spend time around old cars and trucks because it makes us feel better? Do you enjoy going to antique stores and seeing items that you recall when you were younger? Why do people buy cars like the ones they have owned before? Why do people buy cars that they drove when dating their spouse, took on a honeymoon, drove when in military service – why do people buy cars or trucks that they owned or wished they owned or had some important part in their younger lives? I don’t think the reason is to relive the past. I believe the reason is that being around these vehicles makes people feel better.
Perhaps the secret to a long life is to be happy and keep moving. With older vehicles we get to experience both.
CCCCVA Appreciation Day at Pamplin Park September 14 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
Why Do Cars Look So Ugly? Famous Designer Says He Knows Why
From Toronto Star
By William Clavey Wheels.ca
A few months back, I wrote a piece about finding and tuning a first-generation R50 MINI Cooper. A few weeks later, I woke up to a message in my LinkedIn inbox. It was Frank Stephenson reaching out to congratulate me on the story I’d written about a car he had designed. Astounded, I seized the opportunity to speak with Stephenson online.
Stephenson’s first notable project was the Ford Escort Cosworth, a design he’s particularly pleased with. The car had a signature double rear wing. While at BMW he designed the very first BMW X5 SUV, then reincarnated the MINI. (The first-generation BMW MINI Cooper is regarded today as the best designed model in the line.)
Stephenson has also designed: the Ferrari F430, the Maserati MC12, the Ferrari FXX, the Maserati GranSport, the Maserati Quattroporte, the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, the “new” Fiat 500; and the McLaren P1.
He retired from McLaren Automotive in 2017, and created his own consulting firm called Frank Stephenson Design, which he runs today.
He lends a helping hand to a variety of different startups involved in a wide scope of products: watches; computer servers; child seats … and eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft), which he believes will solve some of our transit challenges.
He publishes educational videos about automotive design on his YouTube channel.
Asked why so many cars are so ugly and lack compelling, memorable designs, Stephenson says today’s auto designers have grown accustomed to skipping a crucial step in automotive design: hand sketching.
“Trends come and go, but today’s trend in automotive design, regrettably, seems to be ‘ugly is the new beautiful,’ ” Stephenson says. “It’s not like, say, during the 1960s, where (the term) ‘automotive design’ referred to a specific work of art.
“We don’t instantly fall in love with great designs as we once did.
“Instead, the focus now seems to be on shock value.
“Carmakers have this mindset that bold, shocking designs convey confidence in their brand and product. They assume that consumers will eventually catch up to their way of thinking,” remarks Stephenson. “In my opinion, that’s not a great way to sell a product to consumers.”
He acknowledges that new technology and modern design tools have opened the door to more creativity, while speeding up the design process.
But, he says, the new generation of designers has lost the appreciation for sketching on paper, and this contributes to the new, robotic, cold designs the industry is imposing on consumers.
“This new generation of designers, not only misses out on the organic connection between pencil and paper, but it also doesn’t care for it, as it (seeks) to solely rely on the digital.
“This is how design schools work now. Designers have lost the art of sculpting and embracing an intimate relationship with their designs, perfecting, and further understanding the lines and character traits they’ve drawn themselves,” Stephenson says. “Now, they mostly type in a set of commands in software and the computer gives them a shape that looks like a car, which they then work on.
“That … is the root of the problem for some of the questionable car designs we’ve seen in recent years.”
Stephenson is putting together his own design course to sell online.
“(It) will be long, because it must be. I mean, how do you compress four years of design school into a single online class? Still, I believe my course will give somebody at least the basics to get their teeth into car designing. Once that person is finished my course, and once they’ll have listened carefully to what I have to say, they’ll be able to design a car professionally, while at least having tools in hand, but also the confidence to keep move forward in this profession.”
He aims to reach talented people who aspire to work in automotive design, but feel intimidated by the high costs associated with university programs, or the competitive nature of the profession.
Lately, Stephenson has been designing eVTOLs, compact aircraft that may carry people over congested areas much more quickly than ground-based public transport. “I kind of smile to myself when people ask me if I believe in this technology. It is coming. By 2025 … I guarantee you’ll be able to get on one of these eVTOLs, fly for about half an hour at 150 miles per hour, and arrive at your destination for a price that would be very comparable to what you would pay for the same trip in an Uber. Except you would have gotten there much, much faster.”
What are his favourite and least favourite new vehicle designs? Stephenson says that the Lucid Air is one of the most beautiful cars he’s seen come out of today’s auto industry, while the Tesla Cybertruck, to his eyes, is the worst design he’s seen in his entire career. “I never thought I’d one day see something so ugly,” says Stephenson. “But there it is.”
7th Annual Be Like Mike Show September 15 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
The Briefs
A 44-year-old man accused of randomly shooting at vehicles on Interstate 5 south of Seattle, injuring six people including one critically, was charged with five counts of assault, King County prosecutors said Thursday. The Washington State Patrol says Eric Jerome Perkins shot at three cars driving north on I-5 at around 8:30 p.m. Monday, and at three more vehicles heading south several hours later. People in all but one of the cars were injured. He's being held in the King County jail on a $1 million bail and is scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 19. “The defendant fired indiscriminately at multiple vehicles as he drove the busy freeways in the Seattle and Tacoma areas,” Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Herschkowitz said in his request for a high bail. “He is responsible for causing several of the victims to sustain critical, life-threatening injuries." Perkins has a criminal history in California that includes two burglary convictions, two receiving stolen goods convictions and one count of threatening with intent to terrorize and obstruct, Herschkowitz said. Perkins claimed that people were “stealing his identity, making threats and following him,” so he “took matters into his own hands” and shot at cars to get them to “back off,” Washington State Patrol Detective Russell Haake said in a court filing. Perkins told Trooper Kameron Watts that he tried to get help from the Tacoma and Fircrest police departments, but when that failed, he feared for his life and borrowed a Glock 40 handgun from a friend, the filing said. He told the trooper that he shot at the cars because they were trying to box him in
It used to be that heads of state and royalty bragged about their “invincible” bulletproof limousines that shed gunfire, but the Lucid Air Sapphire, built with “military-grade armor,” can go beyond simple ballistic lead.
Priced at an enormous base price of $475,000, this version of the super fast all-electric Air Sapphire sedan, created by the US Armor Group, is delivered with ballistic windows and lightweight laminated, transparent armor that replaces the factory-installed glass. The armor is capable of stopping a round from a .44 magnum.
Worried about weight? US Armor says the shell is ten times stronger than steel yet five times lighter, adding “only” 385 pounds of weight. Performance compares with the non-armored car that can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 1.98 seconds and reach a top speed of 205 mph – all while delivering over 400 miles of all-electric range.
US Armor hasn’t ignored the interior. There’s an internet/WiFi security package to safeguard all sensitive data from hackers, as well as scanners that gather intelligence from more than a million sources, including local police and fire stations.
As reported by Electrek, US Armor Group says it can add several custom countermeasures, including electric-shock door handles, pepper spray dispensers, concealed gun ports, and poison gas protection/detection. It can also add upgraded armor to stop high-powered rifles or grenades.
According to a statement from the builders, “Armoring is important, but for our clients, digital security is also an integral part of their modern-day needs as C-suite executives and business owners. In today’s modern world, that means full protection from cyber attacks, tracking and other digital age threats, which are just as dangerous to them in many cases as a physical attack on the vehicle itself.”
North Carolina officials determined the cause of a fire inside a car in Burke County was a children's book.
A child's car seat was set ablaze when a “button battery” in a children's book caught fire after being left in the vehicle on Sunday, according to the George Hildebran Fire & Rescue Department. The family had left the car before the fire started, officials said.
Destiny Williams and her daughter, Misty, had come home from church that day and went inside the house, Williams told WSOC. Then, she began to notice smoke from the car. A neighbor eventually put the fire out with a garden hose, WSOC reported. After the fire was put out, the fire marshal's office was called to the scene, authorities said.
“My initial thought about it is: ‘What if it did happen?’ Because I would be without a daughter and a wife if it did happen (with them in the car),” the girl's father Pressley Williams told WBTV.
One of the several books near the scorched car seat was suspected of having a lithium battery, which are susceptible to catching fire if they overheat, according to the Burke County Fire Marshal's Office.
An ostrich brought traffic to a halt in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Tuesday as motorists tried to lure and nudge the towering bird off a multilane thoroughfare.
Drivers called Sioux Falls police just before noon to report the roughly 7-foot-tall bird in the middle of a busy four-lane road.
As police and animal officials responded, motorists hopped out of their cars and managed to carefully corral the flightless bird. Video shot by bystanders showed people coaxing the bird off the road by offering up food in a plastic container and a few gentle nudges.
A police spokesman said the bird was among several ostriches being hauled in a trailer owned by an out-of-state traveler before it escaped. The owner helped capture the bird and managed to get it back into the trailer.
“The ostrich suffered no injuries, appeared just fine by us and was back with its owner before we had to take over,” Thomas Rhoades, a Sioux Falls Animal Control officer, told the Argus Leader newspaper.
As if paying a parking ticket wasn’t the cause of enough frustration, consider sending off your bank details to pay a fake ticket, and getting scammed in the process.
According to Carscoops, criminals in Calgary up in Canada are slipping fake violation citations (that look convincingly real) onto the windshields of parked vehicles for the purposes of essentially stealing online payments from unsuspecting citizens.
This form of phishing has been spotted in other locales as well, including New York City and in California.
In Canada, the phony ticket has the Calgary Parking logo printed on it, along with the date of the supposed parking violation, and the requested penalty. The web address is close enough to the official one to trick drivers into thinking that the ticket is valid, and some fall for entering their bank details to make the “payments.”
Carscoops reports that the scammers print their own fake tickets and that some even include QR codes on the citations, making it harder for victims to spot the fraudulent web addresses.
In New York, the scam comes via text message, according to a story on Kelley Blue Book. The message claims to be from ‘New York CityPay’ and warns of a fake unpaid parking invoice of $2.50, that will become a $25 charge if not paid.
Police advise the potential victims to phone the agency that supposedly issued the citation to check that it’s real — but don’t call the number on the ticket.
Waymo’s self-driving cars no longer honk when near each other, Waymo’s Director of Product and Operations Vishay Nihalani said yesterday when he appeared on software engineer Sophia Tung’s livestream. The vehicles were spotted honking at each other a few weeks ago, prompting Waymo to issue a software patch.
As reported by NBC Bay Area, residents living near the parking lot full of Waymo taxis reported that despite the patch going live, the taxis still honked at each other. Tung, who lived near the idling taxis, set up her live stream to capture the cacophony of honking vehicles.
No good stream is complete without a soundtrack, and Tung’s stream included lo-fi music in the vein of the ubiquitous “LoFi Girl" on YouTube. The title, “Self Driving Taxi Depot Shenanigans To Relax/Study To,” was an obvious tribute to the LoFi Girl channel. (And yes, she had permission to use the music.) Despite a fix being pushed out, the stream captured the cars continuing to honk at 4 a.m. this past Saturday.
Nihalani joined the stream to speak to Tung about the ongoing honking. According to the director, the cars’ honking was an intentional feature for taxis cruising on public roads to avoid collisions, but honking at each other while idling in the parking lot was never intentional. The taxis have now all been updated to solve the issue.
Driving along Interstate 5 in Tacoma, Washington on Aug. 9, Master Sgt. Joe Thach noticed billowing smoke ahead, and soon enough came across a car that had collided with a barrier on the highway, engulfed in flames.
“As I looked I noticed that nobody had stopped to help and I thought well if not me, then who?” Thach told Washington’s KOMO news, adding, “That’s somebody’s son, brother, or dad and immediately it’s something that I thought that I would want someone to do that for someone I cared about.”
Jumping into action, Thach, who has served in the Army for 18 years, was able to apply his background and training to free the man from the damaged vehicle as the fire continued to spread. Pulling him away from the burning vehicle, Thach discovered that the man was also a military veteran. “I remember he reached out to me and grabbed my hand and he was like I really need a brother right now,” Thach told KOMO news. “I grabbed his hand and let him know that he would be okay, fully understanding that it was a pretty rough day for him and letting him know that I was there for him.”
The time is right. On October 24, 2024 – 44 years to the week after the last Scout II™ rolled off the line – we’ll officially reveal the next generation of Scout vehicles to the world. To the makers, doers and everyday explorers, and our loyal Scout community, we look forward to showing you our new SUV and truck concepts we've been hard at work crafting behind the scenes. Website: Scout Motors
Drunk Driving Statistics 2023:
Throughout 2021, motor vehicle accidents claimed 13,384 lives, with at least one driver found to be alcohol-impaired in each instance. Alcohol-impaired fatalities accounted for 31% of all traffic fatalities nationwide.
From 2020 to 2021, fatalities resulting from alcohol-impaired-driving crashes rose from 11,718 to 13,384, marking a 14.2% increase.
In 2021, a fatality linked to alcohol-impaired driving occurred every 39 minutes.
Individuals between the ages of 21-24 and 25-34 had the highest rate (27%) of alcohol-impaired drivers being involved in fatal crashes, surpassing all other age groups in 2021.
There is a notable gender disparity, with approximately four male alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes for every female driver.
Of all alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2021, motorcycle drivers accounted for the highest percentage of crashes (28%). Passenger car drivers, light truck drivers, and large truck drivers made up 24%, 20%, and 3% respectively.
Children aged 14 and below were involved in a total of 1,184 traffic fatalities, with around 25% or 294 deaths attributed to accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers.
Out of the total 13,384 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities that occurred in 2021, 67% (or 9027) deaths occurred in crashes where at least one driver exhibited a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.15 g/dL or higher.
Alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal accidents was 2.8 times more prevalent at night compared to daytime incidents.
'Dieselgate' Trial Begins
Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn's criminal trial for his role in the so-called "dieselgate" scandal began yesterday, nine years after the German automotive giant was accused of rigging emissions tests. Winterkorn, 77, faces charges of fraud, market manipulation, and perjury. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison. He has denied all charges.
In September 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of installing illegal software, dubbed “defeat devices," in diesel cars to manipulate emissions tests to pass environmental standards. The device could switch off a car's emissions control system while driving on the road and reactivate it during emissions testing on a dynamometer. When shut off, the defeat devices allowed nitrogen oxide emissions up to 40 times higher than the legal limit.
Roughly 11 million vehicles worldwide were equipped with the software and the scandal cost Volkswagen over $38B in fines and compensation.
Dodge has been talking about its revolutionary concept for an all-electric muscle car for at least two years, but today (September 16) Dodge says it will start taking orders for the high-horsepower 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV. Dodge is also promising an exclusive Performance Experience for muscle car lovers who are first to sign up. The First Call package includes two-day performance driving experience at Radford Racing School, welcome kit and exclusive VIP concierge service for customers who place an order by October 31, 2024, and eventually take delivery.
Prospective Cybertruck owners who do not want to spend the extra $20,000 to purchase a Foundation Series Cybertruck have started a petition calling on Tesla to refund their non-refundable $1000 deposit.
The petition was started by Dennis CW, a YouTuber who reported on the issue a few days ago. In his initial video, Dennis showed several individuals with a Cybertruck pending order being forced to either take delivery or lose their $1000 deposit.
Dennis highlighted several individuals who had posted online showing the communication they had received from Tesla.
As mentioned already, Tesla is giving these individuals a few days to either take delivery of their Foundation Series Cybertruck or have their Cybertruck order deemed canceled. In that case they will be forced to forfeit their $1000 deposit.
Repair Mistakes & Blunders
From Rock Auto
I recently replaced the front and rear brakes on my son's 2009 Pontiac G6 when I snagged a great deal on some wholesaler closeouts! The front brake replacements went quickly and easily, and then I turned my attention to the rear. On this Pontiac, the rear brake calipers cannot just be squeezed back into place. Nope, they have to be turned while squeezing the piston back in. I bought the tool needed from RockAuto as well.
I went about it on a hot sunny day and thought everything was ready to go, but for some reason I couldn’t get one of the rear calipers back onto the new rotors. Something was stopping it. Well, after about 40 minutes of struggling and looking, it finally hit me. With these particular rear brakes you must line up the groove in the caliper piston with the set of rivets on the brake pad otherwise they will not properly fit. Needless to say, I figured it out in the heat, and the other side only took about half as much time to complete.
Look for the obvious and simple error first!
Chris in Rhode Island
Oldies But Goodies Classic Cruizers Fall Classic September 21 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window. (Photo is the Best in Show)
Yes, Cars On The Road Are Getting Older, SEMA Confirms
From Hagerty
The Specialty Equipment Market Association, which you might be familiar with as a result of their massive annual trade show in Las Vegas, represents over 7000 member companies that “create, buy, sell, and use specialty-automotive parts that make vehicles more unique, attractive, convenient, safer, fun, and even like new again.” As a result, they tend to have a finger on the pulse of the consumer automotive business.
That’s evident from a new survey SEMA has done “on the latest trends and developments in vehicle lifecycles, and providing new insights for those who provide parts for accessorizing and modifying the U.S.’s more than 289 million vehicles.”
The bad news: Unless you are a SEMA member, you have to ante up $1500 for the report. The good news: We have the highlights here.
• Vehicles are staying on the road longer, a continuing trend. The average U.S. vehicle age is now at 12.6 years, its highest number in over a decade. Passenger cars are now an average of 14 years old (up from 13.6), while light trucks rose slightly to 11.9, from 11.8.
• The used-car market ticks downward but remains historically high. The average listing price of a used vehicle in the U.S. is $25,251, as of July 2024. Car values have fallen faster than that of light trucks, with the sharpest decrease in overall vehicle value found in EVs (-11 percent).
• Stabilization of new vehicle prices are offset by the climb of interest rates in recent years. The average new vehicle price sits at $48,644, down slightly from the year prior, and halting a dramatic climb that began in the beginning of 2021. However, interest rates for new and used vehicles continue to hound buyers, remaining significantly higher than those offered in 2021-2022, regardless of loan-term length.
• Automakers are producing fewer entry-level vehicles. While new vehicle inventory in 2024 has reached a three-and-a-half-year high, small cars and other entry-level vehicles (those priced below $20,000) make up just 0.7 percent of the market, compared with seven percent five years ago. This lack of affordability has a profound impact on younger people, who are historically more price-sensitive than older drivers.
• We’ve had two decades of increasingly dependable vehicles. Since 2003, vehicles have exhibited fewer problems, highlighting a growing reliability that is a boon to consumers. However, recent years have yielded an increase in vehicle issues tied to new technology-based automotive features, including driving assistance and infotainment systems; this trend could impact future dependability.
• The nation’s fleet of vehicles is growing. The past year saw the net addition of 3 million more vehicles to the roads, with crossovers (72.7 million) closing the gap with passenger cars (89.2 million) as the dominant segment of the entire fleet. However, compared to 10 years ago, vehicle registrations skew more heavily toward light trucks than cars.
• SEMA’s core, the specialty-equipment aftermarket continues to grow and is expected to keep growing. Specialty equipment retail sales in 2023 surpassed $52.3 billion and are forecasted to grow to more than $57 billion by 2026.
The research also reveals trends across four categories of vehicles (Classic, Aged, Core, and Modern), highlighting age, popularity, usage, and consumer spending habits. For accessorizing, pickups and muscle cars are the top choices for enthusiasts. Meanwhile, vehicles in the Aged category are driving spending for performance products, as a way to refresh their older vehicle. Aftermarket product spending for Modern and Core vehicles (59 percent and 54 percent respectively) was primarily on accessory and appearance products, while 43 percent of spending on Classic vehicles was for performance products.
If you aren’t a SEMA member and want to spend money on a copy of the report, it’s here.
2nd Annual Royal Racing Car Show September 28 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
Plymouth Road Runner Commercial ~ Wile E. Coyote, 1971
Smart Tires Are Coming From Pirelli and Bosch While Airless Tires Are Coming From GM And Michelin
From Torque News
Pirelli and Bosch have announced the development of Smart Tires in parallel with the effort to bring out airless tires for cars. The airless tires are being developed by GM and Michelin. So why Smart and Airless tires?
Airless Tires
It is interesting to note that tires kind of started out being airless but these were solid rubber that didn’t conform to the road and were very uncomfortable to use. The problem that airless tires solve is flats. We did have a technology called run-flat tires, but they were expensive, they couldn’t be patched if you got a leak, and if you had an all-wheel drive car, you needed to replace all four tires if you got a puncture (something I painfully learned in person). So, you traded off the need for a spare for a flat tire recovery cost of 4 new run-flat tires ($25 vs. $3K in my case).
Airless tires use rubber to replace the air and have no sidewalls as a result, this makes them unusual to look at, and they, like run-flats, require a special wheel. But these tires will take a lot more damage than an air-filled tire will take before failing and most will only be replaced when the tread wears out.
These tires will, like run-flats, be more expensive to buy but they should last longer and be safer to use. One problem, however, is that law enforcement currently uses spike-strips to deflate tires in order to stop somewhat safely fleeing drivers, spike-strips won’t work on airless tires but there are other, and arguably far safer, methods to stop fleeing cars.
Smart Tires
It isn’t how much horsepower you have, but how much you can put down. With current technology, we mostly measure tire slippage, but we have no idea about the tire contact patch the material the tires is running on, or the detailed condition of the tire all necessary for a computer to determine how much power the vehicle can apply.
This is not only critically important on a track where just a little mistake can result in a very expensive experience, but on the road as well. For instance, a number of years ago, I was driving to a ski resort, and just as I and three other cars were about to turn left, we sequentially hit black ice, it was totally invisible, and when we each taped our brake to make the turn we each rotated to the left and proceeded to slide forward in a weird synchronized progression. Fortunately, were all going very slow, and we ended up not hitting each other or ending up in a ditch, but had we been going to the speed limit, we’d have totaled all three cars.
With ADAS (Advances Driver Assistance System) the car has a feature Toyota called Guardian Angel, which will come standard on any car with Level 3 or better Autonomous Driving capability. This allows the car to take control immediately should it be put at risk, for instance, if it hits black ice. The front tires hitting the ice would inform the ADAS system of the problem and then based on the speed of the vehicle, whether it was an incline or decline, and where the surrounding vehicles and obstacles are, it would be able to either stop before the rear tires were compromised or react in a way to minimize the risk to the passengers or vehicles. Otherwise, the system would wait until the tires started to slip before determining there was a problem and, by then, the car is likely to have become ballistic.
You can hit multiple surface areas when driving, gravel, oil, water, ice, sand, snow, or even grass may be your driving surface and while cameras on future cars will be able to pick up some of this, only something touching the driving surface can analyze exactly how much traction you have in order to fully inform the car’s ADAS system on how it should behave.
Wrapping Up: Critical For Electric Vehicles
While these changes will help gas cars perform more reliably on mixed surfaces, they will even be more important for electric vehicles. This is because the nature of electric motors is that they can be adjusted thousands of times a second allowing them to micro-adjust for any conceivable surface. This capability should allow an electric car to make far more use of the traction it has with obvious benefits to the track and daily drive keeping us more competitive and safer in both modes.
Smart Airless Tires will be the holy grail of new tire designs, making spare tires a thing of the past, and more fully enabling the ADAS systems of the future.
Biden Administration Fuels EV Transition With $1B Fund For Small Auto Manufacturers
From Auto Blog.
The U.S. government appears to be moving full steam ahead with its nationwide transition to electric vehicles (EVs). The Biden Administration recently announced a joint initiative with investment firm Monroe Capital LLC to launch a $1 billion fund aimed at promoting the growth of EV manufacturers.
The newly established Drive Forward Fund is designed to support small and medium-sized automotive manufacturers by offering lower-cost loans to help them “refinance, grow, and diversify their businesses.” The fund's primary focus is on accelerating the development of key components essential to electric vehicles. According to Monroe Capital, many manufacturers of this size often lack access to the necessary financing to scale up production of these components.
The fund will be backed by a U.S. Small Business Administration license and guided by an “auto industry council,” although the members of this council have yet to be announced.
This initiative is part of a broader network of government loans and grants intended to strengthen the U.S. electric vehicle sector and enhance its competitiveness against foreign markets.
Over $3 billion has been invested in battery technology
Just last week, $3 billion was allocated to 25 projects across 14 states, with the goal of boosting domestic production of advanced battery technologies and the materials needed for both EVs and infrastructure. These projects are expected to create over 8,000 construction jobs and more than 4,000 operational jobs.
In July, the administration announced nearly $1.1 billion in grants to General Motors and Stellantis to convert existing internal combustion engine (ICE) plants for EV and component production. Similarly, in May, more than $100 million was awarded to small and medium-sized auto parts manufacturers to “expand and retool,” likely for the production of EV components.
Efforts to counter China’s dominance in the EV sector
Concerns over the influx of cheaper Chinese electric vehicles into the U.S. and parts of Europe have sparked significant pushback. Thanks in part to substantial government subsidies, China’s auto industry has been able to produce EVs at a faster pace and lower cost than other nations. This has raised fears that mass importation of Chinese EVs could severely impact domestic manufacturers.
In response, the U.S. government has imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, along with additional tariffs of 50% on solar cells and 25% on steel, aluminum, EV batteries, and key minerals. The Canadian government has taken similar measures.
John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, praised the Drive Forward Fund, stating that a successful transition to EVs "requires a cutting-edge automotive supply chain that keeps the country competitive and supports our economic and national security." Although he did not directly mention China, the implications were clear.
The future of electric vehicles remains uncertain
Governments worldwide are investing unprecedented amounts of capital into their EV sectors, with President Biden setting ambitious targets such as having 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. However, whether these goals will be achieved remains uncertain, especially as demand for EVs has slowed in both Europe and the U.S. The future of the electric vehicle market is still unfolding, and only time will reveal the outcome.
Amelia Lions Club Annual Courthouse Car Show September 28 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
Automakers Sound Alarm After EU Electric Vehicle Sales Crash
From Auto Blog
European car makers warn of plummeting EV sales, citing policy failures and fading consumer confidence. Can the industry recover before major job and economic losses?
There are many reasons to love electric vehicles — they’re powerful, they can charge using electricity generated in a variety of ways instead of relying on gas, and they’re often packed with state-of-the-art features and gizmos.
But what if not everyone wants one?
The declining demand for EV's in Europe
That is the situation in Europe, where the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), which represents the interests of 15 major Europe-based automotive brands, including icons like BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, Volkswagen, and others, is sounding the alarm about a steady slide in EV sales now turning into a precipitous freefall.
So far this year, unit sales for true EVs are down 8.4%, and this decline has been ongoing for a while. The situation is even bleaker for hybrids, with sales down nearly 14% compared to last year.
ACEA has pleaded with European lawmakers to provide relief and ease the burden of CO2 reduction laws on vans and buses that will come into effect leading into the new year. They also called for a review of light and heavy-duty vehicle rules slated for 2026 and 2027, urging that these discussions be moved up to the next year.
European carmakers insist they are committed to complying with the greenification of Europe’s roads and manufacturing, and they claim to have the technology to do it. However, they argue that critical societal shifts and policy decisions are not keeping pace.
This may be a subtle critique of the slow and confusing progress on effective EV import regulations, especially when it comes to heavily subsidized carmakers from developing countries like China. These countries have a competitive advantage partly due to lax environmental rules, which European manufacturers must abide by.
That may only be part of the concern. ACEA also reports that the entire EV market, not just the share controlled by its members, is in a continuing and accelerating downturn. The report lists several compounding factors, including:
• A lack of charging infrastructure
• Insufficient green energy production
• Uncompetitive manufacturing laws
• The structure of purchase and tax incentives for buyers
• Insecurity and uncertainty over access to raw materials, especially for batteries
• Poor economic growth
• Consumer acceptance of EVs
• Lack of consumer confidence in Europe’s commitment to developing infrastructure in a timely manner
These are significant hurdles to overcome, and the laws passed to transition Europe to a greener future were written before many of these challenges were fully understood. Covid-19 hit Europe’s auto market hard, with sales still 18% lower than they were pre-pandemic. Russia’s war in Ukraine has also shaken confidence in Europe and prompted many to revert to familiar, reliable options instead of taking risks on future technologies.
ACEA reports that only 16% of non-EV owners are considering switching with their next purchase, down from 18% three years ago. Even more troubling, 20% of current EV owners are strongly considering a return to traditional combustion engines, despite Europe’s climate targets.
What's at stake for Europe's automotive future?
At the conclusion of their report, ACEA warns that, in light of these realities, automakers will either have to pay massive fines to sell people the cars they want — money that could have been invested in becoming more competitive and producing more EVs — or they will have to cut production so drastically that the resulting job losses would weaken Europe’s economy and supply chains, exacerbating the conditions that caused the slump in the first place.
Their plea to EU lawmakers is clear: change the laws to support the automotive sector in building a climate-responsible and economically competitive industry, or everyone loses.
Russian junkyards have some strange vehicles
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