Why did Dean Jeffries' Mantaray have a 289 Cobra engine? Cool story

Dean painted the first AC Cobra several times for Carroll Shelby.... painting it in different colors in order to fool magazine editors into thinking that many cars had been built... when actually only one prototype was.

So in appreciation Carroll gave Dean a 289 Cobra engine

Below is what it looked like in 1973 from http://www.huffreport.com/archives/oldpics/the70s.htm

photos from http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/701.jpg
and http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/gallery/15647/Dean-Jeffries--Mantaray.html

Where did the salt of Bonneville go? The BLM effed up... they screwed up bad

The Save the salt coalition http://www.savethesalt.org/Save_the_Salt/Save_the_Salt%21.html and SEMA http://www.sema.org/ got BLM to take action, do a study, and conclude that a replenishment program would stabilize the Salt Flats.

But BLM went into an arrangement with the the last mining company, and didn't make a regulation that would continue to force all mining operations in Utah to adhere to the same level of replenishment, and leave the salt in the Bonneville Salt Flats to the national landmark that it is... and not being sold in bags to apply to roads.

The company currently mining in Intrepid Potash http://www.intrepidpotash.com/ Based in Denver, Colorado, Intrepid Potash, Inc. owns and operates Intrepid Potash - Moab, LLC, Intrepid Potash - Wendover, LLC, both potash mines located in Utah; and Intrepid Potash - New Mexico, LLC, with operations in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Buy your salt from someone else if you like racing in general, or Bonneville specifically

I got motivated by reading Jean Jennings editorial in Automobile Magazine, Oct 2011 issue

Women, and the automotive world... specifically the Islamic/Muslim country of Saudi Arabia, which outlawed women drivers (male chauvinism, no religious text from their holy book, or decree from Muhammad spoke of cars, nor of women drivers)

So.. .  why don't men let women drive in Saudi Arabia? Women have been riding horses since before written history in Suadi Arabia... and the main bullshit line the Saudi govt ( the Saud family) give is that women are (by religious decree) supposed to modest... and sitting in a car behind the wheel is less modest than sitting a horse?

Chauvanism and religion have no logic, nor intelligent answer to a question that asks for facts.

This year of the Arab Spring of revolution the women in Suadi Arabia are protesting the nonsense and risking persecution, prosecution, harassment, and jail time with unreported indignities.

Show some support to those women... they are someone's sister, someone's mom. They don't deserve this crap simply because they were born in a country run by assholes.

To give them encouragement and support, let them know on Facebook and Twitter, or tell the US State Dept to keep hounding the Suadi Govt. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/21/hillary-clinton-saudi-female-drivers

Saudi woman aren't alone in dealing with dumb ass men keeping them from equal rights, General Motors in 1957 hired 9 women to be designers, and paid them less than the men. Indianapolis Motor Speedway didn't give women access to the pits til 1971

I just got motivated to write about this from the new issue of Automobile Magazine, Oct 2011

How much of a raise should a CEO get in a year? Which would seem reasonable? 10% or 510% ?

in 2010

TRW CEO John Plant got 510% raise over his 2009 salary of 6.7 million
Ford CEO Alan Mulally 524% raise... yet his company has 14 billion in debt
Johnson Controls' Stephen Roell 424% raise

So... did those 3 companies make 4 to 500% better business decisions? Better profit? Better products?

Doubt it.

I read about this in the article by Jamie Kitman in Automobile Magazine, his source, and the full story is at http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110613/OEM02/306139854&sectioncat=product&template=printart

Plant's base salary was $1.9 million, but he made $28 million from stock option gains. Bonuses, stock awards and other means of compensation accounted for the rest of Plant's pay.
The $9.45 million bonus package Mulally received in 2010 was almost three times as much as his total compensation from 2009. The Ford CEO also earned $9.3 million in stock award gains and $1.4 million in base salary.

The median salary of CEOs who held their job for at least two years rose from $3 million in 2009 to $5.7 million in 2010, an increase of more than 90 percent from 2009, Equilar research analyst Aaron Boyd said.

Hungarian made cars, the difficult struggle against political turmoil, lack of manufacturing, and frequent bureaucratic red tape... all they want is to build cars!

Hungarian car enthusiasts Pal Negyesi and Csaba Hajdu have researched the Hungarian car history thoroughly, and made a 35 page PDF that exemplifies the spirit of perseverance to surmount obstacles in the way of progress.

Their focus is the Hungarian cars made between the years 1945 - 1990, but the inventors, craftsman, and innovators often began before 1945... and so did the national and intenational conflicts and restrictions that created a one of a kind unique situation that resulted in the USSR organization COMECON ruling of 1949 that of all the allied countries, only Hungary would not be allowed to build cars. Busses and trucks, yes... but not cars that the people could use for personal enjoyment, business travel, and product distribution (flowers, parcel delivery, etc etc)

Just as important as the automobile enthusiasts informative look, is the historian enthusiasts understanding of the myriad problems that were brought about by WW2, the USSR governing bureaucracy regulations, lack of car parts manufacturing (no car tire makers for example led to using airplane tail tires), political refusal to allow foreign investors, the revolution of 1956, the oil crisis of 1973, the fall of the USSR in 1990 dissolving all the previous infrastructure that was just beginning to make progress in loosening govt owned company restrictions in involvement in cooperative ventures to produce car and parts... all complicated the Hungarian auto enthusiasts ability to make cars.

But read about the many one off cars that were prototyped, microcars that were made and attempted during this time, the 3 wheelers that were declared "motorbike and sidecar" etc etc in order to bring mobility to the people.


Price is EUR 1 or USD 1.4

There are two ways to pay:

- Either someone sends the amount via PayPal to npaul@hu.inter.net and then Pal will send him/her the link
- You can buy an e-book version at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LOVR02

US government owned car companies (GM for example) used taxpayer dollars to lobby against government regulations for higher fuel economy standards

That has to criminal, and politicians and bureaucrats should be fired. What a waste of money.

The politicians finally had the control of the car company, and didn't force the issue when they had the chance. What a bunch of corruption. 

The Chicken War, and the Chicken Tax, and what they have to do with trucks made in Europe and Asia

The Chicken tax was a 25% tax on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks imposed in 1963 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson as a response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken.

Largely because of post-World War II intensive chicken farming and accompanying price reductions, chicken, once internationally synonymous with luxury, became a staple food in the U.S. Prior to the early 1960s, not only had chicken remained prohibitively expensive in Europe, it had remained a delicacy. With imports of inexpensive chicken from the U.S., chicken prices fell quickly and sharply across Europe, radically affecting European chicken consumption. In 1961, per capita chicken consumption rose 23% in West Germany. U.S. chicken overtook nearly half of the imported European chicken market.

Subsequently, the Dutch accused the U.S. of dumping chickens at prices below cost of production. The French government banned U.S. chicken and raised concerns that hormones could affect male virility. German farmers' associations accused U.S. poultrymen of artificially fattening chicken with arsenic. In fact, U.S. chicken farmers, with Food and Drug Administration approval, had treated chicken feed with antimony, arsenic compounds, or estrogen hormones to stimulate growth.

The period from 1961–1964 of tensions and negotiations surrounding the issue, which took place at the height of Cold War politics, was known as the "Chicken War".

Eventually, the tariffs on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy were lifted, but over the next 48 years the light truck tax ossified, remaining in place to protect U.S. domestic automakers from foreign light truck production (e.g., from Japan and Thailand). Though concern remains about its repeal, a 2003 Cato Institute study called the tariff "a policy in search of a rationale."

As an unintended consequence, several importers of light trucks have circumvented the tariff via loopholes—including Ford (ostensibly a company the tax was designed to protect), which currently imports the Transit Connect light trucks as "passenger vehicles" to the U.S. from Turkey and immediately shreds portions of their interiors in a warehouse outside Baltimore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

Iso Rivolta background info

Iso Rivolta was initially named Isothermos and manufactured refrigeration units before WW2.

After the Second World War, the company reopened its doors, completely changing its activity. In 1948 it began to build motorcycles, scooters and motocarries (three wheeled transport scooters/motorcycles). Among the most famous are the Furetto (1948), 'Isoscooter (1950),' Isocarro (1951), 'Isomoto (1954) and' Isosport (1953). The last Iso motorcycle was presented as the Iso 500 in 1961. Isomotos were known as expensive, but durable and well-built.

In the mid-1950s, he started to develop a miniature car for two persons and front entrance, initially with only three wheels, later, for reasons of stability, with four wheels (the two on the rear very close together): the Isetta Bubble Car. About 20,000 of the bubble cars were built at the Rivolta works near Milan, but this volume was dwarfed by that of the German licensee

Starting in 1954, Isetta was licensed to automobile manufacturers in several countries: France (by VELAM), Spain, Great Britain and Brazil (by Romi). The most successful, however, was the German Isetta built by BMW. The BMW-Isetta fulfilled the dream of mobility in post-war Germany and about 130,000 had been sold by 1962
 At the start of 1973 the Rivolta family ceded the business to an Italian American financier named Dr Ivo Pera who promised to bring American management know-how to the firm: the business faded rapidly into obscurity.
Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iso_Rivolta

Charlie would like to know more about this Morris J he bought in Victoria BC, email him if you recognize it please

his email is mailto:charles.grahn@gmail.com and the website he has about fixing it up is http://victoriajvan.blogspot.com/

This had me wondering if a Morris J is part of the MG company,... MG is pretty well known for the great little sports cars. The letters MG are representative of Morris Garages, and I looked them up to see about the Morris J.

The Morris J was launched by the Morris Commercial subsidiary of Morris Motors in 1949 and produced until 1961. In 1952 the Commercial name was dropped and the van was marketed as the Morris J-type. As well as complete vehicles, the J-type was also supplied in chassis form to external body makers and it appeared, amongst other uses, as a pick-up, tipper truck, ice cream van and milk float. Many were bought by the British Post Office and these differed from standard in having rubber front and rear wings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Commercial_J-type and there is even a Morris J registry and info source http://www.jtypevan.com/ which has links to Morris J van owners websites.. (really cool ones too)
Here's what Wikipedia has about Morris Garages:
The MG Car Company got its name from Morris Garages, a dealer of Morris cars in Oxford which began producing its own customised versions to the designs of Cecil Kimber, who had joined the company as its sales manager in 1921. He was promoted to general manager in 1922, a position he held until 1941 when he fell out with Lord Nuffield over procuring wartime work. Kimber died in 1945 in a freak railway accident.

The first cars which were rebodied Morris models used coachwork from Carbodies of Coventry and were built in premises in Alfred Lane, Oxford. Demand soon caused a move to larger premises in Bainton Road in September 1925, sharing space with the Morris radiator works. Continuing expansion meant another move in 1927 to a separate factory in Edmund Road, Cowley, Oxford, near the main Morris factory and for the first time it was possible to include a production line. In 1928 the company had become large enough to warrant an identity separate from the original Morris Garages and the M.G. Car Company Limited was established in March of that year and in October for the first time a stand was taken at the London Motor Show. Space again soon ran out and a search for a permanent home led to the lease of part an old leather factory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in 1929, gradually taking over more space until production ended there in 1980. The MG Car Club was founded in 1930 for owners and enthusiasts of MG cars.

Originally owned personally by William Morris, the company was sold to Morris Motors (itself part of the Nuffield Organisation) in 1935, MG was absorbed into the British Motor Company, created in 1952 as a merger of the Nuffield Organisation and the Austin Motor Company. BMC merged with Jag in '66 to become renamed as British Motor Holdings, which didn't last 2 years before mreging with Leyland to form British Leyland, which couldn't make it and in 75 was renamed British Leyland, but in 1980 was killed off due to politics.

After BL became the Rover Group in 1986, ownership of the MG marque passed to British Aerospace in 1988 and then in 1994 to BMW.

BMW sold the business in 2000 and the MG marque passed to the MG Rover Group, the Group went into receivership in April 2005, in July the Nanjing Automobile Group purchased the rights to the MG brand and the assets of the MG Rover Group   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_(car)

What did Joe Namath do with the Charger R/T he was given as MVP for winning the Super Bowl?

According to some, it was a bronze with black stripe, according to another the centerfold of the "Post" had the photo of Joe recieving a B5 blue with white vinyl top.

Chrysler owes GM a big favor

If GM weren't such run by inept idiots, Chrysler would no longer exist.

GM could have bought Fiat a couple years ago, but changed their mind, and had to pay 2 billion for some reason because they backed out in 2005.

That gave Fiat the cache it needed to buy Chrysler and keep it afloat. 

Polaris shares profits... don't you wish more companies would?

Starting July 1st, solo drivers of hybrid cars in California will see their special pass to the car pool lane disappear.

85,000 were issued to hybrids. Prius and Honda Civic and others.

Since 2004, hybrid owners with a special permit were allowed entry into California’s High-Occupancy-Vehicle (HOV) lanes even when driving alone. 

The special yellow key-shaped decals that denoted access quickly became a must-have for traffic-weary hybrid owners, and added up to $1,500 to the resale value of the hybrid that sported one against its more mundane siblings.

read the whole story at

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1062439_california-hybrid-drivers-lose-car-pool-lane-privileges

Why is it called a dashboard?

What we know as dashboards, not the one on your computer, in cars- are evolved from the early dashes in horse carriages and buggys. The dash board was the boards or material dropcloth that kept the horses back feet from splashing mud and muck onto the driver and carriage... the carriages became motorized and the dashboards were the best place for the first gauges, so the dashboards became the instrument panels

from the above splash guard behind the horse, to

Sparked by an article http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-is-it-called-dashboard.html

Amish buggys from Amish Stories1.Blogspot

Amish Stories blogspot has recipes, food stands, handcrafted art like painted horseshoes, and other Amish cultural stuff. It's posted by a non Amish guy (if you've no idea what Amish are, they are anti technology descedants of the Swiss and German immigrants of the 1690's to the Pennsylvania and Ohio area, they have a German accent, build everything by hand using no electrical tools, and they also won't join the military)

But the horse carriages and buggies are unique in America for all I know, as the Amish won't own, drive, or ride in cars. Maybe they have a historic date that they aren't allowed to pass in material technology, because they are very aware of the rest of the worlds technology, but they religiously adhere to the farming culture of their ancestors. Their carpentry is said to be superb.

http://amishstorys1.blogspot.com/

Great look inside the Harley Davidson museum with photos, captions and information at galenfrysinger.com

 the oil was in glass bottles during the war due to metal shortages.

all these are just a brief glimpse of the gallery that is a through look at the museum, the full webpage is at http://www.galenfrysinger.com/milwaukee_harleydavidson_museum.htm

Quaker State wants to pay you to use their oil for 300,000 miles, but good luck with trying to keep a car that long

What does the Quaker State Lubrication Limited Warranty cover?

Up to 300,000 miles or 10 years (whichever is first) if you exclusively use Quaker State® motor oil products (i.e. Quaker State® Higher Mileage Engine™, Quaker State® Advanced Durability, Quaker State® Enhanced Durability, Quaker State® Ultimate Durability™). If you ever have a warranty related claim, the value of the claim is limited to $5,000 US, or the actual cash value of the eligible vehicle, whichever is less.

Receive a "Cash Back Bonus" when you reach 300,000 miles!

Use Quaker State® high mileage, synthetic blend, or full synthetic motor oil (“specialty motor oil”) starting no later than when your vehicle reaches 100,000 miles and you may qualify to receive up to $3,000 US. Certain restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.

(in a nutshell, you'll get a cash payment equal to the Kelley Blue Book trade-in value of your vehicle, up to $3,000. The oil company will give you the money without taking the car)

How to qualify:

•Register before your engine has 75,000 miles or less when you first used Quaker State® motor oil, and has been manufactured within the last 72 months of your first use of Quaker State® motor oil (“Eligible Vehicle”).

•The Quaker State Lubrication Limited Warranty takes effect 6 months after your first eligible purchase of Quaker State® motor oil. You are eligible to make a claim for a Cash Back Bonus when your eligible vehicle has reached 300,000 miles AND it is no older than 20 years.

•GRANDFATHER CLAUSE. If you are an existing Quaker State® motor oil customer registered for the Quaker State Lubrication Limited Warranty program before June 1, 2011, you have the opportunity to be eligible for the Cash Back Bonus Program disregarding of which type of Quaker State® motor oil you use.

http://www.quakerstatewarranty.com/our_warranty/

(I have the feeling this doesn't apply to many people, and they aren't going to pay out very often... just how few people ever keep a car that long? Really few. How many cars car survive for 300000 miles? Very few. Now of those very very few cars that stay with one owner, and aren't damaged in other ways, how many owners are going to hear about this offer in time to sign up, and then never use any other oil? Yeah, almost none.)

Belgium's part in the car world

Due to early industrialisation, and location at the very heart of the European Union, it provides easy access to all major European sales markets. The country also boasts an excellent infrastructure and logistics network and a well developed network of suppliers and service providers.

Belgium set out on the adventerous path of automobile production at a very early stage. In 1894, Vincke, the first car to be sold in Belgium was designed in a workshop in Malines, where railway carriages were upholstered.

1900-1914 The Golden Age

Several companies brought out cars and motorcycles of excellent quality at competitive prices. These cars made a hit abroad and three-fourths of the cars designed and manufactured in Belgium therefore were channelised towards export.

The major makes, of which models can be admired in the museum are Minerva, the most well-known Belgian make founded by Sylvain de Jong, F.N., which also specialised in motorcycles, Imperia and Miesse.

The HEMI name comes from the dome-shaped ceiling atop each cylinder inside some engines, since it was introduced by obscure Belgian car maker Pipe in 1905.

The shock of the Great War

In 1914, Belgium ranked first on the international automobile construction scene. But the War gets the better of this rapid development. Curiously, the determining factor was not the looting of factories but the end of "free trade" and the emergence of protectionist tendencies adopted by various countries after the War.

Minerva remained a major make. http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Minerva for a couple of different model year examples of Minervas

F.N., Excelsior and Imperia started making more elaborate cars which met with success on the market. Pipe decided to specialise exclusively in lorries.

The thirties: the decline

In most countries, the beginning of the thirties was marked by significant technological advancements. Free wheels, front-wheel drives and steel bodies appeared. But the Belgian industry, hard hit by the economic crisis, found itself short of resources needed to compete with these advancements.

The period from 1930 to 1940 witnessed a gradual transition of an entirely domestic industry into an assembly sector where foreign cars were built. Efforts on the research and development side were absent and production activity alone remained.

Not being able to renew its models, Imperia acquired a licence for an excellent ultra-modern German car with front-wheel drive, the Adler. Its name could therefore figure on beautiful cars until 1940.

F.N. gave up automobile construction in 1935 but continued to successfully produce excellent motorcycles and utility vehicles. In the field of utility vehicles, Belgium had a bit of a margin and continued to make excellent lorries and buses such as Brossel, Miesse and F.N. and Minerva jeeps for some years, up until the post-war period.

Memories of the Belgian automobile

After World War II, the few remaining Belgian car makers could not face the competition from abroad. The Belgian automobile construction left behind but memories of its glorious days.

above info from http://www.autoworld.be/en/5.asp

ADK (automobile)

Alatac

ALP (automobile)

Antoine (automobile)

Astra (1930 automobile)

Auto-Mixte

Compagnie Nationale Excelsior

De Wandre

Delecroix
Imperia (car)
Jeecy-Vea
Juwel

Meeussen

Métallurgique
Minerva (automobile)
Nagant
Pieper
Pipe (car)
Springuel
Vivinus

Buffalo Bill drove a White steamer in 1908

Buffalo Bill, (1846-1917) one of the few legends of the wild west to have a lot of photos taken of him.

Among other incredible life achievements, he was a Pony Express rider, recieved the Congreessional Medal Of Honor while in the Army as a scout, and got the nickname Buffalo for killing more than his competition when the govt wanted buffalo meet to feed the Army and the Kansas Pacific Railroad
Read more about him at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bill

Maserati went bankrupt in 1975, since then, here is the list of who has owned it

Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citreon, Ferrari, Fiat, the Italian Govt., and DeTomoso