Friday, February 29, 2008

BOYD CODDINGTON - RIP


BOYD CODDINGTON, 63, HOT ROD ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIREWhen I read this afternoon that Boyd Coddington had died at the age of 63, it came as no great shock or surprise. Coddington had gained and lost large amounts of weight during his lifetime, and they say that's tough on anyone's heart, but what struck me most about him was his tenacity, patience, ideals of perfection, and his determination to recover from adversity ... and that's not to mention his gorgeous cars, truly worthy of what someone once called "applied art with a practical purpose". Coddington saw great success, watched as it mostly disappeared, then built himself, his name and his business back up again. What he went through, the tremendous ups and downs, personally and in business, were enough to do-in ten people. I'm just happy that towards its end, his life had become, again, a pretty good success. Read More here....

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8


After 35 years, the big Dodge Challenger has returned, with the SRT8 version powered by a 425 horsepower Hemi engine with 420 lb-ft of torque that can get to 60 mph in under 5 seconds.The list price is just under US $38,000, including destination; for that, buyers will get —
0-60 in 4.9 seconds Five seats Zero to 100 mph and back in under 17 seconds Quarter-mile times 13.3 seconds 60-0 braking of 110 feet Skid pad performance of 0.88 g (or .9g as reported in the launch ceremony) A five-speed automatic (no manual transmission yet) The two-door, rear-wheel drive coupe is based on the Dodge Charger, which has found favor among lucky police departments. With a 116-inch wheelbase, the Challenger coupe is four inches shorter than the Charger and 300C. With a brake-lock differential, all-speed traction control, and a uniquely-tuned Electronic Stability Program (ESP), the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 has world-class ride and handling characteristics. Read more and see more photos here

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Magna Steyr’s MILA Natural Gas Sports Car Concept



(CNG) Compressed Natural Gas looks a whole lot better to me than Gasahol! Gasahol uses food grains, for the most part, corn, to make the fuel with and although it is helping farmers make some big bucks, it is driving up the cost of food at the grocery store. CNG is almost polution free and there are huge quantities of it right here in the good ole US of A, not in Iraq!! So when we heard about the Mila, above, we thought you should know about it too!!!!
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Magna Steyr has introduced a CNG-fueled concept single-seater sports car, the MILA (Magna Innovation Lightweight Auto) at the Frankfurt IAA.

The MILA CNG sports car
The MILA uses lightweight construction and a modular design enabling different models to be built (single or two-seater, normal or high-power engine, etc.) without much extra effort, as the components and modules have been developed in advance and optimized in terms of cost and weight.
The concept uses a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine converted to monovalent CNG operation.
Apart from installing CNG-specific injection valves, Magna made no other modifications to the original gasoline engine. Its maximum power of 110 kW (150 hp) gives the concept vehicle a top speed of more than 200 km/h (124 mph) and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds.

Friday, February 22, 2008

If One Duesenberg is an Event

If One Duesenberg is an Event, Two Must be a CelebrationThe car found its way into the Pacific Auto Rentals collection during the late 1940s (one of the best-known suppliers of antique and classic cars to Hollywood television and movie producers): the centerpiece of their collection, ...Classical Drives - http://www.classicaldrives.com/

CarWorldConnect.com Blog

CarWorldConnect.com.....Connecting Buyers and Sellers CarWorldConnect : Your Number One Source for Classic Cars on the Internet. Yes, We have a large selection of Fine Classic Autos in our inventory. But, We also have a large selection of New and Used cars listed as well. ... - http://www.merchantcircle.com/blogs/CarworldConnect.com.314-775-6424

Porsche Congratulates Motor Sport Legend

Porsche Congratulates Motor Sport Legend Hans HerrmannBy nospam@example.com (ClassicRallies) porsche, hans herrmann, Le Mans 550 Coupé, classic cars Click on the picture to enlarge Photo Gallery: Hans Herrmann Stuttgart. On February 23, 2008, Hans Herrmann, one of the most successful and popular works racing drivers of Dr. ...Classic cars, Vintage Racing,... - http://www.classicrallies.com/blog/

Classic cars on sale today at Palm Springs

Classic cars on sale today at Palm Springs Collector Car Show and ...From hot rods and muscle cars to classics and collectibles, nearly 600 automobiles will be up for sale today through Sunday at the 44th Palm Springs Collector Car Show and Auction.MyDesert.com - Palm Springs - http://www.mydesert.com

Honda Classic - Oximoron?

Japanese Classic Car Show & One Or Two Hondas - EventsIt's only as of late one would even think to consider a Honda a classic...or really any other Japanese car for that matter, at least in the US anyways. But some do. In fact, the Japanese Classic Car Show Association (JCCS) has a set of ...

Saturday, February 16, 2008

BESERKLY

The recent insanity out of Berkley California is yet another indication that we should indeed allow them to secede from humanity once and for all!

I don't know much about Berkley before 1965 or 1966 other than it was the town in which the huge Berkeley Campus of California University. Which in the middle '60s, was the center of the Free Speech Movement. which spawned the sex and drug culture that was the Free love Movement. Honestly, it was probably not Berkley's whole fault, the Vietnamese War was escalating and that started a firestorm that swept across the nation at warp speed.

That said, Berkley has nurtured and fanned the flames of anti-US sentiment ever sense! So I would like to propose that Berkley be allowed to become their own country, to run as they please. And then, maybe, we can turn it into the slag heap that it deserves!

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Will I Live to see 80?

Here's something to think about.

I recently picked a new primary care doctor. After two visits and exhaustive Lab tests, he said I was doing 'fairly well' for my age. A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, 'Do you Think I'll live to be 80?'

He asked, 'Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer or wine?' 'Oh no,' I replied. 'I'm not doing drugs, either!' Then he asked, 'Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs? 'Isaid, 'No, my former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!' Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking, Or bicycling?' 'No, I don't,' I said.

He asked, 'Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?' 'No,' I said

He looked at me and said,....

'Then, why do you even give a shit??

Monday, February 04, 2008

Field Strip Your Butts?

Nick Cash

For those of you, like me, that can remember the Old Corps, that was a common order!

The first time I heard it, I was stationed in that hell hole boot camp that the USMC called MCRD, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego California. This was back when the Marine Corps encourage you to smoke, yes I said, “encouraged you to smoke!" The smokers in the platoon got 5 minutes to smoke and all non-smokers were set to "Policing The Area", another term I came to hate. That meant that non-smokers had to walk around and pick up the smoker’s cigarette butts and "Field Strip" them and by Field Striping the Butts, that meant to tear them up into tiny pieces with which the wind could have it's way. So, I started smoking, only pretending at first just to keep from having to police the area, and then one day while I was sitting on the bottom of my 11 quart bucket (issued as part of our boot camp equipment) outside my quonset hut (something recruits got to do on Sunday morning if there wasn't a church of your denomination on the base to go to morning services, which is why the Marine Corps has me registered as a Moslem, which is another story for another time. Any way sitting on my bucket (I still have a permanent ring on my butt), I discovered that I was actually inhaling the smoke from my previously faked cigarette smoking and enjoying it deeply! So as I said, the Corps encouraged recruits to smoke and not only smoke, but smoke Pall Mall cigarettes by requiring that every boot locker had one carton of Pall Malls in it in a prescribed manner and place so that everybody’s foot locker was uniform!

So much for the reminiscing, I guess I just wanted to say, “Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em”See ya later.

Semper Fi

Could Plastech bankruptcy sink Chrysler?

The buzz on the street is that Plastech filing for Chap 11 Bankruptcy has shut down 4-1/3 Chrysler plants so far, but according to those who know this may be a lot worse than we are being told. All 14 plants are at risk for lack of parts. Chrysler is moving to take possesion of the tooling involved, if they are unsuccesful, you can expect a major blow to Chrysler and possibly force Chrysler into bankruptcy for the second time in history!

Here is the Automotive News story , you may have sign up for a free subscription to read this article.