Automobile Magazines 2014 All Stars picks, vs typical cars... (how the best compare with new autos for sale in general)

13% of most cars have a manual transmission,
but 60% of the best do.

77% of most cars have 4 doors
but only 50% of the best do

73% of most cars are blah blah blah Silver, Gray, or Black
but only 30% of the best are that boring

BMW M5, bad return on investment. Loses 70% of value in 3 years, 80% in 5

Autoweek, May 12, 2014 voulme 64 issue 10, page 20

Georgia makes it illegal to hold up traffic in the fast lane. Stay right unless you are passing is now the law in Georgia

The bill makes it a misdemeanor for any driver on a divided highway who does not move to the right when a car going faster approaches from behind.

Senators said they were not trying to encourage speeding. However, as Senate Rules Chairman Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said, “often times drivers travel through (the left lane) as if they’re in tourist mode.”

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/display/20132014/HB/459

Upon roads, streets, or highways with two or more lanes allowing for movement in the same direction, no person shall continue to operate a motor vehicle in the passing lane once such person knows or should reasonably know that he or she is being overtaken in such lane from the rear by a motor vehicle traveling at a higher rate of speed. For purposes of this Code section, 'passing lane' means the most left-hand lane other than a high occupancy vehicle lane.

House Bill 459, the slow poke bill,  passed the house almost unanimously 162 to 9, and goes into effect July 1st

Union Pacific brings one home for refurbishment and restoration, #4014, one of the giants of trains "#4014 return home 2014)

The plan is to have the #4014 Big Boy lead special excursions across the Great West by 2019 for the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike in Utah which marked the link between the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific to create the first transcontinental railroad.

Thanks to Case for letting me know about this video!

The other cars in this are heritage fleet support cars, and here's a link http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/attachments/media_kit/steam/844_support.pdf  that gives some info about the "Howard Fogg"

The Howard Fogg is Union Pacific’s last boiler car. It was built in 1949 by American Car and Foundry as baggage-dormitory No. 6006.

 The Howard Fogg was converted to boiler-baggage-dorm No. 304 in 1962.
 The car was converted to boiler-dorm-HEP (Head End Power) in 2000.
 It was renumbered again in 1987 to No. 209 and assigned to the Heritage Fleet in 1990.

In 1996, it was renamed Howard Fogg after the passing of the renowned railroad artist.

 The Howard Fogg still has a steam generator on board to provide steam if maintenance is required while locomotives No. 844 and No. 3985 are on the road. The car has been outfitted with an electric generator

The Art Lockmann was built in 1962 by the St. Louis Car Company as baggage car No. 6334. It was one of the last baggage cars purchased by Union Pacific.

The car was converted to a tool car for snowplow service and renumbered No. 904304 in 1973.
It was assigned to the Heritage Fleet in 1981.

 The car was named Art Lockman in 1992 and was renumbered UPP 6334 in 2003. The Art Lockman is a rolling “machine shop”. It carries tools, parts, machines, lubricants and numerous other items to maintain and repair the steam locomotives while on trips. The car also has a crew lounge area, locker room and laundry area.

Mr. Lockman retired as roundhouse foreman in Cheyenne, Wyoming, after working 43 years for Union Pacific. He is a well-known former employee who is still admired for his knowledge of steam locomotive maintenance and operation.


The Lynn Nystrom was built in 1957 by American Car & Foundry as postal storage car No. 5714. It was rebuilt as a baggage/recreation car for ski train service between Los Angeles, California; Sun Valley, Idaho; and Park City, Utah.

The car was renamed the Pony Express in 1993 to commemorate a Union Pacific train of the same name that ran between Denver, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah, from August 1926 to November 1954.

And this is very cool, someone drove alongside for a while and paced it on the highway


You may even want to see the local tv station coverage: http://www.kgwn.tv/news/wyoming/headlines/Big-Boy-4014-comes-to-Cheyenne-258554061.html

Ford tweaked the 4.0-liter V6 to cut smog-forming emissions by 74 percent

This is in a description of the 2006 Explorer.

So a 2005 ford 4.0 liter engine has 75% more smog forming emissions? Good grief
found on http://www.edmunds.com/ford/explorer/2006/?sub=suv&ps=used

Whoops, caught cheating at taxes... in order to fund a racing team

Once known as ‘the king of drag racing,’ Evan Knoll—former Torco Racing Fuels owner—pleaded guilty in a $100 million fraud.

 He was sentenced at age 52 to 14 years in jail.

 Knoll’s legal problems stemmed from allegedly misusing the 18.3-cents-per-gallon tax levied on fuel to help fund road construction.

 But when the fuel isn’t used for regular road-going vehicles, such as dragsters, you can apply for a refund. According to prosecutors, Knoll got about $87 million in refunds, but the claims he made were reportedly fictitious.

found on http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140428/MOTORSPORTS/140429886?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=  and the
April 14 print edition of Autoweek magazine

a terrific infographic source of info about Connecticut vehicles, the Courant, founded in 1764

the infographics are all interfaced with the reader on their website, and you can select the parameters of your view, for example, what city, what type of car, etc

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-cars-in-connecticut-what-are-we-driving-20140502,0,5571426.htmlpage#.U3e26_ldVee

Pullman (the train car company) bodied 1926 Packard Eight Sport

Photos from, and a lot more information at http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1061677

This 1926 Packard Eight Series 236 Sport model, body style 246, was a unique phaeton model in the lineup, with four forward-hinged doors and a lower body contour.

Bodied by Chicago’s Pullman Company, of railroad sleeper and palace car fame, the sport was two inches lower and five inches narrower than standard Packard phaetons, with a radiator and hood line lowered to suit. The result was a hood that seemed to flow straight back through the body

 Low and lithe, this car is one of three said to survive.

Reminds me a lot of the "Magnificent Jalopy" Packard phaeton http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/magnificent-jalopy-by-john-tomerlin.html

Really good book, I recommend it highly

the 2014 Z/28 interesting item, and federal minimum equipment requirement

a single speaker in the door because there must be a seat belt warning chime.

Why is that the entire sound system? Because the 2014 Camaro is a fat cow. 3820 pounds for gods sake. A new Corvette is 3300 pounds. My 69 Dodge R/T is 3460, and has steel bumpers on both ends, no aluminum in the entire power train except the intake and carbs... and still weighs 400 pounds less!

And that dear friends is why the new trend in autocross racing is cool old cars that kick new cars proverbial butt on the track. A 1969 Dodge is factory stock less weight than a new race car Camaro, and the Z/28 is about as race car as a dealership can sell. It has thin rear window glass, no upholstery in the trunk, aluminum Corvette engine, structurally lightened back seat,

All my old Dodge needs is aluminum heads, aluminum trans body, aluminum wheels, aluminum con rods, and pull the old AM/FM radio I never listen to, and the cars would be comparably equipped, and it might lose another 2 hundred pounds. Pulling the original era spare tire would be another 30 pounds lost I think...

And that is why cool old cars are getting into the Optima Street Challenge, the Ultimate Street Car Association, and Goodguys are seeing such a rise of cool old cars having fun at the track

2014 anniversaries

100th anniversary of Maserati
100th anniversary of Dodge
50th anniversary of the GTO
50th anniversary of the Mustang
50th anniversary of the Hemi
30th anniversary of the Caravan

Vintage/Historic race car events

Some links to look at for your local California races:
http://www.where2race.com/autocross-events-in-california
http://www.vintagemotorsport.com/race_calendar.asp
http://www.hsrwestrace.com/HSR_West/Welcome.html

and I see that in my range of San Diego to Pasadena - Riverside
June 1st will be SCCA racing at Qualcomm
June 7th/8th, July 5th and 6th, July 20th, Aug 16th and 17th... California Sports Car Club at El Toro
Also Sept 27th and 28th

June 13-14-15
Ultimate Street Car Association
Fontana California, Auto Club Speedway
Autocross, road racing, timed events etc!
http://ultimatestreetcarassociation.com/events/fontana-ca-june-13-15/

June 20th, 21st, 22nd
Southern California Historic Sports Car Festival
Fontana Ca Auto Club Speedway
http://www.hsrwestrace.com/HSR_West/Welcome.html

Security of expensive cars, apparently not so good... the Magamos Crypto algorithm is 20+ years old technology

That algorithm allows the car to verify the identity of the ignition key.

Flavio Garcia and the Dutch researchers Baris Ege and Roel Verdult from the Raboud University discovered the unique algorithm could lead to the theft of not just the luxury cars including Porsches and Bentleys but also of lower-end people-carriers and other makes, including Audis which use its Megamos Crypto algorithm and had planned to publish their paper at the Usenix Security Symposium in Washington DC in August, but Volkswagen won a temporary injunction banning this.

Volkswagen complained to the judge that the publication could "allow someone, especially a sophisticated criminal gang with the right tools, to break the security and steal a car".

"The chip dates back to the mid-nineties and has since become outdated, but is nevertheless still widely used in the automotive industry," they said in a statement issued by their university. "The paper reveals inherent weaknesses, on the basis of mathematical calculations, and is based on an analysis of publicly available information. The publication in no way describes how to easily steal a car, as additional and different information is needed for this to be possible," they said.

"The University of Birmingham is disappointed with the judgment which did not uphold the defence of academic freedom and public interest, but respects the decision. It has decided to defer publication of the academic paper in any form while additional technical and legal advice is obtained given the continuing litigation," a spokeswoman said.

"The interesting thing is whether this discovery renders the cars no longer fit for purpose / satisfactory quality under the Sale of Goods Act, enabling owners to return for a full refund."

Found on http://automobileandamericanlife.blogspot.com/2013/08/stealing-cars-porsches-bentleys-and.html via the Manchester Guardian

Car theft stats

Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz vehicles were the most sought-after luxury brand among U.S. car thieves from 2009 through 2012

The New York City region had the greatest number of thefts, an insurance-industry group said.

 More Mercedes C-Class cars, a total of 485, were stolen during the period than any other luxury model, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.


The New York City area, including Long Island and northern New Jersey, reported 806 thefts in the period out of a nationwide total of 4,384, the NICB said, citing data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 The Los Angeles region was No. 2, followed by Miami.

The second-most-stolen luxury car was Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW 3 Series, followed by Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti G Series, the NICB said.

California had the highest number of luxury thefts of any state at 1,063, followed by Florida with 674. The Los Angeles area had 491 thefts.

 The number of luxury-car thefts has decreased in Los Angeles by almost 50 percent since 2005 as security technology improved, Smith said. “You used to be able to steal a car with a screwdriver,” Smith said. “Now with chips, computers and alarm systems, it’s much more difficult to steal a car.”

 The recovery rate of all luxury cars reported stolen in the period was about 84 percent, the study found.

The vehicle with the highest recovery rate was General Motors Co.’s Cadillac CTS at about 91 percent.

The Mercedes S-Class model had the worst recovery rate at about 59 percent, the NICB said.

Found on http://automobileandamericanlife.blogspot.com/2013/07/mercedes-top-luxury-car-stolen-by.html

Car makers in America and China, compared

The number of American car makers shrank from a peak of 272 in 1909, to only 9 in 1941.

China currently has 170 car makers, the smallest produces 30k annually, the biggest make 4.5 million cars.

Info from http://automobileandamericanlife.blogspot.com/2013/07/an-interview-in-china-economic-news.html

FYI, the Great Race this year is on the East coast, from Maine to Florida

http://www.greatrace.com/ has lots of good posts about the pre run, some of the participants, and their cars

racing improves the cars... and sometimes changes them in small ways to be more competitive than other race cars

Denise McCluggage is now writing in the Hagerty Magazine, and her column is called "Racing Past"

Wow, what a cool and spot on title...

Anyway, this months issue has her article and she was telling about the "LeMans Start" and its affect on race cars, and things that affected the LeMans start...

I was intrigued by the notion of Porsche switching from right side of the steering wheel to left side to allow drivers a momentary improvement in the time it takes to start the car when jumping in, as their right hand would go for the shifter or steering wheel... moving the ignition switch to the left gets one thing away from the already over utilized right hand.

The Le Mans Start was doomed when the cars became much more difficult to jump into, as Jackie Ickx was aware of when he took his time strolling across the track to his GT 40... which didn't have windows large enough to jump into, and were all hard tops, and had the top of the door interlock as 25% of the roof.. if you are familiar with a GT40 door, you know what I mean, the top of the door is horizontal, not vertical.

Hagerty.com

the infamous and unwinning Novi engine.. a supercharged quad overhead cam V8 that never won at Indy, but was by far a more powerful engine

Beginning as a Winfield engine, it w as 3.0 liter, either dual or quad cam, it was 450hp, which for 1941 was a hellava lot... ended it's try at winning a race with 837hp in 1964. 3 liters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novi_engine

Brothers Ed and Bud Winfield, makers of racing carburetors, wanted to build an Indy car for the new formula. They landed sponsorship from Lewis Welch of Novi, Mich., who made Ford parts and rebuilt Ford engines.

 Welch wanted a V8, and asked that it be named after his home town of Novi. The Novi engine would be installed in a Harry Miller-designed Ford front-drive chassis that raced at Indy in 1935.

A large front-mounted, intercooled centrifugal supercharger was spun by a horizontal shaft from the rear of the engine.

 It breathed through three Winfield carburetors, and, at 8,000 rpm, the blower was turning at 42,000, producing up to 30 psi of boost.  It was rated at 450 horsepower when a typical Offenhauser had 300.

In the 1946 Indy, the Novi Governor Special did the four-lap qualifying at 216 km/h. No car had ever done more than 211
http://studebaker-info.org/Indy/NOvi/Novi1b.html

Photo from http://mispeed.net/tag/novi-water-tower/

Traffic lights... proven to be unnecessary

Found on http://hight3ch.com/who-needs-traffic-lights-nobody-in-ethiopia/

Check engine light.. means break out the cash

Why does it come one? For about a hundred different reasons, right?

How do you turn it off? You have to take the car to a mechanic or dealership.

How do you find out what the problem is? Either pay a mechanic/dealership, or buy a engine code scanner.

Now, lets stop right there..... what is it about the "check engine" warning light that can't be sent to the 7 inch screen in the middle of my car, the stereo/video display/infotainment system that is also able to tell me all the "green" and gas saver nonsense, navigation mapping, wifi, sports, news, weather, the name of the song, group, year, and radio channel I'm listening to.

But the second I get a bad tank of gas and the ping sensor has a fit, the damn check engine light came on, and I'm Westbound out of Barstow Ca in the effin Mojave, and the bajillion things that 7 inch screen can do for me don't count for shit, because the engineers that designed my Hyundai Veloster, and those that make every other car, don't put the "check engine" warnings where they should be, accessible to the OWNER of the car to let the OWNER of the car be informed of what has went wrong, and if the car is safe to drive, or seriously in need of a tow truck, dealership mechanic, and big cushion in the credit card.

Images cribbed from https://www.hyundaiusa.com/veloster/interior.aspx

rag tops to hard tops

In 1921 Hudson first mass-produced a closed car.

Almost immediately after World War I, public demand increased dramatically for a closed car that would no longer be a seasonal pleasure vehicle, but rather all-weather transportation.

The few closed body cars built before WWI were extremely expensive and the work of custom coach builders.

 This rise in demand during the 1920s, coupled with a remarkable number of concurrent technical innovations in plate glass and steel manufacture, resulted in a revolution in production methods, productivity and economies of scale.

The transition away from rag tops (the word convertible was first used in 1927 and officially added to the Society of Automotive Engineers lexicon in 1928) was rapid and contributed to a venerable prodigy of production by the end of the 1920s,

 Transition from Open to Closed Cars
 Year    Open Cars (%)    Closed Cars (%)
 1919         90                         10
 1920         84                         16
 1921         78                         22
 1922         70                         30
 1923         66                         34
 1924         57                         43
 1925         44                         56
 1926         36                         74
 1927         15                         85

 Source: John Gunnell, Convertibles: The Complete Story (Blue Ridge Summit, PA: 1984), 129.
Found on http://automobileandamericanlife.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-transition-to-all-steel-automobile.html