Category: Automobiles

First posted here seven years ago.

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A particular favorite article of mine from the years I subscribed to Sports Illustrated was Brock Yates’s 1972 “From Sea to Speeding Sea.” “The Cannonball was an out law auto race—unsanctioned and definitely unwise—but off they went, roaring their way toward L.A.” Yates drove the winning Ferrari with racer Dan Gurney from NYC to LA in 35 hours and 54 minutes.

A couple of excerpts:

Determined to find a car to race in the Cannonball, the three men had looked in the Times classifieds in search of a “driveaway” deal—an arrangement where one drives another’s car to a destination for nominal expenses. This is a common tactic used to transport personal cars by people who don’t like to drive long distances. The Long Island gentleman wanted his new Cadillac Coupe deVille driven to California. Opert & Co. obliged, nodding hazily at his firm orders that his prized machine not be driven after nine o’clock at night, not before eight o’clock in the morning and not run faster than 75 miles an hour. Naturally, all the regulations would be violated before the car left Manhattan.

. . . . .

A yellow 4-4-2 Oldsmobile Cutlass appeared in the rearview mirror. It was running fast, coming up on me at an impressive rate. Two guys were on board and I sensed that they were looking for a race. They drew even and we ran along for a way nose to nose. I looked over to catch eager grins on their faces. I smiled back and slipped the Ferrari from fifth to fourth gear. We were running a steady 100 mph when the Olds leaped ahead. I let him have a car-length lead before opening the Ferrari’s tap. The big car burst forward, its pipes whooping that lovely siren song, and rocketed past the startled pair in the Oldsmobile. I glanced over at them to see their faces covered with amazement. Like most of the populace, they had no comprehension of an automobile that would accelerate from 100 mph that quickly. The Ferrari yowled up to 150 mph without effort, leaving the Olds as a minuscule speck of yellow in the mirror.

I slowed again and turned up the volume on the stereo. Buck Owens and his Buckaroos were sonorously singing I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail. I laughed all the way to Las Cruces.

The top 10 reasons people don’t use turn signals.

10. I prefer to remain aloof and mysterious.

9. I find it easier to just leave one turn signal on all the time.

8. I don’t wear seat belts either.

7. I’m not from around here.

6. It’s my tax dollars that built these roads and I can turn wherever I want whenever I want

5. I would use turn signals, but every time I try the windshield wipers come on instead.

4. Our Christian Founding Fathers didn’t use turn signals.

3. The dog in my lap ate my turn signal lever.

2. The click-click-click sound messes up the thump-thump-thump of my bass woofer.

And the number one reason people don’t use turn signals,

I’m texting and drinking coffee and I don’t have three hands.

First posted here six years ago.

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A particular favorite article of mine from the years I subscribed to Sports Illustrated was Brock Yates’s 1972 From Sea to Speeding Sea. “The Cannonball was an out law auto race—unsanctioned and definitely unwise—but off they went, roaring their way toward L.A.” Yates drove the winning Ferrari with racer Dan Gurney from NYC to LA in 35 hours and 54 minutes.

A couple of excerpts:

Determined to find a car to race in the Cannonball, the three men had looked in the Times classifieds in search of a “driveaway” deal—an arrangement where one drives another’s car to a destination for nominal expenses. This is a common tactic used to transport personal cars by people who don’t like to drive long distances. The Long Island gentleman wanted his new Cadillac Coupe deVille driven to California. Opert & Co. obliged, nodding hazily at his firm orders that his prized machine not be driven after nine o’clock at night, not before eight o’clock in the morning and not run faster than 75 miles an hour. Naturally, all the regulations would be violated before the car left Manhattan.

. . . . .

A yellow 4-4-2 Oldsmobile Cutlass appeared in the rearview mirror. It was running fast, coming up on me at an impressive rate. Two guys were on board and I sensed that they were looking for a race. They drew even and we ran along for a way nose to nose. I looked over to catch eager grins on their faces. I smiled back and slipped the Ferrari from fifth to fourth gear. We were running a steady 100 mph when the Olds leaped ahead. I let him have a car-length lead before opening the Ferrari’s tap. The big car burst forward, its pipes whooping that lovely siren song, and rocketed past the startled pair in the Oldsmobile. I glanced over at them to see their faces covered with amazement. Like most of the populace, they had no comprehension of an automobile that would accelerate from 100 mph that quickly. The Ferrari yowled up to 150 mph without effort, leaving the Olds as a minuscule speck of yellow in the mirror.

I slowed again and turned up the volume on the stereo. Buck Owens and his Buckaroos were sonorously singing I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail. I laughed all the way to Las Cruces.

Jeanne, official friend of NewMexiKen, sent this along back in 2008. Thought it was worth reposting.

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Look at the photo above. Click the image for a larger version.

You can see where the truck broke through the guardrail, to the right where the people are standing on the road pointing. The pick-up was traveling from right to left when it crashed through the guardrail. It flipped end-over-end, across the culvert outlet, and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert, facing the opposite direction from which it was traveling.

Now click here for a little better perspective.

“States should ban all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday.

“The recommendation, unanimously agreed to by the five-member board, applies to both hands-free and hand-held phones and significantly exceeds any existing state laws restricting texting and cellphone use behind the wheel.”

Money quote:

“And what’s more, many drivers don’t think it’s dangerous when they do it; only when others do, the survey found.”

“Chevrolet celebrates its hundredth anniversary this month—the paperwork establishing the company was completed on November 3, 1911. Its first model, based on a design by Swiss-born racing-car driver, Louis Chevrolet, went on sale in 1912. Within a few years, however, Chevy shifted its focus to less expensive cars and became an early competitor to Henry Ford. Not so long after that, the automaker became an early advertiser in The New Yorker. From the Chevrolet Six to the Corvette to the Caprice, here are some choice examples of Chevy ads from our archive.”

Back Issues: Pitch Me Another!: Chevrolet’s Century : The New Yorker

Despite laws in nearly every state requiring auto insurance, one in seven drivers in the USA goes uncovered.

Check your state.

Our beloved Land of Enchantment surprisingly isn’t number 1 (or 51st, depending on how you look at it). Nope, were number 2 (26%); only Mississippi is worse (28%).

Lots of photos of Carmageddon in Los Angeles: The closure of the 405. Interesting and fun.

Funny perhaps for all. Hilarious for anyone who knows and has driven around L.A.

… that is less safe to drive than any given Saturday.

Be careful out there.

It’s more efficient to shut off your engine and restart it any time you stop for more than a few seconds. Even Ford has finally figured that out:

In a move to boost fuel economy, Ford Motor Co. said Monday it will add an Auto Start-Stop system that shuts off the engine when a vehicle comes to a stop. The automaker said the feature will be added to its conventional cars, crossovers and SUVs in North America.

Ford’s statement said that the feature is expected to boost fuel economy by between 4% and 10%, and eliminate tailpipe emissions while the vehicle is stationary.

CNN Money

Top speed 155. 62.6 mpg. BMW (as if you couldn’t tell from the front). Hybrid or all electric, TBD. Ballpark: $220K.

. . . for car sales since 1983.

Total traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2008: 37,361

51.6% were drivers
20.0% were passengers
14.2% were motorcyclists
12.3% were pedestrians
1.9% were cyclists

32% of the fatalities were alcohol-related (11,773 deaths).

83% of drivers and passengers use seat belts.

There were 23,507 vehicle fatalities where seat belt use was determined. Of these, 12,865 (55%) were not using seat belts.

67% of pickup truck drivers killed were not wearing seat belts; 70% of pickup truck passengers killed were not.

70% of the 342 13-15-year-olds killed were not wearing seat belts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) examined the “black boxes,” which records when the accelerator and brakes are depressed, as well as vehicle speed and other factors.

According to the WSJ, NHTSA studied 75 fatal crashes involving 93 deaths. Among those crashes, the only one in which NHTSA found the brakes were applied in the August incident involving a California Highway Patrol officer who was killed with his family in a Lexus. The cause of that high-speed incident was ruled to be floor mats holding the accelerator to the floor.

Consumer Reports Cars Blog

So, in all but one case, when the car accelerated out of the control the driver did not apply the brakes.

We are surrounded by morons.

This is a photo of a car after it met with a train near Detroit a year ago. Five young people were killed and wreckage was strewn for a mile along the track.

A firefighter I know was telling me recently that it amazes him that people will not yield to the fire engine. He says the truck weighs 55,000 pounds loaded and it’s not like he can stop it on a dime. Any collision is likely to be cataclysmic for a car.

I read several years ago that traffic fatalities were not particularly more significant on holiday weekends than any other days. Safety advocates just had us all thinking they were with their public service advertising campaigns and police check points.

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety mostly confirms this. For the period 1986 through 2002 there were an average of 117 traffic fatalities a day in the United States. And, while July 4 was the worst day of the year with an average of 161 fatalities, 158 people were killed on any given Saturday.

July 4 is the only date in the year less safe than any given Saturday.

The worst dates:
July 4 — 161
July 3 — 149
December 23 — 145
August 3 — 142
January 1 — 142

Days of the week:
Sunday — 132
Monday — 96
Tuesday — 95
Wednesday — 98
Thursday — 105
Friday — 133
Saturday — 158

Reposted from 2009 with minor edits.

“Honda Reports Accord in China Labor Dispute”

NYTimes.com

Honda has been on an odyssey to perform its civic duty since 2000. They have provided a lot of insight, so it is only fit that they continue to pilot this element.