Airpod Car

No, its not the newest product from Apple. It is an air-powered car being produced in Europe.

Did Calvin and Hobbes foresee the Auto Bailout?

Judge for yourself. But it seems eerily prescient to me.

Auto Bailout is Pending

More than anything else, what doomed John McCain's run for the presidency? No, not David Letterman. It was the bailout legislation which bailed out banks with no real accountability for the companies or the regulators. So, what is Congress's first priority after the election? A nearly identical bailout for the auto makers. Despite earlier claims that no bailout would be offered without a clear plan from all automakers.

The amounts under discussion are less than half the $34 billion that the automakers asked Congress for last week. Some economists believe they may need $75 billion to $125 billion to survive in the longer term.

Nevertheless, lawmakers fear a recession will deepen if any of the three giants -- GM, Ford and Chrysler -- collapses soon. But some from Bush's Republican party don't want another rescue plan after a $700 billion Wall Street rescue package that triggered voter backlash in the November 4 congressional elections.

Critics also say market forces, not state intervention, ought to determine the fate of the auto industry.

There is nothing like throwing gasoline on a fire to end a crisis and restore calm.

A True Transformers Fan

I was behind this guy Wednesday and took this picture with my iPhone 3G. I guess he is a really big Transformers fan.

Ways to Treat Your Car Right

Those of you who know me in real life have heard the story of how I murdered my last car by going over 10,000 miles between oil changes. Turns out, there are things you can do to significantly shorten (or lengthen) the life of your car. This article lays out some of the more critical DOs and DON'Ts of taking care of your car.

7. Ignoring Your Car’s Sounds
Every sound your car makes means something, if you pay attention, your car can usually tell you exactly what needs fixing. Those squeaking brakes mean you need new pads, and if you ignore that sound, eventually you’ll hear scraping metal, which means you need new rotors, and if you ignore that, you’ll eventually hear the sound of your own scream as you lose your brakes completely and fly off a cliff in a spectacular fireball of death. It’s more common than you think. Listen to your car.

Random Thought - Speedometers

If automobile companies want us to be law-abiding citizens, why are speedometers set to show speeds up to (and in some cases beyond) 120 MPH? And why are they tilted in such a way that when you reach 65 MPH (the average max speed allowable on American highways), the needle is still not at the "midpoint" of the gauge visually? Would changing the orientation of speedometers lead to less speeding?

Or is it all just a conspiracy to meet police budgets by giving out tickets? ;-)

Shocking!!!

I found this article on why you get shocked when you exit your car and what you can do about it. They tie the shocking to the build up of static electricity when you move against the fabric of the seats. This seems logical as I get shocked much less frequently since I got a car with leather seats. They have some suggested methods for avoiding getting shocked as well.

A Better Battery

One of the problems with an electric car is a battery that will work for more than a 60 mile commute. According to Wired, EEStor believes they have solved this problem with patent number 7,033,406.

84 year-old man still driving his first car... a Model T!

I know a number of our readers work in the automotive maintenance field, and I wonder how eager they would be to get their hands on Clarence Curtiss's car. Mr. Curtiss still owns his first car, bought during the Depression, and it is a Model T! He credits the longevity of the car to changing the oil every 3,000 miles. If only I had known this a year ago when I let my one car go about 10,000 miles between oil changes and wound up grinding the engine into a useless block of metal.

Oh, yeah. And Mr. Curtiss lives right here in Shelton, CT as well!