The first thing that struck me on reading this at Neatorama was, ‘Isn’t this against the law already?’

Surprisingly, and frighteningly, no.

It would seem that it’s completely OK for you to go on a drive with a dog (assumedly of any size) sitting on your lap. If a cop were to see you, they couldn’t bust you for that, but they could bust you for, say, not wearing a seatbelt, because that is viewed as being unsafe.

Yes, I understand that not wearing a seatbelt is indeed unsafe, but it’s unsafe for you, the driver.

Driving around with a dog on your lap is unsafe for you, and, when the thing (potentially) slides off your lap, down into the footwell, getting jammed ‘neath the break pedal making it impossible for you to hit the breaks without crushing Fifi’s miniaturized spine, is unsafe for both you AND that bus full of blind school kids your about to run into an unabated speed.

And it’s not like this is too far out of the realm of possibility.

More then once, a lot more than once, I’ve had to take avoiding action for some lack-wit who was paying more attention to the dog in their lap than the fact that they had just blown by a stop sign and were about to T-bone me with their pearl white Escalade (”I feel so safe when I’m driving in it!”).

I shudder to think what will happen when these modern day Solomons will be forced to choose between paying attention to the needs of their Pomeranian, getting upset at something they just heard on talk radio, or running over a pedestrian.

The fact that there’s not more carnage on the road sort of impresses me.

Sad news today. The 4,703 Mazda new cars and crossovers which were trapped in the Cougar Ace over two years ago have finally begun to be crushed and shredded.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mazda has decided to shred all the vehicles rather then take the chance of some of them reaching customer hands. The surprising part is that people were calling Mazda and their insurer to see if they could take some of the vehicles off the company’s hands. Hollywood requested several cars to use for stunt vehicles while technical schools wanted to use them for educational purposes. Unfortunately, callers received a “No, sorry” and now get to watch as all of these brand-new vehicles are permanently erased.

I am very saddened by this. I do understand the point that it would be a liability that Mazda would face if these cars are sold to people and something happened to someone. But instead of taking such a huge loss in paying Mazda, why not set up a special subsidiary and sell parts off the vehicles? People could buy these parts, at a cheaper price, while being fully aware that they are off of undamaged Cougar Ace vehicles, and sign a waiver stating that they know what they are buying and cannot take any legal recourse towards Mazda.

In addition, I don’t see a problem with letting tech schools take these vehicles for teaching future mechanics. They will never be driven on public roads, and will only be stripped and rebuilt during their lives.

I just don’t like seeing things, especially anything automotive-related, going to waste. But maybe it is for the better.

WSJ Article Click for a video as well as their article.

What used to be the land of Curt, Steve, Terry ‘The Toad’ and John Milner (owner of the fastest car in the valley) now has another distinction piled upon it … yes that’s right, Modesto California is the number one spot for stolen cars in the U. S. of A.

How did this happen?

Good question … for one thing, I notice in that Stockton is number 4 on the list, meaning there’s something up in the Central Valley.

Other than that, I’ve got no real answers …

There’s a press release after the jump that gives a some good ideas for those of you worried about loosing your car (or perhaps those of you that live in The Central Valley).

Continue Reading…

Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are still having problems selling their cars, trucks and minivans. The Big 3 continue to increase their unsold inventory that are parked outside their dealerships and manufacturing plants. That’s nothing new though. Anyone who watches television or reads the newspaper knows all about the struggling car market in the States.

But what happens when Toyota, the top-selling foreign car company in North America, has been facing the same problem over the past several months?

According to a Wall Street Journal ad printed today, Toyota’s sales numbers were down 10% last month, and have been down seven out of the last nine months. Toyota’s sales have not dropped as far as Chrysler, Ford or GM (19 percent for Chrysler and GM, 14 percent for Ford). However, this news has certainly risen some eyebrows in terms of the how this will affect our already shaky financial situation.

Maybe this is nothing, just a small blimp on the horizon. Maybe it’s the fact that the cocky car company from the Far East is no better selling vehicles than the Americans can. Or could this be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and the financial apocalypse has now begun?

Only thing we can right now is watch and hope for the best. Continue Reading…

OK, so there’s this odd, but interesting site called Oobject.

The site is sort of like a cross between BoingBoing, the old Billboard magazine and a design forum, or as they say themselves: ” … like Billboard charts for gadgets.”

Their latest posting is all about the rise, both in number and level of grotesquerie, of diamond covered doo-dads that only the ugly rich could afford (or desire).

It all seem to follow and fit, if you think about it. Oil is currently over $100 a barrel (and it probably won’t go down much, if at all, so you better get used to it). Essentially oil is about 3 times more expensive than it was 8 years ago.

That rise is cost, means a rise in profits, and all that money has to go somewhere.

Some will get siphoned off by exploration and procuring companies (your Halliburtons, KBRs, RDSs etc.); some of that new-found profit will get skimmed off by transportation entities; and some of the rising profits will get moved into oil company coffers.

The bulk of it will, as always, go into where the production centers are.

The rise in the price of oil is concurrent with a HUGE building boom going on in the gulf states. There is a huge number of 100+ story skyscrapers being built in Dubai; oil rich states are constructing artificial islands by the hundreds; some guy in Abu Dhabi thought it was reasonable to pay $14.3 million for a frickin’ license plate. Continue Reading…

Or so says the folks over at Autoblog .

Indeed, that IS true, some of the bigger teams from Champ Car, Forsythe, Walker Racing, and Minardi have dropped out of the now merged series.

But here’s the bit from Autoblog’s story that I don’t get:

” … former Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven will give it a shot, but, like Stoddart, is also looking for a way into Formula One. With the former Minardi F1 team, now known as Toro Rosso, up for sale, and Super Aguri looking not long for this world, they may have a chance. ”

OK, so let me get this straight, Kalkhoven and Stoddart can’t afford to go IRL racing, so they’re thinking of going Grand Prix instead?

What?

Toro Rosso, is up for sale, and Super Aguri could probably be picked up “cheap” (if those guys from Dubai haven’t picked it up already) and Autoblog’s implication is that Kalkhoven and Stoddart could buy them?

What?

Running a two car IRL team is a monetary proposition on the order of 15 to 20 million dollars a season. Tops.

When Toro Roso bought Minardi (ironically from Stoddart), the known asking price was $45 million. and that was two years ago. If they sell it back to him for the same price, he could easily go IRL racing for three seasons. And don’t forget, that $45 million is just the price for buying the team, that won’t pay for running the team for a season. You might, might be able to do that for another $50 million.

A season long IRL budget is less than what Ferrari spends on catering services for a season.

There is no way someone who can’t afford to got IRL racing will go Grand Prix racing instead.

That’s like saying “I can’t afford to fly to Europe for my vacation, so I’m going to take a cruise ship instead.”