TechnoChitlins

Peter de Lorenzo delivers a smackdown and tells some hard truths-

But I am really much more concerned about the negative and wildly naïve attitude that has been allowed to fester in and around Washington and across the country of late, the attitude that suggests that our manufacturing base and this country's ability to make things somehow doesn't matter in this brave new consumer nation that the U.S. has become in the 21st century.

It's the same attitude that suggests - if not outright promotes - the idea that we can exist in some alternative consumerist universe of our own creation, a Starbucks Nation of "whatever" consumers who don't really care where whatever it is we're coveting comes from as long as its here, now and c-h-e-a-p.

This is the same attitude that has left this country ill-prepared for the burgeoning realities of this global world we're living in. And this "whatever" posture that has become far too commonplace in our nation, and the idea that this will all workout somehow - because it always has - is not only beyond scary, it's just flat-out wrong.

He posits the idea of America, Inc. I like it. RTWT here, and do it before next Wednesday because he updates then. Better yet, read Autoextremist.com every Wednesday. You might just be surprised at how key the domestic automobile industry is to our economy.

Posted by Jay-Dubya at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

WTF?

Posted by Jay-Dubya at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I meant to post this a couple of days ago, but, well, here it is now:

When I grow up I want one of these- along with a bodacious babe to periodically refinish it, of course.

A. 600 hp. wooden. car. God bless America!

h/t Toolmonger

More goodies...

Posted by Jay-Dubya at 07:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Iowahawk with a blast (literally) from the past!-

Though the company no longer exists, mere mention of the name "Turbonique" still inspires a shudder of awe among drag racing enthusiast, the company's principle target market. Even in the Wild West atmosphere of 1960s drag racing, Its products represented the zenith of no-compromise, crazyass crazy. Recall Acme, that enigmatic mail order purveyor of catapults and jet skates to cartoon coyotes? Pikers, compared to Turbonique.

As best as I can determine, Turbonique Inc. was established in Orlando in 1962, reportedly an offshoot of a NASA space program subcontractor who was determined to establish a consumer market for rocket technology. Its founder was a Mr. Gene Middlebrooks, about whom I can find little information except a 1969 book reference. Turbonique's product line consisted of three items: "AP superchargers," "rocket drag axles," and the legendary "microturbo thrust engines." All employed the same basic rocket technology, albeit in stepped grades of insanity.

At the mild end of the Turbonique product line were its AP (for "Auxiliary Power") superchargers, so named because they had their own power supply. Unlike regular superchargers (driven by a crank pulley belt) or turbos (driven by exhaust pressure), Turbonique AP superchargers operated independently of the engine and scavenged no power from it. They appeared to be a spiral turbo with a spark plug, and were engaged with a dash-mounted switch - a sort of prehistoric Nitrous setup. When the driver threw the switch, the supercharger unit would receive liquid oxygen for ignition, and then it was fed a rocket fuel named Thermolene -Turbonique's trade name for N-propyl nitrate. The exhaust thrust from combustion would spin a turbine impeller up to 100,000 RPM, ramming the engine with such intense boost that it essentially turned it into a giant two-stroke. Turbonique dyno-tested an AP unit on new Chevy 409 in 1963, increasing horsepower from a stock 405 to 835 -- backing up their advertised guarantee to "double your horsepower" -- although it came with a recommendation not to run the unit for more than 5 minutes and only with forged cranks, pistons and connecting rods.

LOL- and later, near the end-

Those days are long gone. Turbonique seems to have ceased operation around 1969. Original Turbonique equipment is extremely difficult to find, in part due to their extreme heavy duty use, and possibly because of deliberate destruction to avoid liability judgments. Details are sketchy, but I've heard various stories that the company folded after a series of customer explosions/accidents/deaths and the subsequent lawsuits.

Ya think?

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...and I thought drivers here at the Little Easy were bad...

via James

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Woohoo, I have GOT to get me one of these! 0-60 in 3 seconds? Check. Recharge like a cell phone? Check. Functioning prototype? Check.

Tres cool...

h/t Silent Running

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Woohoo!

Posted by Jay-Dubya at 08:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It looks like it's almost over for GM, once the biggest and most respected car company in the world-

Rabid Rick Wagoner lacks self-esteem. Why else would GM’s CEO submit himself to triple presidential humiliation? First, Bush tells GM to take a hike-- even before Rick shows-up with his begging bowl. Then, despite the slight, the head of the world’s largest automaker sets-up a meet with the Commander-in-Chief (presumably to engage in a vigorous debate about the definition of a “relevant” vehicle). Then Bush cancels the meeting. George heads for the border; Rick detours to Congress to promote corn juice-- and reschedules the presidential pow-wow for June. To do what? How long does it take RR to take a hint?
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But no, GM went and hired Jay Alix.

Jay Alix of AlixPartners is what Reuters called a “distressed company financial advisor.” No, he's not an anxious number cruncher; Alix' firm helps companies into, through and, sometimes, out of bankruptcy. We're not talking about your local car dealership, Oriental rug dealer or electronics chain store. AlixPartners has applied its consultancy skills to some of America's largest corporate meltdowns: Kmart, auto-parts maker Dana, the trading firm Refco and... Enron. If that last name doesn’t trigger some alarm bells, AlixPartners was also hired by WorldCom, whose $11b accounting scandal earned CEO Bernard Ebbers a 25-year jail sentence and his company the title "world’s largest bankruptcy."
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Meanwhile, as GM reaches into its threadbare pockets to pay for a Chapter 11 expert not to use his bankruptcy expertise, The General has launched a guerilla war to stop people like us telling people like you that people like Wagoner are running the company into the ground. As revealed by The Detroit News, GM’s so-called “Arlington project” will deploy some 50 GM flacklings throughout 16 US cities. It's part of what the News called “attempts to secure favorable news coverage.” Even discounting the recent bribery attempt by a GM PR firm on former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich (to ensure positive coverage of GM’s worker buyout plan), this program smells of cowardice, desperation and dirty tricks.

This could have far-reaching implications for the country as a whole, as the cascade effct takes down thousands of small suppliers. And don't think Ford is immune either- they are teetering on the same precipice. Just plain bad news for all of us.

Posted by Jay-Dubya at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Some folk just have too much time on their hands, and end up creating something like this...

h/t, I think, to Carpundit

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OK, I like pickup trucks. I even own one, and I think it's cool (a 2005 F-150 short-bed standard cab, thank you).

But this is fargin' ridiculous. And I want one. Just to park it out front and let the granola-chewers go insane.

via Jalopnik

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This is so cool...

Posted by Jay-Dubya at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sweeet. Via Automobiles de Luxe.

Previous post taken down because I figured if it was killing Firefox on my computer, it was on other folks too.

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Carry me back-

Bill Culver, president of the Road Race Lincoln Register, points out what separated the race cars from the regular Capri: Along with the new V8 and slick styling, a ball-joint suspension was introduced for the 1952 Lincolns and was a big improvement on the previous king-pin setup. Heavy-duty shocks were a must for the race cars, as was better ducting for the drum brakes and blueprinted engines good for 300 hp. Culver says by 1954 “rules required no variation in weight from stock, so the 4250-pound cars were lightened by removing unnecessary accessories, and the pounds were added back by safety equipment.”

Lincoln would finish first, second and 10th in the large stock class in 1954, the final Carrera Panamericana. Accidents and deaths, coupled with the horrendous 1955 crash at Le Mans that killed more than 80 spectators, marked the end of the race and Lincoln’s road racing glory.

This Lincoln Capri Special was never a race car. In fact, the only wheel it turned in anger was probably to get the choice spot at the local drive-in. Matt McCool, the car’s owner, bought it two years ago. McCool has owned four vintage Chevrolet Impalas, a 1966 Ford Mustang and a 1976 BMW 2002. “I’m not sure what drew me to buy the car,” McCool says, “but it’s fair to say I am a sucker for all old cars.”

McCool found the Lincoln on the web, less than 40 miles away from his home in Ringoes, New Jersey. Other than a decade-old repaint in the original color, the car is in exceptional condition, having covered 86,000 miles. The engine was never rebuilt, the four-speed Hydra-Matic transmission (a GM-built unit, used by Lincoln until 1955) is original, and the interior is as it left the factory. Even the Lincoln heating system works perfectly, while the original Firestone whitewall spare is in the cavernous trunk.

My father drove almost nothing but Lincolns for as long as I can remember, and though they varied in quality, they never failed to be fast and comfortable cars. Some of them, like the 1958 Premier

and the 1964 Continental,

were timelessly beautiful. Those monstrosities Ford tries to foist on customers today are shameful compared to them. (I know these are some raggedy-looking cars in the pics, but when you snag 'em off the net, you're kind of stuck with what's out there)

Posted by Jay-Dubya at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From Peter DeLorenzo, a brutal take on Nissan North America's upcoming move to Nashville-

The latest on Nissan North America's Headquarters move to Nashville? The PR minions at Nissan have been furiously trying to spin that the move will be a Good Thing - in spite of all signs to the contrary - in a desperate attempt at validating King Carlos Ghosn's "vision" for a new, streamlined NNA. They even went out of their way to take us to task for printing "inaccuracies" even though some of the "facts" they provided were dubious at best. Well, they might as well get used to the local vernacular down in Nashville, because that dog won't hunt even with a T-Bone. NNA's PR troops keep insisting that the number of employees moving is now an inconsequential issue, that the company won't be affected - and that's just flat-out, unmitigated bullshit. The real story isn't the total number of people who will move or stay, but in how many departments were gutted to the point of being nonfunctioning. Finance, HR, Legal, Market Intelligence, Corporate Communications and several others are facing attrition rates in excess of 90%. And even though it looks like enough Product Planning and Model Line Marketing staffers will move to remain a viable department, there are critical breaches in the perimeter, as insiders are telling us now that the Infiniti group has been almost wiped-out with only the Director and one senior manager going for sure. That's just one example. Another example is something called the WIN Team. This stands for "Workforce Integration for Nissan" and is a high-speed data pipeline connecting business groups around the world. It includes several excellent online collaboration tools and represents the future of how Nissan will communicate internally moving forward. It was expensive and is quite complicated, but the benefits are profound, according to insiders. The only problem is that unless the Director decides to move, they'll lose 100% of their WIN staff. Nissan may arrive in Nashville on time so as not to jeopardize their state-funded guarantees, but the company will hardly be functioning on all cylinders at a time when they absolutely need to be what with the critical launches they have coming over the next 18 months. Not very good.

Yikes. Glad the wife didn't get another Infiniti but rather a Sonata- at least with Hyundai there's a good chance they'll still be around next year.

(note- the link will expire next Wednesday)

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GM interrupted it's long slow corporate suicide with this new product annoucement- The new G6 GXP 'Concept'-

Good-looking, non? Maybe if GM can sell a few of these they'll still be around in 2010...

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Glenn highlights some snarkiness:

UPDATE: Hmm. A couple of readers say that this is NBC's last year of sharing in NASCAR broadcasts, after which the consortium will be to Fox, ABC, and ESPN. Is NBC trying to give NASCAR a goodbye kiss? Apparently, its coverage was poorly received: "Ratings for NBC's coverage, like those for Fox's, have consistently increased throughout the six-year contract. But NBC has often gotten a tepid or worse response from many die-hard racing fans, some of whom have complained that the network appeared to lack passion for the sport. . . . The network didn't believe the package was as valuable as what NASCAR was asking for it. When the new deal was announced in December, published reports said the agreement was for a total of $4.5-billion, or 61 percent higher than the previous deal signed in 2000." More here.

And reader Eric Hall offers a new assignment: "Dateline NBC ought to take some Christian-looking people to Riyadh and see how things work out. Don't forget the bikini-clad sister."

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Betsy Gorisch emails:

My husband and I are serious NASCAR fans, and for a number of years now we have been underwhelmed by NBC's coverage of the latter half of the season. We've always thought that they cover the races as though they imagine that only a bunch of dimwits could really care about watching. Perhaps their single most annoying feature is something they call "going through the field." This feature consists of having a reporter discuss what's happening with each car, one by one, while the race is going on--what's up with the tires, what the team leader thinks about the gas mileage, and so forth--and meanwhile ignoring the race! It's insulting to anyone who actually wants to see the RACE. My favorite analogy for this tiresome exercise is to think of watching the bottom of the 7th inning of a World Series game, and the announcer cuts to a sequential close-up of each player while saying things like, "Well Bob, the right fielder is having trouble getting his cleats to hold the turf and the webbing on his mitt is too loose. His cup is tight, and he's going to have to do something about that before the next inning. Now let's move over the the center fielder." And so forth--and meanwhile the game is going on but you can't see what's happening. No one would put up with something similar in any other sport.

This latest hidden camera exercise seems like a clueless PC parting shot at a sport NBC has never understood anyway. No real race fan likes the NBC portion of the season, and the Dateline guys are simply confirming what a lot of us have been pretty sure of all along--the whole network is contemptuous of its audience. It's no surprise that they would assume the stands are packed with a bunch of lousy bigots. Good riddance to them, that's what we say.

With NBC's financial woes, this kind of an attitude on the part of viewers seems like a bad thing. And in response to McErlain's question above, it's not so much what the NASCAR people will think, but what potential future sports partners will think.

Perfect. I've always thought that NBC seriously dissed NASCAR and us fans with every broadcast; Benny Parsons et al are the most clueless sports broadcasters in history. That NBC is willing to pull a stunt like this is not at all surprising- there's a reason that the only time I ever turn to that channel here is to watch a race- and afterward it gets changed immediately.

If you're not current on this subject, go here and here.

Posted by Jay-Dubya at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Ooooooooo, lookee here-

Glickenhaus personally commissioned Pininfarina in 2005 to build his dream car, a carbon composite body penned by the same designers responsible for the Maserati Birdcage 75th show car to commemorate the firm’s 75th anniversary, and the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano that debuted earlier this month at the Geneva Motor Show. According to Glickenhaus in online postings, the 612 P4/5 with all-new carbon composite bodywork was executed by a Pininfarina designer identified only as “Jason.” Jason Castriota is the one credited with both the Maser and newest Ferraris exteriors.

Glickenhaus requested an unregistered U.S.-spec Enzo to get everything rolling. Middle of last year, Pininfarina and Ferrari of Beverly Hills found the only unregistered, un-driven 2003 Enzo on earth and shipped it, still shrink-wrapped in its factory protective white plastic, to Pininfarina to start its transformation.

Based on the highly detailed descriptions put forth by Glickenhaus, these computer-generated images show the 612 P4/5 for what it is. The traditional color chosen harks back to the blood red of the original P4 or, as Glickenhaus describes it, Alfa Romeo SF Rossa Corso. The nose is truncated and more aggressive than on an Enzo, allowing a functional approach angle vs. the Enzo’s long overhang (the Enzo’s electronic nose-lift function is kept in case). Placing a large front radiator horizontally and reclined on its side, as in the 1993 Ferrari 333 SP built for IMSA competition in the World Sports Car class, makes this gorgeous nose possible. Echoes of the 330 P4 envelop the car from nose to tail, with a decidedly modern take. Check out the white ceramic-coated exhausts tips poking out of the back panel.

Oh boy the teenager in me just went off the scale. Here's the Autoweek article.

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Who knows? I just hope it's true...

Well, if Bugatti can come back, maybe this has a chance too. Faster, please!

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