the Toyota logo... very clever

Found on http://diply.com/trendyjoe/30-famous-logos-that-have-a-hidden-message/49939/

Get ready for a shocking cool story... 2 AMC Spirits raced the 1979 24 hours of Nürburgring with two Penske prepared Eagle Spirits in 1979

And they didn’t just race. They finished 1-2 in class, but there’s a lot more to the story. The drivers — which included IndyCar racer Lyn St. James and James Brolin — came to Nürburgring without ever having driven the track. So, they recruited a local to show them around the place. This local turned out to be a WWII veteran named Heinz who lost his right arm while serving as the captain in a Panzer tank.

Skip the first minute


Found on http://www.carcrushing.com/10-things-didnt-know-amc/

Not that you care about Pacers... but this is pretty odd

The passenger side door was 4 inches longer than the drivers side.  Made getting in and out of the back seat a bit easier.. but why not make the divers side door the same length?

Found on http://www.carcrushing.com/10-things-didnt-know-amc/

Johnson's Flying Service (if you've watched Planes 2, you might like to read this) invented the Smoke Jumpers in 1940

photo by Michael Gallacher of the Missoulian newspaper http://missoulian.com/news/local/wwii-era-bomber-retrofitted-for-firefighting-lands-at-missoula-museum/article_d0b607da-f3c0-11e0-8c43-001cc4c002e0.html

The proud museum's newest addition, a retrofitted, single-engine World War II torpedo bomber, is one that pilots flew and mechanics got in the air and kept there for Johnson Flying Service in the 1960s and '70s.

 The  aircraft that was one of six Grumman TBM Avengers closed out of the Missoula-based flying service in 1974 and sold to Forest Protection Limited in New Brunswick, and spent most of the last four decades spraying Canadian forests for bugs and dropping retardant on forest fires. A-13 first came to Johnson's in 1964 as a replacement slurry bomber http://missoulian.com/news/local/wwii-era-bomber-retrofitted-for-firefighting-lands-at-missoula-museum/article_d0b607da-f3c0-11e0-8c43-001cc4c002e0.html

in the movies Planes and Planes 2, Skipper is a Corsair... not an Avenger, but similar in that they were both warbirds... and I find it cool that they used Avengers as fire patrol airplanes



1917 - At the age of 24, Missoula resident Bob Johnson enlists in the army and is sent to Camp Lewis, Washington. Johnson is discharged less than a year later. Johnson goes into business for himself, opening an automotive service station

1920's 1923 - Missoula’s first landing strip is laid out in May. The field is located near the base of Mount Sentinel, roughly between what is now the University of Montana and South Avenue 1926 - Bob Johnson purchases a Swallow bi-plane for $2500 and continues his flying lessons with instructor Nick Mamer, believed to be the first pilot to ever fly over Glacier National Park. Bob Johnson decides to start Johnson Flying Service to teach others how to fly

 1927 - Bob Johnson, in an interview with a University of Montana journalism student, says he believes airplanes will eventually make regular stops in Missoula. Decades later, that same journalism student, who thought Johnson was crazy for making such an incredible statement, would eventually fly out of Missoula International Airport aboard a large passenger airliner; a group of men meet at the Palace Hotel to discuss Missoula's future in aviation. Missoula, it was felt, needed an airport to succeed. City businessman Harry O. Bell was elected president of the Missoula chapter of the National Aeronautic Association. Their first act was to secure an airmail route to Butte and Salt Lake City; Walter Beck secures a 60-day option on eighty acres of land just east of the Missoula County Fairgrounds. The County officially purchases the 80 acres of land, as well as an adjacent strip to construct an east-west runway. Total cost was $5000. A northwest-southeast runway was later built.

1934 - Northwest Airways inaugurates regular mail and passenger service to Missoula at the Garden City Airport

1938 - President Roosevelt authorizes W.P.A. funds for the construction of Missoula’s third airport. The Missoula County Airport Board purchases 1300 acres of land seven miles west of Missoula adjacent to Highway 10 West as the site for a new airport. Since the Forest Service needed access to an airport, and Missoula County needed heavy equipment to build the new airport, a deal was struck between the two parties. The airport board gave the Forest Service a perpetual easement at the airport site, while the Forest Service granted the use of their equipment for construction. The agreement eventually led to Missoula becoming a major center for aerial firefighting and research. The new airport would feature four runways each a mile or more in length, capable of accommodating any airplane in service at the time. Total estimated cost, including the land, for the new Missoula County Airport: $1.5-$2 million

1940 - July 12, Rufus Robinson and Earl Cooley become the first firefighters to parachute from a Johnson Flying Service airplane to extinguish a fire in the Pacific Northwest Region. On that day, the legendary Smokejumper program was born

1952 - Congress authorizes $700,000 to construct a new aerial fire depot west of Missoula near the new airport; Red Skies of Montana is released in theaters. The film portrays the dangerous lives of Smokejumpers who battle fires in the Pacific Northwest by parachuting into the flames below

1980 - Bob Johnson passes away. "When Bob Johnson was just getting started flying in 1923, aviation and airplanes were considered absolutely a thing for fools, daredevils and irresponsible playboys," said aviation historian Steve Smith of Missoula, whose book Fly the Biggest Piece Back chronicles the history of Johnson Flying Service. Johnson had accumulated over 17,000 hours during his flying career

Info from http://www.flymissoula.com/About_Us/Airport_History

A good thing to read is "What it means to be a Smoke Jumper" from the only survivor of the 1949 disaster. http://www.nifc.gov/safety/mann_gulch/memorial/documents/What_it_Means_to_be_a_Smokejumper_by_Robert_Sallee_1993.pdf

One of the first aerial fire patrol pilots in the northwest was Nick Mamer, a legendary pilot, who had served with the U.S. Air Service during WW I, and later settled in Spokane, establishing the Mamer Flying Service. He taught Bob Johnson of the Johnson Flying Service of Missoula how to fly.

During the time that he flew aerial fire patrols he never experienced a forced landing.  During the period 1925-1935 Forest Inspector Howard R. Flint and Nick Mamer were inseparably connected with the pioneering of aerial activities in the Northern Rocky Mountain Region. Then while flying as a chief pilot for Northwest Airlines on a Lockheed Super Electra during a flight from Seattle to Minneapolis, parts of the tail section were torn from the aircraft about 15 miles northeast of Bozeman, Montana and the plane went into a dive.

Mamer, the copilot and eight passengers died instantly. Later, an investigation revealed that the tail structure had failed on the new design from what is known as "natural resonance, or period of vibration". So ended the life of one of the very first aerial fire patrol pilots in the northwest, a pilot who at one time was known as "Mr. Spokane Aviation".  http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/people/smokejumpers/missoula/History/General/

Maiden Detroit... clever name, with an interesting and notable story

See, they were racing boats before they were making airplanes, and with the customary way of calling ships and planes in the female vernacular, but having to come up with a new way of doing that since Gar Wood had already named his racing boat Miss Detroit, it was only possible to call the Stout Metal Aeroplane Co airplane with a Liberty Engine airplanes "Maiden" as it was a clever pun for the city it was manufactured in as well as a female term.

Photo and info from http://home.earthlink.net/~ralphcooper/pimagb17.htm

A good story about the pioneers of airplanes involving the Maiden Detroit:
 It was a great day when we first took the plane out to Selfridge for its trial flights. The new field al Ford's was not ready yet. It was early spring and ice was still on the lake. Walter Lees was the test pilot. He took off against a light wind and headed out across the lake. Then, something happened. A couple of dips and down he came, landing on the ice which was fortunately thick enough to hold.
     It took us ten minutes to run out to where the ship stood on the ice and find what was the matter. Walter was furious.
     The windshield had blown in against his control wheel and he had to push the celluloid back in place with his foot before he could free the controls to land. Windshields, from then on, were made much stronger.
     A few days later he took off again---this time over land.
     Frost in the carburetor brought him down once more---in a swamp! All was safe, but the ship had to be taken apart to get it out on dry land again.

Ford later bought the Stout Metal Aeroplane company, and evolved the above into Tri Motor airplanes  http://www.nifc.gov/safety/mann_gulch/organization/equipment/docs/Evergreen_Ford_Tri_Motor_%20Aircraft_and_Crew_Information.pdf

Charger Hellcat and Challenger Hellcat

If the Charger Hellcat goes on sale as promised in the 1st 1/4 of 2015, it will be the most powerful sedan for sale on the market. Stomping BMW (540hp) Mercedes E63 AMG (550hp)

Zero to 60 = 3.7 seconds.

Source, Autoweek Sept 1st issue 2014

Of all the powerful cars available for purchase in the USA, the Hellcat Challenger is #2, just a bit more than #3 Lamborghini Aventador and just a bit less than #1 Ferrari F12

BMW has lost its mind

“Is the engine noise coming from the speakers?” Agonizingly, yes. The M3/M4’s interior sound comes courtesy of special effects.
When pressed, BMW engineers reluctantly explain that the sound doesn’t come from a pre-recorded soundtrack or an engine-mounted microphone. Instead, a sensor analyzes what the engine should sound like according to rpm and load. Then, it uses a “synthesizer” to replicate that sound and pipes it through the speakers.
Like the digitally rendered humans in the movie The Polar Express, you immediately know something is off—and that particular something is creepy. Also off-putting is the character of the synthesized engine noise, which sounds like a bass-heavy V-8 rather than the sharp rasp of an inline six. Onlookers outside the car are treated to blats of real, raucous inline-six sound as the exhaust flaps kick rudely open. Turns out they’re the lucky ones.

Found on http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1405-2015-bmw-m3-m4-review/ from the Sept 2014 issue of Automobile magazine

Rob Lutter has been bicycling around the world since Sept 2011, from London, to Australia - so far

I learned about this on http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/rob-lutter-the-lifecycle-adventure?context=featured

Originally starting in London, photographer and writer Rob Lutter set off on an ambitious global journey, to not only photograph the many sites he visits, finding inspiration from his travels and the people he meets, but to also repay his eye-opening experience by spreading the remarkable stories he comes across.

 Lutter's ultimately seeks to get around the globe by bicycle in an indeterminate amount of time while doing some good along the way, raising awareness as well as funds for charity organizations concerning the global water crisis and mental health issues. As a man with OCD himself, Lutter has been sharing and seeking to overcome his own struggles through this adventure.

http://thelifecycle.roblutter.com/  to see or learn about his journey click on the 3 horizontal bars in the upper right corner, and his email is lifecycle@roblutter.com

Much more satisfying is his Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/roblutter which you look at in reverse chronological order, looking at where he is now, and what he's doing, and then tracing back through his experience / adventure though photos and captions from the present to the past when he started. It's mesmerizing, maybe because I used to bike a lot.



 Consider the miles he's put on his bike, cars hitting him, him hitting cars. Flats, food, shelter, climate, getting the flu and local diseases like malaria, etc from being bitten by bugs. Avoiding dog bites, corrupt border guards, police shakedowns, etc.

It's a monumental undertaking.

There's still time to donate to The Lifecycle's Kickstarter campaign



This is more than a project to me, it's my entire life. I managed to roll my bike out of the front door. It's an unusual, but epic Kickstarter project I know, but one that, really, is just about hope, possibility, change, the search for happiness, that sense of adventure we all feel from time to time and the human need for discovery and exploration.
Help me. Join me. Let's cycle around the world!!
 Site: thelifecycle.roblutter.com
 Twitter: @roberlutter
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roblutter
 Instagram: @roblutter
 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/theroblutter
 Tumblr: roblutter.tumblr

The bicycle is my home. My entire life. Everything I need is resting on the back of two thin wheels. The first bike Jake was the same bike used to ride to and from work everyday in London. He took me from one edge of a continent to another – thousands of miles across stony mountain passes and barren desert roads. The second bike Sixty, after Jake got cracked in half, is now carrying the waterproof bags, loaded with tools, winter clothing, spare tyres and sleeping gear. The custom touring-spoked wheels are fitted with marathon tyres. The handlebars have multiple riding positions for long rides and the Brooks saddle is the toughest in the world, made of leather that shapes to your body over time.  http://thelifecycle.roblutter.com/questions/

one reason more people buy a Honda instead of a Dodge

The Dodge 2.7-liter V6, for example, produces about the same horsepower as the Honda Accord EX's four-cylinder, yet it has less fuel efficiency than the Accord's 268-hp V6.

I just learned that annually a Fire Fighter training convention happens in Indianapolis, called the FDIC

Images from http://www.globalemergencyvehicles.com/blog/fdic-2014-highlights/

And this website, Global Emergancy Vehicles has a comprehensive look at the many varieties of Ambulances, fire trucks, etc... like which makers have better engines, and why http://www.globalemergencyvehicles.com/blog/tips-buying-used-ambulance/  (buy a Sprinter or Ford with the 7.3L diesel)

if you're interested in fire trucks, how fire depts plan to replace and lease vehicles :  http://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/archives.html

Above 3 photos found on http://chicagoareafire.com/blog/2014/04/more-from-the-2014-fdic/

Civic improvements stats

Found on Facebook

a new theory on why young people aren't buying cars

It’s no secret the percentage of new vehicles sold to 18- to 34-year-olds has significantly dropped over the past few years. Many argue this is the result of a weak economy, that the idea of making a large car investment and getting into more debt on top of college loans is too daunting for them. But that’s not the "driving" factor, especially considering that owning a smartphone or other mobile device, with its monthly fees of network access, data plan, insurance, and app services, is almost comparable to the monthly payments required when leasing a Honda Civic.

What auto manufacturers, along with much of corporate America are missing here is that the vehicles to freedom and personal identity have changed for this generation.

Read the entire article at http://www.fastcoexist.com/3027876/millennials-dont-care-about-owning-cars-and-car-makers-cant-figure-out-why

New security for bicycle parts that are frequently stolen seats and tires

While many companies have sought to release products that protect a cyclist's property by attempting to lock an entire bike, few have focused on the all too common issue of thieves taking easily accessible parts, such as wheels and seats. The C3N offers a more conscientious approach to avoiding a stolen bike by locking crucial elements with easy-to-carry locks.

See and read more about these at http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/sphyke-c3n?context=featured

Evolution of the bicycle

A 1 min animation of the bicycle's evolution, all the way from the wooden horse to the modern racer. The video was made in combination with an application to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, 2013. Animation : Thallis Vestergaard Music : Flying Home by The Benny Goodman Sextet

The bicycle has changed a lot from its beginnings in Germany as a pedal-free "dandy horse," which is basically just a plank of wood with two wheels (you move by running along like a Flintstones car). The animation shows the two-wheeled vehicle's design from the dandy horse as it gains pedals and gears, as the wheels change sizes (with a brief stop at the penny-farthing, the ultimate in absurd modes of transport), and finally to our modern road bike.

Found on http://www.fastcodesign.com/3028191/a-visual-history-of-the-bicycle

"Thank You" from Japan, genius! I love it! Great idea, give it a try... I will be doing this from now on, it's awesome

Found on http://twentytwowords.com/one-tiny-japanese-driving-habit-that-could-end-road-rage-in-america-why-dont-we-do-this/

It was early when I posted this, and the coffee hadn't kicked in yet, so I forgot that truckers int eh US do this, and lots of drivers who have caught on to using the double brake tap or flashers to let a trucker know "Thanks" or " Cut in" ... when you see the comments, you'll see that this happens in many countries

the benefit off micro-polishing

A ring and pinion oil will be around 80 degrees cooler if you micro polish them

Source

Ever heard of the 1961 Tuxedo Park Jeep CJ5?

it was a dress up trim level, with Chrome bumpers, white wall tires, and leather seats

images found on http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f103/tuxedo-park-12399/

PT Cruiser and Chevy HHR were both designed by the same guy

Chevy HHR Wikipedia page:

The vehicle's design was inspired by the mid-1940s Chevrolet cars and trucks, specifically the 1947 Chevrolet Suburban and Advance Design pickups, with large, square fender flares and a hemispherical grille. The design of the HHR has been credited to Bryan Nesbitt who was a former designer at Chrysler where he was the lead designer of the Chrysler PT Cruiser. Nesbitt was recruited by GM to join its design staff and served for a time as the chief designer of the Chevrolet brand.

PT Cruiser Wikiepedia page:
The Chrysler PT Cruiser is a retro styled compact automobile launched by Chrysler as a 5-door hatchback in early 2000 (for the 2001 model year)

Originally conceived as a Plymouth model, the PT Cruiser received the Chrysler nameplate on introduction in anticipation of the 2001 discontinuation of the Plymouth brand. The PT Cruiser was designed by Bryan Nesbitt, who later also styled the Chevrolet HHR.

The name "PT Cruiser" includes the initialism PT, standing for "Personal Transport" and designating the car's platform as well as production code. Intended to evoke an old gangster getaway car or a street rod based on a 1930s car, the 2000 PT Cruiser grew out of a collaboration among Robert A. Lutz, who was an executive at Chrysler at the time, Bryan Nesbitt, a designer, as well as Dr. Clotaire Rapaille

In 2001 Car and Driver acknowledged the PT Cruiser on its Ten Best list and the PT Cruiser also won the North American Car of the Year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_PT_Cruiser

it's possible to get out of a speeding ticket by challenging it in court, cops don't show up very often

I challenged one ticket in Massachusetts and the officer that issued the ticket didn't show up, they sent another officer who was not the one issuing the ticket. I argued that there was no one there that was an actual witness to the crime. The judge explained that this officer was filling in and reading the report that was filled. I explained that the report isn't evidence. It's one side of the story and I'm innocent until proven guilty. No witnesses, no proof. So I denied all of the charges. The judge made some comment about trusting the word of the officers over mine. I respectfully told him that he is required to be unbiased and render judgment based solely on the evidence and he just revealed that he is, by default, biased in favor of the officers. I continued to maintain my innocence and also said that I am within my rights to face my accuser in a court of law. And I don't see my accuser here. Only someone reading what the accuser wrote. After about 15 minutes of this the judge looked irritated with me but acknowledged that I was correct and dismissed the charges.

found on http://thefreethoughtproject.com/ex-police-sergent-tells-fight-speeding-fines/#TAIXwxyEzVorsSPj.16

motorcycle leathers info

Within the motorcycle industry, the most popular animals to use of leather are cows, buffalo's, goats and sheep. Optionally, more exotic animals used for leather are kangaroo, deer and stingray and are known for its unique features and superior strength.

 Kangaroo leather, or K-leather, for instance, is known for its strength, light weight and durability and therefore suits the motorcycle apparel industry perfectly. Kangaroo leather, as recent studies have shown, has a prehistoric fibre structure, low level of weave and a low fat content, and therefore provides the rider with a superior strength against leathers from cabretta (hair sheep), goatskin or bovine (cow leather). Additionally, kangaroo leather is more flexible than its cow hide counterpart.

(K leather is 1/2 the weight of cow, and twice the strength) http://www.agvsport.com/everything_you_need_to_know_about_leather_and_more.php