"The Relay" Online Newsletter
October 2023 Issue

This is the monthly online newsletter for the car club council. All car hobbyist events are listed on this site under "Calendar." Just click on the link above to view the list of car shows and other activities.

President's Message

I post all the events in our calendar and I don't like to see 6, 7 or more car events on the same day - but sometimes you just can't help it. The rain seemed to favor the weekends this year. Just take a look at what Jeff, who does the Chesterfield Cruise-in, had to say to me in an email: What a miserable season. TWELVE rainouts on Saturday night since April 1st. Funny note. Out of the 12 rainouts, 5 of them were all Noodles & Company. Imagine that---we tried 5 times to have a cruise there and it rained every one of them!!

It rained on our council show in May - again this year and rained out many other events. A tropical storm brought lots of rain the September weekend of the 23rd causing every single event in the calendar to be cancelled and moved to another date which put 11 events happening on the 30th which is the Southern Knights Cruisers Veterans Car and Bike Show and usually the largest car show in our area. All this rain and the moving of events is not good. Attendance is usually lower when an event is moved from its original date and crowding events on one date doesn't bode well for attendance either. It also means less money goes to charities from these shows. This is a reminder that a lot of politicians should heed - we can't control the weather, we can't change the weather, we just have to live with whatever weather we get.

Apparently California's leadership hasn't heard that message as the government there is suing "Big Oil" and the American Petroleum Institute for climate change. The defendants are now the scapegoat for everything bad that has been caused by the weather. Never mind that 1,609 climate scientists have signed a declaration dismissing the existence of a climate crisis and insisting that carbon dioxide is beneficial to the earth. Without carbon dioxide all life both plant and animal would disappear. You can check out both stories below and one about a mental health crisis that is coming with 70% of children having eco-anxiety from the non-stop messages about how climate change is going to destroy earth.

We need to combat all of this with one tool - our vote. All 140 General Assembly seats are on the line. Make sure you are registered and vote. Our vote is the one tool in our tool boxes that can change big things - like the "green agenda", getting rid of gas/diesel vehicles, using our tax dollars so the wealthy can get tax breaks to buy luxury electric vehicles and more. The government never paid us to buy gasoline vehicles and it shouldn't pay people to buy EVs using our money. Make sure you vote - your vote can help stop the craziness.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be Monday, October 23rd at 6:30 PM at Candela's Pizzeria & Ristorante Italiano, 14235 Midlothian Turnpike, Midlothian, VA 23113, 804-446-6342. It is in the Ivymont Square Shopping Center anchored by Kroger - it is to the right of Kroger as you look at the grocery store from Midlothian Turnpike. They have a meeting room that we will use. Link to menu: www.candelasmidlothian.com/#menu. Link to driving directions: Directions.

I'm heading to the Halloween cruise-in

Car Hobbyist News

National Report

Actions taken by the federal government and many state governments are focused on climate change. If you scroll to the end of this newsletter you will see an article where over 1600 climate scientists from around the world agree that there is no climate emergency and actions taken in the name of saving the planet from climate change could cause even worse problems. That isn’t stopping anyone especially California’s “government”.

California’s government has sued big oil and the petroleum institute blaming them for just about everything that is going wrong in the state except for crime and the homeless problem. The state wants billions of dollars to fix the problems it claims are caused by climate change which is all caused by oil. The result of this lawsuit will be even higher gas prices in that state. In Los Angeles gas is over $6 a gallon. CNN has reported that gas prices in America have hit the highest of this year.

California has done a survey of classic car owners asking questions about the use of these vehicles. The state is looking at restricting gas burning vehicles from the inner cities to reduce pollution – an idea that was copied from a couple of cities in Europe like London. In fact the new E-Ray Corvette with a gas engine and a small electric motor will be able to go into the city using electric power only. I’m not sure if it was designed for that purpose but it might come in handy for the European owners.

Only a few media outlets are saying that the United Auto Workers strike is about electric vehicles. EVs while costing more than gas vehicles, have fewer parts and therefore need fewer workers. This of course isn’t going over well with the union members. This is the first time in history that the UAW is striking against all of the big three automakers in America. And it is happening under President Biden who claims to be a big supporter of the unions. Biden along with many politicians wants to end the production of fossil fuel vehicles. Too bad these same people are not investing in as many charging stations as we have gas stations.

Along with the price of gasoline going up we have the prices of vehicles going up. A report below in the newsletter speaks about the disappearance of a good late model vehicle for $20K. You have got to have the big bucks to buy a vehicle and operate it. You may wonder what about lower income people and what are they going to do for a vehicle? I don’t think our leaders care – they care about themselves and their money and the poor can just live in subsidized housing. The politicians don’t care if a lot of citizens can’t get ahead and seek out the American dream.

Thanks education – for scaring children with climate change. There is an article below on “eco-anxiety” that is becoming common with young people. I’m sure you were like me counting down the seconds to get a learner’s permit and then a driver’s license. Kids of today are afraid of killing the planet by driving a fossil fuel vehicle. This is a part of becoming an adult – get a license, get a job, drive to work, etc. Many politicians just don’t care about the young people.

State Report

The election for all members of the General Assembly and many local elections is taking place with early voting right now. America will be watching what happens in Virginia. There are other states that have elections during this cycle but they are either solidly blue or red. Virginia can go either way so everyone is watching to see which direction the state goes and use it to predict what will happen in the national election next year. Your vote counts – in fact this could be a very close election. The margin between the two parties in the Assembly is razor thin. There was some redistricting and that will also have an effect on the outcome. Get out and vote – elections have consequences.

From the Star News: Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin appears poised to overturn his state’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate if his party fares well in upcoming statewide elections.

Virginia is one of 17 states that adhere to some or all of California’s vehicle emissions standards, after former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam enacted legislation binding Virginia to California’s standards prior to Youngkin’s election in 2021. Virginia is one of only two states, along with Nevada, that has a Republican governor in office and is also tied to California’s standards, which dictate that all new car sales in Virginia must be EVs starting in 2035.

Now Youngkin is pushing to repeal the policy in his state despite an earlier failure to do so.

“It defies commonsense that Democrats in Virginia have continued to outsource decision-making on energy policy. California’s requirements for their citizens should not be a one size fits all solution for Virginia,” Macauly Porter, a spokesperson for Youngkin, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “In a partisan fashion, Virginia’s Democrats blocked Governor Youngkin’s legislative proposal this year to remove Virginia from the California model.”

In January, the state Senate’s Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee shot down a slate of Republican proposals that would have enabled the repeal the legislation that mandates adoption of California’s Clean Car standards in an 8-7 party line vote, according to the Virginia Mercury.

Yes, we all need to vote in this election.

Car Club Council of Central Virginia Appreciation Day and Cruise-In at Pamplin Park September 2
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

Report: California Looking To Restrict Travel For Classic Cars

From: The Auto Wire
The state is looking at instituting “zero-emission zones” soon.

The state of California is looking seriously at instituting or allowing local governments to institute zero-emission zones in the near future. In preparation for such a move, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reportedly is gathering information about classic cars and how their owners use them. We knew something like this was coming to the US and California would likely be first, but this is still concerning.

According to a Daily Caller report, on August 2 CARB sent a survey to owners of classic cars from model year 1978 or earlier. The questions were aimed at ascertaining how those classics are used and store, as well as where they’re driven. It even asks about how many miles show on owners’ odometers. Knowing how increasingly authoritarian many government agencies seems to be trending, this is concerning to many car enthusiasts who still live in the Golden State.

Back in the day, California was arguably the epicenter of cool car culture with many legendary brands, builders, and other hobbyists emerging from the state. That all emerged at a time when individual expression, not institutionalized expression, reigned supreme. Unfortunately, that looks to be going the way of the dodo before long.

Daily Caller also points out how CARB issued a report back in 2019 suggesting the state should allow “local jurisdictions to create zero-emissions zones.” If that sounds a little too similar to the ULEZ zones that have taken over all of London’s boroughs in the UK, with plate readers fining people daily for violations, you’re not alone.

California car culture already isn’t what it used to be but is still pretty amazing. However, moves like this could accelerate the current trajectory.

Of course, the justification for full-on banning older cars from certain areas or making the owners pay a daily fee to drive there is climate change. After seeing the amount of emissions produced by private jets, cruise ships, EV mining/production, Space X rockets, and many other things that are widely celebrated, defended, and/or enjoyed one can’t help but feel cynical about these mounting restrictions.

But California has a net-zero carbon emissions goal set for 2045 and so we can expect even more restrictions on the horizon. We hope it doesn’t get to the point that authorities go door to door looking for classic cars to seize and crush, but the mere mention of zero-emission zones would’ve been dismissed as crazy conspiracy theory only a few short years ago.

Gas Prices Hit 2023 Highs As Oil Stays Hot

From: CNN
Prices at the pump climbed to their highest level of the year on Monday as oil prices push past $92 a barrel.

Normally, gas prices cool off after the summer driving season ends on Labor Day. But the opposite has happened this year as Saudi Arabia’s and Russia’s aggressive supply cuts lift oil prices.

The national average for regular gas hit $3.88 a gallon on Monday, the highest price since October 2022, according to AAA. Gas prices have jumped by five cents a gallon in the past week alone.

Rising pump prices are an unwelcome sight for consumers, the Federal Reserve and the White House as they threaten to undo progress on the fight against inflation.

Although the national average is well below the record high of $5.02 a gallon set in June 2022, gas prices are now 20 cents above where they were at this point last year.

Eleven US states now average $4 or higher, including Colorado, Oregon and Arizona, according to AAA. The average price for regular gas in California is now $5.69 a gallon, up by 49 cents in the past month.

In a negative signal for gas prices, the oil market continues to set new highs.

US crude climbed as much as 1.7% on Monday to $92.33 a barrel. It’s the first time oil has traded above $92 since November 8, 2022. Brent crude, the international benchmark, hit a fresh 10-month high of $94.95 a barrel on Monday.

In addition to supply cuts, the oil market rally has been driven by the catastrophic floods in Libya and easing US recession fears.

Citigroup warned clients on Monday that geopolitics could push oil above $100 a barrel “for a bit.” However, the bank said “$90 prices look unsustainable” and expects US oil prices will drop below $70 a barrel by the second quarter of 2024.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday told CNBC she expects energy prices will “stabilize” and noted gas prices are off their highs from last summer.

Asked if the Biden administration is considering taking action, Yellen noted the president has already released vast amounts of emergency oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

“We’re monitoring the situation very closely,” Yellen said.

Jewels Found On Ebay

Here are a couple of hot finds from Ebay Motors. I batted 1000 on last month's jewels as no one bid on them and none sold.

eBay item number: 225770028846
Opening bid $15,500
eBay description: This Renault Dauphine has been recently restored by Lawrence Dooley at his Renault Dauphine restoration shop in Springfield Ohio. The engine was rebuilt, 3 speed transmission and pressure plate and clutch renewed, new brakes, new hoses new gaskets, suspension renewed and radiator refurbished. Gas tank was renewed. The interior is brand new with new carpets and headliner installed. The body was stripped repaired as needed and repainted with a Jaguar metallic paint. Wipers heater and all glass work. Tires are brand new. I’m in Johnstown PA and this vehicle can easily be driven or shipped with no problem. I’d recommend transport long distance. This isn’t a muscle car.

I don't think the seller needed to add that last sentence. I recall riding in a Renault years ago and "muscle car" didn't enter my mind. I think the big surprise here is that there is actually a Renault Dauphine restoration shop. Here are a couple of things Hemmings had to say about these cars: "Dauphine is a French word referring to the female heir to the crown." "The Dauphine was a capable city car, but less than symphonic on the freeways. The rear weight bias and swing axles made for some squirrely handling characteristics on winding roads at speeds nearing its limit. High winds were also known to push the cute French car around quite a bit." "There was the infamous Ferlec electromagnetic clutch that did not require a clutch pedal as an option. I have heard that if you find one of those, you also need to find a mechanic who will work on it. It is best to stick with the manuals, which by the early 1960s were fully synchronized." And "The best feature of all was its city horn and country horn."

Next up is a "project".

eBay item number: 204462292602
Opening bid $8,500
eBay description: 1980 Chevrolet Camaro.4 speed car . Has a 1995 Lt1 with 567 voodoo cam also has 195 trick flow heads , Bmr front and rear suspention with viking coil over shocks . Front installed rear need put on yet . Very solid car needs finished have lots to go with the car . Car does need some body work . Also has a borg Werner 6speed . Title says R0 after title number

I just love seeing disassembled cars with photos of parts in boxes. As we age we need to make sure we purchase vehicles that can be built during what years we have left. I have no idea what "Title says R0 after title number" means. The seller needs to use spelling and grammar check (don't know why people use cell phones to post things).

FORREST FRESH!

eBay item number: 225777487346
Asking price $4,490
eBay description: 1967 PONTIAC FIREBIRD - JUST RESCUED FROM THE FORREST!

Great Parts Car or for an Ambitious Person this one Could be Your Dream Car!

Clear PA Title, Deluxe Interior

Please make sure you are allowed to buy another project that you will never finish for the driveway with your significant other before you hit the "Buy it Now Button", as I have heard that many times. Ebay fees are very expensive and all our time is valuable, please make sure you want to purchase this great Find.

Please ask any and all questions you may have. If you need additional photos, please let us know.

We will be happy to assist your shipper in any way we can.

Local Pick-up Only

Perhaps this car should not have been "rescued" from the woods of Pennsylvania. Got to love that "deluxe interior" - which looks as good as the exterior of this great "Find". Also I love "for an Ambitious Person this one Could be Your Dream Car!" Looks like more of a nightmare and if you are really lucky your significant other will nix the purchase.

People of the State of California v. Big Oil

From Office of Governor Gavin Newsom
California is suing the oil companies for tens of billions of dollars for climate change - this will mean higher gasoline/diesel prices

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Oil executives deceived the public for decades about how fossil fuels are hurting our health and destroying our planet, protecting their own profits while sticking taxpayers with the bill for the damages. California is suing these big polluters to hold them accountable for their decades of deception, cover-up, and billions of dollars in harm done to our state.

Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced today (9/16/23) that California is suing Big Oil for more than 50 years of deception, cover-up, and damage that have cost California taxpayers billions of dollars in health and environmental impacts. The text of the lawsuit is here.

The defendants: Five of the world’s largest oil companies and their subsidiaries: Exxon, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP
A trade group that promoted disinformation: The American Petroleum Institute

Why we’re suing them:
DECADES OF DECEPTION
Oil and gas executives have known for decades about the dangers of the fossil fuels they produce.

Industry-funded reports directly linked fossil fuel consumption to rising global temperatures and damage to our air, land, and water.

Oil companies intentionally suppressed that information from the public and policymakers to protect their profits, and spent billions of dollars to spread disinformation on climate change and delay our transition away from fossil fuels.

Oil companies used this information for their own profits, developing new technology to explore the Arctic for oil production because they knew Arctic sea ice was melting.

The deception continues today: Oil companies promote fossil fuel products as “clean” or “green” or “low-emissions” that still produce carbon pollution, and they tout their renewable fuel products that actually make up a fraction of a percent of their earnings.

DAMAGING OUR STATE
Big Oil’s lies and cover ups have caused ongoing climate disasters that have imposed billions of dollars of costs on Californians. We should not have to foot the bill alone while oil companies profit.

The suit demands that oil companies pay their fair share for:
Recovery efforts from climate change-induced superstorms and wildfires;
Protecting people from the health impacts of extreme heat;
Managing dwindling water supplies in extreme drought;
Fortifying infrastructure and homes against sea level rise and coastal and inland flooding.

What we’re asking the court to do:
Order the oil companies to pay for the costs of their impacts to the environment, human health, and Californians’ livelihoods, and to help protect the state against the harms that climate change will cause in years to come;

Prohibit oil companies from engaging in further pollution and destruction of California communities and natural resources;

Levy financial penalties on Big Oil for lying to the public, and order the industry to immediately stop its ongoing efforts to deceive or misinform about their catastrophic impacts;

Award punitive damages to the state to punish these companies for their misconduct.

What Governor Newsom said: “For more than 50 years, Big Oil has been lying to us – covering up the fact that they’ve long known how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet. It has been decades of damage and deception. Wildfires wiping out entire communities, toxic smoke clogging our air, deadly heat waves, record-breaking droughts parching our wells. California taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill. California is taking action to hold big polluters accountable.”

What Attorney General Bonta said: “Oil and gas companies have privately known the truth for decades — that the burning of fossil fuels leads to climate change — but have fed us lies and mistruths to further their record-breaking profits at the expense of our environment. Enough is enough,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “With our lawsuit, California becomes the largest geographic area and the largest economy to take these giant oil companies to court. From extreme heat to drought and water shortages, the climate crisis they have caused is undeniable. It is time they pay to abate the harm they have caused. We will meet the moment and fight tirelessly on behalf of all Californians, in particular those who live in environmental justice communities.”

Watch & Share
Watch the video about California’s lawsuit to hold Big Oil accountable for decades of deception and billions of dollars in damage done to our state.

Opinion from John Seiler, a veteran California opinion writer:
Let’s be clear who’s really going to pay for this. As Mr. Newsom knows because he owns some restaurants, companies have to make a profit. If costs go up, those added expenses are either passed on to the customer, or the company goes broke; or if it’s a big company, it will shut down unprofitable operations. In this case, the costs will be passed directly to consumers at the gas pump. And it wouldn’t surprise me if one or more of these five companies decided it couldn’t afford to operate any longer in California. If that happens, competition will decline, further boosting costs at the pump.

And let’s remember, Mr. Newsom earlier this year pushed into law Senate Bill X1-2. It set up a new bureaucracy, the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, to control gas prices. Which only will encourage higher prices by increasing companies’ compliance costs. As I wrote in The Epoch Times Aug. 11, “Actually, it’s a key strategy in deflecting attention from California’s high gas prices should the governor run for president.” I noted prices had just risen above $5. Now it’s almost $6.

The new lawsuit is premised on the alleged existence of “climate change” caused by us evil, fossil-fuel burning humans. But it’s all bogus. As Jan Jekielek and Mimi Nguyen Ly just reported in the Epoch Times, “Nobel Winner Refutes Climate Change Narrative, Points Out Ignored Factor: Nobel Prize laureate John Clauser has challenged prevailing climate models, which he says have ignored a key variable.”

They wrote: “Mr. Clauser, who was a recipient of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to quantum mechanics, holds degrees from Caltech and Columbia University. He has served in roles at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of California–Berkeley. In 2010, he was honored with a portion of the Wolf Prize in Physics.”

By contrast, Mr. Bonta is a lawyer and Mr. Newsom a restauranteur.

The article continues: “Recently, Mr. Clauser joined another Nobel laureate and more than 1,600 professionals in signing the World Climate Declaration (WCD) organized by Climate Intelligence. This declaration asserts that there's no ‘climate emergency,’ that climate change science isn't conclusive, and that the Earth's history over thousands of years shows a consistently changing climate.

“Mr. Clauser observed that the drive to address human-induced climate change is increasingly shaping political agendas and influencing the strategic direction of entire nations.

“'The whole world is doing all of this. A lot of the pressure is actually coming from Europe, all of these various world conferences,’ he said, speculating that much of this push might have its roots in Mr. Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ which he feels has incorporated inaccurate science.

"Mr. Gore's film claims that humanity is triggering a dire climate crisis that necessitates global action. But Mr. Clauser said that '"climate change" is actually very dishonest disinformation that has been presented by various politicians.'"

Stray Cats Littleton Car Show 2023 September 2 ~ see all the photos at Album - opens to a new window
Photo by Ron Clark

Orange Aston Martin Collection Is This Fall's Zesty Auction Hit

From yahoo!life

In what promises to be one of the most vibrant auctions this year, Bonhams has announced that it will be showcasing "The Orange Collection." It's exactly what it sounds like—an exquisite ensemble of eight Aston Martins, all finished in the same radiant tangerine hue.

According to the auction listing, this extraordinary collection originated from a special commission by a "private gentleman" back in 2010. The owner requested that Aston Martin produce their range of road cars in a custom special-order shade of orange. The interiors of each car were similarly meticulously designed with matching leather, giving these vehicles plenty of aesthetic appeal, particularly to any members of the Florida Citrus Committee.

We can only speculate as to the reasoning behind the owner's original order. They may have been a patriotic Dutch national, or perhaps some kind of industrial citrus or juice mogul. Alternatively, they might have simply loved the color orange. It's not the first time Bonhams has had a listing like this one, either. This sale brings back memories of the legendary Hunter Green Collection, a set of 1980s Aston Martin V8s that the auction house sold 15 years ago.

Topping the list from this unique collection are two DBS models – the open-top Volante and the sleek Coupe. As the highest-performing models of the bunch, each is estimated to draw bids ranging between €80,000 to €120,000. The DB9 Volante and Coupe, more oriented towards grand touring, are expected to sell for €60,000 to €90,000.

The Vantage is similarly well-represented, with a V8 coupe and drop-top Volante model both estimated to sell for €40,000 to €60,000. The sportier V12 Vantage Coupe is considered a touch more valuable at €50,000 to €80,000. Meanwhile, sedan fans will appreciate the four-door Rapide, which is the cheapest of the bunch, estimated at €40,000 to €60,000.

The cars were manufactured to Swiss specifications, and all are showing what is effectively delivery mileage. The most used has just 235 miles on the clock, the least, just 70 miles. That's around about one hour at highway speed. It's hard to imagine the kind of life where one orders eight bespoke high-performance cars straight from the factory—let alone only driving them for a few hours each in over a decade of ownership.

For those eager to buy, each car is being offered entirely without reserve at Bonham's Zoute Sale on October 8. The entire collection is projected to fetch a sum upwards of half a million euros. "This is a truly incredible and bespoke offering and I envisage collectors wanting to secure the entire collection with many others trying to win a particular favorite," stated Gregory Tuytens, the Head of Sale at Bonhams.

16th Annual HBC Car Truck & Motorcycle Show September 9 ~ see all the photos at
Album - opens to a new window

It’s Official: Cars Are the Worst Product Category We Have Ever Reviewed for Privacy

From Privacy Not Included.
Ah, the wind in your hair, the open road ahead, and not a care in the world… except all the trackers, cameras, microphones, and sensors capturing your every move. Ugh. Modern cars are a privacy nightmare.

Car makers have been bragging about their cars being “computers on wheels" for years to promote their advanced features. However, the conversation about what driving a computer means for its occupants' privacy hasn’t really caught up. While we worried that our doorbells and watches that connect to the internet might be spying on us, car brands quietly entered the data business by turning their vehicles into powerful data-gobbling machines. Machines that, because of all those brag-worthy bells and whistles, have an unmatched power to watch, listen, and collect information about what you do and where you go in your car.

All 25 car brands we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label -- making cars the official worst category of products for privacy that we have ever reviewed.

The car brands we researched are terrible at privacy and security
Why are cars we researched so bad at privacy? And how did they fall so far below our standards? Let us count the ways!

1. They collect too much personal data (all of them)
We reviewed 25 car brands in our research and we handed out 25 “dings” for how those companies collect and use data and personal information. That’s right: every car brand we looked at collects more personal data than necessary and uses that information for a reason other than to operate your vehicle and manage their relationship with you. For context, 63% of the mental health apps (another product category that stinks at privacy) we reviewed this year received this “ding.”

And car companies have so many more data-collecting opportunities than other products and apps we use -- more than even smart devices in our homes or the cell phones we take wherever we go. They can collect personal information from how you interact with your car, the connected services you use in your car, the car’s app (which provides a gateway to information on your phone), and can gather even more information about you from third party sources like Sirius XM or Google Maps. It’s a mess. The ways that car companies collect and share your data are so vast and complicated that we wrote an entire piece on how that works. The gist is: they can collect super intimate information about you -- from your medical information, your genetic information, to your “sex life” (seriously), to how fast you drive, where you drive, and what songs you play in your car -- in huge quantities. They then use it to invent more data about you through “inferences” about things like your intelligence, abilities, and interests.

2. Most (84%) share or sell your data
It’s bad enough for the behemoth corporations that own the car brands to have all that personal information in their possession, to use for their own research, marketing, or the ultra-vague “business purposes.” But then, most (84%) of the car brands we researched say they can share your personal data -- with service providers, data brokers, and other businesses we know little or nothing about. Worse, nineteen (76%) say they can sell your personal data.

A surprising number (56%) also say they can share your information with the government or law enforcement in response to a “request.” Not a high bar court order, but something as easy as an “informal request.” Yikes -- that’s a very low bar! A 2023 rewrite of Thelma & Louise would have the ladies in custody before you’ve had a chance to make a dent in your popcorn. But seriously, car companies' willingness to share your data is beyond creepy. It has the potential to cause real harm and inspired our worst cars-and-privacy nightmares.

And keep in mind that we only know what companies do with personal data because of the privacy laws that make it illegal not to disclose that information (go California Consumer Privacy Act!). So-called anonymized and aggregated data can (and probably is) shared too, with vehicle data hubs (the data brokers of the auto industry) and others. So while you are getting from A to B, you’re also funding your car’s thriving side-hustle in the data business in more ways than one.

3. Most (92%) give drivers little to no control over their personal data
All but two of the 25 car brands we reviewed earned our “ding” for data control, meaning only two car brands, Renault and Dacia (which are owned by the same parent company) say that all drivers have the right to have their personal data deleted. We would like to think this deviation is one car company taking a stand for drivers’ privacy. It’s probably no coincidence though that these cars are only available in Europe -- which is protected by the robust General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law. In other words: car brands often do whatever they can legally get away with to your personal data.

4. We couldn’t confirm whether any of them meet our Minimum Security Standards
It’s so strange to us that dating apps and sex toys publish more detailed security information than cars. Even though the car brands we researched each had several long-winded privacy policies (Toyota wins with 12), we couldn’t find confirmation that any of the brands meet our Minimum Security Standards.

Our main concern is that we can’t tell whether any of the cars encrypt all of the personal information that sits on the car. And that’s the bare minimum! We don’t call them our state-of-the-art security standards, after all. We reached out (as we always do) by email to ask for clarity but most of the car companies completely ignored us. Those who at least responded (Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and technically Ford) still didn’t completely answer our basic security questions.

A failure to properly address cybersecurity might explain their frankly embarrassing security and privacy track records. We only looked at the last three years, but still found plenty to go on with 17 (68%) of the car brands earning the “bad track record” ding for leaks, hacks, and breaches that threatened their drivers’ privacy.

Some not-so-fun facts about these rankings:
Tesla is only the second product we have ever reviewed to receive all of our privacy “dings.” (The first was an AI chatbot we reviewed earlier this year.) What set them apart was earning the “untrustworthy AI” ding. The brand’s AI-powered autopilot was reportedly involved in 17 deaths and 736 crashes and is currently the subject of multiple government investigations.

Nissan earned its second-to-last spot for collecting some of the creepiest categories of data we have ever seen. It’s worth reading the review in full, but you should know it includes your “sexual activity.” Not to be out done, Kia also mentions they can collect information about your “sex life” in their privacy policy. Oh, and six car companies say they can collect your “genetic information” or “genetic characteristics.” Yes, reading car privacy policies is a scary endeavor.

None of the car brands use language that meets Mozilla’s privacy standard about sharing information with the government or law enforcement, but Hyundai goes above and beyond. In their privacy policy, it says they will comply with “lawful requests, whether formal or informal.” That’s a serious red flag.

All of the car brands on this list except for Tesla, Renault, and Dacia signed on to a list of Consumer Protection Principles from the US automotive industry group ALLIANCE FOR AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION, INC. The list includes great privacy-preserving principles such as “data minimization,” “transparency,” and “choice.” But the number of car brands that follow these principles? Zero. It’s interesting if only because it means the car companies do clearly know what they should be doing to respect your privacy even though they absolutely don’t do it.

What can you do about it? Well…
This is usually where we’d encourage you to read our reviews, and to choose the products you can trust when you can. But, cars aren’t really like that.

Sure, there are some steps you can take to protect more of your privacy, and we’ve listed them all in each of our reviews under “Tips to protect yourself.” They’re definitely worth doing. You can also avoid using your car’s app or limit its permissions on your phone. (Since many of the apps share a privacy policy with the vehicle, we can’t always tell which data is taken from your phone so it’s probably better to err on the side of caution by not using it.) But compared to all the data collection you can’t control, these steps feel like tiny drops in a massive bucket. Plus, you deserve to benefit from all the features you pay for without also having to give up your privacy.

The lack of choice has really been among the biggest bummers in reading up on cars and privacy. Consumers’ choices are limited in so many ways with cars, because:

They’re all bad
People don’t comparison-shop for cars based on privacy. And they shouldn’t be expected to. That’s because there are so many other limiting factors for car buyers. Like cost, fuel efficiency, availability, reliability, and the features you need. Even if you did have the funds and the resources to comparison shop for your car based on privacy, you wouldn’t find much of a difference. Because according to our research, they are all bad! On top of all that, researching cars and privacy was one of the hardest undertakings we as privacy researchers have ever had. Sorting through the large and confusing ecosystem of privacy policies for cars, car apps, car connected services, and more isn’t something most people have the time or experience to do.

Like we mentioned, all of the cars we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label. All of the car brands we researched got our “data use” and “security” dings -- and most earned dings for poor data control and bad track records too! We can’t stress enough how bad and not normal this is for an entire product guide to earn warning labels.

It’s so confusing
We spent over 600 hours researching the car brands’ privacy practices. That’s three times as much time per product than we normally do. Even still, we were left with so many questions. None of the privacy policies promise a full picture of how your data is used and shared. If three privacy researchers can barely get to the bottom of what’s going on with cars, how does the average time-pressed person stand a chance?

But wait, there’s more!
"Consent” is an illusion
Many people have lifestyles that require driving. So unlike a smart faucet or voice assistant, you don’t have the same freedom to opt out of the whole thing and not drive a car. We’ve talked before about the murky ways that companies can manipulate your consent. And car companies are no exception. Often, they ignore your consent. Sometimes, they assume it. Car companies do that by assuming that you have read and agreed to their policies before you step foot in their cars. Subaru’s privacy policy says that even passengers of a car that uses connected services have “consented” to allow them to use -- and maybe even sell -- their personal information just by being inside.

So when car companies say they have your “consent” or won’t do something “without your consent,” it often doesn’t mean what it should. Like when Tesla says, that sure! You can opt out of data collection, but it might break your car:

However, “if you no longer wish for us to collect vehicle data or any other data from your Tesla vehicle, please contact us to deactivate connectivity. Please note, certain advanced features such as over-the-air updates, remote services, and interactivity with mobile applications and in-car features such as location search, Internet radio, voice commands, and web browser functionality rely on such connectivity. If you choose to opt out of vehicle data collection (with the exception of in-car Data Sharing preferences), we will not be able to know or notify you of issues applicable to your vehicle in real time. This may result in your vehicle suffering from reduced functionality, serious damage, or inoperability."

TESLA'S CUSTOMER PRIVACY NOTICE

www.tesla.com/legal/privacy

A few of the car companies we researched take manipulating your consent one step further by making you complicit in getting “consent” from others, saying it’s on you to inform them of your car’s privacy policies. Like when Nissan makes you “promise to educate and inform all users and occupants of your Vehicle about the Services and System features and limitations, the terms of the Agreement, including terms concerning data collection and use and privacy, and the Nissan Privacy Policy.” OK, Nissan! We would love to meet the social butterfly who drafted this line.

Don’t worry!! There is something you can do!
Hey woah don’t hang up your driving gloves just yet! We’re not saying the situation is hopeless. What we are saying is that it’s not fair for the burden to be on consumers to make “better choices” that in this case don’t exist. And we don’t want to take a page from car companies’ books by asking you to do things no reasonable person would ever do -- like reciting a 9,461-word privacy policy to everyone who opens your car’s doors.

You’re already helping us to spread the word just by reading our research. Our hope is that increasing awareness will encourage others to hold car companies accountable for their terrible privacy practices too. But that’s not all. On behalf of the Mozilla community, we’re asking car companies to stop their huge data collection programs that only benefit them. Join us!

Add your name to ask car companies to respect drivers’ privacy and to stop collecting, sharing and selling our very personal information.

You can sign the petition by going to Car Companies: Stop Your Huge Data Collection Programs

38th Annual Central Virginia Mustang Club Show September 16 ~ see all the photos at
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Used Cars Priced Under $20K Are Vanishing

In 2019, 49.3 percent of used cars cost less than $20,000; today that number is only 12.4 percent
From iSeeCars

Summary:

• The average used car’s price has increased by 47.7 percent since the pandemic
  
• Used cars priced under $20,000 made up 49.3 percent of the market in 2019; they now make up just 12.4 percent of the market in 2023
  
• More than half of today’s used cars (1- to 5-years old) also have 20 percent or more miles than they did 3 years ago, meaning buyers have to pay more money for cars that have been driven substantially farther
  
• In 2019, about 50 percent of used Honda CR-Vs and Toyota RAV4s cost less than $20,000, but in 2023 only 2 percent of them are priced under $20,000, and these same used models also have twice as much mileage as they did in 2019

The surge in used car prices has been obvious over the past few years. iSeeCars.com’s latest study not only demonstrates the practical effects of this dramatic rise in used car costs, but also confirms shoppers must pay these higher prices despite a substantial increase in used car mileage. For some of the best-selling cars, buyers are faced with used models having over twice as many miles compared to the pre-pandemic market, while paying 25 to 50 percent higher prices.

iSeeCars analyzed over 10.8 million 1- to 5-year-old used cars and found the average used car cost $22,493 in 2015, with a slight bump to $23,351 in 2019. But over the last four years, used car prices have exploded – ballooning to $34,491 in 2023, which is a 47.7 percent rise, averaging more than 10 percent each year.

“Among the pandemic’s many casualties is the affordable used car, which has nearly vanished from the used car marketplace,” said iSeeCars’ Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “In 2019, used car shoppers with a budget of $15,000 could afford over 20 percent of the late-model used car market. Today that budget only gets them access to 1.6 percent of the market.”

While they only made up 3 percent of the used car market in 2019, shoppers could still find models with less than 75,000 miles on the odometer for under $10,000 in 2019. Now those cars are gone, with only 1.5 percent costing under $15,000 and around 11 percent priced between $15,001 and $20,000.

Within the sub-$20,000 price range, the average used car’s mileage was 43,541 in 2019. Now it’s 63,457, an increase of 45.7 percent. For added perspective, in 2015 cars costing up to $20,000 made up 52.7 percent of sales, and the average mileage of these cars was 44,777. Across all price points, more than half of cars sold in 2023 have at least 20 percent more mileage than similarly priced cars in 2019.

“During the pandemic lockdowns one of the few things people could still do was take a drive, and clearly many of them did,” said Brauer. “This drove up the mileage across the used car market, but the supply of new and used cars was so constricted that the additional mileage didn’t hurt used car prices – they still went up.”

Chesterfield Technical and Career Center Car and Truck Show September 17 ~ see all the photos at
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Mental Health Crisis Looms As 70 Percent Of Children Now Have Eco-Anxiety

If you are wondering why 16 and 17 -year-olds are afraid of killing the planet by getting a driver's license read on. From American Liberty


A nonstop assault of propaganda from government institutions, schools and media outlets has left an entire generation of children riddled with “eco-anxiety,” as a new survey reveals 70 percent of young children are worried about “plastic pollution” and “man-made climate change.”

“The survey by eco-grocery start up Modern Milkman found that 71 per cent of children born between 2010 and 2015 are increasingly concerned about changes in the environment,” EuroNews reports.

“More than a quarter (27 per cent) of the 1000 respondents cited the impact on animals as their most pressing concern, while one in five (19 per cent) fear plastic pollution,” EuroNews reports.

“Almost a fifth of children were most worried about rising temperatures,” they add.

The findings are the latest evidence of an “eco-anxiety” crisis among children, driven by a “climate change” political agenda that can't agree whether the planet is warming or cooling, to what extent, and what the cause is – but unanimously agree socialism is the solution.

The American Psychiatric Association defines eco-anxiety as “a chronic fear of environmental doom.”

Eco-anxiety and belief in “climate change” in most prevalent among liberal political activists, who already report higher rates of mental illness.

Data from a 2020 Pew Research Center survey finds 62 percent of white liberals report being medically diagnosed with a mental illness.

Some young people have committed suicide after reading “climate change” political propaganda, while others are sterilizing themselves to avoid having additional children, which they are told by “climate change” activists will “destroy the planet.'

Despite apocalyptic claims of “human extinction” from “climate change” activists, even most scientists who believe in “man-made climate change” say there is no threat of mass human death.

In fact, deaths from weather events are at historic lows, even as political activists claim deaths are rising in their calls for more political power.

The Briefs

An alleged drunk driver unwittingly handed himself over to Nebraska police when he reported someone else traveling in the wrong direction. As it turns out, he was the culprit. Hilarious video shared by the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Thursday captured the bizarre incident that unfolded in March. The man told dispatchers that someone driving a truck “on the wrong side of” Highway 77 in Lancaster County nearly “ran him off the road.” Though rattled by the close call, the drunk driver gave officers clear coordinates of where the collision nearly happened — and the perfect opportunity to hunt him down. When a deputy pulled the man over just moments later, the driver immediately realized what he had done. The driver was caught with a blood alcohol content over twice the legal limit, prompting police to arrest him and put him in the back of the patrol car.

Police west of Toronto on Wednesday warned drivers to keep their car windows closed after a truck spilled crates carrying five million bees onto a road. Halton Regional Police said they received a call around 6:15 a.m. reporting the bee crates had come loose from a truck and spilled onto Guelph Line, north of Dundas Street, in Burlington, Ontario, just west of Toronto. It was “quite the scene,” Constable Ryan Anderson said. “Crates were literally on the road and swarms of bees were flying around,” he said. “The initial beekeeper that was on scene was apparently stung a few times.” The scene prompted police to warn drivers to close their windows as they passed by and for pedestrians to avoid the area. About an hour after police put out a notice on social media, several beekeepers were in touch with police offering to help. Six or seven beekeepers eventually arrived at the scene, Anderson said. By around 9:15 a.m., police said most of the five million bees had been safely collected and the crates were being hauled away. Some crates had been left behind for the uncollected bees to return to them on their own.

A 36-year-old New York City dad told his three kids to buckle up before he ran their mother over with a Ford Explorer, hopped out and stabbed her in the liver — just days after Christmas. Stephen Giraldo pleaded guilty to attempted murder Tuesday after the attack left his estranged wife Sophia Giraldo, 41, with "severe neurological damage," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. The victim survived. Giraldo is expected to receive a sentence for 25 years in prison at his sentencing in October. Surveillance video recorded Giraldo pull up to the victim's home in a white Ford Explorer. He was supposed to be dropping off their children, ages 6, 9 and 11. When their mother walked out, according to prosecutors, Giraldo told the kids to "keep your seatbelt(s) on," and hit the gas.

Florida off-duty deputy arrested after fleeing law enforcement at speeds up to 130 mph. An off-duty Polk County, Florida, deputy was allegedly clocked going 85 mph over the posted speed limit of 45 mph Sunday night, while fleeing his colleagues who were attempting to pull him over. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said 22-year-old Jakob Kite of Polk County was arrested after the high-speed pursuit after driving well over the posted 100 mph and refusing to stop for deputies. According to a press release, deputies were running radar on US Highway 98 near Lakeland, when a Subaru Impreza heading south toward Bartow was clocked traveling at 105 mph in a 60-mph zone. A little bit later, the sheriff’s office said, another deputy clocked the same vehicle moving between 114 mph and 117 mph, using a laser speed enforcement device. When the deputies attempted to catch up with the Subaru, which was later discovered to be operated by Kite, the vehicle continued its route, making a few turns in Bartow until it was heading north on EF Griffin Road. While on EF Griffin Road, deputies reportedly clocked Kite’s vehicle moving 130 mph in a 45-mph zone, using moving radar. The deputies initiated a traffic stop using the siren and emergency lights, but Kite refused to stop. Police said Kite drove through a stop sign, attempted to get onto Highway 540A and struck the concrete median separating the westbound and eastbound lanes, causing damage to the front tires of the Subaru. The vehicle merged into the westbound lanes and reportedly swerved toward one of the deputy’s vehicles aggressively, nearly striking the patrol vehicle. After numerous attempts to get Kite to pull over, a deputy was able to use a maneuver that disabled the Impreza. Kite was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with and without violence, fleeing to elude, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, reckless driving and DUI. He was also cited for multiple driving infractions including four speeding tickets — 130 mph in a 45-mph zone; 105 mph in a 60-mph zone; 90 mph in a 45-mph zone; and 60 mph in a 45-mph zone.

Porsche and its partners are successfully manufacturing an "e-fuel" in Chile. Wind energy is used to separate hydrogen from water. That hydrogen is combined with carbon dioxide pulled from the air to create synthetic gasoline.

The Wall Street Journal warns that America's wind-farm revolution is broken. Rising interest rates, supply chain issues, high gas prices, general inflation, and troubled performance has led to a massive sell-off of stocks for publicly traded wind farm developers. In fact, Orsted, the company behind half of the offshore wind projects under construction in the U.S. has said it is willing to walk away from contracted projects if financial conditions don't improve. Despite saying Dominion's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is "on budget and on schedule, CEO Bob Blue is looking to sell a stake in this project.

Minnesota will begin granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants next month, with the state ensuring that applicant information won't be revealed to immigration authorities. “The Driver's License for All (DL4All) law will allow Minnesotans to begin the process of getting a standard Class D instruction permit or driver's license or a standard identification card. The law eliminates the need to show proof of legal presence in the United States,” according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) website. The DL4All program will be available starting on Oct. 1. About 81,000 undocumented immigrants in the state are estimated to be eligible for driver’s licenses under the program.

A retired California police chief was deliberately mowed down and killed while riding his bike in Las Vegas by a laughing teenage driver whose pal can be heard saying “Yeah, hit his ass,” video of the incident shows. Andreas Probst, 64, was killed after he was deliberately struck while out for a morning bike ride around 6 a.m. on Aug. 14, according to Las Vegas police. The unidentified 17-year-old driver of the Hyundai was soon arrested by police soon afterward, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The teen has since been charged with murder, after police discovered a video posted to social media that allegedly showed him deliberately hitting the man. This weekend, the shocking footage went viral online, showing the driver asking his pals “ready?” as the passenger films, laughing. “Yeah, hit his ass,” he tells the driver before plowing into the retiree.

A Florida hospital patient still in her medical gown was arrested Wednesday after she stole an ambulance, police said. Marquisa Allen, 25, of Miami allegedly led Port St. Lucie officers on a bizarre chase when she spontaneously decided to steal the unmanned truck. Officials said she had been sitting on a bench outside the HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital — dressed in the blue hospital gown — when she noticed EMS personnel leave the ambulance running while they dropped a patient off inside. Allen peeled out of the hospital parking lot, but failed to consider one detail: the ambulance was outfitted with a GPS tracker that immediately provided officers with her exact location, the PSLPD said in a statement. She was quickly tracked down amid the heavy traffic of the Florida Turnpike. Allen allegedly jumped out of the vehicle and bolted — despite not wearing any shoes — but was soon outpaced by Florida Highway Patrol troopers. Troopers charged her with giving false information to police, driving while with a suspended license and resisting without violence.

Workers at an Indiana car wash made a shocking discovery while examining the front bumper of a customer's car -- a stuck groundhog. The woman took her car to Mike's Car Wash in Fort Wayne to be cleaned after a bird got stuck in the front grille and employees were looking at the front bumper when they spotted the groundhog. The car wash workers took the vehicle next door to Jiffy Lube, where employees called Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control for assistance. The Jiffy Lube workers set about disassembling the front of the car to reach the animal. "It was definitely an odd day at work, last thing I expected was to be pulling apart a front bumper to remove a groundhog," Jiffy Lube worker Dalton Brenneke told WPTA-TV. He said the animal was not eager to leave the vehicle. "He was cute but definitely mad that we were trying to take him from his warm home. We ended up having to take off the front skid-plate to give him room to leave the engine bay," Brenneke said. "After we got him out, he ran to the back of the car and hopped up in the rear suspension. Had to take off the left rear tire to get him out."

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

From Rock Auto
I bought a 1965 Mustang as a restoration project some years ago. It had been sitting for a few years, but the engine was in decent shape. I installed new suspension, replaced fenders, bumpers, grille and many other body and engine parts. Finally, many months later, and after it received a beautiful new coat of red paint, I was ready to take the Mustang out and show it off to my friends. It ran great, and I was attacking the S turns with gusto...until my eyes began to burn, and it hurt to breathe.

I pulled over to open the hood and saw that in my excitement to get the Mustang on the road I forgot to secure the battery hold down. The battery had slid into the fan, slicing the battery open and blowing the acid everywhere...the freshly painted car was splattered with acid spots, and acid even etched the windshield. I was heartbroken...but that lesson taught me the importance of paying attention to the details.

Ann in Pennsylvania

This 1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe sedan street rod is for sale

Is Government Too Big

If you are wondering about the size of the federal government then the Federal Register can help. The Register is the daily journal of the United States Government. Click this link to see all 435(!) federal agencies with links to each of them. Just scrolling the names of them will be interesting.

www.federalregister.gov/agencies

Stellantis Launches Online One-stop Shop For The U.S.A.

From Hagerty
If you’re looking for a used Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Ram or Wagoneer parent company Stellantis has just launched a pre-owned program to bring all its brands together under one virtual roof.

SPOTiCAR.com is targeted at customers seeking a digital purchase experience and the website will also let you sell your old car. Simply tap in your zip code and SPOTiCAR will offer up thousands of previously-owned models from across its network of 2600 dealerships. You can then fine-tune your selection based on brand, model, price, proximity and mileage.

All cars sold by SPOTiCAR will have been appraised and prepared by Stellantis dealers and come with a minimum three-month warranty and roadside assistance, which can be extended. If you’re selling then you simply add in your car’s age, mileage and specification to receive an instant appraisal—subject to inspection by a dealer, of course.

“SPOTiCAR arrives in the U.S. at a time of rapid change in the fast-growing, extremely competitive and highly digitalized global used-car market,” said Head of U.S. Sales Jeff Kommor. “With SPOTiCAR, Stellantis further establishes itself as a multi-brand pre-owned vehicle operator. The program is designed to create a stress-free experience for customers in search of a pre-owned vehicle. Buyers can search the Stellantis brand vehicle of their choice through our designated SPOTiCAR website, and easily determine where to locate the one nearest to them before making their final purchase online or directly at the dealership.”

Unlike online rivals such as Carvana, SPOTiCAR isn’t a risk for Stellantis as it’s essentially just a platform that makes it easier to link customers to existing dealer inventory, rather than a big-ticket startup, and the model is already a proven success in Europe where it operates in 11 different countries, after first launching in France in 2019.

This 1971 Chevelle SS with 402BB is for sale

Energy Secretary EV Trip (Police Called On Biden Cabinet Member)

From New Conservative Post
EVs don't even work for the energy secretary

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm recently took a four-day electric-vehicle road trip from Charlotte, North Carolina to Memphis, Tennessee. The point of her trip was to showcase Biden’s “green energy” investments, including the building of electric vehicle charging stations all over the country.

What ended up happening was that she showed the unreliability of EVs and ended up having the police called on her.

But between stops, Granholm’s entourage at times had to grapple with the limitations of the present. Like when her caravan of EVs — including a luxury Cadillac Lyriq, a hefty Ford F-150 and an affordable Bolt electric utility vehicle — was planning to fast-charge in Grovetown, a suburb of Augusta, Georgia, according to NPR.

Her advance team realized there weren’t going to be enough plugs to go around. One of the station’s four chargers was broken, and others were occupied. So an Energy Department staffer tried parking a nonelectric vehicle by one of those working chargers to reserve a spot for the approaching secretary of energy.

That did not go down well: a regular gas-powered car blocking the only free spot for a charger?

In fact, a family that was boxed out — on a sweltering day, with a baby in the vehicle — was so upset they decided to get the authorities involved: They called the police.

The sheriff’s office couldn’t do anything. It’s not illegal for a non-EV to claim a charging spot in Georgia. Energy Department staff scrambled to smooth over the situation, including sending other vehicles to slower chargers, until both the frustrated family and the secretary had room to charge.

Despite automakers investing over a trillion dollars into electric vehicles, often at the insistence of politicians like Jennifer Granholm, the lack of charging stations is a major problem for EV manufacturers. There are only 3 EV chargers for every 10,000 Americans, according to Business Insider.

EVs have some serious accessibility and equity challenges to overcome before they go mainstream, as there are major disparities in terms of financial and socio-demographic factors as to who has access to public EV charging, according to a new study from vehicle report platform Bumper.

For example, the richest people in the US have the most access to electric car charging, with nearly 72% of public EV charge plugs in the country’s wealthiest counties. The top fifth of counties in the US (those that are least distressed in terms of income, poverty, and unemployment) account for nearly 33% of all EV charge ports here.

Meanwhile, more than 95% of EV chargers are in counties with majority-white populations. Because the highest-income earning areas in the US also tend to correlate with higher numbers of white and Asian residents, according to Bumper, and there are more charging stations in those areas, generally more white and Asian residents have access to public EV charging.”

The White House has offered $12 billion “in grants and loans for auto makers and suppliers to retrofit their plants to produce electric and other advanced vehicles, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said last week, according to Reuters.

“While we transition to EVs, we want to ensure that workers can transition in place, that there is no worker, no community left behind,” Granholm, a former governor of car-manufacturing state Michigan, told reporters.

The report continued by noting that “speeding grants and other subsidies to fund conversion of existing auto plants to build electric vehicles could help the White House blunt criticism from automakers and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union over proposed environmental rules aimed to help usher in the EV era.”

Auto workers have not been happy with the Biden Administration’s obsession with EVs. The UAW has said that a rapid change from traditional vehicles to EVs could put thousands of jobs at risk in states such as Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.

The UAW has authorized a strike to begin following the end of its contract on September 14.

PBS detailed their requests from the auto companies. “The union has asked for 46 percent raises in general pay over four years — an increase that would elevate a top-scale assembly plant worker from $32 an hour now to about $47. In addition, the UAW has demanded an end to varying tiers of wages for factory jobs; a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay; the restoration of traditional defined-benefit pensions for new hires who now receive only 401(k)-style retirement plans; and a return of cost-of-living pay raises, among other benefits.

Perhaps most important to the union is that it be allowed to represent workers at 10 electric vehicle battery factories, most of which are being built by joint ventures between automakers and South Korean battery makers. The union wants those plants to receive top UAW wages. In part, that is because workers who now make components for internal combustion engines will need a place to work as the auto industry increasingly transitions to EVs.

“Our union isn’t going to stand by while they replace oil barons with battery barons,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.

PBS continued, “Currently, UAW workers who were hired after 2007 don’t receive defined-benefit pensions. Their health benefits are less generous, too. For years, the union gave up general pay raises and lost cost-of-living wage increases to help the companies control costs. Though top-scale assembly workers earn $32.32 an hour, temporary workers start at just under $17. Still, full-time workers have received profit-sharing checks ranging this year from $9,716 at Ford to $14,760 at Stellantis.”

Pro Street S-10

Over 1,600 Scientists and Professionals Sign ‘No Climate Emergency’ Declaration

From The Epoch Times


International scientists have jointly signed a declaration dismissing the existence of a climate crisis and insisting that carbon dioxide is beneficial to Earth.

“There is no climate emergency,” the Global Climate Intelligence Group (CLINTEL) said in its World Climate Declaration (pdf), made public in August. “Climate science should be less political, while climate policies should be more scientific. Scientists should openly address uncertainties and exaggerations in their predictions of global warming, while politicians should dispassionately count the real costs as well as the imagined benefits of their policy measures.”

A total of 1,609 scientists and professionals from around the world have signed the declaration, including 321 from the United States.

The coalition pointed out that Earth’s climate has varied as long as it has existed, with the planet experiencing several cold and warm phases. The Little Ice Age only ended as recently as 1850, they said.

"Therefore, it is no surprise that we now are experiencing a period of warming," the declaration said.

Warming is happening “far slower” than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“Climate models have many shortcomings and are not remotely plausible as policy tools,” the coalition said, adding that these models "exaggerate the effect of greenhouse gases" and "ignore the fact that enriching the atmosphere with CO2 is beneficial.” For instance, even though climate alarmists characterize CO2 as environmentally-damaging, the coalition pointed out that the gas is “not a pollutant.”

Carbon dioxide is “essential” to all life on earth and is “favorable” for nature. Extra CO2 results in the growth of global plant biomass while also boosting the yields of crops worldwide.

CLINTEL also dismissed the narrative of global warming being linked to increased natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and droughts, stressing that there is “no statistical evidence” to support these claims.

“There is no climate emergency. Therefore, there is no cause for panic and alarm. We strongly oppose the harmful and unrealistic net-zero CO2 policy proposed for 2050. Go for adaptation instead of mitigation; adaptation works whatever the causes are,” it said.

“To believe the outcome of a climate model is to believe what the model makers have put in. This is precisely the problem of today’s climate discussion to which climate models are central. Climate science has degenerated into a discussion based on beliefs, not on sound self-critical science. Should not we free ourselves from the naive belief in immature climate models?”

Climate Models and Sunlight Reflection
Among the CLINTEL signatories are two Nobel laureates—physicists John Francis Clauser from the United States and Ivan Giaever, a Norwegian-American.

Mr. Clauser has made a significant addition to climate models to dismiss the narrative of global warming: the visible light reflected by cumulus clouds which, on average, cover half of the earth.

Current climate models vastly underestimate this aspect of cumulus cloud reflection, which plays a key role in regulating the earth’s temperature. Mr. Clauser previously told President Joe Biden that he disagreed with his climate policies.

In May, Mr. Clauser was elected to the board of directors at the CO2 Coalition, a group focusing on the beneficial contributions of carbon dioxide in the environment.

“The popular narrative about climate change reflects a dangerous corruption of science that threatens the world’s economy and the well-being of billions of people,” Mr. Clauser said in a May 5 statement.

“Misguided climate science has metastasized into massive shock-journalistic pseudoscience. In turn, the pseudoscience has become a scapegoat for a wide variety of other unrelated ills.”

“It has been promoted and extended by similarly misguided business marketing agents, politicians, journalists, government agencies, and environmentalists. In my opinion, there is no real climate crisis.”

False Doomsday Predictions, a Presidential Issue
CLINTEL’s declaration against the climate change narrative counters propaganda spread by climate alarmists who have long predicted doomsday scenarios triggered by global warming—none of which have ever come true.

In 1970, some climate scientists predicted that the earth would move into a new ice age by the 21st century. Pollution expert James Lodge predicted that “air pollution may obliterate the sun and cause a new ice age in the first third of the new century,” according to The Boston Globe.

In May 1982, Mostafa Tolba, then-executive director of the United Nations environmental program, said that if the world did not change course, it would face an “environmental catastrophe which will witness devastation as complete, as irreversible, as any nuclear holocaust” by 2000.

In June 2008, James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Sciences, said that within five to 10 years, the Arctic would have no ice left in the summer.

As climate alarmists continue to spread propaganda about global warming, the topic has become an issue in the 2024 presidential race, with multiple candidates openly dismissing it.

In a July 13 post on X, Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that climate change “is being used to control us through fear.”

“Freedom and free markets are a much better way to stop pollution. Polluters make themselves rich by making the public pay for the damage they do," he said.

During the first 2024 GOP presidential debate, candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called climate change a “hoax.”

“The reality is, the anti-carbon agenda is the wet blanket on our economy. And so the reality is, more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change,” he said.

High Temperatures, Biden’s Appliance Crackdown
Climate activists have insisted that global warming is responsible for the soaring temperatures across the United States, even claiming that temperatures are hitting record highs.

In a recent interview with The Epoch Times, John Christy, a climatologist and professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, dismissed the narrative of record high temperatures.

“Regionally, the West has seen its largest number of hot summer records in the past 100 years, but the Ohio Valley and Upper Midwest are experiencing their fewest,” he said.

“For the conterminous U.S. as a whole, the last 10 years have produced only an average number of records. The 1930s are still champs.”

Climate change policies have been used to justify sweeping lifestyle changes across the United States by the Energy Department, like restricting home appliances, and sometimes, even outright banning them.

In June, the Energy Department proposed rules that would require ceiling fans to become more energy efficient, a development that could lead to manufacturers having to shell out $86.6 million per year in “increased equipment costs.”

In February, the DOE proposed energy efficiency rules targeting gas stoves that would affect half of all new models of such stoves sold in the United States while making most of the existing ones noncompliant.

In July, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission proposed a policy that would remove nearly all existing portable gas generators from the market.

The Biden administration has already implemented a ban on incandescent light bulbs, which came into effect on August 1.

Never know what you will see at a car show and want to photograph

Nobel Winner Refutes Climate Change Narrative, Points Out Ignored Factor

From The Epoch Times
Nobel Prize laureate John Clauser has recently been in the spotlight for challenging prevailing climate models, which he says have ignored a key variable.

Mr. Clauser, who recently became a recipient of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to quantum mechanics, holds degrees from Caltech and Columbia University. He served in roles at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2010, he was honored with a portion of the Wolf Prize in Physics.

Recently, Mr. Clauser joined another Nobel laureate and over 1,600 professionals in signing the World Climate Declaration (WCD) organized by Climate Intelligence (CLINTEL). This declaration asserts that there is no "climate emergency," that climate change science is not conclusive, and that the earth's history over thousands of years shows a consistently changing climate.

The WCD highlights the limitations of current climate models, stating they overemphasize the impact of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2). "In addition, [climate models] ignore the fact that enriching the atmosphere with CO2 is beneficial," the WCD reads, in part. The declaration further notes that both natural and human activities contribute to climate change and the actual warming observed is less than as predicted by the climate models, revealing our incomplete understanding of climate change.

In an interview with The Epoch Times's “American Thought Leaders," Mr. Clauser voiced his reservations about current climate research quality and contends that U.S. climate policies are misguided.

Clouds
Prominent climate reports, such as those by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society, emphasize the role of CO2 but miss the mark on the critical role of clouds in the climate system, according to Mr. Clauser.

His curiosity about clouds began as a sailboat racer. He recalled, "I raced across the Pacific Ocean at least a dozen times. I had set up the boat with solar panels to charge the batteries. ... I had an ammeter on the power output from the solar panels, and I noticed every time we sailed under a cloud, the output from the solar panels dropped by 50 percent to half of its value that it was, and then we came out from behind the cloud and boom, their power went back up. And I thought, 'I wonder why it's just about a factor of two.'"

"This is how I became very curious as to how clouds work. When the climate issues came along, I very quickly realized that cloud cover has a profound effect on the earth's heat input that the clouds are reflecting a massive amount of light back out into space.

"And so I read all of the various IPCC reports, National Academy reports on this," he continued. "As a physicist, I'd worked at some excellent institutions— Caltech, Columbia, Cal Berkeley—where very careful science needed to be done. And reading these reports, I was appalled at how sloppy the work was. And in particular, it was very obvious, even in the earliest reports, and all carried on through to the present, that clouds were not at all understood. ... It's just simply bad science."

Mr. Clauser highlighted insights from former President Barack Obama's science adviser, Steve Koonin. In Mr. Koonin's book, "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters," the author noted the inconsistency of the IPCC's 40 computer models, emphasizing their inability to explain the past century's climate and suggesting that these models lack a crucial piece of physics.

'The Missing Piece'
Mr. Clauser said he believes he has identified a significant oversight in prevailing climate models. "I believe I have the missing piece of the puzzle that has been left out in virtually all of these computer programs," he stated. "And that is the effect of clouds."

While many theories of anthropogenic climate change focus primarily on the impact of human-produced CO2, Mr. Clauser argues that these models overlook the significance of cloud dynamics.

He referenced the 2003 National Academy report, which, he said, "totally admitted" its lack of understanding about clouds, and made "a whole series of mistaken statements regarding the effects of clouds."

Drawing attention to Al Gore's film, "The Inconvenient Truth," Mr. Clauser noted, "[Mr. Gore] insists on talking about a cloud-free earth ... That's a totally artificial Earth." According to Mr. Clauser, this cloudless portrayal of the earth reflects the approach taken by many in the climate science community.

"That's a totally artificial Earth. It is a totally artificial case for using a model, and this is pretty much what the IPCC and others use—a cloud free earth."

Mr. Clauser pointed out that satellite images consistently show wide variances in cloud cover, which can span anywhere from five to 95 percent of the Earth's surface.

"The cloud cover fraction fluctuates quite dramatically on daily weekly timescales. We call this weather. You can't have weather without having clouds," he said.

Effect of Clouds Compared to CO2
Clouds play a paramount role in regulating the Earth's temperature, serving as a "cloud-sunlight-reflectivity thermostat" that "controls the climate, controls the temperature of the earth, and stabilizes it very powerfully and very dramatically," asserts Mr. Clauser. With two-thirds of the Earth being oceanic, the ocean becomes instrumental in cloud formation, he said.

Minimal clouds result in heightened sunlight exposure to the ocean, triggering increased evaporation and subsequent cloud formation, resulting in more clouds. On the contrary, abundant clouds reduce this sunlight, thus curbing evaporation rates and cloud formation, resulting in fewer clouds, Mr. Clauser explains.

This balance acts like a natural thermostat for the earth's temperature, he said.

Mr. Clauser contends that this "thermostat" mechanism has a vastly greater influence on Earth's temperature than the effect of CO2 or methane. He presented to The Epoch Times preliminary calculations that suggest that the impact of this cloud-reflectivity mechanism might overshadow CO2's influence by more than 100 or even 200 times.

All clouds, irrespective of their altitude or type, appear bright white when viewed from the direction of the sun, according to Mr. Clauser. They typically reflect almost 90 percent of incoming sunlight, he said. The reflectivity fraction is referred to as albedo. The albedo has been inaccurately kept constant in various climate models, Mr. Clauser argues.

He finds it baffling how these significant variations, ranging from five to 95 percent cloud cover, have been overlooked.

Mr. Clauser further underscores that clouds are integral to weather dynamics, and yet, current climate models, whose authors "admit upfront that their models cannot predict weather," have been wielded to foretell drastic climatic shifts, including "climate crisis apocalypse."

The term "climate" refers to long-term, typically 30 years or more, weather condition averages. While reliable weather forecasts are limited to about a week with standard weather prediction models, which take into account the role of clouds, Mr. Clauser points out a contradiction noted in Mr. Koonin's book: just a 5 percent rise in cloud cover can largely counterbalance the temperature effect of doubling atmospheric CO2. Despite such nuances, according to Mr. Clauser, the IPCC's models persistently assume constant albedo, and ignore the vast cloud cover variations.

'Very Dishonest Disinformation'
Mr. Clauser observed that the drive to address human-induced climate change is increasingly shaping political agendas and influencing the strategic direction of entire nations.

"The whole world is doing all of this. A lot of the pressure is actually coming from Europe, all of these various world conferences" he said, speculating much of this push might have its roots in Mr. Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," which he feels has incorporated inaccurate science.

Mr. Gore's film claims that humanity is triggering a dire climate crisis that necessitates global action. But Mr. Clauser contends: "'Climate change' is actually very dishonest disinformation that has been presented by various politicians."

He pinpoints a 2013 Physics Today article (pdf) by Jane Lubchenco and Thomas Karl as pivotal in shaping the narrative, especially during the period when "global warming" was being rebranded as "climate change."

"The reason that was given was 'well, because it's really more than just warming,'" he said. The article champions a "U.S. Climate Extremes Index," claiming that anthropogenic climate change led to a significant increase in extreme weather events over the past three decades ending in 2012.

The index is supposedly backed by a century's worth of data from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and is said to combine various metrics including floods, hurricanes, and droughts.

Curiously, Mr. Clauser noted, the index leaves out the frequency of EF3+ tornadoes—perhaps because, as highlighted by Mr. Koonin in his book, those were on a noticeable decline. "This, in my opinion, is a rather egregious breach of honesty by the U.S. government by NOAA," Mr. Clauser said.

He used data from the article and plotted it chronologically and also in reverse. From this, Mr. Clauser observed that the two plots were virtually indistinguishable, challenging the assertion of an obvious rise in the index.

"Are you really willing to bet trillions of dollars that you know which [plot] is right? ... Is it really increasing? It is clearly not," he said.

"Not only, as I understand it, are these extreme weather events not increasing, but our ability to mitigate them has increased. So they're just not as much of an issue," Mr. Clauser said, adding later, "This worry about CO2, the worry about methane, the worry about global warming, is all a total fabrication by shocked journalists and or dishonest politicians."

On the contrary, Mr. Clauser agrees with the CO2 Coalition, which argues that CO2 is a beneficial gas. "Historically, for example, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the CO2 levels were 10 times bigger than what we are experiencing right now," he said. "Dinosaurs couldn't have survived on this earth with this low CO2 level [today], because you don't grow trees fast enough and foliage fast enough to feed them."

"Promoting CO2 as being actually a beneficial gas, as far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with [that]," he said. "And in particular, as I have just mentioned earlier, it is not at all significant in controlling the earth's climate."

Mr. Clauser criticized U.S. government efforts to reduce CO2 and methane as a colossal misuse of resources better allocated for humanitarian endeavors. Such initiatives, he argues, "should be stopped immediately."

"[It's] a total waste of money and time and effort. It is strangling industry," he said.

But Mr. Clauser is not holding his breath.

"My suspicion is what I am saying here will be totally ignored because people don't like being told that they've made big mistakes of this magnitude," he said.

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