| Home | Photos | Calendar | Newsletter | Members | Info | Join | About | Links | Contact |
"The Relay" Online Newsletter
|
You can see from the articles below that the State of Virginia has some other things that cause alarm. There is an article "Police Cameras Tracked One Driver 526 Times In Four Months, Lawsuit Says" - we are being tracked and watched. Our General Assembly has allowed this to happen. Also an article "ACLU Joins Lawsuit Against Virginia DMV In License Plate Dispute Over Free Speech" - I think we all knew that when the state decided to let people put just about any saying/phrase/abbreviation on a plate that it would be trouble. The state did it for the money. And there is an article from the Jefferson Policy Journal on how wasteful the emissions testing program is - but again it makes money. The Leno Law in California that would have stopped testing a lot of older vehicles failed - but again it is about the money.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
Leno’s Law Is Officially Dead, Which Means Classic Car Owners In California Will Continue to Suffer
From The Autopian
California is the car capital of the world. Perfect year-round weather and some truly spectacular roads mean enthusiasts flock in droves. But the Golden State is also regulatory hell on earth for classic car owners. Smog laws require all road-going vehicles built after 1976 to pass strict emissions tests, which can be overly costly and time-consuming, as our own David Tracy has dealt with firsthand. Senate Bill 712, also known as “Leno’s Law,” was supposed to fix that. Except it won’t. Because it’s dead.
The bill, which would’ve eliminated Smog checks for vehicles 35 years or older, died in California’s Assembly Appropriations Committee, a group of 11 assembly members that vote on whether bills reach the State’s full assembly for a vote. The news comes just four months after the proposal passed California’s Senate Transportation Committee with bipartisan support.
State Senator Shannon Grove, a republican representing Bakersfield who authored the bill, was understandably disheartened by the law’s failure to reach the assembly. From her website:
I am deeply disappointed that once again, the California state legislature did not prioritize California’s Classic car culture and the enthusiasts who were relying on this measure to pass. Leno’s Law would have simply allowed for a few additional classic car model years to receive a full smog exemption—a much-needed update on an antiquated law. Sadly, today California said no to helping preserve these rolling pieces of history and let down classic car clubs across the state from low riders, to hot rods and every American classic in between. Leno’s Law was not just about the cars, it was about the enthusiasts behind the wheel.
News of the bill’s demise came even as lawmakers sought to water down its effectiveness in an effort to keep it alive. They slapped on an amendment in June requiring vehicles to be registered with historic plates, and later, narrowed qualifying cars to those built between 1981 and 1986. But those efforts proved futile.
Senate Bill 712 had tons of support from the car community and beyond, not only from Jay Leno himself, but also from the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), which sought to have the law passed as a “practical solution for collector vehicle owners, allowing them to enjoy their passion without the burden of unnecessary regulations,” according to CEO Mike Spagnola. But health and climate change activists opposed its passing. Will Barrett, assistant vice president of the American Lung Association, told The Mercury News his organization was happy the bill died in the committee.
We’re pleased it’s not moving forward. From a public health perspective, this is a good outcome. It represented a step back from clean air protections. One of the things we really need to be on guard for is these bills that weaken the existing tools we have.
It’s true that Leno’s Law would’ve ultimately allowed more emissions into the atmosphere. The state’s Bureau of Automotive Repair told The Mercury News it expected to receive 17,500 requests every year for smog check exemptions had the bill passed. But the environmental impact would’ve likely been negligible. As my colleague Thomas Hundal pointed out back in March, the vehicles qualifying for an exemption are antiques registered as collector cars, which usually come with specific insurance that restricts usage and mileage. So it’s not like the law would be opening up a swath of highly polluting vehicles to everyday commuter use.
Alas, none of that matters anymore. With Leno’s Law dead, Californians will continue to suffer under the thumb of the State’s Smog Check laws for the foreseeable future. And with the State cracking down on out-of-state registrations—including well-known methods through Montana—vintage car owners have little to no recourse.
18th Annual Car, Truck & Motorcycle Show at Hyles Baptist Church September 6
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
Jewels Found On Ebay
Here are a couple of hot finds from Ebay Motors.
eBay item number: 306489266190
$10,000$5,500.00eBay description: 1958 studebaker Packard Hawk. One of 488 made. Car comes with supercharger and bracketing. Was originally an automatic but it has been changed to a 3 speed. Power steering. Typical costal area rust. I do have a solid 57 shell that can be sold with this. Sorry I don’t have the rare front wheel trim. Not for the faint of heart. But this is one of the most desired studebaker/Packard. Thanks. For sale by a reputable Studebaker Vendor. Other parts for Studebakers are available. I may be able to deliver this to the Studebaker Meet in Washington PA. Other options are available. Have title in hand. I am open to offers for this.
Did someone stick a duck bill on a Studebaker and call it a Packard? This has got to be one of the ugliest cars from the 50s. It is rusty and missing parts. Gotta love that "not for the faint of heart" may be the seller should have said ready for someone who has plenty of money to lose. The seller didn't post any interior photos so you know what that looks like. But it does have a supercharger which is useless on non-running rust bucket.
Next up is a "project".
eBay item number: 127351795630
$5,000.00
eBay description: We are offering a 1956 Chevrolet Nomad station wagon that needs a lot of work. It is missing a lot of parts and needs a lot of sheet metal replaced. It was missing the doors and we just purchased a very nice pair of correct doors for this project car. I feel that my price of $5,000 is very realistic for a classic vehicle like this one with the potential that this vehicle has. We offer a 90 day lay away on many of our vehicles. Just break the cost of the vehicle into 4 equal payments 30 days apart, and, once it is paid for, you can take possession of the vehicle. I might consider a possible trade, what do you have? What are you looking for? Lets talk!!! I sure would love to make this Classic yours. What can I do to make that happen? If this Classic is the vehicle of your dreams then the best time to buy it is BEFORE someone else does. NOW is the time. The customer who may have looked at it yesterday and said I will buy it tomorrow MAY come back and buy it today while you are waiting to buy it tomorrow. Do not wait another minute. Give me a call right NOW
This is a real seller who really wants to unload this wonderful (!) vehicle. It is only missing large pieces of the floor along with the quarters that have been cut off. You can see the frame brackets because a lot of floor and rockers are long gone. I'm not sure there is enough here to build a Nomad and I'm not sure there is enough for parts for another Nomad. But this guy's a real salesman.
eBay item number: 187548273713
$1,966.66 no bids
eBay description: 1966 Pontiac GTO Platinum Hardtop/Blue Interior Restoration Project for sale that INCLUDES a '66 Lemans Parts car AS WELL as some truly choice OEM components too!
I guess I should point out if it's not obvious--these vehicles are not operable as is, and there will be 2 (TWO) automobiles, as well as parts, that will need to be transported (at your expense) to wherever in our country you happen to be! ...
In need of almost complete restoration: However--A big fancy BUT /HOWEVER though, as this sale INCLUDES: A dedicated '66 Lemans parts car AND several choice OEM parts as well!... not the least of which is the highlighted Blue Interior pieces that have been in storage for 58+ years... AND ALSO 100% matching AND complete, Professionally Remanufactured 093 Cylinder Heads (Ready to install-they have all new stainless -steel valves, etc... needs only engine prime & paint of your choice (Pontiac Metallic Blue right?) PLUS, a 100% correct date matching as would be installed by the Dealer back in the day *Tri-Power Intake, (No carbs though, sorry) should you fancy going that route!... ALSO, truly superb OEM Rear Taillight Assemblies (nice enough to install as they are!) ... I believe it would be easiest to point out what parts you would need to get for this restoration IF you don't already have them (this is assuming you will use the entirety of the Lemans as a Parts car... You'll need Front & Rear Bumpers too, along with the '66 GTO only distinct tail panel...there is replacement glass needed also--specifically the windshield & driver's rear quarter glass(remember these need to be factory tinted pieces as come with the A/C option)...
Oh look a two for one sale! You get twice as much scrap metal for only one low price. This seller is also a salesman but you have to be when you want to move stuff that looks like this. Starting bid of only 1966 and no one has bid yet - no surprise.
River City Cruizers CMA Colonial Chevrolet Show September 13
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
Virginia Policy News from Jefferson Policy Journal
By Derrick A. Max
Since 1982, residents of these Northern Virginia counties: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park, have been subject to a mandatory vehicle emissions testing program, a policy enacted in 1982 under the 1970 Clean Air Act to combat significant regional air pollution.
While Virginians outside of Northern Virginia will have no experience with this testing program which is separate from the more familiar mandatory safety inspections, it requires a detailed inspection of a cars emissions system, including a reading of effluents from the cars exhaust. However, four decades of technological progress, dramatic improvements in air quality, and evolving economic realities have rendered this mandate on Northern Virginia drivers obsolete.
Modern vehicles are now very clean and are equipped with sophisticated On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) systems they check for emissions issues and make separate emissions testing redundant. The program imposes a significant economic burden on Northern Virginia residents, totaling over $87 million biennially, for negligible environmental benefit. Paradoxically, the process of complying with the test itself generates unnecessary pollution that could negate even the minimal benefits from the testing claimed by advocates.
Given that Northern Virginia now consistently meets the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) — except when Virginia’s air is invaded by wildfires from Canada or other disasters unrelated to engine pollutants. It is time for the Commonwealth to formally acknowledge this success and celebrate Northern Virginia’s cleaner air. Virginia should repeal the outdated emissions inspection requirement by submitting a revised State Implementation Plan (SIP) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
A Program Whose “Success” Has Made It Obsolete
The vehicle emissions program was considered a necessary response to the environmental conditions of its time. In 1982, vehicles lacked advanced pollution-control technology that is now standard. According to the EPA, a vehicle manufactured today emits approximately 98-99% fewer pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, than its 1960s counterpart (the age of many cars at the time this emissions testing mandate was implemented). This remarkable improvement is largely due to two key federal mandates:
Catalytic Converters (1974): These devices became a mandatory standard on all new vehicles, filtering harmful pollutants from exhaust.
On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) Systems: Modern OBD-II systems continuously monitor a vehicle’s emissions components, including the catalytic converter. Any malfunction triggers the “Check Engine” light, immediately notifying the driver of a potential issue long before a scheduled test would have identified the problem.
The use of catalytic converters backed up by a robust, real-time OBD monitoring system on every modern car makes a separate, biennial emissions test a redundant and inefficient regulatory holdover. It may even result in the testing itself causing more harm to the environment than good.
Diminishing Returns: An Economic and Environmental Analysis
From an economic perspective, the Northern Virginia emissions program demonstrates a clear case of diminishing returns. The costs imposed appear to now outweigh the minimal benefits delivered.
• Extremely Low Failure Rate: The annual failure rate for emissions inspections in Northern Virginia has plummeted to just 1.8% — one of the lowest in the nation (from what the Washington Post reported to be 4% in 1982). This means that 98.2% of the vehicles tested are already in emissions compliance, yet their owners must still spend the time and money for the required inspection.
• Misleading Failure Data: An analysis of the failures themselves reveals the program’s inefficiency. According to a specialist at Air Check Virginia, approximately 98.3% of the few failures recorded are not due to excess pollution but to a malfunction in the vehicle’s own OBD system. While a functioning diagnostic system is important, classifying this as an “emissions failure” is misleading and forces repairs that may not impact air quality. The remaining 1.7% of the small number of failures often stem from minor issues like a missing or broken oxygen sensor or a poorly sealed gas cap, not from systemic, high-polluting emissions problems.
• Significant Direct and Indirect Costs: With a fleet of roughly 1.8 million vehicles subject to biennial testing at a fee of $28, Northern Virginia residents spend a collective $50.4 million every two years on the program. They also pay a $2 per year administrative fee collected by the DMV at registration, for a full cost of $5.4 million. This figure does not include the indirect costs of lost wages for time taken off work ($27 million at $15 per hour), fuel spent driving to and from inspection stations $900k based on average fuel mileage for ten mile round trip), or the often-expensive and unnecessary repairs prompted by minor failures. This financial burden acts as a regressive tax, disproportionately impacting lower-income households who may be forced to make costly repairs to older vehicles that pose little actual threat to regional air quality. Also not included is the cost to the state of certifying and training emissions inspectors (estimated at between $3 and $5 million). Overall, the cost of this program, paid mostly by Northern Virginia drivers, totals more than $87 million.
• The Paradox of Testing-Induced Pollution: The program’s mandate ironically contributes to the very problem it was designed to solve. Assuming a conservative 10-mile round trip to an inspection station for each of the 1.8 million vehicles, residents are collectively driving an additional 18 million miles every two years solely for compliance. This, combined with engine idling during wait times and the idling as emissions are tested, releases a significant and entirely avoidable amount of pollutants into the atmosphere. Start up and first mile pollutants are more harmful to the environment, making drive-in testing even more damaging to the environment. To be fair, 11 percent of emissions tests in Northern Virginia utilize RapidPass testing – which are mobile pass through stations which do not require a separate trip, but rather, test vehicles as they enter or exit highways where the mobile emissions stations have been set up. But the other 89 percent of emissions tests are separate trips, for first, second and third cars that may or may not get driven much, and are surely causing pollution that is unnecessary.
• Polluting Exemptions for Highest Polluting Vehicles: Vehicles that are 25 years or older, the ones most likely to not have catalytic converters or advanced OBD systems, are considered antique motor vehicles and are exempt from emissions testing despite their much higher level of pollution emissions.
Okay, he was batting a thousand until that last paragraph. Vehicles that are 25 years or older were granted an exemption by the General Assembly. Not because they were the "Highest Polluting Vehicles" but because the parts were no longer available. The same exact reason the General Assembly passed the antique exhaust law allowing aftermarket parts because originals are no longer available ~ Fred
Topless Night September 13
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window. Photo by Jeff Malo.
Transportation Secretary Terminates Wind Projects Worth $679 Million
From The Epoch Times
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy withdrew or terminated 12 offshore wind projects across the country that are worth $679 million in funding, according to an Aug. 29 statement by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
The latest announcement is part of a series of actions that the Trump administration has taken to limit the expansion of energy sources such as wind and solar.
“Wasteful wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” said Duffy, adding that the prior Biden administration promoted such projects, “ignoring the dire needs of our shipbuilding industry.”
Offshore wind farms pose considerable demands on existing port infrastructure for staging, assembly, and maintenance. Existing port capabilities and resources are diverted from offering conventional services such as shipping, container, and fishing facilities toward servicing wind turbines, according to a report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Besides endangering marine mammals while developing large-scale offshore wind farms, shipping lanes are sometimes diverted to make way for wind turbines, leading to increased fuel costs as vessels take alternate routes to and from ports.
The DOT will work with its Maritime Administration to recompete funding from the wind farm projects toward addressing critical port upgrades and other core infrastructure needs of the United States, according to the statement.
According to the DOT’s review, 12 offshore wind projects have been identified as not meeting the necessary obligations required for the renewal of grant programs.
The withdrawn projects are Sparrows Point Steel Marshalling Port Project in Baltimore; Bridgeport Port Authority Operations and Maintenance Wind Port Project; Wind Port at Paulsboro; Arthur Kill Terminal; Gateway Upgrades for Access, Resiliency and Development at the Port of Davisville Project; Norfolk Offshore Wind Logistics Port; and Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind, which alone accounted for more than $426 million.
The terminated projects are Redwood Marine Terminal Project Planning; Salem Wind Port Project; Lake Erie Renewable Energy Resilience Project; Radio Island Rail Improvements; and PMT Offshore Wind Development.
Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said in an Aug. 29 statement the latest DOT move to withdraw funds from wind projects would lead to “energy cost hikes for working families” and loss of “thousands of union jobs nationwide.”
Over the past few days, the Trump administration has moved to cancel multibillion-dollar offshore wind projects in Maryland and Rhode Island.
The Department of the Interior is “in the process of reconsidering its prior approval” of an $11.5 billion offshore wind farm planned off the coast of Maryland, which was issued in the final days of the Biden administration, according to an Aug. 25 court filing.
The project included 114 wind turbines, four offshore substations, and other supporting infrastructure that would have an expected capacity of more than 2 gigawatts, enough to power more than 718,000 homes and support about 2,700 jobs each year, over seven years of development.
Ocean City, Maryland, Mayor Rick Meehan said the project threatened to devastate the local tourism industry and fishing sectors while posing risks to national defense.
“It could lead to the deaths of hundreds of marine mammals, including the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale—all so that an Italian company can receive subsidies from the State of Maryland to produce unreliable and expensive electricity,” he said.
On Aug. 22, the Trump administration moved to halt all construction on an offshore wind farm off Rhode Island, which was nearing completion, citing “the protection of national security interests.”
The project, Revolution Wind, is a $1.5 billion project that was expected to produce enough electricity to power 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The Sierra Club, an advocate for energy sources such as wind and solar, criticized the move.
“The Trump administration’s effort to kneecap Revolution Wind right as it nears the finish line is a threat to local jobs, lower energy costs, and the stronger, more reliable grid we are so close to actualizing. Offshore wind is key to lower energy bills, cleaner air, and good-paying jobs for our neighbors here in Connecticut and across New England,” the Sierra Club said in a statement.
The administration’s actions stem from President Donald Trump’s executive order issued in July to eliminate subsidies for unreliable energy sources such as wind and solar in furtherance of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Trump said in the order that energy sources such as wind and solar “displace affordable, dispatchable energy, compromise America’s electric grid, and denigrate the beauty of our Nation’s natural landscape.” Reliance on such energy sources also “threatens national security by making the United States dependent on supply chains controlled by foreign adversaries,” he said.
As permits for offshore most wind projects are being cancelled by the Trump administration, Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project remains on track. This is because $6 billion has already spent on it and apparently the administration didn't want Virginia ratepayers left with an unfinished project. ~ Fred
Petersburg Cars & Coffee September 20
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
The Briefs
Police in Texas said a large snake caught trespassing at an Austin car wash was released back into the wild with "a stern talking-to" but "no tickets issued."
The Austin Police Association said on social media that officers "encountered a slippery suspect" at an Xpress Car Wash in the city.
Police wrote the snake was attempting "to make a 'hiss-terical' getaway."
Comments under the post said the serpent appeared to be a non-venomous western rat snake, a common species in Texas.
"Our officers quickly detained the slithery fellow, gave him a stern talking-to, and decided to cut him a break," the post said. "No tickets issued -- just a safe release back into the wild. Sometimes even snakes deserve a second chance."
Firefighters and police in Pennsylvania responded to a stretch of highway where a cow was reported running loose next to lanes of traffic.
The Lackawanna County Communications Center said emergency responders were dispatched about 8:15 p.m. Monday on a report of a cow running loose along Interstate 84, near Sepko Road in Madison Township. The Nepa News: Live page on Facebook shared drone camera footage of firefighters and Pennsylvania State Police troopers pursuing the cow on the highway.
A second video shows crews from Madisonville helping to wrangle the cow off the interstate and onto a side street.
Authorities said the highway was not closed during the pursuit and there were no injuries reported as a result of the cow's presence.
The origins of the bovine were unclear.
Tesla’s sales slump in Europe extended into August, with sharp declines in key markets underscoring the U.S. electric vehicle maker’s struggles against rising Chinese competition and a consumer backlash against CEO Elon Musk.
The Trump administration secured a significant legal victory Tuesday (9/2/25) when a federal appeals court sided with the Environmental Protection Agency in its effort to freeze billions of dollars and terminate contracts for nonprofits charged with running a "green bank" to finance climate-friendly projects. The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, handed down in a 2-1 ruling, shifts the dispute away from the federal district court and into the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which handles contract matters. For the nonprofits involved, including Climate United Fund, the ruling represents a major setback in their push to regain access to roughly $16 billion in frozen funds.
Learn more about the race at this link: normandybeachrace.com/en
OPEC+ has agreed to further raise oil production from October as its leader Saudi Arabia pushes to regain market share, while slowing the pace of increases compared with previous months due to an anticipated weakening of global demand.
OPEC+ has been increasing production since April after years of cuts to support the oil market, but the Sunday decision to further boost output came as a surprise amid a likely looming oil glut in the northern hemisphere winter months.
Eight members of OPEC+ agreed on Sunday in an online meeting to raise production from October by 137,000 barrels per day, it said in a statement, much lower than the monthly increases of about 555,000 bpd for September and August and 411,000 bpd in July and June.
An appeals court recently ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could legally rescind $16 billion in climate grants that had been awarded as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
That 2–1 ruling on Sept. 2 overturned a lower court order that blocked the administration from reclaiming the grant money and putting it to other use.
As part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Congress allocated $27 billion for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was designed to power alternative energy initiatives.
Nonprofit groups competed for the cash, winners were picked, and the full $27 billion was allocated by mid-August 2024, in the form of subgrants given out by three umbrella agencies.
Court documents later noted that the grant structure for this massive project was unique: Normally, the funds are held by the Treasury Department and disbursed as needed. For the first time, the EPA placed the funds with Citibank, which acted as a “financial agent” for the United States.
David Hampson, 54 -- known to locals as "Silent Man" -- has been arrested again in Swansea, Wales, for standing in the middle of busy roads in the city, the Telegraph reported on Aug. 12. By "again," we mean for the 12th time. Hampson, who has no fixed address, has been repeating his strange behavior since 2014, but he won't explain himself to law enforcement or health officials and won't even confirm his name in court. But he's not mute, his brother said: "He never stops talking. He's a spoilt brat. He just does it to have a comfy life inside prison."
Firefighters with the Doolittle (Missouri) Rural Fire Protection District responded to a truck fire on Aug. 18, Fox5-TV reported. Inside the trailer was 40,000 pounds of rib-eye steaks -- which, while a total loss, had to smell AMAZING! Probationary firefighter Jenna Ulrich, the only vegan in the department, fought her first fire that morning alongside her dad, Glenn Ulrich.
A 19-year-old Washington State man is facing a kidnapping charge for allegedly trying to pull a female employee out of the drive-thru window of the Ladybug Bikini Espresso stand and into his vehicle, according to a police report.
Investigators allege that Ezekiel Guerrero drove to the 24-hour coffee shop earlier this month and placed a 2:15 AM drink order with the female worker on duty. The business is located in Lakewood, a suburb of Tacoma.
While preparing Guerrero’s drink, the victim said she exchanged small talk with the customer, who was wearing a blue hat, a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey, and designer jeans. The woman said she handed Guerrero a clipboard with a receipt that needed his signature.
When Guerrero subsequently “partially extended” the clipboard back to the barista, she “reached out to accept it.” That is when Guerrero allegedly “grabbed [the victim] by the arm and attempted to pull her through the window toward his car.”
The woman told cops she braced her legs against a counter, which kept her from being pulled out the drive-thru window. The victim was able to shut the window, while the patron “fled the area.” When police interviewed the barista, she “was frantic and appeared genuinely frightened” and had red marks on her wrist, inner bicep, and shoulder. Guerrero, who paid for his drink with a Mastercard in his name, was eventually tracked down by police and arrested.
The share of disposable income U.S. drivers are paying for gasoline this year will likely fall to a 20-year low, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday. The forecast from the EIA, the independent statistical arm of the Energy Department, will be welcome news for the Trump administration beset by rising worries about the U.S. economy. Oil prices have fallen steadily since touching $80 a barrel at the beginning of the year, bringing consumers relief at the pump. The U.S. benchmark oil price was near $62 on Tuesday.
Amazon launches electric robotaxi Zoox with free rides in Las Vegas; the Waymo and Tesla rival plans to enter the Austin and Miami markets next.
Rideshare company Uber plans to offer seats on Blade helicopters and seaplanes directly through its app, allowing customers to book fast rides between city hubs, to airports, and more, the company shared with Travel + Leisure. Currently, space on Blade's helicopters to the airport start at $195 per person (significantly more than a typical Uber ride), while larger groups can instead charter an entire Blade helicopter accommodating up to eight passengers starting at around $2,000, according to the helicopter company.
Falling oil prices will spur a decline of about 20 cents per gallon of gasoline on average across the United States by the end of 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration is projecting in its Sept. 9 short-term energy outlook.
California’s electric vehicle drivers are set to lose their ability to use carpool lanes solo, as a federal program granting the privilege has not been renewed, potentially impacting commuters across the state.
Daredevil Josef Tödtling (Austria) became the first person to claim the record for fastest 100 m car pull in full body burn with a time of just 56.42 seconds when he took on the challenge in Vienna on 24 June. Who thought this up - pulling a car while on fire?
The Energy Department has announced it will return more than $13 billion in unobligated climate funds to the Treasury, marking one of the Trump administration’s most significant reversals of President Joe Biden’s green-energy agenda.
Porsche announced a massive restructuring of its future product plans that dramatically scales back the company’s electrification efforts. One of the biggest changes will be to the forthcoming three-row crossover SUV that was slated to sit above the Cayenne in the lineup.
That SUV, known internally as K1, was initially expected to be an electric-only offering aimed at the likes of the all-electric Range Rover (which is also delayed) and the Cadillac Escalade IQ (which is available now). But now, “due to changing market conditions,” according to the restructuring announcement, the K1 vehicle will be launched initially with traditional internal-combustion and plug-in hybrid powertrains instead. “We are currently experiencing massive changes within the automotive environment,” noted CEO Oliver Blume. “That’s why we’re realigning Porsche across the board.”
Citing sources within the Blue Oval, Ford Authority says hybrid versions of the current S650 Mustang are already in the prototype stage and undergoing Technology Prove-Out, although the site was unable to provide any information on exactly what form electrifying the Mustang will take.
It’s eight years since then-Ford boss Mark Fields said that the company was investing $700 M in its Flat Rock, Michigan factory to produce a hybridized V-8 Mustang among other vehicles, but that car never actually saw the light of day.
Hopes are higher for the car currently undergoing testing as, in 2023, Jim Farley said that a “partially electrified Mustang coupe” would feature in a Ford line-up in which every vehicle would offer at least some form of hybridization by the year 2030.
While U.S. buyers may not exactly be waiting with baited breath for an electrified pony car, Europe pretty much demands it, in order for the V-8 to meet emissions regulations.
Repair Mistakes & Blunders
From Rock Auto
After graduating from high school, I worked briefly at a gas station doing “light” auto repairs and maintenance. I got hired after having taken two years of auto mechanics training in school. One of my early assignments was to do a tune up on a new 1973 Pontiac with a big block V-8. I changed the plugs, put in new points and condenser, replaced the distributor cap and set the dwell and the timing. The car fired right up. I took the car for a short “easy” test drive and was convinced all was well.
Later that evening when I was packing up my tools, I noticed I couldn’t locate my dwell meter. I went home a little annoyed over the missing tool. The next day, I went back to work and was surprised to see the Pontiac pulling back into the station. The owner explained that on hard acceleration, the car just wasn’t performing correctly. I pulled the car back in the garage and lifted the hood to find my dwell meter right there in the engine compartment still wired up! I quietly retrieved my meter and all was good.
Dan in Maryland
The Richmond Rodders 20th Annual Cookout September 20
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.
What Are Normalized Automotive Gauges
Normalized automotive gauges are not a standard automotive term, but the phrase likely refers to gauges that have been programmed to scale or display data in a standardized way rather than showing the raw output of a sensor. This practice is common in modern vehicle dashboards and aftermarket performance gauges. This is why your modern vehicle's oil pressure and temperature gauges do not vary like the gauges in an older vehicle. While the oil pressure on a regular gauge changes with engine speed a normalized gauge just reads in the same place. And when your older vehicle is stopped in hot summer traffic the temperature gauge will rise while the normalized gauge will not.
What normalization does
Vehicle gauges often present normalized data to be more intuitive for the driver. For example:
Engine temperature: An engine temperature gauge typically shows "C" for cold and "H" for hot, with a needle that stays in the middle once the engine has warmed up. The needle is normalized to show "middle" even as the actual temperature fluctuates by several degrees. This prevents the driver from being distracted by minor, harmless temperature changes.
Tachometer: A tachometer measures the engine's revolutions per minute (RPM). On many dashboards, the gauge shows markings like 1, 2, 3, etc., which are multiplied by 1000 to get the actual RPM. This normalized scaling makes the display cleaner and easier to read at a glance.
Speedometer: A speedometer displays the vehicle's speed in either miles per hour (MPH) or kilometers per hour (KPH) by converting data from a speed sensor on the wheels or transmission. The gauge normalizes the output of the sensor into a human-readable scale.
Performance gauges: Aftermarket gauges, especially for high-performance vehicles, often feature "user-adjustable scaling". For example, a driver may normalize a gauge to maximize the display resolution for a specific application, such as focusing on a particular range of values for a turbocharged engine.
Starting The World's First V8 Powered Tesla
You can see the entire article at LS swapped Tesla
Ram’s Electric Pickup Canceled, Plug-In Hybrid Remains on Track
From: Hagerty
Ram had big plans for the electric 1500 REV announced in 2023: Futuristic styling, 654 horsepower, an 800-volt architecture, and about 500 miles of range. The brand began taking reservations for the truck, and it initially planned to deliver the first units to customers in early 2025, but that deadline has come and gone. Don’t hold your breath if you’re a reservation holder: The electric Ram pickup has been canceled.
“As demand for full-size battery-electric trucks slows in North America, Stellantis is reassessing its product strategy and will discontinue development of a full-size BEV pickup,” the company said in a statement. The announcement comes shortly after Ram brought back the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 due to popular demand.
Buyers who wanted to secure an early build slot could reserve the 1500 REV by sending a $100 deposit. We reached out to a company representative and learned that it’s not revealing the number of reservations it received. However, the spokesperson told us reservation holders will be given two options: Get a refund or apply it to the gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid 1500 that’s tentatively due out for 2026.
That truck, which uses a gasoline-burning engine set up as a generator, a lithium-ion battery pack, and two electric motors, remains on track for production. Its name was recently changed from Ramcharger to REV, however, which was the designation earmarked for the electric model. Ram is seemingly betting that demand for plug-in hybrid models will continue to grow across all market segments in the coming years.
On a secondary level, it will be interesting to see whether the general lack of interest in electric trucks that Ram pegged its decision on ends up affecting other manufacturers. Chevrolet, GMC, Ford, and Rivian are among the carmakers that have invested substantial sums to compete in the electric pickup segment.
EPA Moves to Repeal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Rules, Citing Burdens on Industry
From The Epoch Times
Administrator Lee Zeldin said ending the program will reduce costs for businesses, calling it ‘bureaucratic red tape’ that fails to improve air quality.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Sept. 12 a proposal to end a greenhouse gas reporting program, citing ineffectiveness and high costs for American businesses.
The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) has “no material impact on improving human health and the environment,” the agency said in a statement, adding that ending the program will result in regulatory savings of up to $2.4 billion for businesses in the country.
“The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in the statement.
“Instead, it costs American businesses and manufacturing billions of dollars, driving up the cost of living, jeopardizing our nation’s prosperity and hurting American communities. With this proposal, we show once again that fulfilling EPA’s statutory obligations and Powering the Great American Comeback is not a binary choice.”
Introduced in 2009 during the administration of President Barack Obama, the GHGRP is part of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Under the GHGRP, sources that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per year are mandated to report emissions data along with other relevant information.
The GHGRP requires 47 source categories, covering over 8,000 facilities and suppliers in the country to submit their greenhouse gas emissions data report on a yearly basis, said the EPA.
The EPA’s announcement is part of efforts to implement Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that called for unleashing domestic energy production, along with canceling “burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations” that impede the development of these resources.
Moreover, Trump had modified CAA sections under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, postponing certain emissions data collection under the Act to 2034, the EPA stated.
In light of these policy changes, the EPA has initiated a reconsideration of the GHGRP and sought public opinion on the matter. If finalized, the proposal is expected to remove reporting obligations for most large facilities, all fuel and industrial gas suppliers, and CO2 injection sites, said the statement.
Carbon Capture Coalition, a collaboration of environmental organizations and unions, has criticized the EPA’s stance on the GHGRP removal.
In a Sept. 12 statement, Jessie Stolark, executive director of the coalition, said, “Today’s announcement from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the repeal of certain subparts of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) will not advance carbon storage—something EPA Administrator Zeldin has publicly supported.
“By canceling subparts of the GHGRP that are inextricably linked to the election of the federal Section 45Q tax credit, this proposed rule endangers billions of dollars in investments from American businesses in these technologies.”
According to the Energy Department, carbon storage involves separating carbon dioxide emissions from industrial emissions and storing them in deep underground geologic formations. This prevents CO2 from getting released into the atmosphere.
Stolark said that carbon management project developers have already invested around $77.5 billion in existing and near-term projects, far higher than the $2.4 billion in savings cited by EPA.
The long-term success of the carbon management industry, he said, rests on “the robust reporting mechanisms in place through the US EPA,” and he called for the EPA to rescind the proposed GHGRP removal.
Electricity Carbon Tax Advocated by Spanberger Rises Again
From Bacon’s Rebellion
Based on the most recent carbon tax imposed on the member states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), Virginians will pay about $500 million more per year for electricity if Virginia again becomes one of those member states. Your vote in November may determine that.
Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger has pledged to rejoin the RGGI compact and reinstate the carbon tax. Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears has promised to maintain the policy of Governor Glenn Youngkin and stay outside of RGGI. There is also a pending lawsuit that challenges Youngkin’s actions in withdrawing.
There is a clear demarcation between the political parties on rejoining RGGI and adding this cost to Virginia’s electricity customers. Getting us out of RGGI was Youngkin’s most successful initiative to lower electricity bills. Every Virginia generator – both utilities and independent generators – had to buy an allowance (pay a tax) for every ton of carbon dioxide its plant emits from using coal, oil or natural gas.
RGGI held its third 2025 auction for carbon emission allowances September 3 and the results were released today. The clearing price to purchase an allowance was set at $22.25 per emitted ton. The peak was a year ago at $25.75 per ton. The first two 2025 auctions cleared at just under $20 per ton.
Following a vote of the General Assembly under our previous Democratic governor, Virginia was part of RGGI from 2021 through 2023 and collected $828 million from the generating plants. Dominion Energy Virginia was the largest buyer of RGGI allowances, and it merely passed the cost directly to customers with a special charge on monthly bills.
When the bill passed in early 2020, the RGGI carbon tax was $5.65 per ton of emitted CO2. By Virginia’s final auction in December 2023, it has risen to $14.88, a 163% rise in under four years. The current tax of $22.25 is four times higher than 2020’s and will only keep rising. A four-fold increase in five years is a trend hard to ignore.
Had Virginia stayed in during 2024 and 2025, the state would have collected almost another $1 billion in carbon taxes. The Democrats in the General Assembly divided the tax revenue between projects to control or prevent flooding and grant programs to improve energy efficiency in homes.
Both spending streams quickly attracted special interest cheering squads which have kept up the drumbeat to get the money back. When Democrats advocate for RGGI, they talk about where the money goes and never about where the money comes from. Utilities and their shareholders do not pay it, customers ultimately do. Increasing the price of hydrocarbon energy is the purpose of a carbon tax and always has been.
The quarterly auctions are not the only way the price for these allowances gets set. There is also an active secondary market. Buyers in the auction do not need to be utilities, or “compliance entities” to use the term RGGI applies. Investors buy, hold, speculate and trade unused allowances and if a utility is in a pinch, it buys an allowance on the secondary price. They bet on the future price and trade in options. Last quarter 25 million unused allowances changed hands.
Here are some other summary points from the latest secondary market report:
- Prices fell steeply from $23 to $16.50 in the second week of the quarter corresponding with the issuance of a presidential executive order (issued April 8th) directing the Attorney General to identify State Laws related to carbon emissions, penalties, and taxes. In the following days, prices rebounded, nearly reaching $22 by mid-May. Prices declined again to about $19.50 at the end of May and just prior to the June auction, which had a clearing price of $19.63. After the auction, prices rose steadily to $23.40 and then dipped to $22 at the very end of the quarter.
- The Cost Containment Reserve (“CCR”) will not be available again until the March 2026 auction at a CCR Trigger Price of $18.22.
- Trading of options on RGGI futures and average option-implied volatility (a measure of market expectations of future price volatility) increased dramatically in the past 12 to 18 months with the largest trade volume occurring in the second quarter of 2024. Options trading volume in the second quarter of 2025 declined to one-third of the second quarter of 2024 volume while average option implied volatility remained high at 61 percent in the current quarter.
- The Cost Containment Reserve (“CCR”) will not be available again until the March 2026 auction at a CCR Trigger Price of $18.22.
This is another point that never comes up when the advocates praise RGGI. The carbon cap and tax program among the various northeastern states also produces profits for speculators along with all that revenue for the various state governments to spend. Add another group with a valuable vested interest to bringing Virginia back in the fold.
ACLU Joins Lawsuit Against Virginia DMV In License Plate Dispute Over Free Speech
From ABC 8 News
The ACLU of Virginia joined the lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Tuesday after the department revoked a local man’s personalized license plate, leading to a dispute over free speech.
On Tuesday, Sept. 2, the ACLU filed the opening brief in its lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit after Virginia resident Curtis Whateley’s license plate was reportedly revoked by the DMV.
In 2023, Whateley applied for and received a personalized license plate with the character combination “FTP&ATF” from the DMV. He drove with the plate for over a year.
According to the ACLU, an anonymous citizen complained about his license plate and, as a result, the DMV recalled it and “refused to allow him to continue using the message.”
Per court records, Whateley said the meaning behind the letters “FTP” is “F— the Police”, while “ATF” is the initialism for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Whateley filed a lawsuit in federal district court, claiming that the department’s recall violated his First Amendment right to free speech.
“More Virginians have personalized their license plates than residents of any other state,” said ACLU-VA Legal Director Eden Heilman in a Sept. 3 release from the ACLU. “That makes it especially crucial that the Court of Appeals reach the conclusion that other courts have reached time and again: vanity plates constitute private speech, protected by the First Amendment.”
The court allegedly dismissed Whateley’s claim and determined that all personalized messages placed by more than 900,000 drivers in Virginia were “not private speech, but actually the speech of the government.”
The ACLU said the district court found that the state could take legal action over Whateley’s license plate. As of Sept. 2, Whateley’s appeal said that the district court has denied him his First Amendment right.
According to the release, the Commissioner of the Virginia DMV is required to file their opposition by Thursday, Oct. 2.
8News reached out to the Virginia DMV for comment, but has not heard back as of the time of reporting.
Car Crazy Stories from Motor Junkie
Gravel Grave: Reports say the unnamed truck driver had attracted police attention because an officer suspected the dangerously overloaded truck with gravel was about to be driven. Rather than accept his fate, however, the truck driver thought it would be a good idea to smack the locks keeping the latch closed on his truck, allowing the gravel to pour out everywhere and bury the officer up to his waist.
The driver managed to flee the scene because the second officer, who filmed the event on his smartphone, rushed to rescue his buried co-worker, but was later arrested. The footage was later posted on YouTube.
The Bad Luck Truck: A man's truck “caught fire and started a 1500-acre wildfire.” The truck backfired going into low gear and ignited because of a leak in the gas tank.
Jetta Rage: I am idling in 2nd gear slowly rolling down the left hand lane with a little bit of space in front of me so I can just idle the whole time and not stop, go, stop, go, because manuals suck to drive in traffic.
Mr guy behind me didn’t like that I had left some space in front of me. He pulled into the median, of the construction zone, and tried to pass me and clipped my car in the process. We pulled off after going across both lanes and pulled onto my off ramp that I had to take. Before I can even turn off my car and get my seat belt undone the guy marches up to my car and puts his fulls arms, head, and part of his shoulders into my drivers side window.
His face is right in mine while he’s yelling that he could beat me up and there’s nothing that I could do to stop him and that I should have moved for him. Jetta was still on, gear was in first, clutch was pushed in. I got out of there and slammed the diesel pedal. He latched onto my face with one hand and I had five finger nail marks on my face.
My head was pulled to the door because he had a hold of it but I was still able to see out of my right eye.
I hit redline in first which is about 25 or so in the TDI and drove him into two big orange construction barrels. Told ya it was a construction zone. I then hit the brakes because there was a stopped dump truck in front of my and he flew off me/the car. The car stalled and I frantically tried to start it and thankfully it started right up.
Reversed since if I went forwards I would have ran him over. When in reverse I saw all the people in the stop and go traffic watching and one was making a call. After I went down the ramp I called the cops. They asked if I was the guy who got away or the guy walking back to his car. He spent the night in jail.
Hobo Wreck: “Back on Labor day weekend I had a homeless man very literally run out into traffic in front of me. I was going through a stop light intersection in a marked 35 zone. He ran out from in front of a car that was turning left from the same direction of traffic as me.
I hit him with my drivers quarter panel at a full skid at about a 45 degree angle.
Have you ever had a person come through your windshield, so hard their head comes within inches of your face? Terrifying. Getting out and seeing a man with 2 compound fractured legs and bleeding from multiple orifices on his head? Scariest experience of my life, involving a car or not. Only silver lining of it all, I was 100% cleared by security footage on a near by business. Didn’t even get a ticket.”
Pipe Smoking Scuba Driver: This crazy old fella crashed his car into a lake, but when emergency services arrived to rescue him, they found he was still smoking his pipe!
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson commented: “The man who is in his eighties had gone to the farm to fish in its lake. After his car ended up in the water, he smoked his pipe and chatted to the farmer who went into the lake in his waders. Firefighters carried him from his car back onto land.”
Car Psycho: “One night, I’m out getting gas, and after I leave I pull up to a red light behind a beater car and we are both turning right onto a two-lane highway. We both make the right, his car doesn’t go very fast so I head for the left lane. He blocks me. I head for the right lane. He immediately kills his signal and cuts me off again. This continues for a little while before I get annoyed, gun it and go to pass him.
Again, while in the process of passing, this guy takes a dive at my car which slows me down. He’s yelling at me out his window, “YOU AREN’T PASSING ME MOTHERF&*@KER!!!!” and laughing manically. We get caught at another light and he starts chucking stuff at my car, I check the traffic and gun it through the red, I’m sufficiently creeped out now.
His car seems to be faster than I initially thought and he is keeping up with me through traffic. In desperation I start turning off side-streets, and he is following me. We get to another light and I ask what his problem is and he screams, literally, screams “YOU ARE GOING TO DIE TONIGHT.”
Time To Escape…So I chuck an old coffee into his car, turn off my lights and take off as fast as I can go. At this point stop lights aren’t a concern anymore, I WANT to be pulled over. I’m ripping through little towns at 100MPH (in 25 and 30 zones) and starting to lose him, finally duck into another side street, somehow find a driveway that goes next to a garage, pull up next to the garage, lights off (car on), and wait…1 minute….3 minutes. 10 minutes.
I finally get home about 45 minutes later, white as a ghost, call the police (didn’t have my cell at the time) and report him in. I never found out what happened, I never saw him again. Literally thought I was going to be murdered…for nothing.”
Deer Car: I was at a buddie’s house hanging out with a few well-known friends for the day. His dad had just bought a few weeks before a C6 Gransport with all the bells and whistles. It was top of the line with extremely low miles, it was beautiful. Being the car lover I was I was absolutely inclined to go shotgun in a joyride with his dad to see what this beast had to offer. So he was more than glad to put it through its paces for a little spin.
We pull out onto one of the service roads nearby about thirty seconds after pulling out of their driveway and he slams the throttle and I have my head be put firmly into the headrest. I was thrilled/terrified never being in something this powerful.
So we do this twice more on a couple other service roads with him doing launch control bursts which were FREAKING AWESOME. The amount of torque from the tires were having the back-end give out a tiny bit and I felt like I would at least die with a smile on my face. Low and behold two minutes after the shakedowns I was about to find out.
So we pull back onto the highway and then take a right leading back into town, all seemed fine as he popped the gear into either third or fourth and was giving about 3/4 to 5/6 throttle when the one thing I least expected to see (even though I lived in the NW suburbs of Chicago) less than five hundred feet in front of us appeared: an unsuspecting deer in the middle of the road.
Crash in 3..2..1…My eyes locked contact with it and had an absolute freeze of all motor functions as I was trying to warn my buddy’s dad of imminent danger since he was looking off in another direction as he as applying throttle.
So the worst of all worst occurred as I only let out a “A-” when his dad had his eyes swing back to the road and let out an “OH S@*T,” as the deer was about ten feet away when we were going around 50mph. A loud “WPHAM” happened and a blur of brown and red LUCKILY flew straight over our heads and behind us. We immediately slowed down and pulled over with his dad using every curse word in the book. It took us a good ten seconds to process what just occurred.
To this day I’ll remember the best line I ever heard anyone say after hitting a deer in a potentially life-threatening situation of where we could have had our torsos be taken clean off: “So do we call the house or 911 first?” We both immediately busted out in laughter in the face of death and a possibly wrecked car since we didn’t get out yet. One of the most memorable experiences that I’ll probably never forget.
Damage? Nah. As for the car, I had thought we for sure were going to witness absolute horror to the front fascia…the only thing that had happened from a two-hundred plus bound doe hitting the car at 50mph WAS A POPPED RIGHT HEADLIGHT, NOT EVEN BROKEN, THE BOTTOM FRONT FENDER POPPED, NOT EVEN BROKEN OR BENT, AND THE RIGHT INSIDE WHEEL WELL POPPED WITH ONLY RUBBING THE TIRE MILDLY WITH A TUFT OF FUR AND A SMALL SCRATCH AND DING ON THE HOOD AND WINDSHIELD.
I was beyond astounded ANY car could hold up that good to a collision of any kind, even though the level of the car being so low probably contributed most to it. The level of craftsmanship of that corvette or any other now has my utmost respect for safety.
As for the doe we both had to backtrack a quarter mile to find the deer off to the side of the road, in a marsh more than fifteen feet of where it had been in our lane, with its legs doubled over and blood pouring out of its nose and mouth, just to see it give one last twitch of life before it was dead.
All in all, it took me a few weeks before I realized just how damn close my buddie’s dad and I was to being a possibly road statistic with no upper body if the deer had decided to come straight through the windshield. Made me realize my mortality pretty damn well, along with laughing at death right in its face.
Joyriding Gangster Mechanic: My grandparents left their Fiat Multipla at the garage to fix a brake problem When they got the car back they found out that the mechanic had taken it for a 200km ride, and two weeks after, my grandmother found a gun under the passenger seat…
Tow Fail: My car was towed because I needed my battery replaced. While the operator of the tow truck loaded my car the tow hooks underneath punctured my oil pan. By the time my car made it to the mechanic’s shop all of the oil had leaked out. After the battery was replaced he tried to start my car. In the process bending the cylinder heads. I know it’s not his fault but after taking it the the Volvo dealership I ended up having to pay 7000 for parts and labor.
Russia!: Not my direct experience, but I used to work at a shop that hired a Russian immigrant as a mechanic. This was in the early 90’s. That guy was the worst hack I’d ever seen.
We thought we’d start him out on oil changes, how hard can that be, right? Soon learned that we had to keep Heli-Coils in stock for all the oil pans he stripped out.
Soon he left to start his own used car lot, with his brother. I stopped in there one day and he showed me a V6 Camry they had up on the lift. Bought at auction, rod knocking.
Now you’d think a hack repair for that would be to put a new bearing shell in and maybe hit the journal with an emery cloth or something, right? Ha. This guy cut the rod in half with a torch, hose-clamped the bearing shell to the crank and siliconed the piston in the bore, then cut off the fuel injector lead. “Runs goot. Maybe leetle shake.”
Oil Can Knows All: A friend of mine told me a story about two days ago; he’s a tractor mechanic. Two weeks ago an apprentice came to work with them. He was working alone for a while and my friend could see him running to a bottle of oil, loosening and tightening again, going back to the engine and continuing.
A minute later walking to the can again, loosening and tightening the cap. My friend went looking for what was going on.
The apprentice didn’t know the difference between tightening and loosening, and kept going to the bottle for an example….
Smog Fail: I took my SUV to a smog shop. I took it to a shop around the corner, because I figured hey, it’s a smog, I don’t need anyone special to do that. Oh, was I wrong.
I sat down in the lobby while the mechanic took my keys and brought the car around, and not 2 minutes later while I’m grabbing some water, I hear this huge BANG. I go around the corner and look out of the window to see the mechanic jumping out of my car and looking underneath.
Long story short, he did not disable the AWD on my car, which meant that while he had the back two wheels on the dyno rollers, the other two wheels on the garage floor, and not moving.
This caused the transfer case to essentially explode once he hit a certain speed. After many trips back and forth he finally admitted guilt and paid for a shop to take care of the $1900 repair bill.
| Home Page | Show Photos | Calendar | Newsletter | Member Clubs |
| Info | Join Us | About This Site | Links | Contact |
© 1999 - 2025 Car Club Council of Central Virginia, Inc - All Rights Reserved