Most Viewed Automotive Blogs (377)

I'm surprised to see the clarity of highway cameras. In the video below a car loses control entering a highway and slams into a box truck heading for an overpass. The truck hits the rail that retains the vehicle from going over the edge but the bursts into flames (like a Hollywood movie) billowing black smoke until (about 8 minutes later) the emergency fire truck arrives to cool things down.

00:00 - 01:00 entertaining guests.
01:00 - 01:15 changed to work clothes, checked messages.
01:15 - 03:00 worked and guarded my business from crooks. Then checked messages.
03:01 - 10:29 slept
10:30 - 11:00 eat breakfast and checked messages.
11:00 - 17:00 worked dismantling an 1993 Ford Escort XR3i
17:01 - 18:00 eating
18:01 - Watching soccer Italy vs Wales and posting on forum same time, soon I will sleep again and repeat the process tomorrow.

we often see on the news , police chasing either stolen cars or criminals , which amounts to the same thing , a felony has occurred ,
so why do these chases turn into a nascar race ,,
they start off with a couple of cruisers sitting a safe distance behind the offender ,
and if by magic every cop and his dog joins in on the action , is it because the longer the chase lasts then it will be shown on the news via helicopter and this will be their 15 minutes of fame,
and you can be sure by the end of the chase there will be anything from 10 to 20 squad cars around the offender plus a police helicopter hovering above ,,
that is a lot of tax payers hard earned bucks being wasted,,
and as we often see a lot of these chases usually end up with the car being wrecked or hitting innocent drivers along the way.
now a simple solution to this problem , would be to have two squad cars pursuing the vehicle along with the eye in the sky.
and if the vehicle will not stop , the the over head chopper should armed with a mini guided missile that will totally take the car out when there is the opportunity to do so .
it will save on the insurance pay outs save on court costs as there will be nobody to go to court ,
and it will save tax payers money as the other 18 squad cars can do some proper work ,,
and will also serve as a deterrent for car thieves and criminals running from the police ,,

Years ago I blogged about patenting a device that when pointed at a vehicle and pressing a button it would send a burst of energy knocking out the computer control of the vehicle.

My state of mind at the time was to fry the control making the car (truck, etc.) useless and the person would have buy a new computer chip.

Computer chips are very expensive and in most cases very difficult to replace when basically, all I want to achieve is a simple 'don't cut me off' approach... maybe a more sophisticated jamming device would be suited for this purpose.

When would I use it?
Lots of places. Tailgaters for example. No matter how fast you drive, which lane you use, there are some people who will actually change lanes to follow you and stay 2 car lengths at 70 miles per hour.

One click and Zaaaappp... the computer in their car resets causing the motor to shut off! Good bye tailgater...

I should be in the way to the patent attorney's office, instead I'm heading to work.

(NOTE: For those who don't understand humor in a blog... creating, owning or using such a device would probably be in trouble with the law)

If you happen to read it, be informed that you are my crush.
And you know it.

I've seen a few news links about catalytic converters being stolen from cars. Tonight one article revealed data from insurance companies stated what was thousands per year are increasing in numbers. One of the most targeted vehicles is the Ford F-Series truck. The truck is high enough that someone can slide under with a wrench and unbolt the unit in a few minutes.

Personally, I had an engine fail on my 2014 Hyundai Veloster caused by a piston ring that sent 3 quarts out the exhaust. My mechanic found a used engine, one recovered from a rear end collision. It wasn't running correctly and the suspect was the catalytic converter had clogged due to the oil. We could have shorted out the sensor, re-piped the exhaust and reprogrammed the brain, but that had some restrictions. I didn't want to drive a car with a tampered exhaust system so I bought a re-manufactured catalytic converter and the car ran like it did before the engine blew up.
At that time, new catalytic converters for that model were around $1,500 and re-manufactured around $500. Either way, it was a big chunk of money.

I did find flaws in some the stories I've read.
Most cars have alarm systems that are set off when you bump the car.
So, how is it possible someone can jack up a Honda (for example) and unbolt a converter without setting off the alarm?

Some stolen converters are used to replace defective ones in other cars while other are sold for the precious metals they contain.

Okay, police have suggested engraving them with a unique traceable number.
In the real world, just like stolen guns... grind off the number.
I believe possession of a gun with a tampered serial is illegal, but I doubt there are laws to cover converters.

If it's so easy to unbolt a converter... SPOT WELD the joints so only someone using a grinder could break it loose.

Maybe more thought needs to go into a method to deter the business of stealing catalytic converters...

Guys in Virginia, North and South Carolina who modify their trucks with oversized tires and modified suspensions are headed down the road of legal troubles.
The trend called Squat Trucks has the entire vehicle raised with the front suspension much higher than the rear. Often they have lighting in each tire and wheel well to show off their shiny rims.
What's the problem of having your truck jacked-up?
Raising the front affects the driver's visibility and aims the high intensity headlights to blind oncoming traffic. Depending on the state they are in, more than 4 inches is past the limit. There's a ban with fines as high as $300. In the interest of public safety, repeated offenders could have their licenses suspended. A Myrtle Beach pedestrian was struck and killed in 2021.

I read this story this morning and this afternoon it's already 'gone viral' on YouTube and many news services. Caught on a dashcam of cars driving along the freeway in California, where a pickup with oversized tires completely loses the front left tire just as a KIA Soul comes up on the left side. The tire goes under the front of the KIA making it flip more than 10 feet in the air where it rolled and crashed. the tire rolled back bounced on something (out of the view of the camera) then rolls back hitting the KIA in the rear.
While this is happening, the pickup truck with three wheels continues driving and appears to be heading toward the right shoulder.
While the top of the KIA was crushed, it was reported no one was seriously hurt.

Flying KIA...




Amazing!

COVID hit and car buying changed. New cars were in short supply with no new inventory to replenish stock. Used car prices shot up where cars coming off a 3-year lease are selling for the same price is new.
One day I'm reading that's all going to change and another day I'm reading this inflated car prices isn't going away anytime soon.
I'm getting messages from the dealer where I bought a few years ago... they want to buy back my car. I'm just out of warrantee and have been toying with the idea of something slightly larger. In doing so, I'll miss having a car that gets around 35 miles per gallon.

I keep shopping, but nothing interesting has jumped out to get my attention...

N.B. A fellow blogger prompted to create this blog.
I commented there...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good blog and so I liked it.
There has been an absurd tendency to equate the love that exist in the relations with the love that exists between the opposite genders.
The former is given, while the later is a development.
The two, in no way, comparable. They are two different entities. And that is the biggest sin bestowed upon the mankind by THE RELIGION.
So I talk about the seed that is to be sowed long long after the birth when relationship thing has completed its cycle.
In my view its twofold:
Basic: the blueprint of the image stored in one's subconscious.
Contextual: the image that appeals someone consciously.
I can't say if the two images are different. May be or may not be.
My take is, the blueprint of the subconscious haunts us and we contexually choose whoever comes in front similar with the embedded image.