AutoPuzzles - The Internet's Museum of Rare Cars!
AutoPuzzles Today => Features, Stories and Photos => Topic started by: MG on November 20, 2009, 07:51:02 AM
-
Herewith, gentlemen, a new thread to introduce all of you to my meanderings, maundering and occasional brain farts that I call "my writing". :lmao:
Just about every day, I craft a short article that is somehow related to the world of transportation for Examiner.com. Several of those stories have been aided and abetted by active AP contributors like Otto Puzzell (aka Otto Weak, aka Karn Utz and possibly dozens of other pseudonyms) and faksta. I am always interested in any car related stories for my daily drivel, so if you have something in mind, please feel free to share it with me. I will make you a STAR! ;D Or at least temporarily famous.
The title of this thread pays homage to the fact that I am a recidivist when it comes to a lust for British cars and a certified, 24 carat old fart. :D
Today's story comes straight from the Office of the Press Secretary in Assington, DC, the place where all OUR money gets transferred daily to THEIR pockets, for the overall benefit of mankind.
Enjoy!
US & China To Cooperate On Electric Car Development (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d20-US-and-China-to-cooperate-on-electric-car-development)
-
Spend an afternoon learning all about Twitter and start promoting yourself there. You can find me under AutoPuzzles. Follow the people I follow there. Trust me, it would benefit your writing and your presence on the auto scene.
:-\
-
I follow you..
-
I follow you..
Didn't know that but I see you on there now!
:D
-
I am ashamed to say that I know nothing about Twitter. :(
Don't you have to have one of those iPhone thingies to do that? I just have an ordinary cell phone that makes and receives calls. I am so last century..... :hyper:
I suppose one would begin by going to Twitter.com? ???
-
I suppose one would begin by going to Twitter.com? ???
Bingo. Go there, sign up as the Providence Auto Examiner and look for AutoPuzzles. Check out the list of people I follow. Add any that appeal to you. I know all the F1 journos, drivers and personalities will. Then search for others that interest you. Tweet almost everyday about what you are up to. No one wants to follow you if you have nothing to say.
-
Hey MG. Look at what happened on the Who's Online page when I Twittered about my trip to the Bay City Auto Company.
Guest 12:14:18 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
jrpola 12:14:00 PM Printing the topic "Italian Coachbuilders".
Guest 12:12:54 PM Viewing the topic Automobile Evolution Group Puzzle #2.
Guest 12:12:18 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
Guest 12:12:11 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
Guest 12:12:10 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
Guest 12:12:04 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
Guest 12:12:02 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
Guest 12:11:58 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
Guest 12:11:55 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
Guest 12:11:49 PM Viewing the topic Bay City Auto Company.
You could be generating those hits for your articles with a little getting up and answering the door. You feel me?
-
Well, I dunno about FEELING you, man. :yuck: But I definitely learned something. I read about idiots like John McCain "tweeting" from the Senate floor and idiot football players "tweeting" from the bench during a game and it all seems kinda silly to me.
But I guess its time to drag myself into the 21st Century..... I suppose next I'll be upgrading my 386 machine with Window 95 or something....... ::)
-
You feel me is 21st century lingo. :P
Seriously, you don't need it on the phone, it is fun though, but you should follow the people who you write about and get info from them in the manner they give it and you should publicize what you do by whatever means are available to you. Any reason you give for not doing so is really just an excuse for not making 100% effort.
-
Well, I dunno about FEELING you, man. :yuck: But I definitely learned something. I read about idiots like John McCain "tweeting" from the Senate floor and idiot football players "tweeting" from the bench during a game and it all seems kinda silly to me.
But I guess its time to drag myself into the 21st Century..... I suppose next I'll be upgrading my 386 machine with Window 95 or something....... ::)
MG: Here's the scoop on Twitter.
It is a micro-blog. You have 140 characters in which to pique peoples interest, and get them to click on a link to what you're tweeting. People monitor tweets on their phones and on the web.
Some interesting data:
• 4:3:2 - the ratio of mobile devices to PC’s, and PC’s to TV’s globally.
• 4 billion text messages daily. In much of the world, the mobile device is the PC platform of choice and necessity.
• There are now more communications daily on SN’s than on e-mail
• 11% of the world’s population is on Twitter.
• 3 million daily Tweets.
These stats are not from Twitter. They are from the Forrester Group, and Nielsen, two well-respected organizations in the word of technical trends measurement and media user stats.
If you want to ride the wave, get a surfboard here:
http://mashable.com/
-
Hey, Ultra
What do we got to do to get a Twitter / Facebook / etc. linking tool up outta you?
-
Hey, Ultra
What do we got to do to get a Twitter / Facebook / etc. linking tool up outta you?
Don't know how to do that.
Hmmm.
-
Hey, Ultra
What do we got to do to get a Twitter / Facebook / etc. linking tool up outta you?
Don't know how to do that.
Hmmm.
I can add one to the front page; does SMF offer a widget for the forum?
-
I can add one to the front page; does SMF offer a widget for the forum?
We need to update the software before things. like that become available. P-head? However I have my ways of incorporating things and I can probably incorporate it into the board pages now.
-
I can add one to the front page; does SMF offer a widget for the forum?
We need to update the software before things. like that become available. P-head? However I have my ways of incorporating things and I can probably incorporate it into the board pages now.
I'll see if I can add one to my signature. Then I can tweet every puzzle I like!
-
I just saw the "Borstminnar" exchange on Twitter. That's a riot! :lmao:
-
What is your Twitter ID?
-
Really? It sounds like what got Matthew Shepard killed! :o
Or something Larry Craig might say in the men's room at an airport..... ::)
Anyway, I appreciate the input. :-* Gotta find out about this stuff. And PDQ, too!
-
What is your Twitter ID?
All: my Twitter handle is KarnUtz
(I have an older "professional" twitter handle that I use for work, and the twain shall not converge).
-
Today's article focuses on the arcane world of Formula One and involves on M. Schumacher (http://www.examiner.com/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d21-Michael-Schumacher-To-Return-To-Formula-One?cid=exrss-Providence-Automotive-Examiner)
And my new to me Twitter handle is SteveHanleyRI. ;D
-
Today's article focuses on the arcane world of Formula One and involves on M. Schumacher (http://www.examiner.com/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d21-Michael-Schumacher-To-Return-To-Formula-One?cid=exrss-Providence-Automotive-Examiner)
And my new to me Twitter handle is SteveHanleyRI. ;D
Be sure to check out the list of who I follow and follow the F1 journos and personalities.
-
Two stories for the price of one today, lads! ;D
First, Koeniggsegg (http://www.examiner.com/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d24-Koeniggsegg-backs-out-of-Saab-deal?cid=exrss-Providence-Automotive-Examiner) pulls the rug out from under the Saab deal.
Second, a look at some pretty amazing concept cars (http://www.examiner.com/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d24-Thirteen-tasty-and-tempting-ecocar-concepts)that use electric motors and/or alternative energy.
Enjoy!
-
Bogo rules! Especially when the first one is free. 8)
-
A tasty video of the Lexus LFA (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d25-Coming-to-America-150-Lexus-LFAs) on track! :bow:
-
Awesome car! :thumbsup:
Read about it in one of the last issues of auto motor & sport which is the most important car mag in Germany.
Normaly rather reserved about Japanese cars they gave the LFA the highest ratings (incl. price and availability :-\)
I mostly like its unique design.
-
For those of you inside the US, here is your Thanksgiving Day present. (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d26-Happy-Thanksgiving)
For those of you outside the US, pay no attention to this. YOU still have to go to work today, so get your lazy butt out of bed, shave and go catch the bus. You governments need your tax dollars to support all the important programs they offer. ;D
-
A clever people powered urban vehicle from Holland is the subject of today's story (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d27-Terrific-Tricycle).
-
And at the opposite end of the spectrum the new all electric Rolls Royce Phantom! (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m11d28-An-electric-Rolls-Royce-Phantom-on-the-horizon)
-
For Twitter to work for you, Steve, you have to follow a lot of people on it who have Automotive leanings. Then they start following you. Even your wife is doing it. It is called networking.
:P
-
I know. I know. I'm a Luddite.... :D
-
News from the top echelon of GM.
GM Board Gives Henderson The Boot (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Henderson-ousted-by-General-Motors-board)
-
From the LA Auto Show
New Ford Fiesta Revealed (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d3-New-Ford-Fiesta-wows-em-in-LA)
-
Not as sexy as the new Boxster Spyder or the latest Belchfire 5000 from Deeeetroit, but pretty significant development from the gang at Muppet Labs, aka Nissan.
Nissan Claims Battery Breakthrough (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d4-Nissan-announces-battery-breakthrough)
-
If you didn't see it on the front page, Paul Jaray is now an international celebrity. :hah: I have used his pictures of the Mille Miglia to create a story at Examiner.com. I even managed to slip in a plug for AutoPuzzles while I was at it. No, don't thank me. Just go to Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d7-The-Mille-Miglia) and read the article. That's all the thanks I require.
Paul was most gracious and helpful putting this story together. I am indebted to him for the use of his excellent photographs and for his encyclopedic knowledge of vintage motorcars.
Enjoy!! ;D
-
For Twitter to work for you, Steve, you have to follow a lot of people on it who have Automotive leanings. Then they start following you. Even your wife is doing it. It is called networking.
:P
F1 drivers on twitter
http://twittermotorsports.com/wiki/Formula_One
http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=110505
-
If you didn't see it on the front page, Paul Jaray is now an international celebrity. :hah: I have used his pictures of the Mille Miglia to create a story at Examiner.com. I even managed to slip in a plug for AutoPuzzles while I was at it. No, don't thank me. Just go to Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d7-The-Mille-Miglia) and read the article. That's all the thanks I require.
Paul was most gracious and helpful putting this story together. I am indebted to him for the use of his excellent photographs and for his encyclopedic knowledge of vintage motorcars.
Enjoy!! ;D
You did a real nice job on that one.
-
Thank you. It was a fun article to write, as opposed to the current one, which extols the buying process at Jaguar dealerships across the land. ::) But "news" articles are the ones that rank high in the world according to Google, and so news stories there will be aplenty. But the ones I really care about will be interspersed between press releases about the latest lug nut technology and how to convert engine sludge into compost.
The path to glory is often strewn with drivel. :-[
-
Speaking of drivel, here is today's little sermonette on winter driving techniques (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d10-10-winter-driving-tips).
-
Today is my day to unmask the myth about plug in cars (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d15-Plugin-cars-hype-or-hope). This is the first piece in which I have injected my personal opinions. We'll see what happens. Controversy generally makes for good marketing! ;D
-
:applause:
Letting the market decide is code for letting people decide what is best for them. A novel idea in a centrally planned totalitarian democratic socialist country like ours.
-
Looking at the comments to the original article that triggered mine, I see most (all) commenters other than me think the NRC report is a bunch of crap, done by incompetent government buffoons who are cranking out reports to please their corporate masters.
And that may be true! :o They also suggest that the price of gasoline is going to skyrocket as China and India add billions of new drivers to the world's highways. That may also be true. They further suggest that battery technology will progress at a much faster rate than what the report assumes, that there are any number of jaw dropping breakthroughs in technology just over the next horizon and that soon our cars will be net energy exporters and we will all be selling our excess electricity back to the grid. That may also be true.
I will acknowledge that figures lie and liars figure. I will also acknowledge that industry HAS been know to influence the results of government funded research. All that being said, however, our government seems to have taken up the cause of the plug-in hybrid with a degree of zeal that makes me suspicious. Maybe I am just a suspicious fellow. But I have a lifetime of experience with half witted and hare brained government programs to substantiate my paranoid tendencies.
The European manufacturers are scratching their heads trying to figure out just why our government is buying in so completely to the plug-in program. They have lots of cars available that reasonably priced and super efficient compared to ours. But they can't sell them here because the public perception is that only plug-ins are the answer, even though the vast majority of folks don't even know what the question is. ::)
My brief is this. I don't give a rat's ass about global warming, green house gasses or holes in the ozone. Whatever damage has been done is impossible to reverse in my lifetime and frankly, my lifetime is, per force, pretty much what is most important to me. What I want to see happen is for America to turn all those supertankers around, send them back where they came from, pump the oil back under the sand. We can do that by dramatically raising the average fuel economy of ALL vehicles within our borders with a mix of plug-ins, fuel cells, photovoltaics, diesels, diesel hybrids and the use of fuels from non-food sources. Then we could close our military bases in all 127 countries around the globe where we presently have American soldiers stationed primarily to guarantee the continued flow of cheap oil, bring our military home and focus our resources on rebuilding the crumbling American infrastructure, providing an environment for all our citizens that promotes a healthy and happy life style and getting the government out of our bedrooms, out of our medical records, and out of our thought processes so that we can all get on with the "purfuit of happineff" guaranteed to us by the Constitution.
Is that too much to ask? :lmao:
-
Ask away. Don't expect any answers you were hoping to hear.
:P
-
Today's article (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d16-The-diesel-dilemma) takes a look at the diesel side of the equation. There's a nice surprise in there for car enthusiasts, too!
-
Nice job of presenting the alternatives to Plug ins.
-
MG,
In my experience, rust crunches - it doesn't rumble. Should you perhaps re-title this thread Rusted Crunching?
-
I'm more a fan of alliteration than I am of proper syntax! :D
And thanks for the compliment, Ultra. What really pissed me off in the Popular Mechanics article saying that no one would be interesting in a 40 mpg, diesel powered Malibu. I think that is a fatuous statement. A diesel Malibu would likely retail for $10,000 less than a Volt. What's WRONG with having a big comfortable car that gets great gas mileage? We all saw the Top Gear episode where Clarkson was unable to run out of fuel in a diesel Jaguar saloon. The damn thing got nearly 700 miles on a tankful! :o All this plug-in stuff is great for SOME drivers. But as the head of marketing for Audi said this week, there has to be a variety of vehicles in the transportation mix.
I REALLY object to the government using MY money to tilt the marketplace in favor of some interest groups and away from others. That is just, well, UN AMERICAN! >:( Or maybe I am just a slobbering sentimentalist (there's that alliteration thing again) who still believes in the tooth fairy. ::)
-
Here's (http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2009/12/2009-mini-e-i-cant-live-like-this.html) an article from Edmunds.com about what its like to live with an electric vehicle (eMINI) right now. Of course things will change. But right now? No thank you.
If you scroll down through the comments, you will find one long one from an eMINI apologist. While all his comments are correct, what he is basically saying that if one is willing to adapt to the car, there should be no problems. But one of the things I loved about my Prius was that the driver didn't have to adapt to a damn thing. You got in the car and drove it. When the gas gauge got low, you put gas in it.Drive it like a Sunday School teacher and you could get incredible mileage. Drive it con brio, you got less mileage but more fun than dawdling along in the right lane at 55. It actually had competent, if not exciting, handling. And it expected no compromises from the driver.
In the future, things will be different. Makes me want to break out my copy of Steely Dan's IGY! :P
-
Although, if you think about it, much of our lives today has been built around accommodating the cars we already have. We've just been living with it all along, so it seems like a natural part of life.
-
What? You mean like basing the design of everything we do every day on the needs of the automobile? :hah:
OK. You make a valid point.
Love your seasonal avatar, btw. V. nice! ;D
-
Today's sermonette focuses on the winning design from the Copenhagen city design contest.
OPENbike Concept (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d21-OPENbike-wins-Copenhagen-prize)
Interesing videos included. No extra charge!
-
And today's lunacy of the moment is........Chariot Skates! (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2009m12d22-Chariot-Skates--Most-fun-since-the-Big-Wheel)
-
Very cool.
Sear Santa, if it's not too late...
-
Probably great fun, though high speed deceleration is a serious problem I guess.
-
No worse than controlling your speed on a double black diamond ski trail named "Death's Door" or "Devil's Plaything", I should imagine! :lmao:
-
Have you heard about the Robin Hood Rally? No? Well, now (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21840-Providence-Automotive-Examiner~y2010m1d3-So-You-Think-You-Can-Drive) you have! :P