California Smog test... not much interested in tailpipe emissions

If you have had a jump start, replaced your battery, or removed your battery to replace engine parts like I did yesterday, your newer model vehicles with computers will have lost some memory that the smopg test requires as so important, you fail the smog test

What the hell is so essential about the computer memory of my Grand Am? How much time I've spent over the speed limit? How much I've spun the tires to the extent the computer kicks in the idiot light for "Loss of traction" ?

The smog test guy tells me that it's the history of the computer tuning the fuel and exhaust parts that can vary to keep the emissions clean.

I told him that if the emission out the muffler is clean it is good enough for me. I have to come back once I've added a lot of miles to the history of the computer, so the state of California can see that my car doesn't have to work too much to keep the emissions in check

When countries evict the president they hate, and they leave in a hurry, they forget the Ferrari... but the mad countrymen that evicted him didn't

20 years of running Tunisia and making enemies, while abusing the position of power, and gathering personal wealth including this Ferrari 599 GTB ... finally resulted in him running for his life, and these smart guys with a forklift going in and getting his Ferrari

the first 12 seconds are all that show the forklift cruising away from the palace with the Ferrari, the rest is footage from inside the trashed palace.
learned about it on : http://carscoop.blogspot.com/

Stupid drivers are contagious, or hang together... whichever

Here's a simple idea why the US automakers are doomed to never be great and profitable again, 3X more retirees than employees

The Detroit Three's 267,000 hourly retirees and 72,000 surviving spouses
GM has 53,000 hourly employees and Ford has 41,000.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101214/OEM01/101219920/1424#ixzz1A1Yy1Inf

So, if you're curious why a new car costs 6 times more now than in the 60's, 2wice as much as in the 80's... you might draw the connection between the increase in # of retirees and the increase in the cost of a car, I bet that would chart a straight line, lower left to upper right.

(here comes a rant) Moneymaking Speedtraps in Tennessee and Texas, everday guys win the fight against tyranny

If your route to work or NASCAR racing events at the Bristol Motor Speedway goes through Highway 11-E in Bluff City, beware that the local politicians have MADE a speed trap in Bluff City to generate revenue, they didn't take advantage of an existing change of speed limits, they changed 1 mile of roads speed.

YES, MONEYMAKING by effing with highway speeds and creating a speedtrap with cameras just to get your $90.

The 55 mph highway is 2 lanes in both directions, and for a mile, has been effed with to install a 45mph camera zone to screw drivers out of their money so the politicians don't have to stop giving themselves their own pay raises.

A guy who is running for State Rep, Lee White, stood on the roadside with a picket sign to alert drivers of the speedtrap, and gain free publicity for being a nice guy. Fair enough, thank you Lee! http://www2.tricities.com/news/2010/mar/22/lee_white_takes_advantage_of_race_traffic_pickets_-ar-235812/

What really brought this speedtrap to the world's attention was a cool guy that was hit with a ticket, and wasn't putting up with this BS. He looked into the ripoff, and learned that the Bluff City police department were not only assholes for letting this speedtrap happen without protesting it (speedtraps aren't law enforcement) but they also were too stupid to keep their OWN WEBSITE. So the ticketed guy I mentioned, Brian McCrary bought the Police website domain name, and now it protests the speedtrap!

That is, the Police Department website, is now a protest against THEIR OWN SPEEDTRAP! http://www.bluffcitypd.com/

read all about it http://www2.tricities.com/news/2010/jun/07/anti-speed_camera_activist_nabs_bluff_city_pds_exp-ar-233757/

I learned about it at http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/08/man-busted-by-traffic-camera-gets-unique-revenge-on-police-depar/

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Now, in Lakeway Texas, Lance Mitchell, co-founder of the website http://speedtrapahead.org/wordpress/ is fed up with the traps in his town and decided to fight against them by taking to the streets and warning other motorists about nearby speed traps.

If he's out on the road and spots a police officer in a speed trap, Mitchell will backtrack to a spot ahead of the trap, then don a bright orange "Speed Trap Ahead" t-shirt in order to alert other motorists of the waiting radar.

While the Austin American-Statesman ( http://www.statesman.com/news/local/in-lakeway-a-crusade-against-speed-traps-1146294.html?viewAsSinglePage=true excerpt below) notes that it's illegal to warn others of an enforcement action, it is illegal to warn others of an enforcement action, it's not illegal to warn people about the traffic code . In fact, Mitchell believes he is doing the same work as the officers initiating the speed traps but also saving everyone money in the process. People slow down when they see him thus avoiding a ticket and a raise in insurance premiums.

He pissed off the cops running the speedtrap, and they lost their porofessionalism, if they ever had it, and they made it a vendetta to ticket him. The Lakeway Police Department fined him, jailed him and eventually the two went to court. Mitchell won and then turned around and sued the town and a few of its police officers to court and the judge reamed them. Yeah Judge!

Some TEXAS towns have gone so far over the top on speedtraps to raise money for their budget (and give themselves payraises) that the state of Texas passed a law capping the revenue small municipalities may receive from speeding tickets at 30 percent of their total budgets.

here is an excerpt from the Austin American Statesman, the really meaty part that highlights the cop James Debrow (25 year vet of the state police) getting his personal vendetta that started in Apr 2008 going against Mitchell a year later in 2009

Early on April 22, 2009, Mitchell spotted a Lakeway police cruiser set up inside a school zone with a radar gun. He set up his warning station up-road, pointing enthusiastically at his speedtrapahead.org logo shirt whenever a driver passed.

a black police cruiser soon arrives. Mitchell asks if he is being detained.

"We're doing an investigation here," Debrow says. "We'll let you know."

A bit later, Debrow consults with a code enforcement officer who shows up. Another officer takes photos of Mitchell and his truck.

A few minutes later the group approaches Mitchell; an officer asks for his ID.

When he hands over a card with his name, address and birth date, Debrow demands his driver's license. As Mitchell begins to explain how, technically, that is not legally required as he was not driving, Debrow abruptly orders Mitchell handcuffed and placed under arrest.

During the 13 hours he was detained, Mitchell eventually was informed he was being charged with violating Lakeway's sign ordinance by displaying a sign on his shirt and a decal on his truck.

City officials are unaware of police handcuffing and arresting anyone else for sign violations.

Still, the city doggedly pursued its sign violation charges against Mitchell.

"There was more than just a T-shirt," pointed out city prosecutor Scott Taliaferro. "There was also a truck involved."

Lakeway police even tacked on two additional charges against Mitchell: engaging in construction operations that produced noise disturbances. The charges seemed to baffle even the prosecution, and they were dismissed before the trial.

In testimony, the Lakeway officer who wrote the tickets, Hector Almaguer, insisted he was simply following orders from Debrow, who'd instructed him to call if he ever saw Mitchell exposing a speed trap. He also said Debrow told him the local judge had issued a standing order to have Mitchell arrested.

"I about jumped three inches out of my chair when I heard that," the municipal judge, Kevin Madison, recalled. "That is absolutely not true."

Idiot who drove around the police barrier because he thought his Porsche could make it regardless of the flood level river running over the road

The next moron at least didn't risk a Porsche at the next road crossing the valley, same result though

The San Diego River floods over these 2 roads, and one more I didn't bother photographing, every year when the rain storm hits for more than one day. This happens a couple times minimum every rainy season. No one is shocked that the police put up these ribbon barriers and try in this minimulist way to keep people from trying to drive across the river.

PMC head honcho was taking photos near Fashion Valley Mall: http://piratemonkeycult.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/rain-pics/

Hear that screaming? Hear the cry of outrage? Yup, they just looked at this GT500 Shelby Mustang Cobra on a junkyard heap of junk cars. The point is

that this should get us fired up, like when Car Craft once had a photo of a Camaro that was being eaten by the jungle slowly... and the submission was accompanied by the phrase "we lost one, but let it be remembered by saving others" (Adam Rosenbaum, Portland Maine)

from http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=428585&page=561

it reminded me of

that I posted a couple years ago http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/12/no-one-will-likely-ever-know-what.html

Why do people with white dogs rent cars with black interiors? It's wrong to leave all this dog hair in a rental

pardon the lousy photos, but cell phone cameras aren't sophisticated about colors, contrast, and all the finer points of photography

What a jerk. Didn't have the courtesy enough to just go another block and pull 3 right turns

Bryan asked where this is... he said it looks familiar, and seemed to him to be near LAX... well, close. It's at the East side of San Diego International Airport. This is the intersection of Laurel and Pacific Highway. That Shell station on the left of the photo is the same one with the $15 2 gallon gas can
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/11/if-you-ever-run-out-of-gas-beware-shell.html

California lawmakers can't pass or balance a budget, but get 5 million dollars worth of new cars annually for their personal use

Don't sweat it... it's the only state that wastes money on rich politicians automotive needs. Well, unless you count free gas and insurance... I bet your lawmakers and politicians don't pay for gas or insurance. I bet they get chauffered limos as a way around your state purchasing cars for them. You likely know they get a lifelong pension better than double your annual income, free medical care you can't afford, and you'd scream to be told the free overseas flights on "fact finding missions" and subsequent luxury hotel accomodations and vacation in overseas countries.

Wankers as the Brits would call them (in polite company)

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2010/12/03/free-luxury-cars-for-lawmakers-amid-calif-budget-mess/ has the following to report about it: (I'm summarizing to avoid copyright BS)

California is the only state to provide rank-and-file lawmakers a luxury perk as the state has a 6 billion dollar deficit.
The state buys cars for lawmakers unlimited use under a decades-old program.
It spent more than $5 million for the latest suite of vehicles, including a $55,000 Cadillac and a $52,000 Lexus.


I listened to this today on KNX am 1070 Los Angeles

Think all of this is nuts? Heard of Speaker of the House Pelosi?
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=231461
"Since 2007, we U.S. taxpayers have paid $2,100,745 for now-outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to make 85 flights aboard a 42-seat Air Force C-32 – which is the size of a Boeing 757"