Category Archives: 7. Miscellany

Shame on You Triple A Roadside Assistance

Shame on you Triple A Roadside Assistance.  Shame on you…

You know, there was a time when corporate pride meant something.  I remember a day when companies would go out of their way to make their vehicles look in tip-top shape.  Examples of buses, 18-wheelers, and everyday delivery trucks.  Unfortunately, this is not the case anymore.  Drive on any Interstate Highway and you will see filthy trucks with “wash me” written on the sides or better yet, totally banged up examples like the one in today’s post.  Take a look…

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I saw this truck on my way to work this morning.  This is an “Emergency Services” Triple A (AAA) Battery Service truck.  Take a closer look.  This poor Chevy truck has been driven hard and put up wet.  Pretty much every panel on this truck was nicely banged up – I suppose maybe AAA is into NASCRAP racing with their emergency trucks these days!  There was definitely some “tradin’ paint” going on here.

Remember the movie “Days of Thunder” (it sucked)?  Remember the part where Cole was told to “go out and hit the pacer car” because there is still one corner of the car that is not dented?  I guess somebody told the driver of this truck to do that very thing.  What a shame Triple AAA.  You have hit a new low.

Adding insult to injury, take a look at that rear bumper:IMG_1617

I am not a card carrying member of the Triple A network, but if I were stranded on the side of the road and had this lousy truck show up I would wonder who needs who?  Know what I’m saying?

Triple A, tell you what:  you need to pay close attention to probably the last of the vehicles that mean something.  Love it or hate it, but the South Carolina Highway Patrol goes out of its way to keep their aging fleet of Crown Vics in excellent shape.  I have never seen one of their cruisers banged up or even scratched up.  Matter of fact they even go to the trouble of using zip-wraps on the hubcaps to keep them from making a premature high speed departure.

So yes, Triple A – shame on you…

Missing Spare Tire

On the way to lunch today, I saw the following vehicle with a missing spare tire…

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This gives new meaning to not having a spare tire.  I mean, take the trouble to hang the rim back on the hanger, with no tire?  Oh well.  You see all kind of things on the road these days.  But just to highlight how irresponsible the driver was…  When we passed this vehicle, the driver/operator was busy texting.

I’m a big supporter of technology.  The more the better.  But when it comes to texting and driving, that is just unacceptable.  This driver gave new meaning to irresponsible.

Bad Muffler…

We’ve had a ton of rain around my neck of the woods these days and this pisses me off.  I haven’t driven any of my toys lately:  bowtie6 as awesome of a ride as it is unfortunately leaks in the desert; and my pristine S2000 is just too refined for rainy days.  Yeah, she is way too pampered…  :mrgreen:

But I digress…

Today, the sun was out (for a change) and the humidity was tolerable so I took the S2K to work.  On the way there, I saw the following driven-hard and put-up-wet automobile, sporting dealer tags in early rush hour traffic.

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Please forgive the picture quality but my iPhone as nice as it is, has limitations.  At any rate I thought this was a pretty pathetic used car on the road.  Check out the bad muffler, within an inch of the road and its life.  Prior to reaching this intersection the highly capable driver went over a bump and sparks flew off the muffler very much the way vintage 80’s F1 cars would when their titanium skidplates would contact the deck.  Except in this case, the sparks came off a much abused muffler.

What did this poor car do to deserve this?  Adding insult to injury, the ubiquitous South Carolina dealer tag.  Makes you wonder what poor minimum-wage earner (the prime target of the unscrupulous used-car dealer) will fall prey to buying this much abused car for basic transportation.

Used car dealer: 1; Used car 0.  🙁

LSx in a Honda S2000

I found today’s picture while randomly surfing the web: an LSx in a Honda S2000.  Holy crap on a Ritz cracker.  Damn!  This is what I am talking about.

Don’t take me wrong, Honda’s S2000 is a mighty special machine it its own right.  I know; I own a pristine example.  The F20C engine is – in my opinion – the only “true” engine on the S2K revving all the way to an astonishing 9000 RPM’s.  As good at the F20C is however, torque is not exactly what I would call one of the S2K’s stellar features.  Instead, one has to keep the engine high in the rev range to enjoy a spirited ride.  And when I say “spirited” I mean this as a kick-in-the-ass kinda ride.  It is awesome.

But… What would make this ride even better?  Turbo?  Supercharger? Meh.  Boring…

If you are going to do it, do it right.  Just like the photo above.  Now we are talking!  I have no idea if handling would go to hell with the extra weight of the LSx lump but note that even with an LSx the majority of the engine is still behind the front axle plane.   The dude that owns this blue S2K certainly did a top-notch job.  Note how incredibly clean that installation is.  Very hard to do.

No.  I am not proposing cutting up my very special S2K.  She stays stock.  But…  Who knows.  Finding a high mileage, decent body would be an excellent platform for something like this.  Wow.  Possibilities are endless!!

Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner

Fifty some years ago, the Ford Motor Company decided to build the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner.  This beauty had a fully retractable hard top (eat your heart out BMW!) that folded itself in a very complicated way into the trunk.

Well, turns out tonight I was watching the six o’clock local news and they ran a story on the retractable top Fairlane.  The story talked about how the International Ford Retractable Club had its 2013 National Convention here in Greenville, South Carolina.  As expected, the inept reporter from Channel 4’s staff conveniently talked about everything but where the cars were on display.  A little Googling solved the problem:  the cars were on display at the local Hilton.

Since today was the last day of the meet, I decided to jump in the S2K and head out to the Hilton’s parking lot.  Sure enough, a few of these timeless beauties were still on display.  Oh man!  What a treat.  I took a few photos which I have added to the following gallery.  If you are on my mailing list you might want to visit the site:  the photo gallery does not transfer to the email.  Take a look and make sure to click on the photos – they will open to their full size!

Some priceless gems, don’t you think?  The turquoise 1959 is very impressive, with the entire top mechanism in full display.  The trailer queens were equally amazing.  Several others were safely stowed in fully covered trailers.  Some parting notes:

  • I thought the “Air Conditioned by Ford Select Aire” emblem was pretty awesome.  Most intriguing, the emblem only appeared on the passenger’s side.
  • How about the “Continental” kit affixed to the rear of the car with the spare tire mount.  I bet it took some getting used to the fact that an extra 2 or 3 feet worth of chrome is behind the trunk.
  • The paint colors on these cars is just so awesome!  Just imagine what these beauties looked like back in the day with their bright paintwork and gleaming chrome.
  • Fender skirts…  Chrome…  Body colour dashes…  Fender Fins…  All centerfolds in their own right – classic automotive porn at its finest!