The Great Ethanol Scam: Inefficiencies And... Destroying Engines?

aux.link.: The Great Ethanol Scam - BusinessWeek

Environmentaljihadists Jealous Of Your Stuff, Make You Feel Guilty For It

aux.link.: Living Environmental alarms raised over consumer electronics Seattle Times Newspaper

One of the comments for the article at the time of this posting is brilliant... "How may Polar Bears will be killed when everyone has to plug in the electric cars we will be forced to buy in the near future?"

Firm Develops Hybrid Hummer H3: 100MPG To Spite Algore

aux.link.: Raser Technologies develops 100MPG Hummer H3 just to spite Al Gore

Sticking it to the Man - Another Adventure Into Government Overreaching

aux.link.: Sticking it to the Man - Patrick Bedard - Car And Driver

The article showcased is a great example of why yours truly owns a Valentine One radar locator to protest against The Man's interference and inept judgement in how I should operate my vehicle.

"Back in Arizona’s analog days of sweaty horses and dusty trails, men with guns would hide behind rocks, and when the stagecoach came along, they jumped out and demanded money. This was called highway robbery.

Now the state installs robots with radar guns along roads. In this digital era, no horses are abused and no men jump out. The demand for $165 plus costs comes in the mail. And it’s no longer called highway robbery. Now it’s “balancing the budget.” "

Environmentaljihadists/CA Gov't. Killing Business

aux.link.: Mandate could force gas stations out of business - Pasadena Star-News

Ethanol Worst Form of Renewable Energy

aux.link.: Stanford University Study Shows Ethanol to be Worst Form of Renewable Energy

"Mark Jacobson, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford University, recently conducted a study that ranked alternate energies from best to worst. Ethanol was put to the test against, "Solar-photovoltaic (PV), concentrated solar power (CSP), wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave, tidal, nuclear, and coal with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology." After looking at reports of air pollutants from energy types on climate and air quality, and comparing how well each energy type was able to power vehicles, the study showed that Ethanol came in dead last.

It seems that the report found that wind-powered battery electric vehicles as well as wind-powered hydrogen fuel cells were the greenest ways to go. The immediate problem now, is the fact that driving a wind-powered battery electric vehicle is horrendously expensive, let alone impractical. And for its part, Ethanol has already received huge support from the automotive industry and the U.S. government. Finding an appropriately sized role for ethanol, with adequate support for the greener of the new green-tech is easier said than done."

Sheriff Baits Fugitives With Holiday Ruse

aux.link.: My Way News - Chicago sheriff baits fugitives with holiday ruse

This is just brilliant. Now, if only more jurisdictions would concentrate on capturing bad guys with fantastic ideas like this and patrolling for real crime instead of just setting up speed traps to catch yours truly - and others who think that 100mph can be a reasonable and prudent velocity in the right conditions - America would be a better place for citizen and driver alike. Kudos, Sheriff.

NASCAR Should Die With Any Auto Bailout

aux.link.: If automakers get a bailout, should NASCAR die? - Autoblog



I'm actually agreeing with Slate on this one, care of Autoblog:

"A columnist over at Slate.com is recommending -- and not lightly, he wants you to know -- that with the domestic automakers enduring "Detroit's version of The Troubles," now would be a good time to "euthanize" NASCAR. He makes a long argument, but the crux of it is simple: if the domestics get a heap of money from the government, should that money really be used to sponsor a specialized race series that arguably doesn't have the national pull or the return it once did? His supporting arguments are sometimes disingenuous and occasionally slightly off-base, but the question is worth considering. If the public loans money to the automakers, who decides where that money is spent? Yet, if Ford, GM, and Chrysler were to do the same thing to NASCAR that Honda, Suzuki, Audi, and Subaru have been doing, well... that would leave NASCAR as a one-make series featuring, ta-da, Toyota. And wouldn't that be something to see?"

Audi: The (New) Ultimate Driving Machine

aux.link.: No Audi R8 competitor coming from BMW - Autoblog

"It's a sign of the times. After having rolled out the delectable M1 Hommage concept, one BMW board member says that the Bavarian automaker has no intention of producing a supercar to compete with the likes of the Audi R8. Instead, BMW will focus on green technologies.

The news comes straight from Klaus Draeger, the board member at the helm of the EfficientDymanics initiative. While Audi continues to produce more powerful and more desirable versions of the R8, Mercedes prepares entirely new supercars and Porsche continues to do what Porsche has always done, the company that once hailed itself as the producers of the "Ultimate Driving Machine" is more concerned with hybrids than sportscars." -Autoblog

Shameless plug for Audi- the official automotive marque of YHPS.

Sheikh Flies Lamborghini To UK For Oil Change

aux.link.: Sheikh flies Lamborghini 6,500 miles to Britain for oil change

This pissed off several groups of environmentaljihadist hippies, so naturally it gets posted here. Enjoy.

Facinating Example Of An Economic Divide

aux.link: Shrinking fuel supplies causing mad scramble

TIJUANA – Truck and bus drivers experienced a day of chaos in Tijuana yesterday, as they chased a dwindling supply of diesel fuel. Today was shaping up to be even worse.

For weeks, drivers from the United States have snapped up Mexican diesel, which is selling for about 50 percent less than in California. That has resulted in a shortage of the fuel, and gas stations nearest the border crossings started halting or limiting sales last weekend.

By yesterday, diesel had started to run out at outlying stations, provoking delays or cancellations in public and private transportation. New supplies might not arrive until Monday. Long lines of trucks and buses, their drivers desperate to buy diesel, formed at those stations still selling the fuel.

Public transportation officials announced that if they could not refuel their buses they would halt service today, a decision that affects at least 750,000 daily riders.

Hooray for government subsidies! Best line from one of the comments at the bottom of this article...

"By letsgofathers on 6/19/2008 at 10:16 a.m.
Steal our healthcare we steal your gas."

Screw NASCAR: Watch 24 Heures du Mans

aux.links: VIDEO: The GT2 finish at Sebring - Autoblog & 24 Hours of Le Mans - Wikipedia

It starts tomorrow, and Audi is going for an unheard-of streak of five wins in a row driving superlative vehicles. Here's a sample from the 12-hour GT2 class in Sebring last year on why it rocks.

RUSH: Cubans Granted Mobile Phone Sales, Use

aux.link: FOXNews.com - Cubans Mob Cell Phone Stores as Service Becomes Available

This is great, though a very small start. I hope there are plenty of old Chevy and Trabant body shop mechanics ready for a swell in business...

NASCAR Coach Reveals Secrets Of Driving

I've laughed so hard I'm crying hysterically. This is embarassing. For me and them.



Viva F1, LeMans and WRC. I pray to God (literally) that they catch on more in America. RIP Speedvision.

Don't Give That 750iL Another Look- It's Leased

aux.link: $30,000 Millionaires: Douchebags in the Mist

A co-worker sent this excellent article to me today. As a yuppie with a real job and a salary paying considerably more than the stereotype, I found it hilarious. Specifically because I dodge it with a 5-year old Volkswagen approaching 100k miles, my pleated pants, a weird pint of beer in one hand, and my hot doctor wife in the other. So even though I greatly appreciate the Bentley Continental GT that I showcase at the top of this site, I have the common sense to not lease one.

It is clowns like them who have provided the consumer base for our country's current credit crisis.

Dakar Rally Canceled After Terror Threat

aux.link: Dakar Rally Canceled After Terror Threat

As an everything-but-NASCAR motorsports fan, having terrorism directly touch an aspect of this sports genre is particularly disheartening. The easy way for the organizers of this rally (an off-road race from Paris to Dakar through the African Sahara desert and scrublands) to deal with this was quit in the face of terror, which they did and they acknowledge that. But I think these race participants are still plenty adventerous enough to go on. Even if things aren't what they used to be now in 2008, maybe it's just time for the co-pilot to add a new piece of equipment next to the fire extinguisher.

A D.C. Prius Stunt And My Thoughts On Hybrids

Not only was this little episode annoying, it was also offensive in more ways than one.

WASHINGTON — When Congress sent an energy bill to President Bush for his signature, it arrived in a Japanese-built Toyota Prius hybrid — a move that rubbed two Michigan Republicans the wrong way. "It is a huge slap in the face, calculated I believe, just to demonstrate their complete disregard for the domestic auto industry," said Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich.

To Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., it was a "slap in the face of every American auto worker."

They said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., could have provided the same symbolism by sending the bill Wednesday in a U.S.-built hybrid made by Ford Motor Co. or General Motors Corp.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, said the Republicans were "merely attempting to distract from the success of the Democratic energy security legislation" and noted that 95 House Republicans supported the bill. He said the bill would encourage the development of hybrids and alternative vehicles. Hammill said the Prius was owned by an employee with the Office of the Clerk, which sends bills to the White House.

The bill requires that automakers increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent to an industry average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

The Prius, the most popular gas-electric hybrid in the United States, gets a combined 46 mpg in city and highway driving. The Prius and the 2008 Honda Civic hybrid, which gets a combined 42 mpg, are the only two hybrids sold in the United States today that would meet the new mileage requirements set for 2020.

But, freedom-sucking policy delivery via a Ford Escape Hybrid or otherwise, the point is that hybrid vehicles from any manufacturer are still the most overhyped and worthless products marketed towards leftists since the Pet Rock. Especially in this case, the bill delivery using such a set of wheels only showcases the incompetence of anybody involved in the event's shipment and receiving. And also of its far more ridiculous cargo that will mandate ridiculous fuel efficiency standards- a showcase of incompetent and wasteful legislation in of itself. Folks... crap like this is why Congressional approval ratings are at record lows.

Furthermore, since I can't stand hybrids and enjoy watching this video over and over (ok, I'll be a little more serious- this one), let me also note that environmentaljihadists only drive hybrids for the smug factor and because they have to have a car. They would be astounded to know how much more capable, environmental friendly and stronger clean-burning diesel vehicles are overall in comparison. Or that from dust-to-dust, a Jeep Wrangler is more environmentally friendly and creates less of a 'carbon footprint', if there's any reason to tally such a thing.

And while we're on the subject, my non-diesel 2003 Volkswagen Passat gets 34mpg on the highway, and it's a regular gasoline engine with a zippy turbocharger, good for 210hp/240 ft. lbs. of power (after I modified the engine management software for greater efficiency, still 31mpg stock). A pricier and cheaper-feeling 2006 Honda Accord Hybrid gets only 2mpg better at a cost of several thousand more. Two words, hybrid-loving manufacturers: nice try. But, not really. Scrap your plans and go diesel already. Volkswagen has the best diesel's in the industry, but its recent 'green' campaign has this German-loving motorist eyeing an Audi for his next chariot. Naturally a big one with a V8 or better... while I still can.

2 Michigan Republicans Irked by Prius as Delivery Vehicle for Energy Bill

Hell On Wheels

Why isn't logic like this more obvious? Oh wait, because we have socialist Democrats in Congress... Watch this great video from free market and common sense guru comedian, Drew Carey.



reason.tv - Videos > Gridlock

Yoko Ono Sounds Off With Some Logic?

She did, for once.

YOKO ONO will never use an environmentally friendly car - because they are not as comfortable as her Bentley. The wife of late Beatle John Lennon has snubbed the Hybrid car - which is popular with Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and Leonardo Di Caprio for its low pollution levels - in favour of travelling in luxury. She says, "Can someone make Hybrid cars as comfortable as a Bentley, please?"

Psst... crazy broad... check out the Lexus LS460h if you must. But it's still a car with the soul of a Camry and won't have the panache of your Bentley.

ONO BLASTS ECO FRIENDLY CARS

Americans 'Willing To Sacrifice' SUVs?

Crap article from some local outlet likely run by community college dropouts, but point nonetheless.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards told a labor group he would ask Americans to make a big sacrifice: their sport utility vehicles.

The former North Carolina senator told a forum by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, yesterday he thinks Americans are willing to sacrifice.

Edwards says Americans should be asked to drive more fuel efficient vehicles. He says he would ask them to give up SUVs.

Well... okay. Is there a collection center already setup where we can drop these off, John? That's where you're on your way to in yours below, right?

Edwards: Americans should sacrifice their SUVs

Calculating My Carbon Footprint

By strictly pitting annual walking miles (travel) to beer consumption (fuel). Irrelevant, but amusing. Stick with me here, folks...

It's said that a recent survey revealed that the average American walks 900 miles per year. Another survey revealed that the average American consumes 20 gallons of beer per year. Considering these two results, one could conclude that the average American gets 45 miles per gallon. That’s great. However, by my calculations of beer consumption annually (est. 4320 oz./yr.), I’m only getting about 26.67mpg.

Now consider, that I sit on my ass probably twice as much as the average American, drive everywhere I go, and dream of owning a Segway for bathroom runs. That puts me at no better than 450 walking miles annually, further reducing my fuel efficiency to 13.33mpg – about the same as a V12 twin-turbo Bentley Continental GT drafting a semi-truck uphill on a 4% grade. That makes my efficiency nearly one quarter of the national average, and generating almost four times the average carbon footprint, making me that much more to blame for global warming than the next bloke.

My bad, guys.

EU Enviros Want To Ban Sports Cars

I'm a car nut. And if you've been following this site much, you may have noticed the biggest theme here is making fun of global warming and the cult's followers, whom I have coined 'environmentaljihadists' (copyright coming soon). So it's no surprise when this article from Bloomberg popped up, pitting my passion against my hatred, that I took interest.



The writeup underlines my favorite point by a former Greenpeace founder in the recent BBC documentary, "The Great Global Warming Swindle", in that it blows the cover off environmentaljihadists as not being stewards of the planet per-se, but anti-consumption advocates first.

The buzz therein is essentially about wanting to ban any car that can travel faster than 100mph starting in 2013, which the article points out even includes a lowly Honda Civic hatch. Lowly to us, but a favorite of San Francisco environmentaljihadists for it's large, slab-sided arse, perfect for covering in left-wing bumperstickers.

The gas guzzler tax is already beyond the pale. Get ready for a riot.

Cutting CO2 or a Sneak Attack on Porsche, Ferrari?

Not Your Average NASCAR Sponsor

Ho boy...

Scientology is newest NASCAR sponsor

"Racin' fans, brace yourselves for some couch-jumping news:
Scientology is ridin' shotgun. A No. 27 red Taurus emblazoned with "DIANETICS" and featuring the volcano from the cover of L. Ron Hubbard's book has been tearing around California's Irwindale Speedway."

"it's also the weirdest sponsorship since Boudreaux's Butt Paste, the diaper-rash cream that began sponsoring a Busch Series car in 2005."

"Driver Kenton Gray, of La Verne, Calif., will drive the DIANETCS car Saturday in its official debut in a NASCAR Weekly Series race in Irwindale. Gray spouts Scientology praise with enthusiasm that would make the celebrity couple known as TomKat proud..."

"The Jehovah's Witnesses could not be reached for comment about any possible NASCAR sponsorship."

Now that's some quality car racin', don'tcha think, folks? Can you imagine the handmade, misspelled posters the fans will hold up in the air from the stands?

"HAIL XENU!"