“Mate, don’t bother fucking ringing back but a journalist just told me Ford are going to cut our funding. They’re still going to cut our funding. They’re still going to give us minor support, but I don’t know to what level so I’m not going to go off yet. Let me deal with the fuckers first. Don’t blame me if the shit hits the fan.”

Racing legend Dick Johnson, to Dick Johnson Racing director Charlie Schwerkolt.

Johnson’s son Steven said, “He was in shock and so he should have been. My God, the things he has done for Ford over the last 38 years or so. It just goes to show that with a change of management, some companies will just chuck you out the door.”

Schwerkolt said:

“It is devastating news, it really is. We didn’t expect it. Dick was in Darwin and he found out off the media. He just couldn’t believe it, He swore a lot and he was absolutely gutted. We are all part of the family at Ford.”

Ik ben door mijn foto's van de trekkertrek in Sebaldeburen heen, maar als afsluiter heb ik nog een filmpje van een ruime 8 minuten met fragmenten van de sportklasse's en de oldstocks. Aangezien YouTube de kwaliteit niet ten goede komt is het filmpje (272 mb) ook nog te downloaden via onderstaande link. Tot slot ook nog een paar foto's die geschikt zijn als wallpaper, inclusief de Red Impact.

http://rapidshare.de/files/39918072/FilmpjeSebaldeburen2008.zip.html

PART 2 - Obama Town Hall Meeting Warren, Michigan

PART 3 - Obama Town Hall Meeting Warren, Michigan

PART 4 - Obama Town Hall Meeting Warren, Michigan

PART 5 - Obama Town Hall Meeting Warren, Michigan

PART 6 - Obama Town Hall Meeting Warren, Michigan

PART 7 - Obama Town Hall Meeting Warren, Michigan

BONUS:
News Report on the event

Dwutygodniowy fotoplener bylby idealny gdyby poruszac sie i smieszkac w takich fordach. A dlaczego do Mongolii? Juz sie pucuje. Zmeczony jakmis zagajeniami na gygy "skad klikasz" "ile masz lat" itp zamiescilem w swych danych ze mieszkam w najbardziej abstrakcyjnym dla mnie miejscu -Ulan Bator. Zagajenia zniknely. Do wczoraj, bo dostalem msga z pytaniem czy po wprowadzeniu stanu wyjatkowego jest bezpiecznie w Mongolii, szczena mi opadla zanim pokumalem czemu mnie ktos pyta o ten zamkniety miedzy dwoma mocarstwami kawalek stepu. Okazalo sie ze ziomy robia wyprawe motocyklowa do Mongolii zeby...  obejrzec zacmienie slonca. Moge tylko pozazdroscic bo az mi zaskrzypialo w duszy ze tez bym chcial...

Traktor w kraju prowadzilem tylko raz (na plenerze CKF w Swietej Kasce) ale marke Lamborgini kojarzylem wylacznie z przekraczajacymi wiekszosc portfeli sportowymi furami o wysokosci sprawiajacej dyskomfort gdy zatrzymuje cie policjant gdyz spuszczasz szybe i twarz masz na wysokosci konia wiec slaba to pozycja do rozpoczynania negocjacji ze nie jechalo sie za szybko. Zagalopowalem sie, jak to z koniem. Powyzej zgola odmienny sprzet z wloskiej stajni;) z reszta jak wiesc niesie firma zaczynala produkcje od traktorow, megaszybkie pociski drogowe przyszly pozniej. Ciekawostka to dosc czeste wystepowanie na irlandzkich zadupiach traktorw Belarus i Zetor.

First is a teaser of the design he is working on for Canada's largest lowrider show "Scrape By The Lake". I'd love to have a tee with the design on it! You'll have to wait until the show to see the whole design.

The latest addition to Puro's Lowrider Supreme brand is the kid's line. Puro who counts Mister Cartoon as a major influence in his design work will release a clown design on the first tee for Lowrider Supreme kids.

Prima inmatriculare: 11.2003

Rulaj: 132.400km

Motor: 1299cmc benzina, distributie pe lant

Numar usi: 2/3

Dotari:

• Aer Conditionat
• CD Player original cu 4 difuzoare 13"
• 4 Airbag-uri
• Cotiera

Functioneaza ireprosabil, foarte bine intretinuta.
Accept orice teste si drive test doar daca se face dovada posibilitatii de achizitie in pretul negociat!!!

Consumabile schimbate.

Pret 5.500€

Contact: Madalin - 0766.618.186 / 0732.778.117 - Iasi

 Har varit en sväng till Köpenhamn, en stad jag älskar! Ätit sill, smuttat lite schnaps, gått på rea, haft underbart väder, sett nya ställen i stan, ätit god mat i trevligt sällskap - ja helt enkelt haft ett skönt avbrott från vardagen. Och ett välbehövligt avbrott! Jag kom hem med en ny tröja, nya skor, lite smycken, en väska.... (angående mitt tidigare inlägg angående att shoppa: man MÅSTE ju ha kläder på kroppen.... och allt var på REA! *fniss*)

Hundarna har varit hos extra-mamma Stina. Siri är tyvärr lite fixerad vid hennes råttor. Urax hade inte ens tid att hälsa på mig, han var inte alls sugen att följa med mamma hem. Siri hade också gärna stannat - vem ska nu hålla koll på Råttorna?

Underbart att få lämna hundarna till någon som man vet tar hand om dem (minst) lika bra som en själv. Jag vet att Stina i hemlighet nu saknar Siris påhitt, att ta hand om en Jack russell i slyngelåldern kan vara .... intensivt. Och det blir aldrig tråkigt, hehe.

Medans jag var i Köpenhamn tog en underbar bilmekare hand om min gamla ford. Han fixade packningen till grenröret, justerade handbromsen och han LAGADE ROSTEN! Det var MYCKET rost i en sidobalk, nu ser den helt ny ut! Till råga på allt blev det EXTREMT BILLIGT! Jag har faktiskt aldrig varit med om en sådan billig bilreparation. Så idag är det en bra dag!

*
O Estado de S. Paulo

A Ford Motor vai eliminar mais cerca de 300 postos de trabalho na fábrica de Louisville, Kentucky (EUA), que produz a picape Super Duty. A medida faz parte da tentativa da empresa de enfrentar a demanda menor por veículos mais pesados. O novo corte segue-se a um anúncio feito no mês passado com várias medidas para o ajuste à queda nas vendas. (O Estado de S. Paulo)

A Ford Motor vai eliminar mais cerca de 300 postos de trabalho na fábrica de Louisville, Kentucky (EUA), que produz a picape Super Duty. A medida faz parte da tentativa da empresa de enfrentar a demanda menor por veículos mais pesados. O novo corte segue-se a um anúncio feito no mês passado com várias medidas para o ajuste à queda nas vendas.

Fonte: O Estado de S. Paulo | www.estado.com.br

Por: Fillipe Vivas

]]> http://thelightisgreen.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/only-honda-is-selling-more-in-us/ Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:43:09 +0000 almcclymont http://thelightisgreen.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/only-honda-is-selling-more-in-us/ Vehicle sales for June 2008 fell substantially in the U.S., compared to the same month last year. Only Honda was able to gain ground.

• Honda: Sales improved by 13.8 percent. June sales totaled 142,539 vehicles, a new monthly record. For the first half of 2008, Honda sales also rose, by 4.8 percent.
• Toyota sales fell by 11.5 percent. For the first half of 2008, they sold 1.24 million vehicles, down 6.2 percent.
• Ford sales dropped 28 percent. They sold 167,090 vehicles in June, and 1.1 million for the first half of 2008 (down 14 percent).
• GM sales were down by 18.5 percent (265,937 units in June compared to 326,300 a year ago). For the first half of 2008, sales were 1,6 million, 16.5 percent down. Hummer was especially hit with a drop of 59.3 percent.
• Nissan sales fell 17.7 percent, although sales of their more fuel efficient cars did grow.

Tags: Honda, Ford, GM, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry

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In my family's lore, 1910 will be remembered as the year Grandpa Bud was born. My great-grandmother, Big Momma had only know the life of share cropping when her first child, Robert (also called "Bud" and "Spicey") was born. The sun rose and lowered over fields of cotton, small shadowed figures stooped beneath the horizon, their lives followed the path of the sun--to the fields and back. Big Momma was the only child of Sarah Jane Martin and Simon Robbins, both who died or disappeared in her youth. Big Momma would be sheltered among various relatives who live among the wooded culverts and sparse fields of Summerfield, Valley Creek and Pleasant Hill. Big Momma was a proud woman who learned independance early in life. She had her first child, my grandfather, at a young age and raised him among a familiar circle of relatives after her husband disappeared. Disappearance was a way of life between the migratory patterns of farming. the threats of violence against Blacks, the burden of debt and poverty created by sharecropping and the hope for something better that fluctuated between leaving and coming back--or not being seen again. Generations of my family, from Big Momma to the first Africans that set foot in Alabama, had worked the fields of Dallas County, never to be acknowledged as a cornerstone of labor, faith and sacrifice upon which this nation was established. In truth, our history goes beyond the fields of cotton, in which families had their own love, loss and drama recalled through family stories and tall tales, song and through the lives of heroes. Jack Johnson, against all odds, became a legend--and his victory should be celebrated on July 4th, for it is a great moment in American history.

History and fate join my family story into the legendary life of Jack Johnson, the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World. Johnson claimed his victory on July 4, 1910 after knocking out James J. Jeffries, the heavyweight champion of the time--and the White contender who represented the supremacy of his race. Born in 1910, Grandpa Bud was an intelligent man with the spirit of a fighter--he succumbed to the struggle, and both his intelligence and spirit would prove to be weapons of his own demise. There were many men like Jack Johnson and Grandpa Bud in American history--Black men who were spit upon from birth, refused opportunities to succeed, and experiencing a struggle that had enveloped the generations before them in poverty, violence and social inequality. The fight to overcome the immense challenges faced was a dangerous walk between being and outlaw and being a survivor. Or being killed for even trying, or daring to hope for something better.

Jack Johnson was born in Galveston Texas on March 31, 1878 to Henry and Tiny Johnson, former slaves. Johnson was the second of six children born into the Johnson family. Jack Johnson left school in the fifth grade to work odd jobs and found his way into the highly controversial, often illegal boxing circuit. Early boxing matches often pitted Blacks against each other in free-for-all fights known as "battle royals", where only the strongest was left standing. Whites then tossed coins to the winner. Johnson got his start in these bloody battles and would later refuse to fight Blacks to fought for titles against White boxers, who held not only a title but gained social status aand larger financial rewards with their win. Johnson was a giant of a man known for his imposing size, his dark skin (he was often called derogatory names such as "pygymy", "coon" and "Ethiopian") and his predatory style of boxing. Johnson's style of boxing was deceptive in that he often enertained his audience while simulataenously punishing and taunting his opponent. In many ways, it was as if Johnson was mimicking and then knocking out the ministrel shows popular at the time. Entertainment was familiar to Johnson, when not boxing, he performed in vaudeville shows. Johnson was known to smile, joke and fake injury before landing a hard jab or knocking the teeth out of an opponent. Johnson was also reknown for his aggressive, even arrogant, defiance of Jim Crow laws and the prevalent grip of racism. Johnson was a self-educated man who lived life on his own terms. Johnson did not play into the accepted role for Black men to be an entertaining fool or to be an emasculated, non-threatening figure. Johnson also went beyond the ideals of popular Civil Rights activists. Johnson provoked society as a whole by desegregating the boxing ring, marrying and carrying on affairs with White women and displaying himself publicly in ways that offended social norms (whose rules were often defined by racist ideology).

In the most celebrated and contested victory of his career, Jack Johnson faced "The Great White Hope", James J. Jeffries, in a battle for the World Heavyweight Title. After Johnson had thoroughly pounded champion Tommy Burns in 1908 in Australia, then flaunted his win, a "Great White Hope" was sought to defeat Johnson. It was believed that the reputation and supremacy of the White race was at stake--and Johnson represented a very real threat with his popularity, wealth and attraction to White women. Many fighters came forward to battle Johnson, all were soundly defeated. James J. Jeffries, a former champion, came out of retirement to fight Johnson after it appeared that no one else could stand against Johnson. Jeffries originally refused to fight Johnson because he was Black but was persuaded to return to the ring, after six years of retirement, because it was believed Jeffries was the only one who could redeem the White race. The fight was so controversial that it was banned from its original location in California by an act of the governor and had to be moved to Reno, Nevada. Johnson faced Jeffries with his signature smile and throughout 15 rounds joked, danced and talked to the crowd. In the 15th round, Jeffries was pulled from the ring before Johnson could knock him out. Johson was declared the winner, against Jeffires who entered the fight solely to prove, "...that a white man is better than a Negro." Johnson would return to his home in Chicago, by train, on July 7, 1910 a hero. By then, race riots broke out across America, hundreds of Blacks were killed and injured as racist Whites sought revenge. Film footage of the Johnson-Jeffries fight was banned from the public to avoid further rioting. During his boxing career, from 1897 to 1928, Johnson had 114 bouts, winning 80, 45 by knockouts.

Johnson lived by his own ideals, he was led by his passions and fought for what he believed in. Johnson was flambouyant and arrogant, speeding down the street in racing cars, capping his front teeth with gold and openly flaunting his White wives and mistresses. Johnson's relationships with White women would draw scorn from Whites, who demanded revenge (death threats also were common). After a lengthy FBI investigation, in which Johnson was interrogated and put on surveillance, he was charged for violating the Mann Act (transporting women across state lines for prostitution)--a racially motivated charge. In 1913, Johnson would be sentanced to a year in federal prison for marrying a White woman--accused of being a "white slaver". Johnson would live as a fugitive for seven years to avoid prison, and return to the US in 1920 to surrender while simultaenously receiving a hero's welcome. While in Leavenworth prison, Johnson was appointed atheletic director and helped stage fights. Johnson was popular in prison and largely did as he pleased, and ignored the rules that typically applied to prisoners. Johnson was a jack of all trades, when not boxing he owned and operated several nightclubs, gave lectures, sold stocks, wrote two memoirs, patented a wrench and worked in the movie industry. Johnson was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954. Johnson's life was the basis for the 1970 movie, "The Great White Hope", starring James Earl Jones.

Johnson died in 1946 in a car crash, thousands attended his funeral and celebrated his life. He is buried at Graceland Cemetary in Chicago. Grandpa Bud died in 1959. His grave lies hidden among the weeds and underbrush in a segregated cemetary in Valley Creek, all that is recalled of where he is buried is that a red flower was once placed on his headstone.

Johnson is a champion but also a man with flaws, both aspects which so strongly resonate with the stories I have heard in my own family. That Jack Johnson, as controversial and contrary as he once was, survived several attempts on his life, incarceration, public outcry and personal struggle is a miracle. Johnson's win on July 4, 1910 should be commerated as a victory for all those who dared to rise above the limitations society had unjustly set. What Johnson won is more than a Heavyweight Title but represents the core spirit, the fundamental values that America was built on--to fight the good fight, to challenge oppression and to inspire vision and courage in the next generation so that they will become our leaders, our heroes.

Lynn Mari: July 4, 2008.

A Pardon for Jack Johnson?
http://www.infiniteboxing.com/articles/jsands/071404.htm

IBHOF/Jack Johson
http://www.ibhof.com/jjohnson.htm

Jack Johnson, The Galveston Giant...“Master of Ring Science”. by Monte D. Cox
http://coxscorner.tripod.com/johnson.html

"Johnson boxed, lived on his own terms." by Ron Flatter, Special to ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014275.html

Sermon in Church by Jack Johnson (NY Times):
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05E4DB173EEE3ABC4953DFBE66838A639EDE

Unforgiveable Blackness a film directed by Ken Burns (PBS)
I have seen this documentary and highly recommend it.
http://www.pbs.org/unforgivableblackness/about/

(Desde Wikipedia.com)

 La marca Chevrolet fue fundada por Louis Chevrolet y William Crapo Durant. Louis Chevrolet fue un corredor de autos nacido el 25 de diciembre en 1878 en La Chaux de Fonds, Suiza. William Durant, fundador de la General Motors, fue obligado a salir de ésta en 1910 por lo que deseaba revalidar su reputación en la industria automovilística con los diseños de Louis Chevrolet.

El 3 de noviembre de 1911, Chevrolet ingresó en el mercado automotor compitiendo contra el Ford Modelo T. Un año después el "Classic Six" fue introducido en el mercado. Este modelo era un sedán de cinco plazas equipado con un motor de seis cilindros y 299 in3 (4.9 L), capaz de alcanzar los 24  km/h. (15 mph)

La primera vez que Chevrolet usó su logo "bowtie" fue en 1913.

En 1916, Chevrolet fue lo suficientemente rentable para permitir a Durant comprar la mayor parte de las acciones de la GM. Después de cerrar el trato en 1917, Durant fue nombrado presidente de la General Motors y Chevrolet surgió de la GM como una empresa independiente.

Los modelos Chevrolet más famosos incluyen el grande y lujoso Impala (1958) y Corvair (1960), que circuló por poco tiempo. Chevrolet tuvo una gran influencia en el mercado automotriz estadounidense durante la décadas de 1950 y 1960.

En los mercados no estadounidenses la marca Chevrolet ha sido usada en diferentes modelos de la General Motors.

(Automóvil de reconocimiento del cuerpo de la Marina estadounidense en 1930.)

 

En 2001 la marca Chevrolet hizo su regreso con el Chevrolet Lumina, proveniente del Holden Commodore y más adelante con modelos de la gama Daewoo. Los actuales Chevrolet incluyen el Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Lumina y el Chevrolet Rezzo.

I was very surprised to hear that they decided to beef up the existing line up by making the Focus more of a tuner car(they needed one). The RS apparently is going to be pushing around 280hp to compete with the STI(which I think is sort of a longshot). I don't think it will be anywhere near the STI but from what I have seen, it seems like they are giving it a good run.

Still, I would never EVER choose this:

over this:

In the United States, the black cab's distant brother is the bright yellow "Crown Vic". And if you have a late night out in any North American metropolis, nine times you hail a cab out of ten, it'll be a Ford Crown Victoria. And like the black cab, the Crown Vic has a distinct engine note that resonates with many fond memories of good nights out in Canada and America.

These two public carriages have very little in common. In fact the only thing I could suggest, other than ubiquity as taxis, is the vague origin of their engines. Even then, their similarity is only defined by distant parenthood.

Ford don't make the British black taxi - a company called Manganese Bronze Holdings in Coventry do - but until recently they did supply the engines to many of them. The majority of new shape black cabs are propelled by a 135hp 2.4 litre Ford diesel engine. It's a hard working and pretty efficient engine (also found in many Ford and LDV vans) and being a diesel it has plenty of low-rev torque for propelling cabs full of drunken students up steep Sheffield hills.

The Crown Vic, meanwhile, makes do with a much more American solution. A 200hp 4.6 litre petrol V8. An engine that is almost twice the size of the black cab's motor, and which devours petrol at a prodigious rate of about 15 US mpg around town (for angry Brits who think that's shocking, bear in mind that US gallons are smaller than the imperial gallons we use, so that works out at about 18 mpg in our units... although that's still pretty appalling). As Americans struggle with petrol at more than $4.00 per US gallon, Chicagoan cabbies have now been permitted to start adding a $1 fuel surcharge to their fares.

The Crown Vic isn't available for private purchase any more - only bulk sales, primarily of custom built taxi-cabs and police cruisers are available. A small number of hire companies still offer them, but civilian models like the one above are rare. That's because the Crown Vic is painfully old - it's one of the last cars available in America today that is still built with a separate body to its chassis (most passenger cars, if not 4x4s, are of monocoque construction). And the Crown Vic's platform was first introduced in 1978, with a body that has seen only evolutionary design changes since 1992.

This is an old car; an old beast of a Yank Tank that's almost three metres long and two metres wide. In profile it is a souvenir of a terrible era in American car design, when three boxes made a sedan shape and some chrome was slapped around the edges to create a car. What's infuriating about the Crown Vic is that for a vehicle of such vast proptions, it's claustrophobically small inside. Four people can sit across the back bench, but they'll have their knees up around their eyes because of the miniscule floor well.

And yet, despite all this, its a car that still sells by the trailer load. Being essentially medieval in design and production terms, it costs less than $25,000 (£12,500) to buy one - much less with fleet discounts. Their longevity and the ease with which they can be serviced makes them appealing to cab drivers, and trigger happy American cops (who use their cars for more aggressive shunt stops) like the way that a body-on-frame car can be easily bent back in shape after pushing miscreants onto the hard shoulder. The special edition produced for Police Departments feature numerous additional safety and performance features to make them go faster and stop quicker. They also get a nice little badge on the trunk lid that replaces the words "Crown Victoria" with the more obvious "Police Interceptor".

Amusingly, plain clothes cops also love them. Seen above is your basic police cruiser (with the upgraded engine, shock absorbers, wheels etc) but devoid of markings, presumably so that cops think that they can blend in to the crowd Nice idea. But since no-one other than police officers and cabbies drive brand new Crown Vics any more, they do stand out quite a lot. Especially when you see them with two men sitting in the front seat, and with low profile red and blue lights in the back window. Especially also when the double digit IQ managers of police fleets in Chicago forget to remove the "Police Interceptor" badge from the trunk lid.