Did you know that you could get a ticket in Michigan for simply having a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from your rear-view mirror?
Let me start this ol' blog off by saying that I am not a big fan of fuzzy dice. They simply aren't my cup-o-tea. However, I do have a "thing" for little hula-girls and bobbing head dogs. In fact the dash of my car looks like a Luau that has gone to the dogs!
Maybe it is simply the fact that growing up and carousing in Mayberry we didn't have a good casino or floating craps game in the area for me to develop a love of dice...but, then again, I guess we didn't have many hula girls either.
Anywho...I was surfing the web today and ran across an interesting article about a poor sap that was pulled over and busted for the crime of having a Tweety Bird ornament dangling from his rear-view mirror.
According to the article, a man named Lonnie Rae Davis was pulled over by the Michigan police after they spotted a Tweety Bird ornament dangling from his rear-view mirror. The article goes on to state that Michigan law forbids dangling things that "obstruct the vision of the driver of the vehicle."
Davis has apparently appealed his conviction stating that the Tweety Bird didn't obstruct his view and that the cops had no right to pull him over...or confiscate the open alcohol container, crack cocaine, wad of cash, stun gun, or the .38 caliber handgun they found in the car after they stopped him!
He argued that the cops had no right to pull him over in the first place since the Tweety Bird ornament did not obstruct his view, therefore the stash of guns, drugs and hooch they found in his car should not be held against him.
As it stands now, the fuzzy-dice (and dangling Tweety Bird) ban stands in Michigan...and Mr. Davis, is headed off to jail...and not the one where Aunt B. serves her famous fried chicken and apple pie!
Does anyone know of any other states with similar laws? I'd hate to get pulled over for my hula girl collection and have the cops find the stash of Snickers Bars that I illegally smuggled in from Canada!
Holy Cow! Somebody needs to alert Jay Leno and his team of lawyers, a guy over in England has found a rare 1937 Bugatti that was left parked in a garage for over 50 years.
According to the article that is circulating on the wires, a surgeon over in Newcastle apparently parked the car after he bought it back in the 50s. The car sat there collecting dust until his nephew discovered the car while cleaning out the garage recently.
This particular car (one of only 17 known to have been made) is even more valuable because it was seems that it was originally owned by Earl Howe, a prominent British race car driver, and because its original equipment is intact, so it can restored without relying on replacement parts.
The Bugatti will be a highlight of the Bonhams auction at Retromobile in Paris next month. Experts said the car could fetch $4.3 million or more, reports The Associated Press.
Kinda makes me want to go and help my crazy anut Mae tidy up her place a bit!
Thursday, December 18, 2008, 03:22 PM CST
[General]
It must be a cold day way down south (if you know what I mean!). While I realized that the times were tough out in Detroit, I was surpried to read today that General Motors has announced that it is selling 50+ cars from it extensive Heritage Museum Collection.
The cars will be sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction that is scheduled for Jan. 13-18 in sunny Scottsdale, AZ.
The list of cars for sale is not yet complete and the rarest models in the collection will reportedly not be sold.
But more modern additions - from the 1980s and 1990s – will reportedly make up the bulk of cars rolling across the block.
From what I have been able to find online, it looks like the cars to be liquidated to help the troubled auto manufacturer raise a little spending money will include:
A series of rare and limited edition Corvettes. A 1904 Oldsmobile Touring, two Peugeot 205 Turbos, Bill Clinton’s presidential Limo and a car used by the Pope in 1998. And...
According to the news reports that I have run across, it looks like more cars may be added as we get closer to the sale. While I would love to bid on a few of these great cars, I think that I will sit on my wallet just in case Greenfield Village end up in the real esate listings in the coming months!
So, what do ya'll think...Is this a sign of the end for GM?
Click on the "Leave a Comment" link below and tell me what you think.
Thursday, December 11, 2008, 10:42 AM CST
[General]
Look out America, the Brits are chugging up on your tail at break-neck speeds. And they aren't just blowing smoke up your tailpipe...it looks like they are well on their way to breaking the one of the longest-held speed records, the official landspeed record for a steam-powered vehicle. This record was set way back in 1906 when Fred Marriott reached a top speed of 121.57mph in the Stanley brothers' Rocket.
According to an article in today's UK Telegraph paper, the British Steam Car pictured above (it is the green vehicle without a smiley face bolted to its boiler) successfully completed a series of low speed tests earlier this week and is well on its way to completing higher speed runs in the coming days.
In fact, according to the report, the tests went so well that the Brits have actually increased their target speed from a boiling 150mph up to 170mph. Their plan is to attempt the record-breaking run next year in at Edwards Air Force Base in sunny California.
You can check out the car and their plans by clicking here.
Since I knkow that there are some Steam-Car enthusiasts in the Old Cars Weekly Community, anyone want to give us internal combustion guys their thoughts on whether the Brits have enough steam in their tank to break the record?
While I don't know Ray Bean, an 89-year-old retired machinist from Weymouth, MA, I really feel for the guy.
According to an article from the Boston Globe, for the past 35 years Mr. Bean has hopped on his scooter and motored over to his backyard garage each morning where he spent hours working on his 1929 Buick Roadmaster, a '15 Dodge Phaeton, a '64 Mustang and a newer Monte Carlo. It seems that earlier this week he was firing up the Buick when there was an explosion that quickly sent his garage up in flames.
It just about kills me when I read about stories like this. I know that the cars can generally be replaced, but to lose items that you have spent hours working on and that you have poured your heart and soul into over the years...to have them destroyed right before your eyes, there is just no way to heal that wound.
I was glad to hear that Mr. Bean was able to get out of the garage without being injured, but my thoughts to out to this fellow collector.
After reading this article, it reminded me of the importance of making sure that your cars are stored safely so that something like this doesn't happen to you. You can read the whole article by clicking here.
I think that I will now go out to my garage and make sure that everything is in good order.
