Tag: Automotive

Saturday Snippet: The Curse of Christine

  Yesterday Old NFO put up one of his regular book promotion posts.  First on his list was a memoir by Ben English titled “Black and White: Tales of the Texas Highway Patrol“. It’s not an easy book to read if you’ve been part of law enforcement or an associated service.  Ben tells it like… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: The Curse of Christine

Not your average insurance claim!

  This may be the weirdest personal injury insurance claim I’ve yet come across. The Missouri Court of Appeals ruled that insurance giant Geico had to pay $5.2 million in damages to a woman after she was infected with Human Papilloma Virus while engaging in intimate activities in someone else’s insured personal vehicle. The claim… Continue reading Not your average insurance claim!

Beware the new 15%-ethanol blended gasoline

  Many people appear unaware that last week, the Biden administration raised the “summer blend” ethanol-in-gasoline blend requirement from 10% to 15%.  This may have serious consequences, including physical damage, for the engines of older vehicles, and also for small engines (e.g. outboard motors, lawnmowers, tillers, generators, and so on). American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers… Continue reading Beware the new 15%-ethanol blended gasoline

Motorists beware: a diesel shortage may lead to a gasoline shortage, too

  The fuel market was rocked yesterday by a series of tweets from Craig Fuller, the CEO of Freightwaves, one of the premier logistics and shipping monitors.  They included these examples and response (click each tweet to be taken to the source document): Those initial reports have not (yet) been followed up directly.  As of… Continue reading Motorists beware: a diesel shortage may lead to a gasoline shortage, too

Fuel prices . . . OUCH!!!

  Yesterday I took some empty jerrycans to the gas station to refill them.  I treat the contents with PRI-G to extend gasoline’s useful life for up to two years, then store it as an emergency reserve, rotating the cans and refilling them on a regular basis. I expected to pay high prices, because we… Continue reading Fuel prices . . . OUCH!!!

A sports car test drive after a vasectomy? Sure, why not?

  This is why not. You’ll have heard how the Alpine A110’s combination of lightness and rightness has earned the admiration of evo’s tillermen. And that’s all well and good, but what’s it like if you’ve just had a vasectomy? To find out, I went to a central London clinic and invited a large, medically… Continue reading A sports car test drive after a vasectomy? Sure, why not?

It’s not just buses and cars – electric scooters burn just as easily

  Following yesterday’s post about the danger of fire in electric buses and cars, a reader who wishes to remain anonymous sent me the link to this video clip of an electric scooter that spontaneously combusted while being charged inside a house. That must have been an expensive blaze, what with redecorating costs as well… Continue reading It’s not just buses and cars – electric scooters burn just as easily

Electric vehicles – a growing danger in confined urban transport?

  SNAFU Solomon linked to a tweet with this video of an electric bus that caught fire in China. That’s what happens when lithium batteries burn.  They produce enormous internal pressure that blows out through the casing and burns like a blowtorch.  The bus’s batteries were/are much bigger than those in an electric car, so… Continue reading Electric vehicles – a growing danger in confined urban transport?

Unemployment is the answer!

  I have to laugh at this early (2006) cartoon from Stephan Pastis and his “Pearls Before Swine” comic strip.  It’s doing the rounds on social media at present.  It may be sixteen years old, but it fits our modern economy to a ‘T’.  Click the image for a larger view. The way gas prices… Continue reading Unemployment is the answer!