a small town in the middle of Michigan's lower penninsula is the scene of a gas war, it's below 80 cents a gallon

Oil is less than 30 dollars a barrel right now, and that's the lowest since 2003. So, these guys aren't losing a lot of money. http://www.9and10news.com/story/30988075/houghton-lake-gas-prices-drop-below-one-dollar

Meanwhile, here in San Diego, gas is still over 2.79

here is 3.59 a gallon at one of the more expensive places in town. All Chevrons are over priced

Now that George died, the prices of the obscure Barris creations are finally going to matter

Mopar 318 2 barrel, and 727 3 speed automatic, based on a Dodge A108 van from 1966, the long wheelbase version of the A 100

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Archive/Event/Item/1966-DODGE-TRADESMAN-A-100-BARRIS-CUSTOM-SUPERVAN-188806

sold for 62 thou http://www.hotrod.com/events/1603-2016-barrett-jackson-gold-27-weird-chrysler-facts-you-didnt-know/#photo-08

Of course, it looked better in the 80s

http://www.wheelsareeverything.com/2015/08/toronto-1980-1981.html

Oil hits a new low... $29 a barrel, lowest since 2003

West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled to the lowest since December 2003. Concerns that China’s economic growth may slow has soured investors on the prospects for a quick recovery, turning hedge funds the least bullish in five years. A rapid appreciation of the U.S. dollar may send Brent oil to as low as $20 a barrel, Morgan Stanley said.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a gauge of 22 raw materials slumped to the lowest level since 1999.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-12/wti-oil-falls-below-30-for-first-time-since-dec-2003

A couple weeks of buzz about a show called Making Of A Murderer, is about the death of Teresa Halbach, 25, a photographer from AutoTrader magazine

Steven Avery and his family have a 25 acre junkyard in Wisconsin, and he is the most talked about person around the office water cooler right now, the focus of a tv show on Netflix.

I hadn't heard why until now... just buzz, lots of buzz about the tv show. And the petition.

So far over a hundred thousand people have signed a petition to have his case brought to the attention of the President of the United States, and I've never even heard of that before. Turns out that the Presidents office people say that Avery was sentenced by a court of a certain jurisdiction that the president isn't able to supersede. States rights vs federal I guess.

Was he framed by the Manitowoc Police Department, averting a multimillion-dollar settlement over Avery’s wrongful conviction and 18-year imprisonment for rape in the same jurisdiction in 1985?

Because, that really happened. DNA evidence proves that he was not guilty of, and possibly framed for, a rape that he spent 18 years in jail for.

Or was he framed by his brothers, jealous of Avery’s newfound fame and potential windfall?

The way I understand it, and I've only got a vague idea about this, is that he was sueing the county for imprisoning him, and maybe even framing him, (I just don't have the time to watch this show to learn all the details) and if and when he wins this case which he spent 18 years in jail for (can you imagine spending your last, or next 18 years of life in jail?) he would benefit by 10 or 20 million dollars.

Well, the direction this news story / tv show seems to be going into is that before he could get this wrongful prosecution and jail time case completed, the powers that be in the local Wisconsin law enforcement, set him up to get back in jail fast, and permanently get the case against them dismissed. Like I said, I've only got a vague idea, as I haven't watched the show.

Though I haven't heard why, there was a search team canvassing Steven Avery's family junkyard who uncovered the green Rav4 belonging to the AutoTrader photographer who went missing. Her charred bones are found on the Avery property conspicuously close to Steven Avery’s lodging; an invoice from AutoTrader is found on Avery’s desk. The key to the Rav4 is later found in Avery’s bedroom and the trial unfolds.

http://www.thedrive.com/article/1587/in-making-a-murderer-the-avery-junkyard-is-the-real-star for another look at this story

19 year old, 5ft 6, 120 lb daughter lifts the truck off her dad, and fights a fire, saving his life and their home

Her father was working on an old GMC truck in the garage when a jack he was using slipped.

"The minute the jack slipped, there was an almost instantaneous, real strong smell of gasoline, and then just, whoosh!" he recalled. Within seconds, he was pinned beneath the huge vehicle and the garage had caught fire.

(nothing about this caused the reporter to engage their brain and ask what started a fire, why gas was leaking, and where the open flame was that started the fire)

He struggled for 10 minutes when a door opened and his daughter ran in, lifted the truck off him, and got the track away from the burning garage to prevent it's gas tank from adding to the fire.

Her grandmother and 3 month old niece were inside the home, that she was hosing down with the garden hose when the fire dept arrived

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/Virginia-Teen-Rescues-Father-by-Lifting-Truck-364605671.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_LABrand

Ink n Iron... tattoo and rockabilly festival that catered to hot rodders and greasers, wasn't doing good business. They couldn't hack it in Long Beach, moved to Nashville, and flopped hard. Didn't pay the musicians

Shockingly low attendance and complaints from non-VIP ticket holders who were treated like plebs, plus Merle Haggard canceling his performance last minute on night two after the festival declined to pay him.

Several contractors, including Adam Prohaska who owns Atlas Worldwide Transportation, say they were never paid and are out tens of thousands of dollars.

"I don't understand how they can do 13 years of a show in California, and claim that they have no money to pay because one show went bad for them," Prohaska told Nashville's News Channel 5 Network by phone from California.

http://www.ocweekly.com/music/ink-n-iron-nashville-flopshard-6589471

Tracey Curtis-Taylor completed her solo flight from England in a vintage open cockpit biplane.

Her mission was to emulate the pioneering British aviator Amy Johnson, who became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930. Tracey set off in her 1942 Boeing Stearman from Farnborough, Hampshire, in October, with a support team of engineers in a separate aircraft, as well as a camera crew.

She retraced pioneer Amy Johnson's 1930 flight, at the age of 26 with little flying experience, flying over 23 countries and making some 50 refuelling stops.

“My own flight to Australia is the realisation of a burning desire to fly my beloved Boeing Stearman around the world following in their footsteps,” she has recreated the essence of Johnson’s era of flying, with an open cockpit, stick and rudder flying with basic period instruments and a short range between landing points.

She is not unfamiliar with this form of flying. She flew solo from Cape Town to the UK in 2013, recreating the 1928 flight of Lady Mary Heath.

She said that despite having just completed the exhausting trip, she still had the drive to make further expeditions. “What I would really like to do is get back in the airplane and fly up the east coast of Australia. I wish I could keep going, I never want to land as the experience is so profound, it’s addictive, I am still in expedition mode, but I need to relax and decompress.”

She said she would travel to New Zealand to celebrate her mother’s 80th birthday before joining her aircraft in Seattle for a coast-to-coast expedition across the US. “Why not keep going? Life should be about big projects,” she said.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jan/09/i-need-a-drink-british-woman-lands-in-sydney-after-21000km-flight-in-vintage-biplane
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35271182
https://www.facebook.com/birdinabiplane/

 First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Jim Mollison husband of Amy Johnson, President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Amy and Jim had crash landed after running out of fuel in a transatlantic record bid, hence the bandages. Sadly the marriage didn't last; Mollison was a pretty reckless character and would have been delicately described in the day as a "ladies' man". Amy was killed ferrying an Oxford twin during the early days of the war. She had parachuted into the English Channel and was almost saved but heavy seas foiled her would be rescuers. (Thanks Tony for the info!)

On Thursday afternoon, two U.S. federal marshals showed up at the Consumer Electronics Show to conduct a raid, Staffers for the company, Changzhou First International Trade Co., were stunned, apparently in China they don't care about copy cat cloning

CES, the world's largest annual gadget conference taking place in Las Vegas this week, has always been full of small-bore dealers, many from China, selling cheap knock offs.

But until that moment, Changzhou First International Trade was having a successful day selling a one wheel skate board for 1/3 th price of the American company that invented it. It wasn’t the only discount electronic skateboard dealer around, and passers by seemed taken by the design of its product, the Trotter.

You probably recall I posted the crowdfunding news about the American company last year

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2014/01/dear-santa-forget-my-previous-list-i.html

In August, Future Motion received a patent for the underlying technology. Earlier this week, it got a second one for the device's design. This patent prohibits competitors from making something that an ordinary observer might confuse with the Onewheel.

There is a long-running strain of resentment among companies that feel their patents and trademarks are being violated by low-cost competitors. CES's legal department issues guidelines for those who feel wronged.

The CTA asks companies not to bring more than two employees, one translator, and a lawyer.

Future Motion, a Silicon Valley startup, brought about a half-dozen people from its legal team to accompany the two U.S. Marshals who served a court order, conducted a raid, packed up a one-wheeled skateboard on display, as well as a sign and fliers promoting the product, and carried them away.

In December, Kolitch sent a letter to Changzhou First International Trade demanding that it stop selling the products. He never heard back.

Kolitch tried again the day before the show floor opened, by approaching the booth directly but got nowhere.

By 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Onewheel filed a request with a judge to stop the Trotters from being displayed on the show floor.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/u-s-marshals-raid-hoverboard-booth-at-ces

when fixing the South Wales Glamorgan church organ, it was found to have wood scavenged from a WW1 plane

Carpenters working on the renovation found wood inside the organ which had been taken from a fallen biplane.

The instrument was donated to St Curig's Church in Porthkerry, Vale of Glamorgan, in 1920 as a memorial for local soldiers who died in the conflict. But during recent repairs a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) insignia was discovered inside.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-35249430
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-35249429#_=_

Maurine Sweeney and Nancy Brown were the only competitors in their age category (the 65-69 and 70-74 year old) at the Cyclocross National Championships in Asheville, North Carolina

Maurine Sweeney (above) had a great race into the overall third spot ahead of the 60-64 bronze medalist. With that move she was besting riders in the age bracket below and she easily rode to the 65-69 title.

Nancy Brown is no stranger to the podium at national events. She’s a past Cyclocross National Champion having won the 65-69 race in 2008 and she holds two silver medals in Time Trial National Championships as well.

http://www.cxmagazine.com/master-women-60-64-65-69-70-74-and-75-cyclocross-national-championships-results-photos-video  via   https://www.facebook.com/bikegirls/?fref=nf

U.S. benchmark crude closed at $33.97 a barrel in New York, its lowest price since December 2008.

And yet, the price of gas went up from when oil was 36 a barrel a couple weeks ago.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-financial-markets-20160106-story.html

Cuba is now opening up for movie making... and Fast and Furious 8 might jump on that opportunity to be the 1st in 55 years to film a car scene there

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Furious 8 director F. Gary Gray returned for a scouting trip recently and moves have already been made to proceed with the paperwork. Universal said in a statement:

Universal Pictures is currently in the process seeking approval from the United States and Cuban governments to explore shooting a portion of the next installment of the Fast & Furious series in Cuba.

If it all works out, this would make Furious 8 the first studio film to shoot on the island since the U.S. placed an embargo on the nation in the ‘60s. The action was executed on exports after Cuba took American-owned Cuban oil refineries without compensation

http://collider.com/fast-and-furious-8-cuba-filming-location

Avoid any business with West Virginia towing company, Anthony’s Truck Repair

http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=30345#.Vow3iPkrKM8

Red Bull Frozen Rush happens this Friday

It was just three years ago when the only off-road Pro 4 truck race on snow, Red Bull Frozen Rush, first premiered on the slopes of Maine’s Sunday River Ski Resort and it will be during the first full week of 2016 when the world will once again experience motorsports innovation at it’s best. Temperatures will drop to below freezing and the normally warm weather 900-horsepower engines and their drivers will battle the elements to capture the coveted first place crown.

Catch it LIVE on Red Bull TV at 11:30am EST on Friday, January 8 and as part of the Red Bull Signature Series on NBC on January 30.

http://www.off-road.com/competition/race/video-offroad-race-truck-hits-ski-slope-at-red-bull-frozen-rush-53608.html
http://www.redbull.com/us/en/motorsports/offroad/events/1331752787390/frozen-rush-2016

Red Bull Frozen Rush takes off-road trucks out of the desert and onto the snow for a race like no other, placing 900-horsepower machines on the slopes of Sunday River Ski Resort in Maine. To help us get a better idea of what the drivers are dealing with, Bryce Menzies strapped a few GoPro cameras to his truck and took us on a lap through the course, giving us valuable insight every step of the way. Check it out



http://www.redbull.com/us/en/motorsports/offroad/stories/1331698596687/frozen-rush-course-preview

it may be called the Mid-America Trucking Show, but why are the trucking manufacturing companies boycotting it this year?

Kenworth, Daimler, Volvo, Mack and Navistar, all announced their intent to not exhibit at the annual tradeshow. No word on Peterbilt, who is the brother company of Kenworth.

Daimler started a wave earlier this year by announcing it would only participate in odd-number years. In even-number years, it would focus on the enormous show in Hanover, Germany.

http://www.truckersnews.com/kenworth-latest-oem-to-drop-out-of-mats/
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/showtemplatemce2015.aspx?storyid=39759

Update Jan 5th: Daimler lays off about 2 thousand employees: http://www.wbtv.com/story/30880529/900-employees-to-be-laid-off-at-daimlers-cleveland-plant  and  http://www.ccjdigital.com/daimler-trucks-set-to-layoff-up-to-1000-workers-at-n-c-truck-plant/

and update Jan 4th, Freightliner lays off 900 http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/uaw-receives-notice-936-layoffs-cleveland-freightl/npxM5/?ecmp=wsoctv_social_facebook_2014_sfp 

a lot of the archives of the Henry Ford will be, or are, available online

including,
450 rolls of film from the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair
 Ford Mustang heritage photography
and Countless historic Ford and Lincoln advertising images

http://thehenryford.org/

"The Henry Ford" consists of the Henry Ford Museum,
Greenfield Village,
 The Ford Rouge Factory Tour,
The Benson Ford Research Center
and The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre.

The Benson Ford Research Center, part of The Henry Ford, currently houses more than 14 million documents from Ford Motor Company. This project will enable The Henry Ford to devote more resources to making documents available to digital outlets. The digital assets will then serve the dual purpose of helping Ford connect with consumers and helping researchers worldwide access materials through the museum’s website.

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia-mobile/fna/us/en/news/2013/12/12/ford-archives--the-henry-ford-to-make-more-ford-history-accessib.html

Sidecar, which was supposed to rival Uber and Lyft, has quit trying to compete

As of December 31 at 2 p.m. PST, Sidecar will officially discontinue on-demand ride and delivery services. The company’s CEO, Sunil Paul, announced the shutdown in a blog post Tuesday.

 Sidecar’s $35 million in funding paled in comparison to that of Lyft ($1.26 billion) and Uber ($10 billion). So while the latter two firms quickly expanded internationally, Sidecar’s market remained limited to 10 U.S. cities, focusing mainly on the West Coast.

http://www.thedrive.com/article/1485/sidecar-surrenders-to-uber-and-lyft-stops-service

Get your 70s vibe back with this van cruise

Just in time of the holiday season, Amazon got thousands of trailers to help speed up US deliveries

Amazon is using third party trucking companies to supply trucks and drivers, but it's own trailers, to keep pace with its ever growing order volumes and give the company more control of its shipping network by shuttle goods between Amazon's warehouses, as well as move items to delivery stations and sorting facilities along the way to arriving at their final destinations.

found on https://truckinsurancenitic.com/company-news/488-amazon-moves-into-trucking.html

Ford dealership in Republic, Missouri, lost millions of dollars worth of inventory due to flood

found on http://speedsociety.com/tons-of-brand-new-rides-ruined-epic-ford-dealership-flood/?source=amazing