Infamous history

You may not realize this, but on this day,
May 23 in 1934 Clyde Barrow and Bonnie
Parker were killed in Bienville Parish,
Louisiana.

A posse opened fire when a 1934 Ford
driven by Clyde Barrow drove down a
country road.

The car was sprayed with more than 100
bullets when the shooting stopped. It
has been said the posse couldn’t hear
for several hours after the ambush.

The event spawned many controversies
that involved law enforcement, relatives
of Bonnie and Clyde, the owner of car
Clyde was driving, and missing money.

Clyde’s mother asked for the return of
his guns found in the car while Bonnie’s
family asked for her clothing. They were
refused.

A Sheriff tried to take the car, but
was sued by the legal owner who got it
back for an $85 towing and storage fee.
The owner got the car back in August,
1934 complete with over 130 bullet holes,
and an interior covered with blood and
tissue.

The same Sheriff was rumored to have
taken a suitcase full of money. He claimed
it a coincidence when he purchased an
auction barn and land in Arcadia shortly
after the ambush.

In early 1935 members of Clyde’s family
were charged with harboring a fugitive
and 20 family members received sentences
from 1 hour in custody to 2 years.

The ambush was the beginning of the
end of the “Public Enemy” era. Regardless
of how we feel about their crimes, they
are a part of our history.
Comments are always welcome.

Pulling hair out

I started yesterday in a good mood and
it lasted most of the day. Then, last
night, I fired up the computer to check
what was going on with Facebook.

My account was hacked and someone had
started an ‘open group’ with my name. I
started receiving cryptic messages that
wanted to know what ‘the group’ was
about.

Since I didn’t know what group anyone
was talking about I wondered what was
going on.

Then a pop-up stated that because I
had tagged too many photos my account
was suspended. I don’t even know how
to tag a photo!

I quickly rebooted and changed my
password.

After some investigation I found the
group did exist, I was listed as owner,
69 people had joined, and it had 68
friends. Huh?

First off, I get on Facebook to look
at pictures of old cars and catch
up on news about old cars.

I do not visit Farmville nor wish to
pop bubbles or play with candy at the
site.

After a little research the hacker
was located in Brazil. After even more
research, it was narrowed down to Sao
Paulo, Brazil.

Obviously, since Iowa isn’t located in
Brazil, this led me to believe my page
had been hacked.

The group has been shut down and I
now wonder if I will have to begin fresh
with another Facebook account.

Mama said there would be days like
that.
Comments are always welcome.

Making changes

We have always found the evolution of
cars fascinating. The stylists of the
50s added bomb sights and rockets, and
later fins to the bodies.

The engineers went to overhead valve
V-8s that only grew in size and power,
and the accessories run the gamut.

In the 60s the bomb sights and fins
disappeared in favor of a sleeker
look. And engines just kept growing.

Today body styles look similar for
years and the engines are getting
smaller. Here are a few innovations
that are in our future.

In 2014, Honda is set to place a
composite engine block in their cars.
Blocks will be made of reinforced
resin.

Speaking of composites, in 2014 ZF is
going to introduce Composite chassis
components. Materials will be carbon
fiber and high-strength plastics.
Plastic struts?

In 2015, Nissan will introduce us
to the wheel hub electric drive. It i
s said this will combine propulsion,
brake, and suspension components
inside each wheel.

4 electric motors per car? Gives a
new meaning to All-Wheel-Drive.

More proof of how crazy its getting is
the GM release of the full windshield
head-up display in 2016.

GM claims this will fill the view ahead
with pertinent road information and
vehicle information. No word on if it
distracts your driving.

In 2018, several different car companies
are going to debut the car-to-car
communication system. Claims is each
vehicle profile is enhanced by radio
signals to lower the risk of collision.

We always thought you stop using
your smart phone to lower the risk of
collision.

That concludes our nickel tour through
the future of our driving.
Comments are always welcome.

Please pray for them

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those
affected by the tornadoes in Oklahoma. Just
watching the videos on Fox News tore at
our heart.

With an elementary school leveled and
possibly 24 students dead it is indeed
a sad day.

The Medical Examiner confirmed 51 dead
and another source stated 120 are in
the hospital.

Houses can be rebuilt, cars and other
possessions can be replaced, but the
loss of life is tragic.
Comments are always welcome.

A differnt take

We have been following the tale of the
local red-headed stepchild otherwise
known as the Riverboat Development
Authority (RDA).

It seems no matter what this group
decides on the issue of the ‘new’ gaming
license somebody is upset.

Why they had the nerve to publicly
oppose the plan to have the city take
over the casino! And even though the
majority of people living in the city
didn’t want it either, the RDA was
singled out as the problem.

Our local newspaper got into the
act claiming the group has been less
than helpful towards the city, and
calling for more transparency. I am
beginning to detest that word.

Said paper also said that the City
Council tried to sell the idea that
the city owned Casino for six months.

While this may be true, the city has
been trying to replace the boat with
a Casino for 5 years and spent hundreds
of thousands of dollars in the process.

Now that the RDA has been searching for
a few short months everybody wants an
answer.

How quickly some forget one city leader’s
claim that those opposed were uninformed
or the meetings that became shouting
matches.

Why not just leave the RDA to their task
and give them a chance? We like the quiet
approach much better than the circus
atmosphere that erupted previously.

And before you start whining that the
RDA only received a little over $54 million
since 1991 please remember that it is
$54 million local charities didn’t get
prior to 1991.
Comments are always welcome.

American fluff piece

A friend sent a cryptic email last night
suggesting I watch 48 Hours on CBS. I believe
the segment was called ‘Chicago War’.

When the All-Star Race had a long rain
delay we switched channels.

At the onset we thought it would be a
fact filled report issued after 6 months
of hard-hitting investigation.

Instead we were treated to something
more akin to having “It’s a Small World”
playing in the background.

Shootings were mentioned with emphasis
on the young girl who performed at Obama’s
first inauguration and another girl.

We about lost coffee out of our nose when
the police commissioner stated that gun
deaths were down 50% from last year.

You may remember the spike in the number
of shootings last year. Shootings are
down only slightly from the year before
and the year isn’t over yet.

Heroin and a Mexican drug dealer were
blamed for the violence by someone from
the DEA. He also blamed the local gangs
who sell it on the streets.

The War on Drugs was declared in 1971
and although nobody is waving a white
flag, it has been an abysmal failure.

Wouldn’t stricter enforcement of our
border help slow things down?

Religion was only mentioned once, in
reference to an older gentlemen who
stood up to the gangs selling drugs
in his neighborhood.

We still can’t figure how the fact
the he is a Muslim had to be mentioned
in the clip of how he cleaned up his
neighborhood.

Not mentioned either is the fact that
Chicago has some of the strictest gun
control laws in the country.

The law-abiding citizens can’t arm
themselves against the violence, and of
course the criminals pay no attention
to them.

The mayor was not available for
comment.

If you like fluff, you’ll like this
segment. If prefer actual facts we
have no recommendation.
Comments are always welcome.

Places to go

It’s another warm weekend in the Quads
and that can only mean a lot of car
shows, races, and cruises going on.

Here are a few that might capture your
interest. If an event is not listed
here it should be.

Saturday, May 18 is the Lincoln Highway
Car Show held in downtown Franklin Grove,
Illinois from 10 am to 4 pm.

Saturday, May 18 is the Quad City Camaro
Club Car Show held at Jumer’s Casino, 777
Jumer Dr., Rock Island, Illinois from 10
am to 3 pm.

Saturday, May 18 is the Classic Rod &
Custom Car Show held at the Ohnward Fine
Arts Center, 1215 E. Platt St., Maquoketa,
Iowa from 10 am to 4 pm.

Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19 is the
Little Hershey Swap Meet & Car Show at the
Boone County fairgrounds, Belvidere,
Illinois.

Cordova Dragstrip will host
the ADRL Spring Drags on Saturday and
Sunday, May 18-19.

Sunday, May 19 is the Quad Cities
Mustang Club Cruise In at Dahl Ford,
1310 E. Kimberly in Davenport, Iowa.

Sunday, May 19 is the 26th Annual
Cruisin’ for Camp Courageous close to
Monticello, Iowa from 10 am to 4 pm.
for more info go here.

In the automotive news department comes
news that Porsche have come up with a
plug-in hybrid supercar they call the
918 Spyder.

It meshes a V-8 engine with 2 electric
motors and a lithium-ion battery. The
range in full electric is only 18 miles,
but powered by the gas V-8 it does 0-60
in 2.8 seconds. That’s quick.

It also has a top speed of 211 mph, but
the car will cost around $845,000.

If you’re like us and follow the also
rans in NASCAR you may remember Dick
Trickle. It is alleged he committed
suicide Thursday at the age of 71.

From the 70s to the 90s he was an also
ran. Although he never won a race in
303 starts with over 83,000 laps
completed, he did have 15 top five and
36 top ten finishes.

Before the politically correctness fad
hit he could be seen inside his car with
a lit cigarette in his mouth. He even
had a cigarette lighter in his race car.

Finally, a little music with a little
video.

Comments are always welcome.