It’s finally here!

Picture from Car and Driver magazine.

Well, the much hyped Ford Bronco has finally made an appearance. It
has been delayed, pushed back, and the subject of much speculation,
but the news is out. The base 2-door model will run you around
$29,995 and the base 4-door around $34,995.

A standard transmission is only available on the base model and
with over 200 options your dream 4×4 could end up costing you over
$60,000. Like the looks but am not putting $100.00 down on one to
reserve it.

The base 2-door and 4-door models come with a 2.3 liter EcoBoost
four cylinder engine that makes 270 horsepower and plenty of torque.
Among the engine choices is an optional 2.7 liter EcoBoost V-6 that
puts out 310 horsepower through a 10-speed automatic.

About the only thing I don’t like about it is dial where the
shifter used to be. First used it on the wifes car and am still not
used to it. The Sport button in the center is fun to play with
though.

If you want to know more about trim levels, costs, and more
information, go to this link.

So enjoy our Wednesday as we will. Now I need more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Cruising memory lane

Recently our youngest asked me to look for a picture of a car that
we last saw in 2010. Between the two of us we spent about 48 hours
looking and came up with 3 pictures. While the car isn’t included in
these pictures, take a look at what car shows and cruise ins looked
like 10 years ago.

The first is a well-known local car and we have no idea if it is
still around or not. When the shows and cruises open up again we’ll
ask around.

The second picture is of the VooDoo Hellion which I believe was out
of VooDoo Larrys shop. I do remember it had a crowd around all day
as it was a looker.

The blue Model A I honestly don’t remember but I liked the looks of
it so included it here.

The purple A was at the first TorqueFest in Farley, Iowa. Things
have changed since 2010 and the shows just kept coming until the
virus hit. Things will get going again but if you get garage fever
we hope these pictures help.

Enjoy our Thursday as the weekend is just a dream away and more
businesses in Iowa will open up tomorrow. Now for some coffee and a
bite to eat.
Comments are always welcome.

Not again

Been trying to post the last few days but have been so tongue-tied
that I can’t get the keyboard to work right. And it all started with
the Democrat ‘debate’. No, I didn’t watch but can’t avoid the clips
during the news. That’s enough to put me off politics for a while.

So let’s mention a car show. Tomorrow and Sunday the 51st Annual
O’Reilly Rod & Custom Car Show will be held at the Berndes Center.
The address is 766 N. Maple St., Monticello, Iowa, and Dave Palmer
from 3-D Sound will be providing the music.

We have been to this show many times and have always had a good time and seen some great rides. We can’t make this one but the weather is supposed to be good if you feel like cruising up there.

And we figured out we’re getting old today. Cruised over to get
groceries at our regular store and realized after we walked in that
we didn’t know where anything was, and didn’t like the feeling. We
did manage to find what we needed but feel the place is getting a
little too fancy for us.

After all, the place has had a cafe but now they have a Starbuck’s
too! One employee even had the nerve to tell me the pizzas are going
to get moved during the remodel. Oh the humanity. I’m sure the place
will look fancy when done but I’ve always said ‘why fix it if it
ain’t broke?’.

Enjoy our Friday as we will. Now for some coffee and a short break.
Comments are always welcome.

Of strange dreams

Late yesterday afternoon went to see if the moon was visible in the
blue sky, get a picture, and have a chat. After returning inside I
realized I hadn’t eaten anything so fried up a couple cheeseburgers.
Add a Coke, a big helping of potato chips, and a Snicker’s ice cream
bar and it was the perfect meal.

The food made me drowsy so I turned in early at 8 pm. Decided a good nights sleep was in order and woke up refreshed but noticed it was still dark out. Thinking it was early morning I made coffee but when I looked at the clock it displayed 11:15 pm.

But all was not wasted as I had a dream that needed to be thought
about. In the dream I built another vehicle, a Model A pickup this
time. And this one was different as it had no windows. Everywhere a
window opening should be was covered with metal.

It was a masterpiece. Until I tried to drive it. Plans of putting
rubber bumpers all around the truck was quickly dismissed as I
imagined that while said bumpers may prevent some body damage the
owners of vehicles hit might get a bit angry.

So another path was taken. I enrolled in the Roy Orbison School of
Driving for the Blind. When that didn’t work a periscope was rigged
that stuck out of top and swiveled. This worked reasonably well but
still left a huge blind spot.

So I chopped the top to allow 4 inch tall windows all around and believed the problem was solved. It was not. The cab was now so short I couldn’t get skinny old body into it, but it did look sharp. It may be for sale in my next dream.

Enjoy our Thursday as it means we’re that much closer to the weekend. Now I need more coffee to solve the problem.
Comments are always welcome.

Amazing lady

The car enthusiast world lost another legend too young. Jessi Combs
was only 36 years old when she died Tuesday trying to break her own land speed record on a dry lake bed in Oregon. The fastest woman alive left us still owning that title.

The meme above was a post on her facebook page that many felt said a lot about her attitude. She was a graduate of Wyotec, racer, gearhead, and media personality that fellow gearheads liked to follow. She was also an off-road racer with wins to her credit and a fabricator and car builder.

She became the fastest woman alive in 2013 with a world land speed record of 398 mph in a four wheeled vehicle. Last year she made a one way pass of 483 mph but didn’t set a record due to
mechanical issues. A few days before her death she said she wanted to hit 619 mph in the car.

Calling the vehicle she drove a car is a bit of a stretch for some who don’t follow the land speed attempts. Basically it is a wingless jet with 4 wheels attached and a jet engine that produces the equivalent of 52,000 horsepower. Not your average grocery getter.

She was one of those people who crammed 100 years of living into her 36 years on earth. Our condolences to family, crew, co-workers, and friends.

Enjoy our Thursday as even with the sad news the sun is shining here. Now I need more coffee and some non-healthy food.
Comments are always welcome.

Did you ever?

This is the first truck stop you see entering Missouri from Oklahoma on I-44. The picture was taken heading east and we parked on the east bound side of the “Arch”. The second floor of the place spans I-44 and you can stand up there and watch traffic zoom by beneath you.

So we pull in and decide to go to the upper level and went up 30 stairs to see what was there. Well, there’s a McDonalds, a Subway, more restrooms, and a souvenir shop near the west bound side. The wife decided we needed to look in the souvenir shop as we were planning a late lunch in Lebanon, Missouri and had enough time to do so.

She bought a few things and we unknowingly went down the 30 steps on the west bound side. We walked into the parking lot, went to where we thought we parked our car, and discovered it wasn’t there! I hate that feeling you get when you believe your car has been stolen.

Then it hit me, we went down the wrong stairs. So back inside we go up another 30 stairs, across the second floor, and down 30 more stairs to get to the side we started on in the first place. The wife was confused until we walked out into the parking lot and there sat her car. Right where we left it.

When it was all over we laughed so hard I’m sure other patrons of the truck stop thought we’d gone insane. After drying our tears we wondered how many times this has happened to others. And if it happens to us again, I’m using the elevator.

Enjoy our Saturday as we will. Now for more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Talking with Dad

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Went over to Dads for a visit and as happens the talk turned to cars. He gave the opinion, again, that the best car ever made was a Model T Ford. He claimed that out in the country a Model T would get you anywhere you wanted to go.

He mentioned a time he was driving a Model T on a two-lane road and ran out of gas. He had a gas can in the rubleseat and took off on foot to find some gas. About a mile down the road he came across a farmers gas tank that was near the road.

He went on to say he was surprised the nozzle wasn’t padlocked so he helped himself to enough to get him home. It was when he poured from the tank to the can he knew it was diesel fuel. He poured it in the tank and claimed the car made it home, but smoked like crazy.

We talked of travels we had and sights we’ve seen and laughed again about a trip we made as a family in the 1960s and stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona. When we pulled onto the lot of the motel it was a nice warm summer day. The person behind the counter explained how to turn on the heaters in the room.

I thought that odd, until it got dark and temperature dropped like a rock. Yes, it got cold enough to need the heater and I wished I had paid attention when we were told how to start them. The room the folks were in was nice and toasty while us kids were freezing right next door. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Enjoy our Tuesday as the middle of the week is only a dream away. Now for more coffee and some leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Of races and kittens

The Great Race starts today in Riverside, California and will end on June 30th in Tacoma, Washington. Not sure if this will be televised, but if it is we’ll be watching. If it comes through your town it’s worth a look.

In local news, this guy showed up in the driveway to get his picture taken on his way to food dish. He looked overdressed for the occasion
but we didn’t hold that against him.

And a few of the feral kittens posed by the door and must have found me interesting this time as instead of running they kept looking at me holding the camera. They aren’t weaned yet and are learning how to run around and play without doing a nosedive.

When they’re old enough a neighbor will take them out to a friends farm to start a new life there. They won’t stay little forever and we don’t want a leap in the number of feral cats in the area. Mama cat may go with them to keep the family together.

We figure they’d have a better shot at survival on a farm than here as many seem to think our alley is a drag strip. Too many other little ones have been run over. They are cute though.

Now I need to get the lawn mowed between rain drops and clean the glass on the door to get some better pictures. Enjoy our Saturday as we will. Now for more coffee and some leftover pizza to get me through the mowing.
Comments are always welcome.

Since you mentioned cars

It’s the ‘Back to the 50s’ weekend and as you’re reading this over 12,000 street rods and customs will begin entering the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for the 46th annual event. It will run Jun 21-23 at the fairgrounds in Falcon Heights (St. Paul), Minnesota. This is the car show on many a bucket list.

Speaking of cars, the wife picked up the new car she wasn’t looking for yesterday and we’re learning how to make all the bells and whistles ring and whistle. The car is a 2019 Fusion Sport and with it comes a hefty increase in horsepower.

Her old Fusion had 225 horsepower and enough power to get out of its own way. This new one has 325 horsepower and does it a little quicker. The only thing we don’t like about it is the shifter, or lack of in this case. It has a knob you turn to shift the gears that reminds me of an old television set we had years ago.

Everything looks about the same as her old one and is the same spot but now does different things. The monitor is in the same spot and when you put it in reverse the back-up camera fills the screen, but the icons for everything has changed. The GPS feature with the little arrow on the map telling you where you are drives me nuts, but she likes and it is her car.

I’m more of a hand on the shifter, other arm resting on the window sill kind of guy. Time will tell if it lives up to all the hype. Enjoy our Friday as we will even with rain in the forecast. Now for more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Of pine cones and a car show

Pine cones are popping up on the old pine tree and before long will look more like pine cones than pickles. Didn’t get to see the moon last night as clouds moved in before the rain and a cool breeze came up.

Talked to the wife this morning, she is out of town for work until Thursday and called so we could chat. Even after being married for over 30 years we still talked for over an hour. And Dads Father’s Day gift came yesterday and it turned out even better than we hoped.

A friend got hold of me and mentioned a car show this weekend and thought we’d share that with you. The 12th Annual Heartland Nova Reunion runs from tomorrow afternoon through Saturday afternoon at Jumer’s in Rock Island, Illinois. I’m assuming that’s the casino.

Friday night at 7 pm a live band will be performing everything from Elvis to the Beatles and we’re told it’s a great band called The Neverly Brothers. And it’s free! So you can see some great cars, meet some nice people, and listen to a live band for free.

It is suggested that if you attend the concert you bring lawn chairs to sit in. The casino does supply some chairs but not enough for everyone. I wish we could make it but not sure we can. So if you like live music, hearing it for free, and looking at cars, this is the place to be.

Enjoy our Wednesday as that means we’re in the middle of the work week and the weekend will be here before we know it. Now for more coffee and the last piece of leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.