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.

Truck talking

Had a good visit with Dad this morning that went longer than usual and I’m still grinning. When the mood strikes him he talks up a storm. Today he was in a mood to talk about some of the things that happened during his 30+ years of being a trucker.

He talked of the time he was heading toward a small town down a hill
and got stopped for speeding. He kept arguing the truck couldn’t go
fast enough to speed unless one pushed it off a tall cliff. He still
got the ticket.

Been there done that. And he mentioned another driver who dropped his trailer at the terminal and left with the Tractor for a date. That driver ended up in jail and Dad had to get it and drive it back. We laughed at many old stories, and a few new ones.

His caregiver shared some pictures of her family and life on the farm.
She wanted to have one enlarged and cropped and asked if I knew of
someplace to do it. I did and told her and she replied that if her
first choice didn’t pan out she’d try mine.

Nobody seemed to know where the year went with it being October and Dad wondered how it got to be Tuesday so quick. He claims he lost Monday and couldn’t figure out where it went. I didn’t lose Monday so I had no idea where it went.

Enjoy our first Tuesday in October as we may be turning on the heat
for October 2nd. Now for more coffee.
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.

Big rig recalls

Services for Bush 41 are over, the CEO of GM should finish with
the committee today, and our Mayor has announced he won’t seek
reelection. So we’ll talk of something else that affects us all.
At least all of us who drive or are driven.

We’re all familiar with recalls but a recent group of recalls
has us rethinking things. At least 3 recalls on semi tractors
could be a basis for a Steven King novel, but in this case it
is fact. Yes, the trucks themselves are at fault or at least the
parts used to assemble them.

The largest recall is the Freightliner Cascadia manufactured
between May 17, 2016, and November 5, 2018. The airbags in these
trucks could deploy unexpectedly, which could cause a crash. If
you have one of these, Daimler Trucks North America will tell
the owners of the defects starting January 9, 2019. Dealers will
then fix the problem. This recall involves about 3,000 trucks.

Also, around 1,600 Kenworth and Peterbilt owners will be
notified starting February 19, 2019, of the recall for missing
reflex reflectors which could cause a crash. The recall will be
for certain 2013-2019 Kenworth T 680 and T 880 and Peterbilt
579 trucks. Dealers will install the missing reflectors at that
time.

Finally, the Mack and Volvo truck recall will begin December
21, 2018. This recalls involves the 2019 Mack Granite (GR),
(LR), and TerraPro (TE) trucks and 2019 Volvo VNL and VHD
trucks. Just over 900 trucks are in the recall that say the
sidewall steel body cords of the tires might be exposed which
can cause rapid tire air loss and increase the risk of a
crash.

These tractors, when coupled with a loaded trailer can’t stop
as quick as a car so give them some room on the open road. Enjoy
the rest of our Thursday as you can smell the weekend from here.
Now for some coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

The Jamboree

We decided to throw caution to the wind, ignore the 50% chance
of rain, and experience the Trucker’s Jamboree yesterday and it
worked out fairly well. We even watched a little of the Truckers’ Olympics while there.

This was the second time we’ve seen this truck but I’m drawn
to it again. One would think the colors would look hideous in
this combination but it works.

Support for veterans and law enforcement on a variety of trucks
and colorful murals from the hoods to the sleepers. It seemed a
shame they didn’t have a separate area for just trucks painted
like these.

As it was a truck show you noticed not everyone agrees on what
their truck should look like. The red and orange Peterbilts in
the picture are and example.

A few pickups were spotted like the old red International and
the older 1919 Defiance.

The rig above may look familiar to fans of scary movies that
have cars featured in them. We believe it to be a Henderson
but are correctable.

As the drizzle started we entered the last row and encountered
this trailer advertising the truck museum at the truckstop. It
caught my eye because of the old Coke delivery truck on it.
So we got some pictures, the camera didn’t get too wet, and we
cruised back home without sticking to the seats. Not a bad day.

Enjoy our Sunday as the start of the work week is only a dream
away. Now I need some coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Just a couple events

It’s been a while since we’ve mentioned upcoming events on
Friday so here are a couple to think about. One is in Minnesota
and the other in Iowa.

The first is the Minnesota Street Rod Association (MRSA)
sponsored 45th Annual Back to the Fifties Weekend at the
Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota. It runs from
today through Sunday and last year had over 11,000 vehicles
registered for the show.

We’re told this show is one that some don’t even see all the
cars at the event even though they spend the whole weekend
trying. One of these years we might even make it up there to
check it out.

If you’re around eastern Iowa around Labor Day, you may want to
head towards Mt. Pleasant and take in the Midwest Old Threshers
Reunion. This event runs from August 30th through September 3rd.

We won’t make this event as we’ll be cruising west toward
Idaho if everything works out. That said this is more for those
who want to know what it was like back in the day. Over the
weekend you can see horse pulls, the Cavalcade of Power on the
track, concerts, museums, steam tractors, take a trip around the
grounds on a train, and get some good eats and souvenirs too.

If you wish to know more click on the links and get the
information from the source. Enjoy our Friday as we will now
that rain stopped and the basements’ dry. Now for some more
coffee and some much needed sunshine.
Comments are always welcome.

The party’s over

The automotive rumor mill has been working overtime and until
recently I ignored the gossip. Now it looks like the rumors are
true and Ford will stop selling all but two cars here in the USA;
the Mustang and the Focus Active that thinks it’s a crossover.
Ford won’t end Mustang production because people would throw a
fit and probably boycott their business.

According to Ford, Taurus production will end in March 2019 and
Fiesta in May 2019. No timeline has been set for the demise of
the Fusion. If we understand correctly, Ford has decided to
focus on trucks and plan to make said truck will be 90% of its
offerings.

These trucks will fall into three categories; trucks, utilities
and commercial vehicles. The timing coincides with the debut of
the Ranger pickup and Bronco. Ford also announced it will
explore potential new models that combine the best attributes of
cars and utilities, such as ride height, space and versatility.
Think crossover SUVs.

If you’re not a certified car geek all that basically means is
that Ford doesn’t make enough on the cars sales so if they stop
selling them people will buy a truck and make Ford more money.

I guess Ford wants everybody in an overpriced, oversized money
making machine. When the time comes for the wife to buy another
vehicle and Ford only has two car models we’ll look elsewhere.

Enjoy our Thursday as the working folks just have to get
through 1 more day before they get a couple days off. Now I
need more coffee and that bag of donettes I found.
Comments are always welcome.

Tractor distractions

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

We have been missing in action for a full day but have now
returned. Yesterday the skies were as gray as the hull of a Navy
Destroyer and the drizzle constant. So while no pictures were
taken it is safe to say I got wet.

When the sky clouds over and it drizzled hard enough to have
the windshield wipers on the world is a different place. Sounds
are muted and colors fade while the wipers add an almost
hypnotic soundtrack.

Then came news of the Gone Farmin’ Auction hosted by Mecum
Auctions. The event runs from April 5-7, 2018, at the
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa and will have
at least 400 tractors and one Clydesdale horse.

One of the stars of the auction is a 1967 John Deere 4020
Standard. A 1938 Minnepolis-Moline UDLX and a 1922 Waterloo Boy
Model N will go across the block with no reserve. There is also
a 1910 International Model F roadster in the auction.

There will be John Deere, International, Moline, Cockshutt,
Minneapolis-Moline, Case, Rumely, Hart-Parr, Caterpillar, Ford,
McCormick-Deering, Oliver Hart-Parr, Oliver, Farmall, Sheppard,
Lamborghini, Allis-Chalmers and more brands of farm equipment.

If you wish to see all the lots up for auction go here.

Now that this is written I may not be so distracted. I even
dreamt I was a John Deere Model A last night. The wife claims
I was snoring, but it was a vivid dream. Enjoy our Wednesday as
we won’t get another like it this week.
Comments are always welcome.

Strange tale

Not the rig mentioned in the story.

I read the following and wondered, what are they putting in our
water?

————————————-
Loaded tractor trailer stolen from Pilot Fuel Island in Satsuma, AL., by 5th grader and two younger brothers. Halted 550 miles later by Texas hwy patrol buckshot to left steer tire outside of Tyler Texas.
————————————–

This came from a truckers site that usually has reliable
stories yet this is one on that can’t be confirmed. So let’s
just say it’s true and speculate a little.

First thing that came to mind is a trucker left his rig running
at a truck stop and the kids jumped in a took off. After all who
would think three kids would steal a semi? Perhaps if spotted
people would think they got bored and were just walking around.

And, if true, how can a 5th grader drive a big rig 550 miles
and not hit anything? Or it could be that he did hit other
vehicles and it wasn’t in the report. Kid must be tall for his
age.

As mentioned, we don’t know if it is true or not, but the site
does usually have road closures and weather reports that are
accurate. If it is true it’s scary and if it isn’t it’s food for
thought.

Enjoy the rest of our Tuesday as it has been a long one here on
the east coast Iowa.
Comments are always welcome.

Twofold

This post will cover two completely differet subjects and we
hope you enjoy them both. First we’ll share a link to some
pictures of lunar eclipse and then we’ll mention a new engine
that may be a game changer.

As a teaser we’ll share this photo by Mike O’Neal taken in
Oklahoma that is the first picture on the EarthSky website.
The pictures are among the best we’ve seen and may even make you
smile.

Now on to a different kind of engine that is getting tested in a
Ford F-150 pickup. Estimates are this two-cycle, three cylinder
engine with six pistons and no spark plugs, should bring gas
mileage up to 37 mpg highway and 33 mpg combined city and
highway driving according to Achates Power and Aramco Services.

Claim is gas engines now use 25% of a gallon of gas to move
the vehicle with the rest wasted to heat. This new engine would
up that to 45% of a gallon to move the vehicle. The control of
this engines response curve is done by modulating pressures
through both a supercharger and a turbo.

There is a 4-cycle version and other companies are doing
research also. Being old school it seems odd to have a three
cylinder engine using 6 pistons and two crankshafts. But hey,
if it performs as promised and is reliable why not?

Enjoy our Friday. Now I need some coffee before I grab the
camera and head outside.
Comments are always welcome.