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Backseat Driver: Car Show at the State House Sunday

Gov. Donald L. Carcieri is hosting a shindig this Sunday featuring as many as 400 classic cars that will be parked all around the State House.

It's the first ever Governor's Classic Car Appreciation Day and will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The governor will present 200 citations to selected cars.

Cruisin' Bruce Palmer will keep the banter going and provide the tunes. In addition, there concession stands for drinks and refreshments.

Carcieri said he had visited a number of car cruises around the state and was impressed by the amount of money each raised for varioius charities. "I thought it would be a good thing for (Providence) in the summer time," he said, and worked with his deputy director of community relations, Sue Stenhouse, and Gene Pezzulli, chairman of the Autos of the World car show in Warwick at the end of July.

Pezzulli said he expected over 300 cars, with as many as 600, "depending on the weather," and 3,000-to-4,000 spectators. There is no charge for either showing a car or getting into the show.

"There'll be signs all over the place," said Pezzulli, noting that he was hoping to attract alot of folks from the Providence Place Mall to stroll over to check out the cars.

"We'll have all types, from the old to the new, 1099 to 2007," he said, adding that he was planning to attent in his red 1961 Ford Sunliner convertible.

Carcieri said he did not have a favorite classic, claiming his family was too poor to invest much money in cars. "I always got a ride with my buddies," he said.

Posted by   at 2:31 PM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Seven tips on buying a new vehicle

The battle to get the price on your new vehicle starts long before you step in the showroom, according to thecarconnection.com.

Contrary to what your brother-in-law says, or your "friend in the business," buying a car for the best possible price takes time and research. What should you do before you even think of dropping by the local dealer? TheCarConnection.com recommends at least seven things before you sign on the dotted line:

Posted by   at 12:35 PM to Consumer rights | Permalink | Comments 0

These Teardrops Aren’t Lonely

The Second International Teardrop Gathering, held June 16-17 at Pioneer Village, a campground in Minden, Neb., was not a convention for people with hay fever, contact lenses or sad stories to tell. Rather, it was a get-together of more than 100 rounded-off camping trailers called teardrops, according to the New York Times.

Teardrop trailers are throwbacks, reminders of a time when people got by on less, because they were flat broke. Teardrops were products of the Great Depression.

Posted by   at 12:12 PM to On the road | Permalink | Comments 0

A Chrysler Designed to Beat the Wind

Innovation has never been a guarantee of success, but rarely have striking new designs been rejected as emphatically as happened with Chrysler’s Airflow, according to the New York Times.

In an era that otherwise glorified the streamline look in everything from toasters to locomotives, the Airflow lived a short, tumultuous life.

It was born in 1934, and by the time it died an unmourned death in 1937, it had very nearly taken the Chrysler Corporation to the grave with it. As automotive styling fiascos go, the Airflow ranks with the Edsel and the Pontiac Aztek.

Posted by   at 11:22 AM to Chrysler , Design | Permalink | Comments 0

Just Like Sturgis, but Serving Sushi With the Corn Dogs

They rally in Laconia. N.H., in June, in Sturgis, S.D., in August and now in Gotemba, Japan, in July, where the numbers may not rank up there, but about 20,000 Japanese bikers, many on Harley-Davidsons, are beginning their own tradition of motor-cycle rallying, according to the New York Times.

However, the spectacle of 20,000 Harley owners gathering last month for an annual rally at a racetrack in the shadow of Mount Fuji, Japan’s tallest peak and most sacred mountain, was jarring. The unmistakable growl of the big Harley V-twin engines was unlike the refined whirr typical of bikes on Japanese roads, and many riders were dressed as if they were pulled straight out of Harley’s Japanese Lifestyling Fashion catalog, right down to the $800 leather jackets and $85 garage shirts.

At first glance, the extra large Harleys — quintessential emblems of American brawn and self-reliance — are an odd fit in Japan, where many roads are narrow and congested and there are already four giant companies — Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha — selling bikes. But the cultural disconnect may be even greater: Japan is also a society that values conformity, not the spontaneity and independence that Harleys represent.

Posted by   at 11:03 AM to Motorcycling | Permalink | Comments 0

Ford, utility team up to test plug-in hybrids

Ford and Southern California Edison will team up to test rechargeable hybrid vehicles and hasten mass production of the new technology, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The California utility, which serves 13 million people in 11 central, coastal and southern California counties outside Los Angeles, will get a Ford plug-in hybrid vehicle by the end of this year and as many as 20 by some time in 2009 to test durability, range and impact on the power grid, said Susan M. Cischke, Ford senior vice president for sustainability, environment and safety engineering.

Posted by   at 10:57 AM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0