A group of Southern California train enthusiasts announce the San Diego Steam Special-II, powered by former Santa Fe 3751 a 430-ton locomotive with an unusual wheel configuration known as a 4-8-4. The train runs by harnessing steam created by burning fuel at temperatures reaching 2,400 degrees in the firebox at a rate of 12 gallons per mile. ‘Cadillac of steam’ to ride the rails again

With more than 60 million sold worldwide, the Honda 50 (now Super Cub) is the best selling powered vehicle of all time. The Honda 50 is still produced today, 50 years after its inception. They’re cheap to buy – about $1,400 US new – and you’ll find them in 160 countries around the world. As great as the Cub is, you can’t get new ones in America anymore. Honda quit selling them here in the 1980s, when the bike was called the Passport.

The song “Little Honda”, about the Honda 50, was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys.

Go!
I’m gonna wake you up early cause i’m gonna take a ride with you.
We’re goin’ down to the honda shop, i’ll tell you what we’re gonna do.
Put on a ragged sweatshirt, i’ll take you where you want me to.

First gear, it’s all right (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Second gear, i’ll lean right (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Third gear, hang on tight (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Faster, it’s all right.

It’s not a big motorcycle,
Just a groovy little motorbike.
It’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys,
That two-wheeled bike.
We’ll ride on out of town
To anyplace i know you like.

First gear, it’s all right (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Second gear, i’ll lean right (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Third gear, hang on tight (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Faster, it’s all right.

It climbs the hills like a matchless,
Cause my honda’ built really light.
When i go in to the turns
Better hang on tight.
I’d better turn on the lights
So we can ride my honda tonight.

First gear, it’s all right (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Second gear, ill lean right (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Third gear, hang on tight (honda, honda, go faster, faster)
Faster, it’s all right.

When I was a teenager, I had a to get me around town. Back then, California law allowed a driver with a learning permit to legally ride a motorcycle solo. The driving test at that time for a motorcycle endorsement for your permit or license was to do a figure eight in the DMV parking lot. That was easy. After I passed the written test for the motorcycle, I received a motorcycle endorsement to my permit. When I got my license (the day I turned 16) I could have a passenger ride along with me on the Honda motorcycle (or motorbike – they weren’t called scooters at that time). I still have that motorcycle endorsement on my license even though it’s been a few years since I’ve ridden one. Nonetheless, I’ve had the opportunity to ride a variety of much more powerful motorcycles over the years. My favorite was a 650 Triumph, back in the days before the helmet requirement, but the one I had the most fun with was that Honda 50.

UPDATE April 2009: World’s Most Popular Motorcycle Returns to America! Sym, a former Honda subsidiary based in Taiwan is selling the 100-mpg Symba which sports the Cub’s timeless step-through design but updates the bike with a smoother transmission, improved suspension and other features. The 101-cc engine produces 6.7 horsepower. The motorcycle also gets a semi-automatic four-speed transmission and will carry a $2,600 price tag.

I’m a malcontent when it comes to the subject of parking.

I don’t like moving my car out of the way for movers, construction vehicles or street sweepers. I don’t like it when some moron takes up two spots. I don’t like it when someone parks too close to me. I don’t like it when someone parks in my spot. I don’t like looking for parking. I don’t like paying for parking. I don’t like .

Yeah, I already have a bike. You want to buy it?

Parking Q&A (San Diego)

Where are the San Diego parking ticket hot spots?
Downtown, La Jolla, Mission Boulevard and Lindbergh Field.

On what day of the week are the most parking citations issued?
Tuesday, followed closely by Wednesday.

On what day, excluding Sunday, are the fewest parking citations issued?
Saturday.

What is the most ticketed hour of the day?
11 a.m. to noon.

What car color is most often ticketed?
White cars account for about 21 percent of parking violations.

What are the top three parking violations?
No current car registration displayed, expired meters and
disregarding posted rules, typically parking time limits.

Parking Facts

– collected about $25.5 million in last fiscal year.
–Last year, San Diego’s 5,177 parking meters swallowed more than $6.6 million in coins.
–San Diego parking fines range from $25 for failing to display current car registration to $440 for unauthorized parking in a disabled spot.
–UPS pays about $2,000 a month in parking fines for its San Diego drivers.

The idea that the citation process can’t be stopped once it gets started is an urban myth!

More: SDUT special report, the perils of parking in paradise.

Top 10 Gas Guzzling Hummer Posts

Contrary to George Will’s disinformation, the Prius has not morphed into a sort of traveling toxic-waste dump trailing clouds of diabolical fossil-fuel exhaust. The reality is hybrids can significantly cut global-warming pollution, reduce energy use, and save drivers thousands at the pump.

The irony of this debate is that you might be better off getting a really fuel-efficient regular car.

If you’re driving a Hummer, consider parking it for a week and donate the gas money you saved to an .

• GreenPeace
• The Nature Conservancy
• National Wildlife Federation
• The Sierra Club
• The Conservation Fund

The H3 delivers off-road capability in a more accessible, midsize (one man’s midsize is another man’s large) package. It can navigate city traffic (you might need an optional rear view camera to park one of these) and also deliver Hummer’s trademark crawling and climbing capability.

The new H3 Alpha offers a 5.3 liter 300 horsepower V-8 engine with 320 foot-pounds torque that boost maximum towing capacity to 6,000 pounds. That’s a 33 percent improvement over the standard 242-hp, 3.7 liter five-cylinder inline engine that produces 242 foot-pounds torque.

While the V-8 is shared with other GM trucks, the H3′s oil pan was engineered to ensure constant oil pressure when climbing or descending steep grades. Another feature is the stronger front differential case made of cast iron. The five-cylinder model’s differential case is made of aluminum.

The is more “fuel-efficient” than the larger H2, plus at $39,260, the H3 Alpha is about $15,000 less expensive.

In other news, ice caps are melting and ice lounges are growing.

See TOP 10 Hummer Posts

Congress is about to boost corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE. The H2 Hummer is currently exempt from CAFE regulations because its gross vehicle weight exceeds 8,500 pounds. But in 2011, the exemption for big trucks is scheduled to rise to 10,000 pounds.

At 13-14 mpg the H2 Hummer has a fuel economy problem.

GM plans on introducing a mix of engines that run on diesel fuel or ethanol blends. The automaker also is expected to introduce a smaller, more fuel-efficient model code named H4, that will be smaller and cheaper than Hummer’s H3 model.

For the 2009 model year, the H2 will be configured to run on E85, a blend of ethanol and gasoline. A year later, the H3 adds E85 capability. And in model year 2011, look for a line of diesel-powered trucks.

“Green” Hummers will not cause environmentalists to trade in their Prius, but any step towards reducing oil consumption is a step in the right direction.

See Top 10 Hummer Posts

Exactly 3 months ago I posted about the , as part of Tulsa’s Golden Jubilee Week a.k.a. “Tulsarama!”

Today the car, which was buried in brand-new condition under the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse in 1957, is scheduled to be unearthed as part of the Oklahoma Centennial. The person who came closest in 1957 to guessing Tulsa’s 2007 population — or his or her heirs — will be awarded the car. If it’s in good shape, it may be worth $25,000 or more.

The official Internet site of the event is buriedcar.com. The Tulsa World has a special online section with schedules, video, a slideshow and articles leading up to the unearthing. KOTV of Tulsa will televise the unveiling live at 7 p.m. Central time today (Friday) and live on KOTV.com.

Update: June 16, 2007
The actual car, pictured below, suffered serious corrosion due to being buried in a vault that turned out not to be waterproof. Sadly, the 50-year-old artifact is all rotting fabrics and rusting metals.

According to a recent article in Popular Mechanics the Army’s auto research arm—part of the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC)—has developed a battery-dominant, hybrid-electric drivetrain with a diesel engine-generator.

A wider, 66-in. body design makes room for high-performance acceleration—as military vehicles go—with the second-gen Aggressor set to rev from 0-40 mph in four seconds and top out at 80 mph. But speed is not the main attraction here; stealth is. The Aggressor’s design provides battery-only operations, allowing it to switch into “silent mode” with a reduced thermal signature. Combine that with extended range and exportable power, and this should be one tough-to-detect AMV for missions involving communications, surveillance and targeting.

It definitely has a kick ass look to it.

In celebration of Oklahoma’s Centennial, a historic 1957 Plymouth Belvedere will be unearthed and on display for the public at the Tulsa Convention Center on June 15, 2007 as a part of Tulsarama 2007.