Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Paradise Valley, Nevada

Let me try to remember them all, hmmm... Fiat 500 - a dealer had half a dozen of them displayed at the Kentlands Parade on Saturday. Also saw an Orange Camaro convertible. First Camaro I could see out of. And my first in-person Chrysler 200 convertible. Is it me or has the back seat shrunk? I remember Sebrings having roomy back seats in the past.

I was at a parade when I first noticed it. The cop car was blocking a street, so I suppose you could see the stop sign and know not to proceed. Nothing was lit or flashing. The big blue car with a light bar on top (even turned off) would get my attention way before the stop sign on the hood. ;) Ah, Wiki has a blurb on it: "MSP vehicles also feature a clear plastic sign, referred to as a "hood light" or "hailer" or "shark fin" on the hood that lights up when activated. The historical use of this hood light dates from the time when a "side stop" patrol stop would be initiated by pulling up next to an offender and the Trooper would motion them to pull over in daylight; at night the hood light was illuminated displaying the words "State Police" and "STOP" (MSP no longer use the "side stop")." link

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/11/report-china-suspends-jeep-wrangler-importati- on-over-safety-con/ China blocks Jeep imports. I wonder if the USA closed a Chinese military base on US soil? ;) Also not the only Chrysler fire in the news, this happened down the street from where I work: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/11/video-dodge-durango-catches-fire-during-d-c-c- herry-blossom-par/ explorerx4: remember I said my buddy was shopping an Explorer and F150 Crew Cab? Durango was on his short list, too. Was. He was there for the Cherry Blossom Parade and saw the Car-B-Q. Tundra is also on his list (his dad owns one) but I have a feeling he'll go with one of the EcoBoosts.

Almost everyone knows, who has done any research on the stats behind the primary reason for vehicle crashes, is people not paying attention (even momentarily) to their surroundings when driving with the car in motion (surely 90 to 99% of the time if any speeds above 30 mph are the norm during your commute). So after watching a few You Tubes on the new 2012 Focus, which uses Ford's iTouch or whatever it is, is yet another example of new models coming off the assembly line bragging about all their flashy technology, Bluetooth this and iPod that etc etc, yet it too has joined the ranks of yet another vehicle that demands you take your eyes OFF the road in order to do the simplest of chores, like change the HVAC settings. These are crucial controls, and in cars only a few short years ago, a hand could fall blindly to the knob and find the detent spot intuitively and all the while not having taken your eyes off that car in front of you (and the child trying to breach its mothers grasp at the bus stop in front of it, or the impatient idiot beside you swapping lanes every 15 seconds trying to get that 1 car edge in heavy traffic) for even a fraction of a second. And it's not just HVAC's! Consider ALL the other many many eye draws that forces you to pull your eyes to a display screen (including even the humble 8 button row of LED-lit buttons that in no way can be considered superior or safer than a twist knob with 5 distinct detents) away from the road. If you are stopped at a light, and using your hands to shade sun reflections to see what the stupid screens say, then at least you are stopped. But we all know that many minutes out of a 30 minute commute every day, is actually spent looking at (not only directly below your peripheral vision in front of you where the speedometer is, but off to the centre) of the dash instead of the bleeping road! And consumers seem to be eating this crap up like mad! Absolute craziness and irresponsibility if you ask me. On both the manufacturer's and the consumers part. People should vote with their dollars and tell these manufacturers that we don't want anymore distractions in our cars than we already have! If we don't, insurance companies will, with the premiums they will no doubt dish out on more and more of these vehicles that pull the drivers eyes away from the task at hand. It is a relatively rudimentary stat graph that is used to tabulate these incidents. And lest anyone need reminding, the original task is driving the car by looking at the road, not the dash. Imagine. I hope I live long enough to see these shallow trends of perceived needs inside of our cars, go the way of the dodo bird. This post is not intended to rain on any parade of a new Focus owner. I wish I could post it in every new car forum that is applicable. (I wish to an even greater degree that every manufacturer would see and read it and take it to heart). It would be in the Cruze and Sonata forums and basically every other brand forum too. Rant off, Sam

I'm a big fan of micro-algae sourced biodiesel I am also. I have stock in two different bio-diesel companies. One is algae based the other waste oil and grease. I also have to think that diesel from coal is an option. The Germans used it in WW2. Not sure what point it will become viable. Of course tearing up paradise to get the coal is an obstacle. It really irks me that the Feds spend so much on Ethanol and so little on Bio-diesel. What people don't seem to realize is getting people to use E85 is a big winner on Fuel Tax. A new Ford Fusion FFV uses 25% more E85 than RUG. When the dust settles and they have every one addicted to using the lower energy per gallon E85, they will pull the subsidies and we will have an instant tax increase of 25%. Not to mention having to stop every couple hours to fill the tank. yuck Make mine diesel, hopefully high quality bio-diesel.