G. David Felt

Circle of Life

Than to make everyone a better driver, then it would make sense to require every 5 yrs a drivers test of all ages if we are to remove age as an issue and improve driver skills. I would also then say we need a national standard on drivers skill and testing and I would want to incorporate defensive driving skills for Ice, Snow, Water (hydro planning) as there is far too many that are on a frost covered road, slip a little and freak out as they truly do not know how to respond. Better Safety for all then. Yes this makes it more expensive to learn to drive, but then a privilege earned is never cheap.

3 months old.

gm hit a mile stone with their Ultium project. The final beam was put in place for the 2.8 million sq ft Lordstown Ohio battery production site. This being a joint venture between gm and LG of Korea has some pretty cool statistics so far. The Topping out was done from start to finish in 10 months. 500,000 man hours have been spent so far on this building which is slated for a 2022 completion. Building Frame Work is done using all USA made steel. Plant is equal to 30 football fields in size. Plant annual capacity of battery production initially will be 30 gigawatts with room to expand. Tesla Gigafactory just boosted production to 39 gigawatts with a maximum of 150 gigawatts production in the current building as a comparison to GM. GM is on a robust hiring process to get all 1,100 workers hired and on board for training in Northeast Ohio. Cost of the Facility is $2.3 billion split between the two companies. Ultium Cells Surpasses 500,000 Construction Build Hours, Celebrates Completion of Steel Building Structure (gm.com)

I do not see an age discrimination lawsuit by having clear defined requirements of being able to drive and control your auto. I see no reason to not use the same test the teens have to take to insure you are still able to safely drive an auto. I agree with so many EVs going 0 to 60 in 3 seconds, the auto body shops will be kept busy especially in winter.

Puppies are so easily amused with their tails. 46467.3gp

Cora crashed!

Dialogue has commenced, but the Cherokee Tribe seem pretty set on having Jeep Drop the name. Chief of Cherokee Nation asks Jeep to stop using tribe's name (msn.com) I can see Jeep as they bring out their Hybrid and then EV changing the name. Texas should have done what Canada did back in 1998 to get some power on for people. Use Loco's to power the grid.

Breaking news Cooper Tires is no more as a single independent tire company. They are being bought out by Goodyear Tire. News says this will cement Goodyear's #1 position in the US and raise them up Doubling their presence in China as Auto sales are picking up. Goodyear Agrees to Buy Cooper Tire for About $2.8 Billion (msn.com)

It is an interesting read if you read what Porsche put out about eFuel. Porsche researches synthetic fuels A bit of a different take when you read the news media take on it. How Porsche's new e-fuel plant could pave the way for guilt-free classic-car motoring - Roadshow (cnet.com) Porsche is still moving forward with plans to have half their auto's they sell be EV by 2025. Seems Porsche sees eFuel as a way for ICE to last much longer but cleaner. One issue is that Porsche admits that for commercial fleets that need to reduce CO2, eFuel will not help in reducing it here. This is about having a sustainable fuel for existing ICE auto's. Synthetic Oil, Synthetic eFuel, ways to extend ICE, but not really reduce cost of maintenance or simplification of power train.

Thank you @balthazar some valid points you bring up. I for one am an odd duck in that I like to check up on the driving school changes of what is being taught and how it changes driving here, plenty of changes since I took driving school and that is one reason I thought 50 might be a good starting point. I do understand the added cost and time to validate the knowledge and skills, but I think also we can do this via a virtual simulator much like how we have airplane simulators for pilots. Maybe every 5 years as humans age, our body's slow down in response, eye's slow down in how they respond to bright lights as well as movement, health issues, etc. Yes I agree we have had some very healthy old folks driving into their 90's and yet I would question they can react fast enough to various situations. My own dad is 80 and I am pushing to pull his drivers license as he should not be driving. He does not see that his vision is bad especially at night and he does not respond to peripheral stimulation that needs being addressed such as humans stepping off a side walk when looking ahead. I know driving is a form of freedom, but everyone tends to slow down and not respond as well as others especially when they get older. Interesting thought, I wonder if states have ever thought of doing this.

Personal thought that I am sure will piss some off and it is based on two things, first is implementation of technology and the second is on competence to drive safely which is a privilege earned. Mercedes Benz has implemented AUTO ON HIGHBEAMS and I had the first chance to experience this driving early up the pass and coming back down yesterday. I also without knowing it at the time but last weekend when we had our local snow storm at sea level, I had seen a new MB SUV driving down Hwy 99 and it kept flicking on and off at various time the high beams. I thought they were trying to get ahold of the person in front of them, but now realize it was the auto feature after seeing multiple new MB SUV's up on Stevens pass doing this same thing. It would seem this safety feature has a hard time telling the difference between heavy snow fall and auto's in front of the SUV. It was very clear as I passed these auto's as I was in the left lane and they were in the right looking at the auto's in front of them, the people were getting pissed about the flickering high beam light. As such this brought up the thought of is it safe for people to be driving at night if they cannot see well with regular lights on without turning on the high beams? This then brings me to my second observations which is based on Multi-Cultural observation that we have plenty of older people who seem to no longer remember well how to drive. From pulling out into traffic, to right turns with a yield sign to which lane on the freeway they should be in at what speed. I am 53, but I am now thinking starting at age 50 we need to have some basic testing done every 3 to 5 years to insure the person can properly see at night, properly respond to traffic situations, understand the basics of how to do your free right turn, how to use a traffic circle, yield signage, etc. Driving is a privilege we earn, not a right and the fact that we drive auto's that can easily kill/harm people makes me think of the need to ensure the people driving can properly operate their auto safely. Thoughts on the auto on high beams and testing of driver knowledge and skills to keep ones licenses?

Vaccination

Fondue

Mercedes Confirmation: The EQC electric SUV which was built for the US market will now not come here even though it is built and sold in Europe and China. The EQS is the first electric sedan that will go on sale later this year in the US as it is built on Mercedes all new electric platform. As such, it would tend to imply that the next generation EQC suv will be moved to this new electric platform and then come here to the US for sale. Mercedes Cancels US Launch of EQC Electric SUV Over ‘Market Developments’ (thedrive.com)

Breaking News: Ford recalling all 2021 Bronco's for rear Jiggly Suspension modules. Seems someone in the Mexico Hermosillo plant did not secure the rear suspension module to the sub-frame properly and as such can cause the auto to loose stability. The missing bolt or loose bolt will be addressed as they inspect all 21,504 built to date. 2021 Ford Bronco Sports Called Back for Jiggly Suspension Modules - The Truth About Cars Breaking News: Honda CEO is stepping down as the head of their R&D will take over Honda and lead it into the future as they change over to an EV auto company. The new CEO Toshihiro Mibe will lead the auto company as they plan to sell globally the majority of all auto's as EV's by 2030 with a start of partnering with GM using their Ultium battery and power train system to build new global EV's. Quote: From Honda: Honda CEO Stepping Down, R&D Head Stepping Up - The Truth About Cars

OUCH 150 years of toxic legacy of Fossil Fuels has begun in the decade long project of cleaning up a Philadelphia refinery. Eventually they hope to build office space, warehouse space and more on the old refinery site. The company that bought the 1,400 acre site from the bankruptcy courts says it will take 4 years to remove all the Asbestos first. Once that is done, they can then recycle the bulk of the plant as there is enough steel pipe to reach to Florida if laid out. This site began in 1870 as a refinery, 100 years before the EPA was formed and any formal rules on spills, clean up etc. was created. As such they have to deal with removal of 3,000 tanks of liquid waste along with over 100 buildings and other infrastructure. According to documents attained, there is multiple rail cars buried on the property containing hazardous waste as well as pools of hazards such as benzene and other deadly toxic in the ground. The company is also considering a residential home section, hotel and restaurants on the site. They expect a 10 to 15 year cleanup of the site before any construction can begin. All I can say is this, Does anyone remember the Love Canal mess? The Love Canal Tragedy | About EPA | US EPA PES Refinery toxic industrial waste cleanup a monumental task | Autoblog

Breaking news, Mercedes has confirmed the all new 2022 C-Class will only come with a range of 4 banger enginers, the C63 is dead and will not have a V8 as the 2021 version has. EV and Hybrid will make up the difference. Debut of the 2022 C-Class auto's options will show up on February 23rd at 2pm European time, 8am NY tim and 5 am LA time. Mercedes-Benz explains why the next C-Class is downsizing | Autoblog

Tesla has played an on again off again game with the Tesla Y CUV RWD Standard range model that had less than a 250 mile range. As of the end of last week, it seems that Tesla has decided to kill it off quietly and that kills their cheapest CUV at $41,990 and now makes the long range model Y RWD their cheapest at $48,990 a $7,000 increase. Interesting is that the Standard range RWD CUV Tesla Y was a head on competitor to the VW ID.4 that is coming to market this year. Now they are no longer a competitor. Tesla Cancels Cheapest Version Of Model Y: Kills Off Standard Range RWD (insideevs.com) Tesla stops taking orders for cheapest Model Y in hard-to-follow updates - Electrek

IPT group acruires Primove wireless charging, having a complete portfolio of charging options that are wireless from cell phones to auto's. This tech originally started as wireless charging for mass transit busses and their first implementation was in 2004 in Turin for electric buses and is still in use today. Primove current commercial wireless charging is in use today in London and Madrid for both buses and semi truck charging. Charged EVs | IPT Group acquires Primove wireless charging technology - Charged EVs

Breaking News, with the support of the state auto dealer's Virgina is the next state to adopt the CARB standards from California with a focus to become all EV but with a catch. Virgina says they will not mandate at this time a set date of banning ICE auto sales, but will continue to work with the Auto industry and dealers till a time is reached that warrants banning ICE auto sales. Virginia adopts EV-boosting California clean car standards, with support of dealers (greencarreports.com) Charged EVs | Virginia to become the next zero-emission vehicle state - Charged EVs According to this review, the best auto Toyota makes is their Hydrogen electric auto Mirai. The best-driving sedan Toyota already makes is an electric car (greencarreports.com)

Old English 40

Cora, why you not playing with me look!

So the weekend was a comfort food night with left overs. ? Left over for Sunday dinner homemade mac n cheese with Havarti cheese. Saturday night was BBQ chicken sandwiches with the mac n cheese. The process: Cooked the bacon Then made a bacon roux. Then building up the base of the sauce with seasoning. Pasta is in as this is a one pot mac n cheese. Stirring in the 4 cups of shredded Havarti Cheese. Bacon time, but kept some out for garnishment on top. Time to slowly stir it all together and let the pasta cook. 20210220_171756.mp4

Passes closed early due to excessive snow fall and them rain on top that took avalanche danger to a crazy high threat level. On the way down the mountain, in a little town that you are in and out of usually at 60mph I found this old house rebuilt and an old car since we were creeping along down the mountain. Some cool big machinery on the pass. 20210221_130507.mp4