World War II’s most famous US tank broke German siege lines at Bastogne in the Bulge It's restored and ready for display, but waiting for a display museum to be constructed.

After World War II, the historic tank’s whereabouts were unknown, and remained so until 2004.

That year, army Chaplain Keith Goode became curious about the old tank on display near the back gate of the US Army’s Rose Barracks at Vilseck, Germany. After examining the tank, he came to believe it was actually the famous Cobra King. Armor experts looked into the matter, and in December 2008 they officially confirmed the tank’s identity.

In July 2009, the US Army Center of Military History shipped Cobra King from Germany to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky, for restoration work.

When the tank was identified in Germany, it was missing its engine, so the team at Fort Knox faced the challenge of finding a period replacement. And Cobra King’s original tracks were difficult to restore because they had a unique addition: a duckbill, or metal extension used to compensate for the tank’s extra weight when traveling over marshland.

Cobra King’s war service didn’t end with that triumphant moment at Bastogne on December 26, 1944. In fact, damage from later combat would prevent restoration of the tank’s interior. Physical evidence showed that an explosion caused an internal fire, destroying the tank’s interior, and causing the famous “First in Bastogne” tank to be unceremoniously abandoned.

Cobra King is now in storage at Fort Benning, says Dyer, and functions as an educational tool for the US Army Armor School. According to Dyer, the tank will eventually be displayed at the National Armor and Cavalry Museum at Fort Benning, still in the process of raising construction funds.

In addition to Cobra King, the National Armor and Cavalry Museum will feature the armor collection previously displayed at the Patton Museum at Fort Knox.

http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/cobra-king-today/

Consider this fact.... roads were not built for cars.

http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/

Fwiw, don't bother vacationing in Michigan (hey, I grew up there, and you can do much better)

Michigan's pretty expensive for gasoline ranking — 28th.

 Apparently, if you bring your car here, there's a pretty good chance somebody will steal it as the state ranks 37th in car thefts per 100,000 residents.

If you drive there it's an even better chance you could get killed — Michigan ranks 18th in fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

 And Michigan is listed as No. 30 for attractions and 33rd on "nightlife options."

http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/07/michigan_ranked_one_of_the_wor.html

horse carriage of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island

Images from https://www.google.com/search?q=horse+carriage+passes+the+Grand+Hotel+on+Mackinac+Island&rlz=1C1LENP_enUS569US569&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMItviT2dvbxgIVDBmUCh19xgE8&biw=1600&bih=731#imgrc=_

No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island, except an ambulance and a police car and snow mobiles in the winter. People get around on bicycles, on horse back, in horse-drawn carriages and on foot.

The island was the second U.S. National Park, after Yellowstone National Park, but it was turned over to the state of Michigan. Now, eighty percent of the island is Michigan State Park.

Opened in 1887, the Grand Hotel is celebrating its 128th anniversary this summer. Five U.S. Presidents have visited: Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford (who was raised in Michigan and helped to build cabins on the island as a Boy Scout) George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

 Thomas Edison demonstrated his phonograph for the public for the first time on the hotel’s porch, as well as demonstrating other new inventions during Edison’s frequent stays. Mark Twain spoke frequently at the Grand Hotel during his speaking tours. In recent years, Russian leaders Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev have visited.

The Grand Hotel, is the largest summer hotel in the world and has the world’s longest front porch. The Grand Hotel is a National Historic Landmark and is considered by many travel experts to be one of the best hotels in the world.

The Grand Hotel charges ten dollars each to visit the hotel and grounds. The fee was instituted in 2011, probably because without the fee the hotel would be swarmed with the thousands of day trippers from the mainland who could take all of the seats on the porch. It may be the longest porch in the world, but it can’t fit everyone!

Info from https://catherinesherman.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/grand-hotel-mackinac-island-michigan/

Framo TV 300 and LT 300, of Frankenberg Metalwerkes

Framo TV300 In 1926 the company developed a new, more substantial transporterwagen, the TV300. Largely constructed of wood with a rear carrying tray, it was powered by a 300cc DKW stationary engine mounted atop the single front wheel with a two speed gearbox. It retained tiller steering. A variety of body styles and engine sizes were offered. By 1928 the Frankenburg plant had built 1000 tricycles and employed some 700 people.

The TV was originally sold for a short time as the DKW Transportwagen, but DKW management objected so the name was changed to DGW. By 1928 the company settled on the name Framo as a contraction of Frankenberg Metalwerkes.

Framo LT300 In 1930 the transporter was modernised with a simple wooden cab and a three speed gearbox. Designated the LT300, it was still fairly primitive and retained its old fashioned tiller steering.

Found on https://www.facebook.com/anibal134?fref=nf

two Martin Mars firefighting flying boats are still flying, but their future is uncertain, as do the stats. Depends on who you refer to as to what they claim is better at putting out fires

The Coulson Group has signed a contract with the province of B.C. for the use of Mars waterbomber, according to CEO Wayne Coulson.

http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/311789601.html?mobile=true

According to some: The Mars Bomber has for many years, been one part of an effective arsenal of fire -fighting in the province of BC, but last year the decision was made to stop their direct-award contract, and the Mars are sitting idle on Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island – much to the confusion of many who have seen the plane in action. The Mars is capable of a large payload of water and, in some situations, can knock back a fire with incredible effectiveness, yet it sits after years of service to the province.

http://lailayuile.com/2014/07/21/why-exactly-is-the-mars-bomber-sitting-idle/

but according to
https://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/factsheet-bcs-airtanker-fleet-and-the-martin-mars

In 2013, when the Wildfire Management Branch last used the Martin Mars, the season rate was $672,300 with a flying time cost of $4,000 per hour for the first 45 hours and $18,800 per hour for any additional hours. This rate does not include fuel. The hourly operating rate (including fuel) for all four Fire Bosses combined is $2,000 per hour less than that of the single Martin Mars. This cost difference becomes a $17,000-per-hour disparity if the Martin Mars was flown over 45 hours per year.

The cost of fuel per hour for all four Fire Bosses combined is less than half the cost of fuel per hour for the single Martin Mars. The cost of repositioning four new Fire Bosses combined is about $1,200 per day. The cost to reposition the Mars was about $12,000 per day, or 10 times that amount.

The Martin Mars' operational limitations make it difficult to sell surplus availability of this aircraft through mutual aid agreements. In contrast, the Fire Boss aircraft have already been in demand for deployment outside of B.C. earlier this season when they were not needed here. The Fire Bosses were deployed to the Northwest Territories earlier this summer, which recovered $287,000 for the Province.
Although the Martin Mars has a tank capacity of 27,250 litres, the average drop volume is 19,000 litres with an average turnaround time of 19 minutes. The average turnaround time for the Fire Bosses is seven minutes.

The Martin Mars cannot drop long-term fire retardant, which is critical in B.C.'s terrain and firefighting conditions.

In spring 2014, the Province acquired the contracted services of four Air Tractor AT-802F "Fire Boss" amphibious airtankers that can drop water, foam or retardant on a fire. They can skim up to 3,025 litres of water in 15 seconds from over 1,700 water bodies in B.C. and land at airports, including the Province's 17 airtanker bases. This airtanker group also includes a Cessna Grand Caravan bird dog aircraft.

Because of its size, the Martin Mars can only land on and scoop up water from about 113 bodies of water in B.C.

From 2007 to 2013, the Martin Mars was only deployed on 20 wildfires, or about 0.5 per cent of the 3,476 airtanker missions flown during that period (at a cost of about $4.8 million).

When drawing a comparison between the Martin Mars and the Fire Bosses that worked the fires in Kelowna in 2003 and in West Kelowna in 2014 respectively, the Fire Bosses delivered more volume and were more cost-effective than the Martin Mars. On the Smith Creek fire (West Kelowna), the Province's Fire Boss group dropped 586,000 litres over 11.3 hours, at a cost of $0.19 per litre. In contrast, on the 2003 Kelowna fire, the Martin Mars dropped 690,000 litres over 28 hours at a cost of $0.63 per litre. The suppressant delivery rate for Fire Bosses in West Kelowna was twice that of the Martin Mars in Kelowna.

The Coulson Group, the company that operates the Martin Mars, did not respond to the Province's offer of an "as when needed" contract for the 2014 fire season.

Over the past six weeks, ‎the new Fire Boss aircraft have actioned more fires than the Martin Mars did in six years.

which is something http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/mars-water-bombers-make-most-sense-1.1214063 couldn't find with a map a book for dummies when they asked Why exactly, is the Mars Bomber sitting idle?

Despite it's world-renowned ability to scoop up and drop 27,200 litres of water at time and a 53-year legacy of dowsing forest fires across North America, this year the provincial government opted not to renew its contract with Coulson Flying Tankers, the Hawaii Mars' owner. Instead the province looked to Abbotsford-based Conair for aerial fire suppression, gaining the services of four smaller turbinepowered aircraft instead of the massive Hawaii Mars.

According to Coulson Group of Companies CEO Wayne Coulson, the Mars bomber's firefighting contract in 2013 amounted to $750,000, yet this year the province decided to go with Conair's smaller, more modern aircraft for $1.8 million. After the deal was made Steve Thomson, minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource operations cited the bomber's "operational limitations" with respect to performing multiple drop patterns in B.C.'s mountainous terrain. The decision to with the Abbotsford company was made while considering the "more cost-effective, efficient options available due to advances in airplane technology," Thomson said. But the price disparity between the two options warrants a more detailed explanation of why the government chose the costlier contract. - See above as to why.

They sum up with: The provincial government has decided to go with a more expensive group of water bombers on the Lower Mainland, and when more help was needed called on the Yukon for more support. A capable firefighting asset sits still on Sproat Lake, sparking many locals to wonder if there is much more than cost effectiveness and efficiency involved in the province's decisions around controlling forest fires.
http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/mars-water-bombers-make-most-sense-1.1214063

the province is reported by http://globalnews.ca/news/1472281/petition-to-keep-martin-mars-in-service-to-be-handed-to-b-c-premier/  s saying that "the Martin Mars is not cost effective when compared to other options currently available.

The ministry of forests says the Martin Mars cannot drop long-term fire retardant and can only land on and scoop up water from about 113 bodies of water in B.C.

It says from 2007 to 2013, the Martin Mars was only deployed on 20 wildfires or about 0.5 per cent of all missions in that time frame."

I think this was informative as to why such cool airplanes aren't cost effective to restore or use for fire fighting, and I thought you should know, as the Martin Mars will likely be i the news due to the 4 year long drought and higher than average temps on the west coast going into the summer fire season

Canadians are upset, and getting upset on Facebook about it

https://www.facebook.com/les.gardner.12

it may be useful some time, how to "Fast Honk"

news of the bizarre... co-owner of the San Diego luxury and exotic car dealership, Symbolic Motors, plead guilty to funneling illegal election campaign funds from Mexico to San Diego district attorney and mayoral candidate, and California congressman

The prosecutors’ complaint alleges Azano wrote a $380,000 check to a “straw donor.” This donor, who isn’t identified in the complaint, appears to be La Jolla car dealer Marc Chase, who donated at least $180,000 to Democratic causes in 2012, through his businesses.

His donations recorded in the public finance disclosures time perfectly to the allegations.

Chase gave $120,000 to a committee supporting Filner for mayor. And he gave $30,000 to both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the local Democratic Party to elect the mayor.

Seems the guy who was elected mayor was a pos, and booted from office for sexual harrasment. Filner was his name. That's hardly surprising.

Well, the corruption the was exposed is just disgusting... the money was coming from a rich guy in Mexico named Jose Susumo Azano Matsura who also has a villa on Coronado Island (home of billionaires) to seemingly buy the favor of the San Diego and California elected types, mayor, congressman, and who knows what else that hasn't come to light... because, a former SDPD detective, was retired and working in Mexico as security for Matsura, and getting oh, about a half million dollars into the US to various people who then paid for mail propaganda, online propaganda, banner ads, etc. The garbage you hate to deal with around elections.

Well, the former detective sent money to the congressmans election, and gets selected to be the "electoral college" member that helped decide the president... so, Matsura helps get congressman elected, and bonus, also gets his employee into the electoral college.

So, that's why Symbolic shut down in LaJolla, and moved all operations to Sorrento Valley and why it's location is now occupied by O'Gara Coach from Beverly Hills

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/apr/06/symbolic-car-election-scandal-azano-chase-ogara/
http://sandiegofreepress.org/2014/04/da-bonnie-dumanis-re-election-campaign-gets-petty/
http://www.campaignsandelections.com/campaign-insider/216/consultant-charged-in-san-diego-conspiracy
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/2014/01/23/everything-we-know-about-the-campaign-money-scandal-rocking-san-diego/

the interesting trivia of importers

Maxmillian Hoffman was a car dealer in Vienna, jewish, and escaped before the Nazi Germans could kill him.

By 1953 he was the US Mercedes Benz importer with so much clout that he convinced the company to follow the success of the W194 race car and send gullwing 300 SLs to America, and distributed them to 475 dealerships across the USA

Chevy get serious about weight savings in the 2016 models

Gm changed 70% of the parts for the 2016 Camaro

The above piece is the instrument panel cross beam, now made of aluminum, saving 9/7 pounds.

Using aluminum for the front and rear suspension assemblies has also cut the suspension's weight by 21 percent, about 26 pounds less than the 5th gen Camaro.

Fasteners are now light weight, and no longer than actually necessary.

Many things combined to shave 200 pounds off the v8, and 300 pounds off the v6 model Camaro

John Knievel, Evel Knievel's cousin, in the 1970s was

the National Highway Safety Administration, director office of public affairs and consumer services

a way to fix dirt roads that isn't as expensive or as toxic as asphalt, but makes a paved material that is supposed to be impervious to water, and

the origins of automobiles in a nutshell

The first car powered by petrol which was sold to the public, was that of Karl Benz: it was equipped with a stationary engine at low speed in the frame of a tricycle.

The vehicle was both homogeneous as possible. In 1886 Benz was the first car ever marketed. At the same time worked another German, Gottlieb Daimler, assisted by Wilhelm Maybach another type of engine oil which was completely different from the heavy, slow stationary engines of the time. They wanted a light engine with high speed that could be used in all kinds of machinery .

 Oddly enough, this type of engine was first used in France and not in Germany. Panhard-Levassor built it under license from Daimler.

Peugeot bought these engines also Panhard and installed them in the first Peugeots rear-engined. Shortly installed thereon Emile Levassor engine Panhard Daimler in the first Panhard-Levassor car that was the harbinger of how the next generation cars would look like this: a front engine with a gearbox behind it that drives the gears (via chains at that time).

Therefore, we consider Daimler as the developer of the modern engine and we see Levassor as the creator of the layout of the vehicle the following years would be followed by all cars.

These types of cars on oil, steam and electricity were now in competition offered to the public. France was taking the lead in this new sector with Panhard, Peugeot, De Dion Bouton.

Germany was slower despite the technical lead for the land was divided and there were fewer roads, while England suffered from restrictive legislation such as the law stipulated that each vehicle had to be preceded by a man on foot with a red flag - which hardly gave rise to a rapid industrial expansion.

In the United States, the motor industry had a slow start due to lack of roads and the Selden patent. That was the name of an impostor who claimed to have invented the car and managed through various legal maneuvers to require a royalty each built or imported car.

http://www.autoworld.be/tijdreis

Car insurance companies really hate teen drivers getting added to the policy, here's how bad:

In California, the average policy goes up 88.57 percent.

 That's 14th in the country with New Hampshire leading the increase of 114.92 percent when adding a teen driver.

 In Hawaii where state laws limit an insurance company from considering age and gender, the increase is only 16.83 percent.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california/Wheel-of-Misfortune-Teenage-Insurance-Costs-307488311.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_LABrand

why is a gooseneck trailer hitch, and the 5th wheel semi trailer hitch called a "5th Wheel"?

here is what the originals looked like, above, the mocked up prototype, below, a finished working replica for the 1914 model t

When Otto Neumann and August Fruehauf invented the semi-trailer in 1914, they created a version of a 5th wheel coupling which they used until 1916. Then they adopted an improved version of the fifth Wheel offered by the Martin Rocking Company in Massachusetts.

above and below, the Martin 5th wheel

which was improved on until it became the common and ordinary hitch you're used to seeing

http://www.singingwheels.com/the-5th-wheel-and-its-origins.html

thanks to Oscar Glenn March, Sr... he invented the mudflap, and has saved unknown millions of windshields

He was an inventor who didn’t bother patenting his inventions, and that includes mud flaps. He created the first rough version, then somebody else improved upon them and got the patent.

He was in the military during WWII. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force and was honorably discharged from both branches. He also worked at Tinker Air Force Base. He spent 40 years as a motor pool driver and clocked over 2 million miles, without a ticket or an accident, until he retired in April 1983.

His retirement was well marked by the community as he was honored with numerous awards; he received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the second highest civilian award given by the U.S. government; the Oklahoma Meritorious Service Medal; Oklahoma City’s Ambassador-at-Large award; and the distinguished alumni award from Langston University where he attended for two years prior to enlisting in the military.

He received a total of 87 awards of significant achievements and commendation. He was also a 32nd Degree Mason.

He invented mud flaps while working at Tinker Air Force Base. In an article written by Ellie Posey and published April 5, 1983, the interviewer wrote, “He made the flaps because the main drive wheels of big rigs kicked up rocks, mud, water and debris that damaged the delicate cargo. Much of the radar equipment he and other drivers delivered was sensitive to moisture and rock damage was common.

“To solve the problem, March designed tarps to trap the water and rocks. His mud flap was modified and soon every tractor rig operating at Tinker was equipped with them. Not only did his invention prevent damage to the cargo, but it prevented damage or injury to following vehicles and their occupants. The law now requires the use of mud flaps on big rigs.”

http://www.singingwheels.com/who-invented-the-mudflap.html

August Fruehauf and Otto Neumann, blacksmith and wagon makers invented the semi-trailer in 1914 for a local lumber tycoon in Michigan, hitched it to a modified Ford Model-Tand founded an industry

The Fruehauf Trailer Historical Society (FTHS) announced today the opening of an exhibit on Sunday, June 7, at the Detroit Historical Museum

http://www.truckersnews.com/history-of-fruehauf-trailers-on-display-in-detroit/

The Fruehauf Trailer Company operated from 1914 to 1997 across the United States, Europe and Asia introducing such revolutionary inventions as hydraulic dump trailers, bulk tanker trailers, the automatic fifth wheel hitch and the shipping container in 1956.

“Over 1,000 inventions, 150 for the military alone, helped the Fruehauf Trailer Company attain the rank of 75th largest company in the world

DHM exhibition will feature photographs and company memorabilia from the family’s collection focusing on the key Fruehauf patents and innovations to the trucking industry. The exhibition inaugurates a new DHM gallery and will remain on view for the next nine months.

Over at the Ford Piquette Model T plant they have a 1916 trailer on exhibit, and a Model T restored by Randy Shelton, a Ford powertrain engineer  http://www.at.ford.com/news/cn/Pages/Ford%20Employee%20Restores%20Model%20T%20to%20its%20Original%20Splendor.aspx

Have a look at this incredible restoration project from Members Randy Shelton and Jim Basile.  It's a Smith Form-A-Truck Model T and represents the world's first 5th wheel tractor trailer.
https://www.facebook.com/techshopdetroit/videos/995135267172890/

http://www.singingwheels.com/the-detroit-historical-museum-presents---fruehauf-history.html

By the mid-1920s, trailer sales passed the million-dollar mark, and by the mid-1950s, Fruehauf had expanded into nine plants across the United States, Canada, Brazil and France. Along the way, the company secured hundreds of patents for trailer innovations, including the automatic coupling, hydraulic dump trailers and bulk tanker trailers. In 1956, Fruehauf even had a part in developing what we now know as the intermodal shipping container, designed for simplified shipping of goods on train, truck or ship.

After the company fell out of the family’s hands in the mid-1960s, Fruehauf began to diversify, eventually buying up subsidiaries such as Kelsey-Hayes. But by the 1990s, power struggles and financial problems within the company forced Fruehauf into bankruptcy, leading Wabash National to buy Fruehauf’s main U.S. business in 1997.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/06/05/fruehauf-exhibit-to-highlight-the-history-of-semi-trailer-titan/

https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfTheFruehaufTrailerCompany/timeline
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FruehaufTrailers/

what the common link between the Make a Wish and the Infinte Hero funny cars? A billionaire sponsor

Tommy Johnson Jr.’s car: Make-A-Wish, the organization that grants the wish of a child diagnosed with a grave or life-threatening illness.

Jack Beckman’s car is the Infinite Hero Foundation, a nonprofit funding multiple programs for former soldiers and their families with physical or mental challenges.

The two tier-one Don SHumacher Racing funny cars cost between $4 million and $6 million to operate at the top level for a season. And all that comes from Terry Chandler.

 Not a penny of the money donated from people to the two charities goes into the operation of the cars. They are seven-figure billboards, taking the message to race fans each year in person and on TV. In return, Chandler makes one demand: She likes to stand at the starting line.

Read the whole story at http://autoweek.com/article/nhra/nhra-super-sponsor-terry-chandler-living-her-dream-while-helping-others

The writer/director of Mad Max explained why the war boys spraypainted their teeth

briefly, he was inspired by a documentary about Cambodian's going to war putting a buddha in their mouth. For details http://www.movies.com/movie-news/mad-max-fury-road-chrome-spray-paint/18504

Mephistopheles, I don't think I've done enough to acquaint you with it... so, here is a famous world Land Speed Record setting car

Which was the result of installing the largest possible engine from a blimp 21.7 liters, into a race car, the 1908 SB4.

It broke the record set by the Blitzen Benz 10 years earlier, in 1914, and was the last world land speed record set on a public road.... 145 .89 mph, which Sir Malcolm Campbell barely beat by less than 1/2 a mph in the Sunbeam.

Sir Ernest Eldridge fitted the first example of an A-12 to Mephistopheles in 1922 with the aim of taking some silverware at Brooklands. The chassis wasn’t long enough to get the monster engine in, so Eldridge and his mechanics extended it by 20 inches – according to legend, with sections from a London bus.

 He fitted four carburettors and four magnetos, which helped liberate 320bhp at 1,800rpm, with just 4 to 1 compression.

 That feeds into a 57-plate clutch pack attached to a 176lb flywheel and then to a four-speed transmission (no reverse) and a centre differential with a thick Reynolds chain drive to each wheel.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motoringvideo/8566579/Goodwood-2011-the-mighty-Mephistopheles-returns.html