i legally parked in a “no parking” zone today because the great city of Toronto loves disabled people and lavishes them with privilege and prestige. well, kind of.

word has it that Honda is planning to kill two birds with one stone by resurrecting and blending the plucky Beat from yesteryear and the venerable S2000 into an all new, lightweight, mid-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car. cue trumpets and confetti, prepare for raucous dancing in the streets.

sign. me. up.

i got my car back from the shop today where they fixed a few minor problems here and there. luckily, i had the foresight to ask them to check the distributor cap and rotor and was glad they did because it ended up being on its last legs. disaster averted.

two years ago today, Clinton Miceli had just left work and was riding northbound on the 900 block of north LaSalle when the driver side door of a parked SUV suddenly flung open in his path, sending him off his bicycle and into traffic. another SUV couldn’t stop in time and, although he was wearing his helmet, Clint died of severe head injuries about an hour and a half later at Northwestern Memorial.

i never had a chance to meet Clint but Beka knew him. she described him as a really nice guy and gifted graphic designer. what a shame it is that he died just because some idiot decided to fling his car door open without looking first. please, don’t be an idiot.

this is an 80 year-old Ford Model A that i found tucked away behind the protective gates of a body shop in LA. introduced in 1927, the Model A replaced the aging Model T to become another major success story for Ford and ended its four year production run with close to five million units worldwide.

powered by a 3.3 liter four cylinder engine producing a then-impressive 40 horsepower, the Model A could hit 65 mph and averaged a surprising 25-30 miles per gallon. the A was also the first Ford to use the newly standardized controls layout pioneered by the British Austin 7, meaning that modern day drivers like you or i could hop into one and be able to drive off without having to learn the controls.

but only if you know how to use a manual transmission.

Ford finally killed its +60 year-old Mercury brand yesterday but not before letting it hobble the last ten miles on bloody stumps while suffering from raging lupus and severe dehydration.

i wonder what took them so long.

(at this weekend’s World Supersport race at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah)


Dan: CHAZ DAVIES KNOWS WHO I AM OMG WTF BBQ

ivan: huh

ivan: how!

Dan: i went into his garage

Dan: and he was like “hey dan!”

ivan: what the

Dan: OMG WTF BBQ