Free Republic

Honda brings Clarity to the plug-in hybrid market By Jim BrayTechnoFile.com It's loud. It's whiny. Its interfaces are incoherent. But it'll help you save the world, and you might be able to make other people help you pay for it!It's Honda's new Clarity, in this case a plug-in hybrid model. Honda calls it the newest member of their "completely redesigned lineup," even though it sports exactly the same dashboard abomination – as in no knobs for tuning the stereo or tuning the volume up or down - that the company is finally moving away from with its new Accord and...

'Electric-ish' BMW X5 is a fine ride that could save you some premium fuel By Jim Bray February 23, 2018 BMW's first SUV - though they refer to it as an SAV - has been given the plug-in hybrid treatment and the result is a large utility (er, Activity, in BMW-speak) vehicle that might even save you some gas money. The X5 xDrive40e is the first plug-in hybrid production model from BMW's core lineup. Starting at an estimated MSRP of $74,950 CAD, before options, it's a darn fine vehicle and equipped well even at that trim level (it's a premium...

New Honda Accord a major step backwards - and that's a good thing!By Jim BrayTechnoFile.comIt may not be back completely but, as evidenced by the newly redesigned 2018 Honda Accord, it looks as if the honoured Japanese carmaker is back on track. Or at least well on the way.I've been particularly vociferous about my Honda angst in recent years. The company makes terrific cars - and they still do, for the most part - but somewhere along the way between adding all the new drivers' aids and pursuing ever more strict fuel economy mandates the company seemed to lose its...

Hi, Folks! Please forgive the vanity, but I'm doing a "bucket list-type" trip in a couple of weeks to the 100th running of the Indy 500 on May 29. Looking forward to it,obviously! I'm hoping knowledgeable Freepers might have some advice re: weather (seems fine, usually, on TV), mosquitoes, places to go - people to do, etc. Indy museum is on the agenda, of course. I guess sun block will be in order but I'm particularly worried about skeeters 'cause they seem to come from miles around to feast on my flesh. My wife loves it that they leave her...

IndyCar and Sonoma Raceway officials have confirmed that today's GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma will go ahead as scheduled despite the earthquake that hit the area early on Sunday morning. A 6.0 magnitude earthquake with the epicenter about six miles south of Napa woke residents and visitors about 3:20 a.m. local time. The jarring quake lasted about 25 seconds, and multiple aftershocks have been recorded. No damage was reported at the racetrack – which is located about 15 miles from the American Canyon site named as the epicenter of the quake – or its main arteries, California Highways 37 and...

Tony Kanaan, Juan Pablo Montoya qualify 2-3 on Saturday Verizon IndyCar Series championship points leader Will Power earned pole on Saturday for the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest. Power, driving the Chevrolet-powered No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, recorded a two-lap average speed of 169.262 mph on the Milwaukee Mile for his third pole of the season and 35th of his Indy car career. The 250-lap race at the Milwaukee Mile will be telecast by NBCSN on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. - See more at: http://autoweek.com/article/indycar/will-power-pole-indycar-race-milwukee-mile#sthash.l2CIHsHD.dpuf

Sebastien Bourdais took his second and KV Racing's third pole position of the season, with a composed performance in a wet 'n' wild qualifying session for tomorrow's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. While a large number of his opponents slid extravagantly like dirt-trackers through the worst of the rain in Q1 and the start of Q2, Bourdais kept his head, kept his car on the island, and ended up capitalizing on the form he's shown all weekend. Seb's economical steering inputs also appeared to pay off when in Q3, the track dried rapidly, and everyone's wet tires were starting to...

The bullring Iowa short oval is the perfect track for Target Chip Ganassi Racing to get its season in order, and after a day filled with rain delays, defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon led an all-Target front row for Saturday night's 300-lap race. The Kiwi's record-breaking 186.256mph average was set after his No. 9 Dallara-Chevrolet engineers used information from earlier qualifying runs made by Ganassi teammates to make a few quick tweaks before heading out, and it made all the difference. Tony Kanaan will start second in the sister car (185.891). "We missed a bit on balance in...

Juan Pablo Montoya believes that he is emerging as a dark horse for this year's Verizon IndyCar Series championship following his win at Pocono on Sunday. The 38-year-old's victory followed several weeks of solid results and elevated him to fourth in the championship, 55 points behind his Penske teammates and joint leaders Will Power and Helio Castroneves. At the start of the season – following seven years in NASCAR – he had said that his expectations were to reacquaint himself with open-wheel racing, challenge for wins, and help support his teammates' title bids. But in the wake of his Pocono...

This event is worth twice as many points to the teams and drivers but how much is it worth to the fans and to the track organizers itself? That’s the question that was rising like a storm cloud over the Pocono Mountains this week as Brandon Igdalsky, president and CEO of Pocono Raceway, expressed disappointment at the advanced tickets sales. Last year, Indy car racing returned to Long Pond after a long absence, and maybe hearts had grown fonder, as a genuine 30,000-plus spectators showed

Hi, Friends, and Happy Independence Day despite these trying times. I'm wondering if there's a thread or ping list for things Indycar-related. If not, is there interest? I don't know how to set up a Ping list, though it can't be that difficult, and if there are others who'd like to keep apprised about things Indycar, as well as to cheer along our favourites drivers and teams, I'm willing to spearhead it, with Admins' blessing of course. We just saw an incredible weekend of racing at Houston's double header and we have another big 500 miler this weekend. It's been...

Democracy Did Not Fail To you newspeople at CBS, CNN, ABC, NBC. To you journalists at the New York Times, the Washington Post, at newspapers all over America. You did it. You won. You were able to get Barack Obama his second term. You knew that if you told the American people the truth, they would not have reelected this man. Americans don't vote to reelect a commander-in-chief who abandons our soldiers and agents and ambassadors when they're under enemy fire. But you, confident that you are much wiser than the American people, you decided we had no reason to...

Hi, FRiends. Was just looking for little levity and dreamed up this thread for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Please ignore if you don't want to play. So what is your favorite science fiction-themed rock (or other musical genre) song? There are the obvious ones such as "Rocket Man" or "Space Oddity" but I'm curious as to what else is out there. My choice is Queen's "39" from "A Night at the Opera," a bittersweet Brian May tale of the potential heartbreak among loved ones when some of them go on an interstellar voyage looking for a new planet. Probably my...

Movie Studios Offer Consumers Win-Win Way to go Blu-ray By Jim Bray February 14, 2009 It looks as if there may be an outbreak of consumer-friendly common sense coming from a couple of the big Hollywood studios. This particular anomaly is a way to help people transition to the Blu-ray format by marketing "combination" disc packages that include both DVD and BD versions, so those who don't yet have a Blu-ray player (which is most people) can watch their favorite titles on DVD now, with the BD version waiting patiently in the package for the day when they do eventually...

Hi, Folks. I'm putting together some media bias, sloppiness pictures for a writing course I teach. I'm trying to find some good shots to illustrate the situation and have some from Lebanon last year, Tourist Guy, etc. I'd like to find that Cindy Sheehan pic from Crawford that shows it's just her and, when you pull back, about a thousand (give or take several hundred) media types there. Any other good examples would be appreciated as well. Yes, I did a search. Thanks in advance.

Attribute to Tom LaSorda, Vice Chairman and President, Chrysler LLC Auburn Hills, Mich., October 10, 2007 Chrysler LLC and the UAW have reached a tentative agreement on a new national labor contract, covering approximately 45,000 represented employees. The agreement is subject to UAW member ratification. The tentative agreement includes a memorandum of understanding to establish an independent retiree health care trust, as well as other changes to the national agreement. Following ratification, implementation of the memorandum of understanding is subject to approval by... http://www.thefirehouse.biz/blog.do?id=851&p=entry

Hi, FRiends. I just received this humorous list via a friend who sends me jokes et al all the time. I think an alternate title could be "Thank slip-and-fall lawyers for making this necessary..." Just to bring a couple of smiles to you hard-working GOTVers while you bring your great country's victory home Tuesday. In Honour of Stupid People . . . In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods. On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom) -- "Do not turn upside down." (well...duh, a...

Sorry for the vanity, FRiends. I'm looking for a thread someone posted in the last couple of months of 2005 that linked to a great video (I believe it was shot in Japan) of some aerobatics. I was about six minutes long. I've searched repeatedly and can't find it. It's an old friend's birthday today and I thought he might enjoy seeing it, since we used to fly together. Thanks, and sorry again for the vanity. Cheers Jim

Marco Benz Descendant of First Gas Automobile Inventor Karl Benz of Mercedes-Benz Joins the U.S. Army Marco Allen Benz a descendant of Karl Benz (inventor of automobile Mercedes Benz) joins the United States Army to defend the United States against terrorism and to assist in a democratic Iraq and Afghanistan for the people of their nation. (PRWEB) December 11, 2005 -- Marco Allen Benz is a descendant of Karl Benz, the German automobile engineer that is regarded as the inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile. Marco Allen Benz was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 20th 1986, to Douglas Benz...

Sorry for the vanity, but I wanted to wish all Americans, and especially American Freepers, a happy 4th of July. May the Stars and Stripes wave forever and may you always be a beacon of freedom and goodness to the world.