EPA ENDANGERMENT FINDING THREATENS TO "NUKE" HOT RODDING

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As probable as the Sun rising in the East, the United States Environmental Protection Agency -- corrupted by the Obama Administration's radical greeniac political agenda and a dodgy "scientific consensus" -- has made a finding of "endangerment" under the Clean Air Act on "six key greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride."

This, of course, is the regulatory prelude to draconian limits on our automotive liberties and more tampering in what little is left of the free market.

This finding of "endangerment" basically empowers the E.P.A. to outlaw many practices near and dear to the hearts of American hot rodders and motoring enthusiasts.

Over at Bangshift.com, the threat to nitrous oxide is the focal point of the discussion thus far.

(Nitrous oxide (N20) is a popular "power adder" used by many hot rodders and tuners to make additional horsepower by allowing their vehicles' engines to burn additional fuel)

While some Bangshifters still don't believe that N20 use by hot rodders is threatened, Truth With Speedzzter has attemped to set the record straight:

DanStokes: "As so often happens, the idiot who writes the article had NO @#$%!% clue what he/she is writing about and gets it wrong. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) is NOT the same as N2O - nitrous oxide. The concern is NOx which is the catalyst that works with sulpher compounds and atmospheric hydrocarbons to form smog. This concern is reasonable. Banning N2O makes no sense at all and, I'm pretty sure is not on the table - I'll check in with my EPA buddies and verify that. A case of crappy reporting and a failure to fact check."
* * * *

The Silver Buick: "Nicely said Dan. I didn't read the article, no sense in it I figure. Let us know if your EPA buddies get back to you."

TWS: Sorry, but the threat to N20 is real.

In the infamous MASSACHUSETTS v. EPA decision, "Petitioners maintained . . . that carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons are 'heat trapping greenhouse gases.'"

The U.S. Supreme Court found that the Clean Air Act "embraces all airborne compounds of whatever stripe, and underscores that intent through the repeated use of the word "any." Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons are without a doubt 'physical [and] chemical . . . substance(s) which [are] emitted into . . . the ambient air.' The statute is unambiguous."

The EPA now says "Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a clear, colorless gas, with a slightly sweet odor. Due to its long atmospheric lifetime (approximately 120 years) and heat trapping effects -- about 310 times more powerful than carbon dioxide on a per molecule basis -- N2O is an important greenhouse gas."

http://www.epa.gov/nitrousoxide/scientific.html

Bangshifters are being put on the defensive here because we've not come together and fought hard enough to preserve our automotive liberties.

Some of us debated all this back in 2008 over at Car Craft.com (when there was more we could do about it). Here's a few choice "sound bites:"

"More horsepower means more CO2. And nitrous oxide is a much more "heat-trapping" greenhouse gas than CO2 when released into the atmosphere. If the radical greeniacs obtain unfettered power in Washington -- look out!"

"Carbon emissions are not something that you can just "adapt" around. Carbon production is proportionate to fuel consumption (on anything but hydrogen fuel). Fuel consumption is proportionate to horsepower. In other words, cutting carbon means cutting horsepower. It's that simple."

"BTW, methane is a far more "offensive" greenhouse gas than CO2 to the Sierra Clubbers. (Not because of smell but because of heat-trapping ability) Some of the more radical elements on the left have even called for forced reductions in the consumption of beef and dairy products (fewer cows, less methane. Less methane, less climate change). That's crazy!

Perhaps we ought to all go eat a huge steak, wash it down Indy 500-style with a quart of ice-cold "victory" milk, then vent our nitrous bottles to the atmosphere in a huge plume and do a massive tire-popping burnout to protest this greenhouse gas madness . . . ."


http://forums.carcraft.com/70/7142901/car-craft-magazine/get-ready-to-kiss-your-chance-at-a-v8-goodby/index.html

Truth With Speedzzter hates to say "I told you so" . . . but I did:

October 16, 2008: Car Craft has been mostly silent about the impending end of V8 street machining in America.

In less than a month, the die will apparently be cast that will guarantee the end of affordable V8s in new vehicles. Without V8s, Car Crafting will either become another form of "import tuning" or will shrink into an prohibitively expensive sport based on an increasingly scarce pool of "classic" muscle cars.

Ordinary working Joes need not apply.

Of course, a few rich guys will still trade impossibly expensive rides at Barrett-Jackson. But what, if anything, that's left of genuine high performance will be so limited in supply and so expensive that ordinary Car Crafters would have to live in their cars to afford one.

Don't believe it?

According to Barack Obama's campaign website, "Obama will double fuel economy standards within 18 years."

Apparently, that means that he supports an increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standard from the recently-enacted 35 miles per gallon to SEVENTY miles per gallon! (Even if Obama merely wanted to "double" the old CAFE standard, he'd be imposing by big government mandate a FIFTY-SIX miles per gallon average on all light vehicles sold in the United States of America)

Such radical fuel economy proposals would plunge the world of high-performance and sports cars into an age of banishment far worse than the "dark ages" of the 1970s.

A tiny three-cylinder turbo diesel would be the "Shelby GT 500" or "Dodge Viper" "musclecar" of the Obama age of government-controlled motoring.

If Car Crafters still remain skeptical of Obama's intention to destroy all semblance of automotive freedom in America, his next proposal ought to remove all doubt: "Obama supports implementation of a . . . system to reduce carbon emissions by . . . 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050."

Such a "system" would undoubtedly target the new and used parts supplies for keeping "classic" and "special interest" motorcars on the road (if not the vehicles themselves) as energy-thirsty industries sought to "offset" industrial uses of power through "cap and trade" deals. Chevron's infamous car crushing program of the early 1990s is just a harbinger of what's sure to follow if "President Obama" attempts to roll back energy use to EIGHTY PERCENT LESS than 1990.

The automotive aftermarket won't go unscathed, either.

Energy conservation standards will likely be expanded to stop "tampering" that potentially increases greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, huge swaths of bolt-on parts could be regulated out of existence.

Many smaller aftermarket companies and shops will see huge tax increases and other expensive mandates which will be passed along to a shrinking customer base as higher prices.

Fewer new OEM performance cars will mean lower demand for hop-up parts. Reduced sales volumes will mean higher prices, less selection and slower product development times.

The forces that hate Car Crafting and all other automotive hobbies are betting that our sport will die from attrition and escalating costs. And they're probably right if we don't stand together to stop the Government from taking our freedoms away.

* * * *

April 23, 2007: EPA HACK: BACK TO THE DISMAL ‘70s AGAIN

The United States Environmental Protection Agency apparently sees the hysteria about "global warming" as another 1970s-style power-grabbing opportunity.

Undoubtedly buoyed by the twin engines of 40 m.p.g.-Democrat talking points and the U.S. Supreme Court’s command to take a hard look at carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act, Margo Oge, director of the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality laid down the law at the SAE 2007 World Congress.

According to the Automotive News (www.autonews.com), she taunted the assembled SAE engineers (who are actually the ones required to "make bricks without straw" when the coming CO2 regulations decimate the Second Supercar Era): "For many the first reaction was, 'The sky's falling. We cannot do it.' Well, you know what? The sky didn't fall," Oge said.

"Not only were you able to do it; you were able to meet emissions standards and regulations put forward for the past 30 years, and do it better than the regulations required you to do, and do it earlier than what the regulations required you to do, and do it in a very cost-effective way."

TRANSLATION: Kiss your chance at a factory-built supercar goodby.

* * * *

October 12, 2006: SHOULD AUTOMOBILE ENTHUSIASTS BE POLITICALLY ACTIVE?

Imagine how much fun motoring will be in 10 or 20 years if:

--Fuel economy standards become so high that no V8s can be produced.
--The OEMs "can" all V8 crate engines and other performance parts out of fear of "carbon" litigation.
--Draconian "carbon use" taxes (sort of like the punitive cigarette taxes smokers now routinely pay under the various "tobacco lawsuit settlements") on gasoline, gasoline-burning equipment and the replacement parts for such equipment are enacted to curb "excess" emissions. (Far-fetched? I just read Al Gore (D) is now pushing a "carbon use" tax as a replacement for payroll taxes!)
--Harsh "clunker" legislation is passed, aimed at clearing the roads of C02-emitting "old" cars and drying up parts supplies for them.
--Increased state- or industry-sponsored "crusher" programs (such as UNOCAL's infamous one) are instituted in settlement of the lawsuits.
--Increased restrictions on registering "kit" and "continuation" cars (such as the "new" 1969 Camaros built from Chinese uni-body stampings or even "new" 1932 Ford-based "street rods") are enacted to force people into state-approved, factory-built economy cars.
--Competition for the shrinking number of "collector" cars drives prices even higher than they already are today.
--Lawyers and regulators begin turning their focus on extorting payments from racing venues, tuners and aftermarket supply companies for "carbon pollution."
--More force-fed propaganda fills the public school curriculum about the harms that motorsports and "gas guzzlers" (i.e. performance cars and race-car tow vehicles) allegedly cause to the environment (as if it couldn't get any worse)

All of these scenarios are foreseeable if this sort of California/Kyoto CO2 madness takes hold.

BBC TOP GEAR LAUDS FOCUS RS & FIESTA ECONETIC

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We'll probably see it on BBC America in about 2011, but according to Ford Motor Company's "official blog", the internationally-respected "Top Gear" has awarded both Ford Focus RS and Ford Fiesta ECOnetic "Car of the Year" Awards.

The Ford Focus RS, the fastest and the most powerful front-wheel-drive Ford ever produced in Europe, has been selected as "Muscle Car of the Year" by BBC Top Gear magazine, while Ford's lowest carbon emitting model, the 98g CO2/km Ford Fiesta ECOnetic is Top Gear's "Green Car of the Year".

The "Top Gear" awards dovetail well with last month's announcement of Ford Fusion as Motor Trend Magazine's 2010 Car of the Year.

Of course neither the Focus RS nor the Fiesta ECOnetic are available in the United States of America.

One of the principal criticisms of Ford overhead during the 2010 SEMA Show was that Ford had neglected the sport compact market niche by depriving Americans the Focus RS.

The beancounters and marketers among Ford's Glass House Gang apparently believe there's no "business case" for offering the RS in America. Indeed the market for a $30,000+ FWD hot rod may be limited. And for most Americans, considering the RS as a proper "muscle car" would be a bit of a stretch (notwithstanding its awesome objective performance numbers)

But ever since the somewhat underpowered Focus ST170 (known in America as the SVT Focus) was discontinued after the 2004 model year, Ford has offered little more than sporty appearance packages for American customers desiring high performance in something that's smaller and more fuel efficient than a Mustang.

While turbocharging the SVT Focus would have easily answered Chevrolet's Cobalt SS and Dodge's SRT-4 in the marketplace (and likely have conquested a few sales from Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi), Ford didn't make any move to compete in the U.S. It was another missed opportunity to be sure.

Now, the impending 35 m.p.g. CAFE standards leaves Ford little choice but to shift some high performance demand into smaller cars.

Truth With Speedzzter is no fan of front wheel drive and would prefer the high m.p.g. end of Ford's performance line-up to be anchored by a "right-sized" RWD or AWD, powered by a electric hybridized, turbocharged (or "VW/Lancia-style twincharged"), Ethanol Boosting Systems' direct-injected DOHC V-8 (not a V-6 or I-4) of about 2 to 2.5 liters displacement.

With cylinder deactivation, variable valve timing and phasing, and variable geometry intake manifolding, a boosted 2-2.5 liter V8 could run most of the time on a combination of electricity and four cylinders, but still pack a 150+ horsepower-per-liter ethanol-boosted "sledgehammer" punch when necessary. In a lighter RWD or AWD platform (target power-to-weight of ~ 8 pounds per horsepower), such a vehicle would combined startling fuel economy with spectacular performance. And it could produce most all of the traditional V8 sounds that American enthusiasts love on demand.

But short of a such a modern, high-performance "V8-60" for the 21st Century, the Focus RS . . . or a cheaper EcoBoost Focus for America would be a small step in the right direction.

Congratulations to Ford for these "Cars of the Year!"

NECROTIC NASCAR 2009: THOUGHTS ON THE SPRINT CUP BANQUET

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One of Truth With Speedzzter's most popular posts is "The Day NASCAR Died" (see sidebar).

While the homgenized FunnyCar of Tomorrow, the plethora of "cookie cutter" race tracks, the loss of traditional venues, and the Toyota invasion have drained the life out of the sport formerly known as "stock car racing," a larger problem is the scripted, corporate ciphers driving the "NASCARS" in seemingly endless nose-to-tail succession around the tracks.

About 98% of the current NASCAR drivers are some of the most uninteresting automatons on the face of the Earth. And one of the few things worse that watching the mess that NASCAR has become on-track, is watching some "made-for-TV" spectacle off-track. One such waste-of-time was the 2009 NASCAR SPRINT CUP awards banquet.

Rebeldryver on Banghift.com put it succinctly:

Tried to watch Nascar awards show. I couldn't. Even more boring than Hollywood award shows. Same speeches by the drivers. Only difference is that they are wearing monkey suits instead of racing suits. Speed's coverage is about usual for a Nascar on Speed show.

Yup.

Too bad that "Think With Your Dipstick" guy (Not Tiger Woods, BTW) didn't come out to liven the thing up a tad.

Of course if he did, today's typical namby-pamby NASCAR celebrity driver wouldn't have decked the guy . . . but instead would have launched into another memorized listing of sponsors . . . .

"Well the ARMANI TUXEDO really absorbed the sting of that dipstick today at The WYNN LAS VEGAS HOTEL AND CASINO. And I've got to hand it to the LOWE'S CHEVROLET crew who got me dressed up and dialed in for tonight's NASCAR SPRINT CUP Banquet on SPEED. Those HAINES ALL-COTTON BRIEFS were really workin' too."

"And PRADA really gave me a good set of shoes for tonight's NASCAR SPRINT CUP Banquet on SPEED. . . . I was able to maneuver around and put my LOWE'S CHEVROLET keaster exactly where I wanted it on stage tonight." It really helped me collect my fourth consecutive NASCAR SPRINT CUP championship trophy for HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, LOWE'S, QUAKER STATE, KOBALT TOOLS, THE NATIONAL GUARDand CHEVROLET."

"And Chad Knaus really made all the right calls to get me away from that crazy dipstick guy and get me back to the head table here at The WYNN LAS VEGAS HOTEL AND CASINO."

"And I'm sure that after a couple of cans of MONSTER ENERGY drink, some GOODY'S COOL ORANGE POWDERS, and another NASCAR drug test, we'll be ready just cash that $6.6 Million SPRINT CUP check and keep on diggin' for Number 5 . . . Could somebody get my man -- the 2009 Bill France Award of Excellence winner Rick Hendrick -- a KLEENIX and some VISINE eye drops?"

PEARL HARBOR DAY SPECIAL: FIVE REASONS NEVER TO BUY JAPANESE AUTOS

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Bangshift.com posted a fine tribute to the 2,388 (or more) Americans who lost their lives sixty-eight years ago in the savage, unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Although Franklin Delano Roosevelt claimed that the Japanese attack would "live in infamy," you could hardly tell it by looking in the average American parking lot today. We might not have had more Japanese cars in America now if the Japanese had won World War II! (Japan may have lost the shooting war, but they've arguably won the "economic war" that followed)

Here's Truth With Speedzzter's comment from Bangshift.com:

I'll bet all the kids and "appliance motorists" driving the Toyotas and Hondas are really moved by all of this. . . .

Awhile back I posted in a discussion at Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/article/128958-five-reasons-not-to-buy-american-cars) "Five reasons NEVER TO BUY A SINGLE THING FROM A JAPANESE AUTO COMPANY":

1. Protectionism -- Japan's car makers incubated in protectionist climate which prevented the Detroit 3 from making more than token investments in Japanese OEMs or selling cars in their market.

2. Predatory Business Model -- Japan's car makers were only profitable because of exports, which created huge trade deficits.

3. Lack of Domestic Content -- Just because a Japanese invader car is assembled by non-union labor in the U.S. doesn't mean the parts come from here. American cars support hundreds of thousands more OEM parts supplier jobs than do the invading Japanese transplants.

4. Lack of soul -- excluding a handful of limited-production sports models, Japanese vehicles have all of the driving panache and "soul" of a refrigerator. Buying a Japanese sedan is like wearing a $20-80,000 badge proclaiming that "I'm a self-centered weasel who wouldn't know an exciting car if it ran over me."

5. Government Subsidies -- According to Toyota-ex Jim Press, the Japanese government virtually paid for all of the electric hybrid technology that the tree huggers are ramming down our throats. And its well documented that the Japanese government has provided scads of subsidies and incentives for Japan's invasion of the U.S. auto market.

6. (Just like Joe Isuzu, I lied -- there are more reasons not to send any more American money to Tokyo)

Buying Japanese deprives the Detroit 3 and their suppliers of necessary investment capital.

7. Bataan Death March.

8. Battle of Midway.

9. Iwo Jima.

10. Guadalcanal

11. Battle of Leyte Gulf

12. Saipan

13. Battle of the Java Sea

14. Kamikazes (not the drink)

15. Nanking Massacre (300,000 Chinese People Killed, 20,000 Women Raped)

16. Causes thousands of quality U.S. jobs to be outsourced to Asia.

17. Destroys many American communities who depend on manufacturing.

18. Subsidizes the . . . sexist, and zenophobic Japanese culture.

19. Increases the trade deficit.

20. Hurts the value of the U.S. Dollar

21. Multiplier effect (dollars staying in the U.S. will keep circulating in the U.S. economy, creating more jobs and improving the standards of living)

22. National pride -- Let's act like AMERICANS!

23. There are plenty of excellent vehicles sold by Detroit (don't buy into the sycophantic pro-Japan bias of the elite media and the self-selected, methodologically-invalid "Consumer Distorts" surveys.)

24. Your grandchildren -- you won't have to look them in the eye and explain why you selfishly helped bankrupt the U.S. auto industry.

25. The Japanese are apparently incapable of making a Mustang or a Shelby GT500, or a Corvette, or a "real" Challenger, or any legitimate performance car that isn't festooned with a hideous "body kit" and/or a stupid "boy racer" wing.

26. When left to their own devices, Japanese styling is "Tokyo-at-night" terrible. The bland exceptions to this rule are from Western collaborators. Thus, if we give the auto business over to the Japanese, we'll get more bland and hideous vehicles.

27. Safety. For example, Toyota trucks have been recalled for fatal steering, brake and airbag defects. Thousands have been killed in undersized, understructured Japanese cars over the years (just look at how some of them fold up like a cheap suit when crashed). Toyota has been sued over the defective seat belts and deadly door latches of its Corolla models. And this is just the tip of the safety iceberg.

[UPDATE: Here's some more "love" courtesy of Caddy-V -- a reader over at Autoblog:

Quote
"They're only looking at the Toyota's because there's a sign on one end that says
'Please be very quiet and listen carefully and you can hear our frames rust.' [ http://www.toyotaframerust.com/;http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/2009/04/27/toyota-tundra-frame-rust/]
on the other end a sign reads 'Toyota will not be held responsible for any injurys from any display cars that accelerate unexpectedly.' [http://www.safetyresearch.net/2009/09/18/fatal-california-crash-highlights-toyota%E2%80%99s-sudden-unintended-acceleration-problem/]
And then the sign on the Tundra. 'Please do not sit on Tailgate. 25# weight limit strictly enforced. Our rugged Truck that is changing it all is designed for all show and no go.' [http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/tundra/115222-toyota-tailgate-facts-2/]
And last but not least is the sign on the Camry. Guaranteed not to sludge for at least two oil changes.'" [ http://www.autosafety.org/toyota-oil-sludge; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs7WI2s-CVw]


28. Repair costs. When they do break down (and they're machines, they all do -- have you ever seen a Japanese traitor/invader dealership without a service department?), Japanese cars are horrendously expensive to repair. One study found that building a typical $20,000 Japanese car out of replacement parts would cost $60,000 (excluding labor, of course). And when was the last time you saw a 20+ year old Japanese car still on the road?

There's probably about 500 more reasons NEVER TO BUY FROM A JAPANESE CAR MAKER!

SEMA SHOW 2009: FORD'S VIP GUEST EDITORS AT SEMA SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES

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Source Interlink Media (SIM) has finally posted to Motor Trend.com the edited videos and photographs of the inaugural Ford Motor Company "Guest Editors for a Day" contest. Read and view more at the SIM "Guest Editors" webpage.

Truth With Speedzzter is surprised that they didn't use some of our better video clips. But given the quick timeframe for organizing the contest and inherent equipment limitations, it all turned out probably better than a lot of SIM editors probably expected.

Here are links to individual "Guest Editor" pages:

Alan Darnall, Hoskins, Nebraska;

Richard Bingham, Peoria, Arizona;

Jeannette Chase, Azle, Texas;

William Cooper, Folsom, California;

John Goatliff, Mustang, Oklahoma;

Dean Hillestad, Fort Myers, Florida;

Gary Lovett, Las Vegas, Nevada;

Patrick McClinchy, Gilbert, Arizona;

Andrew Rubiera, New York City (Bronx), New York;

Kevin Shaber, Rochester, Minnesota;

Jarred Williams, Terrell, Texas.