Russian Bike with German Bones

The fun vehicles came out of their winter hibernation today as spring made its belated debut. I had been wondering if I’d see something to put in The Garage, when this unusual motorcycle and sidecar appeared in our office parking lot. Fortunately, I was also able to meet and speak with the owner.

Jim Macdonald, who lives in Frederick, owns this 2012 Ural and drove it to Columbia today.  The Irbit Motor Works builds the Ural in Russia and is one of the only manufacturers of motorcycles with sidecars in the world. According to this story by Andrew E. Kramer in The New York Times, the retro looking bike is “a heavy, 40-horsepower motorcycle whose two cylinders jut sideways from the frame. It is modeled after a late-1930s BMW sidecar bike called the R71, which Nazi Germany provided to the Soviet Union after the countries signed a nonaggression pact in 1939. When the Nazis broke this pact and invaded, the Russians used the bike to fight them.”

It’s also proven to be quite popular with older cyclists.

“Irbit found salvation in an unlikely niche market: older American riders seeking utility, not thrills or spills. Suddenly the sidecar, a seemingly anachronistic product evoking a World War II newsreel, had a new life among the late middle-aged.”

Jim admitted that his Ural is a fair weather toy. That’s why it was out being played with today.

Electric Stuff

Yesterday, as I was driving out of my neighborhood on the way to work, I noted that a phalanx of hard hatter workers had descended upon my street along with an assortment of “Grid One” vehicles.

Later, when I returned home, there was a note on my door telling us that we now had a new smart meter. It also suggested that we might want to check our clocks since the power was off briefly during the installation.

We’re pretty ambivalent about this meter switch but there are others who suspect BGE of nefarious designs. For those folks the utility offers the option of opting out of the program.

They are scheduled to be finished in HoCo by August.

And keeping on with this electric theme, later in the afternoon I spotted this Chevy Volt in Oella. It is the first time I've seen one of these in the wild.

Nice looking car!

Fun Car Day

After Halloween, I pretty much stop driving my BMW. It gets to spend the winter months nestled in the garage, awaiting the return of warmer days.

Yesterday and today I made an exception.

I wasn't the only one either. The unseasonably warm weather made today a sports car day. I even spotted a couple of coupes with their tops down.

And then there was this classic roadster I came across in a parking lot off Dobbin Road in Columbia. It’s a Datsun 2000. My colleague Bill Harrison figures it to be a 1968 vintage. He once owned a 1984 Nissan300 ZX so he knows a thing or two about the brand. Before 1983 Nissans were marketed as Datsuns.

The Datsun 2000 was a precursor to the Z cars which began with the 240 Z in 1970. I was a little surprised to see that this forty four year old 2000 was sporting regular license tags as opposed to historic tags.

Judging from its condition I’d wager that it spends the winter in a garage too.

Wedding Weekend

Regular readers may have noticed that I took a blog break this weekend. My nephew got married in Baltimore on Saturday and it was the first time that all my siblings, a brother and five sisters, have been together at the same time in almost ten years.

It seems that the older I get the more quickly the years go by.

We had a blast and it was picture perfect fall weekend in Baltimore.

 Even though I took a little blogging hiatus, I was still thinking about To2C, particularly when I saw the 1936 Rolls Royce 20/25 that the bride and groom hired to shuttle them from the church to the reception.

This beautifully restored limo is owned by Dean Ray who is also a professional photographer. He even wore white gloves for the occasion.

Healey Man

When I pulled into the Old Mill Bakery Café yesterday morning I spotted this restored 1961 Austin Healey 3000 in the parking lot. At an outside table nearby I spotted John Bassett, the owner of Carpe Vinum on Main Street in Ellicott City. John introduced me to cars owner, Gary Hemphill.

Gary told me he bought the car in 1971 for $350. “It was actually in pretty good shape with the exception of the interior,” he told me. He finished the restoration in 1972.  Today this car could easily sell for over $80,000.

Gary was the perfect guy for this car. He owns Hemphill’s Healey Haven in Catonsville.

Gary owns a few other classic cars as well. It turns out that he is the owner of the Morris Minor 1000 I saw in almost the exact same parking space back in June.

Troy from Columbia, Maryland

Yesterday as I was driving and listening to Car Talk on WAMU, one of the callers to the show identified himself as “Troy from Columbia Maryland.”

It’s not everyday that you hear a HoCo loco on the nationally syndicated show. Troy told Tom and Ray Magliozzi that he was the owner of a 1999 Mecury Mystique with a starter that “periodically makes a grinding sound” when he starts it or attempts to start it.

Tom called the car a “cheap piece of junk.”

If you want to hear Troys tale of automotive woe, go here and then click on Segment #8.

Before Mini There Was Morris

Before there was the Fiat 500, the Smart Car and the Mini, there was the VW Beetle, the Citroen 2CV, and the Morris Minor 1000. I spotted this 1969 Morris at the Old Mill Bakery Café just outside Ellicott City last Sunday.

Much like the Ford pickup I wrote about in this post, what I liked about this car was that it is not a showpiece driven only on Sundays and other special occasions. Judging from its condition, this car appears to still be in regular service and in fairly good shape considering.

The Morris was built by BMC, better known for producing the MGB and the MG Midget. According to this report on Epinions, “cars built by BMC shared a large number of parts so availability of them is still an easy and economical affair.”

“Finding and nurturing a Morris Minor 1000 through 21st century life could be a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Still viable on today’s roads, more economical to operate than some new economy cars, and easily restored, a Morris Minor 1000 might be the best answer to a new Mini or Smart Car purchase.”

You just have to get used to driving on the right.

Right at Home

Last night, as I passed through Ellicott City, I spotted this 1961 Ford pickup parked across from the Phoenix Emporium. Though unremarkable in terms of restoration, it caught my attention from a historic perspective.

In 1961 a pickup truck just like this would have been a familiar sight on Main Street. In that pre-Columbia period HoCo was largely an agrarian county and EC was the center of commerce. In those days E.T. Clarkes Hardware was next door to the Phoenix.

When I take a picture of an interesting auto for To2C, I always make some attempt to find the owner. Since it was parked directly across the street from the bar I thought this would be as good a place as any to make an inquiry. I enlisted the aid of Ashley, the bartender, who in turn asked the other patrons at the bar. She came up blank. I spoke with John the bouncer too. He hadn't seen the truck yet and went to the door to check it out.

“Not a very good paint job,” John observed. It turns out that John is a bit of a car guy himself and we talked cars while I finished my beer.

Considering that the truck is over fifty years old, I’d have to say that its paint job is more than serviceable. It doesn’t look like a showpiece. It just looks right at home.

What Color is Your Car?

In case you hadn’t noticed, most of us are driving dull colored cars. According to the annual car color survey conducted by DuPont, white is the most popular followed by black, silver, and grey. Combined those colors account for 70% of all cars built last year.

Red cars accounted for only 10%.

According to this column by John Kelly in The Washington Post, DuPont has been tracking color popularity since 1953. Historically, “the 1970s saw the rise of brown, yellow and orange as top colors. The 1980s added beige to the mix, along with blue. White started its ascendancy in the 1990s. (Red was popular for a while, too, and green had a brief run at the charts.) In the 2000s, white and silver started their domination.”

Our home is no exception to this trend. Out of four cars, three are white, one is red.

Could it be a reflection of the economy?

Nancy Lockhart, the color marketing manager for DuPont thinks “the austerity of the last few years has been reflected in the somber palettes.”

“Also, since luxury models typically come in black and silver, people associate those colors with quality, even in lower-priced vehicles. I suppose manufacturers have been making a lot of white/black/gray because that’s what they think consumers want. And it’s certainly what consumers have been buying.”

In other words, if I can’t be in the one percent, at least I can drive the same color car…or something like that.

This dull car color phenomenon is global too. The DuPont website includes color popularity charts for twelve areas of the world and the deviations between them are minor. Red, for instance, appears to be most popular in Brazil, but still it is only 11%.

Fair Weather Car

As I was leaving my office for lunch yesterday I spotted this old beauty heading towards to parking lot in front of the MVA Express office on Dobbin Road. I had a few minutes to spare so I followed him into the lot.

It was a 1930 Ford Model A.

“They had lots of variations of this car,” Buzz Spencer told me. He was more than happy to spend some quality car talk time with me. He showed me the clock embedded in the rear view mirror and even opened up the rumble seat so I could have a look. Buzz purchased this car already restored but indicated that it needs a little work now. “The last restoration was in 1978,” he told me.

In that regard he’s lucky. Buzz told me that he can get any part he needs for this car right across the HoCo border in Mt. Airy at Brattons Antique Parts.

Buzz says there are almost a million of these cars worldwide that are still licensed to operate on public streets. Initially I was a bit surprised by this but later I discovered that Ford made almost five million Model A’s before production ended in 1931. I asked him how fast it can go. He said he once got it up to 70 mph but that wasn’t much fun. “It sounded like it was going to explode.”

I’m not surprised. This car is like a big tractor and when he started the engine for me that’s’ exactly what it sounded like.

Buzz puts about a thousand miles a year on the car now, taking out only on nice days... like yesterday.

This particular Model A was assembled in Norfolk,Virginia and, according to Buzz, may have once been owned by the Baltimore City Police Department.

Before we parted ways I asked Buzz what his “everyday” vehicle was.

“I drive a Chevy truck with over 250,000 miles on it. It still rides nicer than this car.”

Yeah, but I'll bet nobody approaches him in a parking lot when he drives that!

OBO

Walking down Main Street with Peanut this afternoon we spotted this 1941 Chevrolet Special Deluxe parked in front of La Palapa.

“You’re going to take a picture of that for your blog aren’t you?”

She knows her dad.

Upon closer inspection I saw that this particular classic car was being offered for sale, $5,000 OBO. 

 The car needs a little work, just to pass a Maryland inspection. Note the missing windshield wipers.

Still, a restored one looks pretty cool but I suspect it would take a lot more than five grand to get this car to look like this car.

OBO indeed.

Mislabeled?

As I walked out of Pasta Blitz on Friday night I spotted this red rascal in the parking lot. As I moved around the car, snapping pictures a young dad walked by carrying one of his progenies while another hung onto his side.

“I have these instead,” he quipped.

“You got a better deal,” I suggested.

Then again, this NSX wasn't really meant for car seats. This is the kind of car you own if you have another car for the tasks of daily life. On the other hand it is considered one of the most reliable exotic sports cars manufactured. It is not unusual for an owner to rack up 100,000 miles without serious mechanical issues.

I’m not sure what year this was, I didn't meet the owner. I did note that it had historic tags, indicating that it is least twenty years old.

The two door coupe was last sold in 2005. The thing is, in North America the car was marketed as the Acura NSX, not Honda. Everywhere else it was sold as the Honda NSX. This particular version seems to have it both ways. While the car sports large Honda decals, it has an Acura medallion on the hood.

And just in case you missed the fun last time around, Acura is bringing the NSX back in 2013.

Rent a Duck

The first time I vacationed in the Caribbean I stayed at anall inclusive resort just outside Montego Bay in Jamaica. We were advised by our travel agent not to venture beyond the resort gates unless we were part of an organized tour. The State Department website advises that “Crime, including violent crime, is a serious problem in Jamaica, particularly in Kingston and Montego Bay.”

I haven’t been back. When I travel to another country, I want to experience the country beyond resort walls on my own without being hustled at every turn. There are plenty of places in the Caribbean where you can do that. Curacao is one of them.

For venturing beyond our hotel in Curacao we decided to rent a Duck.

Ducks United calls itself “a nostalgic holiday car rental company.” On Curacao the company rents out a small fleet of Citroen 2CVs. The Dutch nicknamed them "Ducks." 

We got a green one.

It turned out to be an excellent way to connect with the locos and fellow tourists too. The car was a people magnet.

Kids loved it too.

Car Hopping

We stopped by the Motor Trend International Car Show this weekend. Neither of us is actually in the market for a car right now but it seemed like a fun thing to do on an otherwise cold and overcast day in February. We spent hours hopping in and out of all kinds of shiny new cars.

Like the Prius with the solar powered ventilation system. According to the Toyota website, the solar panel embedded in the roof powers “an electric fan to draw outside air into, through, and out of the cabin once the inside temperature reaches 68° Fahrenheit. It will lower the cabin temperature to near the outside ambient temperature to help make the cabin more comfortable when reentering the vehicle.”

That was pretty cool.

We saw a movie star car too. The Acura display included a S.H.I E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) edition TL. I haven’t seen the movie but I like the concept of the sound cannon as an accessory.

This month cars were also the cover story by Tom Vanderbilt in Wired magazine. Tom writes that the future of cars that drive themselves is closer than you may think. "GM’s Alan Taub predicts that self-driving cars will be on the road by the decade’s end."

“The more interesting question isn’t when we will let go of the wheel completely but what form and purpose the car will have when we finally do.”

A couple of weeks ago, I was discussing this latest automotive development with Ian Kennedy after the State of the County luncheon. He quickly grasped the significance of this for those late nights out when you don’t have a designated driver. No problem, just pre program the car to take you home when you climb back in.

I was thinking about another benefit. If these predictions hold true, by the time they come to take my car keys away (“Dad, we don’t think you should be driving anymore…”) it won’t matter. Just like a horse, my car will always find its way back to the barn even if I can’t.

Missed Signals

One of my pet peeves is people who don’t use their turn signals. That would seem to be most people. I theorize that this bad habit started becoming more prevalent as cars got easier to drive. In the sixties and early seventies, power steering and air conditioning were still optional items, not to mention power windows. Back then a person really had to be involved in driving a car so using turn signals was just part of the deal. Nowadays our cars are so automated they practically drive themselves. 

It almost as if today's drivers are annoyed by the fact that the turn signal function is still basically manual.

I’m not the only one who’s noticed this decline in driver etiquette either. On NPR's Morning Edition today, Steve Inskeep spoke with Ron Sowder. Ron has driven a delivery truck for UPS for over fifty years “without being blamed for an accident.”

“He has managed to stay safe while climbing into the cab more than 12,000 times and traveling more than four million miles.”

He was recently honored by UPS for this extraordinary achievement. In the interview, Steve asks Ron what changes he’s noticed in peoples driving habits over all his years on the road.

“Well, the old saying used to be courtesy is contagious - not so much any more. You let people in, and that's that. Only about one out of 50 can bring themselves to throw their hand up, thanks. And they don't use turn signals. You know, if you hit them, you knock them into next week. But I think some of these people need some additional training or something.”

You tell ‘em Ron! 

Streets Unsafe for Gingerbread Men

Coming out of The Mall earlier this week I spotted this snarly beast. Gingerbread men and other fictional characters beware!

In Memoriam…Bob Beaumont

I was in college when the CitiCar made its debut. The two seat electric car was really more like a big golf cart. Though initially it only had a top speed of about 40 mph, it was still street legal. The inventor was Columbia resident Bob Beaumont.

According to this obituary by Nick Bunkley in The New York Times, Bob “thought every home should have an affordable electric vehicle in its driveway and sold more than 2,000 of them, the tiny, trapezoidal creation known as the CitiCar, decades before General Motors and Nissan came up with their own versions, died on Monday at his home in Columbia, Md.”

Jim Rouse had a yellow one. In the late seventies you would often see it parked in front of the American Cities Building in Town Center.

Though it never was a commercial success, thirty plus years later the CitiCar still has a loyal following. I found this video from a “International Gathering" of CitiCar owners held in Columbia in May of 2009.

Bob was just a little ahead of his time. 

Only in HoCo

Dave Bittner snapped this picture the other day and quipped that “only in HoCo does the pizza delivery guy drive a BMW.”

He did note however that is was only a 3 series. In the truly wealthy communities it would have at least been a 5 series…

HoCo’s Inland Port

The Port of Baltimore surpassed New York in auto shipping tonnage for the first half of 2011 making it the top auto port in the nation. According to this story by Michael Dresser in The Sun, “exports of American autos through Baltimore were up 38 percent during the first half, compared with a 25 percent increase for New York.”

HoCo is a direct beneficiary of this growth at the port. In a 150 acre yard in Jessup, TDSI, a CSX subsidiary, operates the largest auto distribution center in the CSX system. With parking for approximately 9,000 vehicles, the TDSI facility handles up to 450,000 cars annually.

According to a CSX company newsletter, the “subsidiary offers additional vehicle handling services through a network of automobile distribution facilities, storage locations, and facilities providing service to Eastern, Gulf and Southeastern ports.” 

Bike Sharing & the Price of Peanut Butter

The increasing popularity of urban “bike share” programs have come with some unanticipated growing pains. According to this report by Andrea Bernstein on Marketplace, “70,000 tourists and other casual users signed up the first year -- dwarfing the 15,000 yearly members.”

While this is certainly encouraging to bicycle proponents it has exposed a few problems with the system. In July for example, bike stations throughout the city were empty 9,000 times. This of course meant that other bike stations throughout the city had too many bikes and so naturally,“there were 5,000 incidences where stations were completely full, so cyclists couldn't return their bikes.”

There are 1,100 bikes in the DC system spread over 110 stations.

Sometimes a random event exacerbates the situation. During the earthquake last month, when the cars and buses ground to halt and the Metro trains were full, Capital Bikeshare had its biggest day. The bike stations in downtown were emptied almost as fast as the neighborhood bike stations rapidly filled.

“Almost every city that's tried bike share has experienced some version of that phenomenon. In London, suburbanites take the train part way and then bike for the rest of their trips. All the bikes end up in the center of town. In Barcelona cyclists go downhill, but not up.”

Nobody likes peddling uphill except maybe Alberto Contador.

The same program also had some advice for peanut butter lovers. You'd better stock up now. According to this report by Kai Ryssdal, “The USDA says the drought in the south is going to trip the 2011 peanut harvest 13 percent.”

“JM Smucker — which makes Jif and, by itself, accounts for almost half the peanut butter market in this country — says prices will go up 30 percent by the end of the year.”