Quality Weenie

Today in Automotive History

1948 The First All-Australian Automobile

On this day, Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley and 1,200 hundred other people attended the unveiling of the first car to be manufactured entirely in Australia--an ivory-colored motor car officially designated the 48-215, but fondly known as the Holden FX. In 1945, the Australian government had invited Australia's auto-part manufacturers to create an all-Australian car. General Motors-Holden's Automotive, a car body manufacturer, obliged, producing the 48-215, a six-cylinder, four-door sedan. The 48-215 was an instant success in Australia, and 100,000 Holden FXs were sold in the first five years of production. During the next few decades, General Motors-Holden's Automotive went on to introduce a number of other successful marques, including the Torana and the Commodore. Four million Holdens, with their trademark "Lion-and-Stone" emblem, were sold in Australia and exported around the world by the 1980s. In 1994, General Motors-Holden's Automotive finally adopted Holden as its official company name, and today Holden continues its mission of meeting Australia's unique motoring needs.

Today in Automotive History

1895 The Great Chicago Race

America's first race featuring gasoline-powered automobiles was held on this day in Chicago, Illinois, with six vehicles competing: two electric cars, three German Benz automobiles, and one American-made Duryea automobile. Charles and Frank Duryea of Peoria, Illinois, had completed America's first working gasoline-powered automobile in 1893, and to the Great Chicago Race, as it would come to be known, the brothers brought a vastly improved two-cylinder model. The race was organized by Chicago Times-Herald Publisher Herman H. Kohlstaat, who had announced in early 1895 that his newspaper would sponsor a major race between horseless carriages. Kohlstaat, who was offering $5,000 in prizes, including a first-place prize of $2,000, received telegrams from automobile enthusiasts across America and Europe. At the request of entrants still working on their automobile prototypes, Kohlstaat agreed to delay the race, originally scheduled for the summer, until November 28, Thanksgiving Day. When the fateful day finally came, the streets of Chicago were covered with several inches of snow, but six of the 80 original entrants had managed to show up. Because of weather conditions, the course was shortened to a 52-mile round-trip out of Chicago and back. The flag dropped and Frank Duryea and his five competitors drove into automotive history. A few miles into the race, both electric cars broke down, leaving the Duryea brothers to contend with the three Benz vehicles. The German-built Benz cars, driven by two Americans and a German, were no match for Frank and the powerful two-cylinder Duryea automobile. After 10 1/2 hours, despite an accidental two-mile detour, Frank crossed the finish line with no other car in sight, having achieved an average speed of 7.5mph during the race. The only other vehicle to finish, a Benz driven by German Oscar Mueller, completed the race an hour and a half later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From the Weenie Family to your Family, we hope you have a very happy and tasty Thanksgiving.

Hockey Whoopass Jamboree

It seems I have been remiss and disallusioned in my sickness.

Remiss in that I have not posted my obligatory links and pictures, disallusioned in that the Red Wings have lost some games.

So I will fulfill my duties that I am bound by for the Whoopass Jamboree in one fell swoop.

So to Frinklin at Frinklin Speaks, well the old guys just can't win them all

And to Gir at Your Moosey Fate, eh loses will happen we will get you next time you hoser.

A Pox on You Jeebus Part II

So I only lasted 1 1/2 hours at work on Monday, they actually told me to go home.

Went to the doctors today and I have Bronchitis, yipee skippee

Off work until Friday, doctors orders.

I'm on vacation all next week.

There is nothing on daytime TV anymore. One can only watch ones DVD's so many times before wanting to hurl them.

The puppies are liking that mommy is home all the time. Mommy isn't liking it so much.

But the cough medicine with codene is pretty nice.

No anitbiotics though, I'm allergic to them so I only get them if I am dying.

Free dial-up sucks big time, it's worse then dial-up that you pay for.

A Pox on You Jeebus

I was over at the Drunken Fools site the other day and he warned us to go no further in our reading. He claimed he got sick from reading Phins tales of sickness.
I thought silly fool, you can't get sick from reading someones blog.

Wrong I was.

Went down to Kentucky on Wednesday and woke up Thursday morning at 4:30am with the worst pain in my throat. It hurt to breathe. Got through the day and drove home.

By Friday morning I was a massive mess of snott, pain in throat was throbbing, couching, sneezing, etc, etc, etc. Didn't go to work.

Saturday and Sunday the same except the throat was doing a little better.

Here it is monday, I am sitting at my desk because we have a huge dog and pony show tomorrow for a customer, it's critical. I have to be here, much to do.

Feel like crap, want to go home.

Damn you Jeebus, I got it from you cause nobody I live with nor work with is sick.

A Pox on you and your children and your childrens childrens.

Dearest Fat.Cow@Comcast.net

Do your own fucking homework.

There is this great thing called an internet, you can type in some letters and with a little searching you can find the answer, yourself.

IP Address: 68.47.180.127
Name: FAT COW
Email Address: FAT.COW@COMCAST.NET
URL:

Comments:

I NEED SOMETHING 4 HOMEWORK & U CANT EVEN HELP WITH THAT THANX ALOT

Today in Automotive History

1914 The first Dodge

On this day, John and Horace Dodge completed their first Dodge vehicle, a car informally known as "Old Betsy." The same day, the Dodge brothers gave "Old Betsy" a quick test drive through the streets of Detroit, Michigan, and the vehicle was shipped to a buyer in Tennessee. John and Horace, who began their business career as bicycle manufacturers in 1897, first entered the automotive industry as auto parts manufacturers in 1901. They built engines for Ransom Olds and Henry Ford among others, and in 1910 the Dodge Brothers Company was the largest parts-manufacturing firm in the United States. In 1914, the intrepid brothers founded the new Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company, and began work on their first complete automobile at their Hamtramck factory. Dodge vehicles became known for their quality and sturdiness, and by 1919, the Dodge brothers were among the richest men in America. In early 1920, just as he was completing work on his 110-room mansion on the Grosse Point waterfront in Michigan, John fell ill from respiratory problems and died. Horace, who also suffered from chronic lung problems, died from pneumonia in December of the same year. The company was later sold to a New York bank, and in 1928, the Chrysler Corporation bought the Dodge name, its factories, and the large network of Dodge car dealers. Under Chrysler's direction Dodge became a successful producer of cars and trucks marketed for their ruggedness, and today Dodge sells a lineup of over a dozen cars and trucks.

What Kind of Solider Are You?

Found this at blogsis Bou's place.

I scored 0% on Civilan, I'm scared.

Busy Little Beaver

Yesterday I was so busy at work that I didn't even have time to turn on my computer, sad but true.

And this afternoon I leave for another overnight jaunt to Kentucky.

I think when they joke about getting me a condo down in Kentucky I am actually wondering if they are.

Oh and

RED WINGS ARE KICKING A COLLECTIVE NHL ASS, WOO HOO!

Today in Automotive History

1960 Robert McNamara named Ford president

In 1946, Henry Ford II, the president of the Ford Motor Company, hired 10 young former intelligence officers from the Air Force, a group that the press soon dubbed the "Whiz Kids." Part of the genius of Henry Ford II, who was second only to his grandfather in business acumen, was his ability to find the most talented people in the industry and bring them into key positions in his rapidly growing postwar corporation. Robert McNamara, one of the Air Force "Whiz Kids," was one such individual. In addition to his other talents, McNamara was a financial disciplinarian who brought quantitative analysis and the science of modern management to the Ford Motor Company. Under the guidance of Henry Ford II and employees like Robert McNamara, Ford flourished during the 1950s, yielding such success stories as the Ford Thunderbird in 1954. On this day, Robert S. McNamara was named president of Ford, as Henry Ford II stepped down from the presidency and became chief executive officer. However, McNamara would remain at the reigns of Ford for less than two months--on January 1, 1961, McNamara resigned from Ford to become secretary of defense for the new administration of President John F. Kennedy.

Valour IT

You know what it is, go do it now! No Excuses, do it.

It's Squeezable Soft

The puppies have been very good lately, so good that we are now allowing our main floor bathroom door to stay open with the toliet lid closed ;)

Sunday I was sitting at the kitchen table sewing some more sweaters for the puppies when I see Maggie sitting in the bathroom staring at the toliet paper. I'm trying to figure out if she has to go to the bathroom and wants to use some toliet paper or is she worshiping the holder.

Next thing I know I see her come around the family corner holding toliet paper in her mouth.

Yep, she grabbed the toilet paper end and ran with it out the bathroom, down the hall through the family room and into the kitchen.

It's hard to yell when your rolling on the floor laughing.

The bathroom door is closed again.

Today in Automotive History

1957 East Germany Launches the Trabant Sputnik

Before World War II, Audi-founder August Horch cranked out his innovative Audis in the Zwickau Automobile Factory in the eastern German state of Sachsen. It was here that Audi manufactured the first automobiles with four-wheel hydraulic brakes and front wheel drive, decades before these innovations became standard throughout the automobile industry. After World War II, Germany was separated into Eastern and Western occupation zones, and Audi, like most other significant German corporations, fled to the capitalist West. Among the deserted factories the Soviet occupiers faced in postwar East Germany was the former Horch-Audi works in Zwickau. Under the authority of the Soviet administrators, and later under the East German Communist government, the Zwickau factory went back into service in the late 1940s, producing simple, pre-war German automobiles like the Das Klein Wonder F8, and the P70, a compact car with a Duroplast plastic body. In 1957, the East German government approved the updated P50 model to enter the market under a new company name--Trabant. On this day, the first Trabant, which translates to servant in English, was produced at the former Horch auto works in Zwickau. For the Trabant's first marque, the designers settled on "Sputnik," to commemorate the Soviet Union's launching of the first artificial Earth satellite the month before. The Trabant Sputnik was the first in the P50 series, featuring a tiny engine for its time--a two-cylinder 500 cc engine capable of reaching only 18bhp. In design, the Trabant Sputnik was the archetypal eastern European car: small, boxy, and fragile in appearance. Yet, despite the lack of style or power found in the Sputnik and its descendants, these automobiles were affordable, and provided the citizens of East Germany and other Soviet bloc countries with a capable means of getting from here to there.

Peverted Minds

When I get ready for work in the morning, the puppies are in the bathroom with me. They have their blanket and get covered up.

This morning I am standing at the sink brushing my teeth when I heard one of them licking, not abnormal. But then I hear Lance (boy dog) moaning, a pleasurable moan.

I am thinking what the hell is going on under those covers, so I lift them up and find Maggie (girl dog) licking the boy dogs ears (you perverts). Yes, our dogs clean each others ears by licking them, only this morning the boy was getting much pleasure out of this.

Blogmeet Pictures

I was invited to the blogmeet in TN but was not able to attend.

I was privey to the pictures taken though!

It's kind of funny the picture you get in your mind of how people look from their description of themself and how they talk about themself.

And usually the picture you have in your head no where near resembles what they actually look like.

I was able to figure out several people from the pictures.

Harvey is nothing like what I pictured.

Tammi, well you have to see her for yourself but Tammi is beautiful. That is the only way I can describe it. She looks nothing like what I expected. I was floored when I saw her picture. She is absolutely beautiful. Tammi, you short change yourself.

Bou - She's kind of what I pictured, but if she has relatives in Chicago then I know them because she is identical to my college roommate from chicago except that my roommate had dirty blond hair.

Blackfive - he looks exactly like what I pictured, plus it was easy to pick him out because of the cubs hat.

I couldn't figure anyone else out though. I am so bummed that I wasn't able to go.

Today in Automotive History

1939 The first air-conditioned car

On this day, the 40th National Automobile Show opened in Chicago, Illinois, with a cutting-edge development in automotive comfort on display: air-conditioning. A Packard prototype featured the expensive device, allowing the vehicle's occupants to travel in the comfort of a controlled environment even on the most hot and humid summer day. After the driver chose a desired temperature, the Packard air-conditioning system would cool or heat the air in the car to the designated level, and then dehumidify, filter, and circulate the cooled air to create a comfortable environment. The main air-conditioning unit was located behind the rear seat of the Packard, where a special air duct accommodated two compartments, one for the refrigerating coils and one for the heating coils. The capacity of the air-conditioning unit was equivalent to 1.5 tons of ice in 24 hours when the car was driven at highway driving speeds. The innovation received widespread acclaim at the auto show, but the expensive accessory would not be within the reach of the average American for several decades. However, when automobile air-conditioning finally became affordable, it rapidly became a luxury that U.S. car owners could not live without.

Golden Corral gives free meals to all Veterans

To find a restaurant click here

On Monday, November 14th from 5-9pm all Golden Corral restuarants are giving away a free meal to all veterans.

More details here

Today in Automotive History

1995 British Soldiers Break Bridge-Building Record

On this day, a team of British soldiers from the 21st Engineer Regiment broke all speed records in the construction of a bridge capable of transporting military vehicles. The British soldiers, based in Nienberg, Germany, built the bridge across a 26-foot, three-inch gap located in Hameln, Germany. Their five-bay single-story medium-girder bridge was completed in eight minutes and 44 seconds.

Free Car Wash for Veterans on Veterans Day

Free Car Washes for Veterans on Veterans' Day, November 11, 2005
Wednesday November 2, 8:31 am ET

MALDEN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2005--In recognition of all the Veterans who have served our country, Wash Depot Holdings, Inc., is offering free car washes to all war-and-peacetime Veterans (and active military personnel) on Veterans' Day, Friday November 11, 2005.
All a Veteran or active military person has to do to receive a free car wash is show proof of service in the form of discharge papers (DD214 form), military I.D., Veterans' organization membership card or be driving a vehicle with a POW plate, Veterans' plate or a military medal/ribbon plate. "It's our way of saying thank you for their dedication and sacrifices to make our nation great," says Wash Depot President Greg Anderson.

Wash Depot Holdings, Inc., is the nation's largest owner/operator of car washes with 72 locations in 13 states. Wash Depot operates car washes under the "Simoniz", "Sonny's" and "Sparkling Image" brand names.

For a complete list of their locations, visit their web site www.washdepot.com.

For additional information contact:

Bill Chiccarelli
Director of Marketing
Wash Depot Holdings, Inc.,
14 Summer Street
Malden, MA 02148
781-324-2000 ext. 109

Today in Automotive History

1989 In It For The Long Haul

On this day, Carmen Fasanella, a taxicab driver from Princeton, New Jersey, retired after 68 years and 243 days of service. Fasanella, who was continuously licensed as a taxicab owner and driver in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, since February 1, 1921, is the most enduring taxi driver on record.

Today in Automotive History

1927 Ford Model A production begins

For the first time since the Model T was introduced in 1908, the Ford Motor Company began production on a significantly redesigned automobile on this day--the Model A. The hugely successful Model T revolutionized the automobile industry, and over 15,000,000 copies of the "Tin Lizzie" were sold in its 19 years of production. By 1927, the popularity of the outdated Model T was rapidly waning. Improved, but basically unchanged for its two-decade reign, it was losing ground to the more stylish and powerful motor cars offered by Ford's competitors. In May of 1927, Ford plants across the country closed, and the company began an intensive development of the more refined and modern Model A. The vastly improved Model A had elegant Lincoln-like styling on a smaller scale, and used a capable 200.5 cubic-inch four-cylinder engine that produced 40hp. With prices starting at $460, nearly 5,000,000 Model As, in several body styles and a variety of colors, rolled onto to America's highways before production ended in early 1932.