The original Batmobile from the 1966 T.V. series Batman is in Winnipeg for the World of Wheels extravaganza. Actually 3 versions are in town. The 1989 Batmobile and the 2005 Batmobile. But the best Batmobile is the original Batmobile. This is a replica however, as the original is held in a private collection.

 

In October, 2010, DC Comics authorized Fiberglass Freaks in Logansport, Indiana, to build officially licensed 1966 Batmobile replicas. These replicas have been sold to customers in England, Italy, Canada, and across the U.S. One of Fiberglass Freaks’ 1966 Batmobile Replicas sold at an R & M auction for $216,000.

The Batmobile at the Winnipeg Convention Centre yesterday.

 

And not only is the Batmobile from the original T.V. series in town, Batman and Robin from the series are here as well, Adam West and Burt Ward!

Some behind the scenes photos from the original series:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam is a real trooper at the age of 84 still coming to theses shows.

 

 

Burt at age 67 is a pup beside Adam.

 

 

 

 

 

I guess the Batmobile was undergoing maintenance by the trusted butler Alfred, so the Caped Crusader had to find alternative transportation.

 

 

Here is a list of Ford factories worldwide.  They are located almost everywhere across the globe.  I am wondering when Ford will open a plant in Timbuctoo.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

Current production facilities

VIN	Name	City/State	Country	Status	Employees	Products	Comments
5 (NA)	AutoAllianc International	Flat Rock, Michigan	USA	Open	2,621	Ford Mustang Mazda 6	Built at site of closed Ford Michigan Casting Center
	AutoAlliance Thailand	Pleukdang	Thailand	Open	3,618	Ford Fiësta Ford Ranger Ford Everest Mazda 2 Mazda BT-50
	Ford Romania	Craiova	Romania	Open		Ford Transit Connect Ford B-MAX (2012)
P (EU)	Azambuja Assembly	Azambuja	Portugal			Ford Fiesta Ford Focus Ford Mondeo
	Bahia Plant	Camaçari, Bahia	Brazil			Ford Fiesta Ford Fiesta Sedan Ford EcoSport	Plant opened in 2001 Scheduled to begin production for US market in 2009
V (NA)	Blue Diamond Truck	Escobedo General, Nuevo Leon	Mexico			Ford F-650 Ford F-750 Ford LCF	Commercial truck joint venture with Navistar
	Bordeaux Transaxle	Blanquefort	France	Open	947	Ford IB transmission
	Bridgend Engine	Bridgend	Wales	Open	2,013	Ford Zetec engine Jaguar AJ-V8 engine
JG JL (AU)	Broadmeadows Assembly	Campbellfield, Victoria	Australia	Open	2,088	Ford Falcon Ford Falcon Ute Ford Territory
	Buffalo Stamping	Buffalo, New York	USA	Open	823	Quarter Panels, Body Sides, Rear Floor Pan, Rear Doors, Roofs, front doors, hoods
J (EU)	Valencia Body and Assembly	Valencia	Spain	Open	6,180	Ford Ka Ford Fiesta Ford Focus
	Valencia Assembly	Valencia	Venezuela	Open	1,797	Ford Fiesta Ford Explorer Ford F-350 Ford F-250 Ford Cargo	Plant opened in 1962. serves Ford markets in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
	Changan Ford Mazda Engine Co.	Nanjing	China		700	BZ series engine	Joint Venture: Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (50%). Ford Motor Company (25%), Mazda Motor Company (25%)
G (NA)	Chicago Assembly	Chicago, Illinois	USA	Open	2,584	Ford Taurus Lincoln MKS Ford Explorer (Late 2010)
	Chicago Stamping	Chicago Heights, Illinois	USA	Open	781
	Chihuahua Engine	Chihuahua, Chihuahua	Mexico	Open	690	Duratec I4 4,4L and 6,7L V8 Diesel	Zetec engine (Discontinued)
	Cleveland Casting	Brook Park, Ohio	USA	To close (2010)	1,067	Engine blocks, crankshafts
	Cleveland Engine #1	Brook Park, Ohio	USA	Reopened (2004)		Duratec 30 Duratec 35	Idled from May 2007 to May 2008
	Cleveland Engine #2	Brook Park, Ohio	USA	Open	813	Duratec 25 Duratec 30 RFF and DAMB
A (EU)	Cologne Body & Assembly	Cologne	Germany	Open	4,141	Ford Fiesta Ford Fusion
	Cologne Engine	Cologne	Germany	Open	1,008	Cologne V6
	Cologne Forge and Die Cast	Cologne	Germany			parts
	Cologne Tool and Die	Cologne	Germany	Open	1,144	equipment
	Cologne Transmission	Cologne	Germany	Open	1,590	Ford MTX transmission Ford VXT transmission
	Croydon Stamping	Croydon	England			parts
M (NA)	Cuautitlán Assembly	Cuautitlán-Izcalli	Mexico			Ford Fiesta
	Dagenham Engine	Dagenham	England	Open	2,047	Ford Duratorq engine Ford Duratec 20 Ford Duratec 23
	Dagenham Stamping	Dagenham	England	Open	1,084
	Dagenham Tool & Die	Dagenham	England			equipment
	Dearborn Engine	Dearborn, Michigan	USA	Open	911	Ford Duratec 20 Ford Duratec 23	River Rouge Plant
	Dearborn Stamping	Dearborn, Michigan	USA	Open	588	Frames, Truck Axles, Suspension Parts, Tire and Wheel
F (NA)	Dearborn Truck	Dearborn, Michigan	USA			Ford F-150
	Ford Renaissance Global Logistics	Detroit, Michigan	USA
	Essex Engine	Windsor, Ontario	Canada	Reopened (2009)		Ford Triton engine Ford Essex V6 engine	Idled in November 2007, reopened February 2009
	Ford India, Ltd.	Tamil Nadu	India	Open	2,100	Ford Endeavour Ford Fiesta Ford Figo
	Ford India, Ltd.	Gujarat	India	To Open (2014)
	Ford Lio Ho Assembly	Chung Li	Taiwan	Open	1,732	Ford Econovan Ford Fiesta Ford Mondeo Ford Pronto Ford Tierra Mazda 323 Mazda Bongo
	Ford Lio Ho Engine	Chung Li	Taiwan	Open	1,732	Ford Zetec engine
	Ford Malaysia Sdn. Bhd	Selangor	Malaysia	Open	705	Ford Laser Ford Telstar Ford Ranger Ford Econovan Ford Transit Ford Trader BMW Land Rover Discovery
	Ford Motor Company of South Africa	Port Elizabeth	South Africa	Open	815	Ford PTE engine Zetec ROCAM
	Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, Ltd.	Silverton	South Africa	Open	3,762	Ford Bantam Ford Fiesta Ford Tracer Ford Ikon Ford Ranger Mazda SOHO Mazda Etude Mazda Rustler Volvo S40 Volvo V40 Mitsubishi Canter Land Rover Jaguar
	Ford Motor Company Philippines	Santa Rosa, Laguna	Philippines	Open	719	Lynx Ford Tierra Ford Focus Mazda 323 Ford Escape Mazda Tribute
	Ford Motor Company ZAO	St. Petersburg	Russia	Open	1,571	Ford Focus Ford Mondeo
	Ford Otosan Assembly	Kocaeli	Turkey			Ford Transit Ford Transit Connect	Transit Connect starts shipping to US in Fall of 2009
	Ford Otosan Engine	Eskisehir	Turkey	Open	1,676	Ford MT75 transmission for Transit Ford Puma engine< Ford Cargo truck Ford Rear Axle for Transit
	Geelong Aluminum Casting	Norlane, Victoria	Australia			engine parts
	Geelong Chassis	Norlane, Victoria	Australia			parts
	Geelong Engine	Norlane, Victoria	Australia	Open	644	I6 engines
	Geelong Iron Casting	Norlane, Victoria	Australia			I6 engines
	Geelong Stamping	Norlane, Victoria	Australia	Open	1,152	Ford Falcon body panels Ford Focus body panels (2011)
	Getrag Ford Transmission	Liverpool	England	Open	731	MT82 Transmission, IB5 transaxle, MT75 Transmission, PTO Transmissions
B (EU)	Genk Body & Assembly	Genk	Belgium	Open	4,600	Ford Mondeo Ford S-MAX Ford Galaxy
	Hai Duong Assembly, Ford Vietnam, Ltd.	Hai Duong	Vietnam			Ford Laser Ford Transit Ford Ranger Ford Escape Ford Mondeo Ford Focus Ford Everest
	Halewood Transmission	Halewood	England			Ford MT-75 transmission Ford IB5 transmission
R (NA)	Hermosillo Stamping & Assembly	Hermosillo, Sonora	Mexico			Ford Fusion Mercury Milan Lincoln MKZ Ford Focus (01/00)
	IMMSA	Monterrey, Nuevo Len	Mexico
A (EU)	Ipiranga Assembly	Ipiranga	Brazil
	Jiangling Motors Corp., Ltd.	Nanchang, Jianxi	China	Open	7,258	Ford Transit Isuzu	Partnership with Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd
K (NA)	Kansas City Assembly	Claycomo, Missouri	USA	Open	4,684	Ford F-150 Ford Escape Ford Contour Ford Escape Hybrid Ford Maverick (export) Mazda Tribute Mercury Mariner
	Kechnec Transmission	Kechnec, Kosice	Slovakia			Ford MPS6 transmissions Ford SPS6 transmissions	Ford/Getrag dual clutch transmission “Powershift”, (Getrag Ford Transmissions)
E (NA)	Kentucky Truck Assembly	Louisville, Kentucky	USA	Open	5,154	Ford Super Duty Ford Expedition Lincoln Navigator
	Lima Engine	Lima, Ohio	USA	Open	730	Vulcan V6 Jaguar AJ35 Duratec 35
	Livonia Transmission	Livonia, Michigan	USA	Open	1,849	AX4S 4R70W 6R
U (NA)	Louisville Assembly Plant	Louisville, Kentucky	USA	Open	2,100	Ford Escape 2013	Reopened in 2012.4.4 and building the Ford Kuga for European markets and the Ford Escape for North American markets. Lincoln Variant expected also.
	Metcon Casting	Santa Fe Province	Argentina			parts
L (NA)	Michigan Assembly Plant	Wayne, Michigan	USA	Open		2012 Ford Focus and a Lincoln variant is expected also.
S (NA)	New Model Programs Development Center	Allen Park, Michigan	USA				Commonly known as “Pilot Plant” Opened 1958
B (NA)	Oakville Assembly	Oakville, Ontario	Canada	Open	3,820	Lincoln MKX Ford Edge Ford Flex Lincoln MKT	Opened 1953
D (NA)	Ohio Assembly	Avon Lake, Ohio	USA	Open	1,821	Ford Econoline	Opened 1974, previously a Fruehauf truck trailer plant.
	Pacheco Stamping & Assembly	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Open	2,123	Ford F100 Ford Focus (until 2009) Ford Ranger Ford Focus II
	Rawsonville Parts	Ypsilanti, Michigan	USA			Integrated Air/Fuel Modules Alternators Air Induction Systems Starters Fuel Pumps Carbon Canisters	Returned to Ford Motor Company from Visteon in 2005 after landmark deal with UAW
	Romeo Engine	Romeo, Michigan	USA	Open	1,160	Ford Intech engine Ford Triton engine
K (EU)	Rheine Assembly	Rheine	Germany
C (EU)	Saarlouis Body & Assembly	Saarlouis	Germany	Open	1,276	Ford Focus Ford Kuga	Opened January 1970
B (EU)	Sao Bernardo Assembly	Sao Bernardo do Campo	Brazil			Ford Courier Ford Ka Ford F-Series
	Sharonville Transmission	Sharonville, Ohio	USA	Open	1,478	Ford 4R70W transmission Ford 4R100 transmission Ford 5R110W transmission Ford 5R55S transmission Ford CD4E transmission Ford FN transmission
	Southampton Body & Assembly	Southampton	England	Open		Ford Transit	Former Supermarine aircraft factory, acquired 1953. Assembly began 1972
S (EU)	Setubal Assembly	Setubal	Portugal
	Swedish Motor Assembly	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	Open	468	Volvo Cars
	Taubate Chassis	Taubate, So Paulo	Brazil			Ford Fiesta components Ford Zetec engine components Ford Sigma engine
	Tekfor Cologne GmbH	Cologne	Germany		352	Steel forgings	Joint Venture: 50% Ford; 50% Neumayer
	Thai-Swedish Assembly Co. Ltd.	Samutprakarn	Thailand
P (NA)	Twin Cities Assembly Plant	St. Paul, Minnesota	USA	To close (2011)		Ford Ranger Mazda B-Series	Oldest vehicle plant, from 1924 Scheduled to be closed December 19, 2011
P (EU)	Valencia Assembly	Valencia	Venezuela			Ford Explorer Ford Fiesta Ford Laser Ford Ranger Ford F-Series Mazda Allegro Mazda B-Series
	Valencia Body & Assembly	Valencia	Spain			Ford Focus Ford Ka Ford Fiesta Mazda Mazda2 Ford C-Max
	Valencia Engine #1	Valencia	Spain	Open	522	Ford Endura-E engine Ford HCS engine
	Valencia Engine #2	Valencia	Spain			Zetec-SE engine
	Van Dyke Transmission Plant	Sterling Heights, Michigan	USA	Open	1,260	Ford AX4N transmission Ford FN transmission Ford 6F transmission
	Walton Hills Stamping	Walton Hills, Ohio	USA	Open	607	Body panels
W (NA)	Wayne Stamping & Assembly	Wayne, Michigan	USA			Ford Focus (NA) Ford Focus (Int’l in 2011) Ford C-MAX (2011)
	Windsor Engine	Windsor, Ontario	Canada	Open	1,850	Ford Modular engine 4.6 and 5.4 Ford Triton engine V10
	Woodhaven Forging	Woodhaven, Michigan	USA			Ford Modular engine 5.4 parts Ford Triton engine V10 parts
	Woodhaven Stamping	Woodhaven, Michigan	USA	Open	1,359	Body panels

 

If Israel attacks Iran gas prices could go to the moon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

#1

1963 Aston Martin DB5

Mary Evans / Ronald Grant-Everett Collection

The ne plus ultra of James Bond’s automobiles, the Aston Martin DB5 was introduced in 1964’s Goldfinger, and came equipped with all the extras a spy could ask for—including rotating license plates, machine guns, a radarscope, and of course, an ejector seat. To show how far product placement in the movies has come, Aston Martin owner David Brown (the “DB” in DB5) originally asked the film’s producers to pay to use the car because he didn’t want to damage a £4,500 vehicle. Though destroyed in Goldfinger, the car lived more than once in Bond films—it most recently made a cheeky cameo in Casino Royale, when Daniel Craig’s 007 wins a 1963 Aston Martin DB5 in a poker game. The classic car also reportedly will appear in the 23rd Bond movie, Skyfall, opening in December.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

#2

1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1

beaulieu.co.uk

In a classic chase scene from Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery’s Bond gets behind the wheel of Tiffany Case’s 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1, and the two evade police in Las Vegas—until he heads down a dead end. Thinking fast, they lean over, and then the car defies several laws of physics by driving down a narrow alley on two wheels. The iconic scene also contains a major Bond blooper—when they enter the alley, the Mustang is on its right tires, when they exit safely on Fremont Street, it’s driving on its left side.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

#3

1974 AMC Hornet X Hatchback

Mary Evans / Ronald Grant-Everett Collection

Though not nearly elegant enough to be issued to Bond by Q branch, the AMC Hornet was practical enough to steal when Roger Moore needed to chase Scaramanga through Thailand in The Man With the Golden Gun. The comical scene also features a return cameo for Southern Sheriff J.W. Pepper (from Live and Let Die), who rides shotgun with 007 for the most dramatic moment: when the car does a 360-degree mid-air corkscrew.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

#4

1999 BMW Z8

BMW

Bond is notoriously hard on his cars, but no 007 vehicle met quite as painful an end as the BMW Z8 Pierce Brosnan drove in The World Is Not Enough. It was sliced in half by a helicopter equipped with a tree-cutting saw. When the blade meets the car, Bond quips, “Q’s not going to like this.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

#5

1969 Mercury Cougar XR7

Everett Collection

James Bond loves cars almost as much as he enjoys women, so it is fitting that the only love he marries—Diana Rigg’s Tracy Draco in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service—has a superb set of wheels. Tracy first drives the red Mercury Cougar XR7 onto a beach in Portugal before attempting suicide at the beginning of the movie, and it’s used later in the film when 007 is trying to escape Blofeld. Mr. and Mrs. Bond drive off in a different car, however, following their wedding—naively believing they have all the time in the world.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

#6

2002 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

Dave Hogan / Getty Images

After a three-picture deal with BMW, Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond went back to an Aston Martin in 2002’s Die Another Day. And while the V12 Vanquish was equipped with some classic refinements—machine guns, rocket launchers, an ejector seat, and retractable spikes in the tires for driving on ice—it was car’s “adaptive camouflage” system that went a bit too far, even for a Bond film. The car disappears with push of a button, which is why the Vanquish’s MI6 codename is the “Vanish.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

#7

Bentley Mark IV

In three of Ian Fleming’s novels, James Bond drove a 1933 Bentley “blower” convertible, equipped with a 4.5-liter engine and an Amherst-Villiers supercharger. (It also happened to be the very car Fleming himself drove—and posed with for the cover of Life magazine in October 1966.) But the Bentley only makes one appearance in the Bond film canon—when 007 takes Sylvia Trench on a picnic it’s in a Bentley Mark IV, a model that Fleming made up. And it’s equipped with a truly futuristic gadget for 1963: a car phone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

#8

1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III

beaulieu.co.uk

Strictly speaking, this is not James Bond’s car—it belonged to Auric Goldfinger—but the 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III is one of the most beautiful vehicles ever to appear in a Bond film, and it plays an important role in the movie’s plot. The car’s bodywork is made of 18-karat gold, allowing Goldfinger to melt it down and smuggle his favorite substance across borders without suspicion.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

#9

Aston Martin DBS V12

beaulieu.co.uk

What was intended to be a Ford GT for the opening chase scene in Quantum of Solace, evolved into an Aston Martin DBS, the same car Daniel Craig’s Bond drove in Casino Royale. It was a costly choice. Three Aston Martins—valued at $300,000 each—were destroyed during the filming of Casino Royale and six more reportedly were killed during the making of Quantum of Solace.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

#10

1976 Lotus Esprit S1

After the Aston Martin DB5, no Bond car had more imaginative modifications than the Lotus Esprit S1 from The Spy Who Loved Me. When Roger Moore’s 007 drives the Lotus off a pier while being chased, the white sports car instantly transforms into a submarine, equipped with fins, a periscope, and a surface-to-air-missile. In 2008, “Wet Nellie” sold at auction for £111,500.

 

 

I’m surprised no car enthusiasts in Winnipeg own one of these.  It would be amusing to see one powering down the Assiniboine River, turn onto the Red River, and then scoot up the bank by the Alexander Docks and drive down Waterfront Drive.

The Amphicar is an amphibious automobile, the first such vehicle mass-produced for sale to the public starting in 1961. The German vehicle was designed by Hanns Trippel and manufactured by the Quandt Group at Lübeck and at Berlin-Borsigwalde. Its name is a portmanteau of “amphibious” and “car”. The Amphicar was designed to be marketed and sold in the USA. Compared to most boats or cars, its performance was modest, and only 4000 were produced by 1965. Nevertheless, it is still among the most successful amphibious civilian autos of all time, and still often prized and preserved as novelty collectible automobiles today.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Although underpowered by modern standards, a well-maintained Amphicar can be an agile and pleasant vehicle to drive on both land and water. The fact that such a high proportion –more than 700 of the almost 4000 produced –have survived more than forty years is a testament to their high initial production quality, and to the lengths to which many owners will go in order to maintain and restore these vehicles.

During the fourth week in July, Amphicar owners convene at Grand Lake St. Marys in western Ohio. These events, and similar ones nationwide, are called “swim-ins”.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

The powerplant was the 1147 cc (69 in³) engine from the British Triumph Herald 1200. Many engines were tried in prototypes but the Triumph engine was “state of the art” in 1961 and had the necessary combination of performance, weight, cool running and reliability. Updated versions of this engine remained in production in the Triumph Spitfire until 1980. The Amphicar engine had a power output of 43 hp (32 kW) at 4750 rpm slightly more than the Triumph Herald due to a shorter exhaust. Called the “Model 770″, the Amphicar could achieve speeds of 7 knots in the water and 70 mph (110 km/h) on land. Later versions of the engine displaced 1296 cc and 1493 cc and produced up to 75 bhp (56 kW). Some Amphicar owners have fitted these engines to improve performance.

One owner was quoted “It’s not a good car and it’s not a good boat, but it does just fine” largely because of modest performance in and out of water.  Another added, “We like to think of it as the fastest car on the water and fastest boat on the road.”

In water as well as on land, the Amphicar steered with the front wheels, making it less maneuverable than a conventional boat.  Time’s Dan Neil called it “a vehicle that promised to revolutionize drowning”, explaining, “Its flotation was entirely dependent on whether the bilge pump could keep up with the leakage.”  In reality a well maintained Amphicar does not leak at all and can be left in water, parked at a dock side, for many days.

 

Beijing traffic jam

 

BEIJING

Claim to fame: A 60-mile traffic jam on an expressway heading into Beijing has lasted since Aug. 19 and might continue for another month

Life in the slow lane: The ongoing jam on National Expressway 110, which links Beijing and North China’s Hebei province, caused by construction and a number of accidents, has shocked the world. But Beijingers are used to epic-scale gridlock. Despite the city’s six surrounding ring roads, numerous expressways, and the government’s restrictions on car use, urban planners simply can’t keep up with the massive influx of new cars that many of Beijing’s approximately 20 million increasingly wealthy people (many of whom have never driven a car before) have recently bought. Some 248,000 new cars were registered in the first four months of 2010, according to the Beijing municipal tax office, a rate of 2,100 new cars per day.

Driving in Beijing, which came in first on IBM’s latest survey of “commuter pain” among major world cities, is a truly frustrating experience: 69 percent of Beijing motorists admitted that on occasion they have just given up and gone home, 84 percent claimed traffic affected work or school performance, and the average commuter suffers through almost an hour of traffic just commuting to work. The city is pinning its hopes on one out-of-the-box solution: an enormous, solar-powered bus that literally drives over traffic.

MOSCOW

Claim to fame: Muscovite drivers face the longest traffic delays in the world, with waits averaging about two and a half hours

Life in the slow lane:Drunk driving, bad weather, streets designed only for military marches and Communist officials in limousines, and well-connected individuals skipping traffic continue to make driving in this city an exasperating — not to mention costly and dangerous — experience. The Russian Transportation Ministry claims that $12.8 billion — more than the GDP of Iceland — is lost every year due to the miserable traffic conditions. Overall, Russia’s road-accident mortality rate is more than twice as high as some members of the European Union — despite the fact that Russians have about a third the amount of cars.

The Kremlin has addressed the traffic issue on numerous occasions, but with the country’s road infrastructure ranked 111th in the world and falling rates of public spending — despite the Transportation Ministry’s pleas to add almost 250 miles of road to ease congestion — Muscovites are not happy. One study showed that over the past three years, two in five residents of the capital have had to wait at least three hours for traffic to clear (an impressively low figure considering there are 650 traffic jams on average every day).

MEXICO CITY

Claim to fame: In 2006, a single political protest caused a backup of half a million cars

Life in the slow lane: Some might think that freeway-clogged Los Angeles is North America’s worst traffic nightmare, but according to IBM’s survey, Mexico City is almost four times as tough for commuters. The Mexican capital has become famous for Darwinian traffic habits (an average of 1,500 pedestrians are killed in accidents a year) and pollution so heavy that it likely shortens life spans. Despite city initiatives to decrease the heavy traffic congestion largely caused by simply too many people and too few roads, more than half of Mexico City drivers said that the traffic has negatively affected school or work while 62 percent said that traffic is getting worse in a city with streets first designed by the Aztecs.

One uniquely Mexican trait is definitely not helping matters: The city averages about eight and a half street protests per day, further clogging the streets with demonstrators from all over the country. The city even has a website specifically designed to note every protest and the likelihood of resulting traffic blockages.

SAO PAULO

Claim to fame: The city holds the world record for the world’s longest traffic jam at over 165 miles on May 9 in 2008

Life in the slow lane: A traveler to Sao Paulo might wonder why so many drivers can be seen doing such menial tasks as shaving, watching movies, or playing video games while at the wheel. Given that Paulistas regularly spend three- to four-hours each day in traffic jams that can be over 100 miles long, it should not be too surprising that motorists are making themselves feel at home. Not only do Sao Paulo roads handle the city’s more than 20 million people poorly, but the city has simply not done enough to fix matters. The fast-growing and sprawling, decentralized megalopolis –spread across more than 3,000 square miles — suffers from extra traffic due to its lack of any fully functional ring roads.

Designated bus lanes, subway additions, and a car-restriction system that allows only a limited number of drivers on the road each day have done little to lessen the massive traffic congestion that costs the city an estimated $2.3 billion a year. The gridlock has gotten so bad that Sao Paulo’s well-connected and wealthy have made the city home to the second-largest helicopter fleet in the world.

LAGOS

Claim to fame: Frequent massive car accidents cause fatalities in the dozens

Life in the slow lane:Driving in Lagos is characterized more by the act of sitting — the standstill nature of driving in this booming city is so ubiquitous that Lagosians have created their own term for their city’s traffic: “go-slow.” Near the top of many lists for fastest-growing city in the world, Lagos for many years lacked any overarching plans for infrastructure, as its infamous traffic attests.

Overcrowding is not the only problem afflicting Lagos’s roads, however– vehicle-wrecking potholes, few working traffic lights, carjacking, corrupt traffic police, and flooded roads are also common. Traffic in Lagos, a coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, is plagued by the fact that drivers are often forced to take narrow bridges, causing bottlenecks. Worst yet, according to urban lore, it’s dangerous to try to buy any items from street vendors while stuck on a bridge because there is a good chance that they or others nearby — knowing you have nowhere to move — are armed and looking to steal all your belongings.

In Canada Toronto is by far the worst.  An average of 80 minute commutes per day.  Montreal is a close second.  Bangkok and Cairo have notorious traffic.

In the U.S. it is Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston and Seattle.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Traffic on interstate outside New Orleans before Hurricane Rita.  All the traffic is going in the same direction.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Morning commute over bridge in Chongqing, China.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Moscow evening traffic jam.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Chicago has the worst traffic jams in the U.S.

 

Keep your eyes on the road!

 

Popular Science magazine had many articles devoted to automobile safety back in the 1930′s, 1940′s, 50′s and 60′s.  The car explosion in those decades revealed many problems and concerns as cars became bigger and faster.  Many of the tips Pop Sci brings up from back in the day could be utilized in today’s world of mass automobile use.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

 

If this cover image doesn’t terrify you into driving safely, we don’t know what will. According to the illustrator, driving 30 miles and hour is as dangerous as driving on the roof of a building.

Manitoba Public Insurance should start preaching these same basic rules.  I don’t know about the one of suspecting every pedestrian of suicide.

1. Learn to judge the conditions of the road and the drivers. 2. It isn’t how fast you can go, it’s how fast you can stop. 3. Keep one car length between you and the car in front of you for every 10 miles on your speedometer. 4. Suspect every pedestrian of suicide. 5. Every intersection is a crash point, so slow down. 6. Signal properly. 7. Expect the worst from the other car.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Get those brakes checked regularly

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Speed limits in certain States back in 1960 was 30 mph.  That would be about 52 kph.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Keep those tires up to date and checked out regularly

 

Highly sophisticated applications are now going to be standard in many automobiles.  The redundancy of this technology is amazing.  Does a person really need to know where restaurants that appeal to his tastes are located as he drives around the city?  And people will be looking away from the road as they scan the little screen on the dash.

Popular Science

BMW’s Group Technology Office wants to “open the car as a platform for applications.” Cars are the most thoroughly computerized machines most of us will ever buy, they say, but unlike phones or laptops, they are nearly impossible to upgrade – you pay your money and then drive the thing unchanged until it’s scrapped. But connect a car to the Internet and the possibilities become more interesting.

 

 

BMW Apps is a system available on all BMWs produced after March 2011 that connects the car to a website from which the driver can download BMW-specific iPhone apps.

 

 

Audi’s AIDA system draws information about the car’s surroundings from the Web, sorts the data using artificial intelligence, and displays what it decides is most relevant to the driver.

 

 

The product of a joint venture with two Massachusetts Institute of Technology labs, AIDA feeds inputs from multiple sensors to a central artificial intelligence that “observes” your habits and behaviors and tailors your car’s performance to them. AIDA can learn your favorite routes and stops, remember and remind you of important events, and over time anticipate other desires; it might know, for instance, which day you like to go to the grocery store because that’s when the wild Alaskan salmon arrives.

 

 

The focal point of the Concept A-Class car unveiled this year by Mercedes-Benz is the iPad-size, social-media-equipped console screen.

 

 

In 2008, GM’s then R&D director, Larry Burns, predicted that autonomous vehicles would be ready for the mainstream by 2018, the EN-V is one attempt to make his prediction come true.

Driver, 94, pleads guilty in death of neighbour

Safe driving can only be achieved by being alert as to what is going on around you.  The senses have to be sharp.  The eyes have to be focused and able to scan the rear-view mirrors.  The shoulders and neck have to be agile so a person can shoulder check and visually scan around their vehicle 160 degrees at least.  If these actions cannot be performed the results can be nasty.  People who are not up to standard should maybe say no to driving.

 

 

The consequences can be a lot worse than some damage to the vehicle.

 

Winnipeg Free Press

A 94-year-old Winnipeg man has pleaded guilty to killing his elderly neighbour by accidentally driving his car over him.

Edward Hudek admitted earlier this week to a Highway Traffic Act charge of backing a vehicle without due care. He was given a $1,000 fine and two-year driving prohibition.

Frederick Albert Tippen, 86, died in April 2010 after being struck by Hudek’s rented Suzuki SX4 in the parking lot of a St. Vital seniors residence.

Hudek, who has no prior criminal or driving record, told police he heard “knocking at the side of his car” as he reversed out of a stall. He then got out, saw nothing but went inside the Dakota House assisted living facility and told a staff member he might have “bumped into somebody.”

Police and paramedics arrived to find Tippen trapped underneath the vehicle, which had to be lifted to free him. The unconscious man was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead.

“This is a tragic, isolated incident in his life,” defence lawyer Martin Glazer told court.

Hudek surrendered his licence following the tragedy and has not driven since. He also wrote a letter of apology to Tippen’s family.

Glazer said his client was unfamiliar with the rental car and may not have seen Tippen in his blind spot while backing out.

The case has raised questions about how society handles a growing number of aging motorists. The ranks of seniors behind the wheel are expanding as baby boomers age, according to Manitoba Public Insurance.

In 1994, there were more than 80,000 Manitobans 65 and older with a valid driver’s licence, MPI said. In 2010, about 103,600 — 14 per cent — of the nearly 740,000 licensed drivers provincewide were 65 or older. It’s estimated 21 per cent of drivers in Manitoba will be over 65 by 2025.

Therefore driver testing for people who reach the age of 80 should be mandatory every 18 months.  If these people can’t pass the test they can start taking cabs if they live in the city.  If they live in rural areas they can move into an old folks complex.  Friends and support staff will be there to help with the shopping, errands and appointments.

And it is not just the other drivers on the road that can be traumatized by bad senior citizen drivers, passengers are often affected as well.

 

 

Shopping can be provided by friends or companies that provide such services.  Making it less hazardous in the parking lots.

 

 

 

Property damage, injuries and tying up the police could all be reduced if people in their later golden years had to take the mandatory drivers test.