I’m a big fan of Five Guys burgers and fries, but rarely make the trip down to Carson. So it was a nice surprise at about 9:30 the other night, after a day of negotiations down in the South Bay, to be driving up Sepulveda Blvd. just short of LAX and to see the red and white Five Guys sign on the east side of the road. A quick maneuver into the parking lot, and more luck as Five Guys was open until 10 p.m. I saw, I scarfed. It’s in an office park-nice little shopping plaza with a courtyard and outdoor tables.
Five Guys also has other locations, and planned locations, in and around the Los Angeles area. Of these, the El Segundo outlet may be the most dangerous for me. The In-N-Out Burger just on the other side of LAX may have better views, but I’m partial to Five Guys’ food.
Cadillac ELR formerly known as the Converj coming to us soon.
Wednesday I got to meet up with GM exec Jim Federico, Executive Director of Engineering, Electric Vehicles at the L.A. Auto Show. I got to ask some of my own questions as well as those you readers posed as part of the ticket contest I was able to run. It was an interesting visit, certainly a lot of information with some answers as well. Where to start with the questions and answers is my big dilemma.
Al Pavangkanan posed the question regarding new battery technology. Jim couldn’t give specifics of what they have in store but did say that they are working with the battery suppliers to develop new technologies that will give us more power for the size compared to what we have now. The problem all the manufacturers have run into is that there isn’t a rush to develop batteries as there isn’t really a market demand for them yet in quantities to offset their costs. Those costs affect what we pay for an EV now, but as demand increases, production increases there will be more incentive to develop new battery technology and help lower costs. Read the rest of this entry →
Like many Los Angeles area folks, I’m crazy about cars. Fortunately, I’m able to incorporate my love into my work, and covered the L.A. Auto Show on Press Day 1 yesterday. Unfortunately, my day was ruled as much by the cars on the roads outside than by the shiny new models inside the Convention Center.
File this under found on road alive. A Redondo Beach man bought the car new in 1964 and had it for 20 years before he sold it. His sons went upon the quest to find the car and return it to him. The quest led across the country where they finally found the car on a lot in Canada. They bought it and returned it to him as a gift.
In the land that rust forgot what old car from your past would you like to have back? For me its a mixed bag but the one I regret selling the most that I’d love to have back is my old ’72 Centurion which took us on many a road trip to the beach and shows all over the L.A. area.
Pair of Chevy Volts at 2011 Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica
Santa Monica is a Ground Zero for hybrid, electric, and other alternative fuel vehicles in the U.S. It’s nearly impossible to open your eyes while there and not notice at least a Prius or two. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the flagship event for this Sunday‘s National Plug-In Day will be a gathering and parade of electric and plug-in vehicles in Santa Monica.
It always amazes me the old cars that get used around here. This sure is a nice 1930 Ford Model A but its not your typical trailer queen this driver actually pops up around town every now and then just being driven and enjoyed. I spotted it yesterday afternoon at the Celebrate the Arts here in Monrovia (an art festival I participate in every year at this time). They owner just popped into Library Park to check out the art exhibits leaving it unattended to draw a crowd all on its own.
Courtesy nailmaker via the Blogging LA Flickr pool
Per CBS, President Obama will make fundraising pit stops in West Hollywood on Monday evening, first at the House of Blues, then off to dinner at Fig & Olive. As with his usual habit to arrive just around rush hour, he’s scheduled to arrive at the House of Blues at 5pm. Unless you can afford to go – it’s anywhere from $250 general admission to the House of Blues to a year’s salary for a couple to attend the Fig & Olive dinner- you probably just need to know this information so you know to pretty much avoid West Hollywood completely on Monday. If you live in WeHo, best of luck getting home.
The history of Carroll Shelby is too lengthy to recite here, but suffice it to say he’s the man behind the development and/or perfection of some of the most famous cars in performance and racing car history, including the AC Cobra, the Shelby Mustang GT 350, and the Ford GT40, as well as the Sunbeam Tiger. Moreover, Shelby worked much of his magic within a short tire-screeching drive of the Pier. Plenty of examples of these cars, as well as newer models given the Shelby treatment, will be on hand Saturday, along with their owners. It’s one of the largest collections of Shelbys you’ll see anywhere, and it’s free!
The Shelby show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with numerous awards to be given, including Best of Show, starting at 2. I’ll be the one holding a camera and drooling.
According to a recent Allstate study we are. Our rank…#182 out of 200 rated large cities in the U.S. According to their actuary data we are 50.8% more likely to be in an accident than the national average, averaging one every 6.8 years.
Inattention from my experience is the #1 cause. Why…I worked a claims desk for a number of years and everyones excuse always was “I never saw the other car”. I’ve even heard the driver rearending me saying they didn’t notice I had stopped. Of course there were other factors, newly licensed drivers, new to the area drivers and under the influence, but that wasn’t in every accident. Read the rest of this entry →
With my camera rigged up to the eyepiece of my spotting scope (with duct tape and adhesive putty), from my backyard I pointed it at Sunset Boulevard between Descanso (just out of view at the bottom) and the Maltman bend in Silver Lake (at the top) to timelapse capture the afternoon traffic flow.
Image by WatchCaddy via a creative commons licence on flickr.
I was catching up on my blog reading and spotted this bit on Truth About Cars. The maximum fine for driving and using a cell phone is increasing to a maximum of $528. Bicyclists are being included for the first time as well though their fines are only a maximum of $50. I think they should be on parity with each other but what the heck at least the disparity is being addressed now.
Link to the senate proposal HERE in pdf format. Pages 2 and 3 are where the good stuff concerning the changes to the cell phone and driving proposals can be found.
I for one am glad to see some stiffer penalites coming for using the phone while driving. What say you?
Yahoo…it may happen and it won’t be a minute too soon in my book. A commission has looked at the red light cameras as decided they cost more than they get in revenue and too many drivers are getting nailed with tickets even while making a legal right on red turn. According to the report they could go away as early as this weekend if the city council approves…call your councilman and give them the nudge. OF course we still have to hear from the camera owners who reap in the bulk of the money from these cameras who probably won’t be too happy to see them go away. It will be interesting to see what they do to coerce convince the council to keep them in operation.
Hat tip to KTLA for greeting me with this wonderful news when I turned on the tube for news this morning. Their news bit HERE.
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