Kei cars

 I may have written about this back a while, but Road and Track just published another article claiming that Kei cars are legal in Colorado. This is not so. The director of DMV is empowered to write "rules" that carry the force of statute law and remain in effect until he leaves. Way back when, one of them decided that Kei vehicles would NOT be recognized as motor vehicles in Colorado, which relieved the DMV of having to process paperwork on them. The biggest argument was that the 25+ year old kei cars didn't meet current safety standards.

Boo Hoo! I guess I'll have to keep riding my motorcycles.

Anyway, here's the article:

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a63228977/colorado-scraps-kei-car-ban/

The ban is still in place. The catch in this is that for a brief while, you could bring in a kei truck or car if it was over 25 years old, and get a title for it. If you did, and kept it up, you could drive it on the streets. I still want a kei truck.

(Not) Made In China?

 Here's a bit from the Financial Post that brings up some points I wasn't aware of.

There are some 846 registered automobile manufacturers in China, and more than 300 of them churn out new-energy cars, loosely defined as electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. The vast majority are names unrecognizable elsewhere. In 2020 alone, the country added new production capacity of around 5 million units, about four times the actual number of EVs sold in China that year. According to regulators, almost half that capacity wasn’t in use.

This sounds a lot like where the West was in the 1920's. Hundreds of manufacturers, and not enough buyers to support them all. Also the matter of some of them being not high enough quality to survive anyway, and some being so high they priced themselves out of the market. 

The Future Of Transportation - Elio Re-Invented

 

I'm completely unsurprised to see this, a variation on the Elio 3-wheeler only electrified. Adding the electric package is a coming thing among the amateur car builders. In this case the manufacturer has taken the Elio concept of a fully enclosed 3-wheeler with 2-in-front configuration and tandem seating, and electrified it.

https://www.arcimoto.com/fuv

The big differences are that 1. this one is the very trendy electric, and 2. It's actually in production. Priced at $17K it's not nearly as cheap as the Elio promised, but is probably more realistically priced considering the not inconsequential inflation that has taken place since Elio rolled out its first prototype.

Leaving off the side doors probably keeps the price down and makes sense in a tropical environment like Eugine OR. I could see some gullwing doors in this vehicles future which would make it a real, all weather vehicle. The top on this one is plexiglass and a half side cover is available on the delivery version. 

They promise a top speed of 75 and a range of (up to) 120 miles in town. I wonder what a used one costs, and how hard would it be to convert to a gasoline engine, either small car or motorcycle? Top speed then would be 110 and range essentially unlimited.

UPDATE: A little digging reveals that enclosure is an option. It's a gullwing, and is seemingly available on one side only. Or I could be wrong, both sides could be opening, just not at the same time.

The Future Of Transportation - China

 With a few caveats, of course. Here's a couple of offerings from our friends, the Chinese. The first is a GM China product, the Wuling Zhengtu pickup. 

Looks like a real pickup although it's much smaller, and features a 1.5l gas engine and a top speed of 75 mph. Look closely and you'll see hinges along the bed. Yes, the sides fold down to make a flatbed. This is a GM design made by Wu Ling and lists for $9000 in China. Shipping for something like this runs about $2500, but drops quickly if you order more than one. I suppose it depends on how many can be stuffed into a shipping container. It's 16 ft long with a 6-1/2' bed so not too small. No word as to whether it meets any U.S. standards for import yet.

Next up is the GenX camper from China by Everbright:

The traditional pickup over-cab camper meets the lambretta 3-wheel ice cream truck. Having only 3 wheels makes it a motorcycle, which skirts most U.S. vehicle safety laws and probably makes it legal to import. The big drawback is that its top speed is limited to 25 mph. Of course that also means that it's a low speed vehicle which in some places exempts it from licensing requirements. $4800 plus shipping (see above). They claim a 240 mile range which would be 10 hours at 25mph which I personally tend to disbelieve. Might be a job opportunity here though selling ice cream in the neighborhoods.

Hyundai Genisis GV80 beta test?

 /s/ 

The Hyundai Genesis GV80 that Tiger Woods was driving was a beta prototype of their entry into the flying car category which Toyota is also getting into. While equipped with the dashboard buttons to enable flight mode, it seemed that Wood's car was not, in fact, fitted with the full suite of flight options. 

Notably missing were the propellers and wings.

/s/

Taking On A Project

 The Chinky Pox is an extremely dangerous disease. It traps you indoors in the winter, with nothing to do but stare at the computer, and nibble on snacks until none of your clothes fit. So I need a project:

Destiny calls and I ride! Maybe. What I'm thinking of is buying a Japanese Kei truck. This isn't as easy as it sounds as they are not normally sold in the U.S. Here's one I had been considering:

Cute, no? Vehicle shown is a Suzuki Carry. Many other makes are available but they all look alike. Similar vehicles are seen around here as Cushman vehicles used on golf courses or in large industrial settings to move parts or tools. In Japan, they are used to transport farm or industrial goods modest distances. Engine size = 660cc, top speed is about 68mph. Stay off the U.S. freeways.

People are discovering these things as a more comfortable transport for hunting, fishing, and farm and ranch work and are finding that if you're not going very far, they work well on the road. The sides of the truck bed all fold down to give you a true flatbed, and the truck bed is 4.5' x 7'. Steering is almost universally on the right and the vehicles themselves mostly feature 2/4wd with hi-lo ranges and a locking front axle. Pretty versatile. The big drawback is that U.S. standard crash protection is non existent, so be careful. This also means they only weigh about 1500 lb so they go OK even with no horsepower to speak of. 

These are imported for off road use only in the newer models, but after 25 years, the safety standards are waived and you can try to put one on the road. Every state seems to have different standards for these things so be sure to check before buying. Some have been licensed in CO so I know it can be done BUT...

I asked my county clerk for info on papering one of these if I bought it from an importer with a Japanese title and got this:

----------------------------------------------------------

1. Statement of conformity from NHTSA

2. Statement of fact from the importer (see wording below)

3. Any one of the following US Customs forms:

   a. CPB7523 – Entry and manifest of Merchandise Free of Duty

   b. CPB 3299 Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles

   c. CPB 3311 Declaration for Free Entry of Returned American Articles

   d. CPB 7501 – Entry Summary (does not require a Customs Inspector's signature)

   e. CPB 3461 Entry/Immediate Delivery Secure and Verifiable ID will be required

4. DR2698 Verification of Vehicle Identification Number (Colorado form)

5. A certified weight slip may be required when weight is not disclosed on the ownership documents. Weight in pounds = kg x 2.23

6. Odometer disclosure – Odometer disclosed on secure form. Owner must sign to begin odometer tracking.

7. English translation of all accompanying documents. Translation must be notarized.

Importers must sign a SOF stating the following: “All appropriate entry and conformity documents including photos were properly completed, signed, dated, and submitted to NHTSA for approval on ____________(date).

Agents, subagents, dealers, or notaries may witness (certify or notarize) the importers signature. Dealers may not sign in place of importer.

NOTE: If the odometer reading is in kilometers, it must be converted to miles. Use the following formula: Km x .621371 = miles.

NOTES: Item 1 Being over 25 years old, the vehicle should be exempt from this.

Item 2 Should come with the vehicle if you are the first US owner.

Item 3 CPB _7501 and 3461___normally come with the vehicle

Item 4 This is a Colorado form available at the DMV Must arrange an appointment and meet the nice CHP cop who signs these. What I have heard is that the existing VIN # will be acceptable.

Item 5 Self explanatory. I believe the Japanese title includes the vehicle weight. Just include the conversion to pounds in the translation.

Item 6 Again mostly self explanatory. Not sure what a secure form is. Probably notarized. See note above: Mileage in miles to 6 decimal places!

Item 7 Self explanatory. Metric numbers should also have US conversions.

The importers SOF as described above. This should accompany the vehicle.

Also required, but not mentioned, would be a proof of insurance (get some from Haggerty @ $45/mo or so) and since I live in a Very Special High Altitude Zone, I will also need an emissions test proving that the vehicle meets the requirements for one sold normally in the US for the year of manufacture. There are only 6 counties in the US that are included in this group, and 5 of them are in Colorado. And yes, I live in one of them.

That last item may be the really big stumbling block as the 1996 Kei vehicles, although described as having to meet “tighter emissions standards”, the standards in question are Japanese and I have no idea what those might be. Also fuel injection does not appear on the things until the late 90's and I have doubts about a carbureted vehicle getting through emissions. It could happen though.

If you are buying from an importing dealer, all items except #4 above should come with the vehicle. If you are buying one already titled, in Colorado or some other state, all you need is the bill of sale, insurance, and if you live near me, an emissions certificate. The emissions cert is required to get license plates but not to get a Colorado title. Anyway you can get the title and a temp tag good for 1 or 2 months regardless, so you can go to a testing station and watch the techs there explode their heads trying to test it.

If you decide to give this a try, and you live outside the Emissions Zone, your odds are pretty good. Others have done this and succeeded. In the Denver metro area getting one of these through emissions may be as easy as getting a good tune-up or as hard as having to replace the engine. Of course if it turns out you need to replace the engine, you can always just proceed to the point where you get a title, then sell the thing to someone in a less restrictive county. Ones I've seen offered for sale seem to sell the same day.

A Call For A Return To Normalcy!

An evergreen call, here.

Automotive Entertainment

Lake County PD busted a fellow for driving like an idiot:

When the trooper was finally able to make him come to a stop, he learned that Gagliano was worried about his license and stated that because state police cruisers had V6 engines, he was surprised the trooper was able to catch up to him.
However, before he arrested Gagliano, the trooper informed him that his police vehicle had a V8 Hemi, not a V6.

File under "The (not) Fast (Enough) and the Incredulous. Local police frequently use the more economical vehicles but state troopers usually get the real interceptors. Also Mr Gagliano will likely not have to worry about a drivers license for the foreseeable future.

Solving Colorado's Transit Problems

For probably only 2-3 times the cost of making I-25 and I-70 both 12 lanes wide over their full lengths, we can have a car-carrying hyper loop system which will make it so much easier for the tax paying public to flee the state before the full bill comes due.

Greasy Easter Egg Hunt

What D'wife calls a trip to the junkyard looking for parts. In today's case it was a front axle for a 2000 jeep belonging to a friend and a couple of small marker lights for me. Took us 1-1/2 hours from walking in to pushing the wheelbarrow out in 90 degree weather. Definitely greasy too.

He'll need to replace a couple of parts before installing it into his Jeep, but at this point that's a bench job. I removed the old "black out" markers from my car, which certainly lived up to the description, and slipped the "new" ones in. It seems the new ones don't light up either so more troubleshooting is in the works.

This morning the sun was a dim red ball rising in the East. This afternoon it was a dim orange ball shining through the smoke from the fires in Wyoming. This evening my neighborhood looks like the fires must be in the next block or something.

Apples Self-Driving Car

Apple is working on a self driving car. I'm sure it will work smoothly on Apple approved roads. I'm also sure it won't recognize the presence of any Android based vehicles.

Microsoft missed out big time by not offering to develop an underlying common OS for all automotive applications, accessible through a USB port in the center of the dash.

Easy To Follow Instructions

Back in the days of my not-yet-wasted youth, there was a piece of poetry in Mad magazine on the topic of assembly instructions. It involved a fellow assembling a box kit model and started off with a line about "tab A into slot B insert" and went on at about 3 pages length covering every overused phrase in the instruction writers manual while picturing the assembler victim becoming increasingly distraught as he went along.

At the end there stands the fellow looking like he's ready for a 2-week vacation in the rubber room, next to a 3 or 4 foot tall model of the Eiffel Tower, complete in every detail as the poem ends: "Your Sherman Tank is now complete!"

In the course of my career I've had to write an instruction manual or two and I promise you that if you follow my directions, the job will be completed successfully in a minimum of time.

The fellow who wrote the instructions referenced in the Mad poem however, seems to have gone on to writing automotive service manuals. After carefully following his instructions which did NOT include mention of the special tool needed to remove the special fastener, I got the special panel, located in the wheel well to drop out, revealing that NOTHING is in fact installed behind it, the pictures in the book notwithstanding. Seems the manual was published before the last revision of my car was released even though the title assured me that everything was covered.

At this point I'm pretty certain I know what needs to be replaced and how to get to it without too much hair pulling, so the next step is to visit the friendly local dealer and see if he actually has one in stock. The car is 15 years old, and the part is a 2-3 ft long piece of rubber hose with a clever plastic locking fitting on each end. Should cost about $10.

Feel free to enter your guess as to price and availability in the comments. Worst case I suspect will be waiting for an '01-02 Camaro to appear in the local junkyard where I can get the hose for $5 eventually.

And The Winner Is: All parts for my car are out of production and out of stock unless they're still being used in something current. Field expedient repairs are indicated. The good news is that that sort of thing is probably much cheaper than the factory stuff and lasts just as long.

The Future Of Transportation - Elio Motors

Let me say up front that I'm an enthusiastic fan of the Elio vehicle. Having built something similar, if nowhere near as good looking, I believe that Paul Elio has the right idea. He also has the right marketing approach, building what is essentially a fully enclosed 3-wheel motorcycle and calling it a commuter vehicle. Think about it. Small engine plus very light weight equals impressive gas mileage and reasonable performance at a modest price. Now here's the problem.

I've been following Scott Adams' blog for about a year now learning a bit more about marketing and business management, and today he put up a post that summarizes what's wrong with the Elio project.

There are two basic styles of management. One is the cautious style of Fortune 500 companies. The other is the rapid-iteration and A/B testing style of entrepreneurs. Trump is bringing the latter style to the office. The markers for this style of management include:
1. Rapid and decisive hiring and firing.
2. Bias toward action.
3. Rapid A/B testing. Release the early beta version and judge reactions. Adjust accordingly.
4. Emphasis on the psychology of success. Entrepreneurial management includes lots of persuasion and bullshit because entrepreneurs have to fake it until they make it. In other words, they have to create demand via persuasion.
Compare that management style to a large company style. Big companies move slowly in both hiring and firing. They get caught in “analysis paralysis” because no one wants to be seen as making a mistake. And they don’t do rapid testing and iteration with consumers. They try to get it right before any customers see the product.

Elio Motors started out with a very simple and austere vehicle made from available OTC parts that would have provided carpool lane access, all weather capability, modest price, and attractive styling. I saw this vehicle and got to sit in it although no one was allowed to drive it. Everyone liked it pretty much as it was and the question most often asked was "What's the Sport model going to be like?"

I don't remember how long ago this was, about 5 or 6 I think, but production was supposedly about a year out and about 20,000 deposits had been taken for the first ones. Note the steps listed above for successful entrepreneurial management, especially steps 3 and 4 which I was expecting would come next.

Instead the press releases were headlining the retired executives from behemoth auto makers who were being hired to oversee the operations of the company as though this was the next Ford Motor Company, emerging fully formed from the brow of the founder.  I don't know what other states have done, but the effort by Elio to get the vehicle removed from the mandatory helmet laws in a lot of states has also gotten it removed from the motorcycle exemption to the HOV lanes here in Colorado, removing a big reason for buying one in the first place. Wait long enough and the government will regulate you right out of business since if no one owns one, no one will be harmed by the regulation, right?

So here they are 5 or 6 years later, acting like a behemoth company, but with no product to sell, showing off the 6th iteration of the machine as though it were the Gen 6 release of the already best-selling 6000 SUX*. Compare this to the description of large company management style in the Adams piece and you now understand why the Elio vehicle will probably never see production, which is really too bad because I want one. A Sport model, since I don't commute to work any more and don't worry if it gets less than 80 mpg.

*Obscure movie reference to a fancy car that gets terrible gas milage.

New Years Aspirations

A friend sent me this today:

Vesna Vulović (Serbian Cyrillic: Весна Вуловић; [ˈʋeːsna ˈʋuːlɔvit͡ɕ]; 3 January 1950 – 23 December 2016) was a Serbian flight attendant. She holds the Guinness world record for surviving the highest fall without
a parachute: 10,160 metres (33,333 ft), after the explosion of JAT Flight 367 near Srbská Kamenice, Czechoslovakia on 26 January 1972.

She was the sole survivor of the accident.

source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulović

10,000 meters is more than 6 miles... 

 It's people like this who challenge us in the coming year to try to push envelopes and to surpass. Being retired and not having a sufficiently anti social project like a hotrod, trike, motorcycle, death ray or some such to work on is additional inspiration. 

Not to worry, I'll think of something. 

Automotive

To bowdlerize a bit it's been said that "If it's got wheels or (primary sex characteristics) it'll be trouble." Also that second marriage, or second car is the triumph of hope over experience.

My car had been fitted with a "clear bra" some years ago and had been parked outdoors for quite a while. Now it's equipped with a yellow bra, and while that might be a fetching color on a lady, it's a bit tatty on the Camaro.

Getting it off turns out to be moderately difficult depending on how long its been on and what's underneath it. A heat gun from Harbor Freight will start the process but the material becomes bore brittle with age so the video of the coating being removed from a brand new high end Porsche isn't realistic.

Since heat is involved, you're probably best served to wait until spring or summer when you have a good head start on the heating process simply by parking out in the sunshine. Add heat and the glue softens.

One other caution. Those sporty stripes and logos the company put on the car when it was new? They're glued on too, using the same adhesive, with the same melting point as the bra.

The good news is that the finish under the bra seems to be like new.

The Future Of Transportation - Traffic Jams

Not the naturally occurring type either, but deliberately caused ones. The lefty thought process that goes; 1. Cars cause pollution, 2. Roads cause cars*, 3. Fewer roads means fewer cars = less pollution.

Never mind that a shortage of roads causes traffic jams that result in more pollution, the latest iteration of this is that when traffic comes to a complete halt, people will migrate to public transportation. That won't move either but if misery loves company, you'll be happier trapped in a traffic jam with 50-60 others.

In NYC the mayor there is deliberately fouling traffic in an attempt to force more people onto the already overloaded subways and buses. A picture of Manhattan from a high office will show that 80% of the jammed up cars below are bright yellow so the plan winds up fouling the public transport as well. This is also expected to encourage bicycles and walking, to which I say, I've seen pictures of NYC in winter and doing either through a foot or two of snow doesn't seem all that attractive.

Eventually I suppose the denizens of the most afflicted places will acquaint themselves with the older tradition of dealing with politicians who can't or won't serve their constituents, involving a bucket of tar, a couple of chickens, and a bit of assembly work. That or business people will eventually figure out that in the age of the internet, there is little reason for a lot of businesses to be located in any specific location. The exception to this is actual manufacturing which required supply chains of actual materials in and out. The NYSE by contrast could be physically located in central Kansas and the move would be transparent to its customer base.

* When a congested roadway is widened, for some reason it quickly becomes congested again and needs further widening. It never fails.

Automotive

Noticed the car was quieter than normal today if somewhat slower. Got home and noticed some stuff stuck into my tailpipes. Wondered if it was the neighbors fed up with the noise the car was making or maybe my yard signs and pulled the stuff out:

These little numbers are not hornets nests, but broken fragments of my cat converter which had worked their way down the exhaust and through the muffler. I suppose they would have eventually gotten blown out the tailpipes but these got caught in the baffles. This probably accounts for some of the rattling I hear when I go over bumps. The car is now significantly noisier.

The chunks I'm told are platinum.

The car is what GM calls the "base" model, which means it has the smallest engine and no options. I've discovered that it does come with at least most of a complete wiring harness so a couple trips to the junkyard and now I've got cruise control and push-button trunk opening. I tried for power door locks and got the right parts but the harness is not all that complete so I'm holding that project for later. Gives me something to do in my spare time.

Clutch Repair

I have repaired, replaced, and rebuilt clutches, both hydraulic and mechanical in the past, but this trick I had never seen or heard of. Seems one of the passages in the master cylinder on my Gen 4b ('98-'02) Camaro was made too small to pass trapped air in the system so;

If the clutch on your Gen 4b Camaro is soft, spongy, and sinks to the floor, the fix is to mechanically power suck the last bits of trapped air from the Master cylinder through the reservoir. This quick and simple process will have your clutch as firm and high as your neighbors teenage daughter in about 5-10 minutes.

There's probably a more diplomatic way of describing the process, but since I'm not running for president...

Parts Is Parts

My new ride, being a used car, is missing a couple of relatively minor items which I'm trying to replace. One of them is a small plastic cover that snaps on just in front of the turn signal stalk. GM has been making Generic Motors for a good long time and you would think that a trivial part like this would be cheap and plentiful.

You'd be wrong. The part in question is common to 93-02 Camaro and Firebird, and for some reason about 3 years of Pontiac Grand Prix. It is out of production, and no longer available except possibly at a junk yard. When it was available it retailed for $21, which seems steep for a non-structural cover part.

I opined to the nice parts man that I should have bought a Studebaker since I know that parts for them are still available. He laughed and seemed genuinely sympathetic.

Striking A Blow Against The Cameras

State Representative Steve Humphrey’s bill to REPEAL and REMOVE every one of Colorado’s Red Light Cameras (HB 1098) passed out of one committee by an 8-5 vote and now moves on to the next one. This is encouraging as the usual suspects did show up and whine most piteously about the carnage and loss of precious ducats that would accompany a ban on Red Light and Speed cameras.

My position is that if I'm going to be robbed, I would prefer that the robber have the decency to do it in person.

Anyway, if you happen to live in Colorado,

• Call your State Representative at 303-866-2904 and urge them to support HB 1098.
• Find your State Representative’s email address here and send them a note with the same message.
• Call the House Appropriations Committee Members. This is the committee that killed this same bill last session. They’ll need extra encouragement. You can reach their staff at 303-866-2061 or alfredo.kemm@state.co.us.

Extra encouragement. Sounds nice. We had everything but a public hanging a couple years ago to no avail whatsoever, but feel free to send politely worded e-mails and phone calls to the appropriate people. 3 recalls and the loss of the Senate may have struck a chord. The House is Dem-controlled so if this gets out alive, it should have no trouble in the Senate.