The Junkman

About the time I got out of high school, the police department in the neighboring town swung a deal with the area Mazda dealer. They would give the PD an RX-3 as a police car and the chief would speak glowingly about all things Mazda. Mazda would also get exposure and real world use. Recall this was the time of 440ci Dodge Polaras, 428ci Mercury Montereys, etc. For much of that reason the cops didn't drive the Mazda. The chief did. And if you know anything about Mazda rotary engines of that era you know that they had a notorious habit of backfiring out of all proportion to the size of the engine. Didn't do much for community relations.

Any word on conditions? Not that I have a spare $500 lying around or anything....

I've seen this question pop up more than once: What is this company and where do I get the product. Note I have NO connection with the owner, just own a number of pieces and they are of the finest quality. I found a current catalog and price listing on the hated F-Book. Take a very shallow dive and hit the link on this page. Has the current offerings and, just as important, the considerations of ordering. The usual: one man operation, extended wait times for production and shipping. https://www.facebook.com/groups/901280716708640/

Soooo, how many violation points must they accumulate before their "license" gets suspended? I admit I'm old but driverless cars are a big "nope" for me.

Ahh, Rivian. For those who just don't think a Cybertruck is ugly enough.

Now that's a pair to draw to.

DuckDuckGo search shows it at 7801 N Lamar Blvd, Unit E188, Austin. I've only been there once and that was over 15 years ago and I don't think it was at that address.

While not technically "on the road" it had to have been driven to our local emporium of cheap, plastic c**p.

Ah, you've found the nest. Now pour in some gas and set it alight!

Its not much but its honest: I finally got the Revell 007 1971 Mach 1 Mustang kit. Was hoping for the Boss 351 but what passes for the nearest hobby shop near me (68 miles one way, Gundam kits almost twice the number of cars/trucks) only had this so I'm going to have to be satisfied for now. Got it for $26 which is remarkable as this place always has prices at the high end of MSRP and often more.

I'm not much of a Reddit user but this sub-Reddit is both horrifying and amusing. https://www.reddit.com/r/Justrolledintotheshop/

I exchanged a few emails with their customer service desk today. I thought I had renewed my subscription before their interruption in publishing but they couldn't find any record of a renewal although they did find that I was a previous subscriber and I couldn't prove I had in fact renewed it. Anyway, they are accepting subscriptions (just by check right now but by credit card or phone soon). I just need an amount from them and I'll be back in good graces.

I've sent an email to them to see if my subscription was still valid, having renewed it just before all the falderol. Really happy to see them rise from the (near)dead. I've stopped subscribing to Car and Driver and Road & Track because they stopped offering value but RJ is clearly an exception.

Early in my relationship with Mrs Junkman, who's still an unadulterated Canadian after 40+ years here, I saw that Ladas were loose on the streets during a visit tothe Great White North (think 1982-83). To paraphrase Dr Ian Malcom in Jurassic Park: "Just because a Canadian could buy a Lada, they never stopped to think if they should". ?

Bullet hole stickers = a real JC Whitney vibe.

I can't believe there was any hue and cry for "The Black Hole" related stuff. What an abomination that movie was. R2 tends to hit more than misses so I'm guessing their decision making had points that weren't visible to us mortals.

Orange and white 1972 Bronco in the same major brand home improvement store parking lot that I posted last week. Don't know if there are more classic Broncos out but I'm seeing more.

1969 Olds Vista Cruiser in Aqua, just in beautiful shape. If I see it again I will follow it until I can get a photo. And I’m not even a GM guy.

Monday at my local neighborhood home improvement store. SWMBO wanted the carpets cleaned. Not cherry but well used and maintained.

Any rumors of a C8.R version? At a reasonable price?

Oh, Dear Lord. Some knucklehead (cultist? fanboy? discerning customer?) in my neighborhood bought a Tesla cybertruck. Now I'll be subjected to seeing that monstrosity on an almost daily basis. Or until it breaks. And since the closest place they consider to be a service center is over 100 miles away there might be long gaps in viewing it. One can only hope

Paint that white, steel wheels with poverty hub caps (also put on a front and rear bumper) and you have my high school ride. 170ci straight six with choke, automatic transmission, rubber floor mats for front seats only. At best, 17 mpg. Good times.

1972 De Tomaso Pantera in red-thin chrome front bumper. Been a while since I saw one in the wild.

To say nothing of expanding the pool of organ donors.

Ferrari 365GTB Daytona in silver followed by a parked Ferrari Roma (at least I think that’s what it was) in a deep blue. Of course I’m in the midst of a long overdue vacation in Paris and London, (thanks for the planning, Costco Travel, but do you heard the plaintive cry’s from our bank account?) and this in the Vendome neighborhood. Kinda like going to Beverly Hills and seeing a Rolls Royce. Lots of cars we don’t see in the US like Daycias, SEAT’s, dark grey Peugeot’s that seem to be the favorite of plain clothes cops. In Amsterdam seems all the late model taxis are electric and a surprisingly large percentage are Mustang Mach-E’s.