Harry P.

Thank you, sir. Much appreciated.

Obviously there are dissenting opinions out there regarding the Nova kit. Alan's letter wasn't exactly the most artfully crafted I've ever read, and he could have stated his opinions a bit more... tactfully, but the fact is, there are plenty of opinions to go around. MCM was simply giving "the loyal opposition" a shot. "Fair and balanced"...

Pretty much. Lots of talk, absolutely no action.

Don't bet on it. The stories about Johan "coming back" have been circulating for many years. So far all they are are stories...

I realize that this little excerpt is only a small insignificant part of your post, but may I say: Been there, lived through that!

No, you're probably a lot bigger than you were 20 years ago, so the pieces only seem smaller...

Well, you're right in one way: it didn't help! It's a MODEL! Next ROM coming MONDAY!

Here's the American Al's Hobby : http://www.alshobbyshop.com/store/index.asp BTW, Venture Hobbies in Wheeling is probably the biggest (that is, biggest, widest selection pf plastic kits) hobby shop in the Chicago area.

Here's an interesting snippet from an editorial in today's LA Times regarding the automaker's bailout: "As sad as it would be for American icons (like Chrysler) to die and for thousands of people to lose their jobs, propping up failure prevents innovation". Couldn't have said it better myself. "Hey Detroit, you guys have been doing such a bang-up job that we want to give you billions of our dollars so you can keep on doing what you're doing. Way to go, guys". As stupid as that sounds,, that's exactly what we're saying. If I were in charge of handing out money to Detroit, I would make sure there would be some MAJOR strings attached: Elimination of redundant product lines (do we really need Chevies, Buicks and Pontiacs...all basically the same cars?). Elimination of ridiculous energy-wasting monstrosities like Hummers and Yukons and Excursions (or whatever Ford calls their house-sized SUV), an immediate raise in CAFE standards to 30 mpg across the board (any cars that can't meet that standard would obviously be eliminated from production), etc. Hey, if it's our money that the carmakers are getting, then they have to play by our rules! And as far as the bailout money being a "loan"... what's to guarantee the taxpayers that the companies won't default on those loans and leave us holding the bag? Absolutely nothing, that's what. That's a chance I don't want to take. Let the marketplace determine the fate of the carmakers, as capitalism is supposed to do. Put the unemployed autoworkers to work in newly created jobs in an aggressive government-sponsored expansion of alt fuel/alt energy programs, and use the bailout money for that purpose instead. Invest in America's future... not its failed past.

YES! Or as it's also known, "throwing good money after bad".

I'm jealous of you guys with the full-blown, permanent work stations. I use the dining room table!

Don't get me started!

I agree you can't have it both ways. Going after natural gas reserves means going after them. You can't explore and recover the stuff without touching anything. There has to be a sane balance between developing our gas reserves and protecting the environment. It could be done if sensible people were running our country. As far as the fact that it will take time to get the infrastructure in place... well of course it will! And the sooner we start, the sooner it will be in place! If we had started 10 years ago, we'd have it in place right now! The best time to get started is today! Saying that we can't use natural gas because the infrastructure isn't in place yet is just running in circles. Let's get the infrastructure in place. Let's start tomorrow! What are we waiting for??? If this country had a sensible energy policy, our cars would be on natural gas right now, and future technologies like hydrogen fuel cells would be well under development... we would actually be in a position to tell OPEC where they can stuff their oil. If we had a sensible energy policy in this country, and if we had sensible, forward-thinking leaders who actually put the needs of the public first.

The real question is which came first...the real car...or the model?

Wind doesn't blow all the time and the sun doesn't shine 24/7. But when the wind DOES blow and the sun DOES shine, it's free!!! Shouldn't we be taking advantage of that fact to the fullest? Think of how many billions of potential kilowatts we're ignoring every day! It's true that wind and solar alone aren't the whole answer, but they are there for the taking right now and can be a huge contributor to our energy needs. Again, this is so painfully obvious! There is literally no downside to developing this technology on a national scale, only benefits. And yet our government, in its infinite wisdom, ignores this readily available energy source and instead throws our money at OPEC, which is basically a group of countries that hate our guts but love our money, and at bloated, stagnant, poorly run corporations in an attempt to "fix" the economy. Sure makes me wonder about the collective IQ of our elected leaders...

Well, Art, as usual you covered a lot of ground there... more, in fact, than we're talking about here, but it's always interesting to hear your take on things. As far as "getting back to basics", i.e., GM about to go under... I still say it's neither the taxpayer's obligation nor duty to pump our cash into a failing GM, or a failing private entity of any kind, via federal government "bailouts". Our tax dollars ought to be going towards future technology that will benefit the greatest number of us in the long run. Wind and solar power are two so achingly obvious solutions to our energy problems that it's absolutely beyond me why the feds haven't made this priority one. I realize that wind and solar power don't necessarily relate directly to autos or GM's troubles, but my point is that the BILLIONS being talked about as a bailout of the auto industry would be far better spent, and would return far better returns to our country down the road, if that money went towards funding a national alt fuel/alt energy program. Instead of the government bailing out GM, how about the government taking that money and offering it to new businesses as incentives to develop wind and solar power instead? It's an investment that would pay dividends big time to every US citizen, rather than just the relative few who work for GM. And it would create thousands and thousands of new, American jobs for Americans... here in America, not China or Japan or elsewhere! NIMBY? Yes, that can be a sticking point... but what about the millions of acres of federally owned land that's currently sitting there doing nobody any particular good? Surely a few solar collectors and wind farms can be squeezed into that vast area of empty space! And as far as "free" energy not being profitable, as old hermit mentioned, that's simply not true. Sure, the actual energy source itself (solar, wind) is free and unlimited. But there would need to be solar and wind companies that build the facilities, maintain them, and ultimately distribute the power to the consumer, at a profit, of course. It's a "win win" situation all around. We tap a source of free energy right here in our own country that no foreign entity can control, price or halt production of, we create thousands of new American jobs in the process, and we take a huge step towards energy independence. Let's see...bail out GM... or create new jobs, and develop a literally endless supply of energy? Isn't this painfully obvious? Am I missing something here? Why isn't this being done right now on a massive scale? Beats me...

An interesting explanation as to why no MOPAR involvement in NASCAR during 57-58, from allpar.com: Some four years after introducing their first production V-8 engine, Chrysler engineers, headed by Bob Rodgers, put together the most powerful car in America. Built around the 331 cubic inch V-8 engine, the 1955 model Chrysler C-300 created an absolute sensation no matter where one was seen. Crowds gathered around it, while observers peppered the driver with questions. "Does it really have 300 horses?" "How does it go?" Sure mundane, but certainly important issues for the day in which a whole lot of dreams were instantly created when one of those awesome C-300 Chryslers rumbled by. Quite simply it was the most powerful car in America, and no one had any ammunition at the time to answer it back. Utilizing the magnificent depth of the knowledge of the "Engineering Company," Chrysler didn't just create a fast car. It stopped as well as it went, and handled the high output with a superb suspension system unmatched in its class. Auto testers went just all out eloquent when given the opportunity to wring one out for themselves. Writing for Mechanix Illustrated, "Uncle" Tom MacCahill wrote effusively about the mighty new Chrysler. Considered at the time as the premier automobile tester, he wrote that the new car handled better than any car that he had ever driven, right off the show room floor. "It sticks in the corners like a hungry dog clamped on a bone," he wrote. Since the super Daytona Speedway was four years from being built, Uncle Tom had a special road that he used in rural Florida near his home. He wrote that the Chrysler was a "beautiful brute" and as "solid as Grant's Tomb and a 130 times as fast." In that year, he purchased a new C-300 for his personal car. It wouldn't be the last 300 he ever owned either. Neither Ford nor General Motors had any thing to answer the overwhelming guns from the mighty Chrysler. It cleaned up in all major auto racing sanctioning bodies that year, particularly NASCAR and USAC. At the time, neither Ford nor Chevrolet had been very open about their activities. The C-300 had caught them totally by surprise. Along with the Virgil Exner inspired styling the 1955 model Chrysler Corporation created a huge sensation, garnering tremendous sales. When the HQ crowd saw the showroom traffic that the C-300 generated, high performance models were ordered into production for all the lines, except the Imperial and the Plymouth. The Plymouth Fury story is told elsewhere in this forum. Rumors always were flying around in Detroit. Hey, it is the motor city. Industrial espionage did not go on to the level that it does today, however, it was certainly a big element in the rival corporation's bag of tricks. Corps of private detectives was devoted solely to the major car manufacturers. Sometimes, however, even hard liner insiders get sucker punched. Henry Ford II pulled a cute one out of his hat in 1956. He announced that he had hired former Indianapolis winner Peter DePaulo head up the Ford Motor Company Racing Division. Clearly Henry had his eyes on NASCAR. His return salvo in the war was pretty big at the time. A factory actually backing racing teams. Common practice in Europe for decades, it had never been done here in America. It made Chrysler take some notice; however, they had not gone all out like Ford to get into highly competitive racing. Not yet anyway. A run at the Indianapolis 500 in 1952 with a stock block 331 V-8 Hemi resulted in the rules being changed to restrict the big Chrysler. When news about the testing of the original stock block 331 got out, the sanctioning body at Indianapolis went cold with fear. In a Kurtis race chassis, exactly the same kind as the 1951 Indy 500 winner drove, the big Hemi pushed the racer to speeds easily 5 to 7 miles an hour faster than the highest lap speeds had ever been at the Indy track. The main factor being that the car had plenty of room for further development, thereby making everything else out there also rans instantly. Acting quickly, the rule makers stacked up the deck against mighty Chrysler. They cut back on the cubic inch limit in stock blocks to 272. The A311 Hemi engine V-8 was down on power and didn't qualify. A very conservative crew still ran Chrysler Corporation, so at the time; they didn't see many results for the company by going all out to race. No more attempts were made to race the Hemi at the corporate level. That would change. However, 1955 was one of the best years for Chrysler despite themselves. The 1954 NASCAR Champion, Lee Petty, (sire of the NASCAR King Richard Petty) had kept his winning 1954 Chrysler and used it in a few 1955 races, picking up some wins. The "Forward Look" by innovative styling leader Virgil Exner led Chrysler Corporation far away from the days of dumpy looking vehicles. The high powered 300 had made a serious impression on a man that had the time and the money to make things work. He also instituted many innovations that were unheard of then that are common practice today in NASCAR. Back then, since the rules for NASCAR were called "strictly stock," a manufacturer that came up with something that was better and faster than the rest, just kept on winning. Karl Kiekhaefer was a hard nosed businessman. He wasn't interested in racing nor was he even a fan. However, his research had shown that wherever a NASCAR race took place there were tremendous potential for sales of outboard boat engines. As the owner of Mercury Marine Outboard Engines, he saw hard dollars in using the races as a means to advertise his outboards. The rest is history. Between Karl's 3 team drivers, and Lee Petty, the 1955 300 notched an incredible 27 wins. 14 top 5 finishes and the NASCAR Championship to Tim Flock who took home $37,779 for his efforts. In a harbinger of things to come, Karl Kiekhaefer left little to chance. He dug deep into his pockets. 1956 was a racing season that set chills up Big Bill France's spine when he saw the Kiekhaefer teams pull into a NASCAR event. France was not in control when it came to Kiekhaefer. In an era when some of the racers were actually driven to the track, then raced, Kiekhaefer equipped each car with a box truck full of spare parts, tires, tools, and test equipment; the truck towed the car to the races. Besides the original three drivers of 1955, Karl had hired two more drivers for 1956, fielding 5 cars. He would test the track, sample the dirt, and had a weatherman check for conditions up to 5 days before a race, just to make the right tire selection for the race. He applied military like discipline on his drivers, keeping them all in the same motel, imposing a nightly curfew and making them sleep away from their wives to avoid distractions. Truly, the man was just about 40 years ahead of his time. Big Bill France had every car fielded by Kiekhaefer torn down, double checked, and would disqualify them for the slightest infractions. However, none were ever found. All France could do then is hope that they broke or blew up. A rare event. The cars competed like the stock champions that they were. At the end of 1956, the mighty teams had won 30 of the 50 events sponsored. At one point the 1956 300 B models won 16 races in a row. Prize money amounted to $70,000. Big money in 1956. However, an interesting phenomenon started to occur. The Kiekhaefer teams were being booed. Beer bottles were thrown at the cars and drivers. By the middle of the season, fans started staying home in droves. Purse money went down. The fan appreciation that Karl had expected, especially in regards to selling his outboard engines, did not happen. Instead of respect and good will, he received boos along with a total lack of respect. At the end of 1956, he pulled out. Left everything and quit for good, never to return. Rumors float around to this day, that have taken on the hard edge of truth that Big Bill France had actually not only encouraged the showing of utter disrespect, he may have been responsible for paying some few "good ol' boys" to institute the booing and beer bottle heaving shows. That left Lee Petty as the only major Chrysler Corporation car user. He ran 1956 in a Dodge Coronet 2 door sedan, with the big D-500 option. He won two races. He finished the year in fourth place in the Grand National standings with $15,000 in winnings. When you consider that most workers were getting about 1.85 cents an hour, he didn't do too badly. Taking heed of the lack of further development or encouragement from Chrysler Corporation, Lee Petty switched to Oldsmobile in 1957. After all, that division had come calling and even helped him obtain two 1957 models! So, the end of the 1956 NASCAR season was the end of the mighty Chrysler Corporation mark on early racing. There would not be another notch on the tree until 1959, when the Petty team returned to Plymouth. Dodge would not see another win until they snuck one in 1960. Chrysler would not be back on the record books until 1961.

Not only do we have cheaper sources of energy... we have FREE sources of energy!!! Why aren't we spending billions building wind farms and solar collectors instead of throwing that money at failing businesses??? Why aren't we putting thousands of people to work in new jobs building wind turbines, solar collection facilities, infrastructure, etc? Why are we instead spending our tax dollars propping up old, failed companies running on old, failed business models instead of investing in our future and making use of the vast sources of FREE, unlimited energy that we could be tapping into? Why???

I'm no lawyer, so don't consider this legal advice, but it seems to me that if you take a "copyrighted" photo and post it here, you should be ok. After all, you're not using the photo for financial gain, you're not selling it, etc. I realize that technically this may be copyright infringement, but nobody's ever going to actually prosecute you for it. There are WAY bigger copyright infringement fish for the lawyers to fry... like "KFC" in Afghanistan. Yep, they use the same logo, the same image of the Colonel... but they claim that KFC stands for "Kabul Fried Chicken"! Really! I saw the story in the paper the other day.

No, not by the union's demands... by the carmakers acceptance of those demands! When the BIG THREE ruled the roost, they thought that they'd never have competition. Times were good, and it was easy to give in to the union demands, just to keep the peace and keep those assembly lines rolling. That, in hindsight, was very shortsighted thinking by the Big Three. Well, they've made their beds, as the saying goes... now they should have to lay in it.

ok, I promised I'd shut up, but Jeff brings up a point that really gets me steamed: Why, oh why, does the US government on one hand give subsidies to oil companies to "encourage" them to expand exploration, while on the other hand prohibiting them from doing that very same exploration? Can anyone explain that to me??? And why do we give the oil companies subsidies, tax breaks, etc. at all??? Exxon/Mobil continuously breaks their own record for largest quarterly profits EVER in the history of the world. Don't you think they make enough money on their own, without giving them some of mine and yours on top of it??? Aaaaaaaaarrrrrgghhh!!!!!!!!

And while I'm on my soapbox, one last point and I'll shut up... Here's an idea: Instead of pumping BILLIONS of our dollars into a failing company in a misguided attempt to "save" our auto industry, why not do this instead: let the marketplace decide the fate of GM, and take that bailout money and immediately put it into a fast-track program to build wind farms, solar collector facilities, and expansion of hydrogen-powered cars and trucks. Put that money to use by investing in our country's future, not its past! Then take all those ex-GM employees, and millions of other Americans currently out of work, and let them fill all of the thousands of new job openings that will be created by expanding new technologies. Does that plan make sense? You bet it does. And that's why it'll never happen.

I think that in our capitalist-based economic system, any company that can't make a profit should be left to fail, period. That's just how capitalism works! You can't be a fan of the capitalistic system when times are good, then jump ship and become a socialist when times are tough. If the government is now in the bailout game, where does it end? If AIG, Lehman Bros., et al, and GM (and maybe Ford and Chrysler) can be "bailed out" courtesy of Joe and Jane Sixpack, where does it end??? If Big Bob's House o' Char can't sell enough burgers to pay the rent, do they stick out their hand and feed at the government trough too? Why not? If it's ok for some companies to be given a free handout, why not ok for all??? See where this bailout mentality will lead to? There will always be a demand for cars in this country. If a GM goes out of business, you can bet that new "GMs" will arise to take their place and fill the void. These new companies will be leaner and more productive and competitive... they'll have to be, if they want to play in the global market. I really don't think it's in our country's best interest, in the long term, to continue to artificially keep failing companies on life support... that's simply NOT how our system is supposed to work! Granted, government played a big role in the financial/mortgage mess. Barney Frank and his buddies in the finance committee literally forced banks to underwrite loans that everyone knew couldn't be repaid, in a misguided attempt to open up home ownership opportunities to those who really couldn't afford to buy. Good intention, maybe, but bad result! So maybe in that sense, the failing financial institutions do deserve some sort of government help... at least to some extent. But the carmakers? Why??? Should they be rewarded for bad judgement and poor planning with free money courtesy of you and me??? My vote is a big fat NO! And finally, as one of those "wacko" environmentalists, let me say this: I'd rather see a corporate giant like GM go under and be able to breathe the air, than remove emissions standards just so they can save a few bucks per vehicle. Loosening environmental standards may help GM, but keeping those standards high benefits ALL of us, now and down the road... it even benefits those of you who think keeping the environment sound is a poor business decision!

The "environmentalist wackos"? Is it "wacky" to expect to be able to breathe clean air and drink clean water? Is that really such a ridiculous expectation? All the other carmakers that sell here in the US must meet the same regulations. Why can't GM?