"Motors" - revving up again

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Part of the problem is [salespeople] don’t inform the vehicle owners of this feature so it falls on the vehicle’s owner to seek out the information in their service manual that comes with every vehicle,ā€ he said.

The service manual that is only accessible through the computer screen, and which will be inaccessible if there is an electrical failure

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Teslas do not fail; they can only be failed! /s

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WWII surplus was a boon for 1950s sci-fi film props departments… and race car drivers and enthusiasts:

Belly Tanks, the Ultimate Hot Rods

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I was just at El Mirage Dry Lake Bed last weekend to catch some of their land speed trials, as well as ride my Vespa as fast as it could go. (Around 50 mph!) There are a lot of vintage belly tank racers that people still take out there. You pretty much can’t find vintage tanks available anymore since the racers used them all up, but I found out that people build new racers for that same class using fiberglass replica tanks instead. This video shows a few examples:

Here’s my son doing his best to channel the vibe of that World’s Fastest Indian movie:

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From Street Muscle Mag: The summer of 1951 saw the So-Cal belly tanker reach 195mph, making Alex Xydias and his So-Cal speed shop the builders of the fastest unblown flathead-powered car in the history of Bonneville.

And no aerodynamic aids added to keep them from going places!

Your kid, head down like Burt Monroe! The film’s race chronology and such are off (for dramatic purposes), but otherwise true to the spirit of Munro’s adventure and quite enjoyable.

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Screen Shot 2025-05-26 at 07.09.46
Next time get nekkid.

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Shaved head to toe for streamlining or GTFO.

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The seat piping is the masterstroke. :smiley:

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And very good bikes they are indeed!

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That Type D bike! If Honda hasn’t already done so, or plan on, they could stay with much of the 1949 aesthetics and upgrade whatever else needs upgrading then sell them like hotcakes.

The overall effect of the penalties seems unusual compared to past Indy races. Has someone normalized cheating at… everything? When will that someone stick his authoritarian nose in Indy now? "Too many penalties! Great people! Unfair! /s… for now.

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This thing still doesn’t hold a candle to airships of yesteryear like the USS Akron, but at least it’s slightly bigger than the Silicon Valley CEO’s blimp that James Bond blew up over the Golden Gate Bridge in A View to Kill.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/lta-research-airship

If I were Sergey Brin I’d be mighty careful about tempting fate too much by flying near that bridge…

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Single-occupancy baby B-17, taxiing at the start, then taking off at 2:54

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