Guess what I got to do yesterday.
O jour frabbejeais! Calleau! Callai!
The drive is around this mesa on the far side of town, getting close to Boulder. I practiced in Google Earth so I knew in advance what each intersection looks like.
The station closest to me always has obnoxiously long lines. That has been my experience. So I decided to have a drive out to Golden instead. Online, Golden always show reliably short lines. Except for today. I ended up waiting obnoxious long there instead of nearby.
But I was ready for that!
With my camera.
As I and my truck approached the front of the line it suddenly became arbitrary, as usual. Third from the front I was directed to move into another lane, their sign language signals are appalling. You have no idea for certain they are pointing at you. The woman in front of me was directed to another lane too but after I moved. Very odd, that. The whole thing awkward. Then once there I was directed by another person to switch back to the original lane we were all in. Which put me and the woman in the same waiting room. I suppose the line behind me became too long. My truck was finished before the woman's car in front of me started. This time the arbitrariness worked to my advantage, but those slights are noticed and resented.
Monday. Beginning of the month. Two points against speedy bay access.
Directly across the station Carhartt has an outlet. Turns out an excellent shop. Like Army Surplus except a lot better organized with all of the sizes available, even 29W 34L, proving not all outdoor workers are cows as Amazon expects American men are judging by sizes available. And the best part about the whole thing is everybody I met even at Air Care Colorado is so pleasant and nice. So it is impossible to stay cross for too long. And it is a pleasant and interesting drive out there besides.
Lookout Mountain, popular hang gliding site, Buffalo Bill's grave (wonder who's buried there), Colorado School of Mines, and Coors an abject eyesore just like Gates Tires used to be. That place needs an overhaul. Or tons of urban graffiti. Coors should invite artists to have their way with murals on all those gray cement walls as are done with train cars. The plant dominates the valley.
22 comments:
Okay, I'll admit my ignorance. What is it you're doing?
Sounds like an emissions system check for cars and light trucks. We had those in Michigan some time ago, but no more. It was a fee generator for the state and those businesses who bought the only state certified machines for testing.
interesting. We have stations for those here in CA, but not drive up and drive through. It's a long process.
Every 2 years to get registered.
wait time link. Fresh hell and very exciting.
As I was saying, I'm not sure why I don't have to go anymore. Even when I had my old van they stopped the requirement. I finally bought myself a newer Honda and I assume the newer cars aren't subject to the BS. That said, I do think older cars should and motorcycles pollute too much. I know -I'm such a liberal.
I grew up not too terribly far from the second photo from the bottom. North table mesa in the background.
How many days and nights do we spend waiting in line?
When I say older cars, (and this will get me in trouble) I mean-- really old collectables. Why are they off the hook?
Anyway, sorry about your recent trouble with the auto, dear Chip.
I will tell you this - don't ever rear-end an insurance agent.
When I say older cars, (and this will get me in trouble) I mean-- really old collectables. Why are they off the hook?
It is likely that the government assumes that those vehicles will not be driven very often or at least not as much as to be a pollution issue. True collector cars that have significant value are generally what we call "trailer queens" meaning driven to and from car shows on trailers and not really on the road themselves. The government also may be assuming that those older vehicles will not be on the road for very long, meaning reaching the end of their useful lives.
For those that are not collectible, but are old, maybe the government has compassion for the people who drive such cars because they are generally poor and can't afford anything newer. Nah....that last one isn't it. The government has no compassion.
It is likely that the government assumes that those vehicles will not be driven very often or at least not as much as to be a pollution issue.
You know more about the subject of collectable cars than I, DBQ - but I often see old cars on the road that have the "collectable" tag and they are not what I consider collectable. They are just old, with an old transmission, spewing the same garbage as an old Hyundai.
Where's the compassion for my lungs?
A vehicle pat down?
They are just old, with an old transmission, spewing the same garbage as an old Hyundai.
Transmissions don't spew. Unless there is a plume of smoke behind that older vehicle you shouldn't make assumptions. There ARE old clunkers around like that old Hyundai that will never ever be "collectable" and those are driven by people who can't afford anything else. Would you have them walk? In Colorado?
The rage now is to make a Resto-Rod which means a vehicle with an old look. Old patina, rubbed out paint. BUT with all new inside and under the hood.
For example. Our (now sold) 1968 Chevy Stepside Pickup truck looked that way, but had a new V-8 350 Crate Motor, factory built new engine plopped into an old vehicle. A rebuilt 700R4 transmission. Drop spindles in the front with new power disc brakes. Tubular head exhausts and Flow Master exhausts, just in case you are still worried about spewing. Lots of other upgrades. The upshot was it looked like an old truck and drove better than a new tin can from KIA. Never failed smog check either.
The reality is that the amount of spew from even an old clunker that managed to survive the auto Kristallnacht is miniscule to the pollutants generated by the Obama's extravagant dinner parties much less the jetting back and forth by our 'elites' in their personal air conveyances. SO....if you want to be concerned about spewing, I would concentrate on those people and leave the poor schlub who is driving his 1985 pickup truck to the grocery store to buy some $5 a loaf bread to his own misery.
Global warming is a giant steaming crock designed to control us and keep the people, not the elites of course, in poverty.
We don't have to smog cars older than 1975 in California, but we had our mechanic smog check ours anyway. He does it for free because he is a part owner in some of our other vehicles and wants to get the best gas mileage and performance we can. Almost all of our older vehicles have had new engine transplants etc. It is much cheaper to go that route than it is to buy a new pick up or car. Vehicle insurance is cheaper. Registration is cheaper. No CAR PAYMENTS.
Our new project is a 1962 2WD International Travelall with a transplanted 429 engine from a 1969 Ford Esquire Wagon that our mechanic refurbished. New carbs. New tranny. Updated suspension. Updated exhaust system and some more improvements. We need a better geared rear end to handle the 429. It looks like a clunker but it isn't in the least.
:-)
My point is, BDQ -that new cars are subject to emissions standards while older cars are not. That seems odd to me regardless of the poverty issues.
and you are right about transmissions. They don't spew. It's the lack of a modern catalytic converter.
I'm not worried about you DBQ- you are obviously qualified to fix up old cars, and you do it right.
:)
That is the one thing I miss about owning older vehicles - the lower cost of ownership.
DBQ said ...[vis a vis old, but updated cars, etc]
Vehicle insurance is cheaper...
Not in Michigan. With no violations, no claims, and no nothing ever adverse, we pay $2100 for a 2003 truck and $2500 for a 2014 crossover. Collision insurance is the cheapest part by far..."no fault" makes us aberrant and obscene.
I think we have a different definition of "old" cars. With the exception of our newest car a 2002 Blazer, ours are all really old. The next newest vehicle we own is a 1978 GMC Diesel 4x4 pickup.
Other than the couple of collector vehicles that do have some value, we only insure for liability. There is no point insuring for collision or comprehensive since the "Blue Book" value is far below the actual market value. If we hit a deer, the vehicle would be considered totaled by the ins co.
The "collector" vehicle(s) that go to shows we do have specialty insurance on them. We have been offered $15K for the International, but don't want to sell right now. Blue Book, for ordinary insurance, on that is next to nothing. They do have to be appraised. However, you are severely limited in the coverage. If you drive them daily or more than just a very few miles a year, the coverage is voided.
Cost to insure each regular vehicle is about $600 a year and registration less than $150.
It just makes economic sense. When we take longer trips, we just rent a new vehicle and put all the wear and tear on their cars.
DBQ...no, I don't define old cars differently. Michigan does. Whether it is a 1932 or 1965 or 2014 or anything in between, if licensed to drive on the public highways, the "Liability" portion alone is $1600 to 1700+ per year of policy....in short on my total policy of $2100, the liability portion, which is mandatory and no-fault here,is 76% of the cost. I cannot insure for less than that 76%...e.g. $1600...and my vehicle is 11 years old now, driven less than 5000 miles per year, never had a claim, and I have no violations for 20+ years.
In essence I cam paying for lifetime unlimited disability and medical care costs for myself if some other driver should run a red light (being therefore at fault) and t-bone me at 60 mph.
Forgot to mention Michigan's "catastrophic accident insurance" portion of the annual figure ....that once was $5.00 to be retained in a special fund. That fund now has an $18 Billion balance, with payout of roughly $1 Million per year, or less...but the latest fee for this is about $140 per year per car. There is no adjustment downward when the balance rises...never ever...
When people wonder about why Michigan's economy tanked ...well between the Single Business Tax (a hidden VAT, now gone, previously on top of sales tax) and Insurance costs here...you have a large part of the answer. Worst part? Republican Governors were 80% to blame for the inanity. Names like Romney, Milliken, et al come to mind.
he "Liability" portion alone is $1600 to 1700+ per year of policy....in short on my total policy of $2100, the liability portion, which is mandatory and no-fault here,is 76% of the cost. I cannot insure for less than that 76%...e.g. $1600..
Yowza!! That seems really steep. I thought California was bad.
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