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Students revolt over beer tax proposal

A group of Bay Area College Republicans took to the streets of San Jose Friday evening to protest a subject near and dear to them - beer.

More to the point, they wanted to rant about a state lawmaker’s proposed tax on beer manufacturers that would add nearly $2 to the price of a six-pack as a way to help the state plug its giant budget deficit.

“This is a tax on poor students,” said Leigh Wolf, 21, of the San Francisco State University Republicans. “They’re using a bunch of studies to justify this beer tax, but you don’t need a study to know college students drink a lot of beer. This is our way, after a long day of school and work, to sit down and relax.”

At the afternoon protest outside the office of Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, about 50 students stood at a busy downtown intersection waving signs that read “Students Opposed to Unjust Taxation!” and “No Taxe$” as one student on a bullhorn chanted “No taxation on intoxication!”

Passers-by honked their horns in support and one man in a blue Chevy truck rolled down his window to scream, “Don’t tax my beer!”

The proposed tax on brewers would swell the tax per gallon from the current 20 cents to $2.88. That’s an increase of 30 cents per can or bottle and $1.80 a six-pack

Beall, who proposed the beer tax earlier this month, said it would generate up to $2 billion a year to help defray the high costs of crime prevention, health services and programs that prevent addiction and underage drinking.

“Drinking among college students has been identified as a real health problem,” Beall said. “One in five kids binge drink regularly and 97,000 college students are victims of a sexual assault or a date rape annually due to alcohol use.”

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Truck With Golf Ball Collector Catches Fire On Golf Course

A Chevy truck attached to a golf ball collector caught fire Wednesday night at the Faulkwood Shores Golf Course on Hughes Road in Genoa Township. Assistant Fire Chief Mark Jones with the Brighton Area Fire Department tells WHMI the fire was reported around 8:00pm. A worker had been operating the golf ball collector when he noticed the floor board getting hot. Jones says the worker had been having transmission problems, so he got out and saw the truck smoking before it burst into flames. Golfers then called 911. Although the truck was destroyed, there were no injuries. Jones says the fire occurred in a fairly remote area on the driving range of the golf course so it was easy to access and extinguish. (JM)

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Study Hall: A thing of beauty

 Carly Chandler’s truck won’t turn any heads. It has a banged-up fender, needs a paint job and is older than some of her classmates at Wylie.

But to Chandler, a senior first baseman, the black 1991 Chevy S-10 is a beauty.

“A lot of my friends, they were given their cars,” said Chandler, 17. “I guess they earned it, but I just feel like I really appreciate it more because I worked so hard for it.”

She also waited a long time for the truck. When Carly was 15, one of her four brothers, Coyt, bought the truck for $1,000. Coyt couldn’t get it to run dependably, so he gave it to his dad.

 Rick Chandler, who is not a mechanic, decided to try to fix it up so his only daughter could drive it after her 16th birthday.

But getting the truck ready for the road took more than a year. The first problem was a short in a wire that caused the engine to cut out. Carly and her dad searched for the short for months before discovering the problem. The truck also leaked brake fluid, so they had to install a new cylinder.

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1970 Chevy Pickup is big winner at Performance World show

Four years of hard work brought home the hardware for Adam Broderick last month - the first time he showed his classic Chevy truck.
The Lindsay man, who is also co-chair of the annual Classics on Kent show won six awards after he showed his fully-restored 1970, short-box Chevrolet pickup truck for the first time at the prestigious Performance World show in Toronto on March 14.
“I was blown away; it’s the first time I’ve showed it, and I certainly didn’t expect to do that well,” the Lindsay resident said.
Mr. Broderick spent four years restoring the truck, which he said was “in pretty decent shape” when he bought it. It is a ‘flatside’ model, which is prized by collectors.
But, he said it had no motor, no transmission and needed what’s known in the hobby as a ‘rotisserie’ restoration - nuts and bolts from the ground up.
“It’s completely rebuilt; down to the screws,” he said.
Mr. Broderick said the toughest part of restoring old vehicles of any kind is “finding a good body man.”
“It’s expensive, especially the paint job, and really difficult to find someone who knows how to to it properly,” he said. “It’s almost a dying art.”
Such vehicles require a two-step process in priming, Mr. Broderick explained. While the chassis can be sandblasted, the body panels must be soda blasted, which cleans them but doesn’t do any damage.
His search for a good body man was long and frustrating; at one point, the truck sat in a garage in northern Ontario for almost two years with almost no work done on it.
“It’s pretty frustrating, because it costs a lot of money to do this,” Mr. Broderick said.
When he finally had the work completed, he decided to take it to the show, “just to see how it would do.”
He came home with the GM award for Best Truck in Show, Class Champion, Outstanding Classic Truck, the rookie award for Best Truck in Show, the Special Olympics Choice award and took first place in the Performance World Full Size Truck class.
Mr. Broderick, who has worked on old cars as a hobby for most of his adult life, said he plans to drive the truck occasionally, but not often, as he plans to continue showing it.
In the meantime, asked if he plans to take on another project, he said he’d like to restore a muscle car or a “30s hot rod.”
“But, a lot of that depends on what my wife says,” he laughed.

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Land Rover Range Stormer Concept SUV

Land Rover showed off its new Range Stormer concept at the 2004 NAIAS in Detroit, and again a month later at the Chicago Auto Show. Land Rover calls the vehicle a high performance, sports tourer SUV, and tells us that it’s a good representation of the company’s future design direction. The Range Stormer is the first Land Rover concept vehicle to preview an upcoming production model—a model that will add a new segment to the manufacturer’s lineup.

UNIQUE FEATURES

Terrain Response
This feature allows the driver to select a suspension and handling setup with the turn of a switch. There are six pre-set terrain handling setups:

1. Dynamic, for high speed or winding paved roads
2. Normal, for day-to-day driving
3. Grass, gravel, and snow, for slippery conditions
4. Sand
5. Deep ruts
6. Rocks

Terrain Response kicks in to control the engine, gearbox, air suspension, driveline, traction, and brakes. It selects the optimal settings to tackle the chosen terrain.

Two Piece Power Doors
The upper door section hinges up and forward, while the lower section drops down to provide an entry step into the cabin. Land Rover provides a nice video of this on their Range Stormer Web site.

Two Piece Power Tailgate
The upper half of the power tailgate lifts upward. The lower half drops behind the bumper, taking it out of your way for easier loading.

All-New Platform
The Range Stormer features a new Land Rover platform. It will be used for the production version of the Range Stormer and in future full-size Land Rovers. The platform’s design combines the torsional rigidity and strength of a monocoque (a type of unibody) with the advantages and versatility of a body-on-frame chassis.

Range Stormer Powertrain
The Range Stormer has a Jaguar based, supercharged V8 engine designed to meet Land Rover’s specific requirements for on and off-road driving. Like all Land Rovers, the vehicle has a permanent four wheel drive system, and offers a selectable low range for tough off-road driving conditions.

Suspension
The Range Stormer rides on a fully independent, height adjustable, air spring suspension.

Additional Features

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Mitsubishi Unveils Sport Truck Concept

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation unveiled their Sport Truck Concept at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The company plans to launch a mid-sized pickup truck some time during the 2005 calendar year. The truck will be produced in alliance with DaimlerChrysler.

Specifications of the Sport Truck Concept

• 4WD with 4.7 L V-8 engine
• 5-speed automatic transmission
• 4-passenger truck
• 22-inch wheel and tire package
• Double wishbone front suspension
• Multi-link rear suspension
• Wheelbase, 135.2 inches
• Overall length, 210.2 inches
• Overall width, 79,8 inches
• Overall height, 70.8 inches
  

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2005 Dodge Dakota Pickup Truck Preview

Dodge introduced its 2005 Dakota pickup truck at the 2004 Chicago Auto Show, calling it “the largest, most powerful and most capable mid-size pickup in the market.” Dodge wanted to build a truck that can do the big jobs, but with better maneuverability and fuel efficiency than the full-size tricks. The new Dakota offers a best-in-class towing capability of 7,000+ pounds, and at it’s introduction, the Dakota is the only mid-size truck with a V-8 engine.

A Few Dakota Highlights

• A stronger and more durable fully-boxed frame.
• New front and rear suspension systems help deliver an improved ride.
• Has 3.7 extra inches, mostly ahead of the front axle, intended to provide added crush space for improved impact performance.
• Bumpers that are extended slightly to offer better protection in low-speed impacts.
• A body that’s been widened 2.7 inches.

Engine Choices

The Dakota features a standard 3.7-liter Magnum V-6 rated at 210 horsepower and 235 lb.-ft. of torque. Look for a six-percent improvement in fuel efficiency and improved power over the 3.9-liter Magnum V-6.

The 4.7-liter V-8 Magnum is rated at 230 horsepower at 4,600 rpm and 290 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,600 rpm, while the new 4.7-liter High Output Magnum V-8 is rated at 250-plus horsepower and 300 lb.-ft. plus of torque. Both V-8 engines should deliver between three and four-percent higher fuel efficiency than the previous Dodge Dakota V-8 engines.

Interior Features

Dodge says the Dakota Club Cab and Dakota Quad Cab both offer more interior room than other mid-size pickups. The 2005 Dodge Dakota is the first mid-size pickup to offer heated cloth seats.

The Dakota Club Cab has forward facing rear seats and standard rear-hinged access doors. The individual rear seats provide more comfortable seating for two adults than the previous three-passenger seat.

The Club Cab has a six-foot, six-inch bed and the Quad Cab has a five-foot, three-inch bed. Both models offer owners more room between the wheel wells than other trucks in their class.

Suspension, Chassis & Safety

• All-new coil over shock front suspension
• Rack and pinion steering
• Improved aerodynamics and sound deadening techniques for a quieter ride

A hydroformed and fully-boxed frame contributes to a smoother, more quiet ride and improves crash protection. The Dakota uses Dodge’s innovative new frame system, with octagonal front frame rail tips that absorb frontal impacts more consistently. The rail tips can be removed and replaced as opposed to replacing the frame.

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Chevrolet Trucks For The All American Experience

An all-American person requires an all-American car. This is what Chevrolet Monte Carlo can offer you. It was launched into the market during 1970 as a strong counterpart of the Thunderbird of Ford. Moreover, 2007 saw the launch of the sixth-generation car model. Nevertheless, despite the many revisions and model releases, all Monte Carlos remain to be two-door coupes.

In 1973, Chevrolet popularized the idea of a car that can be driven in the rough roads of the cross side as well as the busy traffic jam in the city but with the smooth drive. Out of this concept, Monte Carlo was born. It was a misconception that Monte Carlo was a utility vehicle while in truth it is not. Because of its popularity among racing enthusiasts, they would like to get a piece of this racing material because of its fantastic performance and its competitiveness in racing track.

So what can you expect from Monte Carlo? You have extra gauges as well as the tachometer, which basically permits you to monitor the movements and the current condition of your automobile. It also contains a very powerful V-8 engine, and the suspensions have been remodeled for sport tuning. These make them excellent rivals against sedans that came from other countries.

As far as the body is concerned, it is perfect designed and shaped with opera windows on it. The fine-mesh grille is an attraction to its front bumper. On the fender’s headboard, you can find its headlights while on its tips are the parking lights.

Every year, Chevrolet Monte Carlo is growing rapidly. It has grown with some extra four inches in length and two inches in width. There is also some great changes in its design. However, because of its positive comments among the consumers, the short decks and the long hoods are retained. One might wonder how he can classify Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Either it is an LS or an SS. Perhaps, one can tell this when he will ride in Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He can see difference very subtly especially in its suspensions.

With Chevrolet Monte Carlo, one cannot help but remember the good old days when baby boomers are just developing to what they become in the future, the music is just so good that there are lots of talents in its scene, as well as the peak of American living. Perhaps, one might be homesick for this period. However, this homesickness could be relieved with having the best accessory there can be and that is the Chevrolet Monte Carlo Keychains. With its small replica, one can get a piece of good memories on that era.

One can have a lot of choices out of those Chevrolet Monte Carlo keychains. Probably, the best among it is the one which has a blazing red color but with dark and tinted window. You can also find the Chevy logo at the back of the miniature car. With movable wheels, kids would surely want to play it also.

Passing the tradition and the memories of good life would be better if one can have a Chevrolet Monte Carlo keychain to be given to his children. It is like reminding them of the good life of America. To make it more personal, it is good to engrave it with your name.

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Chevrolet Parts

The General Motors Corporation (GMC)-produced chevrolet boasts of a wide range of quality products from trucks to cars to sport utility vehicles for its customers worldwide. Since 1911, the Chevrolet brand has continuously evolved into the modern vehicles available at present. What made this brand more appealing is that Chevrolet parts, which vary from either replacement parts or special add-ons, are in crisp condition and are readily available. Moreover, this American automaker makes sure that only the quality Chevrolet parts are equipped in its vehicles.

Chevrolet, which is GMC’s largest brand, takes pride in the automotive parts in its famous line of vehicles. Also known as Chevy, this automobile company does not only make compact cars, but most importantly light, medium, and heavy duty trucks. For this fact, the company has to really make the chevrolet parts better in order to suffice the demands of its vehicles.

One of the best selling model of Chevrolet happens to be a medium-size pick-up truck called the Chevrolet Silverado. Since this vehicle has to perform heavy tasks, which can include hauling or towing, powerful Chevrolet parts were manufactured in it. All the Chevrolet trucks are, of course, geared to be tough. Thus, a powerful engine has been equipped. Trucks usually has a 5.3-liter V8 engine that can guarantee up to 300 to 315-horsepower. A vehicle with a beefed up engine has to be geared with an equally powerful suspension, transmission, wheel systems. These systems will make it easier for the operator to control the vehicle. This idea does not only apply to trucks, but to other Chevy vehicles as well. Moreover, a Chevy truck’s spacious cabin makes it suitable for big families. The exterior of Chevrolet vehicles are also geared with safety Chevrolet parts like the headlights and taillights assemblies for better road visibility.

Aside from the basic Chevrolet parts, some models of this brand are manufactured to have that air of luxury. Special features like backing sonar, power adjustable pedals, leather bucket seats, and satellite radio are just some of the innovations of Chevrolet vehicles. Customization of Chevrolet parts can also be done, but owners just have to make sure that the quality of these parts are not taken for granted. The usability of the Chevrolet parts before the sleek and stylish look should be prioritized. A good looking Chevrolet is pretty useless if the vehicle cannot serve its primary purpose.

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Chevrolet Truck Remains A Winner

Chevrolet automobiles seem to have been around for as long as cars have. This is true in more ways than one. There are still plenty of people driving vintage models that perhaps your grandfather or great grandfather drove so many years ago. These are now considered to be collector’s items by many car enthusiasts. They buy old Chevy trucks and then lovingly restore them to their previous glory. By the time they are finished, you would never know that they had rolled off the manufacturer’s line so many decades ago.

Chevy is famous for many types of vehicles. As the years passed so did the style of the car. However, even with the newer, sleeker models of cars available, there was a longing for the old style, so they brought back a classic model, slightly altered to make it look more modern. Chevy is also famous for their line of trucks. This has been true for decades and is still true today. They’ve come a long way from the models your older relatives used to drive, being sleeker and carrying all of the latest technology.

When your ancestors drove them, they probably weren’t purchased because of their aesthetics. They were probably purchased to do tasks such as hauling things. Many of them were highly regarded as farm and ranch vehicles. This was particularly true in rural areas where the roads were unfinished and rough. The Chevy truck is renowned for its ability to handle tough terrain, even while burdened with bales of hay or vegetables that needed to get to the market to sell. You will often see these trucks in old movies, covered in mud and driven by cattle ranchers. Times have changed, but Chevy Trucks continue to be a prime choice in work vehicle as well as family transportation.

Now instead of seeing them being driven by ranchers, you see soccer moms behind the wheel, with her children in the back seat. Many men purchase them, not for their capability of carrying heavy loads, but because of their cool look.

A favorite Chevy Truck is the Silverado. Not only are these sleek looking vehicles, they retain the speed and durability that Chevy is known to produce. You can get them with all the bells and whistles and may not even want to haul anything in it, because it might spoil the look. Another consumer favorite is the Chevy Colorado. With its two tone detailing and attractive contours, this truck is coveted by many.

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