I was visiting Standard Auto Wreckers down here in Toronto, Ontario and the place was buzzing with activity!  I saw a film production crew grabbing some coffee near a wrecked Mercedes and tried to squeeze some information out of them, but to no avail.  Later on I caught up with them at the junk car crusher and I did recognize one of my favorite (educational) TV hosts, Ziya Tong!

I could not get the whole scoop, but I do know I will be looking out for the Daily Planet over the next few months to see this very cool episode!!

I know I personally have not gotten a traffic ticket in more than eight years!  What are your chances of getting one?

Violations/100,000 miles driven, expressed as percentage of average. For a complete list,
see www.qualityplanning.com.

Now what about cars that are nearly ticket-proof? If you don’t want to send checks to the DMV or the court, get an SUV or minivan. Best, get a Buick Rainier. Average age 61, 71 percent driven by men. Cops pretty much ignore them.

Violations/100,000 miles driven, expressed as percentage of average. For a complete list,
see www.qualityplanning.com.

After last weeks reports that many cities that have banned texting and approved hands-free only use of cell phones have seen an increases in accidents, this was partially expected but likely will never pass.

That’s what U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is weighing, Bloomberg reports. LaHood thinks motorists are so distracted by their cell phones that bans on texting don’t go far enough.

There are already restrictions in 30 states, but LaHood goes much farther. He even has Ford’s Sync in-car communications systems and General Motor’s OnStar in his sights.

read the rest on usatoday.com

What can be more fun that watching stuff get crushed!!  Nothing!!! With Halloween just around the corner, YTV stopped by one of Ontario’s largest auto wrecking yards to film some smashing pumpkins, not the music band but actual pumpkins!!

YTV FunMobile

Live Pumpkins

Smushed, Smashed Dead Pumpkins

Great green news out of CA, California’s two biggest investor-owned utilities have been given the green light to buy 616 megawatts of renewable energy.

Southern California Edison will buy 20 years worth of output from two giant solar photovoltaic plants being developed by First Solar, Inc.

Pacific Gas and Electric will take power from a large solar PV facility being developed by Alpine Suntower LLC, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, again for a 20 year period.

The companies won approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, which said the contracts would help the state meet its renewable energy goals.

The two First Solar power plants set to supply power to SCE are the Desert Sunlight and Desert Stateline projects, located in Desert Center and San Bernardino, California.

These plants, respectively, will provide 250MW and 300MW of generating capacity from 2015. The Desert Sunlight project is being fast-tracked by the Bureau of Land Management regarding its permitting, and is in line for federal stimulus funding.

Here is some great (not so crappy) news from the UK.  Bio-fuel pellets made from horse manure will help power the new barracks of the Royal Horse Artillery, the Ministry of Defense announced.

Recycled waste and bedding from the regiment’s 111 horses will provide enough low-carbon energy to cover the heating and lighting requirements of the ceremonial unit’s new base in Woolwich, southeast London .

The MoD said the eco-friendly move was in line with the government’s sustainable development agenda and just one of several steps being taken to promote sustainability in the mounted regiment’s future home.

“We are using the latest energy conservation techniques in our barracks,” an MoD spokesman said Monday.

The King’s Troop, an equestrian unit that performs ceremonial duties on state occasions, plan to move to their new headquarters in November 2011

Great story! My name is Jay Shafer and since 1997 I have been living in a house smaller than some people’s closets. I call the first of my little hand built houses Tumbleweed. My decision to inhabit just 89 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment, and because I do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space. My houses have met all of my domestic needs without demanding much in return. The simple, slower lifestyle my homes have afforded is a luxury for which I am continually grateful.

Here is one from the strange news files! A couple of fishing buddies from Delaware have been catching more than just bass. They’ve been helping police reel in cars.

Larry Newirth and Dan Cathell spotted a white BMW 750 sedan on June 17. Then on Friday, they found a late-model Honda Accord. Police say the cars were stolen and abandoned. No arrests have been made.

Newirth, a 63-year-old retired carpenter, jokes that he and Cathell better stop finding cars or the police will think they’re the ones stealing them.

Cathell, a 44-year-old millwright, says he hopes the thieves stop dumping the cars from the boat ramp so police don’t close the dock to the public.

This next week will be a big litmus test for many supporters of green energy and electric cars as Tesla Motors, the electric car startup scheduled to debut in public trading on Tuesday, could deliver the biggest IPO for a U.S. car company since Ford Motor’s initial public offering more than half a century ago. But while the day of the IPO itself will be a fleeting event, Tesla’s performance on the stock market will deliver something more lasting: a signal about the degree of public confidence in electric vehicles at this early stage of the market, and the role that IPOs will play in financing next-gen cars.

Read the entire article here.

Japanese technology is pretty cool, guess what this is?

Looks like a motorcycle?

It is a tow truck?  Wonder how it has the power and stability to pull a big car, but I guess Japan has mostly small sized cars.