With the price of oil going through the roof, Americans have seen an increase in just about everything. Food prices are increasing, commute costs are increasing, living costs are increasing, so then why are school days decreasing? It is true, some rural school districts in America have voted to remove one day of class for next years education term. This does not mean however that all students will enjoy three day weekeneds without penalty. No, unfortunately that missed day will have to be made up in the form of longer days the rest of the week. So why are schools doing this?

The answer is simple, to cut costs. School districts are hoping that by removing one school day they will be able to refrain from paying to heat the school an extra sixteen hours per week, as well as save on busing costs in transporting children to and from home. They hope that by saving money in these areas, that they will not have to resort to any loss in employment or cut back on materials for the classroom.

Will this catch on? Most likely no, as it is the rural districts who are already working with thin budgets that are feeling the strongest blow, but who knows. The extra day off would have been a welcomed movement when i was in school, although i would hate to be a parent who now has to make arrangements for my child’s supervision for this extra free day. Perhaps the best thing to do now is push for a four hour work week as well! I am all for it….

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Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta, 46, died Saturday from multiple injuries suffered after his car went out of control and crashed in a high-speed racing accident at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park during the fourth and final round of qualifying at the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals.

Kalitta earned most of his racing success in Top Fuel, where he claimed back-to-back world championship titles in 1994 and 1995. He retired from racing in 1997, sitting out most of two seasons before returning for a 10-race campaign in 1999. He sat out three more seasons following that brief stint and then returned again in 2003, joining cousin Doug as a second driver for the family’s two Top Fuel dragsters.

Motorsports may be losing a key member of its history, however he will never be forgotten.

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William McKinley

In 1899, McKinley was the first president to take a ride in a car, a steam-powered “Locomobile.”

William Howard Taft

In 1909 Taft became the first president to ride in an official presidential limousine. There were four official presidential limos: a White Steamer, a Baker Electric, and two Pierce-Arrows.  Taft was an early proponent of no-fossil fuel vehicles.

Warren Harding

Harding was the first president who already knew how to drive an automobile before taking the office.
Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge rented his limousines to save money.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential limo was fitted with hand controls so he could continue his love of driving despite his polio.

On December 8, 1941, the day following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, president Roosevelt rode to Congress to deliver his declaration of war in the infamous gangster Al Capone’s armor-plated limo. The car was officially owned by the Department of Treasury as a result of Capone’s tax evasion conviction.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower was the first president to have a Plexiglass bubble installed on the roof of his limousine so that he could be seen by crowds even in bad weather.

John F. Kennedy

JFK’s Lincoln Continental was filled with interesting gadgets for the time. It was fitted with removable roof panels that could be configured in various ways for varying occasions,  the back seat could be raised more than 10 inches, and the car also sported a two-way radio and a telephone system.  This James Bond like car was leased to the White House for $500.

Lyndon Johnson

After the Kennedy assassination, Lyndon Johnson had the presidential Lincoln redesigned, and  added almost one ton of steel plating and bullet-proof glass.

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Fun Fact: This may seem “udderly” weird but according to an Internet Service known as Any Question Answered, cows are currently outnumbering cars with a score of 1.4 billion cows in contract to only 1 billion cars. Seems like the cow population keeps on moo-ving right along…

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The Chrysler Corporation released word today of looking to develop a small sub compact car to do battle with the rising gas prices.  Since the increased demand for oil from exponentially growing China, and a weak economy in the US, gas prices have seemed to soar out of reach for most Americans.  Chrysler’s current smallest offering of the two liter Sebring, will dwarf the proposed new car based on the Dodge Hornet.  Could this be a winning game plan?  It definitely could, however only if this new sub compact can surpass the fuel mileage of the micro sized Smart Fortwo which only gets a very disappointing 32 mpg.  This should not be a miracle task as cars have gotten high mpg since the late 70’s.  The CRX HF got a reported 50 mpg in the 80’s.  Chrysler needs to keep those MPG’s in mind, and maybe take a page out of the old playbook, because with their current formula, size doesn’t seem to matter.  The company plans to release the car sometime around 2010.

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Racing official, Mauricia Grant, is filing a lawsuit against the NASCAR organization on grounds of both sexual and racial harassment.  The young 32 year old African-American woman began working in her field because she loved the high adrenaline atmosphere, the fast cars, and getting be around some of the top drivers in the world.  However, she claims that the enjoyment of her job quickly faded as a result of a hostile work environment.

In the lawsuit, she alleged she was referred to as “Nappy Headed Mo” and “Queen Sheba,” by co-workers, and was often told she worked on “colored people time.”  However this appeared to just be the beginning of things as she was also subjected to sexual advances from male co-workers, two of whom had allegedly exposed themselves to her.

According to a recent Sports Illustrated article the lawsuit details a series of alleged incidents:

• Grant was forced to work outside more often than the white male officials because her supervisors believed she couldn’t sunburn because she was black.

• While riding in the backseat of her car pool at Talladega Superspeedway, co-workers told her to duck as they passed race fans. “I don’t want to start a riot when these fans see a black woman in my car,” she claims one official said.

• When packing up a dark garage at Texas Motor Speedway an official told Grant: “Keep smiling and pop your eyes out ’cause we can’t see you.”

• When she ignored advances from co-workers, Grant was accused of being gay. She also claimed co-workers questioned the sexual orientation of two other female officials.

• She was asked by her supervisor “Does your workout include an urban obstacle course with a flat-screen TV on your back?”

Grant says the incident has not diminished her love of the sport, however she demands that things need to change.  She claims that after numerous reports of these incidents, Grant was given the same un-assuring response of “these are military guys” or “you need to just deal with it”, somewhat of a “boys will be boys” concept.  NASCAR claims they have not reviewed the suit so were not available to comment too much on the incident, but did state that they have a strongly enforced zero tolerance policy on harassment.  Well a $225 million dollar lawsuit will no doubt make them tighten up the regulation and enforcement of that policy.

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Dodge is now releasing the pricing for the next round of Challenger’s due out this fall to follow up the SRT8 sales.  For just over $21,000 you can have a 3.5 liter V6 making 250 horsepower mated to a four-speed automatic transmission . This base sticker will include such options as a 17 inch wheels combo, power windows, locks and mirrors as well as air conditioning.  Standard safety features will include side airbags and a CD player with MP3 capability for making that commute a little more enjoyable.

If you want something a little juicer to sink your teeth into, you could step up to the Challenger R/T at just under $30,000.  For the increased cost you get the famous 5.7 liter Hemi V8 and 370 ponies.  When keeping those horses corraled you can take advantage of the Hemi’s cylinder cutoff technology.  To get you moving down the road, that power will be fed through a five speed automatic transmission.  The R/T includes standard options such as stability control, larger 18 inch wheels, fog lights, and leather trim.  For a little more fun you can opt for the Track Pak which will give you a 6 speed manual, limited slip differential, and the classic pistol grip shifter.

For those who want the ultimate though, there is the $40k dollar option of the SRT8 and its massive 6.1 liter engine with 425 horsepower, with a standard 5 speed automatic and a 6 speed manual offered as an option.  2009 will also bring some new color choices including High Performance Red, and B5 Blue, and who could forget those black hood stripes?

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So its not the kind of solar power that comes from panels, this is just the warm sun shining on you from your new open roof Prius.  Now you can get a better look at nature while helping to protect it.  This is not an upcoming offering from Toyota, but a design by Newport Convertible Engineering.  The group has removed the standard hardtop and replaced it with an electric canvas top.  The topless Prius still sports roof supports to help with sealing, and a rear window from an Audi TT to keep tabs on whats behind you.  The new roof maintains the same factory lines very well.  There is no doubt this is a Prius.  This isnt NCE’s first attempt at a drop top conversion, they have been doing it for a long time.  Some of their most notable work was a convertible NSX that would leave onlookers begging Acura for a production version, and this NCE Prius could be no different.  Its a new take on a growing favorite, and why not enjoy the fresh air while helping to keep it that way?

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What you see before you is not the body of the new SLC AMG.  The body is a hacked and butchered Dodge Viper variation.  It is what is underneath those awkward looking black body panels that has the news media talking.  The heart and sole of the next gullwing door Mercedes is using this body camo to hide its new AMG tuned 6.2 liter V8.  The motor is rumored to be available in two versions, a naturally aspirated version and a twin turbo variant making around 700 horsepower.  With numbers like that, who really cares what the exterior looks like?  I’ll take one in the butchered viper suit!  The undercover SLC AMG will actually be based on the next generation Mercedes SL, and judging from recent spy shots from the famous Nurburgring this next generation supercar will certainly display the Mercedes emblem well.

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