Every May there is an import car show at the fairgrounds in Carlisle PA. The Pennsylvania Saab club has their own show within the show. Since I like Saab cars and daily drive one, I decided to go check it out this year. I paid for a parking spot in the non-judged area (which meant the Saab club would do their own judging), two Saturday lunches, a calendar, and two T-shirts.
It is only a 5 hour drive from my house. I had enough Marriott points from my work traveling that I could stay Friday and Saturday in nearby Mechanicsburg for free. I took vacation days for that Friday and Monday.
We left our house at around 7:30am on Friday. First we stopped at Bojangles for one of my favorite fast food breakfasts, the Cajun Filet biscuit with egg and cheese, a side of tater tots, and a glass of sweet tea, healthy I’m sure. Then we got on the highway. The weather was perfect that day, the high was 75 and there was a nice breeze. I really enjoy driving that car, so I had a great time. We didn’t hit any traffic and made it to gate 3 around 1:30.
I went to the booth to get my sticker for the car, and I got a little nervous as he was going through the H’s because I was the last H in the tray, but I was in there so he gave me my sticker. I put it on my windshield and drove to the Saab area. They had a designated section for wagons, so I parked there. There weren’t that many wagons and mine was the nicest one there so I thought maybe I would get an award from the Saab voting.
Such cool cars, I don’t care who you are.
Then my wife and I went walking around. The theme this year was “40 Years of Factory Air”. It was a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 1st Saab convertible. There were a lot of cars, definitely more Saabs than I had seen before. My wife was impressed with the amount, and she agreed with me that the Saab 900’s look much cooler in person than they do in pictures.
She didn’t care much for the old Sonnets, but did like the color on this one:
However, she was not a fan of the engine cover:
Then we went and had lunch at the food court. They had quite a few options and we went with an Italian place called Marcello’s. I had the sausage sub and she went with a chicken parm sub. It was quite good. Then we walked around to other car sections. There were Miatas, Nissans, Aston Martins, Datsuns, and some like an Opel GT I had never seen before. They look like smaller muscle cars, very cool. we also went to the pavilion where they had some rare and very impressive cars, but I did not take many pictures. The sun was getting to her some, so we went to the Saab tent. There the guy who was the head mechanic for Saab in America gave a presentation on the Saab convertible, how it came about, and the design changes for the different models. He also had a lot of stories from his time with Saab that were interesting.
Then we checked into our hotel and decided to drive 50 minutes down to our favorite restaurant in Gettysburg for dinner. Sweney’s Tavern in the bottom of the Farnsworth House. They have an amazing German soft pretzel and then I got their Grant’s Apple, Bacon, and Bourbon Pork Chop, it is like apple pie on top of a pork chop. (I’m drooling as I type this, is that weird?) It is probably the best pork chop I have ever had. My wife got the slippery pot pie, which tasted nothing like a pot pie, but was really good also.
On the trip back to the hotel, I got pulled over for speeding. I was going 65 in a 55, same as most people on that particular stretch. He didn’t turn on his lights until he got close to me, so I think I got profiled for having a Virginia license plate. That being said, he was almost apologetic once he came up to the car and saw the car show sticker on my windshield. He asked about the show and let me go with a warning.
Then we went to the hotel and I made myself a few Uncle Nearest old fashioneds and my wife had a few Empress Indigo gins with soda water, good times.
The next day, I slept in and didn’t leave the hotel until around 10, not thinking about the fact it was Saturday so of course it would be more crowded. My wife stayed at the hotel, it was going to be a hot day and she is not as enthusiastic as I am about these things. It took an hour to travel the 12 miles to the gate. Once I got in, there was almost no parking for Saabs, the designated 9-5 area was full, so I wound up in the overflow lot.
When I went to the wagon section, I did not have the nicest wagon there anymore, this red one is gorgeous:
There was a white one there, which I had never seen before, it was a little rough, but nice:
Then there was this black one that reinforced my thought that espresso black is the best color for these wagons:
It doesn’t show well on camera, but there is a hint of brown in the paint like coffee, I like it.
The red and black ones were both nicer than my wagon, and since I wasn’t parked in the wagon section, I was ineligible for judging anyway.
There were easily twice as many cars as there were on Friday.
Since my wife wasn’t there, I sent her some pictures she would like.
She loves the old Datsuns:
I like the wheels on this one.
This one has a Chevy 5.3 V8, it’s got to be a blast to drive.
She also likes old Bugs
I even found a Toyota wagon:
Then it was time for lunch, so I went to the Saab tent and got in line:
This took awhile
It was your normal burger, hot dog, baked beans, bag of chips, and a can of soda. Nothing special, but not bad at all.
Then I stayed inside the tent and drank water because it was hot. Started talking to a guy named Roman and he had a Sonnet, that he said was very nice. I asked him how long he had owned it and he said it was a sad story because he had owned the car for 27 years, but it has only been on the road for the last 5. He went through a long discussion about having to replace the transmission a couple times and getting it repainted twice because the first paint job was so long ago that it faded. I told him that’s not a sad story, a sad story would be if it was still in pieces in the garage.
Roman’s car:
He did not exaggerate, it is very nice.
I said, “That must be fun to drive”, he replied, “It is the epitome of torque steer, but it makes me smile every time.”
It was starting to get cloudy and unfortunately for me, that was enough of a weather change to make my sinus headache kick in. I did stay for the Saab auction; it was a lot of miscellaneous items and most of it went pretty cheap. Every time something I liked came up, apparently a lot of others agreed with me, because the price would quickly escalate past how much I liked them, so I didn’t bid on anything. I talked with a couple other people sitting in the tent and then went back to the hotel.
I took a nap and then we went to an English pub for dinner. I was hoping to drink beer, but the headache was unrelenting, so I didn’t. For an appetizer the loaded skins were very tasty. For dinner, I did enjoy the bangers and mash, they were excellent. My wife had the fish and chips and that was good also.
Then it was back to the hotel and I was careful to not speed this time.
Next morning my wife wanted to go to an Amish place she had seen online. It was out of our way, but we weren’t in a hurry. Luckily as we were leaving the hotel, she checked and it’s not open on Sunday, so we went back to Gettysburg. This time we went to the Lincoln Diner. They have really good breakfast and the best pies. I was bound to be disappointed, after my eggs, bacon, and home fries, I asked for blackberry pie(the king of all pies), but they were out. We should have woken up earlier. I ended up with a delicious slice of apple pie, and was mostly happy, but it wasn’t the same.
Then we went home. We did run into some traffic around D.C., but not horrible.
We have already decided that we will be going back next year.
It was announced that Saab won the award for most cars. There were 241 Saabs on the show field this year with 62 convertibles.
I only know of one other Saab guy on Glibs, Violent_K, his son is who I bought my car from, but if you like any import, They will be at Carlisle.
My car is at 24:57 of this video.
0:30 in this one. (I really should have washed it after all the driving)
For a much better write up about all the different cars with good pictures, read this.
It’s well noted that the left rebrands a particular cause every few years when the normies start tuning out all of their bullshit.
But there’s a special rebranding that takes place only about once every generation or so when people have just gotten so fed up with the left’s bullshit that they can’t continue to gain power without hoodwinking people.
They’re out there all attacking Woke 1.0. Even when that includes things they themselves said or did. Laugh people, see they totally changed and grew up! It’s tentatively called Woke 2.0 at the moment, but I suspect they’re just going to go all in on class based Marxism because they still don’t have the numbers to just say fuck whitey or at least white men.
From what I’ve heard, The Shady Maple is a shell of what it used to be. Probably better that you missed it.
I don’t know, she saw it on YouTube and became fascinated.
I’m sure next year she will work it into our schedule.
Gettysburg for dinner. Sweney’s Tavern in the bottom of the Farnsworth House
My son went to Gettysburg College, I’ve eaten there as well. It’s one of the better “fancy” places around.
At this point how does your wife feel about things like American car shows? It’s not like they don’t exist in Japan, but they are far less common. For example like 40% of my Japanese friends don’t own a car or drive. OTH, Okinawa has far more drivers per capita than most other places.
She doesn’t care much about cars.
I took her to Mopar Spring Fling when I was stationed in CA and she said all the cars looked the same to her.
I did meet Jay Leno there, didn’t talk much, just said hi to him.
But she’s a Fairlady fan!
I can’t understand why US Datsun renamed that the 240Z.
FairladyZ, thank you very much! But, that, if I remember right, is the official name of the first year, 1969, model.
God, I am a dork.
JDM is still Fairlady Z. Original Fairlady (before the Z) was 1959.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datsun_Sports
Body of mine has a 65? Fairlady. I’m a sucker for the 240. 260 SS.
Cool. A Saab story.
Many years ago when I lived in North Idaho, I briefly owned ad drove a 1970 Saab Coupe Deluxe. Manuel transmission with a free wheel, and a front wheel drive. Handled deep snow like a champion, and was a fun drive.
Manuel transmission
An illegal Mexican changing the gears?
You got me, darn you.
I’ve used that malapropism for so long I don’t even see it any more.
Manuel is mostly retired these days. His job has been taken over by Otto Mattock.
An Otto Mattock ally, I saw what you done did there.
Very nice.
I’ve had a soft spot since reading The Race Forever choose your own adventure book
Sounds like a lot of fun. I’m a former Saab guy. Our 9-3 Sport Combi was destroyed in a pile up on Route 80. That car was fun and had so much character and Scandinavian over-engineering.
Started talking to a guy named Roman and he had a Sonnet
Did you compare him to a summer’s day?
Saab no longer makes cars. It is in the past. Join the 2020s. Buy a Tesla.
Not a Dacia?
I refuse to buy any vehicle manufactured after the 2019 model year.
Newest for us is my wife’s 2011 Camry.
GF picked up a 2026. She’s never been happier.
Model year. Not a Camry…
Car culture lives, in spite of the concerted effort to kill it.
I was going 65 in a 55, same as most people on that particular stretch. He didn’t turn on his lights until he got close to me, so I think I got profiled for having a Virginia license plate.
It was definitely the VA plate. I’m struggling to think of anyone I’ve known in my life that got pulled over in PA for ten over the limit on a 55+ highway and I can’t. I’ve passed PA state troopers at ten over the limit without a problem.
The car show looks great. Thanks!
I agree on the VA plate. Plus, he looks shifty…
They are retaliating for VSP pulling over all the weekend tourists.
They are retaliating
for VSP pulling over all the weekend tourists.because they’re assholes and trying to earn that ACAB label.Speaking of cars…
What might have been
I e always thought those were super cute.
super cute
Gay.
“Grant’s Apple, Bacon, and Bourbon Pork Chop”
I too, am drooling.
Yes
Any time you get to Gettysburg, I too recommend Sweeney’s Tavern. Great place to have a beer and wonder “What the hell was Robert E. Lee thinking?”
It was definitely worth the drive.
“What the hell was Robert E. Lee thinking?”
What you are. Bring some friends and drink drink drink. Put it all on your tab but send the charge to Pickett. He walks into it every time.
Manual trans and small cars are history for me. The body parts don’t work as well as they did in the past.
Obviously my memory isn’t so hot either, I can’t remember the last manual I had, maybe a ’64 Mercedes. Had to get rid of it ’cause the at the time marital partner
couldn’t drive it. So about 1967.
My daily-driver (2017 Versa) and weekend-car (2006 Z) are both manual transmissions.
The comments here are just what you expect from the Top Men at Ars.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/08/zuckerbergs-super-yacht-stood-by-while-stranded-boaters-looked-for-help/
Captains miss calls all the time on 16. OTH, this is a professional crew. And I dislike the Zuck with the best of them, but this is unrelated to the Zuck himself.
Zuck was phoning the captain himself in the middle of his orgy with underage uni and intersex children and drinking a baby blood cocktail. Told him to let the poors die.
I also like that he has a “support boat” to support his super yacht.
Puts into perspective the guy who buys a boat to get laid.
Plenty of boats have “support boats”. My family 28 foot sailboat had an inflatable Zodiac “support boat”. It had a massive 2HP outboard.
That support boat cost $30 million.
And some of us don’t have family boats. But I’m taking note for when the revolution comes. I’ll be coming for that boat to make it mines. Kulak.
That boat belongs to the inner party, wrecker – to the gulag with you.
And some of us don’t have family boats.
Some of you have never firsted either.
Zuck thought he bought protection with the Zuck Bucks he spent in support of Democrats in 2020.
It’s never about what you’ve done for the cause, but you will continue to do for the cause.
I’ve mentioned before that I had a 1989 Saab 9000 CD. It was a great car. British food has a bad rep, and fair enough, but simple bangers and mash is great. I make it for myself quite frequently.
Your 95 Aero is a great looking wagon, Ron.
Thanks.
https://x.com/DrClownPhD/status/2087197306047086918
The new James Bond. (AI)
Let the James Bond franchise die. It has no place in the modern world, and that’s not a criticism of the modern world.
Then let’s fill in the void with some canon-accurate Matt Helm movies. Either retro 60’s-80’s, or updated to now, either could work as long as they have the requisite amounts of ruthless violence, intra-government conflict, booze, and womanizing.
It was capped off perfectly by the first Austin Powers film.
Agreed. Discussed here before: They should do a reboot to ’50s-’70s Cold War spycraft, heavy on suspense and Soviet fuckery (of all kinds… *wink wink*).
I refuse to buy any vehicle manufactured after the 2019 model year.
Watch that Leno link. This is a truly golden age of automotive design and development. We have attained perfection.
*I think Leno is starting to lose it.
He starts repeating the same stories within the same episode – not just other episodes.
He starts repeating the same stories within the same episode – not just other episodes.
He asked the same question about Mallet three times in that clip. You’d think his video editor would make some kind of an effort to not let him look like a babbling idiot.
Yup. I’ve seen similar in other videos too.
Let the James Bond franchise die. It has no place in the modern world, and that’s not a criticism of the modern world.
We don’t need Bond when we have magical idiot savants like the guy in The Amateur.
Nebraska Man to Glock 40 FL Cop – hold my Glock!
https://notthebee.com/article/influencer-shoots-self-in-leg-while-filming-instructional-video-outside-gun-shop?from_social=twitter
Good work with the tourniquet, whoever threw it on, but your judgement was a bit questionable in letting this one live.
*sigh* I’m about at the point where I’m ready to say, no recording in public, ever, by anyone, for any reason.
The one thing I dislike about my G…. is pulling the trigger to field strip it. I am compulsive about checking the chamber.
I failed to do so once, but had checked it earlier on the bench the same day after coming back to it. My heart still climbed as I realized I forgot to check it while I was pulling the trigger. Fortunately having checked it earlier and my policy of having no ammunition anywhere near it will working unless for a specific reason saved me. I still remember it to this day and I am still verry annoyed with myself.
I dry practice for around 30 minutes every day, so I’m fairly inured to pressing the trigger to field-strip a gun. I am absolutely compulsive about checking the chamber though, and I only dry-fire with a gun that’s been mechanically disabled.
Are you retarded?!?!
The country is going to be in the best of hands.
To host a social gathering, I would eventually learn, one needed to apply far in advance to the Party Review Committee, which only met once a week, on Tuesdays. Few parties were approved, and even those that were could only last for a limited time, be hosted on certain days, and be open to specific people. A detailed proposal filling dozens of pages of requirements was required. And then there was the other essential component: the “Harm Reduction Plan.”
Party of None: Inside Stanford’s War on Fun
Read an exclusive excerpt from Theo Baker’s book, How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University, where the former Stanford Daily reporter and youngest recipient of the George Polk Award for investigative journalism details his first assignment.
Possible paywall – https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/story/stanford-war-on-fun?srsltid=AfmBOopmcCjQuxh6bHd-1BThqj9btYKYt40FdJncxAsyaNDh_tRgm69P
Can these people even hear themselves?
Surprise
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has thrown his support behind legislation that could become a first-in-the-nation law to regulate Amazon’s network of subcontractors that deliver the $3 trillion company’s packages—an “exploitative business model” that shields the e-commerce giant from accountability, as Mamdani said Monday.
The Democratic mayor endorsed the Delivery Protection Act, proposed by New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, which would establish new safety, training, and labor standards for “last-mile” warehouses and distribution facilities in New York City, and hold the companies that operate the facilities, such as Amazon and FedEx, liable for employing the workers who make hundreds of deliveries per day across the city.
——-
“Corporations like Amazon build billion-dollar business models by insulating themselves from accountability through a system of exploitative subcontracting,” said Mamdani in a statement. “As last-mile delivery centers have exploded across New York, so too have traffic accidents and worker injuries. The Delivery Protection Act is commonsense regulation that protects delivery workers, safeguards the communities where these facilities operate, and ensures that the corporations benefiting from workers’ labor are responsible for the consequences of their business practices.”
“The people who make these companies run deserve dignity, stability, and a safe workplace,” he added. “It’s time to end the subcontracting model that puts profits over people and build an economy that works for working New Yorkers.”
Democratic Socialism: making corporations larger and more powerful.
“We will no longer deliver to the NYC Metro Area. All orders must be picked up at depots outside the rach of the Mad Mayor Mamdani”
I doubt that happens. Amazon will hide the cost of compliance by charging patsies in Iowa more for their deliveries.
So every time I get free delivery, they send you a bill for my stuff being dropped off?
(Yes, I know what you mean, but the image of a direct billing was funnier)
I do love filling up my tank with gasoline cut by ethanol!
Iowa isn’t the only corn state.
And I put premium unleaded in all my vehicles. Fuck Ethanol
Well if it’s just commonsense regulation, it must be an unalloyed good.
Mandami is bullshit and so is Amazon pretending the subcontractor employees, that they direct and monitor, are truly independent is also bullshit.
A gig is a gig. If you don’t want the job; don’t take it.
Not if Mamdami and other commies get their way. They hate all gig work with a passion.
Some lone wacko needs to take a shot at Mamdami.
As my old man wrote on a whiteboard on the last day of his government IC job – “We’re only one armed lunatic away from solving our management problem…”
Sadly that did t save us from FDR
the Party Review Committee, which only met once a week, on Tuesdays
In an undisclosed location?
…in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard’.
Socialist monkey see, socialist monkey do, cherry on top:
Mamdani’s advocacy for the legislation in New York City caught the attention of at least one lawmaker across the country.
“We should pass something like this in Colorado,” said state Rep. Javier Mabrey (D-1).
Colorado used to be a pretty good place to live.
Product of a couple of large cities controlling the legislature and much of the congressional delegation.
Except, of course, for libertarian advocate Jared Polis. 🙄
Meanwhile, back at the salt flats
The JCB Hydromax was not supposed to rewrite the Bonneville record books before its world record shot, but that is exactly what happened. The hydrogen-powered streamliner has logged an officially sanctioned Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) class mark at the Bonneville Salt Flats, and it did it with pure combustion—no fuel cells or batteries driving the wheels.
The car’s 368.347 miles per hour average is now the number everyone will quote, but it comes from two razor-close runs and a format that does not forgive mistakes. It also shows what a pair of hydrogen-burning engines can do when tuned hard for speed. The SCTA result gives JCB a verified benchmark before the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) world record attempt that is coming next.
——-
Under the bodywork, Hydromax is driven by two production-based JCB hydrogen internal combustion engines tuned toward a combined 1,600 horsepower. Instead of using hydrogen in a fuel cell to power electric motors, these engines burn hydrogen directly in modified combustion chambers, using adapted fuel and ignition systems but remaining mechanically similar to conventional piston engines.
It takes a special kind of person.
Work bullshit chapter 49.
I was asked to take a vacation day this week several weeks ago. Not that I particularly wanted to as I’d rather be able to use my vacation together. I kind of made plans seeing as how I was scheduled off.
Someone at work had to take a medical leave of absence. I knew the bullshit was incoming. I was asked to cover them that extra day. Now mind you they just hired someone in with a higher title and higher pay than me that I’ve been expected to train almost entirely on my own. They’ve been there a month and have a 4 day weekend already on top of having last weekend off.
I didn’t respond when asked to cover. I’d have probably caved and done it anyway. Where I start to have problems is when they decide they’re just going to put me on the schedule unilaterally. On top of adjusting me negatively in another way.
I’ve taken so much bullshit from shitbag management over the years. None of this has anything whatsoever to do with who is actually the most capable at the job or does the best work or brings the most value. They get the titles, pay, and schedules they want while I bend over backwards to cover for them and do shit they never would. You’ll never see them pulled an all nighter and working 30 straight hours, but hey, that’s what he’s for.
I’m chronically stuck being the work horse wherever I go. Too important to have off or take time off, but apparently not important enough to actually compensate in anyway for the effort. There’s always some shitbag whose major claim to preferential treatment isn’t being good at the job, but simply having existed at the company and not being fired for a long time.
If I wanted the be-all-end-all of how I’m compensated and treated to be existing in a job for a long time alone, I’d go try and find a fucking union job.
I start off reasonable with these people which seems to just reinforce in their heads that they can do whatever the fuck they want with me until I eventually tell them to fuck off. And then they play the victim and act like they have no idea what’s going on.
You were supposed to be a doormat!
You can extend that into most interactions with people. Most people are going to treat you the way they think they can get away with in general.
Yes, I know I can and should find another job. But the same reason I’m stuck answering to idiots in this one is the same reason it’s both difficult to do that and why I’m stuck in my current role here.
I am going to ask for another title and tell them they better match the pay bump I want. They can take their policy and shove it up their fucking ass (standard promotion is usually locked in at 8%).
You should be Firsting out the door at the First opportunity.
You get no respect, Bro. I’m telling you, no respect.
Boy your work bullshit sounds familiar.
Oh yeah! Because it’s also my work bullshit.