Used Golf Carts

St. Petersburg, Florida
April 3, 2005

Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

What follows are the observations and half-baked thoughts of a total racing neophyte, an automotive slob who wouldn t know a spark plug from a flux-capacitor.

Our hero is P.J. Chesson the 26 year old race car driver from the gentrified horse country of N.J. This is his second year racing the Menards Infiniti PRO Series, which is like the minor league of IndyCar. He racked up 3 consecutive wins and a number of top 5 s in his first year racing on pavement. P.J. is driving for a new team this year and things are tense, he crashed during qualifying in the first two races

of this season. (The drivers are responsible for the damages themselves if they are incurred outside the actual race). The team is a real step down from his rookie season and the car reflects this. His girlfriend is Echo Johnson, she is somewhat older than P.J. (though I lack the conviction to ask how much) she is a former Playboy model from Austin, Texas.

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DaimlerChrysler s Dodge division has certainly been making a name for itself over the past decade. No longer in the shadow of Chrysler or a carbon copy of Plymouth, Dodge has its own vehicles stamped with its own unique personality. The Charger is Dodge s latest hot model; what can Dodge do for an encore? Read on for all the exciting details!

Caliber The compact Neon is dead and a replacement vehicle is waiting in the wings by the name of Caliber. Sporting Dodge s signature crosshair grille, the Caliber resembles a Chrysler Pacifica but it is in the Chrysler PT Cruiser s size range. This five door wagon-like vehicle features jacked up wheel arches and

a sloped roofline that tapers off to a rear hatch spoiler. On demand all wheel drive is expected to be one of the car s options. Built on a Mitsubishi Lancer platform, the Caliber has been planned to go toe-to-toe with the VW Golf and Mazda 3. The Caliber is expected to debut in early 2006 as a 2007 model.

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I wrote previously about Mercedes foray into the small car market. As strange as that may seem to many Americans, both Mercedes and BMW have long produced smaller and less costly models for the European market. Now, it appears that BMW is considering doing the same: introducing to the North American market a truly compact car, smaller than any BMW that has ever graced our highways and back streets. Is this a good move for the German automaker? Or, will it water down a prestigious brand name?

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When I first began to speak of the Ghost Children of San Antonio in my seminars, the story was largely unfamiliar to people outside of Texas. But it s more then just a ghost story, it s a part of American history. In 1949 a school bus filled with children stalled as it tried to climb a small grade on the tracks of a rail road crossing located at the corners of Shane and Villamain Roads, just off of SE Loop 410. These were times when many rural crossings had no signals and were designed to accommodate trains, not vehicles. Wood placed between tracks on the crossing would often warp and create a trap for tires and little thought

was given to keeping the grade even on both sides of the crossing.

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