a great piece of Detroit automotive history is being torn down.

Read this informative post over at Hemmings Blog: Has the end finally come for the Packard plant?

by Lloyd Frazier

For anybody out there in the net-o-sphere that even bothers to come read posts here at AutoRamblings, I want to thank you for spending those micro-seconds perusing this blog….(queue self-pity music.)

As I wallow in self-pity due to my disappointment of not making this a world class blog…aka: unrealistic expectation…I realize, as a famous singer once said in a song..’It’s my own damned fault.’  I lost track of why I even started AutoRamblings.  I love cars and wanted to write my thoughts and opinions about cars, but guess what, so do 1,348,982 other people with car blogs!

I have not written a new post since May ‘11 due to some life altering events that have transpired in my life.  I realize I need to re-think what it is I want to accomplish with AutoRamblings.  I want to personally thank my friend who posts on Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures.  He is a very good writer and has a passion for what he writes about…his Sportsmobile.  That is the key, find something you are passionate about and write, write, and write some more.  And, guess what, people respond to that passion.  However, just generally writing about cars and the auto industry in this saturated field of interest makes it tough to stand out in a crowd.  A massive crowd, I must point out.  The invention of the automobile has brought more change to society than any other advancement, besides maybe telecommunication and computers.  It has brought people together to share in the love and passion of the automobile.  What a great thing that is.

So, what am I trying to say?  Well, I suppose it is this: write with passion!  What does that mean for AutoRamblings?  Writing from the heart which also includes topics associated with what is going on in the world, and most importantly, in our own backyard.  Seems our federal government and most members of congress have gone rogue,  running roughshod over our Constitution, ripping it to shreds, piece by sacred piece.  And what is with the department of Homeland Security and TSA?  Are we living in a police state or what.  What are they so damned paranoid about that they feel the need to constantly up the ante and treat us all like terrorist suspects.  As for me, it doesn’t make me feel any safer. 

I hear the term ‘wake up’ in a lot of places these days.  Maybe we Americans have been slumbering.  But it is time to wipe the sleep from our eyes and take a stand.  Call your congressman, start local discussion groups, pay attention to details.  Heck, start a blog and write what you feel.  Who knows how long we will have this open platform in which to share ideas.  Meditate, pray, or whatever it is you know works for you personally.  We need to participate in our republic or we will lose it.

As of this day, AutoRamblings posts will contain the subject of Autos and Ramblings.  Ramblings of what is is burning in the heart of this author at the time he writes.  Politics, cars, current events, cars, product reviews, and most importantly….CARS!

I want to close with a final thought.  What would this great country be like in just a few short years if we all started sharing ideas and actually working together for common good and at the same time celebrating our individual spirit?   Remember who we are.  We are a creation of God.  We are living, breathing sovereign beings who bleed.  Not a collective of slaves serving the whims of a very, very tiny group of elites at the top.  We are creative, caring, sacred souls with a purpose outside of this artificial existence. Screw those who try to divide us by race, creed, religion, orientation, or whatever epithet you can think of at the moment. Turn your back on those who try to stir those negative emotions and face your fellow brothers and sisters with love and create a new world with our children and our children’s children in mind. Now is the time!

Thank you for taking a moment out of your busy day to read this.  I promise more once I feel the genuineness of the thoughts coming to surface in my soul.

May the universal spirit of God touch your heart…

This is a thought provoking video over at IEEE.TV. An engineering, political, and practical perspective of getting our country off of oil addiction.

Go to the IEEE PHEV website for more interesting technical information.

Hello classic car fans. I just took this quiz and got 96%. See how you well you can do identifying these American made 50′s models over at AmericanTorque.com

Click here to take the quiz now: Car Show Game – 50′s

by Lloyd Frazier

If you are a GM fan like me, you will definitely enjoy this website. Go to gmheritagecenter.com to check out all the GM history, enthusiast news, and view the collection of awesome GM goodness.  You can even get service manuals for just about any vehicle in the GM lineup past or present.  I am a GM compact truck enthusiast and found all kinds of stuff for the S10 and LUV trucks.  The GM Heritage Center, located in an 81,000 square foot facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan, has approximately 200 vehicles on display.  So go read, peruse, and enjoy the website.  It is awesome.