Internet Safety

So in class a few weeks ago my group gave a presentation on what kids can do to keep themselves safe from online predators. Some of the main points were avoiding giving out personal information and never ever meet someone you met online in person. While this is good information for teens it does not always apply to adults. Before I get into this I want to warn: don’t be stupid! If something feels wrong it probably is.

On the flip side of that is my personal experience. I’m active on a message board called the HAMB (Hokey Ass Message Board) that focuses on traditional hot rods and kustoms. It is a huge worldwide group of people who dig the same type of cars I do. Every year my auto program puts on a car show and every year I advertise it on the HAMB.
The first year I did that I got a PM (private message) from a guy asking if beer was allowed at the show because it was on school grounds. I informed him that unfortunately it was not, but he said he was planning on coming anyway but he could only stay for an hour or so. The day of the show I met him and his girlfriend, who were on their first real date at my car show, and he seemed like a nice guy. The next year he came back with his girlfriend, and I found out his name was Destin and at the end of the show the driver’s side window came off the track in his ’52 Chevy. I helped him pull his door panel off and we put the window back in place and decided we should hang out sometime.
Long story short; Destin is now one of my best buds and I’m in his wedding, to the same girl he took to the first car show, this July. So… maybe we should not be so freaked out about who is on the other end of the computer.

Chrysler Transmissions and Toyota’s Legacy

After years of making heavy duty transmissions (727, anyone) Chrysler dropped the ball in the 1990’s. Their truck transmissions were not up to par and often let go while the truck still had very low miles. Then there was the front wheel drive transmission debacle. For a few years Chrysler vans were equipped with a horrific transmission that, upon failure, would grenade. It would literally break the case of the transmission and occasionally cause the crankshaft to instantly split in two! That’s right; diverge, fork, bifurcate for crying out loud!

What does this have to do with Toyota? Easy, since roughly 2002 Chrysler has had fine transmissions but ask just about anyone who works on, or teaches, cars for a living and they will tell you Chryslers have weak transmissions. The impression that Chrysler trannies cannot be trusted persists almost ten years on, despite the opposite being true. The problems Toyota has had in past few years will continue to tarnish the company for decades to come.

People will consider a car even though it may have transmission problems. The general public will not even consider a car if they think IT WILL KILL THEM! This might be the best thing to happen to Chrysler since Lee Iacocca!