The Cars of El Norte

College kids with revolutionary ideals in the 80s and 90s all watched El Norte. The Criterion Collection just came out with a restored version on DVD. It is as poignant, and as beautiful, as it was when it first premiered.

I rely on imcdb.org to identify and look at pictures of cars in movies. Unfortunately, the site does not have El Norte up yet. Here are my three favorites:

1. Flecha Amarilla bus. This bus brought back fond memories of my recent bus trip. Thankfully, mine was air conditioned and had a pirated Beverly Hills Chihuahua DVD blasting away for hours. Go to 0:07.



2. BMW 320i. The restaurant manager's Beamer was arguably the first SoCal yuppie mobile. Go to 7:05.



3. Mercedes W113. The ultimate symbol of the America that the movie's protagonists can never reach. Go to 2:49.



CKY

Swine Flu Map

View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map

Pink markers are suspect
Purple markers are confirmed
Deaths lack a dot in marker

Murphy's Law: I went to the drug store this afternoon to pick up some face masks, out of an abundance of caution. Before coming home, I swung by the barbershop for a haircut. Of course, my barber was sick-- wheezing, coughing, breathing through his mouth, looking generally unwell. That was the longest 15 minute haircut of my life.

CKY

Mind Blowing Jenson Button F1 Predictions And Odds

Jenson Button has won 3 out of 4 GPs this season. We are officially living in bizzaro world. Ready for some sheer lunacy?

Here is my post, from 2006, about why Barrichello and Button will win the 2007 constructors title. I guess you can call me a forward thinker.

I'm not a gambling lad but here are some odds pre-season to win it all:

• Button (post-2008 season but before Honda's withdrawal): 66:1
• Button (days before Australian GP): 9:1. The only people ahead of Button then were Kimi (4:1), Fernando (9:2), Massa (11:2) and Lewis (11:2). Currently, Button has 31 points and the other four gents mentioned have a combined 17 points.
  
• Brawn GP (days before Australian GP): 4:1. The only teams ahead of Brawn then were Ferrari (11:8), McLaren (7:2), and BMW (19:4). Currently, Brawn has 50 points and Ferrari, McLaren, and BMW have a combined 20 points. By the way, Kubica finished 18th today and Heidfeld was 19th.
  

CKY

Citroen Museums

This blog's fascination with all things Citroen cannot be denied. I've already covered the Swiss Citroen museum. There is, of course, the official Citroen (private) museum. But for fans of post-war Citroens, the Citromuseum in Provence may be the best and most accessible of all of the museums. There are approximately 50 low mileage Citroens, most in their original, unrestored condition. They are simply amazing.

Photos credit: tobiastoft

Here is a mini tour of the museum.

CKY

Minichamps Tour And Bonus Austin Powers Spoof

Grand Prix Legends, a purveyor of all things die cast, puts out entertaining and informative podcasts on youtube. Three recent specials came out:

1. Visit of Minichamps Museum.


2. Austin Powers spoof.


3. Host Leigh Hobden's personal diecast collection.


CKY

Ferrari Mondial Popemobile

Profiles of Lamborghini Estoque / Porsche Panamera / Aston Martin Rapide

Which is which?

CKY

Lancelot Link Opening Credit (English and Spanish)

I used to watch this as a kid. In retrospect, it was kinda wrong.

In English

En espanol

CKY

1/43 Car Collection Sales And Bargains

In this economy, hardly anyone is buying frivolous products. People are hoarding cash. As a consequence, the scale model car market has taken a nosedive that will even take AIG stock holders' breaths away. If you can spare a few dollars a month, this is an excellent opportunity to pick up some raging deals.

Here are my three favorite stores, in no particular order.

• EWA. This is an East Coast outfit. They have a huge selection and its website is very easy to navigate. They have a 30% off everything 30th anniversary sale. I just got an IST Uaz 452 and a Minichamps Alfa Romeo 159 today. More on that later. The packaging/shipping has always been top notch.
• Not A Toy. An outfit in Michigan run by a really nice and helpful guy. Though there is no sale going on now, their prices are always low and extremely competitive.
• Scale Cars. This business has a physical store in Napa. The owner is really cool and lets me at his cars whenever I stop by. I really want this place to succeed. If you go to the store, check out the helmet signed by every F1 driver (save DC) at the USGP a few years ago.
  

Buying a few cars a month (or even more) will not only keep the manufacturers in business, but it will keep these American small businesses going. Go for it. You know you need a 1/43 model of that obscure car only you and three other people in your time zone covet.


As for what I got today. First, I got an IST UAZ 452. It was advertised as an IXO. IST may well be a subsidiary of IXO. IST has its own website and it is a virtual Garden of Eden of 1/43 Soviet/Warsaw Pact goodness. It's got UAZ, Volga, EMW, Barkas, Melkus, and even ZAZ! The 452 I got for $17 rivals in detail with $40 Minichamps models. I am very happy.


The other car I got is a Minichamps Alfa 159. Since I can't buy the real thing in America, I might as well settle for a 1/43 version.

CKY

Hongqi At Blackhawk Museum

I've always been fascinated with Hongqis. Bring A Trailer recently featured the first one exported to America. It is now displayed at the Blackhawk Museum.

The Hongqi CA770 was parked next to one of JFK's Continentals. Surprisingly, the Continental looked puny next to the Hongqi. The Chinese limo looked taller and bigger overall. Though it was a 1970s model, it still had wind-up windows. The red hood ornament and fender badges looked like they were made out of Bakelite.

Audi-inspired Hongqi

Lincoln-inspired Hongqi

CKY