Funkengroovin - Another Thursday

Updated: Someone on flickr advises VB that the first car in the "unknown" department below is a Austin A40 Devon. Check it out. VB thinks gnome.service is totally right.

Here's another Thursday neighborhood walking tour (sort of). These cars were found in Maadi Degla, except for the Bus. The purpose, on this day, was to visit two old cars parked on Road 216. VB had seen these cars while driving by, but traffic is usually so dense, it's difficult to just pull over and park. Walking is a much better choice.

(Below): Again, near The Residence Hotel, a delivery Bus. This time it appears to be construction materials, instead of food.







(Below): A close-up of the front VW logo.



(Below): A VW Beetle on Road 216 near the roundabout at the mosque. VB has photographed this one previously, while riding past.





(Below): The main purpose of this walk - two odd cars. A friend told VB that the first car shown below, was a Morris Minor. Viewers of VB's flickr pages beg to differ, and after going through the Internet searches and all that, VB has to agree. But, what the hell is it? VB even walked back to snoop around looking for some type of logo. Nothing! So any help would be greatly appreciated. If you know what either of the two cars below are, please let VB know.







(Below): Another odd, unknown car, which is no longer around. Not sure what happened to it, as it had been parked in this spot forever. When VB went back to get a better look, it was gone.



(Below): As you can see, there's no rear window, and all of mother nature has blown into it.





(Below): A No Parking Sign.



(Below): There used to be a restaurant in Degla called "The Nook." It was reported to serve pub food, and even though we had considered eating there, we never did. Now it's called, "Little Swiss." VB thought she could pop in, on her way home, to look-see and get a take-away menu. The menu was posted outside the restaurant. Much of what they sell as appetizers (the air dried meats) can be found at the local grocers.


(Below): The menu.


(Below): Hours of operation, and menu.


(Below): The Little Swiss Restaurant entrance.

NEWS:

(Video available at the link.)
Saudi Racers Roar All Night, Fueled by Boredom

"Drag racing may be the most popular sport of Saudi youth, an obsessive, semilegal competition that dominates weekend nights."

"But most racers are more like young men almost anywhere: restless, thrill-seeking and madly in love with cars.

“It’s implanted in you when you’re a kid, and it stays with you,” said Sulayman al-Shulukhi, 29, who races every weekend night here and has adopted a 1950s greaser look: slicked-back hair, polo shirt with the collar up, jeans and white shoes.

He proudly showed off the modifications he had made to his Subaru Impreza: a carbon fiber spoiler, an intake valve, a special ventilation system, a turbocharger. He then jumped in the car for a ride along one of the racing strips near King Road, not far from Jidda’s Red Sea coast.

“We get up to 120 kilometers per hour on this part” (about 75 miles per hour), he said, as he accelerated down a perilously short trip of highway, “and 200 on this next one.”"

We've seen these zipping around the highways in Connecticut.
Share My Ride

"You may need a car, but do you need to own one — or even lease one? Zipcar and a fleet of new competitors are betting that your budget and your green conscience are ready to cooperate."

Edmunds.com vs. Consumer Reports

"Consumer Reports recently named the 2009 Toyota Prius as "the best new-car value" among the 300 vehicles evaluated by the magazine's staff.

Edmunds.com, the online car shopping and data site, begs to differ."

(YouTube Video with short commentary from Jalopnik)
The Shadow Car Camper: Malaise Era Genius

"This fifth wheel camper mounts to the roof of a compact car. We think it's called "The Shadow." Even if we aren't right, this video of a VW Beetle turning pirouettes underneath it is brilliant."

"With the RV and camping industry falling off a cliff steeper than hybrid prices, we're wondering if it isn't time for this gem to make a comeback. Anyone care to imagine a Fiat 500 cruising the highways and byways with one of these in tow?"

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ... THE VOLKSWAGON MICROBUS : "Done in by the minivan, its time has come and gone"

"Behind the shop is where owner Jeremy Parkington's true treasure sits. There, just outside of the door sits a relic, a 1961 Microbus that has been a labor of love for Parkington and his wife, Amanda."

This article brings back memories of our '65 Beetle convertible that caught on fire several years ago.
HAVING A BAD DAY?

"A 1965 Volkswagen Beetle caught fire in front of the Cape May County Zoo on Friday afternoon.
The car's owner smelled smoke, pulled over and got out of the car as the engine compartment became engulfed in flames, Middle Township police Sgt. Rich McHale said."

Custom rods not just for show

"The retired Chrysler worker said he's worked on 20 Volkswagens over the years, mainly for family and friends. "I've built hundreds of dune buggies and that's how I got into Volkswagens," Fenton said."

Boy bolts with Beetle but runs out of gas, gets Tased, arrested near New Castle

Volkswagen was signature experience for many in area

Belgrade Opens a Communist Supermarket Redux

"With repurposed refrigerators, a VW bus, whole hospital examination rooms, and even bathroom doors ripped from a derelict freight elevator, the ReMiks Supermarket reinterprets the ascetic aesthetics of the "Golden Years of Communism" in order to show off spectacularly designed consumer products for modern living."

Video of a very cool looking new Vanagon, colorful, and similar to the Verdier version.
VW Camper of the future

LOST (From March 5th)

WE LOVE TV: It's all about LaFleur -- Jim LaFleur -- on 'Lost"
"We learned a lot last night. We now know why Jin was wearing a Dharma jumpsuit and driving the VW bus when he found Kate, Jack and Hurley." We here in Cairo, watching LOST on Showtime are just several weeks behind, according to Awesome Daughter.


Dead or Alive - You spin me round (Like a Record)