Bring your umbrellas, hats, and icy cold drinks (you can buy them there too,) cause we're goin' to the local car souk!
Friday, the Boss Man and I went to two car souks in the Cairo area.
(Left) - the crowd. (Below) - Hats and water for sale, and a drink stand (background - Friday Prayers.)
(Left) - a common scene. This is at the "Taxi Market". In order to drive a taxi in Cairo, you need a license and current law states you buy the license, when you buy the taxi. (In other words, the license comes with the car.)
(Left) - A small lot of cars for sale. Yes, three bugs and a VW Van in this small area.
In order to sell your car, you need to pay an entry fee of 10 Egyptian Pounds, about $1.70. If the spaces are full, you get into a line. When a car is sold, a slot opens, and you wait your turn to get a real parking space.
They pack 'em in like sardines in a tin.
It's a pretty big souk, as you can see. With two tall guys, and Vagabondblogger, we were able to ferret out a few interesting cars, which I will post on later. One, a VW Bus, has got us all stumped - can't find it nowhere, but I'll keep looking for information, or post it with the hopes that someone who reads this will know WTF it is!
Last Thursday night, everyone here (in Egypt) was supposed to turn their clocks back one hour. Yes, I know, for those of us from The U.S. this is a bit early. I understand this is for Ramadan only, so that the sun sets an hour earlier, and the daily fasts end sooner, as well. Of course, daylight comes earlier also, meaning fasting starts an hour sooner in the morning - hey, I don't make the rules here! I just try to live with them. Then (from what I hear) we will have to face another time change at the end of Ramadan.
Apparently, Egyptians try to live "normal" lives during Ramadan, as opposed to the folks from the U.A.E. who: shut down shops early, open shops late, and operate them until 2 AM in the morning, switch days with nights, forbid even the chewing of fingernails (understand that if you can't chew your fingernails, you can't do much of anything else, either - at least in public. Or you will face a hefty fine.) Needless to say, the Egyptians truly try to persue the virtues of Ramadan, while the folks in the U.A.E. try to find a way to get around it all. Even though westerners / non-Muslims can eat, drink, smoke, etc. in public, here during Ramadan, it's considered - you know - rude! Kudos to the Egyptians - again!
Back to the freaking time change here. Well, on Friday, when they have all of these various "markets," such as "Friday Market," Nasr City "Car Market," and all that, we were waiting around for our friend, Ali, to come pick us up. We started stewing, and blaming each other for the the fuck up (actually I made the appointment, so I got the blame - let's pretend things are equal here, though), when about twenty past eleven we figured out we were running one hour earlier than everyone else! (No, the Boss Man does not get credit for that either.) So, the video today is "Waiting On A Friend" (one of Boss Man's faves) in recognition of our waiting for our friend last Friday. Needless to say, Ali thought it was hysterical. He also wants to buy the Borgward - yeah, he's into cars too - he drives by the Borgward every morning to admire it. Who else would take us to a car market? He's from Aswan, and is an encyclopedia of information about cars. He was a totally excellent host for the day.
BTW, the "Funkengroovin Preview" will be posted tomorrow. (I know - that means it's not a "Preview." - Let's not get technical, okay?)
I see a lot of other cars around Cairo that are in pretty good condition, considering how old they are. In addition, I see cars here, that I probably would not see back in the States, unless it's at a car show. Again, the Cairenes take wonderful care of their cars, which they continue to drive long after we Americans would. So today's focus is on something entirely different, and a car I had never heard of, until I saw one.
I found this amazing little car sitting on a street in Maadi Digla. Sometimes it would be parked in the exact same spot, and at other times (like when I had my camera) it would be gone. After finally getting some photos, I looked it up on the Internet to find out what it is. VW lovers will be happy to hear, it's a German car, called a Borgward.
The Boss Man and I looked up "Isabella," and "car" to find it on the web.
We're not sure if the hood ornament is original. I haven't been able to find any other Borgwards with it, but that doesn't mean it isn't.
I love this car. I love the two tone, red and white (actually, the Boss Man's thinkin' of doing a red and white interior to our burned out '65 beetle convertible, back in the States. He's convinced me!). It's got a creamy white interior, and even though the hubcaps look rusty and it has a few dents, overall it's a hot little number. If there was ever a car that I would like to bring back to the States with me it would be this one. Make sure to click on the photos to enlarge them, so you can see the interior better. I think you VW lovers will like this car as much as I do, and forgive me for focusing on a car other than bugs and buses.
There will be more posts (occasionally) forthcoming focusing on some other car finds here in Cairo. Vagabondblogger loves beetles and buses, but given the fact that the car scene in the States is so boring these days, she enjoys having the opportunity to see a variety of old cars, and share it with her readers.
On another note, our '87 Vanagon goes to Jon up in Maine this week to have a 5-speed installed. Number One Son has promised to try to get some photos for us.
Live Nation, the world's largest live music company, announced featured interactive experiences in cooperation with premiere sponsors for Download 2007 today. The acclaimed music festival, scheduled this year in Boston, Washington State, Chicago and San Francisco, attracted sponsors specifically interested in developing unique ways to incorporate their brand into the festival programming and truly deliver on Download's mission to be the "ultimate interactive festival."
Volkswagen returns for the second consecutive year of a three-year sponsorship as the exclusive automotive sponsor for Download and the V-dub Road to Download club-events (concerts in club venues interspersed between the Download Festival dates). VW will host the V-dub Garage, an authentic garage-style environment where festival attendees can jam with supplied instruments and have their music digitally recorded and spotlighted on vw.com. Volkswagen will also be hosting an artist interaction stage where select Download bands extend to the fans a rare look into their lives on the road during free form Q & A sessions.
"The Volkswagen/Download music partnership is a logical extension to our history of supporting emerging musical artists," said Keith Price, Public Relations Manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "The Download Festival is innovative in combining music with technology, and directly speaks to the people who buy Volkswagens."
Check out the van: Flower Power: Music Of The Love Generation - Review
Next time you visit the Big Island, why not skip the fancy resort and hop in a VW camper van?
Sharon and Gary Berg, owners of Hilo-based G.B. Adventures, rent out a fleet of pop-top camper vans that are ideal for touring the island's stunning beaches, parks and volcanoes. With names like Whitey and Tolula Blue, the mint-condition Vanagons sleep four and are equipped with sinks, stoves, and mini-fridges -- even beach towels and island maps.
"All you need is your swimsuit and flip-flops," says Sharon, who's lived on the island for more than 20 years.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, and nothing says Haight-Ashbury quite like a psychedelia-bedecked VW bus.
As it happens, interest in the iconic hippie-wagon has been expanding among collectors over the last decade, right along with baby boomers' midsections, says Phil Skinner, collector car market editor for Kelley Blue Book in Irvine.
Skinner likens the growing affection for VW buses to the popularity among collectors and nostalgia buffs for "woodies," the wood-sided station wagons that were favored by California surfers in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
"You bring in a hippie version and it's a novelty," Skinner says. "You bring in a restored version and its a collectible."
The difference in value goes way beyond spare change. A "novelty" bus might be worth $12,000 at auction, whereas an original version can fetch $45,000 or $50,000, he says.
In other words, if you're going to San Francisco, wear some flowers in your hair -- but don't paint any on your VW bus.
McGuire spent about six-thousand dollars converting a rusty used car to run on 72 volts of electricity. He was motivated by the war in Iraq. “We really do need to get away from our dependence on foreign oil," he says.
The electric Beetle’s top speed is more than 50 miles an hour, and it travels up to 30 miles between charges. “I’m spending probably three to six cents per mile,” he adds.
Six instructors have spent their hot summer days in the Lake Land auto shop. Their goal is to turn an old beetle into a "pimped out" one. They're updating the body of the car, and welding rusted holes. But that's not all. "We've taken and removed the gasoline engine because we wanna make old technology new again with an electric motor," says Tim VanDyke, Division Chair of Technology.
Check out the video available on the article link above.
Bugatti’s parent is in the record book for producing the world’s fastest production car. But there’s always another contender around the corner. Just ask Hank Aaron. IN terms of sheer speed, power and history-making levels of engineering excess, the Bugatti Veyron is a success. Bugatti’s parent, Volkswagen, set out to build the fastest production car in the world, and it did. There is a photo of the thing right there in the 2007 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, under the heading, Fastest Production Car. It is said to achieve a top speed of 253 miles an hour, and that’s faster than any production car ever.
But here’s the problem with setting out to conquer a superlative: there’s always someone lurking around the corner, drawing a target on your back. Ask the Petronas Twin Towers (at 1,483 feet, the world’s tallest buildings for six years, until the Taipei 101 tower went to 1,671 feet in 2004). Or Hank Aaron.
Once the bar is moved, you’re a historical footnote. That might be why, despite a total run of only 300 cars, half of the Bugatti Veyrons scheduled for production are still unsold.
Oh, sure, the price might be a factor, too. The Veyron is rather expensive — about $1.4 million, although sometimes the price is quoted at $1.3 million or $1.5 million, depending on the exchange rate. (At this level, the price should be quoted in terms of a larger monetary unit anyway, like Ferrari F430s or Christie Brinkley divorce settlements.)
Expat currently living in Egypt. I'm not really a vagabond, but I would like to be. I do own an '87 VW Vanagon Camper (Weekender) and a 1965 VW Beetle Convertible.
I'm more of a rider on the corporate vagabond trail.
Views expressed here are mine and mine alone. If anyone feels insulted by this, or any other posts, don't worry I am a equal opportunity lampooner.
