Leaderboard

Has anyone ever checked out Reatta Stuff on Etsy. There is some fun stuff on there actually. Check out this parking sign: https://www.etsy.com/listing/631171271/reatta-parking-sign-reatta-signs-buick?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=buick+reatta&ref=sr_gallery-1-12 I think that's pretty funny and might have to get one. There's some other key chains, T shirts, etc. on there too. I wonder if any of the people that sell that stuff are members here.

A Memorial to 9/11 in Kingston, TN where I live,,, and the rest of the story. You all may already be tired of being bombarded with all the stories on TV today about 9/11 but I'm going to tell you about a memorial made of a 9900 pound steel I-beam that came from the World Trade Center and how it came to be in our small town of 5000 people. The memorial is in a small park across the lake from my house on TVA property. I can see it when I sit on my front porch. Every year on 9/11 a lot of people go to that park to look at the memorial and reflect on what happened on September 11, 2001. Today when I went there I was lucky enough to be there at the same time as a gentleman who helped erect that memorial. He told me the story of how Kingston was able to get a piece of the World Trade Center steel shipped all the way here from New York and turned into a 9/11 memorial. He told me Andrew Benson, the man who's picture is on the bronze plaque at the top of the memorial, worked at TVA's Kingston Power plant. Mr. Benson's father was a fireman in New York and had died as a result of the 9/11 attack so Mr. Benson started talking with TVA and other government officials about establishing a 9/11 memorial at the park for our area. Once TVA agreed to allow the memorial to be erected at the park on their property the ball started rolling to get the I-beam shipped here. Shipping costs were covered by TVA employee donations. He said our state representatives got on board with the project and made arrangements to obtain the I-beam from the World Trade Center. East Tennessee had already donated a brand new fire truck to the city of New York so our officials already had contacts there. He said the day the I-beam arrived on the flat bed truck, it and another I-beam just like it destined for another town in TN had been draped with huge American flags. The truck was escorted through TN by about fifty members of a Veterans Motorcycle club. All with American flags attached to their bikes. He said it brought tears to his eyes to see so many people there to honor a symbol of the tragedy our country had been through back on 9/11/2001. TVA employees supplied the labor and materials to build a base the 9900 pound I-beam sits on and to pour the concrete in the shape of a star around it. One man from each union craft took part in building the memorial. TVA supplied the machinery to build it and set it in place. Originally Mr. Benson's photo wasn't on the memorial. Only the plaque in the center of the I-beam was intended to be there. Sadly three weeks after this memorial was dedicated in a huge ceremony attended by fire departments from all over East TN, Mr. Benson was killed when he was working under his car. The jack slipped and he was crushed. The employees at TVA thought it was fitting to add a plaque with Mr. Benson's photo to honor him for all the hard work he had done to get the memorial erected. I will think of this story every time I look across the lake at this memorial. The I-beam and memorial look small in my photos but it is huge. The words on the bottom of the plaque says it all. "NEVER FORGET"

My personal intention is to buy a battery electric vehicle at some point. None of my reasons have to due with environmental consciousness, economy or any other of the myriad reasons for doing so, I simply want one🙄 With that in mind, I have shopped on and off for more than a year. I am blind in one eye and outward visibility is important to me, essentially since built in blind spots are more apparent if you close one eye. For the most part, the styling, aero and safety equipment of most modern vehicles have rendered them unacceptable to me. It feels like sitting in a culvert and peering out. But aside from that, the desire to market and sell electric vehicles is almost non existent if you don't live on the coasts. Availability to even sit in one on a car lot is an exercise in frustration. Even the salesman seem to have no interest even when a prospective customer comes to look at what is available, and this is echoed over multiple car lines and dealerships. The most recent one, two weeks ago, had one on the lot based on my internet search. I went to the dealership about 1/2 hour away and inquired about it. The salesman handed me the key and pointed out toward the lot visible to the highway and said, "it's out there, behind that landscaping truck", I kid you not. I am trying to stay away from mentioning particular brands as that isn't the point, but I must for one example, the Kia Soul EV. This car would be acceptable to me based on sitting in standard gas powered models, but despite the original stated intent from the manufacturer, which was to offer if for sale for the 2021 model year, it was pushed back a year and now apparently will not be offered in the U.S. at all. It can be purchased in Canada right now, but apparently the much larger market south of the border doesn't matter. My whole point of this long post is just to state that despite what Washington may want to happen, and even lip service from the manufacturers, the great expected push to eliminate ICE vehicles just isn't visible in a great portion of this country. Imagine great white father offers a $7500 incentive for a particular vehicle and when you look for it, it is only available in a dozen states along both coasts and Colorado🤨, so by the time it might be marketed to me, the incentive may be used up. Where is the balance in that?

I like the idea of electric cars. They have a lot of advantages over gas powered cars like no fluids to leak out. Very quiet. Instant torque when you hit the accelerator and they are probably economic to drive if you don't factor in the cost of buying it. What I don't like about them is the purchase price, battery range before recharging, and the emissions coming out the exhaust pipes. Here is what the exhaust pipe looks like. People usually don't consider the exhaust pipes when they talk about electric cars being pollution free:

You will probably feel a little play due to the small offset in the chain from the tensioner, even with a brand new chain. This is a brand new Morse brand chain with a new old style tensioner:

@Bertimus, nice pics. I almost bought a black one but someone scooped it up out from under me. That said, I am glad I got my red one :) I just submitted these photos of mine for a RockAuto magnet :) I will let you folks know if they pick it.

Well, I went ahead and did it. Always wanted a Reatta convertible. Though, it had to be white with gray interior. Finally found one with low miles and after having the mechanic look it over I bought it. He told me that He didn't know about the availability of the 'special' Master-brake set up. Guess that's what this forum is for.

I talked to him yesterday. He is doing much better and so is his wife. He has weened himself off the oxygen and was able to walk down to his garage for the first time on Sunday morning. He says sleeping at night due to joint aches and muscle pains and no energy during the day is his biggest problems now.