Hi folks -- my thanks to Ed Garten for this newsworthy clip:

Director Oliver Stone's upcoming Showtime documentary miniseries "Secret History of America" promises to put mass murderers such as Stalin and Hitler "in context." "Stalin, Hitler, Mao, McCarthy -- these people have been vilified pretty thoroughly by history," Stone told reporters at the Television Critics Association's semi-annual press tour in Pasadena.
"Stalin has a complete other story," Stone said. "Not to paint him as a hero, but to tell a more factual representation. He fought the German war machine more than any single person. We can't judge people as only 'bad' or 'good.' Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and its been used cheaply. He's the product of a series of actions. It's cause and effect ... People in America don't know the connection between WWI and WWII ... I've been able to walk in Stalin's shoes and Hitler's shoes to understand their point of view. We're going to educate our minds and liberalize them and broaden them. We want to move beyond opinions ... Go into the funding of the Nazi party. How many American corporations were involved, from GM through IBM. Hitler is just a man who could have easily been assassinated."

NOTE THAT DURING THE PAST DECADE RESEARCHERS HAVE POURED OVER DOCUMENTS AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ON THIS TOPIC, AND SEVERAL BOOKS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ON GM AND HITLER/NAZIS. Timing is evverything here. 1939 -- Opel and the Nazis, maybe. 1941 or 1942, Opel is divorced from GM and highly unlikely. CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE VERY HARD TO CONVINCINGLY PROVE, MR. STONE!!!!

Hi folks -- I had a great treat this morning. I got over to the SD Automotive Museum around 8 a.m., and met a number of the folks who are participating in a 100 mile rally that precludes the LaJolla Concours that will be held at the Cove tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. I met Museum director Paula Brandes, and a number of the car owners. Some of the highlights included the Mercedes 250 SE Convertible owned by Roy Orbison (with a plate "Pretty Woman"), and the Ferrari owned by actor William Holden now owned by Barnbaby Brokaw. The weather was simply terrric, as it is almost every day in this area of the world.

Yesterday my friend Rebecca Morales took me to the LaJolla Historical Society, where they have an exhibit on motoring in LaJolla in the early eyars. Rich people, wonderful cars in the period berfore 1940 were depicted. But there were also a number of photographs of people who fixed cars, owned cas stations, and kept folks on the road.

The Dallara SunTrust Daytona Prototype is coming in mid/late February. Shown here is a photo of the prototype (not finished model) of the SW08 Sideways Dallara.

Hi folks -- my apologies for not including more photos -- I am having some problems uploading pictures right now while in SD.

So I rented from Alamo a Chrylser Sebring Convertible, with a rate so low that I couldn't get an economy car instead. This car demonstrates to all why Chrysler almost went out of business! It has a huge, bulbous rear end, like many older people. It is anemic in terms of pick up -- to the point where when I step on the gas the car sounds like a sewing machine and threatens to blow up. The suspension is such that the car grunts when turning lieft, and let's pray I don't have to use the feeble brakes.

The top takes up virtually all of the trunk when it is down, in part because of the complicated boot mechanism. If you don't have a trunk barrier in place, sensors come into play and prevent the thing from operating.

Yet when the top is down, as it was yesterday as I was coming back from the Automotive Museum and I was driving down I-5, life couldn't be much better.
Life will take a turn today as I go to the Historians Meeting. Nothing like being around a bunch of high-powered nerds, almost all of whom wear glasses and have pinched faces.

Hi folks -- hard times for museums right now, and SD Automotive Museum is no exception. There is a special exhibit on Porsches right now, and the cars are nice, but certainly not exceptional. There are the old standby exhibits in place, including the Cadillac (?1947) that can be driven for months at a time, if desired. The gift shop is nice, but I wish they would carry my book there. Plenty of models for sale. And the library has some ads for sale as well. Too good a library to be so static right now, and SD ahs too rich a history. With all the tourism, there should be more here!

Spinning class where you are the only one sweating.

Spinning class with southern rock.

Spinning class instructors who look like a fat Ronnie at age 45 and clad head to toe in Livestrong.

How the hell do you do push ups on the bike? And I'm sure as hell not going to do push ups on the floor. I'm here to ride a bike asshole. I'll lift weights in the gym.

RCR53A - Alfa T33/3 long tail #36 - Le Mans 24hrs 1970 - DeAdamich / Courage
RCR53B - Alfa T33/3 long tail #38 - Le Mans 24hrs 1970 - Facetti / Zeccoli