Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[VIDEO: Seattle earthquake viaduct simulation released; timing politically motivated?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/30/video-seattle-earthquake-viaduct-simulation-released-timing-po/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/30/video-seattle-earthquake-viaduct-simulation-released-timing-po/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/30/video-seattle-earthquake-viaduct-simulation-released-timing-po/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Alaskan Way Viaduct earthquake simulation -- Click above to watch video

The Alaskan Way Viaduct (AWV) is an elevated roadway running along the Elliot Bay Waterway in Seattle. An earthquake in 2001 damaged the viaduct, and the structural degradation has only gotten worse over the years. To forestall the possibility of having the conduit collapse in another natural disaster, the city and Port of Seattle, King County, and the state government agreed earlier this year to dig a deep-bore tunnel to go under the waterway and eventually shut down the viaduct.

According to the Seattle Times, the tunnel is a contentious issue, with residents fervently pro and against. Two years ago, though, the state commissioned a video to show what would happen to the AWV if another serious earthquake hit. The six-minute CGI video that resulted could be a clip right out of the disaster movie 2012, and because of its sensationalism, it was never shown. Seattle resident Elizabeth Campbell doesn't want the tunnel and recently requested to have the video released. After saying that Campbell wouldn't get it for eight months, the city put the video on a local news show - and Campbell still hasn't received her copy.

Naturally, there's some political intrigue to accompany everything. The problem is that there's a mayoral race happening right now, with the current mayor siding for the tunnel and his opponent is against it. It has therefore been suggested that the video has been released in order to help that current mayor's campaign - you would not want to be anywhere near the AWV and phrases like "liquefied soil" if the video is anywhere close to reality. Whether it will affect votes remains to be seen. Either way, you can check out the video footage for yourself after the jump.

[Source: Seattle Times]

Continue reading VIDEO: Seattle earthquake viaduct simulation released; timing politically motivated?

VIDEO: Seattle earthquake viaduct simulation released; timing politically motivated? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alaskan way viaductAlaskanWayViaductDOTearthquakeelizabeth campbellElizabethCampbellelliot bay waterwayElliotBayWaterwaygovernmentnatural disasterNaturalDisasterroadseattleseattle timesSeattleTimesviaductvideowashingtonwashington state department of transportationwashington state DOTWashingtonStateDepartmentOfTransportationWashingtonStateDotFri, 30 Oct 2009 11:29:00 EST<![CDATA[Neff (allegedly) uses Buick, rope to drag bull; police and motorists irate]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/09/neff-allegedly-uses-buick-rope-to-drag-bull-police-and-motor/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/09/neff-allegedly-uses-buick-rope-to-drag-bull-police-and-motor/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/09/neff-allegedly-uses-buick-rope-to-drag-bull-police-and-motor/#commentsFiled under: ,



We occasionally decry some of the daffy laws that are still on the books, and then things like this happen and we're reminded that we need some of them. Two men in King County, Washington allegedly tied a live bull to a Buick's door frame and were spotted dragging it down the road to another pasture. The bull, apparently dead set against heading to said pasture, was on its belly, legs splayed out, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

The two men, Terrance Neff (no relation) and Jonas Arnbrister, told police the bull "is stubborn" and dragging it around is what they always do. Why? Because "You have to be like that with cows." After having pulled it a half a mile they also said that the bull wasn't hurt.

The men are currently in the King County jail awaiting court appearances on charges of animal cruelty. The bull was given pain medication and given to animal authorities for better keeping. Whenever Neff and Arnbrister get out, the next time they need to relocate some bull, we figure they ought to get themselves a lightly-used Pontiac Grand Am and try doing it like the gent in the above photo.

[Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Image: Bugack.com]

Neff (allegedly) uses Buick, rope to drag bull; police and motorists irate originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>etclegalseattlewashingtonThu, 09 Jul 2009 08:32:00 EST<![CDATA[Seattle's plow crews not trying to clear snow from roads by design]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/27/seattles-plow-crews-not-trying-to-clear-snow-from-roads-by-desi/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/27/seattles-plow-crews-not-trying-to-clear-snow-from-roads-by-desi/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/27/seattles-plow-crews-not-trying-to-clear-snow-from-roads-by-desi/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Not long ago, Washington state's Department of Ecology was making noises about not letting people wash their cars at home because "what goes on the street goes into the creek." Now the state is on the opposing side of Seattle's efforts not to let harmful chemicals wash into the freshwater streams feeding into Puget Sound.

Seattle is not using salt to clear the roads because it doesn't want the salt flowing into waterways. As well, the city's snow plows have rubber-edge blades that can clear snow, but can't get the ice off the road. Seattle's DOT cheif says the city is trying to "create a hard-packed surface" of snow. It will then lay sand down over the hardpack in order to offer enough traction to cars, and employ a soy-based de-icer only good for temps below 32 degrees.

The hitch: only 4-wheel-drive and front-wheel-drive cars with chains have any traction. That means that even the police can't drive on many roads. If the police make a call to a location on a hill, they park at the bottom and walk up the hill. As well, the police are having to respond to literally hundreds of collisions and disabled vehicles.

The state DOT has taken a much different tack: it is using sand, salt, metal-edged plows, and chemical de-icer in its battle with the elements. Seattle is now experimenting with a "silver bullet" concoction that is saltwater from a cheese factory, calcium chloride, and de-sugared molasses.

[Source: Seattle Times]

Seattle's plow crews not trying to clear snow from roads by design originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>environmentgovernmentgreensaltseattleseattle timesSeattleTimessnowwashingtonweatherwinterSat, 27 Dec 2008 17:01:00 EST<![CDATA[Driver puts faith in GPS, shears off top of charter bus on bridge]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/18/driver-puts-faith-in-gps-sheers-off-top-of-charter-bus-on-bridg/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/18/driver-puts-faith-in-gps-sheers-off-top-of-charter-bus-on-bridg/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/18/driver-puts-faith-in-gps-sheers-off-top-of-charter-bus-on-bridg/#commentsFiled under: , ,



As of today, we're taking bets to see how long it will take before people realize that "GPS" does not stand for "Auto Pilot." The latest "But the GPS told me to..." story is brought to you by a charter bus driver in Seattle. Piloting a coach through the Washington Arboretum -- as the GPS instructed him -- the driver ignored, or didn't see, or didn't believe (take your pick) the flashing lights and sign warning him that his 11-foot-high bus was too tall for the looming 9-foot concrete overpass.

You can see how the story ends. The overpass ended up with some superficial damage, the coach got a removable top, and the girls softball team inside received some minor injuries. Luckily, the 60-inch sewage pipe inside the overpass wasn't ruptured. The driver was ticketed for $154. And in response to the charter company executive who remarked, "We just thought it would be a safe route because, why else would they have a selection for a bus?", a Garmin spokesman responded "Stoplights aren't in our databases, either, but you're still expected to stop for stoplights."

[Source: Seattle Pi]

Driver puts faith in GPS, shears off top of charter bus on bridge originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gpsgps accidentGpsAccidentnavinavigationnavigation systemNavigationSystemseattleFri, 18 Apr 2008 19:29:00 EST<![CDATA[Picture this: Warhol car crash painting brings $71 million]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/18/picture-this-warhol-car-crash-painting-brings-71-million/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/18/picture-this-warhol-car-crash-painting-brings-71-million/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/18/picture-this-warhol-car-crash-painting-brings-71-million/#commentsFiled under:

Warhol said "Art is what you can get away with," and the late, great artist's paintings are still getting away with a fortune. Among the most recent works auctioned by Christie's is his painting Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I), from Warhol's Death and Disaster series, which went for $71.7 million dollars on Wednesday, May 16. The painting is based on a photograph that appeared in Newsweek magazine from June 3rd, 1963. The photograph depicted the end of a car chase, when a 24-year-old commercial fisherman in Seattle flipped his car, hit a telephone pole, and was ejected from the car forcefully enough to be impaled on, but not immediately killed by, a climbing spike. The mangled car burns in an otherwise mundane residential setting -- there's even a guy crossing the street like it's nothing special. Seventy-one million for a green-tinted painting of a random photograph, however... that doesn't happen every day.

Thanks to Stuntman Mike!

[Source: BBC]

Picture this: Warhol car crash painting brings $71 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2007 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>andycarchristie'scrashdisasterfishermangreenseattlewarholFri, 18 May 2007 11:58:00 EST<![CDATA[Return of the blue-tape car: Toyota Tercel dies in pursuit of art]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/30/return-of-the-blue-tape-car-toyota-tercel-dies-in-pursuit-of-ar/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/30/return-of-the-blue-tape-car-toyota-tercel-dies-in-pursuit-of-ar/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/30/return-of-the-blue-tape-car-toyota-tercel-dies-in-pursuit-of-ar/#commentsFiled under: ,



Pursuing art is about the only thing a Tercel could successfully chase. Inspired by a fun Audi trick we covered back in November, a '96 Tercel was covered in 3M Painter's tape prior to departing Chico, CA with Seattle as their destination. Much alcohol was consumed by all at the signing party, where Sharpies were employed to offer some personality to the blank blue canvas. Long story short, it didn't make it all the way - the little Tercel succumbed to low oil pressure in the Olympia area. At first, it was acting like worn main bearings, and frequent stops would return oil pressure, but the little mill could hold out no longer and ultimately threw a rod. There is a happy ending, though. After hanging out in Seattle for spring break, the ride home turned out to be a Mazda 6 with V6 underhood. That totally kicks the ass of driving a Tercel any distance.

Thanks for the tip, Sky!

[Source: tehnerdery]

Return of the blue-tape car: Toyota Tercel dies in pursuit of art originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>artnerderyseattletapetehnerderytercelthe nerderyTheNerderyFri, 30 Mar 2007 11:21:00 EST<![CDATA[Miami declared tops in rude driving]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/17/miami-declared-tops-in-rude-driving/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/17/miami-declared-tops-in-rude-driving/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/17/miami-declared-tops-in-rude-driving/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Perhaps its the fact that there are thousands of doddering septuagenarians plying area roads, but Miami, Florida has just been dubbed America's least courteous drivers. Or to put a finer point on it, they've got some road rage and rude driving issues. A new AutoVantage survey of 2,000 adult commuters in 20 major cities has concluded that Miami has the worst road etiquette. The Norwalk, Connecticut company's phone survey also found a lot of negative feelings in:

  • Phoenix, Arizona
  • New York, New York
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Boston, Massachusetts

And there must be something to the whole 'Minnesota Nice' thing, as Minneapolis topped the list of friendliest commuter cities. Other top finishers included:

  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • St. Louis, Missouri
  • Seattle, Washington
  • Atlanta, Georgia

AutoVantage questioned participants on everything from obvious displays of motoring anger (middle fingers, cutting off other cars, tailgating, etc.), turn signal use, talking on the phone, and 'driving too fast.'

[Source: The Associated Press via CNN.com]

(Top Tip, Evan!)

Miami declared tops in rude driving originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 May 2006 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AtlantaAuto VantageAutoVantageBartBostonDriving etiquetteDrivingEtiquetteHomerLos AngelesLosAngelesMiamiMinneapolisNashvilleNew YorkNewYorkPhoenixRoad RageRoadRagerude driversrude drivingRudeDriversRudeDrivingSeattleSimpsonsSt. LouisSt.LouisWed, 17 May 2006 08:01:00 EST