So true Mr Steve, this little devil is testing my patience every day 
. Good for me
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Our best buddy is no longer with us. He was a gentle soul and dearly missed.
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Hi All,
Not exactly a Unicorn-hunt finding studded winter tires in the Wife vehicleâs 65 series sizing . . . but close . . .
Four of Santaâs reindeer; reigned-in captured maybe, with all of the Countries and States now made these illegal. We are banking on Grandfathering-useage with the regulations bound to be coming here soon. This will be our last hurrah for studded winter tires, I expect.
These Nokian Hakkapelittaâs 10âs.
Previously weâve had 7âs now discontinued. And before that model 3âs.
The 7âs were Made-in-Russia. They were fine. These are back to Made-in-Finland like the 3âs had been.
Maybe the war?
The new wheels Made-in-China. The special use narrow splined body lug nuts for these are Made-in-Taiwan.
The last set of Michelins and my newest Yokohomas were both made-in-the USA.
My '03 Camry was made in Kentucky. The wife Highlander was made in Indiana. Both still Toyotaâs.
Imho there has never been a real underlaying problem with American labor. The problem has been American management.
Steven Unruh
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The Very Greedy CEOâs have been the death to our American companies and corporations. They run them into failure mode and walk away with all the monies in their pockets.
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There is a bit more to it. Overall we just stifled innovation.
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Thereâs something to that. A long time ago I worked in the wind tunnel. We did contract work for a lot of companies, including GM when they had a little project and didnât want to tie up their facilities. On one test, they had a mid-sized van that we all thought would be a big winner. The engineer from GM said he thought so, too. His prediction? We would never see it until some other auto maker took the risk on a small van, and succeeded. Sure enough, a year or two after the Chrysler and Toyota mini-vans took off, the Astro showed up. A better vehicle in some ways, I think, but GM wouldnât take the chance.
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It is part of what they teach in business as well. Any massive failure isnât just one thing it is almost always a series of failures.
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Love the old Astro vans. Bigger doors and better headroom. Theyâd make an awesome woodgas travel camper I think.
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In my experience the problem is short term profits are more important that R&D in modern American companies. I worked as a design engineer. I was told i could try any new concept i could get on the manufacturing floor in 6 to 12 months. Which means you canât take risks with the new design. I was told by one person i worked for that his best work environment was for a manger who told him in R&D if you have a greater than 50% sucess rate with projects you didnât set a hard enough goal. That company made real progress but it was an 80s early 90s mindset. Now managers want profits in 6 months and they donât plan on being at the company for more than 5 years.
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I believe youâre right. My only reservation is the plastic spider injection system. I was going to try ours on charcoal gas when it was replaced as primary vehicle. Hitting the deer removed the option 
Lots of people like them. Thereâs still a demand. We paid $2900 for it in the fall of 2016. Our insurance used a valuation from Carfax when they totaled it a year ago, just over $5k.
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KentP., I too would have been leery of wood/char gassing a GM Spyder fuel injection. But JanA. is doing his 4.3L V6 in his pickup truck.
He seems to be making it work.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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Now I got worried, what would be the problem?
Itâs a very stupid construction, but do you think the wood gas affects it?
Itâs not possible to burn the intake, but I have almost no soot there, so it doesnât matter, I donât want to get it into the engine.
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Joep, nothing wrong, but I donât think Iâve ever seen meatballs with fries. Plain boiled potatoes is the king here. Also, pickled cucumber instead of peas.
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Potato smashed is the standard . I prefer fries. Dont know about Ikea at the other side of the pond. Is it widespread like here?
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Ikea making inroads near large USA cities, Chicago, Indianapolis, etc. I have never been to one but my relatives make regular pilgrimages. 
Probably more Pizza, Hot Dog or Burger 'N Fries than meatballs. Is that a bar-b-que sauce, or strawberry jam? Zoomed in: Cranberry sauce?? 
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Apparently my kid doesnât even appreciate my artwork. 
Originally she was going to have people vote, and she edited that part out, and disabled comments.
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