Is the new Challenger the coolest new car on the market? We compared it to the old one.

We were at our friend Scott Kowalski's and got a chance to compare our 09 Challenger R/T to his 70 Challenger R/T.

While they look the same, these cars are different. In fact, they don't even really look the same side by side, maybe just a little.

I asked him if he wanted to race, but he wouldn't. I think the new Challenger would have smoked him anyway.

Having only one expensive hobby (drag racing) just wasn't enough, so I got a a boat too. Right now it could be the coolest boat ever.

Since I've built and raced Mopar muscle cars all my life, I'm used to expensive hobbies.

But a while back i got another boat (you'd think I'd learn after the first 3).

There are faster boats, and nicer boats, and bigger boats, and more expensive boats, but right now this one might be the coolest boat, at least to me.

Because this one will take me to the Marina in town where I can eat freshly caught, deliciously prepared seafood for about the same price as my coworkers in Brandon, FL will spend at one of the same old chains.

Last night, right at sunset, there was an awesome moonrise on the opposite horizon.

Last night, on the same night as one of the coolest sunsets ever, I coincidentally saw one of the coolest moonrises ever. Just at sunset, on the eastern horizon, the moon rose up and looked like it was coming right out of the water.

It's nice and relaxing here, which lets me get a lot of work done. Hopefully the sunset and moonrise tonight will be just as good.

I've seen some pretty cool sunsets, but the one last night might be one of the best.

I'm working remotely this week, winterizing the cabin my family has in North Carolina, and saw a great sunset last night. It was a clear night with no humidity, and unseasonably warm. When the sun set it was a fantastic array of colors, purples, blues, oranges, and other colors I don't even know the name of.

What made it even better was the awesome moonrise going on at the same time on the opposite horizon.

Right now, for me, this could be the coolest car ever.

My taste in cars usually depends on what I'm working on, and what state it's in. The latest project that's nearing completion is the 67 Barracuda convertible that we basically brought back from the dead with some help from JDs Paint and Body.

As you can see, it's nearly complete and looks pretty good. I'm partial to it because I have so many hours invested, so to me it's the coolest car ever, at least for now. I'm sure eventually, after we drive it for a while and the novelty wears off, I'll work on another car and it will be the coolest car ever.

There's a reason most of us got into cars, for many, its this bike!

The 1967 Schwinn Fastrack. If there is a muscle car of the bike world, this is it. This bicycle is tricked out right from the factory with metalic orange paint, a silver banana seat with sparkling silver metal flake as well, ape-hangar handle bars, a sissy bar, and a 5-speed shifter mounted right in front of the rider.

That's right, it's a 5-speed, you could only get four gears in muscle cars of the era, and now it costs a lot of money to convert to a 5-speed. With the Schwinn, the 5-speed is standard equipment.

I tried to buy this bike from its owner, Brit White, who works in our office, but he wouldn't sell it. I don't blame him either, as it could be the coolest bike ever. It's just like one he had when he was a kid.

He did let me ride it though, and that got me thinking. This bike could be the ultimate eco-friendly way to get around while still being cool. Maybe I'll look for one on ebay and start riding it to work . . .  

Since I sold my purple Barracuda bracket race car as a rolling chassis, I decided to put the 500 inch wedge in the B-3 project car.

With the engine on the stand, I was deciding whether or not to freshen it with new bearings and such before installing it in the car. The engine showed no signs of being down on power, but it did have a lot of passes on it. Then I grabbed it by the balancer to move it and the crank moved about 40 thousandths. This meant at the very least the engine would need a thrust bearing.

During WW II, airplane manufacturers used midget mechanics to do work in spaces too confined for normal sized people. It's too bad there's nobody small enough to go inside an engine and do work. If there were people that small I'd hire one to change my thrust bearing without pulling the oil pan to save time.

But since there aren't people that small that I know of, I'm tearing the engine down the old fashioned way to freshen it up.

As a member of the media, I get press releases often. About once a week I get a press release like the one below. In German.

Do they really think I remember my 4 wasted years of high school German? Or that I car enough about German racing to translate this and put it in our magazine? I'm not sure.

I mean if it were one of the romance languages like Italian or French, I might be more inclined. German just isn't a pretty language.

Sichern Sie sich jetzt noch die Möglichkeit Ihr Guthabenkonto zu erhöhen. Wir verdoppeln Ihre Einzahlung! Für jede Guthabeneinzahlung von mindestens 25 Euro erhalten Sie von uns zusätzlich einen Gutscheincode über den gleichen Betrag. Sie verdoppeln hierdurch Ihr Guthabenkonto. Laden Sie noch heute mit Paypal auf! Diese Sonderaktion ist nur am 08.10. und 09.10.2008 gültig! Beispiel: Guthabeneinzahlung 25 Euro + Gutscheincode von 25 Euro = 50 Euro Guthaben.

Most things are good in moderation, and bling on your car follows this rule.

Today, lots of enthusiasts aren't interested in making their cars perform better, they're interested in bling.

Like anything (except horsepower), too much bling can be distracting. It can also blind other drivers and cause accidents.

Besides, everyone knows the shiney stuff is usually just fake plastic chrome, so what's the point?

I say spend more money on horsepower, and not so much on bling. But that's my humble opinion.

I always thought it would be cool to have a car with a rumble seat.

Cars with rumble seats are cool. I actually saw this car at a local establishment with the rumble seat flipped up. It's a Plymouth of some kind and its powered by a big-block Mopar.

It would be fun to ride in the rumble seat of one of these cars. Unless it was raining, or unless the car was involved in a roll-over accident. Then it would suck.

We got new stripes on our Challenger, what do you think?

We loved our new 2009 Challenger R/T, but thought it needed something to break up the sides. We sent it up to Dan at Graphic Express, and he designed several stripe kits for the new Challenger. We chose the stripes that are similar to a '71 R/T.

Also, we opted for the blacked-out hood treatment. This really gives the car a muscular look.

Next, we plan to black out the rear spoiler, and get some new wheels and tires.

Well, we took a pair of 2009 Challengers to Lakeland drag strip last night and had a blast.

Since we had the 2009 Challenger SRT-8 press car this week, we decided to take it to the drag strip. Instead of making the trek to Bradenton, we drove across town to the Lakeland eighth mile drag strip here in central Florida, for some test and tune time. Of course I had my wife bring our new Challenger R/T out as well so we could see what it would do. It's barely broken in, but I figured a couple of passes wouldn't hurt the process.

As editor Bolig and I quickly found, traction was going to be the limiting factor of the evening. Both cars spun hard no matter who drove them, and the only way we could get any respectable times was to finesse the cars out of the hole at nearly an idle to avoid tire spin. Even so, the six-speed SRT-8 would spin badly going into second, and a little going into third. Third gear carried the car through the traps in the eighth at about 5,600 rpm and 85 mph. My best elapsed time in the SRT was 9.109 in the eighth, which equates to about 14.10 in the quarter.  

The R/T automatic had traction issues as well, and I really had trouble getting it to hook up. My wife Amy (who regularly drives the B-3 project, low 10s) ran the best time in the R/T by idling off the line about 20 feet, then easing the gas to full throttle to net a 9.61 in the eighth at 80 mph, again going through the traps in third gear. This equates to about 15 seconds flat in the quarter mile.

Neither car, with any of the drivers on hand, was able to run a sub-two second sixty foot time. This was a combination of a marginal track and stock tires on both cars. Both cars have the potential for better elapsed times as indicated by their mph, but traction is the key. On a better track we could have left harder, and I would suspect the R/T could run 9.30s (14.50s) and the SRT-8 capable of 8.80 (13.80s). Maybe even better.

Even with the traction issues, it was fun to race both cars. And at 4,100 lbs each, the elapsed times weren't bad. Also remember, these cars are bone stock, and the new Challenger is designed as an all-around performance vehicle. Features that make it stop, handle, and ride nicely don't necessarily equate to optimal drag strip performance, but make it a great driving car.

Are either car comparable to a '70 Challenger? Not really, these cars are much more refined, less tiring to drive and far more comfortable, and offer better performance no matter if you compare handling, braking, or acceleration.

Just wait until we start modifying them . . .    

Previously, I'd been told that I'd be able to score a used, out-of-service '06 Dodge Charger cop car in June.  Then that got pushed back to October.

Now, thanks to the illustrious leadership that those in "Government" have imposed on us over the past couple of decades, economic times are such now that the cop shops that were going to be de-commissioning their '06 Chargers this month are now holding on to them, at least until January. (Maybe sooner).

Where is William Proxmire when you need him?

Proxmire, as those of you that studied 20th Century American History may know, was a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin who presented a monthly "Golden Fleece" Award to  horrific examples of wasteful government spending. A banker by trade, he knew a thing or two about money. (BTW--He was elected to succeed Joseph McCarthy when that Red-hunter died in 1957)

I had the chance to chat with him during my first local radio news job after college, regarding the so-called "bailout" of Chrysler that went through the year before. He voted against it, and at that time he still opposed it, as it was his belief that giving any sort of Federal assistance to any private corporation was just plain wrong. That was despite the "bailout" of Ma Mopar being a package of Federally-backed loans that enabled it to tool up the then-new, front-drive K-Cars--and eventually the minivans that sprang from that platform and sold so well that ChryCo was able to pay off the Federally-backed loans many years ahead of schedule.

I'd wonder how many "Golden Fleeces" Senator Proxmire would have presented to "Fannie Mae" and "Freddie Mac," and the overeducated twits who ran those agencies, over the years?

And now, thanks to a crowd of "experts" (who would be hard-pressed to qualify for the term "Village Idiot"), things are messed up so bad that......(fill in your own tale of trouble here)....and (fill in another one you've heard from your inlaws)....and not only that, an automotive journalist and life-long Mopar devotee (me) has to wait at least another 90 days before he can buy a two-year old Charger with over 100,000 miles on it. This while the stocks of same age/mileage Crown Vics continues to grow.

WHENEVER I get it, you folks'll be the first to know.

Editor Bolig let me drive the SRT-8 press car last night, and I can tell you first hand this thing is a blast.

Every so often Chrysler blesses us with a press vehicle to test, and this week they brought us an SRT 8, Six-speed, 2009 Challenger. I promised editor Bolig that I'd be careful with it, so he let me drive it for the evening.

Now I've heard the complaints, that the new Challenger is too big, too heavy, etc. All I can say is, the complaints are unfounded. The new Challenger is big, and somewhat heavy, but that takes nothing away from the performance of this vehicle. This car accelerates, handles, and stops as well as much more expensive vehicles, and is comfortable and fun to drive.

The engine is powerful, and the six-speed has very close ratio gears that keep the engine in its peak rpm range throughout acceleration. Powershifting is easy and provides solid, tire-chirping (or tire spinning) shifts.

If you'd like to compare it to a '70 Challenger, go ahead. The new Challenger beats it hands down in every category (except maybe the coolness factor of driving an old car). The weight of the new Challenger actually makes it feel solid, and it rides very well. And though power-to-weight ratio might not be as ideal as a '70 Hemi car, close gear ratios and better traction ensure the new Challenger would easily beat the old one on the drag strip.

And if you're driving daily, the new car is much smoother, quieter, and has many more convenience options than the old Challenger.

All I can say, is that I'm glad Mopar finally made a two-door, V-8, rear wheel drive performance car. If you doubt my opinion, drive one.   

What the heck is going on in the automotive world? Is this look really cool, or does this guy need a 4 x 4 Oldsmobile to get down his driveway?

I'm not sure who decided it was cool to jack up 4-door family cars and put giant tires on them, but I think it looks terrible. Are these guys really car guys, Or are they just doing this to make a statement? I guess the statement is "Hey, look, I have so much money I can put ridiculously large wheels and tires on my car!"

I guess its good exercise too, climbing in and out of a car that's six feet off the ground. If I had a car like this I sure wouldn't worry about ground clearance, I'd drive over everything.

It's fun driving around central Florida, there are theme parks for everything. Today I was driving my Barracuda convertible to work and drove right by Dinosaur World.

In Florida we have theme parks for everything. You can see them all from I-4 as you drive through the state. There's Disney, Epcot, Seaworld, Universal Studios, Downtown Disney, Disney Celebration, Animal Kindom, The Water Ski hall of fame, Fantasy of Flight, and Dinosaur World just to name a few.

My favorite is Dinosaur World. I like it because the lines aren't very long, it's close to my house, we can take our dog there if we want, and my kids love the playground and hunting for fossils in a huge sand pit they have there. Plus, it's educational. They have life-size fiberglass replicas of dinosaurs I've never even heard of and its fun to try to say their names. There's a huge T-rex right by I-4 and its fun to imagine him eating the car in front of you sometimes if traffic is bad.  

I don't know if I'd want to live too close to Dinosaur World though, I might not be able to sleep because I'd get scared that the Dinosaurs would come to life, destroy my house, and eat my family.     

You hear a lot about the financial crisis these days, but why should we bail anybody out?

The headlines today are all about a "corporate bailout" plan that the senate is voting on. In round numbers, we're talking about $700,000,000,000.00 (That's a lot of zeros, isn't it?) to bail out failed businesses deemed too important to fail (interesting concept). 

Around work here, many people think the government should simply divide that money among the taxpayers, so they can pay their debts off and give the economy much needed stimulation.

I think we should do niether. Why should we bail anybody out? The term "bail-out" is commonly used when refering to criminals who post a bond to be free until their court date. Many of these "bailed-out" criminals either commit more crimes while they're out, or don't show up to court be held accountable. Why should we think these corporations will do any differently? 

If we're going to spend 700 BILLION dollars on something, I suggest a time machine. Then we can go back and teach our citizens and politicians about LIVING WITHIN THEIR MEANS. It's not a new concept, my parents and grandparents did it, and so did their parents and grandparents. It simply means that if you want something, you save your money and THEN buy it. Also, just because a bank or financial institution WILL loan you money, doesn't mean you have to accept the loan.

Living within our means sometimes requires sacrifice, like a smaller house, less flashy car, or not eating out as often. Waiting to buy luxury items like tvs and cell phones until you have the money saved keeps debt off of credit cards, and costs less in the long run.  

Taking a loan out on a house for 100 percent or more of the houses value and running up astronomical credit card debt is just ridiculous, and individuals who make dumb moves deserve to pay the price. Maybe a class in personal finance management should be required in our primary schools.

The same goes for big businesses, loaning money to people who have terrible credit, or no credit history at all, is a ridiculous move, and they deserve to pay the price as well, even if it means going out of business.

Should there be more government oversight of these businesses? Perhaps, but our government is the leader in spending money it doesn't have, so who are they to oversee anybody elses financial practices? If the government is going to help the financial crisis, it may need to begin by overseeing its own practices.

Meanwhile, I may use some of the money I've saved to purchase another old Mopar to restore, it's a buyers market, you know . . .

Did you ever wonder why there's a blinged out new Mustang spinning around at the top of our website?

I wondered too, so I asked, "why is there a blinged out new Mustang spinning around at the top of our website?"

I was told it was because a company paid to put their advertisement there, and since they paid they could put whatever they want in their ad. I guess my blogs are hidden on the website pretty well because I don't pay to put them on the website. I'm tempted to take out an ad, though, just so there would be a Mopar at the top of our website instead of a Mustang, but I probably can't afford it on my salary . . .  

How will our new Challenger look with stripes?       

We just dropped our new Challenger off at Graphics Express to have decals installed. How do you think the new Challenger will look with decals? We're leaning toward R/T stripes, like the '70 Challenger R/T, with the same hood blackout treatment.

We also plan to black out the rear spoiler to match the stripes and hood.

How do you think it will look?

P.S. Thanks for taking the photos, Kevin. It kept me from waiting three weeks for Patrick to get around to taking blurry, dark photos of my car.  

A radio station in central Florida has been talking about Pit Bulls lately, so as a concerned Pit Bull owner I wrote them this letter.

Dear Cowhead and Galvin,

I am addressing this letter to you since you are the two most outspoken of your staff regarding American Pit Bull Terriers (Pit Bulls). I am the guy you talked about yesterday who was shaking his head and rolling his eyes as yet another caller attempted to defend the breed. I am a college educated professional, husband and father, and have owned several great American Pit Bull Terriers throughout my life.

I’d first like to say that you are correct about Pit Bulls being a very dangerous breed of dog, and I am not writing to change your opinion, but to provide some facts about the breed that Google won’t necessarily tell you.

History

Pit Bulls are one of the oldest known breeds of canine. They were bred purely for one purpose, to fight other dogs for people’s entertainment. This was not an illegal practice at the time, and dog fights attracted huge crowds who often gambled on the fights.

Contrary to popular belief, Pit Bull fights were rarely to the death, but rather until one dog “turned” away from his opponent, indicating the dog no longer wanted to fight. Pit Bulls enjoy athletic activities, including fighting other dogs, so well-bred animals weren’t made to fight, they wanted to. Because fighting dogs had to be handled by people, and were often family pets much like hunting dogs can play both rolls today, Pit Bulls that were the least bit aggressive toward humans were not allowed to reproduce. Therefore well-bred Pit Bulls are not aggressive toward humans, but rather overly docile.

Now that dog fighting is illegal, Pit Bulls have become great family pets, hunting dogs, and protective animals, but ownership comes with much responsibility. Like intelligent humans, these dogs need physical and mental activity to remain healthy, must be socialized, and do not do well emotionally when tightly confined and not shown affection.      

About the Breed

As a function of their purpose (fighting other dogs), Pit Bulls have evolved to become pound for pound the strongest dog, and have the strongest bite of any canine. Their strength is comparable to big cats and some sharks. Their teeth are meant to clamp and hold, and can do considerable damage. They are also very loyal to their owners, and intelligent, both attributes which help them fight other dogs (as well as making them easy to train and fun to own). Unfortunately, the combination of intelligence, loyalty, and strength, is also a recipe for one bad-ass attack dog if the owner so desires. It is for this reason that responsible owners like me never encourage Pit Bull aggression, but rather provide constructive play for our dogs.  

As another function, or rather side-effect, of their purpose, true Pit Bulls have evolved into some of the most courageous, confident, intelligent, athletic, energetic, loyal, and happy breeds that a family can own. A well-bred Pit Bull loves to please its family, will perform remarkable athletic feats, and will learn complicated tricks easily. They are amazingly affectionate, loving animals and are excellent judges of character and strength. My current pet will play with my six year old, myself, or my 64 year old mother, all with differing but appropriate amounts of force. Pit Bulls are great climbers, athletic swimmers, love to retrieve, and are great emotional companions, For these reasons owners of GOOD Pit Bulls will aggressively defend the breed.

Facts

Most Pit Bull bites happen when a person is attempting to break up a Pit Bull fighting another dog. This problem could be alleviated if owners of Pit Bulls would understand the breed, and keep their dogs restrained ANY time they could encounter another animal.

“Pit Bulls” that bite humans are rarely pure-blooded American Pit Bull Terriers. They are often Pit Bull mixes or inbred animals that simply have some characteristics common to the American Pit Bull Terrier, so the media lumps them into the category. Often these dogs are restrained animals that have been physically and psychologically abused, and have escaped restraint.

There are many other breeds that bite far more often than Pit Bulls, however due to their strength Pit Bull bites inflict severe damage, and therefore are more publicized.

Summation

It amazes and appalls me that Pit Bull owners continue to destructively train or abuse their animals, resulting in dangerous dogs that are aggressive toward humans. I have owned American Pit Bull Terriers since college, and all of my dogs have lived full, happy lives and have been great, fun family pets. None have ever bitten or shown any aggression toward humans. My dogs have made, and do make, a favorable impression on everyone who meets them, and my current dog Shelby even convinced my mother-in-law (who swore she’d never come in our house with the “Pit Bull”) that the breed is not to blame. Although my dogs have always been extremely well-dispositioned and friendly, my home or family has never been victimized by crime. I’m sure a criminal could walk right by my dog and rob me blind while she licked his hand, but the aggressive look of the breed is simply so intimidating that nobody will risk the chance.

Rather than banning the breed, and keeping responsible owners like me from having really cool pets, why not advocate a licensing system for people who want to own dangerous pets, much like the licensing needed to legally obtain a concealed weapon? This would help keep irresponsible people from owning dangerous breeds, without affecting the rights of responsible Pit Bull owners.

I’m sure this letter is too long to read on the air, but feel free to do so at least in part if you’d like. More importantly, please also forward it to your staff so they can form an educated opinion about these animals. I love the show and have attempted to call in on this subject, but without success. Ever think about an intelligent opinion hotline?

Thanks for your time,   

Dave Young

It's funny what people consider art these days. To the owner of Bates RV in central Florida, burying a bunch of aluminum campers is art.

I was driving my Dodge truck to work today and went by the "Airstream Ranch" at Bates RV off of Interstate 4. It occured to me that this guy has a little too much time on his hands if all he has to do is bury some RVs in a field. He also must have a little too much money since Airstreams aren't the cheapest campers on the planet.

Plus, it's not even his own idea. Some guy outside Amarillo, Texas did it with Cadillacs a long time ago. People paint on the Cadillacs, I wonder if anyone will paint on the Airstreams?  

If I had some Airstreams around that I didn't want, I'd recycle them into beer cans. Then I could buy beer later and drink it out of cans that used to be the Airstream campers that I owned. That would be cool.

The 2008 Amsoil/Mopar Muscle engine challenge took place last week at Comp Cam's Memphis R&D facility, and the 440s in this year's challenge really made some impressive power.

I just returned from a week at Comp Cams, where we held our annual engine challenge. This year, the engine builders were limited to a .060 over 440, and all had to use the same Indy SR cylinder heads as well as the same Rockett Brand 93 octane pump-gas.

Prior to the challenge, and based on my knowledge of the 440, I predicted it would take over 700 horsepower to win this year's competition, and it did. The Chenoweth entry made just at 700 horsepower, and the JD Engine and Machine entry screamed to more than 735 horsepower with a single four-barrel.

Indy Cylinder head made the most power this year at just under 760 horsepower, and 600 lb/ft of torque, from their tunnel-ram inducted big-block. Be sure to check out the engine challenge videos on our home page, and stay tuned for several months of in-depth articles as we go inside these engines and share the tricks with our readers.

I'd like to especially thank Comp Cams for letting us use their Research facility, staff, and dyno to conduct our engine challenge. I'd also like to thank Amsoil for their engine challenge sponsorship, as well as Cometic gaskets, Holley, Clevite, and Rockett Brand fuels.

Another thank you goes out to our participants, without whom we couldn't have an engine challenge. If your in the market for a new engine, we encourage you to contact the shop nearest you to discuss your next project.

Thanks again to all for a smooth engine challenge, and look for upcoming tech about these engines in the magazine and on the website.

The winds of change are blowing in the racing world...and they're none too kind for Mopar lovers who follow NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series

For one thing, Sears has already let NASCAR know that they won't be renewing Craftsman Tools' title-sponsorship deal, which the series has come to be known by. Mention "Craftsman Trucks," and what comes to mind?  As of this writing, there hasn't been any word on who'll replace Craftsman Tools as the series title sponsor.

A couple of weeks ago, Ma Mopar said it was pulling out of the Truck Series after this season. They've only been sponsoring one team this year--Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia, which ran two trucks up until the end of August, then parked one of 'em--but the flow of factory money and tech support to Truck racers ends as the end of the '08 season.

If you do see Dodges running in that series next year, they'll be run by "independents" who are scraping up every last dollar and available part to run as many races as they can.

It's sort of what happened after the factory money for Dodges and Plymouths in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series dried up back in the '70s. Back then,  the big-bucks STP sponsor deal--and a rule change that let the '74 Charger run for another year--kept Richard Petty in the title chase, once the ChryCo support (money and parts)  went away.

We're pretty lucky to live in this country.

In my previous job, I used to fly airplanes all over the world. I flew to modern eastern and western countries, and to third world, and uncivilized countries as well. While the diversity of the human civilization is interesting, and I loved experiencing the places I traveled to and people I met, overall my trips would always make me realize how lucky I am to be an American citizen.

As Americans we have more opportunity and freedom than citizens of any other country. Any American has the opportunity to start a business and make it succesful through hard work. There are plenty of jobs in America for people who want to work, and for those who can't or chose not to, we take care of you too.

One of the best parts of being an American is the ability to choose our own destiny. We can work in any field we're qualified for, and if we're not qualified we are able to easily obtain training and education so that we can contribute to our society in a way we enjoy. As Americans we can also enjoy nearly any hobby imaginable, like collecting or restoring cars, or drag racing, my favorites.

On this day, especially, let's remember the veterans who have fought to earn us these advantages and those who continue to fight for our freedoms today. Remember that our troops don't choose their wars, but they fight them patriotically, not as Democrats or Republicans, but representing all of us as Americans.

Thank you!    

How long has the war been over?

I was driving my Dodge Challenger home from work yesterday, and noticed the hugest, most gigantic rebel flag I've ever seen flying at the intersection of I-4 and I-75 here in central Florida.

Now I'm a born southerner, and proud of my North Carolina heritage, but is there any reason these days to fly a 50 by 200 foot rebel flag? A coworker told me it's a civil war memorial, and I'm all for memorializing the civil war and its veterans, but doesn't a giant rebel flag cause civil rights controversy?

I'd like to think that some 140 years after the civil war, we are all Americans, not Rebels or Yankees.

Anyway, the flag is pretty cool to look at because its so big. Maybe one day they'll fly an American flag just as big over the memorial.

And maybe one day our hispanic immigrant friends who have the flags of their native countries hanging from their rearview mirrors will start hanging American flags from their vehicles . . . but I doubt it.