Happy 89th Birthday, Volvo!

Celebrate Volvo's 89th birthday with some neat facts

We delve deep into obscure Volvo history.

4. These Swedes take coffee seriously.

​That pride in Sweden extends to some of the country's other products. Swedes drink more coffee per capita than almost anyone else (it keeps them awake during the long, dark winter). The mid-afternoon fika coffee break is otherwise-industrious Sweden's version of the Spanish siesta.

Volvo is so enthusiastic about its hometown's best-known coffee roaster, Da Matteo, that it flies a couple of baristas and a lot of coffee beans to major international auto shows and passes out joe on press days. There's a lot to get your attention at an auto show, but even jaded attendees will agree that Volvo brews the best cup.

Consumers seem to think the same, even though the coffee served at your local dealer probably came from a Keurig cup. Sales are way up this year, buoyed by the brand's hot XC90 (admittedly, its other models aren't fairing quite as well). A host of new products are on the way, and for once Volvo has something to sell other than safety.

Complete list (AutoBlog.com)

A Trip To Thai Town To Grub Must Be Planned Soon

10 Must-Try Dishes in Thai Town (That Aren't Pad Thai)

Naked Shrimp Salad at Hoy-Ka Thai Noodles

• While Hoy-Ka may be best known for its noodles, its naked shrimp salad is a refreshing appetizer that should kickstart your meal. A row of large, fresh raw shrimp covered in a spicy lime and garlic dressing sits on a bed of shredded cabbage and carrots. Since it has a bit of a kick, you might want to order a Thai iced tea to cool you down. 5908 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; (323) 463-2979, hoykahollywood.net.

Khao Soi from Khao Soi by Inthanon Thai

• When a restaurant's name has the words "khao soi" in it, then you know they must mean business about this Northern Thai dish. The bowl comes with egg noodles in a delicious curry-coconut broth that's thinner than your average viscous Thai curry. It's topped with a hard-boiled egg and a little nest of fried egg noodles. You can choose from 12 different protein options, including crispy pork, chicken and tofu. Each bowl also comes with sides of pickled mustard greens, onions and lime; we suggest adding all of that in your bowl for a pleasant punch. 5907 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; (323) 464-1790.

Jade Noodles from Sapp Coffee Shop

• This hole-in-the-wall spot that Anthony Bourdain featured on No Reservations gets a lot of cred for its boat noodles, but we're even bigger fans of its jade noodles. This dish hits sweet and savory notes and looks like Christmas in a bowl. A bed of spinach egg noodles is topped with red char siu pork, crab meat, roast duck, Chinese broccoli and slices of green onions. Make sure to squeeze on the lime juice and give the bowl a good toss before digging in. 5183 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz; (323) 665-1035.   

Complete list (LAWeekly.com)

Nice Stat From ESPN

(Instagram.com)

Kobe's Career, Illustrated

(ESPN.com)

Reading This Just Pisses Me Off

Comment Of The Day: Maybe It's Out Of Gas? Edition

Here’s reader Gonemad to tell you what that is:

The worst one I heard was the most basic one, and a legend retold by every Jaloper out there, and it must be retold every now and then, to every generation of Car Tinkers:

Girl tows a Camaro 5.0L V8 on the shop saying the car won’t even start. It cranked, but never started running after 2 weeks of use, bought used. The mechanic simply doesn’t connect the dots that the girl knew nothing at all about cars, and had just won the car from Dad as 18-year gift.

Having asked the lady to try to run the car while he takes a peek under the hood, he just asks her to leave it there. Next day, he takes it apart. Everything up and running, the usual culprits: battery (he knew it would be OK, but you just double check for rust, right?), spark plugs, alternator, distributor, oil in place and good condition. No weird noises when cranking. Never bothered to check the dash.

Checks the carburetor. Pours some gasoline there to try again. It purrs like a kitten until it stalls again, after the carb ran dry. So, the fuel pump or hoses are shot, but nowhere near the engine he had already checked, and probably clogged since it didn’t have any smell or leakage, who knows. Still didn’t check the dash.

Opens gas tank. It is dry as a James Bond Martini. It dawns on him. Hurries back to the dash and the gas needle is all the way as far from the E as it can go - on the wrong side. The F side was a barren wasteland that wasn’t visited in a month, at least.

If you didn’t figure it out by now, he had a freaking empty tank V8 in his hands. And he took it apart to learn it. Facepalm wasn’t invented to describe it back then.

He fills the car, that chokes a bit before the whole system fills with dinosaur juice, purring like the small block Chevy it is. Girls comes back, he just charges for the gas:

“What’s this? Gasoline?” The girl asks while taking a puzzled look at the bill. The mechanic replies, professional as Priest on Sundays:

“The tank was empty, that’s why it didn’t work. You should check it every other week, or it can damage the car to run very low on gasoline.”

“How do I do that?” At this point the man entered the twilight zone. He held his breath, turned red under the grease, calmed down, and kept professional, calling her to get a close look at the dash:

“See that needle? Never let it reach the E- for empty - , just ask in any gas station to fill your car up, or ask someone you know to go with you”.

The details change, but both had lessons here: The girl didn’t know the car ran on gas, and neither should you assume that anybody already knows that. You never know.

(Jalopnik.com)

The Last Time The Red Wings Missed The NHL Playoffs

What the world was like the last time the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs

[A]pril 1, 1990. No fooling. What the world was like 26 years ago:

• George H.W. Bush was the president of the United States. Mikhail Gorbachev was the president of the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall was two months away from being demolished. The unification of East Germany and West Germany was being negotiated. Nelson Mandela was enjoying his first two months of freedom after spending 27 years in South African prisons.
• The population of the United States was 249 million.
• The internet was five months away from becoming a thing. A smart phone was something that operated from a plug and a long cord in your house and had an answering machine that recorded messages onto a tiny audiotape. A tweet was the exclusive message of a bird.
• General Motors topped the Fortune 500 as the most valuable company. Passengers were sweating through the second month of a ban on smoking on all U.S. domestic flights.
• "Escapade" by Janet Jackson, "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles and "Vogue" by Madonna were burning up the airwaves. That is to say, those songs were being played by radio stations. Gloria Estefan left a New York hospital after suffering a broken back in a bus accident.
• Popular movies of the month were "Pretty Woman," with Richard Gere as a john and Julia Roberts as a prostitute (I know, right?), and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Coming later in the year would be "Goodfellas," "Dances With Wolves," "Home Alone," "Total Recall," "Ghost" and "Rocky V." "Driving Miss Daisy," starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy, had just been awarded the Oscar for best picture. A TV show called "Twin Peaks" aired its two-hour pilot episode -- and unless you had a beta or VHS recorder, you couldn't fast-forward the commercials. With his four-year contract to do the TV series "21 Jump Street" expiring, Johnny Depp said he would prefer to do movies. A little-known actor named Brad Pitt was cast for a bit part in the flick "Thelma and Louise."
• Jack Nicklaus played in his first senior tour event, which he promptly won. Nick Faldo was a week away from successfully defending his Masters title. The Miami Hurricanes and San Francisco 49ers has recently won championships. Derrike Cope had recently won the Daytona 500. Liverpool was on the verge of winning its 18th -- and so far, last -- English Football League title.
• The Boston Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy with 101 points on a record of 46 wins, 25 losses and 9 ties. Last place among the 21 teams in the NHL was held by the Quebec Nordiques, who went 12-61-7. Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings won the Art Ross Trophy with 142 points; Mark Messier was second with 129. Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues led goal scoring with 72; Steve Yzerman was second with 62 goals. Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens led the league with a .912 save percentage; Mike Liut of the Blues was tops in goals-against average, at 2.53.
• Dylan Larkin was six years away from being born. Danny DeKeyser was a month old. Brad Richards was 9. Pavel Datsyuk was 11. Coach Jeff Blashill was 16.

(ESPN.com)

Owning A Slammed Car 101

6 Things You Should Never Do In A Slammed Car

Slamming your car might make it look cool, but there are rules you must follow when driving a car that scrapes if you want to avoid embarrassment and some very costly repairs . . . . .

1. Never drive anywhere that has an incline

Now your car is scrapin’ with the best of them, inclines are your enemy. Driveways, car parks, and even the occasional hill will see you rubbing your skirts and underside on the tarmac. Take it easy, and you’ll keep your bumpers intact, unlike the unfortunate guy above . . . . .

4. Don't drive in bad weather

The problem with rain is that it can fill a pothole and hide it from view. Every seemingly harmless puddle could be hiding a gaping hole in the tarmac just waiting to rip your car apart.

Also with bad weather comes debris from trees and other roadside furniture. If the wind picks up and throws a twig in the road without giving you time to avoid it, irreparable damage could be done to your pride and joy. You have been warned.

Complete list (CarThrottle.com)