APPALACHIAN REGION
ANTIQUE AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA
Bristol, Tennessee–Virginia
The Spark Plug
Volume XXIX, No. 11 November,
2008
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Monthly Meeting at Fishtales
Tuesday, November 18 ________________________________________________________________________________
MEETING TUESDAY NIGHT
Our regular monthly meeting will be this Tuesday November 18, 2008, at the Fishtales
Pigtales Café on the Volunteer Parkway. We will eat at 6:30, and begin the meeting at 7:15.
Remember, we now meet the 3rd Tuesday of each month Please
make it a point to attend and enjoy the fellowship and support our club.
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Message
from the President
My Friends, Fall began Sept. 22. Sadly, the cruise nights and car
shows have come to an end, but there’s still time to enjoy a tour ride on a Sunday now and then in good weather.
Our year of fun ended the last weekend in October, with Halloween festivities that took place at TriSummit Bank on
the 31st of October.
Appalachian Region AACA and the
Early Ford V-8 Club had a Halloween party at the cruise-in night in the TriSummit Bank parking lot on State Street in Bristol,
VA…an event we hope to continue year after year. The weather was great, and the turn-out was better
than expected – lots of children trick-or-treating, and even car owners came in costume! Troutdale
Bistro gave out trophies for best costume and best theme car as well! The car show season has been a blast and the Friday
Night Cruise-ins have been a great success. We have been well received by downtown Bristol merchants and
they have supported us all summer long. It’s nice to see a few non-member cars have popped up as
well, who are interested in becoming part of the cruise-ins. Appalachian Region AACA, as always, is welcoming
new members.
I personally want to thank everyone, from our club members to sponsors,
for all their help, kind words and e-mails. I’m glad the “Cruise-in Fridays” mean so
much to everyone in the Bristol area. I really enjoy helping make it possible for all of you.
On behalf of myself and all the sponsors and individuals that helped this year, by raising needed funds through are
car shows and cruise-ins, and especially those relentless 50/50 sales people (you know who you are) – thank you, thank
you, THANK YOU. …Hey, why not get on a committee next season and be a part of this great feeling?!!
Oh, and before you put that beauty of yours away for the winter, send a photo and a few
words about it to Buzz Helms, or to me so your ride can appear on the pages of the Spark Plug. Visit
www.appalachianregionaaca.org and click on the email box to send stories and photos. (Next big event: The
Christmas Party!)
See you all on November 18 at Fish Tales for
our meeting to plan an exciting 2009 season!
John W. Rice
Scenes from 2008 Trunk or Treat Cruise Night
Oil Facts:
How big is a barrel of oil? Answer: 42 gallons…so, when crude
oil hit $140 a barrel, it amounted to $3.33 a gallon.
What nation supplies
the most crude oil and petroleum products to the United States? Answer: The United States. According to
the Energy Information Agency (www.eia.doe.gov), our country supplied 41% of the oil we consumed in March of this year.
What nation, other than the U.S., supplies the most crude oil and petroleum products to our country? Answer:
Canada. Our northern neighbor accounts for 12% of our nation’s oil, and 20% of all the oil we import.
The rest of the top five include Saudi Arabia (7 & 13%), Venezuela (6 & 11%), Nigeria (6 & 10%), and Mexico
(5 & 8%)
How much oil do we import from Persian Gulf countries?
Answer: Persian Gulf countries accounted for only 16% of our foreign oil imports each year from 2005 to 2007.
In fact, our Persian Gulf imports declined most this decade, from a 15-year high of a little more than 1 billion barrels
in 2001, to 791.9 million barrels in 2007.
What products are made from crude oil?
Answer: gasoline, diesel and jet fuels, heating oil, liquefied petroleum gas, lubricants, asphalt, plastics, synthetic
fibers, detergents, fertilizers, ink, crayons, bubble gum, deodorant, tires, and heart valves.
How many gallons of gasoline does a barrel of crude oil (42 gallons) yield? Answer: 19.6 gallons (the other 22.4 gallons
goes for the products identified in the previous question.
What products do you buy on a regular basis,
that are sold with the tax included? Answer: Gasoline. For
everything else, you pay the sales tax at checkout.
One final thought, at $4.00 a gallon, the price
of crude oil accounts for about 77% of the cost of gas. The rest goes for refining, federal and state taxes,
and distribution and marketing.
Special note of condolence
Our thoughts and prayers
are with the Bowman’s, who lost Roscoe’s mother, the Harlow’s, who lost Tony’s brother, and to the
family of Kyle Reedy. We are saddened by these October losses..
FEATURE CAR OF THE MONTH
This sedan is the 39th of 51 samples
the Tucker Corporation built in 1948. Preston Tucker intended to mass-produce a "car of the future" with advanced
safety, styling, and engineering features. The automobile has its engine in the rear, an area where the
front passenger can crouch during a collision, and a center headlight that turned
with the steering wheel.
The sedan's most
striking feature is its avant-garde styling, developed by Alex Tremulis and J. Gordon Lippincott and Company. Its features--
including pop-up tail lights and irregularly shaped windows--give it a futuristic appearance even today. The Tucker never
went into actual production because a federal investigation into the company's management practices led to its collapse.
