Jalopnik: boston

Jaguar Mark IX, Jensen GT Down On The Boston Street

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST

Let's make today an Anglophilic Down On The Street Bonus Edition Sunday, with a couple of British machines that Dr. Danger photographed for us.

I think the Jensen GT was one of the best things to come out of the Malaise Era, but I have yet to see one on the street. Great find, Dr. Danger!

Found a couple interesting cars hanging around Boston. First saw that Jaguar MK IX sitting behind my building downtown. I have seen this car before, but not sitting. Its a sweet ride with that Royal Yachting Association emblem on the grill. The (guessing '68) Impala was hanging out in the Stop & Shop parking lot. There was a hard-had and coveralls sitting in the back, looked like iron worker stickers. Probably stopped off for a case of Winter Lager and some rib-eye steaks. Then finally saw the Jensen-Healey GT just before I got back to the house, its breadvanalicious!
Sorry about the camera-phone quality. I always seem to find cars when my real camera is at home.

The 20 Most Traffic-Congested Cities In America

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

From New York to San Bernardino, drivers in America's cities live in their cars. Below we use Google Earth to take an in-depth look at the intersections of the nation's 20 most traffic-congested cities.

The good news is 2008 saw a major decrease in traffic, with drivers in the 100 largest metropolitan areas dealing with a 29% decrease in congestion on average. The bad news is we're seeing it because of an increase in gas prices, which led to less driving and more carpooling, and a decrease in jobs, which led to more people sitting on the couch hoping their unemployment doesn't run out so they can afford to keep their benefits. It's a vicious circle. Much like the pain we're seeing in these community-by-community breakdowns of the most congested intersections in these 20 most congested metro areas.

Click the images below to view traffic information on each city up close

1. Los Angeles	2. New York	3. Chicago	4. Dallas Fort Worth
5. Washington, D.C.	6. Houston	7. San Francisco	8. Boston
9. Seattle	10. Minneapolis-St. Paul	11. Philadelphia	12. Atlanta
13. Phoenix	14. Miami	15. San Diego	16. Denver
17. Baltimore	18. San Jose	19. Detroit	20. Riverside-San Bernardino

Though traffic does correlate to population rank, with the top four metropolitan areas also in the four worst cities for traffic, there are some anomalies. The Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria area is only the eighth most populous region in the country but is the fifth worst when it comes to traffic due to its high capacity of employment in the area and the lack of good housing stock for middle class families within "The Beltway" area.

Detroit is 11th largest in terms of population but only has the 19th worst traffic situation, primarily because of a 47% decrease in traffic year-over-year due to the economy and dramatic job loss. The collapse of the housing market hit Riverside-San Bernardino, a.k.a. the Inland Empire, hardest of all. The area saw a drop of 57% in traffic congestion, which is almost the same as the 55% drop in median home prices. While there's probably not a 1:1 ratio between the change in home values and congestion, they're likely connected.

Areas less affected by the housing market still experienced decreases in traffic, but at a lower level. For instance, home prices in Dallas remained stable and traffic congestion only decreased by 13% year-over-year, causing Dallas to move up to the fourth most congested city.

Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago are, as expected, still the worst cities for traffic in America. Los Angeles is so bad that peak hour congestion in Los Angeles is twice what it is in Chicago. The combination of a large population and low density makes L.A. even worse than the more populous New York. Compared to the Big Apple, Los Angeles also has fewer mass transit options.

Click on any of the cities above to see their current rank, population, congestion change and worst time of day for traffic. You can also view a gallery of the 100 worst intersections that fall within each city. A look at the hotspots reveal a few similar trends: intersecting highways, two-lane sections with onramps and merging lanes.

If you're reading this post it means you've actually made it home or made it to work. Congrats. There's probably someone still stuck in traffic.

[via Forbes, Google Earth]

Massachusetts Tries, Fails To Fully Oxidize All Its Old Vehicles

Murilee Martin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:40:00 EDT

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Today we're going to look at a foursome of old machines that Dr. Danger has photographed for us in his native Massachusetts. We've got a Continental, a Nova, a Spitfire, and a Ford pickup. Make the jump to read Dr. Danger's descriptions and check out the entire gallery.

Continental: Found this convertible MKIII Continental appeared yesterday around the corner from my house (Boston, MA). You can see a tarp in the back seat, so I am guessing the top isn't working at the moment. You can also see some wires bleeding from the driver door. You can't really see much from the pictures, but the car is beat-up from head to toe. It has a Key West "Mile 0" marker sticker, so I am wondering if or when it made that 27+/- hour trip. Im not sure who the "Quinn 74" sticker is for. Trying to find a specific Quinn in Boston is like trying to find a needle in a needle-stack. It has Mass plates, so I am surprised the body panels are not eaten-up. There is also a forth-gen Continental that lives on my street, I was going to send pictures with my better camera with that one.

Nova: I was riding around on my lunch time and found this early 70's Nova. It was sitting in the middle of a loading dock around an industrial/warehouse area in South Boston. I think it is a straight-six from the look of the oil pan.

Spitfire: Funny, after all that British Leyland talk, I rode past this Triumph yesterday after work. Seems to be in good condition, even the top looked good. I didn't spot any rust on it, besides on the muffler. I thought it was funny to see the Mass plate that says "Spirit of America" just over the Triumph badge. Spotted in an industrial area in South Boston.

Big Dig Finally Dug?

Ray Wert — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:15:00 EST

Maybe it's just because we're from Detroit, Michigan, a land with two seasons — winter and construction — but we thought Boston's notorious "Big Dig" was already over. Seriously, we were just there in May and despite a few areas with some construction, we really thought the nation's most complex and costly highway project, was already done diggered. Apparently not. The AP is telling us when the clock runs out on 2007, Boston will officially mark the end of the $14.8 billion multi-decade "Big Dig" project. But don't worry, despite the cessation of federal and state funding, the lawsuits will still go on...

...over last year's death of a motorist crushed by falling concrete panels. Civil and criminal cases stemming from the July 2006 tunnel ceiling collapse continue, though on Monday the family of Milena Del Valle announced a $6 million settlement with Powers Fasteners, the company that manufactured the epoxy blamed by investigators for the accident. Lawsuits are pending against other Big Dig contractors, and Powers Fasteners still faces a manslaughter indictment. But, at least December 31st marks the end of the joint venture that teamed contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority — and gave us the worst traffic of the century. [AP via Digg]

Massachusetts to Ban Modified Exhaust

Mike Bumbeck — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:30:00 EDT

Massachusetts is set to introduce a bill back into legislative review that would ban the sale or installation of any exhaust that falls under the following definition. The quote is best enjoyed if read aloud in a Boston accent.

An exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust

SEMA has successfully fought the legislation up to this point, citing no clear standard by which an officer of the law could determine if an exhaust had been modified - or was just wicked rusty. [Modified Exhaust System Ban via SEMA.org]

Does Boston Have an Embarcadero on its Hands?

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:30:00 EDT

Should Beantown go the way of the City by the Bay? That's the question Close Personal Friend of tha Jalop ThnderBlt Doherty poses regarding Boston's Storrow Drive Tunnel and its abolition. In SF, the Embarcadero Freeway was universally reviled and generally best remembered via the intro sequence of The Streets of San Francisco. Since the envisioned freeway network in Sucka Free was never finished, the Embarcadero Freeway largely came to be seen as an eyesore, and its replacement with a wide boulevard featuring rail service is largely regarded of a triumph of urbanism over sprawl. Captain T'nderBoat argues that Storrow and the Embarcadero are not peas in a pod. Any other SF/Boston residents around? Bumbeck? Anybody? [The Highly Official Weblog of Phillip A.V. McCarthy]

Bullrun 2007: Mother's Day Morning Running With The Bulls

Ray Wert — Sun, 13 May 2007 19:58:25 EDT

We made it out of Boston this Mother's Day morning at what seemed like the crack o' dawn. In reality, it was like 9:00 AM. It just felt much earlier due to the pounding headache from the debauchery of the night prior but whatevs, as you can see — by the time the Team #70 Escalade made it to the lineup, we were already 7 or 8 cars in the hole. And don't even get us started on Team Twins. The Frankls must have been up late celebrating Annabelle's come-from-behind best-of-three pool victory of the night before, and didn't make it to the starting line until well after our car had already been released. But never fear, as you can see from the second gallery, they caught up quickly to our lumbering beast of burden and even helped us ~~cock~~ block out the Brabus-tuned Mercedes to give us our first — and only — lead of the day as we rallied our way to Long Island via the New London Ferry. – Ray Wert

Related:
All of our 2007 Bullrun coverage [internal]

Girls Go Wild Over Bullrun; La Femme Frankl Kicks Wert's Ass In Pool

Ray Wert — Sun, 13 May 2007 12:35:04 EDT

On top of the fast cars, Bullrun's also known for the fast women — but other than a few like the lovely Annabelle Frankl, they're normally not drivers. Usually, they're just a bunch of ladies with a penchant for wildness — drawn to the fast action and even faster dropping of bills at the bar. Once in a while however those girls are of the professional variety — like those hosting the Bullrun Beantown party last night, where we partied it up with some real Girls Gone Wild. Other than their choice of dress, they were rather tame, so we participated in a touch of the wildness ourselves, ending up playing one of the more liquored-up games of pool we've yet experienced. It's the only reason we're able to come up with for why Ms. Frankl was able to school us yesterday in both driving and billiards. Yeah, well — at least we told ourselves that to help us sleep last night. Judge for yourself while we run with the rest of the bulls this morning. – Ray Wert

Related:
All of our wild Bullrun 2007 coverage [internal]

Stop Snitchin': Zipcar Taggers Rat Out Taggers

Ray Wert — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:01:00 EST

Five graffiti artists, including three from Europe, were busted in Boston this weekend for "conspiracy to tag" subway cars and various other public items in the run up to a massive underground naked graffiti party. This wouldn't be particularly newsworthy except for the fact that this international group of taggers were running around in a Zipcar. Though covered in paint, they claimed they were just looking for a place to eat in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for them, the GPS device ~~in the Zipcar was on~~ the hapless and clueless lawbreakers brought with them and police were able to trace the group to several incidents of graffiti. Fortunately for them, the cops didn't freak out and shut down the city at the sight of unsolicited public art this time. Let this be a lesson: if you're going to rent a car for a crime spree... ~~Enterprise will pick you up and won't follow your every move.~~ Zipcar makes a great choice because of its affordability...and really...has nothing to do with this obviously gadget-heavy story. – Matt Hardigree

Artsy suspects busted on eve of graffiti confab [Boston Herald via Winding Road]

Related:
Ikea and Zipcar Get All Bostonian [internal]

More Tunnel Woes in Boston

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 16:00:00 EDT

We remember watching a documentary on Boston's Big Dig on the Discovery Channel a few years back, and we have to say, we were pretty amazed by the scope of the project. We're even more amazed by the apparent shoddy construction of at least three tunnels. The underground carriageway that collapsed on Tuesday apparently has 60 other signs of potential failure, and an undisclosed number of problems were found with two adjacent structures. Bostonians, thank your lucky stars you don't suffer from random and sudden plate-tectonic-induced adventures.

FIVE THINGS: About cars and tunnels [Detroit Free Press]

They Chahd My Cah in Hahvahd Yahd: Ivy League Parking Garage Goes Up in Smoke

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:26:37 EDT

Dear Thnderblt: We are sorry about this headline. Nevertheless, we couldn't resist. We found it, although juvenile, to be a momentary wicked pissah of a hed. Anyway, there was a fire in a garage at the Soldier's Field parking garage at Harvard Bidness Skool that left about fifteen cars in various states of smoked sausage-age. Authorities are still working to determine the cause, and once the building is deemed structurally sound, owners will be allowed to retrieve their vehicles. Bummah.

Fire chars cars at Harvard Business garage [Boston.com]

Wicked Breaking News! When Tunnels Attack: Boston's Big Dig Kills Woman

Ray Wert — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 11:18:38 EDT

It used to be $14 billion got you a tunnel system under a city that didn't kill people. Boston's Big Dig was once one of those tunnels. Alas, no more — last night a section of tunnel inside the Interstate 90 connector beneath an industrial area of the south side collapsed onto a car, killing a woman passenger. Apparently, a steel tieback holding a 40-foot section in place gave way. Mass. Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew Amorello was quick to get out ahead of the PR explosion by telling Bostonites precisely what they needed to hear:

"I don't believe safety is compromised elsewhere in the tunnel system..."

Despite Amorello's assurance, we ain't Bostonites — and somehow we don't think you'll be catching us driving through his tunnels any time soon — unless it's with a hard hat and umm...a tank.

Sgt. Smirnoff Goes For A Ride: Vodka-Swilling Boston Homeless Man Steals Police Car

Ray Wert — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:00:00 EDT

We've got the police blotter timeline:

4:00 PM — Boston police cruiser stolen from police garage in South Boston.
4:30 PM — Jeffrey P. Jarosz, 51, finishes first bottle of vodka while piloting police cruiser through crowded Boston streets.

4:40 PM — Jarosz finishes second bottle of vodka and pulls over a car with sirens and lights flashing.

4:50 PM — Boston Police receive numerous 911 calls from drivers claiming a heavily intoxicated man is "yelling at people to pull over" while swigging vodka from a Smirnoff's bottle at the corners of Franklin and Bradbury streets in Allston.

5:00 PM — Metro Boston police arrest Jarosz for impersonating a police officer, attempted urination on a police officer, operating while intoxicated, and receiving a stolen motor vehicle.

No word yet on why Patrick Kennedy decided to use an alias.

Cops: Boozing 'patrolman' not one of us [Boston Herald]

The Ice of Boston: Beantown Tows Record Number of Cars During Storm

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 11:05:24 EST

While we're sitting here on the Left Coast basking in warm, sunny days (a dramatic difference from the storms of a year ago which is a bigger problem than one might think because Angelenos have no clue how to drive in the rain), the kids back East got hit with some stormage, and the City of Boston, determined to keep the roads clear, towed a while mess of cars. Some folks are calling foul. After the jump, a somewhat telling paragraph from the Boston Globe.

"City officials said they issued 4,812 tickets and towed 942 cars during the snow emergency that was in effect between 9 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. yesterday. By contrast, during the blizzard of 2005, a snow emergency that lasted nearly six days, the city wrote 5,766 tickets and towed 840 vehicles, according to officials. That comes to roughly six an hour during a storm that dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the city, compared to nearly 28 an hour during last weekend's more modest snowfall."

So was it good community service or emergency profiteering? Maybe Thnderblt wants to weigh in? He's been known to rock at the Government Center and drive past the Stop 'n' Shop with the radio on. We mean, like, the girls turn the color of the avocado when he drives down the street in his El Dorado. ThnderbltDoherty was never called an asshole. Not like Boston authorities.

During storm, city towed a record 942 vehicles [Boston Globe]

Related:
One More Reason to Hate Tow Yards [Internal]

Ikea and Zipcar Get All Bostonian

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 15:07:09 EST

While Philly may stand immortal as the East Coast's City of Brotherly Love, Beantown's vying hard for the City of Corporate Synergy title. Swedish furnishings despot Ikea and share-the-weath auto-leaser Zipcar have teamed up to give urban Boston dwellers a shot at the Rotera, the Ektorp and other oddly-named items for the home that sadly reside 20 miles outside of town. At six bucks an hour, the Ikean Zipcars are $2.50 off the regular rate. The only downside as TransportTrends points out is that at some point, what all Ikea-bingers really need is a truck.

Ikea really really wants you to visit them in Boston [TransportTrends]

Related:
Collegiate Car-Sharing Action [Internal]