Director’s Thoughts, July, 2017

Ah, summer has arrived & the picnic season is upon us. One of the most delightful ways to celebrate our freedom is to picnic. Every year one of my friends stage a picnic for many old high school friends. We talk about all kinds of things – religion, politics, business, and family & old high school days – because we are free to do so. It’s easy to take such freedom for granted, but there are many places on earth where one cannot freely discuss religion & politics – at least not without worry that he might have his had lopped off if his religious or political point of view is out of sync w/ those running his country.

We Americans have always been free to say & do as we please. We are free to buy & sell property or start our own business or shut it down. We are free to create, innovate & invent as far as our imaginations will take us. Our freedom has unleashed an incredible economic engine which, despite our relatively slow growth of recent years, is still the envy of the world. We have been blessed to enjoy such freedom, as we ought not forget its origin.

Our country’s founders risked everything they had to be free when they declared independence from King George III in 1776. Our Declaration of Independence continues one of the most powerful statements on freedom the world had ever known. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator w/ certain unalienable rights that among these are life, Liberty & the pursuit of happiness.”

Freedom is always @ risk of being lost & ours have been protected & defended by millions of men & women who have served our country. “It is the Soldier,” a poem by Charles Province, sums up their achievements well:

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag.
Who serves beneath the flag.
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

This past Memorial Day, we honored the more than 1 million men & women who made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country – we honored those who gave their lives to protect the freedoms we too often take for granted. That’s something we must remember this summer as we enjoy glorious picnics w/ friends & family & talk about anything we please!

May all of you enjoy the “4th of July.”

Your elected Director, Sally Getz

“Free Spirit” Chapter Meeting Minutes, June, 2017

No meeting was held. Annual Chapter picnic held in lieu of this months’ meeting.

Chapter Badge(s)

Be sure to wear your BADGE! When you became a “Free Spirit” Chapter member, you received a badge w/ your name on it. Be sure to find it to wear to each & every meeting. If you are a recent new member & you did not receive your badge yet, please ask Dolores Kennedy for one. Dolores Kennedy will be collecting a dollar from anyone who attends a meeting NOT wearing their badge.

June 2017, Past Renewal Dues

Last month was the “Free Spirit” Chapter renewal dues month. If you have not yet paid your yearly dues, please do so NOW! Your dues are good from June 1, 2017 – May 31, 2018. Please submit your check of $12.00, payable to “Free Spirit” Chapter, BCA, to Dolores Kennedy, 2620 Ambassador Drive, Bethlehem, Pa. 18017-7717. Please renew by July 10, 2017! If you already renewed, “Thank You” for your continued support of this local & enthusiastic antique BUICK chapter!!

CALLING ALL BUICK “FREE SPIRIT” MEMBERS!

Looking for BUICK members to help park BUICKS in the prime BUICK area of park on Sunday, August 6, 2017, @ Das Awkscht Fescht, Macungie, Pa. Time needed: 7:00 am-12:00 noon. This is only 1 day, Sunday, club day, during this yearly show. If you cannot make it for 7 am, anytime is good, but there has to be at least 2-3 persons to volunteer for 7 am. Please contact Sally Getz, 610-377-6130, csgetz@ptd.net BEFORE JULY 31st. After July 31st, contact Sally on 484-464-3418. Please volunteer your time so we DO NOT LOSE our prime front row seats w/ SHADE!! Sally Getz

Upstate NY NE Buick Regional, September29-October 1, 2017
Clifton Park, New York

Meet Itinerary- Friday: self-driving tour to the Saratoga Auto Museum.
Saturday: Car Show 9AM – 3 PM & Banquet
Sunday: An after tour of historic sites is being developed.
HOTEL INFORMATION Homewood Suites & the Hilton Garden Inn located at Exit 9, Rt 87 (the Northway) with easy off/on availability. HOST HOTEL: Homewood Suites, Clifton Park Center, 42 Clifton Country Rd, Clifton Park, NY 12065. Rates 135+ tax per night includes breakfast. Call 518-371-2000 or 1-800-HILTONS. Mention room code BCA. Hilton Garden Inn, Clifton Park Center, 30 Clifton Country Rd, Clifton Park, NY 12065. Rates $125 + tax, db., Queen, King. No breakfast included but available on premises. 1-800-HILTONS. Mention room code BCA. www.unybca.com

Northeast PA All Buick Regional, September 20-22, 2018, Lehighton, Pa
A Northeast PA All Buick Regional will be held @ Lehighton, Pa @ Phifer’s Ice Dams. This is a community park w/ pavilions, ball field, grass, macadam, playground, & plenty of space for a nice show! There are 2 local hotels, 1 within 0.5 miles & 1 just 1 mile away. There are fine dining restaurants as well as fast food restaurants. The PA turnpike is only 1 mile away for those who travel! Please keep abreast of the future newsletters to be kept in the loop about this exciting event!

Annual “Free Spirit” Chapter Picnic, Sunday, June 4, 2017

28 “Free Spiriters” & 6 guests attended this year’s annual picnic held @ Macungie, Pa. Despite the cloudy w/ intermittent fine mists, everyone dressed accordingly & stayed dry. NEW, this year which really did add to the atmosphere, was “Hodge Podge,” a DJ. He & his wife has been doing this for the past 40 years! Also, NEW, this year, a “Prize Walk” was held for those who wanted to participate. Many members received many colorful prizes, some edible & some delightful! Sally Getz informed the group that June 4, 2017 was National Cancer Survivor Day. 3 members received a small floral arrangement for their survivorship! Also, June 4, 2017 was National Cheese Day. If I remember correctly, there were 2 or 3 persons who did not have cheese during the picnic.

David Brady gave a short synopsis on the birth of this chapter. “Happy Birthday” to the chapter was sung by all! A 40th “Free Spirit” chapter Birthday lapel pin was handed out to each & every member in honor of this Birthday.
After everyone chowed down the many scrumptious selections, a strawberry cake was enjoyed by all in honor of this chapters Birthday! Many “THANKS” to those members who attended the picnic.

LOST & FOUND: There was a cooler unintentionally left behind on a picnic table bench. If this belongs to you, please call Sally Getz, 610-377-6130, to identify it. Sally Getz

BUICK MEMBERS, BEWARE!!!!!

A fellow BCA member reported that he had placed a posting on the BCA Forum indicating that he was looking for some hard to find parts for his ’66 Wildcat. He got a response from someone named Robert Allen claiming that he had the parts at a reasonable price. He said he would ship by Greyhound once he was paid by MoneyGram. He also said he had a warehouse full of Buick parts in a small town in Indiana & in addition he was “tearing down a Wildcat”. The seller even provided photos of parts he claimed to be selling that were proven to be lifted from other websites.

With suspicions aroused & upon investigation, my friend determined that this town only had 15,000 inhabitants, but there were at least two BCA members there. He called one of these members & spoke to him. It turned out that this local citizen’s family has owned a Buick dealership there for more than 80 years. He said if anyone had a warehouse full of Buick parts there he would be aware, & this couldn’t be true. This phony seller had somehow gotten into the BCA Forum & was preying upon members. Be aware who you are dealing with when buying through the internet & if a deal doesn’t pass the smell test move on.

What’s Holding Back Self-Driving Cars? Humans!

In just a few years, well-mannered self-driving robotaxis will share the roads w/ reckless, lawbreaking human drivers. The prospect is causing migraines for the people developing the robotaxis. A self-driving car would be programmed to drive @ the speed limit. Humans routinely exceed it by 10-15 mph—just try entering the NJ Turnpike @ normal speed. Self-driving cars wouldn’t dare cross a double yellow line; humans do it all the time. And then there are those odd local traffic customs to which humans quickly adapt.

In Los Angeles & other places, for instance, there’s the “California Stop.” Where drivers roll through stop signs if no traffic is crossing. In southwestern PA, courteous drivers practice the “Pittsburgh Left,” where it’s customary to let one oncoming car turn left in front of them when a traffic light turns green. The same thing happens in Boston. During rush hours near Ann arbor, Michigan, drivers regularly cross double yellow line to queue up for a left turn onto a freeway. “There’s an endless list of these cases where we as humans know the context, we know when to bend the rules,” an engineer professor @ Carnegie Mellon University who leads the school’s autonomous car research.

Although autonomous cars are likely to carry passengers or cargo in limited areas during the next 3-5 years, experts say it will take many years before robotaxis can coexist w/ human-piloted vehicles on most side streets, boulevards & freeways. That’s because programmers have to figure out human behavior & local traffic idiosyncrasies. And teaching a car to use that knowledge will require massive amounts of data & big computing power that is prohibitively expensive @ the moment.

“Driverless cars are very rule based, & they don’t understand social graces,” says director Missy Cummings of Duke University’s Humans & Autonomy Lab. Driving customs & road conditions are dramatically different across the globe, w/ narrow, congested lanes in Europe cities, & anarchy in Beijing’s giant traffic jams. In India’s capital, New Delhi, luxury cars share poorly marked & congested lanes w/ bicycles, scooters, trucks, & even an occasional cow or elephant. Then there is the problem of aggressive humans who make dangerous moves such as cutting cars off on freeways or turning left in front of oncoming traffic. In India, for example, even when lanes are marked, drivers swing from lane to lane without hesitation. Already there have been isolated cases of human drivers pulling into the path of cars such as Teslas, knowing they will stop because they are equipped w/ automatic emergency braking.

“It’s hard to program in human stupidity or someone who really tries to game the technology,” says a spokesperson for Toyota’s autonomous car unit. Kathy Winter, vice president of automated driving solutions for Intel, is optimistic that the cars will be able to see & think like humans before 2030. Artificial intelligence developed by Intel & other companies eventually could access the data & make quick decisions similar to humans. Programmers are optimistic that someday the cars will be able to handle even Beijing’s traffic. But the cost could be high, & it might be a decade or more before Chinese regulators deem self-driving cars reliable enough for widespread public use.

Intel’s Winter expects fully autonomous cars to collect, process & analyze 4 terabytes of data in 1.5 hours of driving, which is the average amount a person spends in a car each day. That’s equal to storing over 1.2 million photos or 2,000 hours of movies. Such computing power now costs over $100,000 per vehicle. But the cost sold fall as more are built. Still, some skeptics say computerized cars will never be able to think exactly like humans. You’ll never be able to make up a person’s ability to perceive what the right move @ the time is.

9 Things to Never Do to Your Car

Be Honest: Are you good to your car? There are lots of ways to show your car some love…. & then there are some things you should NEVER do to your car. Here’s what they are–& what to do instead.

Putting off recommended Maintenance: It sounds obvious, but plenty of people rarely, if ever, check their car’s maintenance guidelines. By following the recommendations for the age & mileage on your car, you can keep your car running smoothly & safely–& save on paying for big repairs later on.

Skipping Air Filter Changes: A fresh air filter keeps your engine running smoothly& improves your car’s fuel efficiency. Most manufacturers suggest you replace your filter every 12,000-15,000 miles.

Neglecting to Check Tire Air Levels: Not having the right tire pressure makes for unsafe driving & reduced fuel efficiency. If you don’t have a tire pressure monitoring system, it’s likely that your car lists tire pressure requirements on the driver door post.

Having an Unqualified Person Working on Your Car: Take he time to find a qualified mechanic.

Running Your Gas Tank Down to Empty: Doing so cuts the life of the fuel pump.

Rarely Washing Your Car: a good wash helps to preserve the exterior of your car, which can help preserve your car’s resale value.

Not Stashing an Emergency Kit: With any luck, you’ll never have to use it. But it could be a real lifesaver if you do.

Using Home Glass Cleaner on Your Rear Window: The glass cleaner you use in your home contains ammonia, which can break down those thin red lines that defrost your back window. Use window cleaner designed for cars instead.

Driving When the Engine is overheated: Overheated engines are especially common when temperatures rise. If your car displays telltale signs of overheating, like steam coming out from the hood or the temperature gauge hovering in the H territory, stop driving ASAP. Continuing on could cause serious damage.

Pictures from Hatfield Auto Museum Tour, May 6, 2017

Pictures From Mercer Museum, Doylestown, Pa, May 6, 2017

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

JULY 2017 HAPPY 4th of JULY!!
2 – Anthracite Region show, McAdoo, Pa
4 – Car Show w/ Flea Market, Fleetwood Community Park, Fleetwood, Pa.
5-8 – Buick Club National Meet, Brookfield, Wisconsin
28 – St. Philip Neri Church 15th Annual Car Show, Klinerd Rd., Pennsburg, Pa
29 – 3rd Annual Northampton Area School District Car Show, East Allen Twps., Pa

AUGUST 2017 Dog Days of Summer!
4 – 6 – Das Awkscht Fescht, Macungie, Pa
6 – Penny packer Mills Show, Schwenksville, Pa
6 – 4UDrew show, Doylestown, Pa
20 – 18th Annual sticks Reunion Show, Wind Gap, Pa

SEPTEMBER 2017 Happy Labor Day!
3 – Slatington Car Show, Rt. 873, Slatington, Pa
5 – Monthly chapter meeting, Starlite Diner & Lounge. Dinner @ 6 pm, business meeting @ 7:30 pm. Guest speaker: Ms. Tammy Sholedice, Unit Manager, Clubhouse of the LV.
10 – Strausstown Car Show, Strausstown, Pa
10 –Star Buick GMC, BOP Show, Rt. 33, Easton, Pa
23 – Tour to Thomas Edison Museum, NJ. Tour masters: Kathleen/Thomas Duckett
29-Oct. 1 – Upstate NY Buick Regional, Clifton Park, NY

CARS/PARTS “FOR SALE”

1939 Buick Special (41) 4-DR Trunk back Sedan, unrestored original car, Straight 8, manual transmission. Runs well! Rebuilt engine & components, brake system, drive train, transmission. Upgraded carb, electronic ignition, oil filter, NEW exhaust system. WW tires. Pics available. $16,500/negotiable. Ken Davis, 610-489-1649. kwmcdavis@verizon.net.
1951-52 Buick Mustache Bar to be rechromed, very hard to find! $400.00. William, 610-970-7183, 484-948-6213.
1958 Super/Limited Chrome & stainless trim, rear Ltd. Bumper end. 610-509-2061.
1962 Buick Skylark Conv. Overall GOOD condition. Various NOS chrome installed. Runs/drives nice! Transmission, rear, top & rear window good. Dave’s Int. restorations, 525 Chestnut St., Emmaus, Pa 18049
1964 Buick 300 V-8 w/ factory aluminum heads, complete w/ fan, carb, air cleaner, etc. TH 400 auto trans #BU-64-23582. Eng. #4K5029219, $700.00. 610-509-2061.
1966 Buick Skylark GS 2 dr HDT, red/white top. $16,500.00. 610-582-3758
1979 Buick Riviera 32,000 miles call Michael Spitzer at 215-255-5768
1981 Buick Regal 4 DR dark green, garage kept. 75K mi. 717-576-7588
1987 Buick GN, T-Top blk w/ grey/blk int., orig parts, EXCELLENT condition, 3200 ORIGINAL miles. Stored in heat controlled garage. $28,500 (OBO), gbrentano@verizon.net

In Search Of

OPEL Manual, 717-201-1660.
1948 Buick Special 2 door back chrome. Doug @ 570-573-0948.
1951-52 Buick Roadmaster RH grille bar extension. C. Wenger, 433-710-6624, crewzn@broadstripe.net
1967 Buick Electra Conv. 610-730-4599, dwebster80@gmail.com