tagged w/ corolla
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Beachcomber stumbles upon historical shipwreck
By Sarah Hoye, CNN
June 5, 2010 9:44 a.m. EDT
Corolla, North Carolina (CNN) --
Ray Midgett hunts the Corolla beaches on the Outer Banks of North Carolina almost every day.
"Beachcombing, or metal detecting, or relic hunting is in my blood," said Midgett, a retired government worker who hits the sand between October and April.
"There are so many shipwrecks up here, it's just beautiful."
Midgett drives his pickup truck right onto the beach using the access road near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. With a metal detector and shovel in tow, he's uncovered everything from antique coins to wedding rings.
Yet his biggest discovery came in December when he located the remains of a historical shipwreck.
The wreckage, hidden under the sand for centuries, became fully exposed after a winter of brutal Nor'easters, making it the oldest shipwreck found off the coast of North Carolina.
But historians had to act fast to recover the ship, according to Meghan Agresto, site manager of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.
"This winter, it just got smacked. After awhile the ocean was going to take it back," Agresto said. "The fact that we got it off the beach makes us excited because we got to save it."
Midgett and other beachcombers had discovered a number of relics near the shipwreck's beach grave site, including coins believed to be from the reign of Louis XIII in France and Charles I in England, lead bale seals used for identification, and spoons dating to the mid-1600s.
Midgett said he feels a personal connection to the discovery.
"This shipwreck is a part of me, and some of the other hunters, too, that have been hunting around it for years," Midgett said. "I'm just so glad that they decided to save it."
The rough currents and shallow sand bars off North Carolina's Outer Banks have destroyed thousands of ships in what is sometimes called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic."
However, it is rare to find the remains of a shipwreck -- particularly a wooden vessel -- intact.
Throughout winter, the Corolla beach shipwreck would repeatedly get uncovered and covered again. The waves would also move it along the coastline, causing damage.
"I'm glad we got to it when we did. ... It may have covered back up and survived another summer," Midgett said.
"But next winter it would have been the same thing over and it eventually would have gone to pieces."
Midgett, who used to work as a government auditor, wanted to make sure his discovery was salvaged, so he personally lobbied North Carolina state Sen. Marc Basnight. After numerous phone calls and e-mails appealing to Basnight, a beach lover himself, he was successful.
In April, volunteers from the Wildlife Resources Commission, Underwater Archaeology Branch, the Corolla Fire Department and area residents helped free the wreck from the sand and tow it near the lighthouse.
Archaeologists originally thought the wreck could be the HMS Swift, a British Navy ship from the late 17th century that originally ran around in the southern Chesapeake Bay off Virginia's coast.
The HMS Swift drifted to the Outer Banks, where it was looted once it hit shore, then disabled by the looters so it wouldn't resurface.
After further examination of the ship's 12-ton skeleton -- complete with wooden peg fasteners -- archaeologists determined that it was not the HMS Swift, but most likely a merchant's ship dating to the mid- to late-1600s.
That makes it the oldest shipwreck found along the state's coast.
"History is the one thing we have that has a reasonable amount of certainty attached to it," said Joseph Schwarzer, director of North Carolina Maritime Museums. "It tells us where we've been, it tells us what's happening, and it's a directional sign for where you need to go next."
Before the Corolla Beach discovery, the oldest shipwreck found along the state's coast was Queen Anne's Revenge, the presumed flagship of Blackbeard the pirate said to have run aground in 1718, according to the North Carolina Maritime Museums.
This shipwreck is a part of me ... I'm just so glad that they decided to save it.
--Ray Midgett, beachcomber
The remains of the Corolla Beach wreck and some of its artifacts will be moved to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum on Hatteras Island, North Carolina.
Midgett and the other beachcombers are entitled to keep the coins and other artifacts found near the ship they discovered.
"It's very exciting to find something from this time period," said Richard Lawrence, director of the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch for the Department of Cultural Resources.
"And amazingly we found it in this beach environment. It appears this wreck has been sitting here for 350 years almost undisturbed until this winter."
Lawrence said the discovery would never have happened without Midgett.
"Ray Midgett was probably more responsible than anybody to get this wreck off the beach," Lawrence said. "He created enough of a stir to get various organizations involved.
"Thankfully, Ray and his colleagues collected various artifacts that would have otherwise not survived."Beachcomber stumbles upon historical shipwreck
By Sarah Hoye, CNN
June 5, 2010 9:44... more
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Toyota to agree to $16.4M government fine
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Toyota is expected to agree to a $16.4 million fine for its delay in telling the government about defective gas pedals. (KABC Photo)
WASHINGTON -- Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16 million, the largest government penalty levied against an automaker, for a four-month delay in telling federal authorities about defective gas pedals on its vehicles, a Transportation Department official said Sunday.
Toyota faces a Monday deadline to accept or contest the $16.4 million fine over evidence it knew about sticking gas pedals in September but did not issue a recall until January.
The Transportation official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity. The official said Toyota is expected to pay the full amount of the assessed fine within 30 days as a means of avoiding going to court against the government.
The official said Toyota did not intend to accept liability explicitly. But from the government's viewpoint, the official said, the agreement to pay the full fine constituted an acceptance of responsibility for hiding the safety defect in violation of the law.
Toyota did not immediately comment on the fine. Under federal law, automakers are required to notify the government within five business days when they find a potential safety defect.
Toyota announced it would recall 2.3 million vehicles in January to address sticking pedals on popular vehicles such as the Camry and Corolla. The Japanese automaker has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius hybrid.
Concerns about sticking gas pedals and complaints from Toyota owners in the U.S. were rising at the end of 2009, according to chronologies of the investigation Toyota provided to the government.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said documents provided by Toyota showed the automaker had known about the sticky pedal defect at least since Sept. 29, 2009, when it issued repair procedures to distributors in 31 European countries to address complaints of sticking pedals, sudden increases in engine RPM and sudden vehicle acceleration.
The documents also showed that Toyota knew that owners in the United States had experienced the same problems.
The Japanese automaker has been weighing its options since the fine was announced in early April but analysts expected it to pay the penalty.
The company has been named in 138 potential class-action lawsuits over falling vehicle values and about 100 personal injury and wrongful death cases in federal courts. Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are conducting investigations related to the recalls.
"When you look at the toll it's taken on Toyota's reputation, when you look at the number of vehicles involved, when you look at the hardship it's placed on Toyota's customer base, it's only right for Toyota to take this fine," said Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Transportation officials have not ruled out additional fines. The department is reviewing whether Toyota delayed for six weeks the late January recall of the 2009-2010 Venza in the United States to address floor mats that could entrap the accelerator pedal after making a similar recall in Canada.
Toyota recalled the Venza in Canada in December and reported to the U.S. government on Dec. 16 that the floor mats could move forward while the vehicle is in use and "may interfere with the accelerator pedal."
Toyota told U.S. authorities at the time that the floor mats in question were not imported into the U.S. but the Venza was added to the floor mat recall in late January.
http://digiads.com.au/car-news/images/2006/11/thumbs/lrg_article_8430-img_0.jpgToyota to agree to $16.4M government fine
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Toyota is... more
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February 28, 2010
Toyota deaths (Detroit Free Press) Shrieks filled Mark Saylor's Lexus as it slammed into another vehicle, then careened into an embankment, killing all four on board.
At least 56 people have died in U.S. traffic accidents in which sudden unintended acceleration of Toyota Motor Corp.
Here are the Hororrific Accounts of Fatalities, based on Public Records...VIDEO....http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/toyota-at-least-56-deaths-from-sudden-acceleration-horrifying-accounts-of-fatalities-video/
Vehicles has been alleged, according to complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, lawsuits and police and state highway patrol reports. Some of the victims’ names are unknown because NHTSA did not disclose them and they could not be confirmed through other sources. A Toyota spokesman declined to comment, saying the company does not discuss cases in which litigation has been, or could be, filed.February 28, 2010
Toyota deaths (Detroit Free Press) Shrieks filled Mark... more
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Toyota announced today is has identified a defect in the design of its cup holders as the source of acceleration problems associated with its popular Corolla, Camry, Tundra, Avalon and RAV4 models.Toyota announced today is has identified a defect in the design of its cup holders as... more
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Toyota Motor Corp. plans to recall about 95,700 vehicles sold in the cold-weather areas of the U.S. because of possible brake problems.
(Shwiff, K., 2009, August 26, par.1)
The recall affects 2009 and 2010 Toyota Corollas and Corolla Matrixes and 2008 and 2009 Scion xDs, all equipped with 1.8-liter engines. The Japanese auto giant said it found that at extremely low temperatures, moisture from a ventilation port may seep into the brake system and freeze, leading to braking problems.
(Shwiff, K., 2009, August 26, par.2-3)
On Monday, Toyota recalled nearly 700,000 cars in China because of faulty window-control systems -- its largest recall in that country and one that risks tarnishing the company's image.
(Shwiff, K., 2009, August 26, par.5)Toyota Motor Corp. plans to recall about 95,700 vehicles sold in the cold-weather... more
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jmsrmy
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added this
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2 years ago
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A young Buddhist Monk cannot let go of his earthly desires and in his pursuit of harmony and love, leads his transient being into a Corolla.
Watch our other work on http://www.mavifilm.com/
Actor Credits:
The monk: George Chang
The Hindu girl: Oma Ramlakhan
Production Credits:
Written, produced and directed by: Bora Aytun
Original music: J. Scott Zeiter
3D modeling and animation: Murat Aytun
Editing and compositing: Bora Aytun
Many thanks to:
George Chang for being such a good sport and his sharp talent for comedy;
Chris Redfern for enduring freezing weather just to hold up the reflector;
David and Dan Levine for letting me use their office space for many Blue Screen evenings, and being so supportive.
MANY THANKS TO everyone who supported this little production; by way of encouragement, patience, offerings of help and time and of course, Green Lights!A young Buddhist Monk cannot let go of his earthly desires and in his pursuit of... more
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