Horsepower

Winners The following were the winners from Saturday's Lawn and Garden Pull at the Berkeley County Youth Fair. 1,000 pound class Youth - Samantha Muller Stock 16 horsepower and under - Chris Umphrey Stock 25 horsepower and under - Joe Gladhill Governed stock altered - Kevin Muller Ungoverned stock altered - Charlie Robertson Governed twin modified - Gene Barron Ungoverned twin modified -...

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- They were riding John Deeres, Cub Cadets and Kohlers, but riders such as Kyle Adolini, William Gerhart and Jim Kiefer were not cutting grass or pulling little trailers of mulch for flower beds Thursday night at the Franklin County Fair. Instead, drivers young and not-so-young were trying to coax as much power, torque and traction as possible out of sometimes highly modified garden tractors to pull a 6,500-pound sled. The garden tractor pull attracted scores of riders and their machines in several classes to the fairground arena.

SMITHSBURG -- Machines that went "chug chug chug" were welcome in Smithsburg on Saturday. It was time for the town's annual Steam Engine and Craft Show, an event where the smells of funnel cakes and sawdust compete. Kevin Rice of Cascade brought a steam traction engine he rebuilt, a 1915 threshing machine produced by J.J. Case of Racine, Wis. Rice, a 1981 Smithsburg High School graduate, said he picked up the machine in Wisconsin and spent about two years working on it. He said he likes displaying it and seeing how people react, especially children who never have seen anything like it. The steam traction engine was rated at 65 horsepower when it was built, but the modern-day equivalent is about 120 horsepower, Rice said.

SMITHSBURG - Machines that went "chug chug chug" were welcome in Smithsburg on Saturday. It was time for the town's annual Steam Engine and Craft Show, an event where the smells of funnel cakes and sawdust compete. Kevin Rice of Cascade brought a steam traction engine he rebuilt, a 1915 threshing machine produced by J.J. Case of Racine, Wis. Rice, a 1981 Smithsburg High School graduate, said he picked up the machine in Wisconsin and spent about two years working on it. He said he likes displaying it and seeing how people react, especially children who never have seen anything like it. The steam traction engine was rated at 65 horsepower when it was built, but the modern-day equivalent is about 120 horsepower, Rice said.

Satisfying a need for speed is a major preoccupation among the young and the young-at-heart. In response, many manufacturers have developed specific weaponry in hopes of scratching performance-oriented buyers right where they itch. The advantages of letting the factory do all the tweaking are fairly obvious. Buying a completed car from a dealer not only ensures a well thought out package approach, but also allows you to finance all the modifications you would otherwise have to come out of pocket for. And if anything goes wrong, you're protected by a factory warranty.

The revamp of General Motors' sedan lineup continues to march along at a brisk pace with the introduction of the all-new G6. Set to eventually replace the long-in-the-grille Grand Am as Pontiac's high-volume model, the G6 launch will, over the next year, grow to include a performance-oriented coupe as well as a hardtop convertible model. In creating cars such as the G6, GM is attempting to energize the domestic-sedan market, an automotive category that has been dominated by Japanese competitors for the past few years.

Thousands came to the Mason Dixon Dragway Saturday night for the gear-grinding, piston-popping, dirt-kicking, smoke-belching and eardrum-pounding action of pickups, tractors and semis pitting huge amounts of horsepower against a 30,000-pound sled designed to stop them in their tracks. The parking lot where pickups and sport utility vehicles outnumbered cars by about 2-to-1 was packed for the event hosted by the Washington County Tractor Pullers Association, featuring six classes of tractors that never pulled a plow and semis that need a semi to haul them from pull to pull.

By GREG SIMMONS / Staff Writer photo: MARLA BROSE / staff photographer Mark Rohrer's John Deere 4955 rumbled at the starting line. Black smoke spewed from its smoke stack, and the engine roared. The whine of the turbo was ear-piercing. Then the green tractor bolted down the dirt track, dragging a 30,000-pound sled for 250 feet, the smell of burnt diesel fuel hanging in the air. The Washington County Tractor Pullers Club sponsored a tractor pull Wednesday night at the Washington County Ag Expo.

It's an executive-class Cadillac with the heart of a Corvette sports car. And for the high-performance 2009 CTS-V, that heart is bigger and beats a whole lot stronger. The "V" is Cadillac's ultimate expression of a sports luxury coach and represents the brand's (and parent General Motors') latest attempt to dethrone some of the mightiest four-door hot rods around, including Germany's top-performing sedans that boast well-earned performance pedigrees. Cadillac's "V" series of cars, encompassing the larger STS-V sedan and XLR-V two-seater, have also helped change the opinions of many who once considered GM's upscale division as a builder of dull and dowdy cruisers.

Affordable personal transportation has never been so cool. Launched in July 2000 as a 2001 model, the Chrysler PT Cruiser continues to win converts and fans with an exterior that is a cross between a 1930s-style sedan and a "surfing safari" beach wagon/panel van. According to the nameplate, "PT" stands for "Personal Transportation. " It is retro chic in a modern sort of way. For 2004, the word is power as Chrysler introduces another version of its versatile 2.4-liter 16-valve SMPI four-cylinder engine.

Maria Vogel was rockin' in the saddle Saturday at an age when many folks are rockin' a chair. The 65-year-old Adamstown, Md., woman was awaiting her turn to joust at Fairplay Days at Old Tilghmanton Tournament Woods, mounted upon Fadjur, a 26-year-old Arabian. "My obituary will read, 'The oldest novice in the history of the sport,'" joked Vogel, who competes using the moniker "Maid of Visa. " "Like the credit card," Vogel said. "Charge, Maid of Visa," tournament announcer Linda Minnick said over the public address system.

Before “horsepower” was measured by machines as a selling point on a new Ford, it was literal. It rippled in the muscles of Percherons and flowed in the gait of Paso Finos. And it was an integral part of life. On Saturday, Washington County stepped back to a time when literal horse power carried humans to and from their destinations with the annual National Pike Festival. The festival features a wagon train — a group of horse-drawn wagons traveling together — that makes a symbolic journey each year from Clear Spring to Boonsboro along the historic National Pike (U.S.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- It's been more than three years since Don Schwartz died, and the memories of him are as fresh as ever. Friends of the former Washington County agricultural extension agent remember Schwartz going to their houses for dinner to discuss agricultural problems. They remember how Schwartz would help anybody, even the backyard gardener, and how Schwartz always championed practical farming measures to make sure they worked for local farmers. "Barnyard sense.

SHARPSBURG -- Swirling puffs of white and gray whirled from shining, silvery chrome stacks. Engines hollered, and coal black fumes whooshed like furious tornadoes toward the sky. Tractors took turns jetting down a 300-foot dirt track, a massive weight transfer machine -- or sled -- following behind. That was the scene Saturday at the Washington County Tractor Pullers Association event at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center. "The tractors all start at the same place.

If there was a congeniality award for automobiles, the Equinox would rank as one of the leading contenders. Chevrolet's popular mid-size utility wagon has attracted buyers since its inception for the 2005 model year with its handsome looks, roomy surroundings and solid construction. As good as the current Equinox is, its numerous domestic- and import-based competitors have been constantly improving and upgrading their own offerings. To stay a step or two ahead of the pack, Chevrolet's revamped 2010 version is due to hit the streets in mid-2009.

What birthday present do you get a 45-year-old automotive icon that seems to have everything? The Ford Motor Company's gift to its venerable Mustang, a badge that has landed in nine million driveways, includes a restyled suit of clothes, a revised interior and suspension plus a dash of extra muscle for its optional V8 engines. Ford's improvements to its fabled war horse are just what the veterinarian ordered, especially facing competition from the born-again Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro.

Incremental gain is what Porsche is all about. It's not that the company is afraid to make big change. No, the fact is that its cars are already great, requiring honing rather than wholesale makeovers to stay ahead of the curve. Welcome to life on the razor's edge. Take a good look at the 2010 Boxster roadster. Kinda-sorta looks like the old one doesn't it? Of course it does, despite the fact the car has received expensive and not necessarily obvious changes under the skin.

It's an executive-class Cadillac with the heart of a Corvette sports car. And for the high-performance 2009 CTS-V, that heart is bigger and beats a whole lot stronger. The "V" is Cadillac's ultimate expression of a sports luxury coach and represents the brand's (and parent General Motors') latest attempt to dethrone some of the mightiest four-door hot rods around, including Germany's top-performing sedans that boast well-earned performance pedigrees. Cadillac's "V" series of cars, encompassing the larger STS-V sedan and XLR-V two-seater, have also helped change the opinions of many who once considered GM's upscale division as a builder of dull and dowdy cruisers.

SMITHSBURG - Machines that went "chug chug chug" were welcome in Smithsburg on Saturday. It was time for the town's annual Steam Engine and Craft Show, an event where the smells of funnel cakes and sawdust compete. Kevin Rice of Cascade brought a steam traction engine he rebuilt, a 1915 threshing machine produced by J.J. Case of Racine, Wis. Rice, a 1981 Smithsburg High School graduate, said he picked up the machine in Wisconsin and spent about two years working on it. He said he likes displaying it and seeing how people react, especially children who never have seen anything like it. The steam traction engine was rated at 65 horsepower when it was built, but the modern-day equivalent is about 120 horsepower, Rice said.

SMITHSBURG -- Machines that went "chug chug chug" were welcome in Smithsburg on Saturday. It was time for the town's annual Steam Engine and Craft Show, an event where the smells of funnel cakes and sawdust compete. Kevin Rice of Cascade brought a steam traction engine he rebuilt, a 1915 threshing machine produced by J.J. Case of Racine, Wis. Rice, a 1981 Smithsburg High School graduate, said he picked up the machine in Wisconsin and spent about two years working on it. He said he likes displaying it and seeing how people react, especially children who never have seen anything like it. The steam traction engine was rated at 65 horsepower when it was built, but the modern-day equivalent is about 120 horsepower, Rice said.