Car guys love to work on engines, both large and small. And sometimes, they need an extra part for their small engine or a bit of advice on how to fix it up. Occasionally, they even need an entirely new engine for a lawnmower, generator, go-cart, or other machine. One of the best resources for these people is smallenginesuppliers.com, which sells small engines and their related parts and products. SafeAuto caught up with Craig Holdeman, the owner and founder of the site, and asked him about his business and his customers.

SafeAuto: Tell me about the history of smallenginesuppliers.com. What led you to start up this website?

Craig Holdeman: I was looking to start some kind of business back in 2002. I always had an interest in small engines and I'm located close to Kansas City, where some of the major distributors are, so it made sense. I spent almost a year running the site before getting my first order.

SA: It seems like a pretty comprehensive site in terms of the parts and engines that you sell. What are some of the customer favorites (or "hot sellers") among your product offerings?

CH: I sell a lot of Rider engines, mostly Kohler and Briggs V-Twins. Carburetors are very popular too. They seem to get clogged up pretty easily with today's gas mixtures.

SA: Are most of your customers the do-it-yourself, engine-tinkering "gearhead" types? Or do you have a customer base with broader interests?

CH: I have a lot of "do-it-yourself" customers, but I also have a broad base of work-from-home mechanics. I also get orders from schools (for instructional purposes) and military contractors, too.

SA: How do you go about locating some of the "hard to find" parts that customers are seeking?

CH: I generally make the extra effort to try to find someone's part wherever it is located in the US. I do even sometimes recommend competitors' pages if I know they have an engine or a part that I don't.

SA: Generally speaking, when is it more economical for someone to buy parts for their small engine and fix it themselves, rather than just buy a new engine -- or an entirely new product (lawnmower, generator, etc.)?

CH: Sometimes it is better to buy new equipment, in my opinion. It may be that the replacement engine costs almost as much as new equipment; but if people really like their equipment, they sometimes choose to go ahead and replace an engine instead of buying new equipment and taking a chance on not liking it. I always try to tell people if I honestly think it's better for them to buy new equipment.

SA: Tell me a little more about the other resources that customers find on your website (other than the products themselves).

CH: Off my links page I have an "Engine Specs" link. I have tried to put the best information that I can find on that page. There are some service manuals, service specs (such as torque specs for example), and line drawings, linked there as well. I do also have a parts lookup site for Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, Robin Subaru, and Oregon (aftermarket) parts.

SA: Is technology changing significantly among small engines these days? If so, do you have to scramble to keep up with the changes in terms of what you sell on your site?

CH: Technology changes at least slightly from year to year. The small engine manufacturers have an incentive to make more fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly engines (because it leads to more sales). It is always a challenge to keep up with changing part numbers and engine models.

SA: Has anyone ever bought an engine and/or parts from your site for an unusual end use -- like, say, building a homemade "megablender" or an experimental aircraft?

CH: I have sold engines for people that have made tricked out mini-choppers and racing riding mowers. I've had people use them on boats. I've sold to a guy that invented a trailer towing device called trailertugpro, and I've sold engines for remote-controlled lawnmowers too.

SA: What can you tell me about the future of smallenginesupplies.com?

CH: We plan to continue our growth and to add new product lines, and to continue to provide the best resources available to help our customers solve any small engine problem they may have.

As a rule, people don't go into crime because they're all that bright, as any police officer can tell you. But these five car thieves really take the cake. Whether it's butt-dialing, a lack of “situational awareness,” or just a basic inability to figure out obvious things about a car, here are the five stupidest car thieves we've come across. Car insurance companies rejoice!

#5) Before Stealing A Car, Make Sure You Know What Fuel It Takes

A couple of car thieves picked up a fancy new Audi A4 in Ramsgate, a town over in jolly old England. So they thought they'd show it off by whipping through the gas station and filling their car with gasoline. Slight problem: the Audi A4 takes diesel, something it informs you of with a gigantic D on the gas cap. The two were caught when they tried to sell the car for around $200 to a man who'd stopped to help them. You know ... trying to sell your stalled car for a fraction of its value is not remotely suspicious!

#4) Butt-Dialing Catches Thieves

You should never keep your cell phone in your back pocket. It's uncomfortable and it creates the unfortunate problem of “butt-dialing,” wherein you accidentally dial a number. This is especially problematic if you're dialing 911 over and over again. It's even more problematic when you're a car thief that accidentally does it while talking to your fellow criminals about what cars you're going to steal. While the police weren’t able to track the call, once a car theft was reported, the dominoes fell into place and they tracked down Wesley Strom. By the way, Strom was fully aware of the fact that his phone was dialing 911, which becomes especially confusing because he had an outstanding warrant before his phone misadventures.

#3) Thieves Try to Steal Car... Can't Even Drive It

Two teens had a foolproof plan: Attack the poor pizza guy as he was leaving work and steal his car. The first part went off all right, although not for the pizza guy. The second part didn't come together quite so well, because neither thief drove stick. That didn't stop them from trying, though, as they spent several minutes experimenting, while police arrived to take them into custody.

#2) I See You…
This is a video of a man stealing what appears to be a non-descript van. It seems like a fairly standard crime, and it is, but there is one small detail that's important here.

The van he's stealing belongs to a security camera company. He is, in fact, stealing this van, from the parking lot of the company, right in front of their company showroom. We should note here that if it weren't completely obvious that the parking lot of a security camera company would have security cameras in it, the lot was posted with several signs making it clear that the cameras were operational and that anybody using the lot would be observed. Within seconds, the police had been alerted, his license plate captured, and everything he'd done was caught on tape.

Maybe he thought nobody would be looking at the van in the first place?

#1) Posted Without Comment

 

This is Ronnie Wynn, who calls himself Ron Gotti. He's a resident of Vancouver, and he filmed himself doing this. The car he's driving is freshly stolen. Needless to say, the police were very interested in this video, which Wynn was nice enough to let his friends know was available for viewing via Facebook. Really, do we need to say anything more?

Don’t runaway in a motor vehicle, or else you’ll end up like this truck!

There's nothing quite like a good madcap comedy to bring out the belly laughs in any audience. But perhaps the next best thing is real-life video footage of unscripted "madcap comedic" events. One scenario that never fails to get a chuckle? The runaway car.

With that in mind, we present the six funniest videos of runaway cars on the Web. (Warning: do not drink and milk while viewing these, lest it wind up all over your keyboard and monitor.)

1. Don't push me!

http://www.spike.com/video-clips/7szzx9/runaway-car

Okay, there are times when you must get out and push your vehicle. But one of these times is not on a downhill-sloping icy road. (What could possibly go wrong? Plenty.) But the best part is the unintentional comedy provided by the displaced driver. The only thing missing is a cartoon music score.

2. Rolling toward disaster

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07mmZWjb76A&feature=player_detailpage

This video begins with an uninhabited red car rolling through a parking lot. A business man sprints after it, but watches as his vehicle crashes through some bushes. But our hero is undaunted. He continues his foot pursuit and actually reaches the escaping vehicle - but will he stop it before the car reaches heavy traffic? We won't spoil the ending for you.

3. Sneaking away at the gas pump

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UPOQ89jBuk&feature=player_detailpage

This scene begins as just another motorist pulling up to the gasoline pumps. A man gets out and begins filling up a gas can. After several seconds, the minivan suddenly decides to take a little stroll. Keep watching - you'll find yourself yelling, "Turn around, you idiot!" at the computer - just like you would at a horror film.

4. Running from the cops - without a driver

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/all/Runaway_Car/#945

Thanks to the miracle of police dashcam video, we see a kindly woman pulling over to the curb as per the instructions of a law enforcement officer. She is trying to obey the policeman's commands - but the car has other ideas. It tries to make a break for it as the poor woman attempts to break out of its clutches.

5. Keystone cop car

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fAEBxTa3BcE

Another dashcam video, but this one is different. It features the police car itself rolling away! The viewer is treated to a "first-person" look at an attempted traffic stop in a parking lot as it turns into a hilarious foot chase by the furious officer. (The audio is priceless IF you don't mind salty language - otherwise, you can still enjoy it with the sound on mute.)

6. "Blast" from the past: perpetual motion in reverse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkAsJtNubuY&feature=player_detailpage

There's so many nuggets of bliss in this tale, which takes place a quarter century ago on the streets of Baltimore. A baby-blue "boat" car inexplicably gets stuck in reverse and proceeds to drive in backwards circles. So how does an off-duty cop solve this problem? By putting it out of its misery. But the best part of this video has to be the retro styles and the background music. (God, I miss "Sanford and Son.")