overheat!.. HELP!

For those of you in Southern California, you know how hot it's been these past few days, but my car is running REALLY hot. I covered about 30 miles on the 10, stopping off a few time, in about 45 minutes, and my car was running REALLY close to the redline. Is this normal?
Another thing, when my car IS hot, the throttle response is a lot slower, anyone else with that problem?
any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

Jeff

clarification:
"the 10" = 10 freeway
"red line" = red on the temperature gauge
"slow throttle resonse" = gas the throttle, takes a second before the engine revs up

thanks..

Jeff

[rich]

Check the cable and thermostat that operate the flaps on the fan housing. Also the bolt that holds the pulley the cable runs around. Good luck

[John Rogers]

Also might want to check the fan (all blades) and all the sheet-metal around the cylinders to insure it is all there and nothing is blocking it (rags, etc). If the rain tray is still on the engine lid, remove it to get more air flow. As for the cooling flaps, make sure they are not stuck shut, they should be open with no cable tension on them. Pushing down on the little clamp on the pivot that the thermostat cable fastens to, should shut them and they should open freely when you release the clamp.