Welcome to The Smoking Tire. Kick ass automotive videos and more.

911 Most Reliable Car of the 2000s.

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

 

According to the German Technical Inspection Agency, TÜV, the Porsche 911 is the most reliable and trouble-free car of this century. The century is only 11 years old, so I look at it as a decade, but that doesn’t take away the fact that a Porsche can show up to the Super Terrific Reliability Party*, hosted in Japan each year. The TÜV tested 8 million vehicles between June of 2010 and 2011 and concluded the 911 had the fewest number of reported defects since 2000. It doesn’t matter if the car had been driven 100 miles or 100,000. Make the jump for the year-to-year breakdown and to see what other cars will reliably take you to and from the….I actually have no idea what they do in Germany besides Nurburgringing. (more…)

Free Lambo! (Driving Skill Not Included)

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

 

Let it be known the statement “I drive for a living.” has a very broad definition. Just because your occupation has the same verb in it as Lewis Hamilton doesn’t mean you’re anything like him. I write for a living but that doesn’t mean I should be given a 6-volume book deal to write the next great teen/magic/witchcraft/coming-of-age/romantic/statutory/necrophilia blockbuster. Today’s lesson is brought to you by David Dopp and the stupid good people of teamgive.org. They are a charitable organization, but made the mistake of giving away a 2008 Lamborghini LP640 for a contest they called “Joe Schmo to Lambo.” You can’t hand 640HP to just anyone, even a professional truck driver. This was proven 6 hours after he won the car, when he crashed it.

 

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Ebay Want: Imported 1981 Audi Quattro with Extra Racey Things

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011


Thad (legendary TST camera operator and Head of our Dept. for Super Smart/Crazy Ideas)  sent me a link to this ebay auction, with the subject line: “Bad daily driver?” Hopefully he’s being facetious or I would answer that with a blank stare of disbelief, silently communicating disappointment and pity. No Thad, a 1981 Audi Ur-Quattro is not a bad choice for a daily driver. It’s an awesome daily driver, as long as you live anywhere that has weather. Let the record show Thad is from Florida. (more…)

Lexus Teases Gorgeous(maybe) Concept

Monday, December 19th, 2011

The first Lexus I ever liked was the  IS300(XE10). I just liked the way it looked. Whenever I saw one in traffic it looked annoyed, like it was too good to be stuck in commuter captivity. It had a little edge to it. The only one I ever drove was an AT which kind of ruined the moment, but I still like them, especially with a 2JZ swap. Then came the IS250/350 and the ISF. All good looking. We have an ISF outside this week and I definitely linger on its bodywork. It’s a great blend of bulging metal and smooth transitions. Like mace that’s been dipped fondue.

 

Well someone at Lexus has done right again. The picture above is a Lexus concept that will be debuting at the Detroit Auto Show in January of 2012. And it looks very promising. Someone at Lexus has been taking art classes, maybe taught by an Italian woman with dark hair and the curves of Jessica Rabbit. Jump to see the teased interior pic. (more…)

A Car Built for Good, Cheap Fun

Monday, December 19th, 2011

 

 

Stuart Mills liked to have fun. But he’s a nice guy so he wanted other people to have fun too. He didn’t want them to have to spend lots of money or have to have a Degree in Engineering. So after years of building race cars, he designed the MEV Exocet kit car. Based on a Miata it weighs about 1,450lbs and makes 135HP, so it’s damn fun.  It costs as little as $6,000. Those words all go together very well. Make the jump for specs and clips of these angry little track flies in action. (more…)

Optima Ultimate SC Invitational is a Must-Attend (Gallery/Video)

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

 

Note: Let’s call this Sunday reading. It’s a bit long but there’s pretty pictures, even one that moves! It’s Sunday, take some time for the story I spent hours on yourself.

 

SEMA was over. The AdultCon of car shows had packed up, making way for the AdultCon of people; AdultCon. Hundreds of thousands of people stared at thousands of cars, parts, dudes in company polo shirts, failed strippers promo models, obstructing the way for depressed humanoids trying to gamble. Everyone went home on Friday…and missed the best show of the entire week: The Optima Batteries Ultimate Street Car Invitational

 

You should have gone, because this event is the shit. Matt was invited to compete in his 1998 C5 Corvette. We figured between the car’s lightweight, power and suspension and Matt knowing Spring Mountain like the palm of his hand, he might do pretty well. However we were not prepared for what showed up early on Saturday morning. Make the jump for the story and massive gallery. (more…)

Listen Up Assholes, I’m Only Going to Say This Once.

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

There has been some interesting debate in the comments about my performance in the 2011 Mojave Mile, piloting the Corvette ZR1. Mainly, the debate revolves around two factors:

1) I am fat, and if I were not fat, I would have broken 180 mph, the completely arbitrary goal I set for myself that day.

2) The 2012 Nissan GTR shouldn’t be faster than the Corvette in the mile, yet in the video, the announcer at the Mile says that a “girl in a stock GTR” ran 179.9.

Let’s explore these items after the jump.

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RENNtech Adds 100 WHP to CLS63 AMG

Friday, December 16th, 2011

 

I love the aftermarket. They are the fringe chefs of the auto world. No content with the way something is made, they will take a classic dish-say, risotto – and then add crazy stuff to it like maple syrup and essence of deadly sea urchin. You might think, “What are you doing?? It was delicious the way it is!” But then chef RENNtech presents his 2012 Mercedes CLS63 AMG risotto and after a taste, you stop complaining. Because RENNtech has found that with a simple tune you can extract another 100 wheel horsepower. Yum. Jump for dyno sheets and a video of a race against a Nissan GTR. (more…)

‘Scuse me Ma’am? You Balls are Showing.

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Not in this town, missy.

 

You know truck nuts, right? Those stupid fake balls that people attach to their tow hitch to show everyone…I’m not sure what actually. I guess that you’ve got balls, guts, moxi, etc. You’re the man! “You see these nuts on my truck? They’re only half as big as the balls in my shrunken brain, imagination, pants!” I guess. I think they’re stupid. They are the douche flag of the red neck. Well as it turns out, these are illegal in South Carolina. A sheriff in Moncks Corner, SC wrote a driver a citation for $445. Any guesses on the driver’s name? Buck? Steve? Kevin Klein Klanigan? Hw about Virginia Tice.  Classy. Well, women are more empowered now. She’s probably one of these new, tough chicks you see on Hog Hunters, right? She’s 67 years old. “Look, grandma’s here! That’s her truck! See? It has grandpa’s balls on it! Cookies!!” (more…)

TST Has a New Show on YouTube’s DRIVE Channel

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

 

Some of you might have seen that YouTube is developing a new channel called DRIVE. You can read the official press release below, but the short of it is it will be a one-stop shop for every kind of automotive content you could want: reviews, comparisons, after market shops, race coverage and interviews. Guess they noticed what people like you and me looked for online (well, not everything). Their goal is to provide a variety of the best automotive content possible.  And, being the nice, smart and generous people they are, they asked the TST team to produce a show called “TUNED” with Matt doubling as the host. With other hosts like Chris Harris (EVO), high-speed god Alex Roy and our own Matt, it should be very good.   Make the jump for a promo video, show description and official press release. (more…)