If you saw the orgy of multimillion-dollar athletics-exploiting commercialism known as the Super Bowl this past weekend, you might have seen a certain Dodge Charger commercial. Entitled “Man’s Last Stand,” it was the stronger pick of an evening of lackluster, cliche, bombastic, vaguely misogynistic ads with little automotive representation (unless you count Toyota’s creepy public-service announcement) other than Hyundai and Jeff Bridges’ oh-so-soothing voice.
Who doesn’t like a badass-looking lifted truck? Sure, most of the ones we see are driven by tattooed jackasses that stand at 5 feet 3 inches and like to season their pizza with HGH, but the trucks still turn heads. That 5 year-old part of our brains that endlessly played with Tonka trucks and BIGFOOT models in the mud never completely goes away. So when I saw this truck, less than 50 feet from the swanky Ivy Restaurant of Bevely Hills, I had to cross the street to check it out. At first it looked like a normal 4-door short bed with a good lift kit; black truck, black wheels, yada yada. But something peaking over the roof caught my eye. What is that black, angle-cut cylinder poking up from the bed? Is it a tow hitch? The tip for Kim Kardashian’s lipo machine? No. It is the exhaust tip to end all exhaust tips. Fart cans of the world, this is your god. If you own a Nissan Altima, with an “R” badge and 6″ coffee can muffler, you are no longer leader of the idiots. I have seen plenty of trucks with the semi-style “smokestacks”, and while stupid, at least there was a connection. Semi-TRUCK, pickup-TRUCK. A thin connection, yes, but a connection nonetheless.
A few months ago we told you about Tesla’s ambitious plan to drive a Tesla Roadster from Los Angeles, CA to Detroit, MI(If you missed it, click here). The goal was to address the issue of an electric car’s range, answer those concerns, and put a nail in its coffin for good. The route was a 2700 mile journey through America’s heartland, with 19 stops along the way for interviews, PR, and to re-charge. But the Road Trip wasn’t planned for the middle of summer, along the gorgeous coast of California, where the temperature and climate vary between “partly cloudy and 80 degrees” and ” Heavenly.” No. The trip started in L.A. mid-December, went through the south and ended in Detroit in January, where the average temperature at night is 17.8 degrees. If you live in LA, your frozen double-decaf-nonfat-cuz-I’m-on-a-diet-but-yes-extra-carmel-latte is warmer than that. This trip was going to show people that the Tesla could not only travel great distances, but be used in any condition. As of January 8th, the trip is over, and the results are in.
Filmmaker Jeremy Hart (Jay Leno SLS Video) decided he wanted to drive the world’s longest road. All 1100 miles of it, and record it in fast forward. I gotta say, that’s a boring ass road.
For a modern, trendy city like Barcelona, it’s rare to see any old classic car still puttering the streets. And when I say “classic car,” I don’t mean beautifully restored E-Types or period-patina’d Citroen SMs; I generally mean anything non-diesel built before the SALT II talks. Most people either keep their rare exotica hidden away from the bustle of city life, or generally don’t bother holding onto something so old. And why would they? Used modern hatchbacks are cheap enough to get rid of the old clunkers.
But here, hidden among the Peugeot 306 wagons and SEAT Toledo TDIs (why they would name a car after a depressing city in Ohio is anyone’s guess) is a callback to another era, a working man’s car and today either a chic fashion statement—as all city cars eventually become—or a faithful old friend, depending on how you look at it. It’s the Renault 4, which can rightfully be considered the granddaddy to all these modern-day pretenders.
The Smoking Tire viewer Brian Zuk was simply filming the wonderful sounds of a white Ferrari 430 Scuderia starting up. But sometimes, the moment finds you. In this case “the moment” is a drunken Zach Galifianakis lookalike who gets a little, ahem, excited.
Thanks Brian!
These cell phone shots of a Mazda Miata, clearly ready for the 24 Hours of Lemons, were taken about half a block from my house! This is the “Team Eyesore Racing” Miata, caged out and with a homebuilt turbo kit. What’s even more interesting, is that the rig is hitched up to a brand new Dodge Ram 1500 with Michigan “M” plates, meaning it’s a press car. Is there another journalist/weekend racer living on my block and I don’t even know about it?
I appeared on FoxNews.com’s The Strategy Room Live discussing the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, new Mustang GT 5.0L engine, the Revenge GTM.R, and the Honda CRZ
I can’t embed the video because their player is wierd, but here’s the link to watch.
“Your van appears to have rabies, sir.”
I’ve seen this absolutely gorgeous, screaming chicken hooded Trans-Am parked down by Venice beach a few times over the past couple of months, and when I stopped to take these pictures, a guy approached me and told me that this car was formerly owned by the late David Carradine, better known as “Bill” from Kill BIll, and that he, the current owner, is David’s cousin. I’m not surprised, the guy totally looked like him. The first time I saw it, the letters “D.C.” were painted on the driver’s side door just below the window, but they have since been wet-sanded off. My favorite part is the spaceman interior. This particular model, a 1978, came with Oldsmobile’s 6.6L V8 making a pathetic 185 horsepower.
Welcome into the new 4 door Aston Martin Rapide