I’ve heard that some Raptor owners don’t actually use their trucks as trucks; that they just drive them as cars, and then use them for off-road shenanigans. Now, I completely understand that, since, from the factory, the Raptor has a body-color painted bed and they don’t want to scratch up the paint. Fortunately, I went for the dealer-installed Linex bedliner ($400), since I plan on actually using this thing as a truck to haul my crap around in, not just a camera car or off-road toy.
The Raptor Diaries – Part 2: Raptor as a Grip Truck
Quick Spin: 2011 Honda CR-Z – Could Forced Induction Be on the Way?
Last year, Honda announced that they would try to do something different for its next hybrid car: make it fun to drive. How would they do that? By shortening, widening, and lowering the Insight’s chassis, make it a coupe, and provide a 6-speed manual transmission. Manuals have appeared in Hybrids before, in the first-generation Insight and Civic Hybrids, but all of a sudden, everyone is making a big deal out of it. I got a chance to take one for a quick spin around the block, and here’s what I discovered, in no particular order: Continue Reading..
Do You Know This Porsche? 997GT3RS in Street Racing Crash in Venice, CA
Is this your Porsche? Because if so, you’re a douche that doesn’t deserve it. And you know who you are. You were racing a black Ferrari through the streets of Venice, CA today, lost it, crashed into a Mercedes, and had your car towed out of there before the cops showed up. Just for good measure, a close-up of the Porsche’s plate: California plate 6LjR555.
[Source: Yo! Venice]
Don’t Run From Cops On A Go-Kart. You Will Be Tased. Repeatedly.
We’ve seen videos before of people outrunning cops on shifter karts. This isn’t one of them. A Minnesota man led cops on a several-mile police chase through downtown St. Paul on the kart pictured above. See any problems with that? On top of the driver’s obvious stupidity, this kart has a top speed around 20 mph, making a getaway a virtual impossibility.
Police cornered him in a parking lot, and he nearly decapitated himself after trying to drive under a chain fence. Amazingly, the first shot from the Taser didn’t stop him. The second shot stopped the kart, but the moron tried to fight the officer, and it was the third shot that got him in cuffs, facing multiple misdemeanor charges. From the looks of the kart, the driver may also have hemorrhoids, which would suck in jail.
[Source: Jalopnik]
Happy New Year, Give me some Nuggets or I’ll Kill You
This is yet another example of why meth and Eggos are a bad hangover cure. At 6:30AM on new Year’s day Melodi Dushane pulled up to a Toledo, OH McDonald’s and asked for an order of chicken nuggets. The employee informed her that they do not start serving nuggets until after 11am. Melodi seems to ask if they can make an exception, but making exeptions won’t get you moved up to manager, so the diligent employee says no-can-do.
Wrong answer mfer. Like William Wallace seeing a picture of the King tea-bagging his mother she attacks the employees. The best part is after she gives up her quest, the next customer pulls up like nothing happened, and his food is promptly brought to him. Now that’s some dedication to your job.
The Raptor Diaries: Part 1
On June 5th, 2010, I bought a 2010 Ford SVT Raptor 6.2L from Galpin Auto Sports. This wasn’t just on a whim, as I had been lusting after this truck since we borrowed one from Ford to drive on the 2009 Bullrun Rally. On that trip, we learned that, not only does the Raptor have more off-road capability than nearly every other car currently in production, but also it makes a fantastic daily driver, with levels of comfort, storage space, technology, and luxury that are on par with some of today’s best luxury cars. When we decided we needed a daily driver and camera vehicle for The Smoking Tire, the Raptor seemed like the only logical decision. Of course, I waited for the 6.2L engine to arrive, since you can’t make that extra 100hp in the aftermarket for less money than the $3,000 upgrade from Ford. 9 weeks and 3,500 miles later, here’s what we’ve learned about the best sport truck money can buy.
2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Review
After we posted our 2011 Mustang GT review and the subsequent Mustang GT vs. Camaro SS Drag Race video, we got lots of comments that the race was unfair, or that we drove the wrong Camaro. You see, that particular Camaro was an automatic, which means that instead of the 426 horsepower LS3 engine underhood, it only had a 400 horsepower. This is neither our fault nor Ford’s, however in the interest of satisfying our viewers, we took a 2010 Camaro SS, this time with a stick, to the track. We ran some hot laps to find out if these Chevy fanboys are on to something, or if the Camaro is all style and no substance. Of course, we also ran some hot laps to see if the Camaro’s 226 horsepower advantage is enough to take our Time Attack crown from the current leader, the 2010 Volkswagen GTI. Video review after the jump. Continue Reading..
Skip Barber Offers Lifetime “Fast Pass” for $295,000
Racing is expensive. Very, very expensive. Even at its most basic levels, racing can cost a driver/owner thousands upon thousands of dollars a year. The Truth About Cars columnist and racer Jack Baruth told us last year that for all the money he spends racing his 1996 Spec-Neon every weekend, he could have bought a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, which we absolutely believe.
Skip Barber Racing School wants to change that a little bit. We know $295,000 is a ton of money, more than enough to buy almost any brand new exotic on the market today, but for a lifetime of all-inclusive racing, it sounds like a bargain. With their new Fast Pass system, Skip Barber is offering a lifetime of lapping days, driving schools, and spec-racing events for one fixed price. With the Fast Pass, members can jump in any driving school, race, or lapping day, anywhere in the country, so long as the event isn’t totally filled up with cash customers (good idea if you ask us). Combine that with the use of their vehicles, instructors, variety of tracks, and not having to pay for gas or maintenance on cars, it actually sounds like a really good deal.
Depending on the response and demand for the program, spots may become limited, so if you’ve got the burning desire to go racing and $300k burning a hole in your pocket, head over to SkipBarber.com and sign on up. If you’re interested but don’t have quite that much to spend, lower level, more limited Fast Passes are available for $75k and $100k respectively.
[Source: Skip Barber]
Video: Ferrari 458 Italia Review
The Smoking Tire takes Ferrari’s newest supercar to an appropriately exotic location for a thorough road test. Somewhere home to celebrities, billionaires, and guidos. Somewhere like New Jersey. Host Matt Farah wrings the 458 Italia out on New Jersey’s beautiful roads to find out if it is truly the best Ferrari yet.
*If we had realized this past Sunday’s episode of Top Gear would have been the end of the season, we would have rushed this video out, just to beat Top Gear to it. If you think I’m ripping off Clarkson, remember we filmed this a month ago, before anyone had seen Top Gear. Video after the jump.
