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Bob Lutz is Pissed and Rightfully So

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Rarrrr! Keep talking and I'll rip your face off!

by Zack K

 

By now everyone has heard of the Chevy Volt fire, and what a complete non-issue it is. ONE car caught fire, 3 weeks after the accident. If you crash your car and want to wait 3 weeks before you get out of it, the world really doesn’t need your genes in its pool. But the news grabbed the story, because they’re bored and terrible at their jobs. So they turned it into a big hullabaloo, hurting a recovering manufacturer all in the name of ratings. CNN-for example- has been in the shitter for years, so thinking this would be their big break is retarded. But another news organization has also been shouting “fire” all to stick a thorn in the Obama administration for funding the Volt with the auto bailouts. And that’s what has Bob Lutz so pissed off. This man doesn’t like a twisting of the facts. (more…)

01.02.2012 News 4 Comments

TUNED: Roadtrip to Art Morrison Enterprises

Monday, January 30th, 2012

 

What makes a vehicle amazing is its chassis. You can bolt on all the after-market suspension, sway bars, strut bars or roll cages you want but their performance is limited, ultimately, by the chassis. You can sprint and lift all you want, but if you’re 5’5″ and 135 lbs your skeleton will keep you out of the NFL. But thanks to Art Morrison, you can take the body off your hot-rod, ditch the weak, flexy, obsolete frame it came with and bolt to a chassis whose abilities probably exceed yours.

 

One of our favorite episodes of TST was the Art Morrison 1960 Corvette 3G. The episode was fun to make and looked amazing but the star of it was the car. It accelerated, turned, and stopped better than many modern Corvettes. Then there was the 1955 Chevy Bel Air, the car that changed Matt’s perception of what a hot rod can be. Art’s chassis are also used as the back-bone of the incredible one-off off-roaders made by ICON. There’s nothing he can’t improve. That’s why we drove up to Washington to film this episode for “TUNED.” We went to see his shop and find out how he -along with his son, Craig- are able to make old cars so damn good. Unfortunately the rain kept us from driving their latest project, but we had fun learning what it is that makes these cars so good. Jump for the video.  (more…)

30.01.2012 Video 2 Comments

SLP’s Camaro ZL1 is a Loud Waste of Money

Friday, December 30th, 2011

 

Manufacturers have the tough job of building a car that pleases a big market. Not too stiff, not too soft, not too fast for the tires but not too slow to feel like (god forbid!) last year’s car. It’s a hard job. I imagine it’s like waiting on-or eating with-someone with 3 fake food allergies (“I just don’t like green things.” True story). The aftermarket lets you make a car your own. Add power, sticky tires, sway bars, ultra-stiff track suspension, air bags, whatever. The goal-although people often fail-is to make the car better.

 

Using that math you’d assume the more money you spent the better the car would get. I spent $4k improving my last car, but absolutely wished I’d been able to spend $10k, because i knew what issues it would have solved. It’s this ideal that has led me to be annoyed at the SLP Camaro ZL1. If you want to see $80,000 squandered, make the jump. (more…)

30.12.2011 Uncategorized 10 Comments

Saw Your Video. Can We Beat Up a Car Too? (video)

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

 

A few weeks ago we were sitting around bullshitting about the future; New concepts, possible episodes, ideas, dreams, alibis, the usual stuff. Thad sat up; the cue he has an idea. Sometimes his ideas are nuts but his batting average is pretty good. “Can we get a car from someone and just try to break it? You know, see how far it’ll jump before it breaks, something like that?”

 

I turned, “So, you mean can we tell a company we’re going to hurl their car through the air, repeatedly, with the idea that the longer it survives the better they look?”

“Yeah.” He quickly replied, as if I had asked if he was putting on socks before his shoes?

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22.12.2011 Editorials 1 Comment

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…)

18.12.2011 News, Photos, Uncategorized, Video No Comments

Highway Deaths Lowest since 1949. Good. Can We Go Faster Now?

Friday, December 9th, 2011

 

"Where I'm from, my people run free." RS5 to CHP officer.

 

The topic of speed limits comes up in our merry band of arsonists (thanks to Dan Neil for that name) oh; every single time we drive a car. We usually give extra thought and a more “passionate” discussion after receiving speeding tickets. Most of the cars we drive-especially that we make episodes of-are either high-performance cars or expensive cars. Not exactly cars that drive poorly. Yes, they’re fast but they also have good brakes, traction system, air bags, warning lights (which we hate) and good tires. Germany has the Autobahn, proving travel at extremely high speed is safe. We know that won’t happen here, but what about a bump in limits?

 

Let’s be honest, everyone who drives a car knows in a good car it’s safe to travel above the posted speed limit. Everyone -on highways at least- speeds at least a little bit. I remember learning to drive and asking my dad how fast to go on the highway. He said “65″, to which I replied, “Oh please you never drive that speed. What’s the real number?” I wasn’t asking if it’s ok to max out our Laredo but I paid enough attention when my parents drove to know we weren’t the only families doing 5 over. More (more…)

09.12.2011 Editorials, Video 6 Comments

Cadillac Might Go Diesel – Good. They Should.

Monday, December 5th, 2011

 

Above is the Cadillac concept called the 2009 Cadillac Converj concept but it will soon be known as the grass-friendly ELR Coupe. It would use the same platform as the Chevy Volt, so it would be a hybrid that gets from 40 to 1,000,000 MPG. Yes, I am exaggerating but if you never drove over 40 miles I guess it’s mathematically possible. Cadillac has made great strides the past few years of making cars that drive on par with the European imports we all praised so highly back in the 90s (and still do today). Building a hybrid isn’t just a way to keep with the times and stay competitive, if there’s one thing GM is known for it’s platform sharing. Why else would they have what felt like 349 slight variations of the same damn car for so many years? I’m looking at you, Pontiac, GMC and Saturn, as examples of redundancy. Well in this case it’s a good thing. Electric power and luxury cars go together. Rich people like smooth things. Suede, cream, mousse, see? But what about a diesel Cadillac? Read on …. (more…)

05.12.2011 News, Photos 6 Comments

TST Dream Garage: Vaugh Gittin Jr.’s Mustang RTR-X (video)

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

 

This is the newest car to be added to the TST Dream Garage. For those of you new to the game, we’re slowly compiling a list of all the cars we’d buy if we had money.  I mean so much money you’d buy one of those stupid, giant yachts that Paul Allen used to substitute his penis. If it’s a vehicle, we can put it on the wish list for the day we all simultaneously win every lottery in the US at once. And being added to that ever-expanding garage in the sky (Skycake made daily) is Vaughn Gittin Jr’s own, 1969 Need For Speed Mustang RTR-X. I ****ing love this car.

 

This car came out long ago, and it’s been on a tour since it debuted at SEMA in 2010. So you’ve probably seen it, heard of it or read about it. Nothing new. I’d read about it when it came out and thought it was awesome. But that didn’t prepare me for what I’d think when I saw it at Formula D this year at Irwindale. I rounded the corner  and stopped. (Earmuffs kids.) “Hoooo shit.” Make the jump to read my love story, and watch Gittin destroy some tires.

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01.12.2011 News, Photos, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Is Horsepower Replacing Fun?

Monday, November 14th, 2011

 


When I set out to write this article, my main focus was to offer a comparison between Toyota’s legendary AE86 and Mazda’s game changing Roadster. However, the more I tried to pinpoint just why these lightweight FRs are so great, the more I realized why today’s successors just aren’t. Keep reading my fellow ADDers, you will enjoy the article, or your money back!

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14.11.2011 Editorials, Photos, Viewer Submission 5 Comments

NAPA Completes ’65 Chevelle CarDomain Project Car

Monday, October 31st, 2011

 

10 years ago Al Gama bought a 1965 Chevy Chevelle. The idea was he and his son would restore it. There was a lot to do: body work, interior, engine work. They set about it, but around year 5, with a 40% completed car, Al’s son got married and found it’s hard to have an automotive mistress that early in a marriage. Work stopped. The car sat. Little did they know 5 years later NAPA Autoparts would choose their car to be the NAPA Know HOW Cardomain Project Car.  (more…)

31.10.2011 Photos, Video 1 Comment

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