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

Bullrun is Looking For Interns!

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Bullrun is hiring! For all of you guys (and gals) out there who have wanted to be a part of Bullrun, yet don’t have the $20,000 per car to spend on the rally, here’s your chance to get involved, get on the rally, and MAKE MONEY in the process. If you’re a Los Angeles resident, and are interested in working with Bullrun on the 2012-and-beyond rallies, you should email them, because they are hiring. The only requirements:

- Los Angeles Resident

- Self Motivating

- Computer Literate

- Bullrun Fanatic!

Everything else can be worked out. There is money involved, and whoever gets the job will be going on the Bullrun Rally this year, hanging out with guys like Matt (and probably some skanks too).

Email Info@bullrun.com for more details.

02.04.2012 News 2 Comments

Video Chat Live with Matt and Rob from Super Speeders!

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

In an effort to remain as interactive as possible, Matt and Rob Ferretti from Super Speeders will be hosting a live YouTube chat tomorrow night (Tuesday 4/3/12) at 9 PM EST. We will be telling behind-the-scenes stories about Super Speeders, the truth about exotic car ownership, the secrets to competing in Bullrun successfully, and answering your questions in real time. Also, TST Podcast regular Micah “BamBam” White will be hanging out as well, as the token black dude.

To chat with us live via YouTube’s new, cool setup, visit this link on Tuesday, April 3rd at 9PM EST. We’ll be there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ah155LG9ZE

02.04.2012 News 2 Comments

Exercises in Marketing: It Takes More Than a Social Media Team

Monday, March 19th, 2012

As a member of the automotive media, I get lots of press releases in my inbox. Normally, I ignore them as there are plenty of other web sites out there who simply regurgitate press releases in the name of clicks, but we feel that you deserve more than just rearranged, prewritten news. But today let’s analyze a company called Blue Magic, and its owner Jerry O’Pry, as well as their marketing tactics.  (more…)

19.03.2012 Editorials, News 8 Comments

Exercises in Marketing: BF Goodrich’s “Awesomecross” Evaluated (With Video)

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

A few weeks ago I was provided the chance to try out BF Goodrich’s new tire, the G-Force Sport Comp 2, at California Speedway, back to back against the competition. It was a fun, educational event, that, most importantly, showcased to members of the media that BF Goodrich had, indeed built a good tire. I’m not sure if it was because I have a rather large social media following, or because I got fastest lap during that event, but BF Goodrich (actually, their “creative agency”) decided I should get an exclusive (25 people total) invite to participate in another media event for the tire; an event with the cringe-worthy title of ,”Awesomecross.” Names aside, I’m a fan of race tracks and autocross, especially if it’s on someone else’s tires, mounted on to someone else’s car, so I accepted their invite, which came in the form of a laser-etched slick tire, and showed up at El Toro Marine Base, home of Top Gear USA’s test track, promptly at 6:45 PM. Why so late in the day, you may ask? Because “Awesomecross,” apparently, is like autocross, except it’s run at night. Hit the jump to see how it went.

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07.03.2012 Editorials, News, Video 11 Comments

Video: The World’s Fastest DeLorean? – TUNED

Monday, February 27th, 2012

If there was one car that could claim responsibility for sparking my interest in cars, it was the DeLorean DMC-12. To a four-year old kid, that was the coolest thing in the world, and a starring movie role as a time machine didn’t exactly hurt. I’ve always wanted one, but the problem is that they are notoriously slow. So we found what may be the world’s fastest DeLorean down at DMC California, with a 575 hp twin-turbo Grand National engine in the back, and took it for a ride to see if the solution to the DeLorean’s horsepower woes could be found. Hit the jump for the video.

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27.02.2012 News, Reviews, Video 5 Comments

Video: TST’s Ultimate BMW Road Trip Part 1 – Mini Countryman S AWD

Friday, February 24th, 2012

The Smoking Tire heads down South Carolina, home of BMW’s North American manufacturing facilities, for the ultimate BMW Road Trip in three new cars. First, the Mini Countryman S. Yes it’s bigger than a regular Mini, and yes, it fits four large people very well. But the question we’re asking this week is, how does it work as a turret for skeet shooting? At the Spring Island Club’s private skeet range, we find out, before heading to the shrimp pond to catch our own dinner. Hit the jump for the video.

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24.02.2012 News, Reviews, Video 6 Comments

Breaking: Matt Takes Money From a Major OEM

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Taking money from a major automotive manufacturer is a big no-no in this business, for obvious reasons. I walked a fine line with that a year ago when I participated in the Ford Focus Rally, a month-long commercial  game show featuring the 2012 Ford Focus. Although I was paid to appear on the show (like I would put up with that shit for 5 seconds if you didn’t pay me), I refused to write or film a review of the Ford Focus, despite finding it to be a rather nice car. But how about a straight payout from the CEO of a major automaker? If I were Jack Baruth, I’d be preparing a very angry article right now. But don’t worry, Jack, I earned this one.

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22.02.2012 News, Photos 7 Comments

Video: The 700 HP VF Engineering M3 – TUNED

Monday, February 20th, 2012

In this episode of TUNED on the /DRIVE Network, Matt explores two common threads between three cars.

1) We have driven a VF Engineering Supercharged BMW M3 before, but that one was a wide body, and this one is standard body. This one also has 70 more wheel horsepower than the last car.

2) The parts used to upgrade this particular M3 are nearly identical to the parts used to upgrade the STILLEN Nissan 370Z we drove on last week’s episode of TUNED. How do two completely different cars react to the same level of tuning?

These questions and more will be answered in the video after the jump. Oh, and there’s lots of V8 wail. And burnouts.

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20.02.2012 News, Reviews, Video 10 Comments

Video: Matt Tests the STILLEN Supercharged Nissan 370Z on TUNED

Monday, February 13th, 2012

On our new show Tuned on the /DRIVE Network, we test completely re-worked vehicles, because on that show, stock just won’t do. And there are two kinds of tuner cars we love: crazy, over the top ones designed by madmen, and balanced packages that highlight a vehicle’s good characteristics while simultaneously improving upon the factory’s shortcomings. In this episode of Tuned, we focus on the latter. Steve Millen is a veteran racer-turned-tuner, and the team at STILLEN (AKA Steve Millen Sportparts) worked their magic on the already fun Nissan 370Z. They added 170 extra horsepower, courtesy of a Vortech centrifugal supercharger, improved the suspension, brakes, wheels, tires, and cooling system to produce an incredibly well balanced sports car that performs admirably in traffic, in the canyons, or at the track. We have been waiting a long time to drive this car, ever since seeing it being developed at STILLEN’s factory, and now we know why it was worth the wait. Hit the jump for the video.

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13.02.2012 News, Reviews, Video 13 Comments

Tested: BF Goodrich g-Force Sport COMP2 Tires

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Tires are a difficult item to shop for. You can test drive a car, and you can read a dyno sheet and hear a YouTube clip if you want to know which exhaust to buy, but when you buy a set of (probably very expensive) Ultra-high Performance tires for your sports car, you can’t return them after a full day of track testing and say they didn’t work. Tires can mean the difference between setting a record-breaking lap time and dying a very painful death inside a ball of metal that used to resemble a car. And when you buy a set, you’re stuck with them, even if they suck. That’s why I’m a big fan of tire tests. They are always at a race track, so you can push the tires to their limits, and they offer an opportunity to feel how a tire responds to your hands and feet, instead of reading a data sheet, marketing jargon, and user reviews on Tire Rack from people you don’t know or necessarily trust. So, when BF Goodrich invited me out to California Speedway to test their new g-Force Sport COMP2, I simply had to say yes. Hit the jump to find out how they (and I) did.

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06.02.2012 News, Photos, Reviews 3 Comments

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