In a hurry to get through the monotonous desert in south east Oregon via Hwy 95 on the most perfectly smooth 2-lane highway you can imagine, I’m doing well into triple digit territory late at night. I haven’t seen another car in almost an hour and I just want to get home, so it’s tunes-up and hammer-down to the…

Show me how to “pull the e-brake” on a new Jeep Renegade. (Assuming it’s a Renegade from the image in the article). Better yet, show me how to incapacitate an unfamiliar newer vehicle from the back seat without the driver’s foot on the brake. Most “e-brakes” are now only push button parking brakes that don’t engage…

I mean sure it got made but only just, and when it was released to the public at nearly 10k more than it’s initial pricing estimates it was still born on the showroom floor. I wanted one so bad because initial pricing for the turbo Sky Redline was said to be $25k, imagine my disappointment when I got to the…

Hell yes, the perfect prescription is shredding tires with the Chairslayer, Rob Parsons, in SoCal. Hoonigan and Chairslayer Foundation make it happen!

Icy hell in the northwest

Instantly reminded of this horrific creation, the Honda Smile Mission car with Tokyo FM. This thing would smile at you for a reaction shot in traffic. I spotted it at the Tokyo Motor Show a couple years ago.

I used to be a regular commuter on Highway 9 in the SF Bay Area, going up and over the mountain twice a day for over 10 years. This road has 2 stop signs, 300+ corners, and nearly 4000 feet of elevation changes. The speed limit is 45mph, local commuters would push [REASONABLE AND PRUDENT SPEEDS] regularly, and…

A noticeable absence from the list is the Ultima Evolution Coupe (a refreshed Ultima GTR) which can be bought turn-key and qualifies as a production car. The new top of the line Evo Coupe is 950kg (2090 lbs) and features a 1050hp supercharged 6.8L LS engine. The power/weight ratio puts the Koenigsegg One:1 to shame.…

It’s a compilation, and an oldie but a goodie. The Isuzu Gemini series of commercials featuring various automotive stunts in an econo box that would never live up to such abuse. I may or may not know from experience.

Skip Autobacs, it’s basically a pepboys (the truth hurts, I know). Go to Odaiba in the afternoon, checkout megaweb and such, then come back at night to see the Rainbow Bridge in all it’s glory. Also, depending on when in Oct. you’ll be in Tokyo, you might be able to hit the Tokyo Auto Show at Big Sight, a short walk…

Having driven and raced a wide variety of cars I’ve put them into 3 groups:

How about a little science to back up your tirade? The rotary sucks because it has terrible thermal efficiency. A fair part of the air/fuel mix is still burning as it exits the exhaust port. It needs 1080 degrees of crank rotation to complete a thermal cycle compared to 720 for a traditional Otto cycle engine. A…

My suspicion is that the older braided hoses never updated the rubber composition to be compatible with modern fuels which typically contain 10% ethanol. That ethanol dries up the rubber very quickly, making it brittle. Even if it’s not carrying fuel, the vacuum lines are still exposed to fuel vapor from the carb(s).…

I’ll wager the Mitsubishi Evolution VIII, the first one to officially come to the US, was too much car. I’ve heard that 1 in 4 Evos of this generation were totaled in accidents, and getting an insurance quote for one seems to back that up. A lot of fancy electro-gimmickry does not instantly turn the driver into a…

Got a couple, both probably the result of children... I hope.

We got the GSR in the states but it was called the Super Beetle Sports Bug, again only available in 1973. For the US market they left the hood and decklid body color (saturn yellow or marathon blue metallic) but a stripe down the belt line was an available dealer option. It's estimated that 5000 were produced for…

No pics handy, but I vote for Bruce Canepa, everything in his garage is for sale and it's all got a story.

Call me old fashioned, but I still like the original, not that I'm biased...

Beetle guys represent:

Michele Mouton is an animal. She took the same group B audi up Pikes peak for many years after it was banned in rally. A friend of mine Bill Brister took the hill record from her one year, besting her by a few seconds. She congratulated him by punching him in the face. What could be faster than a group B rally…