Some fun was had today….
Posted: February 9, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: Blizzard, donuts, Mind over motor, Snow drifting, STi, Subaru, WRX 6 Comments »
Enjoying the snow here in the Northeastern US in my Subaru WRX STi. Went out drifting, and then did some celebratory donuts right in front of the house. Many performance cars have to stay in the garage during a blizzard, but rally cars are meant for this stuff. Snow drifting is surely one of my favorite things to do in this car. Hope everyone else is having fun today as well, wherever you are.
-Nick
The 2012 Woodward Dream Cruise: General Highlights
Posted: August 20, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 2012, American, Auto, Birmingham, Cadillac, Car, Chevrolet, Chevy, Chrysler, Coverage, Cruise, Detroit, Dodge, Dream, Ferrari, Ford, gallery, Highlights, Hot, Jam, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Mercury, MI, Michigan, Mind, motor, Muscle, Oak, Over, photos, pictures, Plymouth, Porsche, Rod, Royal, show, Subaru, Toyota, Traffic, Truck, Woodward 2 Comments »
I was in attendance for this year’s Woodward Dream Cruise. This was my first time at the event, and it is by far the most epic traffic jam I have ever witnessed. The scale of the event is mind-boggling, with around a million people flocking to the Detroit area to see and show off cars of all types. I have a lot more material from the event, but this is a good overview of what was happening. Keep checking back for features on specific cars not shown here. Enjoy the gallery.
Test Driven: Scion FRS Automatic, Nick’s Impressions
Posted: June 21, 2012 Filed under: Cheap Fun!, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 200, 4, Automatic, boxer, BRZ, cylinder, Drive, engine, FRS, handling, hp, Mind, motor, Over, review, RWD, Scion, sharp, Subaru, Test, Toyota, Transmission 4 Comments »
I was able to take a short drive in an Automatic Scion FRS recently. The drive was kept brief because I had asked for a manual, and was “just getting a feel for it so I could see if I wanted to order a manual”. Obviously this was not an ideal situation for a review but it did get me some seat time in this hot new car that is selling off the shelves, so I took what I could get for the time being. What follows are my first impressions on the Scion FRS, expect a full fledged review once I am able to get my hands on one with a clutch pedal for a decent amount of time. Read the rest of this entry »
6th Annual Tristatetuners Spring Meet
Posted: May 14, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 240, 6th, annual, Audi, BMW, Cars, gallery, Honda, Infiniti, Mazda, meet, Mercedes, Mind, Modified, motor, Nissan, Over, Silvia, Skyline, Spring, Subaru, Supercharger, supra, TE37, Toyota, Tristatetuners, turbo, Volk, VW Leave a comment »
We we in attendance for the 6th Annual Tristatetuners Spring Meet in Pennsylvania. Here are the highlights.
Spotted! Subaru Wagon, Jerusalem, Israel
Posted: April 26, 2012 Filed under: SPOTTED!, Unique | Tags: Art Car, Art District, AWD, Birthright, Garden Trowel, Israel, Jerusalem, Loyale, Mind over motor, Rutgers University, Spotted! Unique, Station Wagon, Subaru, Subaru Loyale, Taglit-Birthright, Wagon 1 Comment »
While on a two-week trip to Israel, I spotted this breathtaking Subaru station wagon on the very first day of the trip in Jerusalem’s impromptu art district not far away from the main market. Normally such a car would not attract my attention (in fact, these wagons are everywhere in Jerusalem) but after a few seconds looking at this one, I bet anyone will agree that this is one special Subaru art car. It seems to be a case of “make a garden out of the car”. My compliments to the owner, who is on the left in the photo after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Street Wars 8
Posted: April 23, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES, Photography by Dan Valanzola | Tags: 302, 350Z, 4G63, 8, AC, accord, airbrush, AMG, Art, Atlantic, Ball, Boss, C63, Camaro, Chevrolet, city, clean, Dan, drag, Dragon, euro, Evo, evolution, FD, Ford, GC, Genesis, Geo, GTI, GTR, Hatch, Honda, Hot Rod, Hyundai, import, Impreza, intake, Integra, Jersey, Lancer, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, Miata, Mind, Mitsubishi, Modded, Modified, Monster, motor, Muscle, Mustang, new, Nick, Nissan, NJ, Over, Photography, race, racer, Rotary, RX7, slam, slammed, slicks, Stance, STi, Street, Subaru, Supercharge, Track, Truck, tuned, tuner, turbo, Valanzola, VIP, VW, Wagon, Walker, Wars, WRX, Z 1 Comment »
Photo by Dan Valanzola
We were in attendance for Street Wars 8. The show was a lot smaller than last year due to organizational issues, but there were still plenty of quality cars to see. Photos are by both myself and Dan Valanzola. Enjoy the gallery. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: 2004 Subaru Forester 2.5XT
Posted: March 21, 2012 Filed under: TEST DRIVEN, Used Gems | Tags: 2.5XT, 2004, Automatic, AWD, Compact, Crossover, CUV, Flat-4, Forester, H4, Impreza, Mind over motor, review, Subaru, SUV, Test Driven, turbo, XT Leave a comment »
The WRX can be considered a car that turned Subaru’s image in America around virtually overnight. Once a seller of slightly staid, yet nearly unbreakable AWD sedans and wagons, they are now a seller of reasonably priced AWD vehicles and rally sport specials such as the Impreza WRX, STi, and the Legacy 2.5GT. By 2005, every single model Subaru built had the turbocharger option available, as Subaru saw fit to make the WRX’s legacy work across the board. The Forester, a Subaru staple since 1995, received the turbo engine in 2004. The example I drove was a 2004 2.5XT Limited with about 80,000 miles, in average shape. Read the rest of this entry »
Some photos from Friday at NJMP
Posted: March 3, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 1, 1M, BMW, garage, Jersey, Lamborghini, M, Millville, Mind, motor, Motorsports, new, NJ, NJMP, Over, Park, Picture, series, STi, Subaru, WRX Leave a comment »
Subaru STi through the garage
We attended a driving event at New Jersey Motorsports Park Friday March 2nd. While we will have reviews of the cars we drove at a later date, here are some shots I took around the track. Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »
BMW and Saab, a match made in Heaven
Posted: February 27, 2012 Filed under: AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS, INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 1, 9-3, 9-5, 900, all, automotive, bankrupt, BMW, brand, Buying, combi, Coupe, Drive, Europe, front, German, Market, Mazda, Mind, Mini, motor, Niche, Nick, Over, purchase, rear, rebuild, resurge, Saab, series, Subaru, Swedish, turbo, Viggen, Walker, wheel, Z2 1 Comment »
BMW and Saab
Recently it was reported that BMW had expressed interest in purchasing Saab Automobiles. After hearing this news I found myself constantly pondering the possibilities of this acquisition and how BMW could make Saab work in the market where GM had failed. BMW will of course be in contention with numerous other bidders, however after much thought I see BMW as the most perfect match possible for the Saab brand and its resurgence.
3 years on, are the Japanese still lost in the dark?
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: MEDIA RESPONSE | Tags: Baruth, Big Three, GT86, Honda, Jack Baruth, Japan, Media Response, Mind over motor, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Profit, Reputation, Sports, Subaru, The Truth about Cars, Thoughts, Toyota Leave a comment »
Back in the Eighties, Toyota was making stuff like this iconic AE86. Thankfully the GT 86 might bring back the glory of yesteryear, but what about the rest of Japan?
Back in 2009, The Truth About Cars editor Jack Baruth wrote an article on how the Japanese auto industry is losing its heritage to the point where its products are a shell of what they used to be. He talked about how Honda had lost its roots as a maker of cars with flair and engineering excellence, and how Nissan and Toyota were becoming too close to one another on retail lots. He reposted it on their website (thetruthaboutcars.com) and I found it to still be relevant today. But, in these three years, a few things have changed in the market. My question is this: Does Baruth’s argument still hold water, and is there any more evidence to support his side of this debate? I took a look into what the market is like today, and there are arguments for both sides. Read the rest of this entry »
