Car & Driver: Lotus Elan vs. Mazda MX5
Posted: August 10, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: &, 20, and, Car, Comparison, Driver, driving, Elan, fun, History, Laguna, Lotus, Mazda, Miata, Mind, motor, MX5, Over, pleasure, Raceway, Roadster, Seca, Super, vs Leave a comment »This is a great video showcasing two of the best roadsters in history. The Elan was the inspiration for the MX5 in a different era, and both cars have lessons to teach other carmakers today. This is pure driving and pure fun, the hell with 0-60 times and 1/4 mile runs. I can only hope that one day I get to drive a Lotus Elan like this, it is pretty high up there on my list. Enjoy the vid.
-Nick
Spotted! Ferrari 456M, Birmingham MI
Posted: June 18, 2012 Filed under: Exotics, SPOTTED! | Tags: 436, 456, Birmingham, Car, design, Detroit, Ferrari, Gran, GT, GTA, hp, Italian, M, MI, Michigan, Mind, motor, Over, sexy, sleek, Sports, spotted, Super, Turismo, V12 1 Comment »
The 456 is one of the most underrated Ferraris of all time, but it is also one of my favorites (at least visually). Just look at the thing. It has a pure form of beauty, more of a sculpture than a car. Sleek and sexy, yet elegant and tasteful. I love current Ferraris, but they could all be a bit better looking if they could find the balance that the 456 had. Yea I know you can have the same kind of power in a Camaro now, but with this you get that glorious V12 sound on top of the style. I was ecstatic when I found this just tucked away in a Birmingham car park this past weekend, and the pictures came out quite well. Enjoy the gallery.
A visit to the Shelby Museum
Posted: March 26, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 1, 289, 40, 427, big, Block, Car, chrome, Cobra, Dodge, Fastback, Ford, GLHS, GT, GT350, GT40, GT500, Mind, motor, Mustang, Omni, one, Over, series, Shelby, Small, snake, stock, Super, turbo, V8 Leave a comment »
Shelby Cobra 427
I visited the Shelby Museum on my recent trip to Las Vegas. It is a nice showroom with some pretty rare cars in it. They were gearing up for a 50th anniversary event to be held that weekend, so there were a few extra cars around as well. Here are some photos to enjoy.
-Nick
A Prius, a Veyron, and an MP4-12C walk into a bar…
Posted: February 22, 2012 Filed under: AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS | Tags: 0-60, 12C, 458, acceleration, audacious, Birdman, Bugatti, Car, Celebrity, Chris Harris, Cruise, culture, dollars, Driver, fake, Ferrari, hired, Horsepower, Italia, Mclaren, million, Mind, motor, MP4, MP4-12C, mpg, Nick, numbers, ostentatious, Over, Pop, Price, Prius, review, ruin, speed, Sport, Status, sticker, Super, Symbol, Tom, top, Veyron, Walker, Window 1 Comment »
Tom Cruise and his Veyron on the red carpet
That is a silly title, I know, but it does beg the question as to why I would put those three specific cars together at all? The answer lies in how they all have a similar reason for their existence, to be a number. Each was meant to achieve some specific measure of performance that would define the car to the world. While all three have been successful in achieving their tangible goals they have all wound up becoming relics of a more regimented and boring existence. They all cater to an increasingly soulless and superficial world where people judge everything from a bunch of numbers on sheet of paper or a computer screen, and not so much from actual experiences. Read the rest of this entry »
A little garage in Florida
Posted: January 24, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, Classics, Exotics, SHOWCASE, SPOTTED! | Tags: 2006, 400, 427, 911, 935, 996, bay, British, by, Car, CLK, Cobra, collection, Competizione, Coupe, daytona, don, Enzo, Exotic, F1, F40, Ferrari, FL, florida, FXX, German, GT1, GTR, homologation, hyper, II, Italian, John, LM, Maserati, MC12, Mclaren, Mercedes, Mind, motor, Over, Paul, petersburg, Pope, Porsche, race, Shelby, signed, ST, Super, tampa, wallace 2 Comments »
The collection, more pic and details below
Back in 2006 me and my family went to Tampa/ St. Petersburg, Florida. Me being the car nut, I decided to look up somewhere to go see some exotics in Dupont Registry. I found an ad for a Maserati MC-12. My dad called and said he was interested, he asked what else they had and they said “we have everything”, they weren’t kidding. We met up with the representative not at a posh dealership, but at a warehouse in the middle of an industrial, working class area, a place you would never expect to find such things. Upon entering the back room of the warehouse, behind a machine shop, I laid eyes on some of the most exotic cars on earth. I don’t want to give away to much about the owner, but let’s just say he is an RV salesman who has done fairly well for himself. His collection was truly immaculate to behold, and I have not seen many of these cars anywhere since. I figured it was about time I posted up this incredible experience here on MoM. Cars do not get more exotic than this, enjoy the gallery and details inside.
Test Driven: Lotus Evora S
Posted: October 20, 2011 Filed under: High End & Exotic, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 345, Beach, California, Car, Concours, d', Drive, Elegance, Evora, hp, Lotus, Mind, Monterey, motor, Over, Pebble, review, S, Sports, Super, Supercharged, Test, V6 1 Comment »
Lotus Evora S
Ever since I heard Lotus added some much needed power to the Evora I have been itching to try it out. The only real universal complaint about the standard Evora was that it was very underpowered. Lotus has added a supercharger to the Toyota V6 and power is now up to 345hp, in a car that weighs just 2700lbs. Needless to say, I knew this was going to be a lot of fun going in. Read the rest of this entry »
The Streets of Monterey/Carmel, Thursday Aug 18th, 2011
Posted: September 21, 2011 Filed under: Classics, Exotics, SPOTTED! | Tags: 2011, Abarth, Beach, BMW, Bugatti, California, Car, Carmel, Concours, Exotic, Ferrari, Fisker, GTO, Karma, M3, Mind, Monterey, motor, Over, Pebble, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Sport, spotting, Super, Veyron, Weekend Leave a comment »
Gran Turismo Omaligato
We got into the Monterey area much later than we had hoped on Thursday the 18th of August, thanks to some air travel incompetence. However, once we got there we were greeted with some fantastic sites and sounds on the streets of both Monterey and Carmel. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: ’91 Dodge Super Ram 350 Cummins Turbodiesel
Posted: September 15, 2011 Filed under: Off-Road Able, Road Review, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 350, Banks, Cummins, Diesel, Dodge, great, manual, Mind, Minnesota, MN, motor, Over, Pack, pick, Pickup, power, Ram, Super, Torque, Truck, turbo, Turbodiesel, up 2 Comments »
Super Ram 350 Cummins
For me a pickup needs to be something I’m not afraid to get dirty or ding up, but it needs to be mechanically bulletproof and able to haul anything you can throw at it. A good truck also needs to have some balls when you step on the gas pedal and a good ride so you can relax on your way home from a hard day’s work. My uncle George’s Dodge Ram Cummins is just such a truck and he was nice enough to let me take it on a spin during our family reunion. Read the rest of this entry »
2011 Frankfurt Auto Show
Posted: September 14, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 2011, 4.0L, 450h, 458, 4C, 991, Alfa, AMG, Audi, Auto, C-X16, Cars, E-tron, Eterniti, Ferrari, Focus, Ford, Frankfurt, Gallardo, Germany, GS, Hemera, Hybrid, Jaguar, Kubang, Lamborghini, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes SLS, Mind, motor, new, Over, Porsche, R8, Roadster, Romeo, S6, S7, S8, show, Spider, ST, Stradale, Super, SUV, Torfeo, turbo, V8 Leave a comment »
The Frankfurt Auto Show is on now and there are many new models coming out. I will go through my thoughts on each one that I found to be notable and interesting. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: Mercedes SLS AMG, Nick’s Take
Posted: September 8, 2011 Filed under: High End & Exotic, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 563, 6.2L, AMG, Beach, Benz, California, Car, Drive, German, Gran, grand, Gullwing, hp, Mercedes, Mind, Monterey, motor, Over, Pebble, review, SLS, Sports, Super, supercar, Test, Tour, Turismo, V8 Leave a comment »
Mercedes SLS AMG
It is hard not to be excited when you find out you are going to drive a supercar. When I got to the Mercedes booth at Pebble Beach and found out they were indeed doing SLS test drives excitement would put the feeling lightly. The new Gullwing is a car I have seen in magazines and videos all over, but now it would be me behind the wheel. When you approach the car with its glorious doors lifted to the sky you know you are about to get into something very special. The Gullwing takes the usual right leg first, then ass in seat, then left leg approach to entry over its wide door sill, but once you are in the car everything is very comfortable, well spaced, and supportive. Once situated, I reach up, pull the door down and get ready to go. Read the rest of this entry »
Obscure Auto: B. Engineering Edonis
Posted: August 29, 2011 Filed under: Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE | Tags: 110, B, B. Engineering, back, backfire, Bugatti, Car, Drift, EB, Edonis, Engineering, exhaust, Exotic, fire, flames, from, hyper, hypercar, Italian, load, Mind, motor, on, Over, quad, Super, supercar, twin turbo, ultra, V12, video, yacht Leave a comment »
B. Engineering Edonis
This car is linked heavily with the Bugatti EB-110 covered previously. B. Engineering, an Italian firm made up of many ex-Bugatti engineers, designed a chassis based on the design of the EB-110 in order to make an extremely exclusive supercar that would commemorate the turn of the 21st century. They called their car the Edonis, and while it did share its chassis design with the EB-110, major changes occurred everywhere else. Read the rest of this entry »
Stunning Brown Lamborghini Murcielago SV
Posted: August 25, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 2011, Beach, Brown, CA, California, clutch, Concorso, course, duck, Flat, gold, Golf, Italiano, Laguna, Lamborghini, manual, matte, Mind, Monterey, motor, Murci, Murcielago, Over, Pebble, pedal, Seca, spoiler, Super, SV, tail, Veloce, wheels 1 Comment »
Lamborghini Murcielago SV
This is a very unique Murcielago, other than just being a Super Veloce which makes it rare enough. This car is matte brown with gold accents and it pulls it off beautifully despite being quite different from the usual Lamborghini fruit salad colors. This SV is also quite rare in that it doesnt have the big rear spoiler, just a ducktail on the back, and it is also one of just a few SVs to have a clutch pedal. This has to be my favorite Murcielago I have ever seen anywhere by a long shot. This car is just so unique and pulls off the different look beautifully. It stand out, even in a crowd of Lamborghinis. Now that should tell you something right there. More pictures inside. Read the rest of this entry »
