All posts by ndubs77

Car Shows

First Class Fitment 2012

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We were in attendance for First Class Fitment 2012 in Princeton, NJ this past weekend. Loads of slammed and stanced cars came out for the show, and the airport was filled to capacity. There are always a few very interesting cars mixed in with the more generic crowd at events like this, and that is why I go to them. Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of the stance movement because I think it gets taken a bit far sometimes, and I cannot stand when people ruin the handling of high performance cars like Evos, STis, M3s, Porsches, etc. That said, I do like a nice clean, flush stance on most cars, so long as the suspension is still able to function, and there were many such well done cars at this event. I got some great photos, so whatever your taste in cars you should enjoy.

Continue reading First Class Fitment 2012 →

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Autocar: Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series

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Happy Friday everyone! It has been quite a busy week, and we are looking forward to some events this weekend. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to do much writing in the past few days because of this, so there won’t be a review this week.

Have a great weekend.

-Nick

Cars We've Seen

Spotted! Ferrari F430 Scuderia, Zurich, Switzerland

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One of many Ferraris I saw while in Zurich this summer. So many that I actually lost count. Great city.

-Nick

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Drive goes to Fisker Automotive

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Drive’s J.F. Musial goes to Fisker Automotive in California to try out the Karma, and get some fantastic insights from company founder, Henrik Fisker. Listen to what he says because he is absolutely right about the future of cars, and the need for something like the Karma to keep our roads interesting. Not to get all political, but Mitt Romney said Fisker was a failure, and seeing this I would have to ardently disagree. Enjoy.

Car Shows

Lime Rock Historic Festival: RAUH-Welt Begriff Porsche 993

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RAUH-Welt Begriff (RWB) makes aftermarket body kits for Porsches. They have developed a bit of a cult fan base with the advent of the stance movement, and largely fit that emphasis on style for style sake. Many RWB Porsches are indeed highly modified monsters, but RWB only offers things relating to appearance; body kit, wheels, and a lowered suspension. Each RWB car is made unique for the owner, so between the kit itself as well as the other performance modifications fitted by the owner no RWB Porsche is exactly the same. The car you see here looked stunning, and called all sorts of attention to itself during the Concours at Lime Rock Park. I did however make the mistake of looking through the vents into the engine bay, only to find that underneath this car was a bone stock 993 Carrera. Shattered were my hopes of finding a monstrous 750whp, twin GT30R turbo setup, as I have seen on other 993s. The car did still look the absolute business though, and unless you really looked you couldn’t tell the car was all show and no go. Either way I was thrilled to have finally seen one of these demonic looking Porsches up close, it surely leaves quite the impression. Enjoy the gallery.

Continue reading Lime Rock Historic Festival: RAUH-Welt Begriff Porsche 993 →

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Chris Harris snags a ride in the Porsche 918

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As much as I agree that car reviews from the passenger seat suck, and I generally refuse to do them, there are some cases where you take what you can get. This would be one of them, given how much buzz there is around the Porsche 918 at the moment. This video sheds a lot of light on Porsche’s new hypercar, and turn up your speakers for the part where they kick it out of “electric mode” because they engine is pure savagery.

On another note though, they do say this car will weigh 1700kg (3700lbs). While I absolutely trust Porsche in everything they are doing, there is a bit of me that has to look back at the Carrera GT with a sort of somber admiration for its comparative simplicity. It was a light car with a glorious engine, and a clutch pedal of all things; the epitome of a pure Porsche supercar? The 918 is awesome, but seems so complex by comparison. We will see if that is a good thing, and I have high hopes, but the V10 will be tough to beat.

-Nick Walker

Car Shows

2012 Lime Rock Historic Festival: 1936 Delahaye 135S

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Delahaye sare true works of art, quintessential examples of French Art Deco era automobiles. This sinister black and red car was present for the Concours d’ Elegance  during the Lime Rock Historic Festival. I’m not sure how it did in judging, but it sure stole my eye. The owner had just restored it and had a sale pending for somewhere in the seven figure range. This car was absolutely stunning, enjoy the photos.

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Cars We've Seen

Alfa Romeos from Europe: Can America please have Alfa back….PLEASE?!!

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While over in Europe this summer, each day was made a little brighter by the fact that I got to see Alfa Romeos everywhere I went. Alfa Romeo hasn’t been in the US for quite some time now, so seeing all of the modern Alfas was a real treat for me. I particularly loved the Giulietta (shown above), but all of them are basically akin to rolling sculptures. The Italians really know how to style a car. I have heard varied things about the way many new Aflas drive, but as a spectator I was smitten with them. I am hoping and praying that the rumors of Alfas return to the States are true, because I could easily see something like a Giulietta in my driveway as a daily driver.   Continue reading Alfa Romeos from Europe: Can America please have Alfa back….PLEASE?!! →

Cars We've Seen

Spotted! ’30 Ford Rat Rod, Woodward Ave, MI

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Every dad dreads the day that some other man will come to pick up his daughter for the first time. Now usually a guy in a Mustang is bad news, but if he rolls up in this thing then a father’s worst nightmare has become a reality. This 1930 Ford has obviously had a lot of custom work done, slamming it to within a few millimeters of the pavement, but it has retained its original body and frame from the Prohibition Era. Powering this ominous carriage is a 302ci Ford V8 with an Offenhauzer intake, and with those short, terminating headers it makes quite a racket. This is a really badass car, one that draws attention in any crowd of cars. Its edges are rough as hell, but there aren’t too many cars out there with more in the way of character and personality. Here comes Trouble!!!  Continue reading Spotted! ’30 Ford Rat Rod, Woodward Ave, MI →

Opinions

Why young people aren’t buying cars, debunking the hysteria

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There has been tons of talk lately about young people, or “millennials”, and their lack of interest in cars. This summer I was working on some aspects of the Chevy Spark launch, and all we talked about was how to make the car appeal to fictional young people whom nobody has ever met. As an actual member of the “millennial generation” I can tell you that this is all extremely frustrating; a bunch of idiotic older people trying to read all sorts of fantastical reasons into an answer that is really quite simple. Now, I am obviously a car enthusiast so my own tastes are not representative of my whole generation, however many of my friends fit the norm much better. I will try and make things clear, from the perspective of someone who is actually a part of the generation in question, and not some foolish marketing person in a panic.   Continue reading Why young people aren’t buying cars, debunking the hysteria →

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Chris Harris drives the Le Mans winning Porsche 962

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Some things just need to be reposted when I see them, and this is one of those. Yet another truly epic video from the folks at Drive. The cars Chris normally tests are incredible, but this Porsche 962 is straight up Biblical.  Keep it up, we all love it!

-Nick