Category Archives: Automotive Lifestyle

What does a car-enthused lifestyle look like?

Car Shows, SHOWCASE

1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, 2016 Amelia Island Best of Show, Concours d’Elegance

Gallery 1 Comment

1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Front Right'

Yesterday, Nick posted the Best of Show, Concours d’Sport, at Amelia last week. Today, we have the other Best of Show winner from the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. This is the Concours d’Elegance Best Of Show winner–a stunning Rolls-Royce Phantom II. I’ve been across a very large amount of prewar Rolls since I started covering Concours events in September 2010, but nothing quite like this monster. Continue reading 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, 2016 Amelia Island Best of Show, Concours d’Elegance →

Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Janis Joplin’s Porsche 356 at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

Gallery Leave a comment

Janis Joplin Porsche 356C Rear

Of all cars at the Amelia Island Concours, celebrity-owned cars get a good share of attention. However, a hippie-themed old Porsche was grabbing more attention than other cars it sat among. This 1964 356C was custom-painted and themed by Joplin over the years to describe better her artistic style within her own life as well as within her music. After her death due to a heroin overdose in 1970, the car was passed between a few different individuals, before ending up in the posession of her manager. The car spent a period of time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in recent years, and was sold to a private collection late last year. Out on the show field, this particular 356 had onlookers gaing at its incredible detailing and one-of-a-kind finish. I don’t expect to ever see anything like this car again for some time, and people asked questions about it non-stop. Enjoy the photos of this timeless legend. Continue reading Janis Joplin’s Porsche 356 at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance →

Automotive Lifestyle, Car Shows

February 27, 2015 Cars and Coffee at the Morris Plains Dunkin’ Donuts

Leave a comment

Plymouth Duster

Cars and Coffee might be relatively new to New Jersey, but it’s not a new thing at all. Having gotten its start when I was in high school out in Irvine over on the West Coast, it took some time, but it eventually made its way to the East Coast. The one I went to is just ten minutes away from my childhood home in Randolph NJ–and it was genuinely amazing to see this parking lot, which I always associated with a cheap Chinese-Italian buffet joint, a sketchy (back then) Bottle King, and an abandoned (at the time) gas station, completely filled to capacity and then some with all sorts of enticing machinery. Continue reading February 27, 2015 Cars and Coffee at the Morris Plains Dunkin’ Donuts →

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Tony Angelo and Lucky show us all how to make a fast Camaro on the cheap!

Leave a comment

When it comes to cheap speed, I’m all ears. I may not have the right tools or all of the necessary mechanical know-how (and I know in that regard I’m not alone), but I find myself to be a fast learner. Hot Rod Garage is now in a new season, and host Tony Angelo and new co-host Lucky take thsi episode to show us all what you need to look for and what some of the good ideas are to pick up a cheap car and make it fast on the dragstrip. All it took was a very straight late-Seventies Camaro coupe, an iron-block LS engine out of an Avalanche, and plenty of hop-up parts. Take the time to watch this video–it’s quite a good little crash course.

-Albert S. Davis

Car Shows, Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE

1947 Delahaye 135M Narval “Cover Girl” at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

1 Comment

47 Delahaye 135M Amelia Island 5

Only automobile aficionados know about Delahayes. But when anyone asks me who made the most beautiful cars of all time, I usually drop the Delahaye name. They are gorgeous, they are elegant, they are as French as French can be.

Any connoisseur of pre-war automobiles will know of all the stunning machines that came out of France in the early-mid 1900s. Many might argue that Bugatti or Talbot should hold the crown of  beauty instead, but Delahayes have always dropped my jaw in a way that no other marque ever has. They are magical machines with the power to make everything around them disappear.

The 1947 Delahaye 135M you see here turned many heads at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. It is one of a few hundred 135Ms produced in the difficult post-war era. France was ruined and there wasn’t much room for ostentatious luxury cars as the country was being rebuilt. As a result, most post-war Delahayes were exported to wealthy buyers outside of France. Delahaye’s larger military contracting business kept them afloat until they lost a major contract with the French government, and went bust in 1954.

This beautiful black Delahaye 135M Narval was built for a wealthy industrialist in Ohio. It’s design was inspired by the elegant motion of aquatic mammals, specifically the Narwal. It was built for the President of The Prima Company Ohio, and was showcased in a magazine ad for “Covergirl Dress Flats by Prima,” hence the car’s nickname “Cover Girl.”

This Delahaye stands as a masterpiece of art on wheels. Enjoy the gallery.

Continue reading 1947 Delahaye 135M Narval “Cover Girl” at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance →

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Motor Trend pits the Mercedes AMG GT S against the Jaguar F-Type

Leave a comment

Which six-figure sports coupe is better, the Mercedes AMG GT S or the Jaguar F-Type R?

Motor Trend finds out which is the winner, but honestly I’d recommend each of them to anyone.

Enjoy!

-Nick

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Jay Leno Drives This Custom JDM Datsun Sunny

Leave a comment

This is a classic Datsun Sunny 1200 pickup and it is a JDM wet dream.

It has a custom front clip, made to look like an original Skyline GT-R, and it has an SR20DET engine under the hood with a big ass turbo on it. In terms of “cool,” this Datsun is just dripping with it, and once again, Jay Leno proves he’s probably the luckiest guy on Earth.

Enjoy!

-Nick

Car Shows, SHOWCASE

The Thunderbolt, a Custom Rolls Royce with a WWII Tank Engine

1 Comment

Rolls Royce Thunderbolt V12 Custom Amelia Island 6

Some things just need to be built. Even without a practical purpose, some things must exist because they will make the world a better place. Inspiration is a powerful force in our world, and things that are born out of passion serve to inspire further passion in others. If that isn’t a worthy cause, then I don’t know what is.

This is the Thunderbolt, a custom built Rolls Royce Boat Tail Speedster with a fire-breathing WWII tank engine under its massive hood. It is the embodiment of childhood dreams, and an homage to a more elegant time, when cars were truly works of art and craftsmanship.

The Thunderbolt’s mighty engine is a 27 liter Rolls Royce Meteor V12. It produces 600-700hp and over 1,600 ft/lbs of torque. The Meteor engine was the tank derivative of the famous Merlin engine used in the Spitfire fighter plane. And when the owner says to be careful when starting the car, he means because it literally shoots 5 foot flames out the side exhausts (See the video).

Continue reading The Thunderbolt, a Custom Rolls Royce with a WWII Tank Engine →

Auto Idolatry

Autocar Drives the New Ford Focus RS

Leave a comment

And so it begins! The reviews of the Ford Focus RS have begun!

And what a nasty color!

Enjoy!

-Nick

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Is the McLaren 570S the McLaren to have?

Leave a comment

A lot of you may think the mighty McLaren P1 is the ultimate McLaren to have, if money were no object. Maybe you’d be right, but maybe you’d be wrong. You see, driver satisfaction goes a lot deeper than just raw speed and lap times. Is it possible that the “baby” McLaren 570S may be more fun than it’s faster siblings?

See what you think after watching this video from Motor Trend. For my money, an afternoon out driving is usually more fun in a more playful car.

-Nick

Automotive Lifestyle, Car Games

Villain’s Vehicles: Pablo Escobar in his Porsche 935

Leave a comment

photo Pablo Escobar Porsche 935.jpg

When you’re the biggest drug kingpin on Earth, netting over $500,000 per day into your personal bank accounts, you may find it hard to figure out how to spend your money once you’ve bought everything you’d ever dreamt of… and more.

Pablo had this problem back in his day. In addition to importing exotic wild animals, hiring a private army to invade his county’s capital so he could have a law changed, and assassinating presidential candidates, Pablo also had a special affinity for Porsches. He collected hundreds of other cars as well, but there are many photos of him driving Porsche racing cars specifically. This Porsche 935 was quite a prize back then, and maybe even more so today. I bet he drove it on the public road too – I mean, who was going to tell him he couldn’t?

I’m not sure what became of this particular 935. Most of Escobar’s car collection was destroyed once he was on the run, and his properties were seized by the people who were trying to kill him. The cars were a symbol of Pablo’s arrogant excess, so destroying them was a prime way to send a message to the King of Coke that his days were numbered.

I think this is such a sick photo, though. Right up there with my other favorite Pablo pic.

-Nick