Car Shows

New Fiat 124 Spider at the L.A. Auto Show, 2015

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Fiat 124 Rear White//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

When Fiat launched the new 124 in Los Angeles last fall, I was excited. In fact, I can say I was more excited for this launch than the new Miata. Though I own an old NA, when I was a little kid, one of my good friends growing up had a little silver roadster under a tarp at the end of his driveway. Under the tarp was his dad’s little Fiat Spider. I never saw the car run and I never really knew a lot about the car but I always felt a bit of a connection to it. To this day I have a soft spot for old Italian roadsters, and I think it started with Mr. Gunnell’s old Spider sitting behind his old van. Continue reading New Fiat 124 Spider at the L.A. Auto Show, 2015 →

Cars We've Driven, Everyday Normal Cars

BMW i3 Review: Expectations are Everything

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BMW i3 Electric Car Review 1

The BMW i3 is just a car in the same way that an iPhone is just a phone. It does the job, but it’s really about so much more than basic functionality. It is a techy gadget on wheels, and it’s as much a personal brand statement as it is a mode of transportation.

As a new age city car, a Toyota Prius C will do the exact same functional job as the BMW i3 for less than half the price. But you could say the same for any other BMW as well, compared to a normal car. BMWs are pure luxury items, just like an Apple products, so we need to look at the car in that way.

As a car reviewer, I have my experience driving the car for a few minutes, hours or days, and then I give the car back. Owners have to live with the car, day-in and day-out for extended time. Consequently, our two experiences can often wind up pretty different.

The BMW i3 is one such car. I had my experience driving it, and I developed my initial opinion based on that. But then I looked around online to see what actual customers were saying, and I found much more I needed to consider before rendering my verdict. I think a lot comes down to how you approach the BMW i3, and how you intend to use the car.

Here is my take from both my drive in the car as well as from further research I’ve done.

Continue reading BMW i3 Review: Expectations are Everything →

Car Shows

1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-396 at Lead East 2015

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1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Front//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

When it comes to the second-generation Chevrolet Chevelle, I feel that the ’68 is overlooked. Despite being the launch year, it’s not known for any dealership-modified specials (such as the Yenko in 1969) or the Hemi-eating LS-6 engine (such as the 1970), or even being the last of the era (the ’71-72). These were handsome intermediates for the era, and certainly looked a bit more upscale than the offerings from Plymouth and Ford during the same era. The fastback roofline looks very crisp, even though it blunts rear 3/4 visibility somewhat. Continue reading 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-396 at Lead East 2015 →

CARS 101, Opinions

Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, and Toyota GT86 FA20 Tuning and Modification Guide

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Stanced Scion FRS First Class FitmentThe Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, and Toyota GT86 are all basically the same car underneath. A popular fun machine at an affordable price is an appealing thing, and they’ve sold pretty well.

Most car enthusiasts will wind up wanting to modify and upgrade their cars, tailoring its experience for their own personal tastes. There are many ways to go about modifying a Toyobaru 86 variant. This is my own take and advice on the best way to go about modifying the car intelligently and cost-effectively.

Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments…

Continue reading Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, and Toyota GT86 FA20 Tuning and Modification Guide →

Opinions

The Huayra BC is Pagani’s New Superleggera

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At first glance, you might think the Pagani Huayra has gone full racecar. But the Huayra BC is a street legal, leaner and meaner edition, known in Italy as a “superleggera” model. And before we even get into the details, you should know that all 20 Huayra BCs are already sold out, at around $2.6 million a pop.

Naturally the Pagani Huayra BC is spectacular in its execution, as well as in the philosophy behind it. Pagani continues to do things their own way, in a world full of carmakers all jumping on the latest bandwagon. That said, the Huayra BC will surely compete, and likely even win.

Pagani has cranked up the boost on their twin turbo AMG V12, giving the Huayra BC 789 bhp and 811 ft/lbs of torque. That’s nearly a 10% gain over the normal Huayra. Furthermore, Pagani has lightened the car through various painstaking means, and has found a way to take nearly 300 lbs (also around 10%) out of the weight of the standard Huayra, which was already a pretty light car. The Pagani Huayra BC now weighs in around 2,685 lbs. That’s lighter than a Subaru BRZ with four times the horsepower!

Continue reading The Huayra BC is Pagani’s New Superleggera →

Car Shows, Uncategorized

Mercedes G63 AMG Monster Truck at First Class Fitment

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Mercedes G63 AMG Monster Truck First Class Fitment

The Mercedes G63 comes from the factory as a fast, off-road-capable SUV, but for this owner, it clearly wasn’t enough.

-Nick

Cars We've Seen

Rice-ified Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible spotted in Hollywood Beach, FL

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Riced Out Camaro//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

My family, thanks to my tutelage and insistent urging, send me pictures of cars all the time. For some reason, all of them notice Camaros, both the good ones, the bad ones, and ones like this–uglies. Someone did a nice job painting this Camaro convertible candy apple red–then they messed up, and messed up big time. It’s got Lambo doors, which are only good on where they came from (and only can be excellent on a Countach). It’s got wheels on it that scream early-2000s rap video, and a roll bar that looks like it came out of a JC Whitney catalog. It’s a fantastic example of why parents need to keep their children in school and off the streets, because they might run into a car like this and flush their life down the crapper. Oy vey.

Spotted by: Susan Lazar

-Albert S. Davis

Car Shows

Lamborghini Countach at Hopewell Cruise Night

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Lamborghini Countach Hopewell Cruise Night 4

A car named after an expletive used when no other words can describe what you’re seeing. “Countach!” in Italian means something like “Holy Crap!” and that is the precise reaction people had to this car when it first came out.

The Lamborghini Countach’s design was so striking that the model endured for 17 years. It was updated with audacious wings and vents during the wild, cocaine-crazed 1980’s, because its scissor doors weren’t vulgar enough on their own after the first decade.

This Countach belongs to a local dealer, who always puts on a great show at the Hopewell Cruise Nights. It literally stopped everyone in their tracks when it rolled up.

The Countach also sounds incredible, check out this video for some sweet V12 fury:

Enjoy the photos!

Continue reading Lamborghini Countach at Hopewell Cruise Night →

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

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

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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

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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 →

Opinions

Is the new 2017 Volvo V90 the Ultimate Daily Driver?

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The new Volvo S90 sedan is very cool, but it’s a sedan. The car you see here is the 2017 Volvo V90, and it’s much cooler because the Viking god, Odin, decreed that true Volvos must be wagons.

I guess it’s sort of a brand image thing for me, but I always picture a proper Volvo as a wagon, even despite the fact that my mom had an S80 sedan for years. The S90 and V90 come as replacements for the S80, and they feature every ounce of Volvo’s newfound luxury swagger.

I drove the new Volvo XC90 last spring, and I was blown away, to say the least. Volvo came out of nowhere with what is probably the best luxury 7 seat SUV on the market. I mean, Volvos have always been nice solid cars, but they were hardly head-turners. Volvo has clearly decided to change that with their new generation of cars.

Continue reading Is the new 2017 Volvo V90 the Ultimate Daily Driver? →

Car Shows

1951 Packard Patrician 400 at the 2015 Radnor Hunt Concours

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1951 Packard Patrician Front 1//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Due to the phrase “Fabulous Fifties”, everyone seems to think that all cars sold in America during the first full decade after World War II had loud paint, snarling V8 engines, towering tail fins, and lashings of insane chrome. The opposite, in fact, was true, especially in the years preceding 1955. In fact, most cars were notably understated, and still used muted colors and drab interior schemes as the cost was lower. Of course, a Packard could be drab in color and muted in trim, but the cost would most certainly not be low. This Patrician 400, looking quite stately in black, has a custom interior designed by Dorothy Draper, so the interior was not “drab”. Packard offered this series as its flagship in 1951, and 9,001 orders were taken–mostly in black. It’s not as flashy or as obvious as the equivalent Cadillac or Lincoln of the period, but it does not need to be. Continue reading 1951 Packard Patrician 400 at the 2015 Radnor Hunt Concours →