RideLust

Carlos Sainz

3,100 miles of brutal off-road racing across mountains, dunes and through desert canyons just cannot be easy for anyone, even celebrated Spanish WRC champion Carlos Sainz. But despite the terrain and mechanical issues, Sainz, the 2010 Dakar Champion, scored a victory on Monday, taking the second stage of the 2011 Dakar Rally in his 310 hp Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 with a finishing time of 3:11:28. In second place for the car class was his VW teammate, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, who finished the stage in 3:12:31. The champion of numerous Dakar Rallies (both in the motorcycle and car classes), Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel, took third in his BMW X3 CC with a time of 3:13:02.  Overall, Sainz leads the car class, with Peterhansel in second and Al-Attiyah in third place.

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2011 is right around the corner and we all know that New Year’s Eve is when the champagne flows and inhibitions are forgotten.  And when drunk driving is especially prevalent.

As a reminder of such dangers, AAA has released the results of a survey finding that one in ten American drivers within this past year have admitted to getting behind the wheel despite believing that they were near or in excess of the legal blood alcohol content limit.  In addition, AAA reviewed NHTSA data on alcohol-related fatalities between 2000 and 2009 and found that almost two and a half times as many people are killed in alcohol-related crashes on New Year’s Day than on the same day of the week in the weeks surrounding the holiday.

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This Thanksgiving, family argument time will be forced to compete with Gran Turismo 5 – which is finally (and actually) being released TODAY.  To get a sense of how big a deal this truly is, check out the clip below.  IGN has provided a video solely featuring the opening of the collector’s edition game box.  You may feel dirty after watching this.

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You’ve heard them – your friends and coworkers railing with righteous indignation against Top Gear USA.

“It’s nothing like the UK version,” they howl.

“It’s not funny.”

“There’s no rapport.”

“It’s a goddamn insult!”

Or, like me, you were sent a host of emails and texts containing such terse and pithy messages as “FAIL,” “EPIC FAIL,” and “WTFail.”

So everyone has been pulling their hair and gnashing their teeth as if Beelzebub had yacked in their Lucky Charms. But was it really THAT bad?

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Taking the top titles at Sunday’s U.S. RallyCross were a Saab and a Ford station wagon.  No, your eyes do not deceive you!

(Photo courtesy of RallyAmerica)

19 year old Finnish driver, Toomas “Topi” Heikkinen, took the honors in the AWD A Main race at the last U.S. RallyCross championship event of the year in Millville, NJ.  Heikkinen piloted an Eklund Motorsport-sponsored 600 hp 2010 Saab 9-3 Aero Sport Sedan to victory over the increasingly European competition, which included the 2009 and 2010 FIA European Rallycross champion, Sverre Isachsen of Norway.

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You mod your car for performance, but do you actually get to enjoy your improvements?   Have you ever just wanted to drive on a racetrack but didn’t know how to start?

We all have that lust for speed, but instead of satiating it on public roads in an unsafe and unfulfilling fashion, why not check out a high performance driving education (HPDE) event?

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With red lipstick, a nipple ring and “Goodbye Horses” on repeat, it becomes a Pontiac Vibe.

If you’re in the DC area and want to check out an exceptional collection of exotic and immaculate classic rides FOR FREE, I suggest you head over to Great Falls, VA to the Cars and Coffee event that takes place every Saturday.

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I’ve been forcibly subjected to a few of the improbably innumerable televised “talent” shows, and I believe the skills shown in this video blow away anything I’ve seen on tv. The fella here can do a full gamut of car sounds just by using his mouth. Watch his amusing impressions of an import car, a moped, a dirtbike, a Subaru, and a VW, with a touch of gear rowing and drifting, no less.

Pass the Akvavit…

Saab will be holding a press conference today and it is rumored that the announcement will be fascinating news for both Saab and BMW enthusiasts.

The two manufacturers have reportedly entered into an agreement for BMW to supply a 222 hp engine to Saab for the 2012 Saab 9-3SS.  The engine is still under wraps as it hasn’t yet been utilized in any current BMWs.  Reports have indicated that this new 9-3 is to be available as a sedan, vert, wagon, and hatchback, and that it has been designed under the helm of Saab’s new design director, Jason Castriota, a former Ferrari P4/5 and Maserati Gran Turismo designer.

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