A Ferrari 458 Italia; something is missing...
I was following an interesting comment thread on another board recently, and it played out like this: Commenter A, who claims to have extensive tuning experience and claims to drive a Jeep Cherokee SRT-8, made the bold statement that manual transmissions are obsolete. He further went on to say that enthusiasts should get over this and embrace the automatic, which is superior to the manual in every way. As you’d guess, a thorough beat-down of the original commenter ensued. From the language and grammar used, most commenters were posting from their mom’s basement, and had experience driving manual transmissions on Need For Speed and Grand Turismo only. That’s how things generally go on internet message boards, especially poorly moderated ones.
2010 was a good year. The venerable Lancia Stratos came back from the grave. Jaguar built a car with two jet engines in it. The Mustang shaved its mullet and proved itself as a more-than-capable sports tourer. Chevy’s long-awaited Volt turned out to be pretty good. And Cadillac made the most bitchin’ station wagon ever. But my favorite cars this year didn’t make the glossy magazines. They won’t end up in posters plastered to 15-year-olds’ walls. They won’t be featured in Forza or GT5. They are, however, spectacular in every way imaginable. Here they are, in no particular order.
Over the past year both Kurt and myself have done our best to bring you guys the best that the automotive world has to offer. We’ve attended shows, reviewed loads of cars and have even managed to have a little fun along the way. The best part about what we do though are the emails, comments and feedback that we receive from our readers. For instance, if for some reason we stumble, we know damn well that you guys are going to nail us to the wall for it. Same goes if we have strong opinions about certain subject matters or if we throw some humor your way. Our goal is to make Ridelust.com a place where you guys can come, hangout and enjoy everything that the mechanized world has to offer and for 2011 I promise that it’s only going to get better. Below is quick listing of 5 of my favorite highlights from 2010… enjoy.
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Not long ago, this eight-legged beast lurched forth from the tumultuous waters of eBay, snarling and shaking decades of dust from its fiberglass coat. It was soon subdued by 24 Hour of LeMons racer Speedycop, who shipped it from its lair in Iowa to his workshop in Maryland. The car was pretty much a mystery when it was first spotted on eBay. The listing featured less than a dozen low-res pictures and a vague description. We knew it had two Mazda rotary engines, two Jaguar differentials, and eight four-lug wheels. Now the thing’s secrets have been revealed. It’s built with heavy-gauge two-inch square steel tubing and ultra-thick fiberglass. Its rotaries are packed with performance parts and its interior is festooned with blinking lights and gauges. The total cost for this work of automotive art? $4900 and change.
As some of you know we just competed this past weekend in the 24 Hours of Lemons up at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford, CT. TEAM ANGRY ran a matte black 1979 Buick Regal with 211,000 mile on the clock. Sure we had our share of problems, but at the end of the day who didn’t. When we broke down, we broke down BIG… like catch on fire, jump out of the car and run away big, but when we were running, we were running great. Take a quick look at this short video of us not only catching, but passing the same 1963 Corvair that we drove in last years LeMon’s event and then take a gander at the old Corvair doing its best ballerina impression as it pirouettes right off the track… whoops.
When I was a kid the only thing I ever wanted to do was play with cars. I had loads of Matchbox cars and Hot Wheels and would do anything and everything in order to grow my collection. I raced them inside and outside, played with them in the dirt, ran them through water and even put a few in my Dad’s old vice to crush them up when it was demolition derby day. For me cars were a way of life and no matter how crappy my day was, these little buggers always seemed to bail me out of a bad mood. Now at 38 years old many things in my life have changed. For one thing I’m about 200 lbs heavier than the kid who used to run his toy cars around his grandmothers kitchen, I also have a bit less hair and more responsibility. The cars however haven’t changed and because of this I can still feel like I’m six years old again any time I wish.
Enter now the 24 Hours of LeMons, the race for the six year old that lurks inside of every full grown man. Racers come from all over the region in cars that are literally held together with zip ties and duct tape. This past weekend I had the opportunity to compete in my 2nd LeMons event up at Stafford Motor Speedway with some of the best individuals that one could have the privilege of knowing.
That’s right, I said it right there in the title, TEAM ANGRY + 24 Hours of LeMons = MAYHEM!! For those of you that have never experienced the 24 Hours of LeMons I can tell you from experience that you are missing one of the greatest automotive racing series in history. Comprised of up to 80 cars at a clip, the 24 Hours of LeMons is the most down to earth, home grown, grass roots form of motor racing there is. The premise is simple, get a car that costs no more than $500, install a roll cage, some safety equipment and a drivers ass in the seat and hit the track for some of the coolest and most competitive endurance racing in existence.
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The 24 Hours of LeMons began back in 2006 and since then has spawned into one of the most popular race series in the United States. For those of us out there who like to race and or be competitive then you understand that being competitive in the arena of motor sports is not a cheap endeavor. First you need a car, then you must enter a series, then there’s money for parts like tires, brakes, suspension, fire equipment, racing gear, etc. The list goes on and on and with that, so does the amount of moola’ for which you are going to spend.
Last year I had the opportunity to participate in the 24 Hours of LeMons up at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, CT and to say that I got hooked would be an understatement. I ran with Team Trailing Throttle Oversteer in a 1963 Corvair that eventually went on to win the coveted Index of Effluency award. The Corvair was probably the worst handling car I’d ever driven but that didn’t change the fact that it was one hell of a lot of fun. This year I’m heading back to Stafford Motor Speedway, but with a new team and a new car. Now most teams try to keep their cars hidden until the very end, but for us, the members of TEAM ANGRY, well, we simply don’t give a crap.
