RideLust

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll say this up front: I hate Continuously Variable Transmissions, and can easily equate them to the decline of Western civilization. They require no skill to operate, produce more noise than forward motion, have a higher failure rate than automatics or manuals and actually promote distracted driving. Ever try to text and drive a six-speed manual? It’s damn hard to do, but texting while driving a CVT is a piece of cake, and the same goes for any other distracted-driving chore. Read More…

Pirelli is now the tire supplier for the Formula One series, and they’ve caught a lot of flack for tire wear among drivers and teams. This video takes you on a virtual lap of the Valencia circuit ahead of tomorrow’s European Grand Prix, and it also gives you a idea of the challenges faced by Pirelli’s engineers when designing F1 racing tires. In the United States, tomorrow’s race is covered by Fox Sports, which means that the video below is likely to be the best coverage you’ll see of the event. Enjoy. Read More…

Disney Pixar’s “Cars 2″ is set to hit theaters in only a few weeks on June 24th. The animated film reunites all of our favorite characters including Lightening McQueen, Mater and Mack as they travel around the globe for new adventures. The “Cars” franchise has turned out to be one of the most lucrative projects for Disney and because of this they’ve decided to spread their wings a bit. You see now they’ve created… wait for it… PLANES! Yep, that’s right Disney has gone out (without Pixar mind you) and aimed for the sky with their new (for DVD only) animated movie Planes.

“The team at DisneyToon Studios has done such an amazing job creating a heartfelt story filled with great comedy, adventure, and emotion,” Disney creative exec John Lasseter said in a release back when the project was confirmed in February. “I know audiences are going to love taking off into the wild blue yonder with these daredevil characters, as they experience a whole new kind of animated adventure.”

I am curious however as to what Rob Zombie thinks about his song “More Human Than Human” being used in a Disney flick. Times have changed I tell ya’, times have changed.
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Image: Audi

If you’re not a fan of motorsports, it’s easy to look at racing as something that takes more bravery than skill or fitness. After all, how hard can it be to keep the gas pedal to the mat while steering through corners? That doesn’t take much strength, does it? Audi team driver Alan McNish would beg to differ, and he explains some of the rigors of endurance racing in the animated short below, entitled “Eliminating Luck.” I’m not sure I’d call the 24 Hours of LeMans “the equivalent of an entire Formula 1 season in one day,” but that still doesn’t take away from how grueling the race is. When was the last time you spent three hours jogging, or did 176 pound leg presses continuously for the same amount of time? Does holding a nine pound weight in each hand for three hours sound fun? How about fighting three times your body weight? That’s what McNish will do, repeatedly, during his LeMans race. If you still think it’s easy, you’ve never raced cars. Read More…

I’ll be honest, there is a very distinct possibility that I’ve posted this before, but quite honestly I don’t care because this video should be watched by anyone who drives a car. Rear differentials for some reason seem to confuse and mystify people as to what they do and how they function. Sure you hear people talk about them, but in reality few individuals actually understand them. The basic jist of a rear differential is to modulate the speed of the rear wheels so that an even rotation occurs between the tires when your automobile goes around a corner. This video not only shows, but explains exactly how a differential works in a manner that’s clear, concise and easy to understand. Wouldn’t it be great if everything could be explained this easily? Click through for the video.
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MotoCreeps – Yep, that’s what they’re called and they were created by stop motion animator Fred Stuhr. You’ve probably never heard of him but you’ve most likely seen other bits of his work. You see Fred Stuhr had done music videos for the likes of Danzig and Tool and had created commercials for such companies as Converse sneakers, Halls cough drops and Trident gum before he was killed in a car accident in 1997 at the age of 30. MotoCreeps was actually just a short promotional clip for an unfinished feature that Stuhr was working on when he passed away. We can see that Stuhr’s imagination would have treated us to some pretty wild stuff if the film had been complete. Thankfully though at least we all have a glimpse into the mind of this once amazing animator.

Source: Hemmings.com

I’m a sucker for any type of good animation, stop motion photography or digital video, so when I spied this video I just had to post it. The scene that the video depicts is something that would occur virtually daily up in the Bronx section of New York. There is nothing amazing from a story perspective as the video simply shows a graffiti artist doing his thing in an urban setting. What’s amazing is that this video actually makes you forget that you’re actually watching a bunch of Matchbox Cars and small figurines that are all set up on a cardboard backdrop as opposed to something that happens for real everyday in urban areas around the world. That is where the true genius of this little stop motion movie comes in… it simply makes you forget about real life for a moment.

Source: RalfBecker.com

If you can’t get enough of Gran Turismo 5 and have to buy the full happy-meal package, plan on shelling out $99 when the game is released on November 2. Jalopnik tells us that your hard earned money will buy you the GT5 game in a collector’s box, a keychain, a 1:43 scale model of a 2009 Nissan GT-R Spec V and a series of five downloadable cars not available to plain box GT5 buyers.

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If you’re a fan of the Dirt off-road racing franchise, I’ve got some good news for you: the first trailer for Dirt 3 is out, and it looks like the game will be a mixture of rally and gymkhana, complete with big air and lots of explosions. Throw in a shark that shoots laser beams from its eyes, and I’d say we’re done.

Codemasters isn’t telling us much on the actual gameplay, but the graphics look a whole lot better than those in WRC 2010, coming this fall. Codemasters promises lots of content in Dirt 3, including new cars, new locations and conditions including rain and snow. More info is supposed to be available later this week, but as of now expect a release date in early 2011.

Source: Autoevolution

When Forza Motorsport first came out for the Microsoft XBOX it had this wonderful little graphic editor that allowed players to go in, customize their favorite rides, and then race them against their friends. Little did the game designers know, or could they predict how this gaming feature would truly change the entire experience as a whole. Now in its third generation Forza Motorsport 3 has advanced not only as a game, but as a tool for artists to showcase, expand, personalize and literally sell their artistic creations online through XBOX Live. Make no mistake, these are not some little designs done by amateur artists. These are true moving video illustrations that take, in some cases upwards of 50 hours to create. Below are just a few examples of the talent that can be found in the community galleries of Forza Motorsport 3 online. Check them out because I can guarantee you’ll be amazed at what you find.

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