RideLust

When I first saw this video of Poison front man Bret Michaels getting hot and heavy with the new 2011 Ford Explorer and its MyFord Touch system, I began to wonder if Ford was hitting their target audience. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that they were dead-on. You see the Ford Explorer has a definite appeal to families with young children. The parents in these families are most likely in their mid-to-late 30′s (like me) which means that back in the 1980′s they were rockin’ out to Poison. Sure it’s kind of a goofy move for Ford to go down this road, but at the end of the day, those of us that grew up in the days of the Hair Bands can relate to Mr. Michaels.
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PRO’s: Great ride, wonderful handling, massive amounts of room for the entire family and or entourage.

CON’s: Cramped drivers cabin, only partially adjusting steering wheel, high price.

FINAL THOUGHT: A full size American built luxury SUV, that can hang tough with the world’s best.

It’s over 18 feet long, has up to 137 cubic feet of cargo space and with an interior that rivals most high end luxury sedans, it’s one of the nicest SUV’s on the planet. Meet the 2011 Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum, the Big Dog of American SUV luxury. When I first picked this baby up from GM’s Manhattan storage facility my first thought was – Dear God is this sucker big, but as you’ll see, its size can be very deceiving. The Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum makes no bones about its in-your-face styling and the fact that it dwarfs everything else in the SUV world. It’s a favorite amongst celebrities, athletes and or anyone who wants to make a statement. As for me, I was just amazed at how good it actually was for its size.
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Just in case you’re not a fan of Formula One, here’s some background: the guy driving the Mercedes-Benz wagon is none other that Finnish F1 superstar Mika Häkkinen, who won the F1 World Driver’s Championship in 1998 and 1999, and was one of the competitors most feared respected by Michael Schumacher. Häkkinen retired from F1 after the 2001 season, but returned to racing in the DTM series in 2005. He retired from competition in 2008, and now spends his time coaching new drivers and managing their careers.

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In the mid-1980′s the performance car market in the United States was still in a pretty dismal state of tune. There were a few rays of light like the Ford Mustang GT and Pontiac Trans Am, but the only real shining star was Buick’s one year only 1987 GNX. Sure it was expensive, but it had the numbers to back up the price. Back then anything with horsepower numbers over 200 was a big deal, so when the GNX came out with its underrated 276 bhp and 360 lb-ft. of torque, enthusiasts couldn’t help but take notice. There was however one inherent problem… the car cost $30,000, around $10,000 more than a standard Buick Grand National. Collectors knew the car was something special and because of this most were sold immediately.
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Next week I have to go and help someone out with the purchase of a new Mini. It’s going to be their first new car in quite some time, so I figured I’d post this video just to show her how much fun these little guys can be. Now I doubt very much that she’ll be hoon-doggin’ through the streets of Manhattan like this, but sometimes it just feels good to know that your car can perform like this, even if you can’t. Mini’s are not the fastest cars around by any means, but they’re fun as hell when you drive them fast. They handle like go-karts, sound great (if you get the Cooper S) and are also very economical. In fact Mini doesn’t make a model that gets under 31 mpg on the highway. The big question now is, which one to get? The standard Mini, Cooper S, or maybe the Clubman. Hmm… I think I liked it better when there were only two models to choose from.

Source: Youtube.com

Back in the day 4×4 trucks and SUVs weren’t all the rage like they are today. Families would cart themselves around in station wagons or big sedans, while service industry vehicles would sometimes need to be modified to fit their needs. One such vehicle was the Chevrolet Apache pick-up truck that was built from 1957-1959. Heavy off-road use meant that these trucks were generally modified by a company called NAPCO (Northwestern Auto Parts Company) and fitted with new 4-wheel drive systems, that would ensure that they could be used in the harshest of conditions. The above NAPCO promotional video is quite long at about 10 minutes in length, but it shows the capabilities of these modified trucks as they tackle some pretty tough terrain. The video narration is actually quite cheesy, but watching these trucks do their thing is quite impressive. One thing that you must remember is that these old trucks were simple vehicles with no electronics to speak of. That meant fixing them in the event of a problem was a fairly easy task, which not only made them desirable back then, but today as well.

Source: NAPCO4x4.org

As we all know the internet is a very vast place. People search day in and day out for information on everything from boats to boobs in an attempt to further educate themselves on topics for which they know nothing about. We here at Ridelust.com for example, do our best to bring you a daily dose of everything that pertains to automotive culture and or mobile transportation. Our hope is that it will convert you into becoming more enthusiastic about the hobby that we love and treasure. We know it’s a tough job, but it’s one that we’re more than happy to grab the reigns on. As it happens there are also a few other sites out there in cyberworld that have the same mission as us. This brings me to Autoholics.com, a off-shoot of the wildly popular site Cardomain.com.
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A few weeks ago when I was in California testing the new Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon I had a chance to meet with some of the engineers and designers responsible for bringing all of Cadillac’s V-products to life. Max Wolff was one of those people, in fact a group of journalists spent two days with this guy asking him questions and picking his brain about the future of Cadillac, something that he seemed to be generally excited about. Apparently though Ford had other plans for the young Australian born designer because they just snatched him up so he could help redesign Lincoln. Hell, so much for brand loyalty…
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I can’t believe it’s actually December again… man, where did the time go. It seems like it was just yesterday when the big Christmas tree was going up in Rockefeller Center for 2009 and people were ice skating in circles in Central Park. Here at Ridelust.com we’ve had a pretty nutty year trying to bring you some of the best automotive news on the net. During that time we were also able to review a bunch of the newest cars for you guys as well. After some discussion we decided that we’d come up with a list of not the Top 10 Cars of 2010 like all those other blogs, but the Top 20 Cars of 2010. That’s right… we took it right to the next level! Some of these you’ll agree with and some you’ll no doubt crucify us over. Either way though we think this list is pretty spot on so feel free to check it out and let us know what you think.
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Ever wonder why brand loyalty exists? I do, and it’s a question that I’ve tried to figure out time and time again. Some people for instance are Ford guys, others love Subaru’s and yet others swear by BMW’s or Mercedes. It’s a concept that is nothing new and one, that in my opinion, has to do more with automotive ignorance than anything else. As an automotive journalist I am very fortunate as I’ve had the opportunity to experience just about every automotive brand out there. I’ve piloted domestics, imports and European rides and have come away with the conclusion that they all have their pro’s and con’s. Are some better than others? Well yes and no, as for the most part it depends on your price point and experience.
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