RideLust

There is no glory in owning an American car from 1979. They were slow, cheaply made and for the most part, ungodly ugly. Combine that with the fact that the late 1970′s were the age of the automotive add-on and well, you can see where I’m going with this. Stickers, rear window louvers and continental kits were all the rage here in the U.S. and because of this some of the most tasteless vehicles of our time were created. Take for example this 1979 ford Thunderbird that was recently for sale on eBay. To give you an idea of how bad things were back then, just take a look at the following photos. First off you had acres and acres of hideous orange leather interior, 15-inch wheels with faux-spoke hubcaps and an external continental kit with spare tire that added an additional 2-feet to the cars already massive wheelbase. Now don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a part of me that digs this big land yacht, however there is also a part that knows that it should’ve been torpedoed before it ever left the dockyard.

Source: eBay.com

Read More…

Awful. That is exactly the term that should be used when describing every muscle car that came out of the 1960′s and 1970′s. Sure you had a few exceptions when it came to handling like the WS6 equipped Pontiac Trans Am’s, but for the most part, those big canoes were horrible when it came to going around corners. In today’s automotive society we can now update our old rides with new suspension, wheels and tires in the hopes of making them better. Back in the day though, well… this is about as good as it got. The following video was conducted by Bud Lindemann of “Car & Track” on the 1971 Ford Torino Cobra. Sure it had big power, but it also had big weight and little skinny tires that made it look like an elephant on stilts. I’ve got to say though that it is actually quite enjoyable to see one getting flogged around a racetrack in the same shape it left the factory. Click through for the video and prepare to be appalled by how bad things used to be.

Source: Youtube.com
Read More…

The 2013 Camaro ZL1, in topless flavor. Image: GM Corp.

If you thought that the announcement of the 650-horsepower 2013 Shelby GT 500 meant the end of the pony car wars, you’d be wrong. Al Oppenheiser, the chief engineer on the Camaro ZL 1 program, was his normal outspoken self in a a letter to the faithful on the Camaro5 website. Read More…

It’s got more power then a Corvette ZR1, more torque then a Ferrari 458 Italia and a top speed of over 200 mph. This is not some super exotic ladies and gentlemen, but the new 2012 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500. Let’s look at the numbers for a moment shall we; 650 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque, IN A MUSTANG! Now normally I’d be all gung-ho over these kind of numbers, but my question is, how the hell is Ford going to get all this power down through a solid live axle? I mean in a straight line this thing should be downright vicious, but throw in some bumpy back road twisty’s and you’re going to have one helluva time on your hands. Granted, you can order the Track Package which adds a rear differential and transmission coolers as well as an external engine oil cooler, but still… 650 hp? That’s just crazy talk.

Source: autoblog.com

Amazing…

Last August, Brent Hajek brought his Ford F-250 Super Duty to the Bonneville Salt Flats for some wide open throttle driving. By the time he’d left, the team had set two new land speed records, including a 171.123 mph run which earned a B Production Diesel Truck record. Switching to B20 biodiesel, the team recorded a 182 mile per hour run, destroying the old record of 130.614 miles per hour. Read More…

It goes without saying that Tanner Foust is now one of the most recognized and talented drivers on the planet. He’s a multiple X-games gold medal winner, a Race of Champions (ROC) competitor, the host of Top Gear America and a Hollywood stunt driver. In short, the guys got one helluva’ life. He also gets invited to drive some of the coolest limited production vehicles on the planet. This is a Ford Focus RS 500, a pocket sized hot hatch for which only 500 were built for the European market. The one Foust is driving has a tick over 300 bhp, which means 0-60 times in the 5 second range and a top speed of just over 150 mph. What’s even cooler than that though is listening to his comments as he pilots the RS 500 around Germany’s famed Nürburgring.

Source: Youtube.com via Autoblog
Read More…

For most people the idea of getting in their car and driving from point A to point B is no big deal. We get on the open road and generally cruise at speeds of 60-80 mph without a care in the world. We also rarely think about the fact that we’re piloting a two-ton metal missile that has the capacity to do some major damage if things go astray. Fifth Gear recently decided to hit us with a blast of reality when they rigged a stunt designed to show us just how dangerous our cars can be when driven irresponsibly. The car in question was a little Ford Focus with the speed set at 120 mph. The outcome is not only catastrophic, but eye-opening as the devastation that occurs is simply astounding. Click through for the video.

Source: Youtube.com
Read More…

When Ford initially launched the SVT Raptor back in 2009, its promo videos would have led you to believe the truck was ten-feet-tall and bulletproof. While close, even the stoutest off-roaders have their weak points, and in the case of the Raptor this appeared to be the rear frame. After 10 of 14 trucks on a a single high speed desert run reported bent frames, Ford was quick to point out that the trucks suffering damage hit something hard, at speed. Besides, Ford said, all the trucks made it home, which wouldn’t have happened if a stouter frame caused the shock mounting points to fail. Read More…

Whatever mad genius inside Ford’s SVT group was ultimately behind the development of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, we salute you. No one else could have pulled off the idea of a hot-rod, off-road pickup truck, and sales have been brisk since the truck made its debut back in 2009.

There have been a few well-documented problems along the way, most notably a group of off-road enthusiasts who experienced bent frames after a high-speed desert run. Ford is quick to point out that the trucks were still drivable with a bent frame, but if a rear shock failed or tore loose, that may not have been the case. Despite the type of hoonage depicted in video ads for the Raptor, Ford insists that the truck isn’t bulletproof, and that if you hit something hard, at speed, damage will most likely result. Read More…