RideLust

Pete Helfer seemed liked one of the unluckiest men in New York. To start with, he’s a Jets fan, and Jets fans seem doomed to eternal disappointment. Helfer is also the owner of the ice-encrusted Audi A3 that made the rounds on the internet a few weeks back. Like most New York residents, Helfer is forced to park on the street, which made his A3 a target for vandals, smash and grab robbers and even inattentive motorists. Ironically, it was none of those things that caused $7,300 worth of repair to his car; instead, Helfer parked next to a water pipe that was improperly repaired by New York City workers. Passing cars splashed water from the ruptured pipe onto the passenger side of Helfer’s A3; by the time he found it, the ice was several inches thick. Not willing to wait for a spring thaw, Helfer needed hammers, chisels and a blowtorch to free his imprisoned Audi. Read More…

Aside from the EVO, Mitsubishi as a car company is just about as boring as they come. The Galant is bland and old, the Eclipse should have been taken out to pasture and shot years ago and the Endeavor, well, I actually kinda’ like that one so we’ll give it a pass. As a brand Mitsubishi is in desperate need of an overhaul which is something that if the rumor mills are true, may be happening sooner than we think. Autoblog is now reporting Mitsubishi is thinking of selling a rebadged version of Infiniti’s M car as they have nothing that is considered to be a premium class vehicle in their line-up. The Infiniti M would be rebadged as the new Diamante, a car that last saw production in 2005. Back then it was actually quite a nice vehicle, but slow sales and a lack of marketing unfortunately helped lend to its demise.
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Ford's Mustang GT is the car I'd most like to add to my garage. Image: Ford Motor Company

Writing about cars can be both a blessing and a curse. On the plus side, you get to climb behind the wheel of some really cool rides, most of which are beyond your current (and future) bank account balances. On the flip side, you don’t get to pick and choose which cars you drive, and manufacturers build a whole lot more minivans and crossovers than they do entertaining sports cars. Still, I’d be in the wrong line of work if I didn’t love to drive, and all cars, no matter how bland, have some redeeming qualities. Looking back on the last 12 months, I drove around 50 different vehicles. Some were truly memorable, while others I can only remember because I photographed them. The one constant across all the different vehicles I drove in 2010 was this: no one builds a bad car anymore. The days of paring costs back to the bone and less than motivated line workers appear to be behind us, and that’s a very good thing.

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I’ve got sad news for you my friend; that crossover you bought – the vehicle that combines the practicality of an SUV with the driveability of a car – it’s actually been known for generations by a different name.

You own a station wagon.

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Ya’ know, there are some things in life that you just don’t expect to see on a random Tuesday morning in November. Santa Claus is one, the rising of the Titanic is two and third would be a beautiful Infiniti G37 stripped of its wheels and tires sitting outside your living room window. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mr. Angry’s neighborhood! Remember just recently, when I put a post up about the importance of having a garage? Well… this is one of those reasons why we all need them. Now I don’t know if the owner of this G37 pissed someone off, or if it was just a random incident. Either way though this is a pretty sketchy thing to happen right outside one’s home, especially mine. Hmm… I’m thinking that maybe a move out west is in order, perhaps maybe out to the San Francisco bay area. There I’ll still get all four seasons, sans the crappy NY snow, and I’ll be able to drive my old hot rods year round. Yep, I think that’s the way to go… now all I need to do is pack!

Source: Unfortunately it’s my front yard…

Why is it that people are never satisfied with what they have. Take this tool for example, here we have a perfectly good Infiniti G37, a car that’s a great performing sports coupe in its own right. Yet here we see that the owner has ditched all things Infiniti and is simply trying to fool us into thinking that this is now a Nissan Skyline. My question is, why? He’s not impressing any chicks with this car, because odds are they don’t know what the hell a Skyline is to begin with. Plus the guys that do know what a Skyline is are simply going to think that this guys a giant douche bag. Hmm… maybe I’ll go outside and tack “Challenger” onto the back of my Dodge Magnum, this way no one will ever know that I really have a big black station wagon as opposed to Dodge’s newest muscle car.

Hat tip to Big Larry and Pretty Boy Carl for the pic!

Thumbs Up: One of the best coupes now comes in ragtop flavor

Thumbs Down: Power top adds quite a bit of weight and takes up most of the trunk

Buy This Car If: You’re looking for Infiniti handling and style in a drop top.

If you’ve never experienced the joys of top down motoring, do yourself a favor: don’t ever drive a convertible on the first warm day of Spring, or the last Indian Summer day of Fall. You should probably skip top down driving on a starry summer night, too, and forget entirely about the joys of watching a good sunset (or sunrise) as you drive along the beach. If you haven’t done any of the above, you’re probably wondering what the fuss is about, and you probably wouldn’t understand why people are willing to make the concessions that owning a convertible requires. On the other hand, if you’ve got seat time in a ragtop, you understand that the question isn’t, “should I buy a convertible”, but rather, “which convertible should I buy?”

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Thumbs Up: Comfortable, roomy and fast

Thumbs Down: Intrusive stability control, excessive tire noise

Buy This Car If: You really like the Infiniti marque, and need a bigger, faster sedan than the G37.

The Infiniti M56 is a comfortable and fast family sedan, that demonstrates surprising agility when the road gets twisty. The ten speaker Bose audio system flat-out rocks, regardless of the type of music you’re into, and the Infiniti navigation system is the hands-down best in the industry. There’s plenty of luxury in the M56, including climate controlled front seats, leather upholstery and Japanese Ash trim, and the Infiniti Drive Mode Selector allows the driver to choose between four distinct power settings, to accommodate any driving condition. By any standard, the Infiniti M56 Sport is a superb automobile; it’s only flaw is that it’s up against some heady competition.

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We all know how the MTV reality show Jersey Shore has popularized the crap out of the New Jersey Guido. Sure it’s a fun place to go and hang out and to people watch there is probably no better place on earth. The guys and gals that populate this area of the stinky state show up around June 1st and don’t leave until the end of the Labor Day weekend. One aspect of the Jersey shore that some people fail to take into consideration are the cars in which these wonderful individuals showcase themselves in. Just like Los Angeles the Jersey shore is all about show and bling. Sure, most of the beach and club goers live at home in their parents basement in real life, but once the sun comes out it’s all about rolling heavy and showing off. Here is a listing of some of the Jersey Shore’s rolling hardware.
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Thumbs Up: Distinctive styling, surprising handling and power

Thumbs Down: Overly sensitive alarm, puzzling speedometer calibration

Buy This Car If: You want a sport sedan but need an AWD crossover

I’ve been driving a lot of crossover vehicles lately, probably because this is the hottest segment in the auto industry today. Crossovers have replaced SUVs as the darlings of the American public, so every manufacturer is scrambling to get product in the hands of journalists. With dozens of options on the market, it’s easy for a product to slip through the cracks and escape the attention of car buyers.

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