I-90, somewhere in Montana. Image: smithje77

You Tube user smithje77 was moving his family from Seattle to Maine, so he did what any of us would have done: he wrote a script in python to have his Droid take an image every ninety seconds, then he set this to video and dubbed in a Woody Guthrie tune, which he also performed.

And by “any of us,” I mean not me. I’m adept with an iPhone, but I draw the line at writing apps. As for setting images to video, I still struggle with Photoshop, and I’m fairly sure that people would pay me large amounts of money to NOT sing. I sure as hell can’t play guitar, but I have driven across this country more times that I care to ponder.

So has Mike, which may be one of the reasons we get along so well. If you’re a fellow brother of the road, you’ll get this video; like us, I’m sure you’ll recognize a few frames, even if they do flash by rather quickly. If you don’t have the Road Jones, you probably won’t understand the attraction of this video, or the appeal of driving twelve hour days, fueled by truck stop coffee and bags of beef jerky. If you don’t understand, I sure as hell can’t explain it to you.

Source: You Tube via Straightline

http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2011/09/video-time-lapse-footage-from-seattle-to-maine.html#more

That’s right, we made it! We just conquered 2,987 miles in a 22-foot Penske box truck with a bench seat, 71 mph top speed, archaic suspension and an average fuel economy of 7.4 mpg. It was a long road (literally) but thankfully one that was void of any bad tidings. I’ve done a lot of cross country driving over the years, but I have to say that this particular run was very special. You see this one was a life changer for this native New Yorker, as California is about as close to New York as oil and water when it comes to people, weather and life philosophy. One thing however that remains constant though are the cars… those wonderful, wonderful cars.

*One very LONG road…

Where New York City is pretty much the “Mr. Big Nuts” as far as modern metropolis’s go, California is the center of the world’s car culture. Exotics, muscle cars, classics, electrics as well as every other genre of four-wheeled automobile can be seen frolicking around here year-round. Hell, in the 2 days I’ve been here I’ve already seen more daily driven classics then I’ve ever seen back in New York. In fact I’ve been using my ’68 Charger as a daily driver and so far it’s been awesome.

*The ’68 and ’69 in their new California home.

Granted, having “MR ANGRY” and “ANGRIER” New York license plates has been turning a few heads and garnering a few comments, but wtf… one has to make an impression right? So far the weather has been outstanding and the people unbelievably friendly, but if there is one thing I have to get used to though, it’s having space – miles and miles of open space. Hopefully in the near future I’ll be able to get dialed in with northern California’s car culture, and from there it’ll be all sorts of new topics and articles for good old Ridelust.com. So just make sure to stay tuned and we’ll see what we can do to give you guys a little shot in the arm.

Image: Pat Hawks

From 1974 though 1987, 55 miles per hour was the national speed limit. In the early days, the limit almost made sense, since those were the dark times between our first and second gas crisises. Back then, most cars on the road weren’t getting 30 miles per gallon, so restricting speed in the name of fuel savings became the logical thing to do. Somewhere along the line, groups embraced the 55 mile per hour speed limit since it was “safer” than the old 70 mile per hour limit. When the double-nickel fell in 1987, those opposed to raising the national speed limit predicted carnage, death and highways flowing red with blood.

It never happened, of course, and today it’s easy to look back on 55 miles per hour and laugh. The national speed limit was the most widely ignored law since Prohibition, and by the time it was repealed few drivers even remembered why it was enacted in the first place. I remember the heady rush of being able to drive at 70 miles per hour, sans radar detector, without fear of getting pulled over and ticketed. It felt a lot like the freedom you experience as a new driver, but the novelty of being able to drive at speeds that would have drained your bank account the year before didn’t last long.

In the years since, speed limits have generally crept up as states realize that inattentive drivers, not speed, kill. The sole exception I can name is Montana, whose “reasonable and prudent” speed limit fell when sports car drivers kept insisting that 140 miles per hour, during daylight hours, was indeed reasonable and prudent. Today, speed limits vary by state, county and even municipality. To help keep track of the states with the highest speed limits, I give you the list below, which names every state with a maximum posted speed limit higher than 65 miles per hour.

Speed Limit 85

Parts of west Texas, although not until the Texas DOT has a chance to review traffic on highways currently posted at 70, 75 and 80 miles per hour.

Speed Limit 80

Interstate 10 in west Texas, Utah

Speed Limit 75

Maine, Louisiana, west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma

Speed Limit 70

Washington, California, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan

As for the rest of the states, all except Hawaii have a maximum speed limit of 65 miles per hour. Hawaii, which isn’t know for long stretches of deserted interstate highways, has a maximum speed limit of just 60 miles per hour.

It’s true… I’m moving to sunny California. In fact I’m currently 625 miles into my journey as I type this from my hotel room from someplace in Ohio. Understand that moving 3,000 miles away from the Motherland (New York City) for me is a big deal. You see I’ve lived my entire life in and around the boroughs of Manhattan. In fact I was born in NYC proper at the now defunct St. Vincents Hospital down in Greenwich Village. I’ve lived in 5th floor walk-ups, battled giant rats one-on-one that would kill a normal man, and had all manner of guns, knives and pipes pulled on me on the subway. I was also right there in the mix on 9/11, a day that will forever be burned into my psyche as one of the worst days of my existence. In some ways being a New Yorker has made me hard and mean with a short fuse that can be ignited at a moments notice, but it’s also made me sharp as a f*ckin’ razor when it comes to people who try to get one over on me. New York is a blessing and a curse, but in the end, it will always be who I am.

All of this angst however does take its toll and in recent years it’s made me wish for a better quality of life in a place where I can enjoy my passion for cars year round. For this, California got the nod, San Francisco, CA to be exact and I’m very much looking forward to settling in out there. Now please understand that while this obviously benefits me the most, it will also benefit you guys as there is car stuff going on 24/7/365, something that I plan to take full advantage of. So, with all of that being said I’ve decided to post a quick pick of the uber-rig I’m currently driving on my journey. It’s a 22-foot International box truck with a big honkin’ diesel engine and a whopping top speed of 71 mph. Sure it’s not fast, but quite frankly I could care less as it’s transporting me to a place that will hopefully help me become a better all around car guy.

Now granted, the only two pictures here are of the as-mentioned box truck, but that’s only because the United States doesn’t get exciting until you hit Colorado. Tomorrow I’ll be heading through Indiana, Illinois and Iowa and while they’re definitely not a hotbed of activity (unless you’re a cow) I will try to bring you at least one interesting road story so stay tuned and wish me luck!

Ever try to find entertaining roads if you’re new to an area, or just passing through? You could try to hit up locals, but that takes time and research. You could go to Google Maps, but that doesn’t tell you much about road conditions, speed enforcement or even average traffic volume. It certainly doesn’t rate the roads on their entertainment value, which means you’ve got to eat a lot of soggy, tastelessly sweet popcorn before you snag a prize.

Enter The Ultimate Drive, a new app from BMW Financial Services for both iPhone and Android platforms. Give it a location, and it spits back a list of nearby roads with entertainment value. Some are fun to drive, some are scenic and some blend the two to create existential driving bliss. You can upload your own routes, complete with comments and ratings, and you can even export existing routes to a GPS, or share with friends via e-mail or Facebook.

Future enhancements will award points for driving roads on the list, allowing you to compete with friends for utterly-pointless-but-entertaining titles. The app doesn’t limit you to 50 sates, either: it’s got listings for some 50 countries already, which means that you should plan on renting something fun next time you’re in Stuttgart on business.

We’d pay money for an app like this, but you don’t have to. It’s completely free, but that also means the information isn’t vetted. In other words, use it at your own risk: if the app lists a road as lax in speed enforcement, don’t plan on suing BMW when you get written up for 30 over and reckless driving. Likewise, if a route leads you deep into the woods and you wind up being turned into breakfast sausage by a chainsaw-wielding maniac, don’t expect BMW to write a big check for your next of kin. If you can live by those rules, I’d say the app is worth downloading.

Source: Autoblog

Image: Fábio Pozzebom, Agência Brasil

Mike and I are just back from One Lap of America. In case you’re not familiar with the event, it involves driving ten or so events at about eight different tracks over an eight day period. Race tracks in the United States are not conveniently located next to one another, and part of the One Lap Challenge is the transit legs. One leg in this year’s event involved driving nearly 700 miles after racing two events; in other words, you don’t even start the drive until mid-afternoon. Technically, you can go from event to event driving the posted speed limit (as some teams do), but you forgo a significant amount of sleep. It comes down to this: you need to push hard enough to get as much rest as possible, without jeopardizing your license or becoming a temporary resident of some backwater county jail.

There are plenty of lists on the internet showing which states to avoid speeding in. New Jersey tops most lists, but having lived there for 16 years I’m not sure I agree. Yes, you will get popped for speeding if you drive like an asshat, but your chances of getting pulled over while keeping up with traffic aren’t high. Traffic generally flows at about 15 MPH over the posted limit, and rush-hour traffic stops are virtually non-existent. I’d still advise caution while driving in the Garden State, but it certainly doesn’t make my top five list.

Based on our experiences on this year’s One Lap of America, I offer up the following five states as the worst for speed enforcement. Your mileage may vary, so to say, so if you have a differing opinion just let us know.

Virginia

How bad is the state of Virginia for speeders? Even a truck from the New Jersey State Police Urban Search and Rescue Team, bound for the devastation in Alabama, was driving at the posted speed limit. Virginia bans radar detectors, so you’re driving blind on their highways. PBA cards won’t help you here, since Virginia cops will even ticket cops from other states.

Ohio

Another perennial favorite on the list of states not to speed in, Ohio generally ranks just below New Jersey. You’ll see it all here, including unmarked cars pacing traffic, laser and multiple radar bands. If you keep your speed within a reasonable approximation of the speed limit, and keep your head on a swivel, chances are you’ll be alright.

Louisiana

Mike and I saw more cops in Louisiana than in any other state on the trip. Maybe that’s why the state has such a high crime rate: focusing on speed enforcement must be more lucrative than actually creating a police presence in high-crime areas. If you’re driving through Louisiana, keep your speed in check.

Alabama

Surprisingly, Alabama had the second highest number of cops shooting radar. The area around Birmingham was heavily patrolled and enforced, which struck me as odd. With all the tornado damage in the area, I don’t think my primary focus would be ensuring compliance with traffic laws.

Indiana

Nowhere near as bad as the other four states, Indiana still had more traffic enforcement than the remaining states we drove through. Watch your speed through bigger cities like Indianapolis and you should be fine.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you that speeding is illegal and comes with inherent risk. Always drive with respect to conditions, your own capabilities and your mental state. Watch out for trucks, since high-speed fly-bys tend to irritate them, and truckers use CB radios. Some even like to enforce the speed limit by pulling alongside another truck and blocking your ability to pass. No matter how irritating this may be, keep your head and pass only when safe.

A standard flight from San Francisco, CA to Paris, France is just under 5,600 miles and can take anywhere from 13-15 hours. It’s a hell of a run and after all that time sitting in one place the odds of a person getting a little shaky are about 85%, that is unless, you have a way to keep yourself occupied. Photographer Nate Bolt did indeed have a way to occupy his time, in fact he was able to condense his entire 14 hour flight in to just two minutes, by using time lapse photography, some great editing and a little music. Using a time lapse camera, Bolt snapped an astonishing 2,459 photos (2 every 30 seconds) over the course of his flight and in the process captured some of the most amazing images that you’re likely to see. The video was constructed by using a Canon 5d2 camera, a time-lapse controller, and a 16mm – 35mm lens with edits and pans done in After Effects CS5 and iMovie. The entire compilation is pretty incredible so make sure to click through to view the final product.

If any U.S. state secedes from the nation, it’s likely to be Texas. That’s OK with me since my wife was born there, which kind of gives us diplomatic immunity and automatic citizenship. Besides, I’m a firearms instructor, so I can claim that I’ve got a necessary and valuable skill, which is critical anytime you’re asking for political asylum. In the mean time, Texas is about to give those of us who like to drive one more reason to call the Lone Star State home: legislation is in the works that will raise the 70 mile per hour speed limit to 75. Better yet, it will do away with the “nighttime only” speed limit of 65 miles per hour currently in place (Texas is the only remaining state to have a different daytime and nighttime speed limit).

Why the rare display of sanity when it comes to setting speed limits? After five years of data gathering, Texas has concluded that high speed roads are safe, but roads that have significant disparity of speeds are not. In fact, high-speed roads in Texas have some of the best safety records; coupled with a statewide decline in the number of accidents, that was enough to prompt the adjustment of speed limits upward. The measure still has to pass a House and Senate vote, but will go into effect in September if passed.

Source: The Truth About Cars

Typical German speed limits: 50 kph in town, 100 kph outside of town and 130 kph on the Autobahn. Image: Arroww

The myth of unrestricted motoring bliss on Germany’s Autobahn is just that: a myth. Most sections have posted limits, and even the sought-after “end of limit” sections are often crowded with traffic. There’s even a recommended speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour (about 81 mph) on unrestricted sections; sure, you can go as fast as you want, but expect to be charged with the equivalent of reckless driving if you have an accident. Based on recent election results in the German state of Baden-Württemburg, there’s more bad news on the horizon: motorists in this southwestern state will soon be facing an enforced speed limit of 120 kilometers per hour, or about 74 miles per hour.

The speed limit was one of the Green party’s campaign promises, so the move is all but a done deal. Contrary to U.S. legislation, which typically reduces speed limits due to safety concerns, this move is all about reducing emission of greenhouse gasses in the state. It’s particularly ironic that Baden-Württemburg’s capital is Stuttgart, home to both Mercedes-Benz and Porsche (and to yours truly as a young, impressionable exchange student). If you needed further proof that the automotive apocalypse is upon us, I’d say this counts.

Source: Straightline

Germany’s famed Nürburgring is a mecca for driving enthusiasts from around the world, many of whom show up to drive the track in their own cars. Tourists from across the pond, however, face another dilemma: it’s possible to drive the track in a rental car (as far as I know), but doing so will void any insurance coverage you may or may not have on the vehicle. In other words, if you’re unlucky enough to stack your rented VW Golf in the Carousel, you’ll be writing a big-ass check to the rental agency when you turn in the keys. Local vendors will gladly rent you a race-prepped car to lap the ‘Ring, but this gets expensive very quickly; even a Renault Clio Cup hot hatch will set you back nearly $500 for a half day session, and a Porsche GT3 RS will run you $2,500 for a half day session. For years, the most cost effective way to lap the ‘Ring was in a “Ring Taxi”, sponsored by BMW and driven by such Nürburgring hot shoes as Sabine Schmitz. For a fee of about $270, up to three passengers could enjoy a hot lap of the ‘Ring, but it looks like those days may be coming to an end.

Autoblog is reporting that OK Speed Marketing, the company behind the ‘Ring Taxi, is canceling the program due to lack of profitability. BMW has subsidized the cost of the program for years, and that cost is staggering: by some estimates, it costs $665 per lap to operate the M5s at speed. Due to insurance regulations, tires are replaced every ten laps and brake pads are replaced every 20 laps. Suspension components are changed every 50 laps, and those costs add up to a loss of nearly $400 per lap. With BMW pulling their sponsorship of the ‘Ring Taxi, OK Speed Marketing really had no other choice than to cancel the service.

There’s speculation that another company will soon fill the void left by OK Speed Marketing, but chances are good they won’t be lapping in M5s, or that the laps will cost significantly more money than in years past. We’ll keep you posted as things develop, but here’s a question – have you lapped the ‘Ring? As a driver or as a passenger? Sorry, but Gran Turismo or Forza laps don’t count.

Source: Autoblog