RideLust

Monticello Motor Club is the premier private racing facility in the Northeastern United States, therefore it should come as no surprise that there is a push for them to get new members. As a member you are treated to a circuit that is simply spectacular, facilities that can’t be beat and licensed instructors that are available to give you some pointers if the mood strikes you. However, if you’re a non-member Monticello also has a great way for you to get introduced to the track. You see they’ve got a whole bunch of Cadillac CTS-V’s up there and because of this they’ve decided to open the CTS-V High Performance Driving Experience at Monticello Motor Club. Your full day of full throttle fun features one-on-one instruction from our world-class instructors as you learn to master the 3.5 mile critically-acclaimed race circuit. Having driven Monticello many times, I can tell you that it’s not only an experience that you won’t forget, but it’s one that will make you mortgage everything you own just for the right to become a member. And yes… the track is THAT good.
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Image: Ford Motor Company

Do you drive a red car? If you live in the United States, you’re more likely to live in the Midwest than you are to live on the coast. If you drive a green car, you probably live in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C, or Pittsburgh. Customers in Miami, on the other hand, eschew neutral earth tones for more vibrant colors like orange and gold. For an automaker such as Ford, tracking these color preferences is a full time job; not only do you have to know what buyers want today, you need to anticipate what they’re going to want in a few years. You also need to think globally; just as states or regions of the United States have color preferences, so do nations in the EU. If you want to sell a sedan in France or Italy, you’d better offer it in an antique white. Belgians, on the other hand, much prefer gray. Read More…

If you’re anything like me then you’ll jump at the chance to drive anything that’s different from your daily driver. I could care less if it’s a twenty year old Toyota Tercel or a brand new Lamborghini, if you offer me the keys, it’s very doubtful I’ll say no. Because of this mindset I’ve manage to finagle myself behind the wheel of some pretty trick hardware over the years which in turn, has helped me build up my knowledge of cars. There is however one tidbit of information that, regardless of the car, I just can never seem to remember: what side of the car is the fuel tank on? I know it seems insignificant, but in reality it’s not. I hate, and I mean really hate pulling up to a crowded gas station only to find that I’ve pulled up on the wrong side of the pump. So here’s a quick little tip that’s applicable to most late model cars.
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One Horsepower = Not Enough

Recently, Inside Line ran a story about their long-term Infinity M56 having more than 400 hp (420, to be exact).  The question posed is one I have often wondered about myself.  At what point, if any, does one say “this car has too much horsepower”?  It almost reminds me of razors – remember when they came out with the Mach 3, then the Quattro, then the five-blade Fusion?  At some point, we’ll all be shaving with seventeen blades I am sure of it, but I digress.  When I was a young’n, my engine of choice was Honda; small displacement, around 150 hp, and four little naturally-aspirated cylinders.  The cars were relatively light and there was more than enough power to get me into trouble.  I vivdly remember sometime around 2003 seeing a commercial for the Acura TL boasting 225 hp, a number that honestly blew my mind at the time (remember, I grew up in the era of economy, not muscle cars).  Back then, 420 horses on a family sedan would have been unfathomable.  So what happened? Read More…

If you’ve ever rented a car before then you know exactly what it means when someones says, “Drive it like a rental!” Now think about this, if the car in question was yours, would you rent it out to complete strangers and trust them NOT to drive it like a rental? I know I wouldn’t, but that is exactly what one company is trying to have you do. Getaround.com is betting on the fact that there are enough people out there that are willing to rent out their cars through the GetAround network for the chance to make some extra money.

Their website states, “Share your car and earn money while you’re not using it. Sharing your car just 15 hours per week can earn you an extra $350 each month.” – Umm… maybe it’s me but it kinda’ feels like the car owners are getting the shaft here. Let’s see now, 15 hours per/week x 4 weeks = 60 hrs. ÷ $350 = $5.80 per/hr. Hmm… is that really worth it to have someone kick the shit out of your pride and joy? Not in my book it’s not.

You can check out more information and see if their program works for you over at, Getaround.com.

As one of the most influential automakers in the world, BMW is known for designing vehicles that have provoked emotion, desire and more importantly have redefined the way we move. Wherever You Want To Go is a new franchise to be released under BMW Documentaries that is meant to take audiences to a place that they’ve never been to: the future. Many of us have ideas on what the future of mobility will be. Some of us view transportation as the continued development and evolution of the automobile. Others see it as a fully electronic society where the conventional car as we know it is completely removed from the equation.

The goal of this four part series is simple: Ask the right questions from the right people in an attempt to generate discussion, provoke thought and stir the imagination.

The first film of the series debuts Tuesday, February 1st, with subsequent films debuting February 8th, 15th and 22nd. View the trailer by clicking here or on the image above.

Every aspect of auto ownership costs money. The upside is that there are countless establishments competing for your cash, with myriad incentives to get business. Take advantage of how low they are willing to sell themselves to call you their customer: also included in this article, the five worst car ‘deals’ to watch out for while shopping this season.

FIVE OF THE BEST CAR DEALS OF 2010
1. Toyotathon Shareathon

If you’re buying a new Toyota, tweet it! Tweeting about a new Toyota during their Toyota Shareathon can score you a $500 debit card. You gotta tweet by December 15th, and you have to pick up your new ride by January sixth, but it’s the easiest $500 you’ll ever make.
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It’s a pretty straight forward question really, and one that is targeted directly at the automotive enthusiast. Simply stated, which method of shifting gears do you prefer and why? If you grew up driving between 1950 and 1990, than odds are you’ve got some experience grinding the gears in a manual transmission. If however you began playing with high performance cars in the mid-90′s, then it’s very possible that you’ve never thrown a shift in your life. It’s not a bad thing, but a sign of the times that shows us how automotive technology is moving forward. In the past “true” driving enthusiasts drove stick shifts and wouldn’t be caught dead in automatics. The motion of depressing that clutch, throwing a shift and accelerating out of a corner was enough to get the juices of every petrol-head flowing.
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Can somebody out there explain the whole “paint our rides in grocery livery” trend to me? Is it the urban youth way of rebelling against The Man by promoting his products? Are you secretly getting a cut from grocery stores or food companies? Is there some blend of subliminal marketing that causes women to throw themselves at guys with breakfast cereal paint jobs?

I’m not criticizing here, but I just don’t get it. Somebody please run this down for me.

Source: You Drive What?

S

The good thing about customizing a car is that you can build what you want, based on your own tastes. Take Pro Touring cars, for example: purists would cry “blasphemy” at modernizing a classic muscle car, while most of us would think, “cool, I wonder how it handles”. There are a lot of trends I just don’t get, but atop the list is huge rims and ridiculous lifts on cars. Why would you want to make something look like a kid’s toy and handle like a UPS delivery truck?

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