During the Drift Office demo at Pacific Raceways on Friday I caught a ride with Bobby Rice in his nicely prepped AE86. As you can see in the pics, this car looks a lot cleaner than most drift cars, though Bobby doesn't baby the thing. He has about $15,000 invested in it so far, and has gotten a lot of help from Bob and the rest of the crew at Drift Office. I got some crummy in-car video of my ride--going up and coming back down. As you can see we spun out both times, which was pretty hilarious. Here's another video I shot earlier in the afternoon of Bobby ripping through the s curves. Thanks for the ride, Bobby! I have a bunch more pics of Bobby's AE86 after the jump.
Continue reading "Riding With Bobby Rice" »
Ralf just sent me this pic of the new intercooler system he installed in his crazy Supra-powered Lemans. He's testing it out this weekend--I'm looking forward to hearing how it works out.
Seattle is supposed to have clear weather for the weekend. That almost makes me not want to spend so much time inside drinking. Almost. Anyway, here's the news:
- Toyota was once poised for total global domination, but the Tundra hasn't really delivered, and for the last two months, Ford has outsold the Japanese heavyweight. This could get interesting. Auto Observer
- Audi is going to be the official car for this year's Isle of Man TT race. Notice they aren't calling it a "safety car." There's nothing safe about this incredible event. World Car Fans
- American Axle is telling it's suppliers to be ready to rock, but it's unclear as to whether we'll see an end to the strike or replacement workers hitting the line. Will this ever end? Automotive News
- In other news, the General is facing a revolt from some of its troops. Two factories are ready to strike, and since one makes the Malibu, it's making things pretty tense. Freep
Two weeks back we told you about the new RWD coupe that Subaru and Toyota are developing together. Well, it sounds like some people (including some folks at Subaru) are worried that this new car may dilute the brand (source: Autoblog). I understand the concern, but I think it's a bit shortsighted. First of all, I think that the Tribeca did more to dilute the Subaru brand than a RWD coupe could. Second of all, gas prices are going up, and if Subaru sticks to AWD cars with sucky gas mileage, they're gonna be in trouble. They should probably add a cheap FWD econobox to their lineup, and it's about time that someone built an affordable RWD 2+2 coupe--personally, I'm glad that Subaru is the one that's gonna do it. Sure, they will have to market it correctly, but ultimately I think it will be good for Subaru and the Subaru brand. What do you guys think?
Given the fact that we have almost three times as many Tacos on CarDomain as Frontiers, it's not a huge surprise that the Toyota won this week's Showroom Showdown. The vote was more like 3 to 2 for the Taco, though, so the Nissan definitely has a lot of fans. Personally, I'd take the Frontier based on looks alone. What a hot truck! But both are great, and I agree with Mike--these can't really be considered "compact" pickups anymore, they are more like mid-size trucks. But then what are the Dakota and Colorado?
If you're looking for a compact pickup, chances are you're gonna look at the Nissan Frontier and the Toyota Tacoma. We have tons of examples of both trucks on CarDomain, and they both have a great reputation on and off road. For the purpose of this match up, let's compare the V6 4x4 extended cab models with all the NISMO and TRD goodness. So, which would you choose, the Frontier or the Taco?
Sure, everyone is excited about the latest pony car wars, but the biggest battle is yet to come. It's gonna be Toyota vs. GM, the Prius vs. the Volt. The Truth About Cars has a nice little article on the match up. They've done some calculations and made a few predictions. And all does not look rosy for the Volt. You can read the full editorial, but if you don't feel like here are the Cliff notes: The third generation Prius will arrive in January 2009 for approximately $22k and should get a real world 50mpg. It will be followed shortly by a li-ion version which will probably bring the mpg rating up to 55mpg or so. A plug in version of the Prius will most likely be available by 2011 for roughly $30k. The plug in Volt should arrive in 2010 for approximately $44k, with limited availability the first year. Then the article goes into a lot of math stuff based on various scenarios, predicted gas prices and electric rates. Their conclusion? "Unless GM is willing to heavily subsidize the Volt for many years, no matter how good it is, the Prius will kick its ass."
As the President of Bulletproof Automotive, a proud sponsor of the Top Secret V12 Nardo Surpa project, I’m pleased to give this exclusive update. The word is in that the Supra did 222MPH (358km/h) on the ring, putting it deep into super car territory on the proving ground that has tested so many super cars in the past.
This result is the conclusion of the first phase of the car which has taken nearly a year and a half to build. The purpose built Supra is unique in many respects. For starters, it is balanced in tuning philosophy with a creature comfort level exceeding most tuned cars and full street legality intact. Fully capable of being daily driven, the Supra uses a V12 powerplant from it’s Toyota cousin the Century. The V12 engine which was originally tuned in OEM form for low horsepower but strong torque to move the heavy VIP Century has been rebuilt from the ground up by Smoky to produce a hair under 1000hp with the assistance of twin turbochargers.
The Supra features a wide menu of tuning parts from Top Secret including the revolutionary on the fly height adjustable cup kits with Top Secret’s super damper suspension and of course the final evolution widebody kit by Top Secret.
The Supra was Smoky’s answer to the void that the current lack of a modern Supra left. A result of a man with little patience and nearly unlimited talent, this car was the second in a series of street legal cars that was designed to send a strong message to the OEMs about what he thinks they should be building for enthusiasts. The prior car of course being the Top Secret V35 GT-R, a car that filled the void years back of there being no new Skyline GT-R Model. That car featured a G35 Coupe (Skyline Coupe) body with a V8 engine from the Q45/Cima twin turboed with 800 or so HP. That car famously ran 211MPH (341km/h) on the German autobahn and is also driven daily in Japan.
What is next for Top Secret…nobody knows. But as usual the job I have of running Top Secret’s international distribution means that I’ll be right on top of it and reporting the news to you all! PS: I still prefer MS Revolution’s graphics to the new ones, so I’m using the old photos before the graphic change. Stay tuned as official photos of the run get released. More pics after the jump.
Continue reading "Top Secret V12 Supra Does 222MPH At Nardo Ring in Italy" »
Since this Tundra ad is obviously a plug for an individual dealer, it kind of made me wonder if the Toyota brass has veto power over the kinds of spots its affiliates can air. And then I wondered if the powers that be had seen this yet. Because while potty-mouthed editors—like yours truly—may find substituting truck for the world's best curse word to be pretty funny, I imagine there are plenty of more conservative folks who don't. Of course, as funny as this is, it still doesn't have anything on the fictitious—and expletive-laden—ad for Big Jim Hell's Cars.
For years now I've been scratching my head over the dearth of affordable RWD 2+2 coupes. But now it's looking like Toyota and Subaru have teamed up to build one. Inspired by the AE86, and they are focusing on keeping it cheap, simple and sporty. How cool is that? There is talk of the car being offered with both Subaru's 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter 4-cylinder boxer, and apparently there will be a Toyota version of the car as well. The design is to be finalized by July and production is set for 2010. Let's hope they keep the weight and price down. More at Autocar.co.uk.
Continue reading "RWD Impreza?" »
It's official. Everyone at CarDomain HQ has decided that it's time for winter to be over. And please, don't remind us that it's technically spring. In our book, if it's 39 degrees and raining, it's still winter. Anyway, here's the news:
- The bean-counters at the US Department of energy are predicting that high fuel prices will lead to a drop in demand during the summer driving months. That's the first decline in almost 20 years, and since gas isn't getting any cheaper, it probably won't be the last one. Automotive News
- Chinese car company Brilliance, which made waves with its less-than-brilliant performance in a German crash test, is releasing a wagon for the Chinese domestic market. And while it might not be safe, Pininfarina did the design, so at least it looks pretty good. Winding Road
- In an effort to combat falling vehicle sales in its native Japan, Toyota is thinking outside the box. Or rather, outside the dealership. The company has just built a mall where the central areas will double as a sales floor. Will it work? Sure it will. The Japanese are nuts, remember? Auto Express
- Three time F1 champ Jackie Stewart has joined the chorus of people calling for Max Mosley—AKA: Nazi-orgy dude—to step down. How much longer is he going to try to keep his post? Seriously man, it's over. BBC News
Talk about a recovery! After getting pushed into a pretty nasty cartwheel, driver Johnny Greaves gets back in the race—and even manages to finish in the top ten! While some of the credit for the save surely goes to his bullet-proof Toyota Tundra, watch how Greaves coolly looks out the window to check for traffic just before the truck rights itself. Just a walk in the park, huh, man?
This is a big story, so I'm just going to dispense with my usual blathering and get straight to the point. Just over a week ago, Chrysler honcho—and former Toyota man—Jim Press said:
"The Japanese government paid for 100 percent of
the development of the battery and hybrid system that went into the
Toyota Prius."
Almost immediately, Toyota's spokesman Paul Nolasco hit back, telling the Associated Press:
"I can say 100 percent that Toyota received
absolutely no support—no money, no grants—from the Japanese
government for the development of the Prius."
So who's telling the truth in this transcontinental slug fest? Nobody knows yet. But in the interest of the hard, uncompromising journalism this blog is known for, I decided roll up my sleeves and get to the bottom of the whole mess—so I called the Japanese government. Unfortunately, there's kind of a burly time change—like three days?—between Seattle and Tokyo, so I just got an answering machine, or at least what I think was an answering machine, because I don't speak Japanese. At all. So then I gave up. Who do you think is telling the truth? And what would be Press' motivation to lie?
