By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Congrats Mike! Having driven this thing I can say it’s every bit as awesome as it looks. Full article at Hemmings. And of course you can read all about the build right here on CarDomain!

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

According to Wikipedia acronyms are: Abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name. We here at Ridelust.com began to think about these acronyms and how they’ve related to certain automobile manufacturers over the years. In the end we came to the conclusion that just about every one of them has had a few shots taken at them over the years, so we decided to compile as many as we could and post them up. Now I know we didn’t get all of them, so if you guys have any new ones feel free to throw them up in the comments section and add we’ll them to the list.

See the full list at Ridelust.com

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

If you were into cars in the 1980′s, you’ll remember that times were tough. Performance numbers were in the toilet, as were most of the cars themselves. I was in high school out on Long Island’s north shore and back then and I remember my high school parking lot very clearly. IROC Camaros, beater Trans Am’s, Datsun 210s and old Mustangs filled the lot. As high school kids we took anything we could get our hands on and simply ran with it. Hell, I remember my first car: it was a 1981 Mercury Capri that my Aunt gave me. It was blue, rusty and had 4 different tires on it, but it ran and back then that was all that mattered.

The 1980′s were filled with a fair number of automotive atrocities, but if you looked hard enough there actually were some bright spots. Jump over to Ridelust.com for 10 rays of sunshine that helped shed some light on an otherwise miserable automotive decade.

How about you? Got any faves from this stinker of a decade?

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

Last week I posted a lead off article telling you guys about “The Best New Sports Cars for $25k or Less,” as they pertain to open road events such as the One Lap of America. We looked at such items as fuel economy as well as performance and storage capacity. It’s now time for part II, but this time we’ll be looking at the best new sports cars for $50k or less. Keep in mind that two things happen when the price goes up. First and foremost performance levels rise, and secondly you’ll notice that storage capacity and fuel mileage tend to go down. This is all fine and dandy, but understand that these cars need to be able to cover long distances, be reliable and also be able to handle some serious track duty. Now, with that being said, let’s continue.

Read more at Ridelust.com

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

So it’s now day 3 of the 2010 One Lap of America. We awoke in the cheese capital of the world, Plymouth, WI, with one goal in mind: to find a fuel pump for a Chrysler 440. You may remember that when we arrived last evening our pump was pissing fuel all over the place. Had it not been for the torrential rains we drove through, it’s a distinct possibility that we may have gone up in a ball of fire. Fortunately, though, we made it to drive another day. As luck would have it, our hotel was right across the street from a Car Quest auto parts store. This was great until they told us that, not only did they not have a fuel pump in stock, but that all the surrounding auto parts stores were dry as well. Now maybe it’s me, but I would’ve thought that since Chrysler put the 440 in EVERYTHING, from cars to motorhomes, a fuel pump would’ve been an easy thing to sort out. I was however, very wrong.

Read the rest over at Ridelust.com

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

I’d like to preface this blog by saying if my typing sucks, it’s because I am writing this from the passenger seat of my Charger whilst traveling at 85 mph down some interstate in Indiana. We just left the first event of the 2010 One Lap of America at Tire Rack’s headquarters in South Bend, Indiana, and are now heading 260 miles to our next destination which lies someplace in Wisconsin. Upon arriving at the facility we got our first real chance to size up the other competitors, and let me just say that these guys are SERIOUS–there is nothing hokey or Hollywood about this. The cars came in all shapes and sizes from full on street legal race cars like the Ultima GTR to vintage battle sleds like the Charger. We all have one thing in common though, and that is the will to compete on some of the best racetracks in America.

Read the rest over at Ridelust.com

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

It’s now 11:03pm and I’m sitting on my bed at the Quality Inn in South Bend, Indiana and to be perfectly honest, I’m bushed. We left Queens, NY this morning at about 6:15 am which was a bit later than we wanted to leave but hey… shit happens right? In our caravan we had my buddy Todd’s Ferrari F430 as well as a Corvette Z06 driven by another close friend, Carmine. Now obviously the Ferrari has NO storage space and although the Corvette is a bit better it’s no storage closet. What this meant was that the Charger was going to be the pack mule for the trip. Now, aside from tools, spare parts and racing gear, we also packed in 10 days worth of clothes in 4 duffel bags and then jammed everything into the trunk and back seat. Combine this with my 240 lbs. and my co-driver Chris’s 260 lbs. and you could say that we were at our limit.

Read more at Ridelust.com.

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

Bullrun is back from its little hiatus so fans around the U.S. can now relax and get back to rooting for their favorite teams. We’re now halfway home and six teams remain to battle it out for the $200,000. Any alliances that are left are now fragile at best and the teams are now all out for blood. Some short term friendships will be formed but only out of sheer necessity.

Read more at Ridelust.com.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

On Thursday morning Mike Musto picked me up at my hotel in New York City in a black Ferrari F430 he is helping to get ready for One Lap of America. We drove it across the 59th Street Bridge out to his place in Queens, then grabbed his Magnum SRT8 and drove back into Manhattan to attend the second media day at the New York Auto Show. Two mean black cars with burly V8s! More pics and video after the jump!

Continue reading "Driving a Ferrari F430 to Queens" »

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

We are now at the halfway point of Bullrun Season 3. The proverbial herd is starting to thin out and teams are finally starting to realize that they must a adopt a do or die attitude if they want to stay in the game. Last week we saw the unfortunate demise of Team Mustang which meant only 6 teams remained to battle for the Bullrun trophy. For both the teams and the viewers this is a pivotal time in the season. Viewers of the show have now had plenty of time to get to know, and decide on who their favorite teams are. We’ve seen how they deal with navigation, challenges and have been granted some insight as to what their strategies are. We’ve also gotten to know them on a somewhat personal level by seeing them interact with each other throughout each leg of the event. The teams on the show are at the same point, but at a much different level. They’ve sized up the opposing teams strengths and weaknesses and know now who their biggest rivals are. Now it all comes down to strategy.

The teams started out in route to the High Desert State Prison, but out of the box problems started arising. Team Hemi Cuda has apparently been plagued with a fuel issue, more specifically there was some water in their tank – this is never good. Poppa’ Janos however took control of the situation by drilling a hole in the tank to drain the fuel. Now, I am not advising this, but as mentioned before, he knows his car better than anyone, so if he felt this was a safe idea then so be it. I was just hoping we weren’t going to see a Matt Kutcher style explosion at the hands of Hemi Cuda’. Speaking of Matt (the stunt coordinator)… Dude, are you trying to blow up the Earth because the explosions seem to be getting bigger and bigger… LOL!

Read more at Ridelust.com