By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

We found this thread on VW Vortex. Maybe Ken Block has not sufficiently wowed his new Ford partners enough as of yet. Perhaps the economic downturn has slowed the sale of DC Shoes and flat-brimmed hats. Maybe his upcoming gymkhana event series couldn’t find funding (uh, what we mean is, what gymkhana event series?).

Maybe this Craig’s List post is a joke. Maybe it was all just a dream. And maybe, just maybe, this seller is serious. Maybe he – yes, he, because there is no way a woman would do this to her car – is on drugs. Perhaps he’s on some medical grade nitrous, or meth, or maybe even something that we don’t know about. Maybe something that would require an ice cube up the butt. But then, Coyle is only one who would know anything about that.

All we have to say is that to be truly ironic this seller should have applied KB’s Subaru livery to a Ford Escort wagon. Get it? On second thought, it doesn’t get much more hi-lar-ious than the green underglow and hidden trailer hitch. That is, unless you were to release a remix of the original Gymkhana video, with machine guns and Sid and Marty Kroft explosive effects. Yes, that would rock us like a hurricane.

Continue reading "Ken Block Falls on Hard Times. Forced to Sell Infamous Gymkhana STI" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

You’d think that everyone running in the World Rally Championship would have factory support, giant trailers and dozens of mechanics. But while that’s the general rule, Bill Caswell managed to be competitive in a beater BMW that he got off Craig’s List for a whopping $500. Now, managing to finish would be quite the achievement, but he actually managed to come in third in class. How cool is that? Jalopnik has the whole story, and StreetFire has video of the Bimmer rounding a corner and crossing the finish line.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

It was big news when Ken Block decided to switch from Subaru to Ford, and lots of people—even Hitler—had strong feelings about the move. Personally,  I love the 2010 Fiesta, and think the Blue Oval’s little hot hatch looks pretty sharp wearing the Monster livery. For the record, I also think “Vibrant Thing” is proof positive that Q-Tip should have never quit Tribe, but that’s a whole different thing. Anyway, we’ll have to wait until March to see this baby race in WRC,  but it’ll make its competitive debut this Friday at the start of the 2010 Rally America Championship. Two more photos after the jump.

Continue reading "Ken Block’s New Monster Energy Fiesta" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Talk about big news: Gymkhana virtuoso Ken Block is heading to World Rally Championship. But since Subaru has dropped out of the series, he’ll be joining the Monster Ford team and piloting a 2009-spec Ford Focus WRC. Personally, I can’t wait to see how he does against some of the best drivers on the planet, because while playing paintball and smashing florescent lightbulbs with Rob Dyrdek—as he did in the underwhelming Gymkhana Two Infomercial—is a well and good, I prefer drivers to be judged by how fast they can complete a circuit, rather than how pretty they look doing it. Hopefully, Block’s pop culture status will make the fans who’ve so rabidly consumed his internet exploits tune into the WRC, which has been looking to get one of its Pilotis into the door of the lucrative US market. Check out the video below for some footage of Block and new teammate Chris Atkinson behind the wheel of a ’78 Ford Escort MK2, and stay tuned for info on how he fares in his first race.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Ok, across the pond, they call them telegraph poles, but no matter what they’re called, I’d think that a high-speed collision with one would render a car inoperable.  But somebody apparently forgot to tell World Rally Championship driver Chris Atkinson that, because even after his Citroen C4 took out a telephone pole during a WRC stage in Ireland, he was able to keep going and manage a 10th place finish. Huh? What the hell do they make telephone poles out of over there? Balsa wood?

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Over the weekend in Greece, Sebastien Loeb lost it during about halfway through the Acropolis Rally and wound up making eight revolutions before coming to a stop.The good news is that Loeb and his driver are both in good shape. Unfortunately, that can’t be said for the pair’s Citroen C4, which is as bashed-up as you’d expect it to be. During interviews following the wreck, the world champion said that he basically came in to the turn too hot and over-corrected, which send the car over the edge of the road and started the tumble. Hopefully he and his team have better luck next time out.