The exalted community of Panther-platform enthusiasts has a term for people who deliberately make their Crown Vics look like working undercover/plainclothes police cars: “wackers”.
You can’t call this fellow a “wacker”. “Wack”, on the other hand…
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Posts By: Jack Baruth
Avoidable Contact: the watery Big Bang, the 32-step power steering fluid check, disposable faux-ury.
In a former life as an occasional participant on the fringes of the ol’ illegal street racing, I was a member of an “underground message board” where matches were set up, smack was talked, grammar was tortured, you know the deal, right? The board was well-known for being completely cop/narc-free, largely because the cops didn’t care about two community-college dropouts racing 15-second Hondas behind a grocery store in the sticks at two in the morning and then creating twenty-eight-page forum threads detailing their particular excuses for losing. In fact, until some GTO-driving halfwit managed to kill himself and cripple an innocent woman traveling the other way on the freeway, it was pretty much open season for 40-rolls on the freeways of Columbus, Ohio. (Read More…)
Long-time TTAC readers will recall my infatuation with Couch Guitar Straps and their MB-Tex “upcycled” products. Couch doesn’t just do Benz-based stuff, however; they make a very popular guitar strap from Fleetwood Talisman roof vinyl and various other products from Ford trunk linings, VW Beetle seat vinyl, and Seventies Pontiac upholstery.
This morning, Couch spammed me with something about a limited run of bright-green upcycled-from-seatbelts guitar straps, and while I was reflexively clicking the “Buy Now!” button like Pavlov’s pup I noticed a few new items for the Murilee Martin crowd.
When TTAC’s reliability scribe Michael Karesh bought a used Taurus X a few years ago, he was able to get it as a nearly-new car for about half of the original retail price. It’s not hard to understand why; the Taurus X, which combined the high “hip point” from the vaguely-Volvo-based Ford Five Hundred with a rather humpbacked wagon profile, was showroom poison and widely derided by automotive journalists who were in the full flush of an industry-loved love affair with “crossovers”.
Those same journos are now competing to pile the greatest number of accolades on the “Panamera Sport Turismo” concept, presumably because there are going to be some awesome European press trips involved for the writers who can generate the most suction, er, traction on the topic.
Hey there, autocrossers! Aren’t you tired of explaining to that stacked little “administrative assistant” down the hall that you race on a parking lot, not a racetrack? Would you like to change that in a way that preserves your car and your own scaly hide? Would you like to face off against TTAC’s only most feared racers? Of course you would.
The Segway was supposed to be the future of urban transportation, but here’s a better idea:
Long-time TTAC readers know of my sentimental fondness for Crain Communication’s Jamie LaReau. Now the first lady of automotive journalism has uncovered some interesting news about Lincoln’s continuing attempts to, like, do crazy stuff, man.
Nissan’s NV200 has stepped over the extremely low bar set out for it by the notorious New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. From now on, all retired cabs must be replaced by the Mexican-assembled minivan.
Hey kids! Are you feeling nostalgic for the old Celebrity Eurosport? Well then — line right up!
How similar is a man to his brother? Their parents flipped the chromosonal coin twenty-five thousand times with each. Perhaps they are entirely different, individuals in perfect reversal. Perhaps they are identical twins. But it’s rarely that simple. Imagine two brothers, similar and different. One is balanced, light, controlled; the other is brutish, temperamental, dramatic. […]
We would also like to point out that importing and/or driving a vehicle with the Martini Racing design film package on public roads could have legal consequences
Now that Porsche has that humdinger of a disclaimer out of the way, they’d like to sell you one of the 918 examples of the 918 Spyder. Preferably one with the Weissach Package. No, not the Weissach Edition. The Weissach Package. As in, you’re going to have to start taking Marlo’s package on your corner so you and all your hoppers can live long enough to buy an example of this fine sporting hybrid.
‘Our aim is not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit’, says McLaren Automotive Managing Director Antony Sheriff. ‘It is the true test of a supercar’s all round ability and a much more important technical statement. Our goal is to make the McLaren P1 the most exciting, most capable, most technologically advanced and most dynamically accomplished supercar ever made.’
Oh McLaren, you so crazy!
I mean it.
You’re crazy. Like, if you think supercar buyers will make any purchase decision based on your in-house road-course lap times, you’re really crazy.
Chevrolet threw a lot of money at the marketing plan for the Daewoo Kalos all-new Sonic. Any time there’s money in the air, it’s like blood in the water; it brings the sharks. Flirtatious sharks, who know that it’s best to play hard to get. They start by winking across the bar at the mark. Then there’s a brief bit of dangerously witty banter, followed by the frantic, drunken consummation. What’s after that? The payoff, of course: a sponsored conversation, a cross-promotion, the messy, wet details of a cash exchange.
And then there’s the hip way.
TTAC’s readers are a brave group, and nowhere is that better-proven than in their willingness to let me abuse test their personal vehicles. From Time Attack Mustangs to Malaise Cadillacs, the Best & Brightest have consistently helped us bring them reviews of interesting vehicles. And I ain’t killed one yet. Still, it takes a special […]
Four years ago, I bit the bullet and bought a Traqmate for my race car. I continue to believe that the Traqmate is the best tool out there for the club racer on a budget. The predictive lap timer feature alone is an amazingly powerful tool that allows you to make multiple changes in the way you drive a single lap and see the results in real time.
Unfortunately for me, my Traqmate is wired into that race car pretty securely. Is it possible to get similar data for a lot less money — say, for seventy or eighty bucks instead of the $999 Traqmate charges for the basic in-car system?
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