Cars

Charlie Sheen Spent $800k On Cars Last Month

February 24, 2011 By Kurt Ernst 1 Comment

Name the sex act worth a Bentley. Wait: there isn't one...

I’m not a fan of the tabloids, and I frankly couldn’t care less what Charlie Sheen does. Still, when a guy spends $470,000 on cars for porn stars, plus another $320,000 on cars for ex-wives and current girlfriends, I’ll have to admit that it catches my attention. In the month of January alone, Sheen bought Porn Star 1 a $320,000 Bentley, Porn Star 2 a $150,000 Porsche Turbo, his ex-wife Brooke Mueller a $160,000 Mercedes Benz CL600 and current girlfriend Natalie Kenly a $160,000 Mercedes Benz S64. And to think that most of us just send flowers when we screw things up. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Soap Box Tagged With: Bentley, Cars, Celebrity Cars, Porsche

Does Anyone Do Car Commercials Better Than Dodge?

February 15, 2011 By Kurt Ernst 1 Comment

Being a man, it seems, has fallen out of style. On television, we’re portrayed as bumbling idiots, incapable of functioning in society without the help of our wives or girlfriends. Even our long-suffering kids know more than we do, and not buying the latest, bland SUV-wannabe crossover with the heated, vibrating rear seats, the Dolby surround sound cinema and the rear refrigerator / microwave package constitutes child abuse in most states. That’s why I like these ads from Dodge so much, because they’re a single digit salute to society from men everywhere. Videos after the jump. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Domestic Tagged With: Cars, Commercials, Dodge, Dodge Charger, new cars

It’s Only Money: You Know You Want A Lancia Stratos

February 14, 2011 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

Let’s say you had a Ferrari 430 sitting in the garage, and your 2010 performance bonus was particularly lucrative. You could spend that $405,000 on a Ferrari 458 Italia and a clean used Ferrari California, but both cars are so… common. Besides, the 458 has a nasty habit of spontaneously combusting on hot days, and the California uses faux rear-exit exhausts. You could buy a clean Lamborghini Murcielago, but everyone knows they’re just blue collar Ferraris from that tractor company. If you want something distinctive and you’re tired of seeing a Ferrari 430 in every other driveway, why not hit up Pininfarina and have them build you a new Lancia Stratos. German multi-gazillionaire Michael Stoschek already did the heavy lifting, and Stoschek and Pininfarina estimate that the tooling will be good for roughly fifty copies. They’re willing to build you your very own Stratos, if you’ve got the coin. The price? Your $405,000 bonus check, plus your donor Ferrari 430. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Import Tagged With: Cars, Ferrari, Lancia, Lancia Stratos

VW Golf24 Heads To Nürburgring

February 11, 2011 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

I’ll give you the bad news up front: you can’t buy what may be the coolest VW ever built. It’s got a turbocharged 2.5 liter, inline five engine good for 434 horsepower and 398 ft lb of torque, a six speed sequential gearbox, all wheel drive and a stance that’s chock full of attitude. Those are some meaty fender flares, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the Renault R5 Turbo 2 of the 1980s. Want some good news? This isn’t just a design study, and VW will be racing the car in the upcoming 24 Hours of Nürburgring event, held from June 23 to June 26. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Import Tagged With: AWD, Cars, Golf24, Nordschleife, Nurburgring, VW

Chevy Unleashes The Mother Of All Camaros

February 10, 2011 By Kurt Ernst 1 Comment

Image: © GM Corp.

Chevy chose this week’s Chicago Auto Show to make their most heavily anticipated product debut since the return of the Camaro. Instead of giving the audience the expected Z28, Chevy dug deep into their history to bring up a legendary (if obscure) product name – the ZL1. If you’re a vintage Camaro guy, you probably know that the ZL1 was a single year (1969), aluminum block racing engine option for the Camaro. Only 69 were built, and the cars command a stratospheric price when they show up at auction. Chevy though it was appropriate to use this legendary performance name on the most powerful Camaro ever built, and I tend to agree with them. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Domestic Tagged With: Camaro, Camaro ZL1, Cars, chevy, Chicago Auto Show

Car Warriors: A New Reality Show For Gear Heads

February 9, 2011 By Kurt Ernst 4 Comments

I’m still not sure if this is a good idea or a really, really bad one, but I’m reasonably sure that I’ll tune in to watch. Starting on Wednesday, February 23, Speed is launching a new reality TV series called “Car Warriors”. The premise is simple: customizers from around the country will compete against a team of pros in a classic car build off. Each team has access to the same tools, the same go-fast parts and the same number of workers. The catch? You only get 72 hours to turn the car from a junker into a stunner. Does that sound interesting or horrifying? Check out the videos below for details. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Soap Box Tagged With: Cars, Custom, TV Shows

Road Trip! 1,200 Miles In A Lamborghini Countach

February 8, 2011 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

Harry Metcalfe is the managing director editor of Britain’s Evo magazine, which means he makes more money than most auto journalists. He also gets to take cool road trips, like the one in the video below; I don’t know about you, but I’d jump at the chance to drive a Lamborghini Countach from the French Riviera, across the Alps, through the Euro Tunnel and to the Cotswalds in the U.K. Unfortunately, I don’t get offers like that and I don’t make the kind of money needed to buy, feed or maintain a Lamborghini Countach. Currently, I barely make the kind of income needed to feed and maintain a Mazda Miata. Feel free to drool while watching the video below. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Import Tagged With: Cars, Lamborghini Countach, Road Trip

Dodge Prepares You For The Snowpacalypse

February 7, 2011 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

Snowpacalypse? It's Snowmageddon!

I don’t live in the snow belt any more, but I have to say the beginning of this video is pretty accurate. Thanks to the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it predictions from weather forecasters at the slightest inclination of bad weather, even moderate snowfall brings an all-out assault on the grocery store, as shoppers stockpile enough food to withstand a 90 day siege. I can only imagine how bad Chicago was just prior to this last storm, but I’d be willing to bet the video below is pretty accurate. It makes me wonder how we all survived in the days before Doppler radar and overpaid, panic-inducing weathermen. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Domestic Tagged With: AWD, Cars, Dodge, Trucks

More Grunt For The Next Civic Si?

February 4, 2011 By Kurt Ernst 1 Comment

Honda's Latest Civic Si Concept. Image: Honda America Motors

The Civic Si is a great car, but like all of Honda’s current performance cars it relies heavily on hotter intake cam timing to make serious power. The Si, for example, really doesn’t come alive until the tach hits about 6,000 RPM. From there to the car’s 8,000 RPM redline, the motor pulls hard enough to make you wonder if there’s a low pressure turbo under the hood, but it’s just VTEC. Top end power is fine for the racetrack, but in the real world low end torque is much more beneficial. Tuners have been modding Honda K20 engines to make more low end torque for years, but not everyone wants to go the tuner route. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Import Tagged With: Cars, Civic Si, Honda

McLaren’s MP4-12C Heads To Production

February 3, 2011 By Kurt Ernst 2 Comments

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button put in a hard day's work.

McLaren has announced the start of production for their MP4-12C supercar, the long-awaited successor to the storied McLaren F1. Initial cars will be built in McLaren’s state-of-the-art Technology Center, with production moving to the brand new Production Center as soon as the facility is complete. McLaren will be able to produce approximately 1,000 12Cs in 2011, with the potential of building more in subsequent years as demand dictates. Do I want one? More than I want Scarlett Johansson, rubber sheets, a bottle of peanut oil and a tube of klister ski wax. Just in case you need to ask why, the video below should explain well enough.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Import Tagged With: Cars, McLaren, Supercars

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