Car Parts 2011

I was just working on some material for Freak of the Week before calling it a night when I received the most incredible IM all week.

I am thoroughly convinced, and proven time and again, that if you ever needed help looking for a car on eBay Motors, you will not find a better person to do the job than Danny Chin.


I cannot overstate this-- I never thought I could want a car as badly as I want this one.


Not. A. Replica. The descriptions state that this 911 is a genuine, numbers matching, 1973 911 Carrera RS. Moreover, of the past 37 years, the vehicle has only changed hands four times!

Work done to the RS include new sport seats, sport steering wheel, and a bolted roll bar. The doors have also been lightened and the original yellow has been painted with a more upright, understated, and charming forest green. Finally, the engine has been completely rebuilt by a Porsche specialist.

I am absolutely certain that this car holds the key to my eternal happiness. Donations welcome! Please, I beg you, I'll eat glass if that's what it takes! If I sound hysterical, that is because I am and my parents have already scrambled up the stairs to see if I needed an exorcist.

Naturally, Freak of the Week will have to wait.  Hope everyone had a great weekend!

'Soul' is what you get when you've won the Formula One world championship and Le Mans 99 times. You can't design 'soul' or 'character'. You can earn it. -Jeremy Clarkson

I was watching Jay Leno's garage the other day and if there's anything the man doesn't get enough credit for, it's the fact that he doesn't really sell any of his cars. Leno just collects and collects and never tosses one after he's had enough. Moreover, none of the cars in his garage look neglected. Conan O'Brien is another one of these people too; how long has he owned his green Ford Taurus SHO?

Now I don't know if I can do that. Later in my life, when I start a family, will I actually find a family car I like so much that I'll keep until the very end? I really like the smart looking 2012 Ford Focus hatchback but what about three years from now? Unfortunately, I'm very fickle so I wouldn't be so sure...

Save for an exception. There are cars out there that disregard fads and trends (landau tops and pop-up headlights, anybody?) and are more than just the sum of its parts. Cars made thirty years ago that have a strong cult following today. Cars that are made today that will still be relevant thirty years later.

So, if there was ever one car I would choose to grow old with, to love more and more each day, to have each other in sickness and in health, to learn from and be a better person because of it, it would most likely be a sports car.

This can still be tricky, as buying a sports car is an art. James May made the classic mistake when he bought his Ferrari F430 Spider. He didn't have the foresight to consider the Ferrari 458. This extends to 360 Modena man, F355 Berlinetta man, 348TB man, 328GTB man... Shall I go on?

If a car wishes to be immortal, it cannot rely on its performance as the be-all and end-all of the equation. What it should do, instead, is forever be a benchmark of excellence. On the other hand, it may also be so extreme, so out of proportion, that it can never ever be compared to anything at all. But most importantly, it must possess soul. But the word "soul" has been, and still is, a point of eternal debate between car enthusiasts. Why do some cars have it, and some do not?

Recently, I read a passage from Jeremy Clarkson while he was discussing the Nissan GTR,

'Soul' is what you get when you've won the Formula One world championship and Le Mans 99 times. You can't design 'soul' or 'character'. You can earn it.

And if you really think about it, "soul" is a lot like the word "love". Ugh, now I'm only substituting a word with a very complicated definition with another that's even more complicated. In my efforts to find something tangible, I've come up with something a bit cliche but effective; a car that can't help but bring out "the orphan puppy factor". You would feel unexplainably awful if you must ever part with it. You would make sacrifices in other parts of your life just so that you can keep it. You'd go the extra mile to make sure it gets sent to a good home should you ever have to let it go.


Nothing too crazy, here are some of the cars that fit my bill.
Hopefully, there will be a day in the future when I can afford to pay for theirs.
Your turn: Tell us about your soulmate!

With all the D1-GP, Formula Drift, and Gymkhana videos, the drifting scene has evolved extremely quickly the last couple of years. And while the franchises have allowed the sport to do well for themselves, financially... sometimes it's better to take a step back and see its humbler origins-- just a bunch of young enthusiasts looking to improve themselves, learn more about their cars, and make new friends along the journey.

Relax! Happy Weekend everybody! Thank you, Mr. Remi Shouten, for the fantastic video.


Summer Drift Matsuri 2010 - Ebisu Circuit from Remi Schouten on Vimeo.

That said, does anybody know of any venues here in NY that has something like that? I'd love to pay a visit!

The essence of Art has been defended time and again for many years. People will question- does it make money? Is it practical? Is it a consumable? What's the point?

Pablo Picasso drew a piece using muted colors-- a horse's head with a sharp tongue, a bull with horns from a tumor, people lying distorted. Some would say that a 12 year old child could draw with more anatomic precision than him. Others would say that this piece is a desperate cry against the horrors of war, a symbol worth hundreds of millions of dollars... if it ever were for sale.

The same idea goes for motorsports. Why do people do it? Freud believes that racing drivers have a death wish and they'd like nothing more than to die. Team Engineers are just as impractical. They're creating cars that serve no purpose than to help racing drivers on their mission.

But motorsports and art are one and the same. I've said it before and I'll say it again. It pushes the boundaries of what a person can or can't do. It's a part of humanity and they share the same feelings of glory and achievement as anything else.

A "Thank you" to Antti, for creating this video. Please subscribe to his channel here. Those that don't understand only have to see some of his work.



Also, a thank you to my cousin Eric, and more recently my friend Afrina (you better find me an Italian to read the book to me), for encouraging my irrational obsession over the prancing horse.

Lotus is back, take 2, with a second team, Group Lotus.
Behold the John Player Special colors!