Most Viewed Automotive Blogs (377)

Intertwined thoughts about intertwined limbs
^^^ daydream fantasy of making love “intertwined limbs” to a sexy coworker

Flash images like a manic slide show
^^^ reliving in memory, their secret tryst
Thoughts made present on the face
^^^ the thoughts put a sly grin on the face
A mask falls away, briefly
^^^ means the fake smile of retail is briefly traded for a genuine smile

It is Friday, which means a new episode of The Grand Tour!

This time, Jeremy takes The Grand Tour to Sweden, where he tests a Lamborghini Urus on snow, and he also stages a race between the Urus and a Porsche 911 Turbo, to see if Lamborghini has made a fast SUV.

Back in England, May is testing the Alpine A110, while Hammond makes a touching and amazing segment to the late Scottish racing driver Jim Clark, who tragically passed away during a race on Hockenheim on April 7, 1968.

I liked this episode. I didn't think I was going to, because of the synopsis, but I was very much entertained throughout the episode.

Hammond has a particularly fun rant about horses, during the Conversation Street segment. They also explain that new companies are modernizing old cars, which makes for some truly spectacular results.

This episode will bag a solid 8 out of 10 from me!

The Grand Tour Season 3 is streaming NOW on Amazon Prime!

August already, and father time is breathing down Tom Brady's neck! No matter what happens this season, Tom Brady has surpassed all expectations and has made it almost awkward to be a fan. I usually root for the underdog, but with the Pats, I couldn't stop being a fan just because they started winning. I was born into it along with being a fan of the Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics.

Good luck this season Mr. Brady, and keep the shiny side up!


Anyway, here are some players from around the league wishing TB a happy b-day and roasting him a bit.



Oh, and for the haters


An MIT professor (an eagles fan, btw) debunks deflatehate. Funny how things work out, eh?

Ah ...for those not on the know, the Eagles won the Superbowl over the Pats last year (not last season...the Pats won that game against the Rams).

The signs are on the highway. Now that I'm doing half the miles as I did when I lived in Miami, I still enjoy a drive on a few roads in south Florida.
This was the case on Sunday when I drove to Miami Beach to drop off samples to a customer, catch a few model helicopter flights with friends, get a haircut, visit my daughter and grocery shop. I logged in more than 150 miles.
The 2 main roads were I-95 and I-595 that each have 5 lanes.
Speed limit on both is 65mph.

Yesterday I was in the middle lane for most of my travels and at times doing 80-85mph.
But... that doesn't matter how much I exceed the limit as cars fly past me on both sides. What pisses me off is when they swerve around and cut in front of me from both sides so aggressively the 2 cars almost collide.

It's not like I'm doing 50 being tailgated and in the wrong lane, but I find that I have to prepare well ahead of my exit as cars that normally merge to the right into the deceleration lane. Often I see drivers who are willing to drive on the right shoulder, cut in front the car making an exit, then skate across 2 lanes to get back into the flow of traffic.

I did have a theory that worked for a while... Stay in the left lane and limit the number of morons to only the right side. I did have one try to sideswipe me on the left as he squeezed into the safety zone.

Slower traffic keep right...

Earlier this year, gas prices fluctuated a bit and were around $3.40 a gallon.
A week ago, they shot up 40 cents. By Friday they were $4.00, then $4.20 on Sunday.
Tuesday marked $4.50 and today, the place I normally buy from dropped to $4.18

I'm doing much less driving than I've done in past years so I'm not feeling the pain that others would experience with long commutes and lots of sales calls.

Running an errand to get new wiper blades and a cabin filter, the guy at the auto parts store remarked about me having an economy car. the computer shows I'm averaging 32 miles per gallon. The trip back from my daughters late at night with little traffic registers 41 miles per gallon.

I just hang in... it's all I can do.

Yeah, I know the first thing that pops in your head when you hear that phrase: Once you go black. Summer in South Florida can be brutal. Over the years, I had one white car and usually the others were silver. The one I bought a year ago is a dark graphite color. Depending on the lighting metallic charcoal. In the middle of the day, it's as good as black because you cannot touch the exterior without burning your hands. Mazda didn't offer silver in my model. They did have white and that would have been my second choice, but the feature package (for what they had in inventory) was a step down and didn't have leather seats. I would have to wait 6 weeks to order one and the dealer made the right price for the one I bought.

A friend has a black Honda and it gets so burning hot you can grill steaks on the hood!

I'm already shopping for a new car and thinking of returning to Toyota. Last year, they had a wait as long as 4 to 6 months for cars, depending on the model and were taking non-refundable deposits to order one.

Things are returning to normal and deliveries of dealer orders are arriving weekly.

Do I need a new car? No
But the 2024 Prius is their 4th generation hybrid and I've seen a few videos about it being Toyota's best mechanics and technology they offer. The Prius was always designed as a hybrid, unlike a Camry or RAV4 where they added the hybrid features to and existing model. This information came from a few YouTube videos where mechanics who often post new car reviews all had the same opinion about the Prius.

My finger is on the trigger... doing research and comparisons.
It's a 2-liter engine and I'm currently enjoying the power of a 2.5-liter engine that has a longer wheelbase to ride like a larger car. I won't know if the ride of the Prius can compare without a test drive.
Silver being my preference... I'm thinking white could be the best choice.

New witness states that lush lawns deplete the earth of necessary water for hydration of twolegged critters even though sprinkler systems are used casually, like water grows on trees.

How NOT to make a good impression on your bosses boss.
One day years ago, 1973 to be exact, my company "Koni America" went to Watkins Glen as was our annual tradition, to service the Formula One race. We had our usual spot in the main garage where we entertained race drivers and crew members that came by to chat on various technical matters referring to suspension setups especially shock absorber settings and adjustments, and also test and set their shocks on our shock dyno as well. On this particular day a driver came by to chat and we formed a rough circle in the bay. There was my boss Ted M. to my right, between us was the driver, opposite to me was my bosses boss John Z., to my left was my co-worker, Bob K., another technician. I don't remember who the driver was, it could have been anybody. Normally an event like that would be engraved on your memory, however what follows is all that I remember of that moment in time.

So there we were chatting and my bosses boss John had a banana in his hand and was mindlessly trying to peel it while deeply engrossed in the conversation. I was trying to follow the flow of the conversation but the distraction of John and the banana made that nearly impossible. My focus kept shifting from his face to his hands and I was getting increasingly agitated. Ted was watching me watching John and he later told me that he could see my eyes going up & down as my attention shifted. He said he could also see my nostrils flare. My frustration grew to an unbearable level. I wanted to rip the banana out of his hand and peel the goddamn thing for him. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I blurted out "YOU'RE PEELING IT FROM THE WRONG END". Well, Ted nearly had a seizure from laughing so hard. My first thought was OMG . what did I just do? Did I just make my bosses boss look like a fool in front of some big Formula 1 driver? Do I still have a job? Lucky for me John took it as a learning experience and flipped the banana over and successfully peeled it.