June 29: Challenger- speak of the devil

The Demon is dead, long live the Demon. Yes and no, folks. That limited edition Dodge Challenger, the one with no back seat and only one front, was from the get go a limited edition. That Demon and it's 840 HP was meant to live at a dragstrip, drive it on the street at your peril. Shed a tear, it's gone into the annals of muscle car history.

But what's with that evil red eye on the Hellcat?

Good old Dodge. Not resting on their Demon laurels, for 2019 they have massaged that wild Hellcat with some of the Demon's good parts. You know, those good parts like the Demon motor, but slightly detuned and as a bonus, it comes with both front and rear seats. Does life get any better? The standard Hellcat cranks out a glorious sounding 707 big ones, while the Redeye ups its output to a slightly more outrageous 797 HP. Gawd, where will it all end?

Throw on a couple of new hood scoops (like the good old days), those wide body wheel flares and get ready to terrorize the neighbourhood. Start this baby up early in the a.m. and none of your neighbours will need an alarm clock.

Now what about the numbers? You know, those really important numbers. Ok, try on a quarter mile time of 10.7 seconds. Fast? If you knew, you'd know. All this from a ride you can buy off of the showroom floor.

Way back in my youth, purpose built drag Challengers, the ones that were massaged in all sorts of race car ways, were turning these kind of times. Cars like these........

No one dreamed that sometime in the distant future, one could wonder into their local Dodge dealer and come out with a nutball machine, that would run with their old time heroes. Of course, no one thought of plugging in their car at night either, unless we were talking about a block heater. Can't live in the past forever, BT.

So now there's a new bad guy coming to town with his friends and they mean business........

All hail the Challenger Redeye!

Until next time........

June 26: Peaking on Pike's Peak

Just your average peak, Pike's Peak, that is. A nice little hill of average height in Colorado. Just under three miles (or just under 5 kms for us Canucks) in elevation, but with a wicked switchback road to the summit. Just the locale to test your nerves with a death defying run to the top on a road without barriers. Fall off and we never hear from you again, at least not without a medium's help.

Since Everest doesn't have a road to the top, what better place to trot out your skills once a year in June?See how quickly you can run to the top and rise to the top in the opinion of others knowledgeable in what have you accomplished. Run against that one thing that you cannot change......time.

How serious is this run to the summit? Take a look at the purpose built machinery that has tried it..........

........and the manufacturers that have affixed their names to that machinery and you can get an idea of the esteem in which this event and the winners are held.........

Nothing like this will ever be found in a showroom, but the hoped for result is apparently worth all this effort. Kind of strange, since this little subculture of motorsport doesn't hit the main stream media and often isn't even bragged about by the companies involved. Let me know when you see the fastest suv prize shown in a Bentley ad........

But each year nutball drivers test their nerves against this unforgiving piece of geography. Knowing that a wrong turn could be their last turn..........

2018 proved to be a milestone event. How so? VW came to the mountain with millions invested in the biggest gun they could engineer and made it electric, the I.D. R . Can't get any more cutting edge than that, electric and a name that rolls off the tongue like a hulk of lead.

Did it pay off? That might be an understatement, as this electric missile cruised to the summit in just under eight minutes, breaking the five year old record by sixteen seconds! In a sport that measures accomplishments in tenths of a second, that is breaking down the door in incredible fashion. Like taking a bazooka to a knife fight.

Now, what to do with whatever info they have gained? Look for other mountains to climb? Whatever, it shows the importance of this relatively unknown event (at least to the general public).

By the way, this road is open to the innocent year around weather permitting. So next time you and the family vacation in Colorado, try a little run up the hill. Remember, 7 minutes and 57 seconds is the number to beat.

Until next time......

June 22: Hey Toronto, make up your mind

 Remember this Toronto police car colour?

Being of a certain age, I do. This bright yellow livery was used for years and years and years. Stands out. Easy to spot. Then for a couple of reasons this was no longer going to work. One reason was something about using paint with too much lead in it (couldn't get a yellow without it?). Another, was that they looked too much like New York taxis. Sure, I bet they were being hailed all the time by vacationing NYCers. And being Canadian, the coppers probably took those people to their destinations at no charge!

But like the song says, all things must pass, and the charge was on to join the new white trend in police vehicles.......

Add a nice set of blue and white stripes and no one was being harmed with leaded paint or wasting time as a taxi service. This continued for a while until some bright soul decided those stripes had to stand out more, hence make them wider.......

Not a bad look, conservative but effective. An easy change. But around this time, police car graphics started to get rather flamboyant, well at least in the context of them being on a police car. Somebody actually had graphic artists design the paint schemes, instead of simply using someone who had a ruler. So eventually, although late to the party, TO had to follow........

Bright white (is there any other white?) and a more contemporary design for those red and blue stripes. Looks good and everyone's happy. Well, not exactly everyone. After a relatively short time and a new police chief, another change was in order (necessary?). Let's do a complete turn around..........

Use that same graphic package, but now on a more sombre grey background. Good looking, but doesn't stand out like a white cruiser. Never mind. The reason for the change? The chief just wanted it and liked grey. Reason enough? Not so fast. So the police board, put a stop to the change. Too militaristic. Too unfriendly looking. Unapproachable. Really? Does any police car look friendly and approachable?

Now we had the "old" white cruisers mixed in with quite a few of these new grey ones.

Pause to rethink this change without pissing off the new chief, but still have a cop car that looked somewhat friendlier than the chief's choice. Solution? Let's add white doors.......

......and order a ton of them, since they now look so much friendlier.......

Good move. Now, until all those white and all those grey cruisers get used up, we have three distinct police car liveries at every major crime scene. Interesting and I bet we may be unique in this regard.

Worried about your police car being unapproachable? Want to make them more friendly looking? Ok, then look no further than a car we have used in the past to enthrall the city's children. Have this one cruising the city streets and everyone would approach it. Maybe even paint it grey?

Where is Blinky when when need him most?

Until next time.......

June 19: Dads' Day car show

What better way to celebrate Fathers' Day than to take your dad to an exotic car show. Make him realize that he'll never own anything remotely like this because he decided to have you. A pleasant thought? Which brings me to today's blog. Each Fathers' Day, an exotic car show is held on Toronto's Mink Mile in the high end Yorkville area. How appropriate. Now all those Lambos, Porsches and Rolls that cruise this area, can be seen standing still.

And what better way to start the highlights than with a gold Rolls-Royce Wraith........

Not enough to spend half a mil on your fancy new ride, one has to personalize it, so that it will stand out from all those other ubiquitous Rollers cruising your 'hood. Good thing that gold Flying Lady drops into the grille, so no one touches it with their grubby paws. A first world problem.

Can't pony up the coin for a new Rolls, but like the exclusivity of a one of a kind ride? How about making your own, like this guy did..........

Good looking? Not really. Unique? Absolutely. This is one way to get into my blog.

Want another way to stand out? When was the last time or the first time you saw an Israeli Sabra (yes, the spelling is correct)? Same here, this was my first one..........

Cheap and cheery and way less costly than anything in those rows of McLarens or Lambos.......

Speaking of Lamborghini's, the Toronto dealer sold about 110 last year and is on track to double that in 2018. I guess not so rare?

A Morgan anyone? Strangely exclusive or exclusively strange? Not quite a retro design, not quite modern, so why bother? Good question, but this was one of the few in the country in all its glory on the Mink Mile.....

This one is rarer than any Ferrari or such, but I can think of better ways to be rare. And speaking of rare, this 911 RS might be one of the few in the country and at well over $300k CDN that's not a surprise. If you love Porsches, then that puddle of drool is probably yours.

And finally what exotic car show these days doesn't have one of the new Ford GT's? Done up in racing livery, but not a race car. When you have the coin to spend on a gorgeous ride like this, paint it anyway you want.

So back to dad and your special time with him last Sunday. If he had not decided to give you life, then maybe he too could have been showing his exotic ride. But what the heck, it was a good decision and his old Camry is looking better all the time. Ain't love grand?

Until next time.......

June 15: Glamping fun?

Glamping. You know this term, it applies to upscale camping or whatever passes for upscale camping these days. The original glamping might have been in one of those old VW camper vans, that roamed our highways and biways in years gone by. They worked for me, since I don't think mankind (personkind? humankind?) was meant to sleep under canvas. Don't see many of those Vdub vans around here these days, but cross the Atlantic and these very compact rv's still adorn peaceful meadows, while their owners enjoy their leisure time. And the non owners dream, while looking longingly at your nomadic lifestyle (well, at least for a week or two).

You have to know that they have an avid following, when there is a monthly magazine devoted to the worshipping of the past. Hope springs eternal for a rebirth of this classic vacation vehicle. And now the hopes and dreams of those happy wanderers are getting closer to reality. I told you before about the new electric VW van, that harkens back to the good old days of the famous VW bus (next picture, please)........

A perfect model to turn into what came to us many years ago. Pop open the roof and the sides and "We don't need no stinkin' Winnebago!"................ 

But this is where it gets interesting. Can those VW dreamers be turned onto something else the same size and maybe even with the same character (if you squint). Who might be looking to fill this niche? A hint, perhaps......

Recognize these little carry alls? Look again, as they are the Nissan VV commercial vans, that we sometimes see as a taxi, but most often as mini panel vans. But paint them in those distinctly '50's pastels and look out world. These things say VW camper van, but with a Japanese accent..........

Get the e version, if you've blown your wade on the van and can't afford the gas to run it. How perfect is this little caravan? Just the size needed to cruise those narrow European streets and those beautiful winding mountain roads. A little interior imagination and you can become the king or queen of a fully decked out vacation home on wheels.

Your friends want to join you? Tell them to get their own.

Yes folks, the past will be the future, when these concepts from Nissan go into production shortly. Good move before VW comes up with the same idea for their upcoming electric blast from the past. Will we see them in North America? Unlikely as our rv's seem to be getting bigger all the time. Hope springs eternal? Sure why not, write to Nissan USA and make mine turquoise.

Until next time.......

June 8: Another coupe(?) - Audi Q8

Who ever decided the the word "coupe" should also apply to a swoopy four door? Craziness, I tell you. And who ever decided that same word should apply to a sport ute, that had a fastback? More craziness. And this nuttiness began with that proverbial designer of strange looking cars, BMW.......

When I saw this X6 at the Detroit auto show years ago, it left me breathless and not in a good way. And time hasn't eased its visual pain. Coupe or whatever, it was as ugly and ill conceived as a Trump tweet.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Mercedes finally answered the call to compete with the X6 and their effort was much better, although not what The Donald would consider making a pass at, if it were a female (he's just so fussy)......

Ok, so you get the idea that these so called sport ute coupes are here to stay. Hey, even Lambo has one and it might be worthy of the name coupe, even if it does have four doors........

And speaking of this Lamborghini, the most recent addition to this small field and a direct competitor to BMW and Benz, is the new Q8 from Audi..........

Speaking of the Lambo and then going to the Q8? What's up with that? Maybe because they both ride on the same platform, as does the Porsche Cayenne and the Bentley Bentayga. Good company to keep, folks.

Audi's designs are conservatively classy and this newest arrival is a case in point. Taken on its own, it is gorgeous, but compared to the BMW and the Benz it is the goddess Venus incarnate. And maybe truly deserving of the misnomer "coupe" for a four door suv?

Getting ready for another glamour shot

No details yet on what will power this beauty, but probably a hybrid. But hey, who cares? I'd love to be seen in this new ride, even if it were powered by coal or pixie dust.

Audi has had years to see how the others misinterpreted their coupe suv's and they used the time wisely. Maybe the others will finally see the light.

Until next time (away until the 15th).........

June 5: What price exclusivity - the Eadon Green Zeclat

The casino at Monte Carlo. All the high rollers head to this iconic address to see and be seen (mostly the latter). The mere plebs, like most of us, also head there to see those gorgeous rides parked out front, as a warning to lesser folks, do not enter if you can't afford the price of admission. Here's test for all you eagle eyed car folks......what is that fastback lurking in the lower right of this pic?

If you said you had no idea, I'd agree, except this is my blog and I know the answer. If you said a Rolls-Royce, you'd also be correct to a point. This is the Black Cuillin by that, until recently, unknown British coachbuilder Eadon Green........

Based on a V12 Rolls Wraith, this custom job was a concept to show the world just what Eadon Green was all about. Looks to me like a company rebodying a modern car to make it look like something from way back in time. But as I said, it's just a concept.

At the recent Geneva auto show, EG showed their first production car, the Zeclat (a name which means exactly what?).........

And a few displays over, Chevrolet showed the car upon which the Zeclat was based.........

Who would have thought? And why?

Eadon Green is ready to produce up to twenty five of these retro-mobiles, so that you too can show up at the casino in Monte Carlo in high style. Exclusive? Goes without saying. Price? Well that's a crap shoot. If EG makes all twenty five, then the price would be about $800,000 USD. Those orders don't materialize and only a handful come out the factory door? Then expect to pay closer to $1.3 mil USD. Better get all your friends on board to lower the price of this budget breaker.

Take an extremely competent supercar like the Vette and clothe it in a suspect old style. Again the question, why? Are there that many Russian oligarchs or oil royalty looking for something like this? Apparently EG thinks so.

Life is too short to quibble over the small stuff. You want to stand out? Then you gotta pay the price. Contact Eadon Green and have them transform your contemporary beauty into their idea of this coachbuilt dream......

Be the only one in your country and hope like heck there are twenty four others thinking exactly like you.

Until next time.......