i'd whip that

1979 Pontiac Bonneville Safari

2011-06-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

I have this great ad photo in my office. You know the kinda half drawn half photographed poster that car companies used to release to promote their vehicles. Maybe you'd find this in a dealership framed somewhere on top of faux wood paneling surrounded by tweed upholstry. Well here it is, pretty well taken care of, still looking like quite a cushy ride with plenty of room for the whole fam and then some.

We went camping a few weeks ago along the kern river and ran into some old fire damage. Seems this Bonneville is not as cushy as it once was. Poor old friend. We'll miss your double bench seats and ample storage space as much as we'll miss the marque that birthed you from its loins.

photo by myles pettengill iii

Cars That Look Like Eggs

2011-04-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

It's Easter and you know what that means. Screaming children, bad church dresses and potato salad that's been sitting in the sun all day. Since I have a full day ahead of me I figured I would do a post on cars that look like eggs before I go hide myself with a six pack of Zimas and watch Real Housewives of Orange County on loop.

First egg car- Geo Metro

Second egg car- Toyota Yaris

Third egg car- Smart Car ( DUH!)

BIG RIGS!

2011-04-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

I have the spirit of a truck driver and I'm from Fresno so you are probably thinking to yourself "Well... that explains it" Yeah, it most certainly does, I'm a little bit honky tonk and I love me some gas station snacks. ( I'm eating a powder donut right now) Anywoos, here are some unforgettable big rigs

Orange Rig

Aqua Rig

Japanese Rigs, they take the cake on rig design!

A truck drivers dream and the star of this blog, funnel cake!

Limos and Bimbos

2011-03-26T18:10:00.001-07:00

So I was watching that movie "Beverly Hills Madam" the other day, you know to pick up a few pointers and there's this scene in the movie where the Madam steps out of this amazing white Lincoln Towncar Limo. Seeing that really makes me want to purchase a limo as my daily driver and go around and pick up all my friends on the regular and pretend we are on a bad prom date and get drunk on Zimas. Oh to be young again.. anyways, here are my favorite limo pics.

Interior shot, equipped with only the best drinking crystal money can buy, a tv ( with free cable), car phone and complimentary chilled Zimas.

Bad prom date

Swirl prom couple in front of a Toyota MR2

So if any of you guys see me driving around Echo Park in a limo look out for the honk and wave and be ready to jump in!

LAGUNA BEATCH

2011-02-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

oh yeah. we did it. we went to the OC. chucked a few bikes in the car. did some beachin, some ridin, some thriftin (as you do). check out daintyfingerz on her favorite whip.

so what do you guys think, buy an ipad or buy a metal detector? you know, sometimes you have to make tough decisions. and you make the right choice. an ipad with a metal detector ap.

lotus esprit. just for fun. the family is in the aerostar but daddy drives the grown ups car.

nice house. all the ingredients; sweet gate, glass bricks, what more could you want?

i'm peaking. this is all.

pontiac fiero - this car has a kit to turn it into a lambo. i kinda like it the way it is, nice details. could use a t-top. but hey, who's complainin? anyways, who wants to drive a lambo with the insides of a PONTIAC FIERO???? wah wah.

cute fiat. you gotta love a place where you can walk away with the top down. I took out the radio and traded it for a metal detector (sifter not included).

best whip of the trip. tricked out dodge raider with gold trim, alloys and a pirate flag in the back. come meet me in laguna and check out my suv coupe collection. bring the bronco II!

Junk in the Trunk: STATION WAGONS!

2011-01-30T13:07:00.000-08:00

Wow! It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Ive been really busy doing fancy lady things like dying my hair blonde, drinking white wine spritzers and watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on loop. You know, just being the elegant swan that I am. Anyways, all of these leisurely activities have led to me get a little secretary butt aka junk in the trunk. Good thing I drive a station wagon, enough room for my caboose and more. My favorite station wagon of all time the Saab station wagon, my parents had one while I was a kid and it was pretty slick.

Next up is the Oldsmobile Cutless Cruiser, this is the all American family wagon. Pack your bag, we are driving across country in this thing and don’t ask "Are we there yet?".

And of course, the ultimate wagon, the Volvo station wagon. When I lived In the Bay Area this was a staple, bumperstickers and all. Keep the US out of my Uterus or whatever.

Full Pull!

2011-01-25T17:07:00.001-08:00

concourse part 4: inside the fairgrounds

2010-12-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

upon entering the fairgrounds at the 18th hole we were greeted with a gorgeous view of the bay and a gaggle of fancy flimsy hats, khakis, $5000 cameras and navy sports coats with crests on them.

there were some nice cars too. many produced by the italian design house GHIA who teamed up with Ferrari and Plymouth, among others, to create some gorgeous machines.

this one below was bertone (my favorite italian design posse).

take note of the waved roofline. set against the backdrop of the carmel bay, it was a marvelous sight.

i think this post deserves a crest for my blue blazer.

Cars of Costa Rica Part 1

2010-12-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

i just got back from the most intense trip of my life, 5 girls, a rented Susuki Vitara and bags full of Spam, Coors Lite and Wonder Bread (long story). Anyways, we toured the coast of Costa Rica for a week and it was amazing.

Our rental Vitara was actually very impressive, it barely used any gas, drove like a go cart, and hosed off very well after hiking in the jungle. The only thing was the car battery died in front of the police station (Why we were at the police station, once again super long story and I know my Dad reads this blog).

Here is a picture of the lovely staff of the Quepos police station jumping our car.

Oh and one last thing,....if you ever find yourself at a Costa Rican nightclub on Thanksgiving night I have two pieces of advice for you. 1) don't order the bloody mary and 2) don't trust a surf instructor named Alberto, he will break your heart and then steal your wallet and before you know it your credit card will have a $900 charge to a brothel called "Beetles Bar". TRUST me on this one.

It's a Ferrari, in case you were wondering

2010-11-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is, but I've always had a thing for Ferraris and it's definitely more than puppy love. Whenever I see one, I stop and give it a once over like it was a beefcake from Thunder Down Under. ( C'mon ladies I know we have all seen that show on our benders in Vegas) Anyways, I found some vintage pictures that my Dad took of my mother and I posing in front of some hot Ferraris at the Laguna Seca racetrack circa 1990.

Right before this picture was taken I was listening to Milli Vanilli on cassette tape and thinking about a Hamburger Helper dinner. Typical.

Here's a picture of my Mama lookin' fly with her fannypack, perm and air pumps. Get it gurrl! Oooo ...what I would give to have a Ferarri...one day...one day!

Milli Vanilli, their shit is still dope even till this day!

del sol roof raise

2010-11-06T13:05:00.001-07:00

The best thing about the honda del sol besides the fact that it's a honda del sol is the roof raise. Brett demonstrates with style.

Daewoo, Mah Boo

2010-11-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

I've always had a healthy fasincation with the Daewoo Matiz, which is the Korean version of the Geo Metro. I love the name Daewoo, I think it's because it rhymes with so many words like, mah doo, caribou and fondue. I love the clean lines and simplicity of the design, it looks like a box on wheels. I can just imagine myself whipping the Daewoo down the Pacific Coast Highway while listening to a Rod Stewart cover band and smoking Pall Malls. Well....a girl can dream can't she.

I bet it drives like a go-cart! Here's a sneak peak of the interior of a 2011 Matiz, pretty smooth

Well done guys!

ACURA SMACURA

2010-10-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is an Acura NSX-T. My dad had a yellow one for many many years. It was his show car, a real Saturday night date whip if you know what I mean. He let me take it to prom when I was in high school and that car brought all the boys to my yard. Milkshake. Yeah, I whipped this car in my sparkly prom dress, run and tell dat homeboy homeboy.

And here's an ad I was in circa 2000 of me wearing a sparkly prom dress. (Guess which girl I am?) If you win, maybe I'll take you for a ride in a sweet whip.

concourse part 3 - hot concepts

2010-10-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

People liked this Porsche 918 plug in hybrid - a bit too much pzazz for me but I'd whip it lightly.

Mustangin - this is what I'm talkin about. All this needs is some futuristic longboard holder and we're cruisin.

If you can't get the yellow benz with the gullwing doors, you can always get the mirrored silver one.

Bugatti Veyron - I guess this car is ungodly expensive. Especially since it looks like a baby whale.

Luggage set complete with full china and cutlery. The name's Bobby. Bobby Royce. Bobby Rolls Royce. Picnic anyone?

There's something awesome about this Caddy. Not awesome enough to grab my leather jacket and hop in, but awesome enough to grab my leather jacket and drive my Dodge Raider to the local AMC in Burbank and watch Christian Bale whip it on screen. Or something along those lines.

i need this car

2010-10-14T23:38:00.001-07:00

I test drove a chevy volt today. not bad for an american car. pretty much the opposite of the 1983 Audi Sport Quattro. just saw one on the web for $9500. maybe next year. i'm gonna go make some milk and cookies.

Hey babe, wanna ride in my Dodge Dart?

2010-10-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Look at this beauty...I mean who doesn't like a couple of double d's? I know I do! The interesting thing about the 1963 Dodge Dart is that it has a mounted transmission system, you have to push buttons on the dash very similar to the space shuttle. That's pretty rad! However, the Dart gets a bad rap because it lacks many a safety feature such as the seat belt! Hello.... safety first dodge designers! Anyways, it's a cool car, there's also a Spanish version that has even more spice.

Car expert Sancho Sericho pointing to the mounted transmission system

The sessy Spanish version of the D Dart!

The Concourse

2010-10-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

Okay - going to start posting some long overdue highlights from The Concourse.

Rari Daytona. I want one. But not a yellow one please.

Silly old Saab.

VW's & Vienna Sausages

2010-09-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

I've been really into vans lately, like family vans that you throw all your gear in and go on a long road trip. Speaking of that, growing up my dad bought a VW Vanagon and we took that blue beauty everywhere, it was a real work horse of a family van. At the end of a trip, the interior of that rig was covered in melted crayon, food stains, and baby powder. One time when I was a chubby kid, we took it to Yosemite and I ate vienna sausages straight out of the can, I ate so many damn sausages that trip I think thats why I ended up going to an all womens college as an adult. Anyways, that's another blog post and a whole other story.

A '81 VW Vanagon with a manual transmission and sunroof!

Our beast and the beautiful California Coast

I wouldn't mind having this VW CHANEL van!

Vienna sausages!

Vienna aftermath

Palm Springs & Convertibles

2010-09-15T02:17:00.000-07:00

I went to Palm Springs this weekend with my girlfriends and had the time of my life. We laid by the pool, worked on our tans, had girl talk, started a game of limbo at a retirement party, did some freak dancing and stayed in a condo that looked like the Golden Girls house. I found some interesting convertibles along the way, here are my favorites, I just love that '90's aqua color.
I always wanted a Geo Metro Convertible, but my Dad told me they weren't safe

A VW Rabbit, can't go wrong with this classic (at least it has a roll bar)

I had to borrow a one piece suit from total babsicle Kelly Kapowski
Nice touches on the condo

I want one of these things in my house

To finish off this post, here's a picture of me as a child at a car show. My parents thought it would be a good idea to put me in a bathing suit and have me pose infront of fancy cars. I guess things haven't changed much, I still have bangs and bad tan lines.

I went to the concourse

2010-08-26T22:18:00.001-07:00

so much more to come - jaguar xj13 just before the green

Corvair Monza GT, 1962

2010-07-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

FunBenz

2010-07-23T14:15:00.001-07:00

PCBs on the PCH

2010-07-20T17:12:00.001-07:00

respect

hamburgers and hot cars

2010-07-04T14:22:00.001-07:00

every friday night the who's who of the Cali car scene gather at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank, CA with their hot rides. i was lucky enough to mingle in this prestigious scene last friday. it's a beautiful mixture of families, bikers, retired couples and pleasure seekers looking for fun on a friday night. there was some amazing hair, and some great ol fashioned american muscle thunder. great time spender for your socali friday eve.

the pontiac trans am - a lost art

lots of hot vettes

old stingray corvette tail light

shelby cobra

international scout - door cutaways for the summer

my dad's first car was a rambler. never saw one until I got here

sometimes the drivers match their cars. this is an excellent example of a perfect car & driver pairing. look at that hood lean.

my old neighbor growing up had a red one of these. auburns are so regal.

the perfect scene for the 4th of july weekend - vintage american muscle and a burger joint (with a PT cruiser in the background). grab a beer and meet me at the plastic chairs.

heykidgetaclassic

2010-06-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

if only every kid were this resourceful

2010-05-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

yo kids: if you are ever wandering through the parking lot at the local fair/campground and you see an el camino that nobody's attending to, do what you gotta do and lay a bigass plastic bag down and fill that shit with water. using duct tape to make sure the bag stays in place is prolly a good idea. take your shirt off, or fuck it, leave your clothes on and hop in that sucker with your buddies. face down will help you hide your boners cuz hellz ya, there are mad hotties at the fair. and yeah why not? fuck it twice, let tommy your little cousin jump in too, you know that kid got kicked out of school for putting dimes in the electrical sockets so show him some love, chicks dig little kids. your dude's stache might scare some of them away but he's kinda drunk so might be hard to tell him to tone it down. let him get the fat chick. and yo if the driver comes back whatever, maybe he'll let you ride around the block with him while he cruises, blasting Jump In My Car from his main man The Hoff.

you got any better ideas about how to use an el camino? exactly

hybrids

2010-05-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

problem isn't how much emissions, but where they end up...

screw u BP!

G on G

2010-05-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

Pool up to my bumper!!

2010-05-03T20:19:00.001-07:00

habibi

2010-04-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

Yay Area Whips

2010-04-23T17:48:00.001-07:00

Miuras

2010-04-22T22:31:00.001-07:00

This last one is in here purely for the mystery of its photographic composition and styling. Where are they? Seriously. The location doesn't particularly lend itself to speed, movement, or desire, unless the view from a tree is supposed to make me feel like a bird resting from flight...confounding.

Ay Papi

2010-04-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

or should it be...Au Vati?

nice cutaway

Hot Benzzz

2010-04-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

a far cry from claus

പുസ്സി Whipped

2010-03-29T15:13:00.001-07:00

Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo

2010-03-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

there is nothing about cars in this video. but there are some things in the video worth noting for someone who cares about how to look when driving. or how to cut their hair. or what car to drive when listening to this song. I pick a 1977 corvette t top. Who's with me?

thanks

2010-02-20T00:08:00.000-08:00

from insurgency - gonna go down to Elysian park this weekend and take some pics of this

blanca and claus

2010-02-13T13:18:00.000-08:00

a pretty picture of two new friends

2010-02-05T14:18:00.001-08:00

This is awesome.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brentwood-garage5-2010feb05,0,4655518.story

myles

2010-01-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

this is the world's largest burrito.

this is Myles.

nordic americana - 70s A frame chateau
this is across the street from Myles's house

the property is adorned with 2 lincoln marc VII's,

a toyota 4 runner and a VW westfalia with spinner rims

i like the fish details - go eat a burrito

highway thoughts

2010-01-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

on the way back from the pasadena estate sales josh got this guy to wave to us.
but my camera trigger wasn't fast enough. nice vette for a middle aged dude.
how do we feel about white cars? they're growing on me.

watch yoself. don't get wrecked.

benedict redgrove

2010-01-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

maybe the best car photographer I've seen.

his bertone and pininfarina sets are fantastic

thanks to scott hansen for the tip

Junk Truck

2010-01-05T00:56:00.000-08:00

Ford F1something something, with some horsepower and brakes and probably no airbags. Doubt it's street legal, probably dangerous, definitely awesome. Junk Trucks are my street art. Total collaboration by the city and the dumpster divers who construct these moving sculptures, and this one is a gem. Yes, that's a refrigerator bringing it up the rear. More to come, promise.

PULSAR NX

2010-01-02T20:53:00.001-08:00

The Nissan Pulsar NX is intriguing. Not really cause it's cool or desirable to drive, but cause it is an icon. An icon for awesome.

The lights in the back of the car are great. And may have influenced the apliiq tracks. I dunno.

Much like the MR2, the pulsar was a Japanese response to some of Bertone's Italian stylings. Check out this fiat.

I just saw a wagon like this one. Wow it was good. I love how they just take the regular car, make it longer and put a hat on the back. Or a hood if you will. You will.

Here's a good blog post about the car. If you like other blogs. And Pulsars.

1986 Toyota MR2

2009-12-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

It's been a minute but I'm back, blogging to you from the Miami airport en route to the Florida Keys for a silver tinsel Xmas. I just had the worst meal of my life at a Chili's here, waiting for a bus. Merry christmas!

I'm taking a bus because renting a car from Miami for a few days is not a good use of $850. Instead, that amount could almost buy me an MR2, Toyota's Matchbox car on roids. Is there a cooler car than this, ever, that you love to hate? Believe you me, I will not be ashamed to have this in my collection.

This thing is basically a toy and I want one for christmas. And I want to open up my presents now so I can whip this thing around Miami wearing a Mad Max costume, rolling up to valets. Here's my bus... till next year, assholes!

A Walk Through Venice (Pt 2)

2009-12-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

yeah there's a motorcycle in the van. and a chain link steering wheel.
and a couple semi automatic weapons. that last sentence is unconfirmed.

i like my house low, my car lower and my fence as high as possible.

something is hiding under the covers.

hey dodge monaco,
you tell me where to go.
if one were to walk from the trunk to hood,
you'd get from malibu to hollywood.

amazing to see how far dodge has come. blurry viper + beach bro.
the spoiler actually goes up another 2 feet on the PCH.

nice datsun 510 wagon. they shoulda made a woody version of this. if I had one I would definitely put some faux wood panels on the sides to go with my hot chrome wheels.

volvo knew that the station wagon could be the coolest car on the block.
volvo! come back!

great underrated mustang model

early 90s detail - so smooth

bentley's are often too bulgy and boat like for me. but there's something machine age about them which is nice. a couple good lines. put the top down and let your toupee see the light!

hi I'm jose the valet. I can't decide which whip to give the good parking spot. the pink jaguar print beach cruiser or the aston martin convertible. they both look the same to me.

astons look better hardtop but they're still a bit soft on my eyes.

jalopy

2009-12-09T12:28:00.000-08:00

I remember this, my family friends had one. I loved how it said Toyota in big block letters up the back. And how it looked like something from outerspace. Yet at the time, we didn't think twice. Today, looking back, I wonder how something like this happened. How did it happen? And why does it still make me so happy?

I was fortunate enough to see Gentleman Broncos in the Theaters during it short stint here in LA. This car, the Suburu XT was featured extensively and I couldn't just let it pass by unnoticed. This was futurism and sharpness, sport and class all rolled into a series of triangles squares and circles.
The gun like steering wheel and the joystick transmission. This thing was a video game. I want one.

23

2009-12-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

This is what our future is supposed to look like. 23 years ago, Kool Moe DEE released "Wild Wild WEst"

it wasnt until last year that Matthew Harrison designed this:

since kool moe dees not in his prime anylonger, can i suggest something? thanks! I'd like donors to help me speed up the development of my time machine. I ran the numbers, its only gonna take 26.8 Million dollars to complete the project. Wouldnt it be worth it to see tears streaming down from under those Porsche Carrera 5620 sunglasses. Help a brotha out. Why isn't "family Matters" on dvd? you racist fucks. Give us Steve Urkel!!!!!!!!

A Walk Through Venice (Pt 1)

2009-11-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

We took a walk through venice.
Saw some nice whips.
Had a few laughs.
Here's some highlights:

it started with this dude. nice rari.

then some hot sleaze. i have a guilty love for this car.

the ford beach cruiser.

mercury zephyr. this one really did it for me.

the canals. aren't they just gorgeous?

good lines.

funny door.

another merc. they used to be pretty sweet.
we gotta post on the old Cougars. beats dunny's mustang any day.

nice datsun 1600

my old love

Heyoo!

2009-11-18T23:45:00.000-08:00

sweet angle on this 1962 Ferarri 250 GT by Bertone. It looks like it bites. I'd bite back.

slqglqglqlqslslglurp! ahhh... it also looks like its nose is flared and makes me flare my nose involuntarily when I look at it, like a yawn. Maybe it needs a neti pot.

...and that concludes this terrible post. I'm sorry, Ethan. It's perty though, right?

DE TOMASO!!!!

2009-11-16T23:34:00.000-08:00

The Mangusta - I just got a car book from the rosebowl flea market and this is my favorite car in it. It's by Alejandro de Tomaso, an Argentinian designer who set up shop in Modena Italy, where Lambo and Ferarri do their thing (also the place where our balsamic vinegar comes from). Anyways, this dude was clearly on the next level in the 60s and 70s and everybody knew it. This car has the wing doors, bigger back wheels than front, basically everything my childhood was all about. I think I had a hotrod matchbox car of the one above. We cruised many a wood floor together.

After the Mangusta, De Tomaso put out the Pantera, a bit better known vehicle with some similar details. I love the small upsidedown triangle back windows. This one below is really just a great shot I found on myparentswereawesome which is a pretty excellent blog.

... Confederate Flag Flapping Fun.

2009-11-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Come on guys!, get a little closer, help me push this piece of shit into the water! Pontiac's excuse for making a third generation version of a masterpiece, only made popular by a first class coke head from Body-More named Hasselhoff. But this post aint about Knight Rider, Its about an american classic called Trans Am! Long before some douche made this guy, the voice of KITT

Trans Am became a popular series from its twim syb, the FireBird!(dont try it guys, i'm doing the Firebird post) Adding 455 CID V8 engines to the mix, it was all about power from this series, usually 290Hp of confederate flag flapping fun.

The Trans Am was assembled in California, as it should be, sorry, everywhere else town, America. The Trans Am was raised on a diet of hi-Octane and sunshine. As her popularity grew all across our god fearing country, from the coked up hollywood pool parties to the discarded AquaNet Cans on the Jersey Shore,every shit bird had to have one.

This beast is often parked sideways in the middle of most streets and directly on top of most rose bushes on my most lawns.
First and second generation is the only way to go when it comes to this american beauty. Hollywood abandoned muscle cars in the late 80's, so all you had to do was follow the Vhs and Laserdisc sales of Smokey and the Bandit to the midwest and dirty south.

Usually parted outside of walmart and most high school reunions, but occasionally you'll see this masterpiece parted out in front of your girlfriends house, and if that happens, im sad to say, you can count on she not being your girlfriend any longer.
Long live this American Masterpiece.

Porsche 550 Spyder

2009-11-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

Dream car numero uno: '50's bombshell meets the future.

BMW 3.0 CSI

2009-11-04T19:13:00.000-08:00

There are about 5 models of what BMW dubs their "E9" models, the 3.0 CSI being my personal favorite. These were the cars that put BMW on the racing map in the early 70's. Oh, and did I mention that they are probably the sexiest, most beautiful cars ever made? Enjoy ...

Driving a Car on Vegetable Oil

2009-10-31T19:58:00.001-07:00

I drive my car on vegetable oil. Not all the time, especially when I'm in a rush, but as much as I can, that's the deal. When I don't have time it runs on diesel. The car is a 1982 Mercedes 240d named Claus.

The vegetable oil comes from restaurants. All restaurants are required to dispose of their waste vegetable oil and usually they pay companies to come and collect it. It was fun trying to find a place where I could take their oil at no cost to the restaurant or myself. If you haven't had a conversation with the owner of your favorite sushi joint about what they do with their waste veg, I suggest you give it a shot. My oil comes almost exclusively from a Thai restaurant in downtown LA [they get me about 5 gallons a week (I don't drive that much)]. Asian cuisine usually has the cleanest oil with the least gunk in it. Sushi / tempura places have great super clean waste oil.

The oil comes in "cubies". As in the photo above, they are 5 gallon jugs which house the clean oil and work perfectly for disposing of the waste. The tan brown gunk at the bottom of the cubies above is all gross foodwaste from the fryers. The light amber juice above is liquid gold. It's imporant to let the oil sit for a while so all that gross gunk falls to the bottom. Then you need to filter it.

Once the oil has sat for a week or so, I pour it into a 55 gallon tank that I keep in the garage. The tank opening has a strainer and a thick felt like sock filter (1 micron) over it so when I pour the oil in, they filter out all the excess particulates.

Nows the fun part. I pull my car up to the tank and use a hand crank pump to get the filtered oil into the car. I'm loving how that smooth dark oil looks going into my car. Drink up Claus.

My car is an old Mercedes and has very strong fuel injectors which mean I can run straight vegetable oil through the gas tank and into the engine. However I did install a few filters with help from Lovecraft Biofuels and Jeff at LA Biofuels so that the car can run smoothly on the veg and it is as clean as it can be before going into the engine. The main filter is shown above.

Claus is not really my style, but he's grown on me. I love using something that is considered waste for most, as fuel for driving. And being self sufficient when it comes to the gas pump is pretty sweet. But the car is slow so I've gotten used to taking my time.

Sometimes when I run out of gas (my gauge is busted - one of the drawbacks of running on veg is that is sticks up the gauge) I go to the rite aid or local market and just grab some Crisco. A few quarts will get me home or to a dieselry.

A few things. Yes, any diesel car or truck can run on vegetable oil. However, it is advisable to run a two tank system on newer diesels to maintain the engine. Like a hybrid, the two tank vehicles will start on diesel fuel and then with the flick of a switch once the engine is hot, go over to run on veg. As the drive nears its end, it's best to switch back to diesel to clean out the engine and keep it from gunking up with veg.

Gas mileage is not affected when running on veg. Diesels get great gas mileage.

This is a completely viable source of fuel. Yes, it does require a bit of diesel to keep everything running smoothly, but it reduces dependence on oil significantly.

GM = grand master of 90s gross

2009-10-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I have a thing for the oldsmobile cutlass of the 90s. Maybe a couple buicks in there too. There's a distinct smell of the cloth seats, the sound of the steering wheel transmission clicking from park to drive, and the metal seatbelts branded with GM. Even the front middle seat (often referred to as front bitch) I think of fondly. This is the car you were given in high school, once owned by a confused uncle, or a very unconfused grandparent. You are either in it to win it with the cutlass, or your shielding your shame behind tinted glass and low seats. As Margie Gunderson once proclaimed, "Tan Ciera! That's my car!"

Thanks to Chris Grizzle - photographer of the Louis Vuitton edition.

1968 Porsche 912

2009-10-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the 1968 Porsche 912, truly a work of great man hands. I figured for my inaugural post I should put something up that is a timeless classic, like Brooke Brothers or the mustache, well folks, here it is. From 1965 through 1969, Porsche's 912 eased the transition between the 356 and the 911. Conceived as a European model, the Porsche factory announced the 912 in early April 1965. With the great aerodynamics, ergonomics, style, and quality of construction as a six-cylinder 911, the 912 had other advantages as well. Fans of the 356 appreciated the similarities to that model; for example a proven 356-based flat four-cylinder fuel-efficient motor delivering 64 SAE horsepower/ liter from behind the rear axle . With the flat-four, an early 912 weighs about 250 pounds less than a standard 911 of the same year, resulting in improved front-rear weight distribution. And the combination of fuel-efficiency, low-weight, and low-drag translated the 912 into a "green" low-fuel consumption vehicle capable of up to 30 MPG highway, decades before hybrid cars. I don't know about you, but if I had the chance, I definitely would whip that.

something i did

2009-10-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

more germans. more beemers. yeah that happens. this was the most intimate experience I've ever had with a car. not someone with a car. just the car. the bmw z8. 1st gear took me places I'd never been before. and will probably never go again. 2nd was euphoric. I shouldn't mention what happened at 3rd. you'll notice I wore a "buy american screw japan" sweatshirt for the drive. I later gave the sweatshirt to a friend from detroit as our experience together had peaked.

1996 Buick Roadmaster

2009-10-23T17:21:00.000-07:00

Look at this thing. Nineteen hundred naughts "woodie" meets Ford Taurus.

Wood is normally awesome on cars, but to a design-minded professional the question begs: is wood really an adequate structural material for a modern automobile? Well I did some research on that in the spirit of keeping this blog "mad thorough."

What you'll find below is called a materials selection chart from M. F. Ashby's Materials Selection in Mechanical Design (yes I have these kinds of books lying around, I scanned this, and there's plenty more of these where it came from: email me girl). It plots pretty much every common material one might consider building something with with respect to strength and density (weight). You want to use materials in the upper left corner: high strength, low weight. But you'll usually pay a premium to engineer one that does have this unique combination of properties, such as carbon fiber (not on this chart).

So, bad design decision selecting wood to put on the side of a car? Not so much. Woods, as it turns out, are kind of in the upper left part of this plot: fairly strong for their weight. The reason we don't see more woods in cars, however, is several-fold; for one, their strength is still ~1/10 that of metals, and engines are big enough to handle the weight of the metal we use to make cars, so for safety reasons metals are superior. Furthermore there are corrosion and cost issues-- wood is hard to maintain and hard to manufacture.

Cars used to have wood all over them-- even in the spokes of the wheels. It's incredible that some models incorporate wood to this day. Cars are rarely trailblazers when it comes to advanced materials since advanced materials cost so much, but who wants all of those nouveau alloys anyway? Leave those for bicycles and the space shuttle, the two vehicles that cost the most-per-pound of any on earth. I don't care if it costs $60,000 per pound to send something into space-- my spaceship is going to have sacrificial wood trim that burns up on re-entry and can be refitted.

The boxiest of the boxy

2009-10-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Classy, Boxy and Soviet. These are all over Nicaragua and Cuba, and you can get one for about 1,000 dollars. And that includes a screw-driver and duck tape for any repairs.

Off-road model as well!

WHO GOT AFTERBIRTH ON MY LEATHER SEATS?

2009-10-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Fast cars lead to sex, fast cars lead to accidents, fast sex in fast cars leads to...accidental sex babies?
Oh shit! he says. Ah crap! she cries. We'll never tell the baby so. or maybe we will, if we're honest. It might be funny, who knows? Oh yeah, I do! They admitted I was an accident once. It was hilarious, even more so when my mom immediately tried to deny it. "Dad, was I an accident?" "What do you mean, of course you were." "Tola!" "What?" "Why would you say that?" "Well it's true, honey, isn't it?" --- [shaking of the head, no verbal negation] Oh yes, gotcha, thanks for the ammunition Pops!

A live birth in the backseat of a car with a bunch of idiots who better not ever touch any of my babies, accidental or otherwise. Keep calm, keep calm.

1996 BMW 840Ci

2009-10-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

Ethan liked the old 6 series, but this one is tops on my BMW list. The '89-'99 840Ci.

Sometimes the front grill makes a car. BMW's done it time and again: an animal resemblance with clean lines throughout... a hammerhead shark resemblance, to be exact. Sharks are rad.

The 840Ci does something to excite my id's boyish curiosity, but my super-ego is drawn to the similarly smart-grilled 2009 Audis. Audi really stepped it up last year with these models, especially the A4, S5, and R8 again with an attractive grill and simple, singular sexy line running down its side.

Faces are attractive when the eyes are far apart and in balance with lines drawn vertically from the sides of the mouth.

To my future ex-wife with widely-spaced eyes: when the kids leave town for boarding school we roll to the opera in the 840. The soccer balls can stay in the Avant.

Crash Part A: Home

2009-10-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

She asks for switchbacks, grazing diagonals from ankle to hip, a stretch through the Rockies and contractions down the coast.
He wants something more straightforward, to explore the midline, I-80 all the way.
He'll get a violent swerve off a cliff, experience weightlessness, or crash into the bronze cage of an abandoned bank in Nebraska. Three minutes before he's conscious again. Another two in silence, eyes blinking, before someone comes running.
She'll experience five long screeches without a crash until a truck full of cotton hits her from the side on a Tuesday in early spring. Lying with her shoulder on the clutch, legs twisted in the air behind her, she'll see the convex reflection of a hovering flight and finally feel - home.

David Rathman Baby, We Were Born to Bruise, 2009

"It will always take an artist"

2009-10-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

With a rough sketch drawn in 1971, Richard Teague began a revolution in automotive design... quite a bit before its time. His car, the AMC Pacer, was first introduced in 1975, heading for a short life of six model years and a production total of just over 280,000 units. The Pacer wagon was introduced in 1977, and total production ceased in 1980. The smallest of the "Big Four" American automobile manufacturers at the time or, the only American car company independent of the "Big Three", as some say.

As Ricky Young of the Orange County Register stated, "When Pacers came out, it was the era of the Ford Granada. Round was unheard of." It was not until the early 90's that round became commonplace. The Pacer was ahead of its time. Criticized by many for its nonstandard design, it was at the same time praised for its revolutionary concepts of passenger comfort, convenience, and economy.
Eventually Porche tried to sneak into the nineties unnoticed with this AMC Pacer knock off called the 968, with a elongated front, compensating much? But lets give credit where it iz due!

RICHARD A. TEAGUE-AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES -"MAN OF THE YEAR"

1934 Mercedes 500

2009-10-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

The pinnacle of early car design.

(Mattituck, NY classic car festival 2009)

2009-10-21T01:13:00.000-07:00

the cadillac allante keeps me awake at night

2009-10-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

There are only a handful of cars that reek of the sleeze I daydream about while listening to Steely Dan and combing my chest hair with grease from my head hair. The Cadillac Allante is probably at the top of the handful. GM hired Pinafarina - another Italian powerhouse posse to take the design credits and boy, they did not disappoint. This car is everything being slick is about. I saw this pretty insane hyphy version on two separate occasions in the bay last weekend (below).

Japanese Greaser?

2009-10-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

Just Married? Thinking the new born just ruined your chances of actually hitting the block on something Clean. Well,hey kids, way before mommy was wiping your snot rockets and changing your shit hammocks, she was getting rolled out in the back seat of this beauty on friday nites.

This Drive-In friendly monster made it possible, for you, decades later,to waste hours on the internet trying to get laid. Where as, one glimpse at this hotel on wheels, super wagon soiled everyones unmentionables. That Buick V6 hum would come vibrating up the block, forcing all the neighborhood hags to the window for a secret tongue lashing. And my friends, thats just what she got, when those horses came to a 'Woah'.

After mommys poodle skirt transformed into a seat cover and 10minutes into the Big Bopper's Bee Bop Beat Off on the radio, dad pulled up his pants and mom wiped the evidence from her scarf, hair and neck. Dad got those galloping vibrations running through that fine stitched leather interior,once again. Only to keep that post-coitus simmering like a cherry pie on a august nite in Brooklyn.

But when the paint faded long after gas hikes and your worthless carcass was spit out. lets not forget, dads fat body made it impossible to remember what his genitalia looked like, let alone all the blacks moving into the neighborhood, they sold her to some closet greaser for a hefty penny,
all because you wanted saxophone lessons. YOU JERK!

Good thing dad got in early on the nintendo gaming industry, because he took this video on his last trip to Japan, right before his third suicide attempt.
his suicide note read: 'dear son, i never liked you, you may think its fun dressing up in my vest and getting a heart shaped tatoo, but i think its lame. just like my life. Please dont touch my things, i've only left money to you, and not much at that. Uncle rick will be by in the next few weeks to remove all my belongs from the house, please put my jean vest and game boy glove in his box when he comes knocking at your door...Below i've enclosed a video tape of my trip here, it is sad and cruel just like the hand god dealt me in life. God is a dick, i feel comfort saying this because there is no more pain he can inflict on me that he hasnt already. YOU Dick!

Electrification

2009-10-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I was at a conference in San Diego on the applications of a certain piece of new technology dear to my heart, where the focus was largely on how it fits into the automotive industry. The buzzword was ELECTRIFICATION. Cars are becoming electrified, and the automotive industry is about to embark on one of the biggest new journeys it has ever taken. The ragged highways leaving Detroit will soon be filled with cars that comprise entirely new technologies, both necessitating and influencing new design.

Some education now on the several kinds of electrified cars.

The simplest is the battery-powered car: you have to plug these in at night and generally can only go ~150 miles before they need a recharge. In the long run, the big automotive companies see these as city cars, but they design ugly electric cars. Tesla's models are rad. Pictured above, they include the roadster, and the forthcoming S designed by Franz von Holzhausen (poached from Mazda).

The next is one we all know about now due to the hideous and net carbon positive (compared to other similarly sized cars) Prius, the hybrid. A hybrid has a battery pack but also a good old internal combustion engine that only switches on when the battery needs a charge. We all know you get better mileage this way, and pretty much every passenger car is going to be hybrid at some point. Pictured above is a Peugeot hybrid race car, their applicability case in point (but, why?).

Combining the two above you get a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), or as GM annoyingly calls it, an "extended range vehicle" such as the Chevy Volt (also hideous). You plug these bad boys in at night but still have an internal combustion engine to crank, and they can get 200+ MPG. These will be suburban consumer vehicles (probably will all look boring as hell, like this guy and his PHEV Volvo above).

Finally, some facts to complete this education:
1. Long-range vehicles will not have batteries in them for a long time (15+ years). Two reasons: one is that most long-hauls are trucks that need more torque than a battery can supply, so you're stuck with an internal combustion engine. The other is that you'd need a shit ton of batteries, and the weight would outweigh any benefits.

2. "It wasn't the Exxon Valdez captain's driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill. It was yours." ~Greenpeace advertisement, New York Times, 25 February 1990
(One of the few, maybe the only instance where Greenpeace was right on.)

3. Not driving your car does a lot more to decrease our need for foreign oil than it helps the environment. Global warming comes from coal-fired power plants. Expensive wars in the middle east come from us driving our cars. Of all the oil we import into this country, half is used in vehicles, the other half in making plastic (we do not use much oil at all to generate electricity-- so unplug your computers if you want to save the whales).

4. The vast majority of emissions from a car come from a cold start. The reason is that the thing in your car responsible for cleaning up the exhaust that comes out of your tailpipe-- the catalytic converter-- only works when it's hot. When you start your car, it's not hot yet. Hey yo, why don't we heat them up prior to starting a car? Good idea (design is on the inside too), I'm on it. In the meantime it's starting your car--not driving it--that does the damage.

But hey, don't feel too guilty, we're mere mortals birthed in an oil-rich land. We don't have a range of electrified options out there yet, and we've been raised to move the needle by stepping on the gas in Eisenhower's interstate system.

The question begs: will there be car machismo in fifty years?

Lotus Esprit and James Bond (Specifically Roger Moore)

2009-10-20T00:38:00.000-07:00

There should probably be a deeper discussion into underwater cars...

While it was used quite well by Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me, I was also a bit disappointed to find that the standard Bond car - the Aston Martin - was not modified to go underwater as well.

Don't get me wrong - this is a beautiful car and I would gladly take control of her.

It is quite sexy in black - and I especially like the detail on the wheels.

The interior has something to be desired as well. You could get lost in there for days and be happy as a clam. Underwater that is...

Nazi Hyphy

2009-10-20T00:33:00.001-07:00

Long before allied planes dropped megaton masterpieces on german strongholds, those very germans were whipping into WWII in style. With the introduction of this gem, the BmW R71 with Sidecar. The idea was two german lads couriering messages for Senor Adolfo and troop commands with that pre-james dean romanticism, the side car was often fitted with anti aircraft buster and picnic basket for those post battle trisk.

but long after most of BMW's contribution to Hitler's germany was whipped from the "fatherland", and BMW traded in their Swasi's for A Kick Ass PR Firm, the chinese and american decided to bite this masterpiece for the everyday War monger, and motor sport enthusiast.

variations are nice...but aint nothing like a classic.

1966 Ford Mustang

2009-10-20T00:27:00.001-07:00

Some cars are women; some are men. Some are thin-waisted and buxom; others, straight and broad-shouldered. Does a car's look represent what the owner is conveying about his or her self, or what he or she desires in those it aims to impress? No one car can represent its owner fully, for sometimes we are or want the curvy princess, and other times the steadfast prince.

In the 1960's, The Baroque and Flow designs of the forties and fifties gave way to the Edge design, elements of which would remain in car design for decades. World war two meant great strides in manufacturing technology, and the cumbersome Baroque shapes were rendered impractical. It was high time everyone in the free world could afford an attractive automobile, and, well, be free.

Why are the first Ford Mustangs of 1964 1/2 - 1967 an icon of American design? There is no car that is more clearly a man, no car that represents unadulterated freedom more than this automobile. The straight lines and even keel of this car is all that is good about America: it is its masculinity, its strength, the beauty of choosing one's destiny. All things that postwar manhood in the 1950's (when this car was designed) represented, things that all people, men and women, strove to hold on to (or fight for) for decades to come.

The '66 Stang has never gone out of style. It is the emblem of an era, one side of every modern western human. It is straight as an arrow: honest, with no facial hair and a clear, chauvenist intent. To deny the design of the early Mustang is to deny the very fact that power is sex. To the twenty-something girl in the baby blue with California 66STANG plates: you are the pinnacle of feminism. I'd ask you to marry me, but a Stang can't be tied down.

Gruppo Bertone

2009-10-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

the Italians are very good at cars, specifically Gruppo Bertone. They had their hands in some of the better vehicles of the last century. Dunny, your 960 was coo but their volvo 780 is the cats pajamas.

HATCHBACK - Porsche 928

2009-10-19T22:53:00.001-07:00

Triangles, seats, big windows, set in tail lights, futuristic history. This car is such a perfect spectacle of 1980s-early 90s aesthetics.

1969 International Scout

2009-10-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

The Scout... The car for the family. For hunting. Fishing. Loving. Drinking a cold beer on an afternoon after driving your family to a ball game. Taking your prize winning dogs on an outing. Mountain climbing. Bushwhacking. A mean son of a bitch of a car. Go top down or hard top. Always have fun.

Boy am I jealous of these kids. They've got it all; great sweaters, Lancelot haircuts, Baseball, a lasso, and most importantly... The Scout. It was a hard choice between the Suzuki Samurai, a '69 Pontiac GTO, and this wonderful guzzling beast. But I know that I made the right decision.

Envision yourself on a hot summers day racing through the desert - dust caked to your blond mustache. Ready for life. Ready for love.

1966 Volvo Amazon

2009-10-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

I did whip that.

Five-digit odometer, perhaps had >300,000 miles on it.

First production car to have three-point seat belts.

Installed all new electrical myself, sold it for a profit.

1966 Citröen DS

2009-10-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'd whip that.

1989 bmw 635csi - all time favorite

2009-10-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

I've been in love with this car for a long time. I almost bought one when I moved to LA for 1000 bucks. But it couldn't make it around the block. It was black, so beautiful - 1989, manual has this sick 80s dash with the computer lights next to the wheel. I love the shark nose and the bucket seats. If you have one of these, you are the duke.