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What happened to that STAB guy? I’m at least as likely to buy an F/A-18E/F as a motorhome.
How come this came up yesterday when I was eyeballs deep in boards instead of today when I’m doing a whole lotta thumb twiddling?
Question #1: What do you want the automotive industry of the future to do?
Question #2: What do you think the future of the automotive industry will end up being?
Answers can be as broad or specific as you want. I’m curious to hear thoughts from all the Autopian staff.
David, did you get my pitch about a 70+ years history of American dinosaurs racing in South America? 😉
Adrian, what’s your take on the design of the Ford Sierra?
Jason, have you ever considered EV-ing your motorhome?
All staff: home made baklava, anyone?
As a Syrian American, I’m 1,000% with you and in on that baklava, my homie!
Italian and Spanish descent here, but there was an Italian-Lebanese grocery store close to home when I was a kid. It was heaven.
Then pandemics came when I lived in Kosovo, and I self-taught a couple regional dishes. Magic.
I gotta be in the mood for baklava, because I generally find it very sweet. But those little guys wrapped in the leaves? PUT THEM STRAIGHT IN MY SNACK HOLE.
Shall I wait until the next pandemic to learn how to cook niños envueltos?
Hold on to your lunch, there’s a Damn Good Design incoming imminently that you might find very interesting. Very interesting indeed…..
Picture me clapping like a walrus in anticipation.
Darling that’s how I picture all the commenters when anything by me is published.
I’m now the caretaker for my family’s ’66 Mustang. My dad was the mechanic, and I’d like to do him proud and tackle as much of the work on it as possible myself. What would recommend as places to start learning engine workings, transmission workings, and stuff like that. I can do some things… I have changed brakes and some interior stuff in the past, but I’m totally lost on so much of the real nitty-gritty stuff. Any advice would be tremendously appreciated!!
Would you rather drive a vehicle whose exterior has been flocked (covered in a velvety finish) or whose exterior is a robustly sprouted chia pet?
Velvet…
-Also a block of Velveeta the size of a car battery…
-George Costanza
Has David held off on doing a mega write up on his move to LA out of fear that an extradition request from Michigan might still be a possibility related to whatever environmental hazards might be found at his old place and the article might be incriminating?
I guess that would be my DIESEL Peugeot 106.
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
Something thin and wispy, with dark leaves and bitter fruit.
I’d have guessed a Willow.
Thanks to all of you at The Autopian for creating something really special. This site is the only one I read every single day (multiple times a day, really), thanks to an amazing mix of interesting content, fun writers and super-cool and chill members. I can’t imagine how much work goes into this, but I hope you all are able to take a moment occasionally and appreciate what you’ve built (even though “appreciation” doesn’t pay the bills).
Now, then: what’s your favorite car owned by one of your fellow Autopians?
I don’t know if that counts as he doesn’t have it anymore my Jason’s Volvo P1800 made me feel things.
Definitely Laurence’s Charger. That thing rules so hard.
Plot twist: what’s your fav, Geoff?
I was not expecting the UNO Reverse!
The Autopian team members have such great and individual taste in cars … it’s difficult to pick. Is a Changli better than an MGB? Does a car count if it’s not running? However, here’s my list.
Win: Adrian’s Mondial. Gorgeous when new, iconic now.
Place: Mercedes’ RTS. I love that she owns an actual city bus.
Show: David’s Golden Eagle. The thought of him (or Huibert, for that matter) driving that thing around LA gives me such “Rockford’s dad” vibes (iykyk).
Honorable mention to Stevie’s Stratus. Just on a value-for-money scale, the thing is off the charts. Plus, the hood pins add 2 hp each.
Is it OK to ask for more motorbike content? I only got into riding when I discovered how expensive car racing is. Now I’m hooked. I want to hear more opinions from Ms. Streeter!
— Rob S. (W123, 4Runner, DRZ400SM custom, Niken, WR250R ADV)
More is coming! We have a new contributor with decades of motorcycle experience.
Deal!!! As David says, we’re also bringing on a second person with more experience than me. It’s hard to cover motorcycles, cars, planes, trains, and campers all at once! 🙂
OK, thought of a question, Please link to the story you wrote that you feel is your best or you like the most
I’m not an auto journalist or even a writer but I found it fun trying: https://www.cyclecanadaweb.com/2021/08/12/first-person-rob-shotton-ottawa/
So is there room on Autopian for a Readers Write column? (And by room, I mean editors’ time.) I could do a write-up on Targa Newfoundland, which is the most insane car event in the world, though we’re not supposed to talk about the juicy stuff so I won’t.
I liked this one.
Great question and thanks a million for being here with us!
https://www.theautopian.com/how-i-bought-a-broken-version-of-my-dream-car-for-300-then-nursed-it-back-to-glory-and-let-it-free/
For me it would be this one:
https://www.theautopian.com/project-cactus-australias-worst-valiant-ute-at-the-premier-chrysler-show-in-the-southern-hemisphere/
I banged it out the afternoon I got back from Sydney, it just seemed to flow right away and felt like I was in ‘the zone’s and it came out exactly how I wanted it to.
It’s not been published yet, but this weeks Damn Good Design I’m pretty pleased with, because it’s exactly the sort of thing I like bringing to the site, even if it did turn out a bit longer than I wanted (there’s a lot of history/context/background in there).
I’m gonna go the “unpublished yet” route too. I’ve worked my ass off to get you guys a great article on some pretty serious piece of engineering and the science behind it.
That’s an impossible one.
Project Cactus was up there, the story about my Grandpa driving a WWII Jeep was up there, the FC adventure was up there, and of course the Holy Grail adventure was up there (the old site deleted it like they deleted years of precious content).
Hmm, maybe it’s this.
All of your articles are awesome!
-Favorite on The Autopian:
Project Cactus saga=amazing!
Favorite on [old site]:
-Soaking oil in shirts to make them match=funniest car article ever!
Everyone decides now is the time to live a quarter mile at a time. Meeting at an undisclosed location on the streets of Los Angeles. Winner is new boss. You can only bring a vehicle that is currently titled in your name. Who among you will be the new fearless leader?
I believe that would be the fantastic Hubert Mees, as he has a Coyote Mustang that mops up the rest of our rides in the 1/4 mile.
Yeah, Huibert would smash us all
It would probably be a close race between Thomas’ Boxster and my Valiant Charger for second-quickest in the stable with my WRX not far behind them.
On the other end, my girlfriend’s Suzuki Mighty Boy would take the trophy for slowest car. It can’t even manage 60mph on level ground!
*Huibert
My apologies to The Man Himself for quick typin’ and multitaskin’.
Also, I think my XK would give your Charger and TH’s Boxster a good run, mate!
That’s assuming it makes it to the start line…
(Clears throat in Hemi)
Sorry Mark, I forgot about the 300C!
It seems the race for second-place car would be tight after the bikes leave us in the dust and Huibert flys past with sunglasses on and A/C cranked up, we have a mass of cars with listed 1/4 miles in the low 14-second range.
My Charger has a a 265ci ‘Hemi’ six with better than the vaunted E49 specifications and the oft-quoted 14.4 was done back in ’72 so if all goes right I could see a better time with better tyres and a bit more power over the original.
My WRX isn’t stock, either and makes more at the wheels than it was quoted at the crank in 2006. The trouble here is I still have the 5-speed gearbox and would rather not scatter that across the bitumen so in reality it’s probably not in the race.
The Jag and the 300C would be much easier to get consistent times from, and the Boxster might have a traction advantage on the street.
Maybe we should all hit our local tracks and compare notes?
Honestly, I think races between the slower cars would be more fun. Can my truck outrun Jason’s Pao? Maybe, if I don’t screw up the 1-2 shift. Can a J10 outrun a Smart? Inquiring minds want to know!
A J10 cannot outrun anything. 2.73 years, 110 horsepower, 4,500 pound curb weight.
Watching the video would be great, but imagine that set of races happening and being there in person?
My Triumph Rocket III is ready for liftoff
I need to find out if the family ZX-11 is still technically mine for the taking
BRB just getting my best friend’s Ferrari 456/Gallardo/Continental GT titled in my name.
There is a Dodge Challenger Demon in Dubbo owned by a prominent businessman I could try and do the same loophole with, AC!
No question. I just want to say you all are doing a great job with this site! I just hope you’re making money on it
A question about Autopian TV – are there any plans to add a link in the top navigation so that we can head straight the video content? Maybe this is just a quirk of my browser, but I only ever see the videos when they’re embedded half-way down a story, and I’m not a fan of watching a video when I’m mid-story, so I prefer to read the whole article and then come back to the vids later.
I can usually see the embedded YouTube and IG vids, but nothing else. I do use AdBlock and Safari on IOS. Probably has something to do with it.
That’s a really good idea.
Is there a specific car that you associate with your first car-oriented childhood memory?
For me there is an image indelibly stored in my brain of a 1973 silver Ford Escort that my dad had when I was a kid – it’s parked in the grass near a cabin my grandparents rented in Scotland, and if I close my eyes I can almost feel and smell the red vinyl seats.
For me it’s my earliest memory full-stop.
Dad had an early-80s blue Chev C10 dual-cab with dually running a 6.2L GM Diesel. Not common in Australia at the time, parents had a school photography business and needed the size and towing capacity for all the work gear.
I was maybe three years old, bouncing from one end of the front bench seat to the other as we went into the paddock to get some firewood.
At 4 years old, living in my parents’ 1-1/2 story insul-brick on dirty Woodbine Ave in Toronto 1973, I would beg to go outside at 5:20 each weekday, lie in wait under the lilac bush, and watch from ground-level as the neighbour returned from work in his white Citroën DS. Each day, I enjoyed the drama of whether and how its front-end would again climb the low sidewalk curb onto the dirt driveway. It looked like a levitating spaceship, if only I knew what a spaceship was. From that point on, I made a point of memorizing the model name of every car I saw, whether my mother wanted to hear it or not.
I think at the age of 7 I could identify every car on the road (in the UK at least) based on the taillights alone, and would call out the model name for every car we passed. Curiously, my family did not find that game as entertaining as I did.
Lamborghini Countach. The one with all the 80s gimmicks stuck on top. My dad had a diecast model of it where you could open the doors and trunks. That was the coolest thing ever to young me, and it’s now proudly displayed in my home.
I’m not sure any car has come close to the countach for pure, exotic appeal. Back in the day I had a 1:18 scale countach model with opening doors (I think it was by Bburago), and was absolutely heartbroken when I dropped it down the stairs. The rear wing snapped off and I think the little windshield wiper too, so it got replaced on the shelf by a Jaguar XJ220.
Line’s a Bburago too! Black over tan.
Are you currently reading a book, or what was the last book you read? And is it worth checking?
I’m about a third of the way through Daisy Jones And The Six. Enjoying it so far. On the plane back from France, I read a really good noir crime novel called Lucky Supreme, by Jeff Johnson.
My reading pile is out of control. I’m currently reading Moby Dick, 1982 the inside story of the sensational grand prix season by Christopher Hilton, and Postmodernism by Glenn Ward. Earthly awaiting delivery of my signed copy of Rowland White’s new book, Mosquito (I have all his others in hardback and they are all brilliant).
I can barely keep up with reading The Autopian.
Last book I read was Casino Royale, I don’t read much lately and so am mainly reading in airports/planes when I have work conferences.
If you want an insight into the proto-Aussie mindset, Here’s Luck by Lennie Lower was written in the 1920s and is absolutely hilarious.
The author is the namesake of my Valiant Ute, and he grew up in Dubbo.
Here’s Luck sounds wonderful, so I ordered a copy. Thanks for the suggestion.
There’s some old-Sydney references that might be a bit incomprehensible, and a bit of the humor is off-colour for today’s sensibilities but I still love it and try to read it once a year.
If you enjoy it as much as I do, there’s also a book of Lennie’s best columns and sketches from when he wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald called Here’s Another
I’m reading Raw Dog by Jamie Loftus, a book about hot dogs, and I just started Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Master and Margarita sounds really interesting, and something I’ll add to my list.
Race Car Design by Derek Seward. It helped me wrap my brain around a lot of physics behind cars. It’s nerdy as hell, chock full of equations but if you like science and automobiles it’s awesome.
Which Puffalump should I take to F1 this weekend?
Yes.
This is the correct answer.
(If any of y’all are here this weekend, say hi and you can hug the ‘lump.)