If you’re somehow not already aware, Speedycop is just the best. His projects include many insane LeMons and road car builds; from an amphibious road-going helicopter to the sideways Tippy Hippy VW Van. Recently, however, Speedycop (otherwise known as Jeff Bloch) is going bigger. Much bigger, in fact because he recently found one of his dream machines; a 1973 GMC Sequoia motorhome.
Yes friends, this is going to turn into a Stripes EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle. But as crazy as the project will be, the actually story behind the purchase and what happened next are equally as enjoyable to read.
So rather than summarize all of the razzle dazzle for you, I’m going to let Mr Cop tell his tale… as copied and pasted from his Facebook post.
The above Geo Metro is certainly unique. With its pink paint and gold wheels, the Radwood-approved droptop enjoyed its day in the sun. This past weekend saw lovers of all things 80’s and 90’s flock to Northern California for another dose of radness.
We’ve asked you Radwood questions in the past, but today I want to plumb the depths of your brains for some Hooniverse-grade knowledge.
Which vehicle, fitting within the dual decade restraints of the Radwood organizers, would you bring to the show that no one would ever expect? What is left out there that screams 80’s or 90’s and would leave everyone in period correct states of awe?
Sound off below, my dudes and dudettes.
Rick Radcliffe is once again on the show. He’s stopping by to tell us a bit about his current garage situation and then we dive into what he’s doing with his new daily driver. A Subaru WRX that is being used around town but also out on the track.
We run a bit long so I’ve decided to break this up into two parts. Today you’ll get Part One and next week we will run Part Two. Here we also get into a bit of the news while your questions wind up in the second episode.
It’s easy to speculate about the sort of vehicles you’d acquire given a budget that knows no bounds. But forget about the fancy or powerful stuff for a moment (Yes, even you Doc), and tell us about the cheap machines you lust over.
Given a Gatesian level of cash in your bank account, what is the least expensive vehicle that you’d purchase?
I love my SeaSucker bike mount. With it, I can bring my mountain bike along with me regardless of which car I happen to be driving in a given week. So far the mount is without fault. I cannot say the same about myself, however, as I just did something really dumb while using it.
After a morning ride this past weekend, I returned home ready to clean off the bike, put away the mount, and then head off for a Father’s Day lunch. The first step is removing the bike from the mount. When done correctly, you would start with the rear tire and then move to the front. I removed the through bolt for the front axle then went to the rear tire and stopped paying attention to the front end for some unknown moment. What happened next felt like it occurred in slow motion.
The bike, now free from the shackles of mounted oppression, decided to tumble dance away from me. And it did so down the side of the very lovely Lexus LC 500 you see picture above. My aggressive flat pedals bit into part of the roof rails while the rest of the bike added a few scratches into that previously perfect blue paint. My bike? It’s fine. The car? Well.. I feel pretty crappy about the whole thing.
It’s easily the dumbest incident I’ve had with a vehicle and I can’t stop thinking about how easily avoidable it was. So to help put my mind at (some level of) ease, let me know the sort of dumb incidents you’ve experience with a vehicle?
There are a number of automotive writers whose content I enjoy reading, but there are very few whose stuff I love. Generally, it’s the stories crafted by Zach Bowman, Brendan McAleer, and Sam Smith that remind me when I’ve been stationary for too long and need to head out in search of adventure. Mr Smith is currently doing just that in Japan, as he’s on assignment for Road & Track, and this particular tale looks to be one filled with larger than life characters driving oversized and unexpected track machines.
This is Japan’s race van culture, and it appears to be amazing.
Sam has been sharing his trip on his Instagram page, and I highly recommend you follow along. The video clip above is just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a fantastic place to start. Did you expect to see a full-size van drifting around a corner at Ebisu to start your day? No, but it’s a great way to get up and tackle Monday head on.
These Japanese van lovers are living their best life… so how about you?
Personally, I can’t wait to read about this adventure when it arrives in either print or web form for R&T.
When you’re looking at ways in which you can personalize your (then) new Aston Martin Vantage V600, there are a handful of ways to go. Some might go with an off-the-book color choice. Others might slap on a set of unique wheels. One delightful person decided to have Aston Martin fit their car with the boost gauge plucked from a WWII Spitfire.
That, folks, is how you do it.
Jalopnik posted the listing after I came across it on the Aston Martin heritage website. You can find more great photos of the car over at the J. Here though, is our clearest look at that brilliant decision in gauge form.
What it displays is boost pressure from the supercharger. Actually, that would be superchargers because Aston Martin fitted a pair of spinny, breathy bits atop the 5.3-liter V8 sitting under the hood. With the V600, you’re now working with 600 horsepower.
Aston Martin didn’t build a ton of these Vantage models between 1993 and 2000, and far less were of the V600 variety. This specific car is in fact the last one upgraded by Aston Martin Works.
It’s for sale. It’s expensive. And it’s pretty damn wonderful.
"Unlike any other V600, the previous keeper commissioned Aston Martin Works to upgrade the instrumentation to monitor many more mechanical and ambient parameters. This also includes a superb replacement Supercharger boost gauge from a WW2 Spitfire." pic.twitter.com/2MmaQILIC9
— Jeff Glucker (@jglucker) June 11, 2018
We’re in Chris’ new apartment and we’re not in full studio mode yet, but we still want to run things a bit old school while exploring the new. So for Ep252 we bring it back to the original format; The News!
We kick things off by talking about the Aston Martin Rapide AMR, Forza Horizon 4, the Shelby GT350, and Rolls-Royce’s Cars and Cognac event. After that it’s time to talk about our own cars and what we’re driving. This week I’m in an Audi R8 Spyder before I swap into a Lexus LC500. The following week I get a chance to sample the new F-150 diesel and I’ll be towing a small Airstream behind.
Finally, we move on to your questions. Patreon first, as always, then Twitter and Facebook. This old format feels right, so we’re going to run it this way for awhile and get back into our groove.
I’ve just spent a week with a very simple yet solid means of transportation; the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. This was the base model packing a non-turbocharged 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine that cranks out 185 horsepower. That’s a healthy drop compared to the more potent 2.0T also available, which makes 240 horsepower. This front-drive model starts at $24,950 and the as-tested price is $26,310. For that you have a crossover with fine styling, a sharp interior, and plenty of space in the rear. It’s a lot of vehicle for well under $30,000.Does it drive as nice as my Mazda CX-5? No, the steering isn’t as sharp. But Hyundai has greatly improved its steering over the years, and the Santa Fe Sport is nice off center with some mild rubber-banding on it. The interior looks nicer and more interesting though, compared to the Mazda and it feels like there’s a lot more space inside.
Once you swap to the 2.0T though, you cross above the $30k mark. I want to focus on the good on the better side of $30k. What else out there gives you the most vehicle for your dollar?
The Volkswagen Golf SportWagen and Alltrack are excellent answers, surely. A Ford Transit Connect Wagon starts right around $26,000 and is plenty of Euro-style van for most. Even the 2018 F-150 starts below $30k. Subaru has a few models that might also qualify depending on what “most vehicle” means to you.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is a nice break between a slew of more super and expensive (and less useful) vehicles. That fact that it’s $10k below the average new car transaction price is also refreshing, as I believe that pretty much everything I drive lately is overpriced (relatively speaking).
So what new vehicle seems to offer the most, well, vehicle for below $30k?
Drifting takes on a new meaning in the Hoffman. #JayLenosGarage pic.twitter.com/WzMQwDIyyb
— Jay Leno's Garage (@LenosGarage) June 3, 2018
Friend of Hooniverse Jason Torchinksy is a connoisseur of crap. Crappy cars, that is and Mr Torch recently spent time with Jay Leno for a segment on the great Denim One’s television show. The subject of the segment is the Hoffmann. This is a car which Jason considers to be the worst of all time, and with good reason.
You out there reading this are a fountain of knowledge though, and I wonder if you know of anything even worse? I am counting a production car as anything that was sold to the public, be it in a run of 300,000 or 3.
Shout out with your best worst cars below.
