The key to success in racing is speed, consistency, reliability and a bit of luck. The key to success in Hooniversal racing is not blowing up. As you may or may not have noticed, Jalopnik has partnered with Microsoft to provide content for Forza Motorsport 3. From a significant list that they originally selected, the commentariat is selecting their favourite ten through a democratic process.

All kidding aside, it is a pretty awesome process, and a great opportunity, not just for Jalopnik, but for the autoblogger community as a whole. It provides us with a level of legitimacy that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. When I first started reading and commenting on these various sites, they were by and large dismissed as trivial, meaningless fluff intended for children and people who didn’t actually know anything about cars. Now, only Hooniverse is regarded in such a manner. And that’s just the way we likes it. But let’s imagine that this became a trend. Now, I’ve never played Forza as I don’t have an XBox, and I’m personally waiting eagerly for Gran Turismo Forever. But since Forza has been claimed, and GTF will never actually be released, what would it look like if some inspired developer decided to make a video game with a Hooniversal twist? We had a bit of discussion around this when the idea was first presented by Brad (whose screen name we didn’t catch), and we figured it likely would require a LeMons theme. Rather than having the typical “garage” where you modify the cars, you’d have the horrendously endless sea of Craigslist ads that may or may not provide something useful. Sometimes, those parts may not actually be for your car. Sometimes, they may explode in a large fireball. Run with the theme, my children. What would make a Hooniverse video game? What cars would be in it? What would it feature, and how would it play? And if anyone has any contacts in the video game industry, be sure and send them over.