ARCHAEOLOGY> Imports at Bonneville Salt Flats
I've been going to Bonneville's "Great White Dyno" for three (going on four) years. I was first invited out by my co-worker and friend Dallas Volk (too bad he's no relation to Volk wheels haha) - but he is a member of the prestigious 200MPH Club. He and his family have been racing a 1929 Ford Roadster his entire life. Dallas, his dad Larry (current President of the 200MPH Club!), brother Patrick and sister Allison (nicknamed "Hollywood") are all in the 200MPH Club. I'm not, but I have contracted a dreaded disease...
I've officially been diagnosed with Salt Fever - and it's uber contagious. Bonneville has its own culture and feel, just like drifting, time attack or drag racing. There are the old timers and veterans who keep the traditions alive with the new blood learning the ropes while adding their own style, flair and background.
I hope to bring to the MotorMavens readers a view of this motorsport and share the cars and culture that make it what it is today. For this first post, we'll have a look at some of the import land speed cars I've spotted. As you'd guess, the majority of cars built to make top speed runs down the long salt, of course, are American. However, the great part about Bonneville (and El Mirage) is that there are A LOT of classes to run in - many of which are perfect for Japanese and European cars because of their engine selections and aerodynamics.
Check the first picture. This Ferrari (#288) runs in the AA/BGMS class (AA = over 500 cubic inches, Blown (super or turbocharger), Gas Modified Sports). According to SCTA's site, it went 235mph and there's a comment on the notes..."Smoke?" Like any motorsport, land speed racing is all about the details. Check the front fenders...aero diffusers (not sure what they call them) to help direct the airflow and add stability. Most of these cars never see a wind tunnel, but the aero tricks are tried and true. Read more...
COVERAGE> Remix Car Show and More XDC
Meanwhile, I'm also looking forward to seeing more from Remix. I'll be pretty honest - I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked to in the car show area looking at cars, because I was busy in the Irwindale grid area talking to and hanging out with all the grassroots drifters from miscellaneous regions of the United States while they were visiting Southern Cali. However, from what I've seen thus far at the Remix Show, I like it! The entire event had an intriguing vibe to it... for those of us "experiencing" the show for the first time, it was definitely different and fun. The first thing we noticed is that there were a hell of a lot of girls at this event - everything from high end "name brand" models to no-name "new talent." As I mentioned previously, I decidedly focused most of my attention on the drifters on the track and on the grid, but in all honesty, there were quite a few times I had to double take and say "damnnnnn" when I saw certain pieces of eye candy sweetening up the show. (This was definitely the type of show that our boy Yoshi Shindo would go bananas at, I'm not gonna lie.)
Back to the cars, I have to say that there were a lot of really impressive looking cars at the show. Everyone is stepping up their wheel game, and it's awesome! Read more...
NEWSWORTHY> Get Free Kicks from Vans!
Apparently, the collabo contest that Vans Shoes is doing with Mitsubishi is proving to be pretty popular. I decided to post this up in case some of our readers haven’t seen this video yet. You can enter the contest to win some free shoes from Vans or a bag of random stuff from Mitsubishi Motors America!
All you need to go is guess how many boxes of Vans shoes they were able to fit inside the new Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback wagon and send it in. Some of the Motor Mavens have already entered in their guesses… maybe I’ll enter the contest too, and see if I can win some shoes.
Good luck!
:: Jeff Yip
CARSPOTTING> 714hp Evo 8 on Tempe Streets
As I was driving around Tempe AZ one day, I saw this white Evo VIII take off from a traffic light, literally leaving all the other cars (including mine) in the dust, as it turned into a big blur of white 'get up and go!' I just had to follow this car! This Evo is owned by a guy named Jake Blackman; and for Jake, the feeling of power is assigned a numerical value - 714. That's the exact number of horses in Jake's Mitsubishi Evolution VIII that actually get their hooves on the ground! With that kind of power you're sure to leave some worries (and problems) in the dust. Read more...
WEBMINING> Mitsubishi Stallion, err… Starion?
We saw this video after talking to the guys over at Clunkbucket.com. We thought it was really cool – an old school Mitsubishi Starion commercial! One thing that came to our attention though… on the commercial, when they show the “Starion” logo, they show it with a picture of a horse.
Wait a minute… let’s think for a second. Mitsubishi Colt. Mitsubishi Lancer. Hmmm, those are horse related names, aren’t they? Could it be..? Was the Mitsubishi “Starion” originally intended to be named as “Stallion” by Mitsubishi’s designers in Japan?
It does make sense – it certainly wouldn’t be the first time people in Japan have mixed up the R and the L when translating a word to English. If you own as many Japanese magazines as we do, you definitely have seen translation errors in Japanese editorial and advertisements. It happens all_the_time!
Either way, it’s a great commercial, and the Starion is a cool car, especially with the SHP package. Watch the video, and then chime in. What do you think?
Starion or Stallion?
::Motor Mavens
