Tag: Ford

Supercar Sunday

therightliberalLeave a comment

I get excited by cars. Most of my friends would tell you I get too excited by them, like in a dangerous way.

So naturally it was only right for me to indulge myself by visiting this lovely event called Supercar Sunday in Woodland Hills.

Let me start off by saying that most car shows are lame. They are usually just trying to make money by showing off regular cars with some tuning or old relics that most people don’t care about.

Supercar Sunday is different. Supercar Sunday is a bunch of people with veryyyyyyy nice cars that show up and park their cars so dumb teenagers like me can go look at them and get sexually excited.

They don’t charge, they aren’t selling anything, there is actually parking. This is a pure viewing experience of some of the greatest cars ever made.

There was a Ford GT40 (the real one), a real AC Cobra, more Caterham 7’s than you could believe. There was a Lotus Esprit, a Countach, and some Martini Porsches.

Then there were new cars like (every) modern Ferrari (minus the Enzo), tons of lambos, Aston Martins, 911s, Lotus’ (or is it Loti?) and even two Mp4-12C’s.

There were also some tuners and some cool oldies (MGs, a cool old Sprite, and some lovely Datsuns) that were fun to see.

It was incredible to walk among these cars and get to talk to people who have a real passion for them.

Thanks to a good idea from my friend, we decided to go sit at the corner as the cars started to leave. Holy crap was this a good idea.

Despite there being numerous cops watching every street (the drivers waved at them and rev’d their engines to say hello) it was cool to be able to hear all the V8s and V12s (and a couple of V10’s (yay lambo!). I couldn’t help but quiver every time a Ferrari V8 was rev’d and the sounds of clutches slipping filled the air.

This is a great event because it is run by people who love cars, not by people looking to make money. I didn’t pay a dollar and yet I got to have the best car viewing experience of my life. A major hat tip to those people that throw Supercar Sunday!

P.S. The best Sunday to go is the last one of the month, that is when it is really big. If you are anywhere near Woodland Hills and have any interest in cars, go! you won’t regret it.

Bailout

therightliberalLeave a comment

I try to stick to writing about politics but sometimes I just feel like there is something else that needs to be talked about which requires me making a pathetically weak connection.

I wanted to talk about cars so I thought, well there has been a lot of criticism aimed at politicians regarding their bailout of the motor industry. And personally, I feel that the complaints are not warranted, and here is why.

Despite the many complaints, we do in fact manufacture much in America. And one of our largest enterprises are cars. So why should we just let the car industry fail when it is so pivotal for our country.

“Oh well that’s not part of capitalism!” You are wrong. Capitalism requires doing what needs to be done to keep your market afloat, and that’s what we did.

But more importantly, look what we have created! We are currently experiencing a renaissance of the American (muscle) car.

ford shelby 500

We have the Chevy Camaro ZL1, Ford Mustang GT500 (and its other variations) and the Corvette (which is getting better and better).

Ford’s whole range of city cars like the Focus, Fusion and Fiesta are all great cars and the Chevy Cruze and Malibu are good too.

Sure we aren’t Italy; producing Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Maserati’s or Alfa Romeo’s. But that has never been what we aim for.

I don’t like many American cars because I like going around corners as much or more as going very fast in a straight line. But we really are getting into the market with cars like the Focus that are perfect little rally racers.

Would I rather drive a Lotus than a Ford? Yes. Would I rather drive a 620 GT than a Camaro? I would imagine so. But are we doing good things in our car industry? Yes.

The next step for the American car industry is getting into the dream market AKA the super car market.

The Ford GT is the last super car we made and it was fantastic. We don’t really have a company here that makes super cars but with our reemerging industry one may emerge.

For now we can be happy with having Hennessy and the other great tuners of the Red, White and Blue.

America has had a long love affair with cars and we must work to continue that and build upon what we have. This is not a plea to buy American because I’m not a person who would. But if you fancy an American car don’t be ashamed, be proud.

Trucks Take Over

rangerthecat1 Comment

As I was driving today in the predictable evening LA traffic, I realized just how many different types of cars there are on the road. In my family alone, we have a truck, two sedans, and two vans, all by different companies. All of this thinking brought a question to my mind:

What is the most popular car in America?

I tried to answer it myself as I was driving by counting a few different types and thinking about what types of cars that people I know own. I finally concluded that it was the Toyota Prius. They are hybrids, so they tend to be very fuel efficient and are a great smallish size, and I see so many of them on the road I didn’t even second guess myself.

But, after looking up the most popular car in America, it was quite a surprise to me to discover that the Ford F150 takes the title.

I mean, in my opinion, they are beautiful. I LOVE trucks. But, when purchasing my own car, I realized that they are not very sensible (especially for a teenager) and that they are not really necessary unless a person is hauling around things or towing trailers, like some businesses do.

It’s crazy to think that a huge gas-guzzling truck would be the most popular, especially with gas prices being so high. I have seen a lot of them on the road, but it still came as a big surprise to me.

Maybe it was just my wishful thinking that people would choose more fuel-efficient cars in order to start caring for the environment!