http://www.speedsportlife.com Covering the latest in Automotive News, Events, and Trends Tue, 13 May 2008 04:13:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth, photography and video by Murilee Martin and Jack Baruth Tragedy struck the 24 Hours of Lemons Saturday afternoon when the #39 Ole's Volvo struck the wall at full speed. The owner/driver, Court Summerfield, was the owner of Ole's Waffles in Alameda. Edited to correct ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/05/11/driver-loses-life-at-24-hours-of-lemons-at-altamont-speedsportlife-team-finishes-15th-of-90-entrants/ Yeah, you see that post down there? The one that's right below this one? Umm, ignore that, because here's a podcast! Well, it's not a full-blown podcast, no matter how much I'd love to make fun of Volvo's plan to design cars made out of bubble wrap, Styrofoam packing material ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/05/10/speedsportlife-radio-mini-cast-liar-liar-pants-on-fire-edition/ Right now, it is 12:23 AM on a very early Thursday morning. I have spent the last few hours staring at a barely quarter-done podcast script, trying to hammer my mind into the shape required to make something that even approaches what I'd consider an acceptable level of quality, and ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/05/08/not-speedsportlife-radio-summa-cum-laude-edition/ Click for Larger Image It's not our normal practice to publish "teaser" stories, but given the importance of this particular car to our reader base here at Speed:Sport:Life, I'm going to break tradition a bit to let you know that we've just returned from the 2009 Audi A4 press preview at ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/05/07/news-flash-we-drive-the-2009-audi-a4/ Our dedication to our listeners knows no bounds here at Saucer Shaped Ligands Radio, and it's with that in mind that we present to you the latest edition of our patent-pending automotive news adequacy. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't entirely in my right mind when I recorded this. ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/05/01/speedsportlife-radio-all-work-and-no-play-makes-jack-a-dull-boy-edition/ Click for Larger Image Gather ‘round, everybody. I have an epic tale to tell. It’s the story of how Fake Luxury Conquered The World. There are heroes, and villains, and sweeping vistas, and if we don’t exactly have a princess cooped up in a tower, we might have a few sexually ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/29/avoidable-contact-11-how-fake-luxury-conquered-the-world/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth - Photography by the endlessly patient Michelle Baruth It's been said that NASCAR's single-car qualifying is perhaps the most stressful few minutes in motorsport. You're all alone out there, the sole focus of every track official, every competing team and driver, the thousands of ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/25/diagnosed-with-distempo-we-drive-a-stock-car-for-fifty-bucks-and-so-can-you/ Yes, it's another hideously late podcast, which means that it must be getting close to that magical time of year, when those of us who are so obsessed with learning stuff that we (well, not us usually, our parents) are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars a year ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/24/speedsportlife-radio-things-id-rather-be-doing-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth, photography by Matt Chow and Zerin Dube Are you a shy person? Do you suffer from social anxiety? Are you uncomfortable with being the center of attention in public settings? If the answer to any of the above questions is “Yes”, then we respectfully ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/21/supercar-saturday-part-two-taking-it-to-um-the-streets/ Yes, this podcast is colossally late. Real life has once again dragged me away from spending time with you, the listeners, and forced me to pay attention to other things. Now though, we're back, and we've brought a very special treat for you and put it inside the podcast. As ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/17/speedsportlife-radio-false-signs-of-competence-edition/ Click for Larger Image Photography by Matt Chow View Complete Boost Mobile Nightshift Gallery You asked for more event coverage, and we are more than happy to deliver. We are kicking off our first HIN event coverage of the year with the Boost Mobile Nightshift, which was held in Austin, TX this ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/15/speedsportlife-event-coverage-boost-mobile-nightshift-austin-tx/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth - Race Photography by Dave Everest Rain. Today's race day was defined by the rain - starting miserably and getting steadily worse. The previous day's race had shown the occasional bit of dry pavement to my co-driver, Brian M., but for my race ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/13/speedsportlife-race-report-april-13-2008-mid-ohio-halp/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth - Workshop Photos by Jack Baruth - Race Photography by Dave Everest That Mazda television ad is lying to you. You know, the one where they say... "There's an old saying in racing. To build a great race car, start with a great street ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/12/speedsportlife-race-report-april-12-2008-mid-ohio-first-race-first-podium/ Highway 395 is a lonely stretch of asphalt on the back side of the Sierra Nevadas, and one of the most beautiful roads in California. Situated in the Owens Valley, it has spectacular views of the mountains that surround it on both sides. It's also apparently a very popular place ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/08/speedsportlife-radio-my-fast-craves-butterflies-nom-nom-nom-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photographs by Jack Baruth Three months ago, we reported that the Cayenne GTS manual was in danger of cancellation, but as you can see, we were dead wrong. The first manual-transmission Cayenne GTS in the state has hit the ground and it's in our hot little ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/06/ssl-is-ridin-dirty-in-our-long-term-cayenne-gts-6mt/ It turns out that a 6.2L 450hp V8, a 7-speed automatic gearbox tuned for maximum performance and a twenty-five mile traffic jam masquerading as a highway are not conducive to good fuel economy. We'll have more on the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 (including a full performance test) coming very soon! http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/05/speedsportlife-obviously-obvious-observation-the-2008-merc-c63-amg-might-be-hard-on-your-wallet/ If there's one thing we can't stand here at Speed:Sport:Life (not that there's only one thing we can't stand, I think you all know by now that there's many, many things we hate here), it's a tease. Indian manufacturer Tata Motors has spent the last few months playing a "will ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/01/jaguar-goes-bollywood-tata-finally-buys-jaguar-and-land-rover-from-ford/ Click for Larger Image The success of Roger Penske's project to import the Smart to these shores has been well documented, but it's been less well known that the primary objection offered by would-be Smart buyers is a rather superstitious objection to owning and operating a three-cylinder car. The RENNtech 7.22 ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/04/01/this-just-in-renntech-722-offers-performance-economy-additional-engine/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photographs by Jack Baruth Sixty-three years ago, a young woman left Frank Lloyd Wright's studio and headed back to her home town with a single goal in mind: to build homes in the new "Usonian" style for her family and friends. The result was the Rush ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/30/speedsportlife-quick-look-audi-tt-20t-dsg-less-filling-to-satisfy-a-greater-taste/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth, photography by Matt Chow and Zerin Dube It’s the space of an eyeblink. Three-tenths of a second. At one hundred and forty-six miles per hour, as the bright blue Viper SRT-10 convertible hammers into MSR Houston’s Turn Six, I am covering sixty-four feet in ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/26/supercar-saturday-part-one-running-the-r8-and-viper-against-the-clock-at-msr-houston/ A slightly still sugar-buzzed edition of SSL Radio this week. If you eat too many of those marshmallow Peeps at once your heart explodes, so I've had to spread it out over the last few days. We wrap up coverage of the New York International Auto Show, finally get an ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/26/speedsportlife-radio-chocolate-bunny-holocaust-edition/ Behold, our new, colon-filled title! Seriously, Speed:Sport:Life is a much better title than Dubspeed Driven, despite my ineffectual and half-hearted grousing to the contrary, since, as I mention in the podcast, it's hard to make a quality first impression that shows off our professionalism and dedication to the honest truth ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/19/speedsportlife-radio-i-love-guinness-edition/ Despite the way the podcasts sound, I'm not spending my days just hitting the refresh button on Autoblog like a rat hitting the stimulus bar in a Skinner box. I have other obsessions, and my other addiction of choice is video gaming. I'm the proud owner of both an Xbox ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/18/burning-up-more-than-just-chipsets-turn-10-releases-new-car-dlc-pack-for-forza-motorsport-2/ It looks like someone over at General Motor's web division got a little overzealous yesterday, and published this teaser icon on the Pontiac website. If you can't tell by glancing at the picture, the car at the bottom is the much anticipated Pontiac Solstice Coupe. We've heard that ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/17/2008-nyias-pontiac-solstice-coupe-targa/ Photo credit: Zerin Dube Photo from our upcoming coverage of the Audi Winter Driving Experience, featuring a driving impression of the Audi A5 Clean Diesel. http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/16/img_7920jpg/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Ah, the air in the Swiss Alps is so fresh this time of year. Or so I'm told, as I'm far too poor to be able to afford to jet to the Alps to cover some fancy motor show. Still, we've got a lot of ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/11/dubspeed-radio-insert-obligatory-deep-purple-reference-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth, photography by Matt Chow Don't look now, but Dubspeed Driven has become a pretty big deal in the past year or so. Thanks to you, our faithful and patient readers, we're knocking the teeth out of some of the biggest names in auto-blog-o-lism. While ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/07/avoidable-contact-10-theres-no-stop-to-the-madness-the-new-site-introducing-mr-roboto/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa It's really easy to tell when I wrote the script for the podcast. The later at night I finish it, the more dour and depressed I sound at the end of it. The same goes for the post for each podcast, so read on with ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/03/06/dubspeed-radio-epic-fail-edition/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa It's lean times for the automotive podcast writer. Stuck in the doldrums between auto shows, we're forced to resort to such vulgar measures as intellectual cannibalism and inflating otherwise unimportant stories into the world's most important news story ever just to stay afloat. Fortunately, we're ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/02/25/dubspeed-radio-times-are-tough-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth, photo by "bubba sideways" I can't count the number of times during my long and painful BMX career when I sat on my bike, sized up some dirt jump, wooden ramp, or fifteen-stair drop-off, and thought long and hard about how much I'd regret ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/02/22/avoidable-contact-9-the-impending-failure-of-the-mighty-gt-r/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa All of you who wasted two hours of your life on Sunday night watching the new Knight Rider TV movie, or as I like to think of it, Knight Rider, Brought To You By Ford, well, I thought about being sympathetic, but given that the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/02/20/dubspeed-radio-knight-rider-blows-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth - Photo by Zerin Dube It's an old joke, non-hilariously updated for the purposes of this review: A Buddhist monk walks into an Audi showroom and is greeted by an Audi salesman. The salesman says, "How may I help you today?" The monk replies, "I ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/02/19/dubspeed-driven-quick-look-audi-a4-32-quattro-s-line-titanium-the-zen-a4/ Click for Larger Image Story by Robert S. Schultz The Chicago Auto Show may not be first on the annual schedule of automotive extravaganzas. But don't even suggest it is the "second city" of shows. In square footage alone—1.3 million—it is the largest show in North America. And though Detroit presents the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/02/18/chicago-auto-show-perspective-second-to-none/ Post by Kasey Kagawa Well, I'm off to a much undeserved Las Vegas vacation. My Presidential suite has been prepared and my multi-million dollar credit line is waiting, both perks of working here at Dubspeed Towers. Soon, I shall take the Rolls to my private jet and cruise to Vegas in ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/02/09/not-dubspeed-radio-breaking-the-house/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth She'd entered our dealer principal's office as a coltish, blinking young woman, stepping awkwardly in new high heels. Almost six feet tall, impossibly thin, painfully beautiful, wearing a purposely dowdy pantsuit. It was always fun to see the new dealer reps arrive from Ford; ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/02/08/avoidable-contact-8-dealer-vs-manufacturer-and-the-loser-is-you/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Thanks to many years of ruthlessly abusing my body, I can go without sleep for a good period of time, something that comes in handy when you're producing an almost 20 minute podcast around a college schedule. Anyway, here's your big heapin' helping of podcast ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/02/06/dubspeed-radio-sleep-is-for-the-weak-and-the-dead/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Now that my computer is functioning properly, we can get on with the show. Thanks to a tooth damaged in an old injury finally dying off, I had to get a root canal on Tuesday, which on top of leading to a very painful last ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/29/dubspeed-radio-codeine-is-yummy-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth The word on the street is that GM's new Malibu is quite the sales success. Nearly thirteen thousand of the "New 'Bu" found homes in December - but wait! They could have sold even more, if they'd had any left! That's right: for the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/28/avoidable-contact-7-your-chimp-brain-hates-the-malibu-the-100-mile-rule/ Click for Larger Image View 2008 Detroit Auto Show Photo Gallery Story by Jack Baruth; photos by Zerin Dube and Carl Modesette Are you sick of the Detroit Auto Show yet? Have the endless broken embargoes, family-vacation-disposable-camera-quality photographs, hilariously car-ignorant reporting, and faux-world-weary meta-coverage vomited across the blogosphere finally made you permanently allergic ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/22/detroit-in-review-rockers-suckers-and-snoozers/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Due to a top-secret mission working as a liaison between US interests and an unnamed German third-party, as well as the Sea of Doldrums that was the Detroit Auto Show, this podcast is a week late in case you haven't noticed. However, we make up ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/21/dubspeed-radio-german-meddling-edition/ View 2008 Detroit Auto Show Photo Gallery (1,000+ Photos!) Photos by Zerin Dube and Carl Modesette http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/17/2008-detroit-auto-show-complete-event-coverage-photo-gallery-now-live/ Click for Larger Image View 2008 NAIAS Gallery (Updated Frequently) Story by Jack Baruth; photos by Zerin Dube and Carl Modesette "Please, broadcast media only." Toyota's bouncers were all up in our grille, yo, and we weren't in the mood to hear it. It seemed like only yesterday (because, well, it was only ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/14/2008-detroit-auto-show-day-2-report-beige-for-the-bourgeoisie-and-a-chat-with-mr-bangle/ Click for Larger Image View 2008 NAIAS Gallery (Updated Frequently) Story by Jack Baruth; photos by Zerin Dube and Carl Modesette Day One of the NAIAS, which is called the "Detroit Show" by pretty much everybody in the free world, because NAIAS sounds like something one would discuss with one's proctologist behind closed ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/13/2008-detroit-auto-show-mo-bull/ Click for Larger Image View 2009 Dodge Ram Gallery Story by Jack Baruth "Ram Box". What the heck is it? Well, it's not a particularly offensive rap song, although it could be. Instead, it's a rather bizarre secure-storage system built into the 2009 Dodge Ram truck. In this third generation of "big rig" ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/11/2009-dodge-ram-no-the-ram-box-is-not-some-freaky-club-dance-move/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth I'd like to start this week with a bit of an apology - not for what I've done, mind you, but for what I am going to do. Fourteen years ago, I was a flat broke, know-nothing kid starting at the bottom of a ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/11/avoidable-contact-6-who-really-runs-the-dealership/ Click for Larger Image Aston Martin Racing will return to Le Mans in 2008 to defend its GT1 title in the distinctive blue and orange livery of Gulf Oil. Two Aston Martin DBR9s will look to emulate Gulf’s first victory at the 24 hour race 40 years on. Alain Dujean, Gulf Oil vice ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/10/aston-martin-to-defend-gt1-title-with-gulf/ The folks over at AutoTuningNews have posted this video to Youtube, finally revealing the details of the R8 TDI V12 Concept that will bow at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show on Sunday. We'll hold tight to our embargo commitments by not publishing any details, but enjoy the video in ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/10/2008-naias-preview-audi-r8-v12-tdi-concept-breaks-cover-early/ Click for Larger Image View Hummer HX Concept Gallery http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/10/2008-naias-preview-gallery-hummer-hx-concept/ Click for Larger Image View Cadillac Provoq Concept Gallery http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/10/2008-naias-preview-gallery-cadillac-provoq-concept/ Click for Larger Image View Complete 2009 Audi TT-S Gallery http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/10/2008-naias-preview-gallery-2009-audi-tt-s/ Click for Larger Image View Complete 2009 Cadillac CTS-V Gallery http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/10/2008-naias-preview-gallery-cadillac-cts-v/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Welcome to the future, everybody. Aside from the introduction of the flying cold-fusion powered washing machines, neural-interface controls for World of Warcraft and our domination by Reptiloid cyborgs, we have a new batch of automotive news! The PT Cruiser convertible gets put down, Detroit spoilers ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/07/dubspeed-radio-from-the-future-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth You're a special snowflake. Your parents always told you so, and you believed them, and it turned out to be true. You're such a special snowflake that you deserve to drive cars for free, to enjoy them at no cost and without any interference. ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/04/avoidable-contact-5-exotics-for-nothing-chicks-for-free/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth The Cayenne GTS hasn't even hit the streets yet, but when it does, the model's primary reason to exist - the six-speed manual which appears for the first time in a NAR-market Cayenne V8 - may be missing. http://www.speedsportlife.com/2008/01/03/cayenne-gts-manual-transmission-dead-before-it-hits-the-ground/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa On any other day, I'd sum up the podcast here, but since this is New Year's Eve, a time to reflect on the past 365 days, I'd like to take the opportunity to those of you out there who make all this possible, starting with ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/31/dubspeed-radio-well-take-a-cup-of-kindness-yet-for-the-sake-of-auld-lang-syne/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth, Photos Courtesty of RENNtech As the year 2008 approaches, and concerns about war, peak oil, African genocide, endangered species, and militant terrorism are streaming from the lips of every dumb-assed hippie Trustafarian at your local community college, idling his Hemi-powered Grand Cherokee outside a ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/29/this-just-in-12m-mcmerc-slr-track-rat-ensures-rich-people-will-continue-to-be-happier-than-you-are/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth Last week I promised to tell you how to bamboozle upscale auto dealers into letting you drive their precious cars for free, using nothing other than a few basic props and a strong dose of what the fellow who was my boss back when ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/26/avoidable-contact-4-a-cadillac-christmas/ Post by Kasey Kagawa Well, I had fully intended to make a podcast for the massive flood of news that would be sure to roll in on the Thursday and Friday before Christmas comes around, instead of this little dink post with the first SFW picture that Google Images turned up ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/24/not-dubspeed-radio-merry-christmas-lets-get-loaded/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Just when you thought you could finally collect on that life insurance policy, we're back! We had a big plan all put together for this week, what with the ZR1 debut and all that, but Motor Trend blow those plans to Hell when they broke ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/20/dubspeed-radio-zr1-omgwtflolbbq-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth An early embargo break by our esteemed colleagues in the motoring press means we can now immediately bring you the scoop on the 2009 Corvette ZR1, and that scoop can be summed up as: No. Fuggin. Way. We expected outrageous horsepower, and we got ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/19/2009-corvette-zr1-tougher-than-hillary-clinton-hairier-than-a-young-vanessa-hudgens/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth - Photos by Jack Baruth and Murilee Martin The late motoring writer LJK Setright loved nothing more than stirring up a bit of controversy, and he had many ways to do so. Whether it was riding a then-new 1974 Honda CBX motorcycle at an ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/19/dubspeed-driven-review-audi-r8-the-worlds-finest-luxury-car-and-not-half-bad-on-the-track/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photos by Jack Baruth "YOU'RE GOING TO WRECK THE CAR!!!!!" A quick glance confirmed what I had suspected - as she screamed bloody murder, my instructor was actually trying to curl up in the passenger seat, and her hands were covering her face in the classic ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/18/avoidable-contact-3-idiot-instructors-irritate-inoculate-inside-immediately/ Click for Larger Image Story by Jack Baruth, Photos Courtesty of RENNtech First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the wheels. Like it or not, "dubs" are probably here to stay in the modern automotive "scene". No would-be Tony Montana would ever be caught rolling on ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/12/theres-something-about-my-benzo-renntech-provides-miami-drug-dealers-with-autobahn-quality-wheels/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photos by Jack Baruth Ten minutes ago it was a sexy, flashy, highly polished, turbocharged masterpiece of Japanese engineering. Now it's a muddy, twisted piece of garbage on a flatbed truck, crinkled and compressed like an empty Old Milwaukee can. The passenger door looks like it's ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/11/avoidable-contact-2-why-your-racing-instructor-sucks/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa We return late with a rather short Dubspeed Radio episode this week, there just wasn't much cars news this week. However, we have podcast news! If you look below (and hopefully for all of our past podcasts soon), a in-page player! No longer will I ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/10/dubspeed-radio-technology-will-kill-us-all-edition/ Post by Kasey Kagawa It's pretty easy to design a car. I mean, aside from the years of engineering school and work experience, the thousands of hours spent slaving over a drafting board and computer screen, the pages and pages of math and design printouts on every single conceivable bit of ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/08/navel-gazing-where-do-great-performance-cars-come-from/ We've seen quite a few photos of the 2009 CTS-V covered up in camo over the last few months, but the guys over at Edmunds have managed to catch it in the buff. Expected to make it's debut in just a months time at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/07/2008-detroit-auto-show-edmunds-exposes-the-2009-cts-v/ Post by Kasey Kagawa I love El Caminos. My first car was possibly the best of all the El Caminos, the 1970 model. Based on the best of the Chevelles, mine was gray with black Chevrolet Chevelle racing stripes, tweaked suspension, fettled-with engine and extra-loud exhaust. I loved it to pieces ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/05/the-return-of-the-king-kinda-crunktar-returns-but-not-as-el-camino/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photos by Jack Baruth Welcome to the first installment of Avoidable Contact. I'm your host, Jack Baruth. In weeks to come, I will be doing my level best to entertain, offend, and, if absolutely unavoidable, inform you. I have a .460 Weatherby rifle (in the literary ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/04/avoidable-contact-1-who-is-this-idiot/ Post by Kasey Kagawa Yeah, I'm sick. I'm currently doped up on decongestants and cough syrup, and sound like I injected rubber cement and hot glue into my sinuses. Worst of all, this vile contagion has invaded my brain and is making me slur my words like I'm on my third ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/04/call-the-waambulance-dubspeed-radio-host-gets-sniffles-calls-in-sick/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photos by Jack Baruth It's a shame P.T. Barnum didn't live to see the release of the '08 Focus. The man who coined the phrase "There's no such thing as bad publicity" might be surprised to see just how bad that publicity can be. From the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/12/03/dubspeed-driven-review-2008-ford-focus-looking-for-fords-silver-lining/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photos by Jack Baruth Eighty-two thousand dollars. Three hundred cars to be available. No reasonable discussion of the Audi’s new-to-these-shores RS4 Cabriolet is going to be possible without first addressing those rather shocking numbers, so we might as well take care of it right away. The ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/29/dubspeed-driven-review-audi-rs4-audis-speedboat-emotional-costly-and-rarer-than-an-r8/ Click for Larger Image Anyone who hasn't been living in a cave these last couple of years should know by now that 2008 will be the year the American muscle car returns to glory. While we're still salivating over the thought of a big rumbly V8 in a retro body ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/29/dodge-prices-the-2008-challenger-srt-8-at-37995/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photos by Jack Baruth Call us unfortunate; we missed the official press introduction of Bentley’s not-entirely-new-for-2008 Continental GT Speed. In doing so, we threw away a chance to drive the car around Spain at the kind of astonishing velocities the Spanish police are reportedly happy to ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/28/bentley-continental-gt-speed-ice-sculptures-and-eye-candy-help-to-pimp-a-very-polished-phaeton/ Our friend George over at Fourtitude published an article today that gives us a glimpse into what Audi has planned for the 2008 Detroit Auto Show (North American International Auto Show). While Detroit may seem like an unlikely place for Audi to show some big performance concepts, remember that ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/27/2008-detroit-auto-show-audi-to-show-tts-and-r8-based-concept/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Yes, we're back, with what I consider to be a pretty solid podcast. This one brings us news of the Ralliart Lancer, more product cuts from the Big Three, the Canadian Auto Worker's Union shows us how big their balls are, I insult Motor Trend's ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/26/dubspeed-radio-the-triumphant-return-edition/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photos by Jack Baruth Quick – what was the most important Ford Thunderbird of all time? Most younger enthusiasts aren't likely to get too worked up about this question, for the same reasons the Pebble Beach crowd refuses to care too much about the absolutely obvious ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/21/dubspeed-driven-review-2008-audi-s5-building-a-better-squarebird/ Post by Kasey Kagawa Ah, life. Sometimes, it's full of daffodils, candy, easy money and attractive women. But life can also be harsh. Harsh like 80-grit sandpaper coated in cayenne pepper extract and rubbed in your eyeballs. Right now, it's more sandpapery for those of us at Dubspeed Towers. The two ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/18/not-dubspeed-radio-do-not-be-fooled-this-woman-is-totally-your-moms-age/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call that. Welcome to the second half, well, more like the last third of Dubspeed Radio's coverage of the Los Angeles International Auto Show. After a few little news bits at the beginning, we get the US ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/16/dubspeed-radio-los-angeles-auto-show-part-deux/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Yes, we're at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, and we will be bringing you decidedly not-live coverage both nights of the press days. Today is the big one, with most of the manufacturers doing their presentations today. I'm tired. I might put more up ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/15/dubspeed-radio-la-auto-show-wind-sprints-edition-part-1/ Click for Larger Image With alternative fuel and going green being a big focus of this year's LA Auto Show, Chevrolet has unvieled the latest in their strong line of Hybrid vehicles, the Silverado Hybrid. Chevrolet says the truck will go on sale in North America in late 2008, and ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/14/2007-la-auto-show-chevrolet-silverado-hybrid/ Click for Larger Image If you are like us here at Dubspeed Driven, you are looking at the photos of this concept and thinking to yourself... "WTF?" Yes, Audi has teased us for weeks that a concept of the upcoming Audi Q5 SUV would be shown at the LA Show ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/14/2007-la-auto-show-audi-cross-cabriolet-quattro-concept/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa I apologize in advance for this week's edition of Dubspeed Radio. First, the lateness. We managed to make it zero weeks before I completely blew my self-imposed and self-enforced deadline of Sunday night. Secondly, the sound quality of this week's podcast. I really need to ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/12/dubspeed-radio-balancing-the-scales-of-suck-edition/ Post by Kasey Kagawa I know we already talked about the Special Edition Bullitt Mustang in a previous podcast, but I think that the media frenzy about the launch of, quite frankly, the most innovative and unique Mustang, nay, car to come out of Ford in years deserves its own news ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/07/breaking-news-exclusive-new-photograph-of-bullitt-mustang/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa In this harrowing installation of Dubspeed Radio, we confront the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is SEMA and all that it contains. Some other news stories escape the crushing horror that is SEMA, but they are the lucky few. As mentioned in the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/11/05/dubspeed-radio-i-dont-like-sema-edition/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Guitar Hero 3 debuts tomorrow, so I'm gonna make this a short intro section. Important/interesting launches from the Tokyo Auto Show get covered, I insult Subaru, Dodge, Toyota, the city of Detroit and Ron Dennis, Porsche's plan to absorb Volkswagen in the Hive-Mind continues, and ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/10/28/dubspeed-radio-rocktober-edition/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa And here we go again, with a new podcast for this past week. Important events include a sneak peak at the Corvette ZR1 at Laguna Seca, the release of the official stats for the Nissan GT-R, stimulating diesel news, Pagani beating the production car lap ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/10/21/dubspeed-radio-the-cake-is-a-lie-edition/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Yes, it's that time again, but a little earlier this week. I'll be gone this weekend, so the three people I've told about it and the countless listeners out there will get your news goodness a little earlier this week. And by countless, I mean ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/10/12/dubspeed-radio-all-the-non-biased-coverage-you-expect-from-jeremy-clarkson-with-none-of-the-looks/ Post and Podcast by Kasey Kagawa Not content with ruining your eyes with our awful words, we here at Dubspeed Driven have taken it upon ourselves to create a new feature with which we shall fill your minds with our poison: Dubspeed Radio. This weekly podcast will be focused on the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/10/06/invading-your-ears-dubspeed-writer-starts-news-podcast-throws-self-to-wolves/ Post by Kasey Kagawa The police in Los Angeles don't really have the best reputation for fairness, courtesy and restraint, what with all the beatings and corruption scandals. The relationship between police and various communities would be best described as "bad," something that idiotic "competitions" like Operation Any Booking won't do ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/10/04/ride-ride-how-we-ride-la-county-sheriffs-department-has-arrestimpound-competition/ Post by Kasey Kagawa For most people, the only media that they see relating to cars on a regular basis are advertisements on TV, which is a little sad, considering that the purpose of an ad is to distort the truth about a model, to amplify the good aspects and deemphasize ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/30/video-of-the-week-buy-more-stuff/ Post by Kasey Kagawa Well, it's finally happened. The UAW has started a company-wide strike against GM. Why? Hell if I know. I stopped caring about the UAW/GM deal months ago. I just figured that Farago's GM Deathwatch piece needed another link. He knows a lot more about this whole thing ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/24/uaw-strikes-gm-dubspeed-writer-goes-meh/ Post by Kasey Kagawa You have to hand it to the Germans. When they want to do something, they don't do it by half-measures. VW is leading the charge towards an automotive Fourth Reich with their new plans to overtake Toyota as the world's largest manufacturer. Their plans include expansions of ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/24/deutschland-uber-alles-vw-announces-plans-to-overtake-toyota-by-2015/ Post by Kasey Kagawa I was going to do a post on the cool new Bose electromagnetic suspension. It uses linear actuators as shock absorbers and springs and uses computers to calculate the voltages needed to adequately cancel out the forces placed on the suspension system on the fly, making the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/23/video-of-the-week-two-for-the-price-of-one-edition/ Post by Kasey Kagawa I've already made my feelings on the 2007 F1 season abundantly clear, and the fallout of the stupidly-named "Stepneygate" scandal is the final nail in the coffin for this farce of a season. After a couple weeks of it looking like it was just a couple guys in ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/18/banninated-mclaren-stripped-of-f1-constructors-points-drivers-turn-states-evidence-to-keep-points/ We are now at the cutting edge, nay, literally standing upon the single row of atoms that comprise the absolute apex of the nano-scale crystalline metallic sword of TV technology. This last weekend was spent fighting with cables, installers, CableCARDs, and customer support drones to set up our new FIOS ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/16/video-of-the-week-drowning-in-cables-edition/ Post by Kasey Kagawa It just turned into a bad day to be a German car manufacturer. 7tune.com has transcribed an article from Holiday Auto, a Japanese auto magazine, that reveals the full extent of the curb-stomping that Nissan is about to deliver to Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. Finding that ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/11/knockout-blow-nissan-gt-r-to-have-le-mans-racer-derived-tt-v6-make-480-hp/ Post by Kasey Kagawa Autoblog snagged a few pics of the new Wiesmann GT MF5. It's got the BMW 5.0L V10 in it, and I'm sure it's a great car, but it's hideous to a degree that should be outlawed. Check out below the jump for what was the first thing ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/10/dear-god-my-eyes-the-goggles-do-nothing-against-the-wiesmann-gt-mf5/ Click for Larger Image Story and Photos by Zerin Dube When I first laid my eyes upon the 2008 Cadillac CTS at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show in January, it was love at first sight. Of all the press conferences and reveals scheduled over the duration of the press days, the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/09/dubspeed-driven-first-drive-2008-cadillac-cts/ Post by Kasey Kagawa Usually we try to keep the topic of the Video of the Week different from one to the next, but this one was just too good to pass up. Out of all the awesome hot hatches that we don't over here in the States, I covet the ... http://www.speedsportlife.com/2007/09/09/video-of-the-week-a-brutal-descent-into-the-depths-of-continuity-edition/