zoomvroom Car Culture, Car Reviews, Tech Talk

The Most Driveable Classic Cars

Classic cars look great.  They sound great.  They all get thumbs up.  Some of them aren’t very easy or fun to drive on a daily basis.  But, that’s not to say that ALL of them are that way…

  • 1908-1927 Ford Model T:  The Ford Model T, believe it or not, is actually a fairly driveable car.  It’s light, small, and cute.  It can keep up with city traffic, do some pretty decent off-roading (when the Model T was built, most roads were gravel or dirt), and in some configurations, seat up to 5 people.  There are some downsides, however.  Earlier Model T’s have crank starters, which mean that you have to crank it over by hand.  Newer Model T’s don’t have that problem.  If you don’t take highways, the Model T is a fun choice for taking long, slow trips.
  • 1967-1970 Cadillac Eldorado:  The Cadillac Eldorado was one of the whale-sized GM personal luxury cars of the late 1960’s.  Power disc brakes were standard from 1968 on, and power steering was standard from day one.  As for the engine, it’s hard to beat a Chevy big block V8.  The standard engine for 1967 was a 429 cubic-inch V8 that was ditched for a massive 472 cubic-inch V8 in 1968.  The 472 is a good, powerful engine that makes well over 500 pound-feet of torque.  In 1970, Cadillac came out with one of the largest engines ever made – a 500 cubic-inch V8 that made about 400 horsepower and about 600 pound-feet of torque, as rated by GM.  Dyno tests showed that it made about 450 horsepower and about 675 pound-feet of torque – to the wheels!  That’s about 520 horsepower and 740 pound-feet of torque at the crank!  The Eldorado is a big, cushy car that really meant success when it came out.  To this day, nothing really shows success quite like a Cadillac.  A fun fact is that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has owned a 1970 Eldorado since the day he was elected President of the United States!
  • 1947-1955 Chevrolet/GMC Advanced Design Pickups:  These are some of the most hardworking, amazing trucks that the world has ever seen.  They are literally bulletproof, and it’s amazing how easy to drive they are.  From 1947-1954, Chevrolet/GMC pickups used a 216 cubic-inch inline six-cylinder engine called the Stovebolt Six.  In 1955, Chevrolet introduced the 235 cubic-inch inline-six-cylinder engine called the Thriftmaster 235.  The 3100 series (a half-ton pickup) came standard with a three-on-the-tree three-speed manual, with a four-speed floor-shifted manual transmission.  Heavy-duty 3600 series (3/4 pickups) trucks came only with the four-speed.  In 1954, a heavy-duty Borg-Warner three-speed manual was offered as an option, and GM’s new Hydra-Matic three-speed automatic was an option.  The rear end in these trucks is either a 4.11:1 axle ratio in earlier trucks or a 3.90:1 axle ratio.  The 3.90:1 is more road-friendly, as it allows for lower RPM in city traffic and highway driving.  In terms of braking, it’s not much.  Four-wheel drum brakes were standard for all trucks.  Heavy-duty trucks came with a power booster, but not the light-duty trucks.  Inside of these trucks, they are spartan by today’s standards.  But, back in the day, their interiors were compared to those of passenger cars.  The availability of the DeLuxe Cab with corner windows greatly improves visibility, and the DeLuxe Cab-only armrest and sunvisor for the driver are a nice touch.  These trucks also had thicker floors and floor mats to make them quieter, and there is even room for some small tools underneath the bench seat.  The 3100 and 3600-series pickups came standard with a column-shifted transmission starting in 1948, and the shift pattern was identical to every single Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Buick passenger car as a nod to driver ease of operation.  The foot-operated parking brake is located in the far corner of the footwell so the driver doesn’t activate the parking brake when shifting!  The cab and body is made completely out of steel, and was designed to be long-lasting.  While some of these trucks are starting to rust, don’t worry – there is a thriving aftermarket JUST for that!
  • 1966-1973 Volkswagen Beetle:  The VW Beetle is one of the world’s most popular cars ever, and it’s a very driveable little car.  The 1,600 CC engine has surprising pep, lasts forever, and gets good fuel economy.  The VW Beetle from this era is bulletproof, cute, and easily restored for very little money.  It comes in some colors that really make it look fun, like the creamsicle orange color!  Some Beetles from this era were turned into Baja bugs that are lots of fun to drive, and they often have upgraded engines.  A common engine upgrade is the 1,776 CC engine, which significantly boosts power without killing the engine.  It essentially just puts bigger pistons and heads on.
  • 1967-1971 Plymouth GTX:  The Plymouth GTX was Plymouth’s full-size, more luxurious version of the Roadrunner.  It had functional hood scoops, a chrome filler cap that looked like a NASCAR filler cap, and optional racing stripes.  It had a heavy-duty suspension found in the Charger 500 and Coronet 500.  The standard was Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth’s massive 440 cubic-inch V8.  For an extra $546, one could step up to the legendary 426 HEMI, nicknamed the “Elephant Motor.”  For 1968, the GTX received new styling and the new TorqueFlite 727 three-speed automatic transmission.  For 1970, it received a massive redesign that included the racing stripes being removed and put on the lower part of the car.  It also introduced the 440+6 (a 440 with three two-barrel carburetors), which could closely compete with the HEMI up to highway speeds.  In 1971, the GTX entered it’s final stand-alone model year.  The engine choices remained the same.  It was also completely redesigned to look more like the Roadrunner.  Emissions restrictions reduced horsepower in every engine except the HEMI.  From 1972-1974, the GTX was a model on the Roadrunner, before being dropped.

Those are the best classic cars to drive every day, at least in my opinion.  If you drive a classic daily, and it’s not on this list, tell me if it’s a good daily driver and why and I will do a part two of this blog post!  I know that all of these cars aren’t as reliable or inexpensive as new cars, but they have character, something that many new cars lack.

For those of you still in school, good luck on finals, and get back to studying!  Read up about cars AFTER finals are over!  I don’t you want to fail finals because you were reading up about cars!

 

 

zoomvroom Car Culture, Car Reviews, Field Trips, Out N' About, People's first car's and funny stories

A Cool Classic

A while ago, my dad introduced me to one of his business partners who just happened to happen to own a 1960 Jaguar MK9.  Hmm…Maybe I just needed to see it…Well, I’m happy to report to you that it is, without doubt, one of the most breathtaking cars that I have ever laid my eyes on.  Not only does the beautifully patina’d maroon and good paint look absolutely stunning.  Oh, and if stunning looks and a spotless beige leather interior complete with Grey Poupon jars (you never know who might need them!) aren’t enough, this car used be Ike Turner’s car.  So, this car isn’t just ANOTHER Jaguar MK9…

The story behind the owner of the car is an interesting one in itself.  My dad’s business partner, Michael Page, used to be the bassist for Iggy and the Stooges, which was a band that opened for the Rolling Stones.  Mike also played for Chuck Berry and other bands in the 1970’s.  Mike now runs a small studio down in Southern California.  When I asked Mike if he still played musical instruments, his reply was, “Naw, I’m content to listen to it now.”

The story behind how the car ended up being in Michael’s hands is an interesting story itself.  During Ike and Tina Turner’s long divorce, Ike parked the Jag on blocks in a back lot of Paramount Pictures for somewhere around 17 years.  One day when Mike was walking in the back lot, he saw the Jag, was absolutely smitten, and made an offer on the spot.  It was accepted.  He then proceeded to, as he put it, “I stood on my head for about an hour with the guy from Paramount just trying to figure out what kind of engine was in it.  Eventually, I saw a label that said ‘Chevrolet 350 C.I. V8.'”  That means that the engine is a Chevrolet 350 cubic-inch small-block V8.  The Chevy 350 V8 is a popular choice for engine swaps in Jaguars.  It requires very little work to install, it has decent power stock (a LOT when it’s tuned), and it’s an extremely reliable engine.  That can’t be said about any Jaguar engine.  Just ask my uncle or grandmother.  As a whole, a 1960 Jaguar is a pretty sturdy car.  It’s made all out of steel (the only aluminum is inside), it’s got glass that could probably stop a bullet, and the tire treads wouldn’t look out of place on something destined to go off-road.

After Mike had owned the car for a couple of months, he decided to take it out for a spin on the freeway.  When he got up to 55 mph, the engine was screaming at something close to 5,000 RPM, and he was playing tag with a bunch of tractor-trailers and grandparents.  Not exactly my (or his) definition of fun.  He got off of the freeway and went to the local transmission shop and had them install an overdrive.  Now, the RPM’s are cut down to 2,500 RPM (most modern cars turn 1,800-2,000 RPM’s on the highway), and he can go up to 70 mph without worrying about killing the engine.  The overdrive, Chevy small-block V8 and Turbo 350 transmission are the only parts that didn’t come with the car.  That is, other than the tires!

Speaking of tires, the tires are modern Coker radial tires with big, tall whitewalls on them.  If whitewalls are put on the right car, they can turn a show-stopper into a car that will literally make people’s heads turn right off their neck!  That’s what my dad’s business partner did with this Jaguar.  The whitewalls make this classic Jaguar look better than it did when it rolled off of the Jaguar assembly line in Coventry, England, in 1960.  Not many cars can pull that off.  Plus, the engine, transmission, and overdrive give a car that wasn’t really driveable before the engine/transmission swap driveability.

In terms of driveability, Mike says that it drives like a wallowy, new car.  It’s got suspension technology from 1960, so it’s not the best choice to throw around a road course.  With the stock engine and transmission sans overdrive unit, the Jaguar MK9 isn’t easy to drive unless you toodle around town.  The stock engine was designed for people to take a slow, scenic drive of the British countryside, not for freeway cruising.  Bring a car like that to America where there are vast expanses of freeways, and you’re essentially got a death wish.  Mike essentially said the same.  The stock three-speed manual has a stiff clutch, according to Mike, and three short speeds aren’t going to do you any favors when you’re cruising.  The Turbo 350 transmission greatly improves the driveability factor.  The Jag doesn’t have power steering, but it tips the scales at about 3,400 pounds, so you’re really not having to put THAT much effort into turning it.  It does, however, have power brakes, so that does make it easier to stop it, even though there was no such thing as ABS back then.  With the Chevy engine and transmission, plus the overdrive unit, Mike could easily drive across the state of California if he so wished.

His Jaguar doesn’t have thousands of man-hours put into restoring it to #1+ condition.  It doesn’t have ABS, cruise control, or satellite radio like most modern cars.  It’s a survivor car.  Trust me, the Jag is perfectly fine that way.  It’s got absolutely gorgeous looks before the paint, which accentuates the car’s looks even more.  It has beautiful walnut wood varnished to an almost matte look.  It doesn’t need to have hundreds of thousands of dollars to get best-of-show at every car show.  These old Jaguars have a certain charm to them that very few other cars, classic or modern, can duplicate.  They’re not absolutely cute like a Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite nor do they look like they were hewn from a block of stone like a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro.  They have an understated elegance to them, plus that cute British charm.  With the right paint colors on them, like gold and maroon, they can be quite a looker.

If you have a self-esteem issue, buy a Jaguar MK9 NOW!  Nobody really lusts after them, so they cost far less than a 1960 MK2, which is also a good car for those with self-esteem issues.  People will want to take pictures of themselves standing in or next to the car (#selfie), and Mike says that whenever he goes out, he literally has to either leave an hour just to talk to people, or park the car and run.  I’d leave an hour.  Running’s not my thing…

I’ve attached some photos of the Jag for you to literally drool over.  As I’ve previously said, it’s one of the most beautiful cars that I’ve ever seen.  It really looks stunning, especially with some light, but not too much.  I’ve never seen it at sunrise or sunset, but I can only imagine how beautiful it is at those times.

 

Badges are awesome - just ask this car!
Badges are awesome – just ask this car!

 

Grey Poupon is a requirement for British cars, I guess...
Grey Poupon is a requirement for British cars, I guess…

 

Sorry about the view - it was the best that I could get!
Sorry about the view – it was the best that I could get!

Editor’s note:  Mike actually played with Chubby Checker, NOT Chuck Berry!  My apologies!

zoomvroom Car Culture

The Seven Most Significant Carroll Shelby Cars Ever!

Carroll Shelby was a guy who built cars the way that they should be built.  This meant that every single Shelby creation was a masterpiece.  He is best remembered for the 1963-1966 Cobra, but he also built many more cars that are noteworthy.  The racer-turned-chicken-farmer-turned-respected-tuner was an amazing guy who did much, much more than make fast cars go faster.  After his heart transplant, he started a foundation.  His foundation, Carroll Shelby Foundation helps fund heart surgeries for children.

  1. 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-350.  The Ford Mustang was an affordable musclecar.  It was fast in a straight line, but it wasn’t meant to go around corners.  When Lee Iaccoca called Carroll Shelby in 1965, Carroll Shelby told Iaccoca, “Lee, you can’t make a racehorse out of a mule.”  Yet, the 1965 Shelby Mustang GT-350 was one of the fastest cars of the decade.  It used Ford’s all-aluminum 289 cubic-inch V8, a Muncie M-22 “Rock Crusher” transmission, and tons of suspension and chassis modifications.  It was available through a “Get it Friday, Race it Saturday and Sunday, and Drive it Back Monday” program through Hertz.  The GT-350K was the highly successful racing version.
  2. 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe.  The Shelby Cobra is one of the world’s most iconic cars, let alone America’s.  It used a stylish, lightweight British AC Ace body and chhassis, a Ford V8, and way too much fun for one person.  The most iconic Cobra was the 427 Cobra, which utilized Ford’s new, all-aluminum 427 cubic-inch V8 that was designed to compete with the 426 Hemi (the engine Shelby originally wanted for the Cobra).  That turned it into one of the fastest cars ever.  In late 1964, the 427 Cobra enjoyed massive racing success, but it didn’t have enough aerodynamic oomph for the long straights at Le Mans.  So, Carroll Shelby had Peter Brock design the Cobra Daytona Coupe.  The Daytona Coupe made a 1-2-3 finish at Sebring International Raceway, and it then went on to win the same finish at Le Mans, putting it 4th overall behind three Ferrari prototypes.
  3. 1965 Shelby Cobra 427.  Arguably the most iconic Shelby ever built, the 427 Cobra was a monster.  It used Ford’s race-proven 427 cubic-inch V8, and your Pontiac GTO or Chevrolet Camaro RS would run for mommy.  The 427 Cobra was a fairly neutral car in terms of handling, even when you got your foot into it.  Even then, it was predictable. Yet, when those 480 pound-feet of torque kicked in at 6,000 RPM, you’d better be holding onto something and have a lot of road ahead of you.  It tipped the scales at just over 2,700 pounds, and the big Ford V8 made a beautiful sound when you nailed it.
  4. 1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR.  The GT500KR used Ford’s all-new 428 Cobra Jet engine, which was kind of a loud, torquey boat anchor in stock form, but Shelby had a few tricks up his sleeve.  He took the cylinder heads and manifolds from the 427 racing engine, and raised the redline by 1,000 RPM.  This engine gained almost 30 horsepower just by that.  Car Life said of the car in 1968, “At 6000 RPM, the Cobra Jet will pull a semi trailer up Pikes Peak.  At less than 2000, it wouldn’t pull the petals off of a daisy.”  People still rave over the engine almost 50 years later.  It was docile under 2,000 RPM, but it came alive above that.
  5. 1986 Dodge Omni Shelby GLH-S.  The little Dodge Omni was a pretty decent little car, but Carroll Shelby slapped a turbocharger and suspension upgrades onto this little car.  It started the hot-hatch craze, and it still shames many hot hatches today.  It was a sleeper.  Many automotive magazines said that it would leave two very skinny, long tire marks through third gear.  If that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is.
  6. 2002 Shelby Series 1.  The Shelby Series 1 was the last Shelby to actually be built from the ground up by Shelby.  It used an Oldsmobile Aurora V8, a GM 700R4 transmission, and a Ford 9-inch rear-end.  Many people complained about the fact that it felt like an unfinished car.  You know what?  Let them yammer.  it was fast, fun, and stylish.
  7. 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.  This Mustang deserves to be on this list.  It was the last car to have personal oversight by Carroll Shelby, and it shows.  Shelby took the supercharged 5.4-liter V8 found in the 2012 GT500, and stroked it out to 5.8 liters. It gained 112 horsepower with the stroking of the engine and other tricks.  It uses Mahle pistons, a Tremec TKO600 transmission, a single-overhead-cam, a special Comp Cams valvetrain, and a big 2.3-liter Eaton supercharger.  The engine only gained about 50 pounds, thanks to extensive use of aluminum and titanium.  Ford claims that it will go 200+ miles an hour.  Motor Trend got one up to 197 mph, but I bet that if it was given enough open road, they would see at least 200.  When it was dyoned, it topped the dyno out at 211 mph, and it was still pulling.

zoomvroom Car Culture, Website Reccomendation

The Best Places on the Internet to Showcase Your Ride

As summer rapidly approaches, many of us who have classic cars, whether they be hot rods, muscle cars, whatever they may be, want others to see their cars.  Sure, there are cruises, parades, and driving your ride around.  But, if you want a LOT of people to see your car, put it up on the internet.  I’m not joking.  If you have, for example, a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that you think others way outside of your state should see, put it up on one of the online car communities listed below for you.  Even if you have a brand new Mustang GT500 and you want the world to see it, drive it and put it up on the internet!  Cars are meant to be driven.  It’s what they like to do.  Cars aren’t meant to sit around in your garage waiting for some new parts to be installed, or wait for you to be driven.  Cars enjoy being driven.  Fast cars enjoy being pushed to their limit, whether it be on a canyon road, or down the dragstrip.  Drive your car the way it’s meant to be driven!  If you’ve got a classic musclecar, do burnouts, launch it down the quarter mile, do whatever it was meant to do.  Have fun with it.  Make a day out of it by driving it to work, pick the kids up from school in it, enjoy it.  Otherwise, it’s not meant for you.

Back to the original point of this blog post.  There are plenty of online car communities and forums on the internet that are just dying to see your ride.  Here is a list of the best online car communities.

  • eBay Motors is a great place to get parts for your car, talk with others on how to fix or modify your car, and share stories with your car.  The website even gives recommendations on what parts your car will need.  It’s intuitive, fun, and time consuming.  Using hashtags will help you find other garages similar to yours.  The stories of how the owners got their car(s) and what they did to their car(s) is just an added bonus.  http://www.ebay.com/motors/garage
  • My Classic Garage is one of the other awesome sites out there.  My Classic Garage is a cloud-based tool for classic car collectors.  I can’t say enough good things about it.  Many major classic automotive dealers are on My Classic Garage, which makes it fun to look through all of their cars for sale.  Plus, the Classic Trivia game is a lot of fun.  You can find my very own My Classic Garage page as Curbside Motorsports.   http://myclassicgarage.com/
  • Hagerty Car Insurance, believe it or not, has a place on its website where owners can share their stories.  It’s pretty neat that an insurance company does that.  And, no, the stories are not about how the owners got good insurance quotes!  The stories are about how the owners found their car, restored their car, etc.  Hagerty gives monthly prompts for you, but you are always welcome to tell your story without using a Hagerty quote.  Tell your story at http://www.hagerty.com/yourstories

Those are the three big, good online car communities that I would recommend, and if you belong to another one that I didn’t mention, please tell me what it is, and I will gladly do a Part II of this blog post!

 

zoomvroom Car Culture, World News

The World’s Fastest Electric Car!

Don Garlits is a drag racing legend.  It’s why he’s known as “Big Daddy.”  Garlits has set records, not only for the amount of wins, but also for eclipsed times, trap speeds, etc.  He’s been active in the drag racing world for the better part of 60 years.  Many credit him for actively starting to make Top Fuel drag racing safer.  He’s learned the hard way on how unsafe old nitromethane dragsters are.  His favorite engine is the 426 Hemi that propelled him to many a victory.  Now, at age 81, he’s trying to set yet another record.

The eerie silence of electric vehicles is a bit creepy to some.  Nowhere is it more apparent than a 1/4 mile dragstrip.  Top Fuel dragsters make 8,000 horsepower, shake your body to the core, and easily hit 150 decibels.

Big Daddy’s Swamp Rat 37 isn’t what he usually drag races.  This is evidenced by the fact that he went 323 mph six years ago.  He regularly drag races a 2009 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak (Dodge’s equivalent of the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet and Chevy COPO Camaro, except it’s got a 600 horsepower Viper V10 under the hood).  Anyhow, Swamp Rat 37 isn’t nearly as quick as other cars he’s sailed down the 1320 feet of a quarter mile in.  But, his new record proves that electric dragsters aren’t slow, either.  According to Wired, Garlits and Swamp Rat 37 just went 7.258 seconds at 184.01 mph at Brandenton Motorsports Park in Florida.  That’s a little bit short of the 200 mph Garlits is aiming for, but he still went 24.16 mph faster than the previous record.

Very few electric cars make supercars look slow, though the Tesla Model S does come close – very close.  However, Big Daddy’s dragster makes every supercar look slow.  Swamp Rat 37 has six 7.5-inch DC electric motors.  Total output from those motors is 1,500 kilowatts, equivalent to about 2,000 horsepower.  Power for those motors is provided by four lithium-ion battery packs that store 420 volts and 3,600 amps.  It’s a little bit more powerful than sticking your finger into an electrical outlet.  Since he’s living his life 1320 feet at a time, there’s no such thing as range anxiety.

Big Daddy built up to full power over the course of several runs, turning in a 10.9, an 8.75, and on his fifth run, he hit 178.42 mph.  His sixth run was the record-shattering run.  For me, the most striking noise is not the whir of the electric motors, but the tires.  The noise of the tires is always drowned out by the thundering engines used in Top Fuel dragsters.  For some,  this may devalue electric dragsters forever, but Big Daddy has shown the world that there’s potential in everything.

Enjoy the video of Garlits setting the record.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea4igN8Thtg

zoomvroom Car Culture, Humor, I Challenge You!, Random, World News

The World’s Craziest Go-Kart!

Go-karts are fun little vehicles.  Some of them can go up to 70 mph – in just a few seconds!  Others can climb up hills.  Most don’t have Chevy big-block V8 engines, though.  Dirt Every Day, a fun off-road show on the Motor Trend Channel has a go-kart with a 454 big-block.  I’m pretty sure that that just elevated the host, Fred Williams, to the crazy-maybe-stupid category.

In the previous episode of Dirt Every Day, Fred had an off-road club of college kids called the Poly Goats come and demolish a 1986 Pace Arrow motorhome.  For those of you who don’t know what makes it so special, I have one number for you: 454.  Nothing else needs to be said.  The Poly Goats made mincemeat of the Pace Arrow.  By the end of the episode, it was a bare chassis with a 454 cubic-inch V8, a Turbo 400 transmission, and a beefy rear end.  That’s a good start for a monster go-kart.

However, Fred needed to build and install all of the necessary components to ensure that this crazy contraption starts, stops, turns, and shifts.  However, every go-kart needs to be safe, so Fred turned to his good friend, Frank, who is an engineer.  Frank helped Fred out by giving him tips about the rollcage.

After Frank, some of the Poly Goats come to help Fred get the crazy kart good to go.  After a long day wiring the pedals, steering column, and shifter, fabricating the wide wheel set, and wiring the engine up, the go-kart is good to go.  Fred wisely decides to not drive the go-kart around his neighborhood.

The next morning, Fred trailers both his mini go-kart and his recently built monster go-kart out to a remote ranch for some off-road hoonage.  He is going to have a shootout.  Instead of him driving both go-karts, he has a couple of Poly Goats come and assist him.  They are brave souls.

One of the contests is where the contestants have to see who starts their engine first.  The big go-kart wins by a mile.  The next contest is a timed obstacle course where the drivers have to go around one or two trees depending on kart size, moving around bottles, and going in between cattle skulls.  The tiny go-kart wins.  Then, a drag race, as drag races have proven to be popular on the Motor Trend Channel.  The big go-kart wins.  You just don’t expect a tiny gas-powered go-kart to win against something with a 454.  Then, Fred decides to have a tug-o-war competition.  Yeah, we all know who won there.

After all of the contests, Fred takes the monster go-kart off-roading.  It looks like a lot of fun.  Don’t do this at home, kids.

zoomvroom Car Culture, Car Reviews, Vehicle repair

10 Cars That You Just Have to Love, Even if They Were Lemons

Lots of cars are reliable.  Lots of cars aren’t reliable.  A lot of British and German cars fall into the not-so-reliable category.  My uncle can attest to that with the fact that his 2001 Jaguar XK8 has spent about half of its life in the shop.  On the other side of reliability, another one of my uncles had an Audi Quattro for something like 10 years, and he never had any reliability issues.  My dad’s had trouble with his 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 HD with the Duramax diesel engine.  My 2003 Chrysler Town & Country is just a few hundred miles away from hitting 200,000 miles, and it’s been one of the most reliable cars that I’ve ever seen.  Anyhow, the basic premise of this blog post is to tell you the top 10 cars that we all love, even if they were (or still are) lemons.

  1. 2001-2005 Porsche 911 and Boxster:  The 996-generation Porsche 911 was the first Porsche to ever have a water-cooled engine.  For Porschephiles, that’s the equivalent of the Pope converting to Buddhism.  The 2001-2005 Porsche 911 and Boxster had a teeny, weeny, little problem with their engines where the faulty intermediate shafts could fail, turning a fine sports car into a very expensive paperweight.  Even after enough owner complaints, Porsche started fixing the problem, but only on a case-by-case basis, which meant that many owners were left out to dry unfairly.  It’s easily one of the largest black spots in Porsche history, which is a true shame, because these cars were otherwise some very nice drives.
  2. 2001-2003 Subaru WRX:  The first Subaru WRX to be offered in the U.S. had a massive problem with the transmission.  The five-speed manuals were extremely fragile, and the tuner-friendly engine often meant that the tiny boxer four-cylinder engine was tuned to within an inch of its life.  All Subarus have problems with their head gasket, but the 2001-2003 WRX often gave its head gasket up before it even reached 100,000 miles.  I can forgive all of this, because aside from these two problems, it’s a reliable daily driver that’s a LOT of fun.  The purity of these WRX’s means that your inner Swedish rally driver fantasies can come true.
  3. 1993-1995 Mazda RX-7:  One of the last rotary-powered cars (the last was the Mazda RX-8), the Mazda RX-7 was a true driver’s car.  However, apex seal failure hangs over every owner’s head like a cloud.  Apex seal failure means a complete engine rebuild or replacement if the car is not maintained at the proper intervals.  The massive amounts of premium fuel and oil going into the engine didn’t help matters, either.  Still, the 3rd-generation Mazda RX-7 is an amazing driver’s car.  Plus, many owners say that there’s  truly nothing like spooling up the second sequential turbocharger.  Mazda had made the RX-7 with two turbochargers – one for the lower rev range only, and the other for the upper rev range only.  It’s been a long, long time since the last RX-7 was built, and I really hope that Mazda gets their act together and builds an RX-9.
  4. 1999 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra:  This was a one-model-year special put on by Ford, and it was supposed to be a drag racing special for the street.  However, it didn’t  take long for enthusiasts, mainly drag racers, to figure out that it was making WAY less than the 320 horsepower that Ford advertised.  Ford traced the problem to aluminum residue in the intake and exhaust systems.  Ford did well by fixing the problem free of charge.  However, the public snafu on Ford’s part caused Ford to drop production of the SVT Cobra after just one model year.  The upside is that there are no other reliability problems with the SVT Cobra Mustang.  Because it’s a single-model-year special-edition Mustang, it’s got potential to be a future classic.  Don’t be intimidated if you see one for sale with lots of modifications – Ford designed this car to be tuner-friendly.  Just make sure that there’s good documentation of the car.
  5. 2008-2010 Nissan GT-R:  Like many supercars, the Nissan GT-R came with launch control.  The difference was that the launch control function could potentially blow up the transmission and void the warranty, leaving the unlucky owner with a $20,000 repair bill.  Nissan settled a class-action lawsuit in Decemer 2010, and the launch control was dialed back on 2011-up models.  It’s impossible not to love the GT-R and it’s mind-altering ability to be an absolute freight train on race tracks of any kind, just avoid the hard launches.
  6. 2001-2006 MINI Cooper S:  Anybody who was (or is) an owner of the 2001-2006 MINI Cooper S felt more like a beta tester for a video game than anything else.  Here’s the relatively short list of, uh, ‘bugs:’  Electric power steering pumps that could catch fire, supercharger failure after just 80,000 miles, and head gaskets that seemed to be timed to blow up as soon as the warranty expired.  Despite it being a sub-$20,000 car new (and used), it’s got maintenance costs of a 2001-2005 Porsche 911 or Boxster (see #1 on this list for reference).  If you can forgive those faults, the handling is some of the best this world has ever seen.
  7. 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia:  Most mid-engine Ferrari’s have a wholly undeserved reputation for spontaneous combustion.  However, with the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, the argument was valid.  The adhesive bonding between the wheelwell and the engine heat shield would melt and catch fire.  Reports vary, and if Ferrari is to be believed, only 11 cars were affected by this.  All 1248 Ferrari 458 Italias sold until that point were recalled.  Ferrari still claims that this only happened during hard driving, but asking owners of Ferraris to not drive their car hard is laughable.  After the concerns of owners becoming BBQ, the Ferrari 458 Italia once again ascended to its rightful place as the best mid-engine car the world has ever seen.
  8. 2003 GMC Sierra 2500HD:  These things are supposed to be bulletproof, right?  Think again.  The fuel injection systems on the Duramax diesel-engine trucks are notorious for the fuel injectors cracking.  My dad has a 2003 GMC Sierra 2500HD, and the engine’s been rebuilt something like 4 times.  If you buy one of these vehicles, make sure to get it with the LQ4 6.0-liter V8.  The Allison 1000 heavy-duty transmissions will go over 150,000 miles without trouble.  Just DON’T get it with the Duramax!  Not only are engine rebuilds expensive, but they are frequent.  If you buy one, make sure you find one with good documentation, as many of these were used for hauling and towing, both of which put phenomenal stress on the engine and transmission.
  9. 1996-2005 Volkswagen Passat:  This was the infamous era of VW unreliability.  The B5-generation of the Passat had steering problems – the rack-and-pinion assembly was prone to stripping, which means no steering.  When it stripped, it would burn out the power booster, which means that other parts are brought into the mix.  Volkswagen made a lot of these cars, and some of them are good.  Other family sedans are good choices.
  10. 2003 Land Rover Freelander:  This is quite possibly one of THE most unreliable vehicles EVER!  It was quite simply bad.  The engine was bad, the cheap interior fell apart after just a few thousand miles, and forget replacing parts for it.  The replacement parts were usually just as bad as the stock parts.  Avoid this car at ALL costs!

 

 

 

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The Differences Between Circuit Racing, Drag Racing, and Oval Racing

My mom recently asked me what the differences were between circuit racing, drag racing, and oval racing.  For those of us who aren’t race freaks, this may prove helpful.  I know that it will prove helpful for my mom.

Drag racing is for all essential purposes, putting a big, powerful motor into a lightweight car, and adding other go-fast goodies to it, and then going to the drag strip and winning.  Ok, I wish it was that simple.  Many of the fast drag racing cars that you see going hundreds of mph down a straight 1/4 “drag strip” are purpose built.  The fast, cool cars that everybody loves are the Top Fuel dragsters.  Those are the long, huge-engined cars that blast down the drag strip in just 5 seconds.  But, there are also street-legal drag racers that are almost as quick.  Hot Rod Magazine puts on an event every year called Hot Rod Drag Week.  The fastest cars there in the Unlimited class consistently run low 7-second passes.  It’s truly mind-boggling to watch a steel-bodied 1965 Chevrolet Nova II blast down the drag strip at 6.94 seconds.  I have attached a video explaining the history of street legal drag racing, and I found it informative and fun.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TccUZOHuJuI

Circuit racing can mean two things.  One is oval racing like NASCAR or IndyCar, which is not how I view it.  The other is what they call “road-racing.”  Road racing is essentially a twisty track paved with concrete, not sticky asphalt.  It’s usually very fast, and it requires a lot of effort and concentration to wrangle a car around said track.  Formula 1 runs many road courses every season, and NASCAR runs two road courses (Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen).  But, the most well-recognized road race is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as other endurance races.  Road racing is taxing on the engine, transmission, suspension, and the driver.  Darrell Waltrip (yeah, he’s the guy with the world-famous “Boogity, boogity, boogity) once said of Sonoma Raceway, “Floor the gas, upshift, mat the brakes, downshift, repeat.”  That can be said for many road courses around the world.  It’s not easy.

Oval racing is sometimes called circuit racing.  I don’t know or care why.  I just know that oval racing is NOT circuit racing.  If you find out or know why, tell me.  Anyhow, oval racing is NASCAR and IndyCar.  It’s extremely fast, and it’s taxing on the driver.  With NASCAR, pit stops are often between 8-20 seconds!  Famous oval tracks are Daytona International Speedway, Talladega International Superspeedway, Bristol Raceway, and Darlington Raceway.  Not only are all of those oval circuits fast, but they can have deadly consequences if you can’t get out of the way.  Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s 2001 death at the Daytona 500 was a shock to the racing community, but it only highlighted just how deadly NASCAR is.  Speeds reaching 200+ mph are common on these oval tracks.  Bill Elliott once hit 210 mph at Talladega, which is a record that stands to this day.

Since I’m onto the different kinds of racing, I might as well do other kinds of racing.

Top-speed racing is kind of the thing nowadays.  Standing mile events are common in several states, but the big top-speed races are at the Bonneville Salt Flats and El Mirage (El Mirage is a large dry lakebed in Southern California).  The fastest run at Bonneville was 763 mph back in 1997, with Andy Green driving Thrust SSC.  Not only did that break the sound barrier for the first time in a car, but Green is planning to hit 1,000 mph with Team Bloodhound SSC next year.  Back to top-speed racing.  It’s fast, and can be deadly.  I have attached a Roadkill episode showing Freiburger and Finnegan chasing a top-speed record at Bonneville in a 1981 Chevrolet Camaro.  It’s fast, funny, and surprisingly informative.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEcbwvNaxE8

Drifting is where you take a RWD car, pull the handbrake, and break the rear end loose.  Professional drifters include Vaughan Gittin, Jr., Ken Gushi, Tanner Foust, and Ken Block, just to name a few.  Drifting originated in Japan in the mid-1970s, and it’s become a popular sport ever since.  Typical drifting machines are RWD vehicles with either a GM LS-Series engine, or a turbocharged Toyota engine.  Drifters are people who like to make lots of tire smoke and dial in a lot of opposite lock into the steering.  Drifting a RWD car should be simple:  If it’s a new car, defeat the traction and stability controls.  Then, find a big, open space (without curbs or trees!), floor it, pull up on the handbrake, and the rear end will hopefully break out.  If and when it does, steer INTO the drift!  Steering away from the drift will spin the car and make you look like an idiot.  Steer into the drift, and apply more steering and throttle as needed.  If you feel uncomfortable, tap the brakes enough to get the rear end of the car to step back into line a bit.  Also, make sure that you don’t have expensive tires on.  Drifting eats up the treads surprisingly quickly, and you probably know that Pirelli P Zero Corsas aren’t exactly cheap.  I have attached yet another video done by the Motor Trend Channel talking about turbos vs. V8s and drifting.  It gives a unique perspective into drifting, and it’s got a TON of tire smoke!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H8ItG5SK9o

Rallying can mean a couple of things.  One is where you are given directions and you drive your car on public roads to a destination.  The kind of rallying that most of us are familiar with is WRC and GRC (World Rally Cross and Global Rally Cross).  Those rally machines look stock, but don’t be fooled!  Ken Block and Tanner Foust are both professional drifters and rally drivers.  They both happen to be very good.  Ken Block’s Ford Fiesta looks like a stock Fiesta with aggressive tires, and a wild paint job, and a loud exhaust note.  It’s got a lowered, heavy-duty suspension, a 650-horsepower twin-turbocharged four-cylinder, and a six-speed manual.  It is FAST!  Ken also is a cool, nice guy who loves dogs.  Especially Alaskan Huskies.  His two Huskies’ names are Yuki and Bentley.

Autocrossing is often sanctioned by the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), and it involves weaving a car in between traffic cones.  It’s fast, and it’s demanding on the suspension and tires.  Yet, people flock to it year after year.  It also is hard on the driver.  Some cars happen to be extremely good at autocrossing, and the Meyers Manx dune buggy in the late 1960s-1970s was very good.  It was light, fast, and it stuck to pavement like nothing else.  Nowadays, the Mazda Miata is the go-to choice for autocrossers.  I’ve attached the most recent Roadkill episode, where Freiburger and Finnegan attempt to beat a Kia Rio5 with all of their cars that still run.  I won’t spoil which cars win for you.  I’ll let you watch and laugh as they spin and throttle the Crusher Camaro, I’ll even let you watch and grimace as Finnegan blows up the parking assist pin in his wife’s 1969 Chevrolet El Camino, and watch as God-knows-what comes flying out of their 1968 Dodge Charger.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II3z353OZWA

I think that I’ve covered just about everything here.  If you find anything else that you can think of, let me know in the comments section.  I will do another blog post on the different types of racing.  I would love to, as it would help me immensely.

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A Spectator’s Guide to the Bonneville Salt Flats at Bonneville Speed Week

The Bonneville Salt Flats are one of the world’s fastest places.  The sound barrier was broken there in 1997.  Multiple records have been set there over the years.  It’s also the only racetrack where the ground underneath you can give you sunburns…and taste bad!  I’m hoping to the 2014 Speed Week (August 9-15) with my dad.  I thought it would be smart to tell you what to do and bring as a spectator.  Enjoy.

  • The Bonneville Salt Flats are in the high desert of Utah.  The Salt Flats are located just 5 miles away from Wendover UT, and West Wendover, NV.  West Wendover is a casino town, and Wendover is a pretty neat little town.  Wendover Air Field is located at the edge of Wendover, and it’s the same air field that the Enola Gay took off from with both atomic bombs both times.  There’s a small museum honoring the brave flight crew and the Manhattan Project.
  • Bring a cooler with a LOT of ice and water bottles!  Fill up your cooler with at least 15 water bottles.  That might seem like a lot of water, but temperatures can go as high as 120 degrees.  There is a gas station on the frontage road leading to the Salt Flats that sells gas, water, snack food, and sandwiches.  It is advised to fill up with water and/or gas here.  Vendors sell food and water on the Flats, but they have been known to run out in the past.  Bring your own snack food and a LOT of water and hydrating drinks (people say that Gatorades, Vitamin Waters, and iced tea are also good things to bring).
  • Sun protection is REALLY important here.  The Bonneville Salt Flats have never heard of shade.  Bring your own.  Be imaginative – bring beach umbrellas, sun hats offering head and neck protection, and snow-worthy sunglasses.  The reason for the sunglasses being that tough is that the salt is so reflective that you can get snow blindness.  Vendors do sell heavy-duty sunglasses, but they are overpriced ($20).  Veterans of the salt say to bring skiing sunblock – the reflectiveness of the salt, plus the Sun beating down on you can make your skin look like a tomato.  Running long-sleeved shirts are also a good investment – they mean that you don’t need to worry about your arms, and they help keep your torso relatively cool.
  • Spectators are encouraged to walk the pits and talk with the racers.  Last year, the pits were over 3 miles long and 4 city blocks wide!  They are expected to be larger this year.  Bring a bike or some other form of two-wheeled transportation.
  • Camping chairs are a good investment.  The salt is way too hot to sit on.  The salt will leave burns a mile long on you!  It will also go into your pores and hurt like crazy to get out!  Since there are no grandstands, bring camping chairs with cup holders and an umbrella stand.  You’ll thank me later.
  • Radios are good to bring.  Racer/race information is broadcast on the 1610 AM radio frequency.  Racers also communicate with race officials or their pit crews with CB radios.  If you don’t have a radio, you should get one.  Otherwise, you won’t know anything about a racer or how fast they went!  There is no PA system except for a driver’s meeting on the first day that everybody is invited to.
  • Tarps and shoes:  The salt gets everywhere, and it corrodes whatever it gets on.  Bring a heavy-duty tarp and smooth-soled shoes are a good investment.  I don’t mean VANS, I’m thinking shoes like sneakers.
  • Binoculars are a good thing to bring.  Those tiny birdwatching binoculars you have won’t cut it.  Their field of vision is too small to track a vehicle going 200+ mph down the course.  Spectators can be anywhere from the start line to the final mile marker (Mile 6), but they are always 1/4 of a mile away from the cars for safety reasons.  Get big binoculars with a wide field of vision.  Because many cars are going in excess of 200 mph (some even go 400+!), this is too fast to track with the human eye, according to veteran spectators.
  • Optional entertainment is a good thing to bring, as Bonneville Speed Week isn’t meant to be fast-paced, even though the cars and motorcycles go bloody fast!  Bring the day’s newspaper, a good book, a new magazine, etc.  Some people bring iPads, but it’s hard to read or do whatever on something that reflects the Sun into your eyes.  Taking a nap or working on your tan is also a good idea.
  • Cameras are a must.  Make sure that your camera has a good zoom feature that can capture a car at least 1/4 of a mile away.  Also, make sure that you have something to download the hundreds of pictures you took that day onto.
  • Be prepared to meet lots and lots of nice people.  Lots of the racers are ex-engineers, ex-JPL employees, etc.  When you ask some of the racers what they worked on, and they give you, “If I tell you, and then I kill you” response, they aren’t joking.  Don’t go further than that with them!  Many racers are nice people who will go out of their way to show you their car, offer you a drink, or just chat with you for hours on end.  While there are some people who aren’t people people, there’s a LOT of nice people people.
  • The engines from the cars are very, very loud.  Think Top Fuel on steroids kind of loud.  This is because the engines are large and they have no restrictive exhaust systems on them.  The high-octane racing fuel will burn your eyes if you are too close.
  • Vendor food is good.  If you can name it, vendors offer it.  The food is good, but everybody says the Enola Gay Cafe is the best.  I don’t doubt them.  It’s even got folding tables and chairs for you to sit in!  It starts cooking at 6:00 AM (many racers arrive before then to work on their cars), and stops cooking at 5:00 PM (when everybody leaves the salt).  Many vendors sell t-shirts and other souvenirs.
  • How to get to Bonneville from Wendover is important.  Here are directions on how to get there from the main drag in Wendover, UT.  https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Wendover+Blvd,+Wendover,+UT/Bonneville+Salt+Flats+International+Speedway,+Bonneville+Speedway+Rd,+UT+84083/@40.7604641,-113.9657532,12z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m16!4m15!1m5!1m1!1s0x80ac2f5b4f0db3a7:0xb33345362043f07d!2m2!1d-114.0355344!2d40.7375496!1m5!1m1!1s0x80ac308e73f0ed1b:0x6c5d8e3c50acde7!2m2!1d-113.895972!2d40.762569!2m1!6e4!3e0.  As you can see, it’s pretty easy.  Also, the volunteers who put on Speed Week have an entry/exit road marked with cones.  Stay inside of the cones.  Going out will mean your car will bury itself into the slushy salt and it will take lots of digging and tugging from multiple pickup trucks to extricate you.
  • Salt Corrosion is one of the worst fears among those of you living back East.  Salt is extremely corrosive, and the Bonneville Salt Flats are no exception – they will turn your car into vehicular swiss cheese!  Think twice about taking your brand-new Ferrari onto the Salt.  If you do, there is a truck stop just off of the I-80 that has a large carwash.  It is recommended that you take your car, rental car, motorcycle, whatever you are driving there, and wash EVERYTHING off!  With your bikes, a garden hose or compressed air will do just fine.  I’ve already talked about shoes, so I won’t go too far into that – just make sure that you can’t find any on them when you get into the car – it tracks everywhere, and it is difficult to get rid of.
  • Where and what to stay in is always a good thing to ask yourself when going on a trip.  There is a Best Western and other small hotels in Wendover, UT.  West Wendover has a Super 8 and multiple casinos.  All of these are booked solid through August 20th.  Same thing with the RV parks.  The mud flats outside of the Salt Flats are your only choice right now, unless you want to stay in Park City, or Salt Lake City.  Both of those are 110 miles away from the Salt Flats.  The mud flats are what they sound like.
  • Clothing is always good to have on hand.  Do NOT wear blue jeans – the tiny rivets in them will leave small, painful burns all over your hips and legs!  If you wear shorts, put sunblock on.  Make sure that your belt buckle cannot touch any skin – it will hurt!  Make sure your shirts are lightweight, light-colored long-sleeved running shirts.  Make sure your hats have a big brim that protects your face and neck.  Skiing sunglasses (not skiing goggles, alien) are also good.
  • Where to eat in Wendover is a good thing to know.  Long story short, follow the racers.  Many of the racers have been coming to the Salt Flats for years, and they know where the best places to eat are.  The Mexican restaurant at the truck stop is a good place to eat, as well as Mildred’s Custom Burgers.  Following the racers is a good idea, but waiting for them to finish eating isn’t.  Waiting for a table can take hours.  Neither restaurant knows what reservations mean, so driving quickly to get ahead of the hordes of hungry racers is smart.  But, sitting at a table inside (where all the racers are) is nice.  The racers talk about their day on the Salt, and previous experiences on the Salt.  Listening to their banter and chatting with them is smart.  Just be thoughtful of those waiting for your table.
  • What to do in Wendover/West Wendover is also good to know.  Wendover Air Field is now a small airport, but it was where the Enola Gay took off from both times with the atomic bombs, and there’s a small museum honoring the brave crew and the Manhattan Project.  The hangars look like they are right out of WWII, but inside, there is a multitude of cool helicopters, planes, and other stuff.  West Wendover has not one, but five casinos!  Wendover has a small movie theater that offers an air-conditioned escape from the boiling desert heat.  There are a few National and Regional Parks (Bonneville is a National Park) in the area.  There is even a 9-hole golf course that takes advantage of the desert to lure golfers onto rocky hills.
  • Gas stations are always a good place to get drinks and gas.  Buy at least 15 water bottles at the gas station on the frontage road leading to the Salt Flats.  The Wendover Truck Stop I have talked about, as well as the small gas station on the way to the Salt Flats.  Don’t ever underestimate Bonneville – it gets hot, and always keep drinking!  Dehydration is a bad thing under the best of circumstances, but you could be dead by the time the helicopter from Salt Lake City arrives.
  • What to do after the racing ends is good to know.  The Bonneville Salt Flats close about 5:00 PM, and they open at 5:00 AM.  Bonneville is on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land, and it is fenced off and gated at 5:00.  When racing is winding down, go back to your car and pack up and head out.  It gets crazy getting out of there at 5:00!  Go into Wendover for a burger or Mexican food.  The racers enjoy an ice-cold beer or two, but don’t let that discourage you!  Go up and talk to them!  They are cool folks!
  • When to get to Bonneville to set up to watch racing:  Bonneville opens up at a bright-and-early 5:00 AM, but most racers get there about 6:00 AM.  The courses open up at 7:00, and the quickest runs happen from 7:00-9:00 AM, as the air is cooler and less humid there.  You have to pay a small amount of money as an entry fee every day as a spectator (racers pay for it when they register their car for Speed Week), but it’s really not much.  Getting there earlier is better.
  • Bring a lot of cash.  Some vendors don’t take credit cards, and the Bonneville volunteers collecting entry fees don’t take credit cards or checks.  Plus, cash is good to take wherever.  You can use it to tip, donate to the Wendover Air Field museum, or even donate to the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA).

I’ve also attached one of my favorite Roadkill episodes, where they attempt to set a landspeed record.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEcbwvNaxE8

Also, take a peek at the SCTA’s website.  http://www.scta-bni.org/Bonneville.html

The colors, excitement, people, cars, and the beauty are just some of the reasons why people return to Bonneville year after year.  It’s called Salt Fever.  Catch it!  Come to Speed Week 2014 and hopefully you can meet up with me and my dad!  Plus, getting to Bonneville is a beautiful road trip in itself.  Enjoy the trip to Bonneville and your time there!

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Ferruccio Lamborghini – a Biography of the Man Who Wanted a Better Ferrari

When you see a Lamborghini for the first time, you are probably wondering if an alien owns it.  It looks otherworldly.  This blog post is going to delve into the story behind the man who created Lamborghini Automobili, Ferruccio Lamborghini.  I hope you find his life as interesting as I do.

Ferruccio Lamborghini was born on April 28, 1916 to Antonio and Evelina Lamborghini in the beautiful region of Northern Italy.  Not much is known about his childhood, other than the fact that his parents were viticulturists.  What we do know is that Ferruccio Lamborghini was fascinated with farming machinery, rather than the farming lifestyle.  Following his passion for mechanics, Ferruccio went to the Fratelli Taddia technical institute in Bologna.  In 1940, Ferruccio was drafted into the Italian Royal Air Force for WWII.  He started off as a vehicle mechanic at the Italian garrison on the island of Rhodes.  He eventually became supervisor of the vehicle maintenance unit there.  When the island fell to the British in 1945, Ferruccio was taken prisoner.  He was unable to return home until 1946.  Upon his return, he married, but his wife died in 1947 while giving birth to their son, Antonio Lamborghini.

After that, Ferruccio opened a small garage near Bologna.  In his spare time, Ferruccio modified an old Fiat Topolino that he had purchased, one of the many that he would own over the years.  He took his extensive mechanical abilities to the tiny city car and turned it into a thundering, two-seat, open-top, 750-cc, roadster.  He entered the car in the 1948 Mille Miglia.  His participation in the tiny Topolino ended after 700 miles, when he ran the car into the side of a restaurant in the town of Fiano, in the province of Turin.  As a result of the crash, Lamborghini lost all enthusiasm for racing, a bitter sentiment that would last until the late 1960s.

In 1949, Ferruccio started Lamborghini Trattori, a small tractor company that would eventually become the European equivalent of John Deere.  His increasing wealth allowed him to buy more expensive, faster cars than the tiny Fiats that had provided with reliable, albeit slow, transportation for many years.  In the early 1950’s, he owned such cars as Lancia’s and Alfa Romeo’s, and at one point, he owned enough cars to drive a different one for every day of the week.  He added a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, a Jaguar E-Type coupe, and two Maserati 3500GT’s.  He once said of the latter, “Adolfo Orsi, then the owner of Maserati, was a man I had a lot of respect for: he had started life as a poor boy, like myself.  But I did not like his cars much.  They felt heavy and did not really go fast.”

In 1958, Lamborghini traveled to Modena to buy a Ferrari 250GT, an early Ferrari with a Pininfarina body.  He went on to own several more 250GT’s, including a Scaglietti-designed 250 SWB Berlinetta and a 250GT 2+2.  He thought that Enzo Ferrari’s cars were good, they were too noisy and rough to be proper road cars.  He categorized the 250GT’s as repurposed track cars with poorly done interiors.  Ouch.

He found that Ferrari’s had bad clutches, requiring frequent, expensive trips to Modena to replace them.  Ferrari technicians would squirrel the cars away for hours on end to perform the service, which immensely dissatisfied Lamborghini.  He had expressed his dissatisfaction about Ferrari’s after sales service multiple times before, which he perceived to be extremely substandard compared to other auto manufacturers.  He brought this to Enzo Ferrari’s attention, but was rudely dismissed by the pride-filled Ferrari.  He eventually successfully modified one of his personal 250GT’s to outperform stock 250GT’s, he decided that he was going to start an automobile manufacturing venture of his own, with an aim to create the perfect touring car that he felt nobody could build for him.  His belief was that a grand touring car should have attributes lacking in Ferrari’s, namely high performance without compromising tractability, ride quality, or interior appointments.  Being a clever businessman, Lamborghini knew that he could triple the profits if he used tractor parts from his tractor company.

The 1970’s OPEC Oil Crisis caused a large financial crisis for Lamborghini.  Lamborghini Trattori, which exported about half of it’s tractors, ran into trouble when the South African importer cancelled all of their orders.  The Bolivian military government cancelled a large shipment of tractors ready to ship from Genoa.  Since all of the Lamborghini Trattori employees were unionized, they could not be fired or laid off, which put immense financial strain on the company.  Lamborghini sold his entire share of the company (72%) to SAME, a rival tractor company, in 1972.

Not long after that, the entire Lamborghini franchise found itself in dire straights.  Development at Lamborghini Automobili slowed as costs were cut.  So, Ferruccio started negotiations with Georges-Henri Rossetti, a wealthy Swiss businessman and close friend.  Ferruccio sold Rossetti a 51% share in the company for US$600,000, which was enough to keep Lamborghini Automobili alive.  He continued to work at the factory even though he had no official controlling share in the company.  Rossetti rarely involved himself in Lamborghini Automobili’s affairs.

The 1973 OPEC Oil Crisis didn’t improve financial matters, either.  Consumers flocked in droves to smaller, more practical cars with better fuel economy.  By 1974, Ferruccio had become so disenchanted with the automobile manufacturing business that he severed all connections with the automobile manufacturer that bore his name.  He sold his remaining 49% share of the company to Rene Leimer, a friend of Rossetti.

After departing the automotive world, Lamborghini started an industrial valve and equipment manufacturer, as well as a heating and air conditioning company, Lamborghini Calor.

In 1974, Lamborghini exited the industrial world and retired to a 740-acre estate named La Fiorita on the shores of Lake Trasimeno, in Central Italy.  Returning to his farming roots, Lamborghini took delight in hunting and making his own wines.  He even designed a personal golf course.  At age 58, he fathered Patrizia Lamborghini.

At age 76, Lamborghini died on February 20, 1993 at Silvestrini Hospital after suffering a heart attack 15 days earlier.  He is buried at the Monumental Cemetery of the Certosa di Bologna monastery.

Bullfighting is an integral part of the Lamborghini identity.  In 1962, Lamborghini visited the Seville ranch of Don Eduardo Muira, a renowned breeder of fighting bulls.  He was so impressed with the raging bulls that he decided to adopt a raging bull as the emblem of Lamborghini Automobili.

After producing two cars with alphanumeric designations, Lamborghini once again turned to bullfighting for inspiration.  Don Eduardo was filled with pride when he learned that Lamborghini had named a car after his family and their legendary line of bulls.  The fourth Lamborghini Muira was unveiled to him at his ranch.

The Lamborghini Islero was named for the bull that killed the legendary bullfighter Manolete in 1947.

The Lamborghini Espada was named after the Spanish word for sword, and sometimes used to refer to the bullfighter himself.

The Lamborghini Jarama had a special double meaning – it was intended to refer to the historic bullfighting region of Spain, but Ferruccio was worried that there would be confusion with the also-historic Jarama motor racing track.

After naming the Lamborghini Urraco after a bull breed, Lamborghini broke from tradition and named the Countach, not for a bull, but for a rather rude expression used by Piedmontese men to describe a beautiful woman.  I don’t know why either.  Legend has it that designer Nuccio Bertone uttered the word in surprise when he saw the Countach prototype.  The Lamborghini LM002 SUV and Lamborghini Silhouette were the other exceptions.

The 1982 Lamborghini Jalpa was named for a bull breed.

The Lamborghini Diablo was named for the Duke of Veragua’s bull that fought an epic battle against El Chicorro in 1869.  It also means “devil” in Spanish.

The Lamborghini Murcielago was named for the legendary bull whose life was spared by El Lagartijo for his ferocious performance in 1879.  It also means “bat” in Spanish.

The Lamborghini Reventon was named for the bull that killed the young Mexican bullfighter Felix Guzman in 1943.

The 2008 Lamborghini Estoque concept car was named for the estoc, the sword traditionally used by matadors.

The Lamborghini Aventador was named for a bull that was bred by the sons of Don Celestino Cuadri Vides.  The bull was killed in a particularly gruesome fight, and after the fight, the left ear was cut off of the bull and given to the matador for good luck.

The Lamborghini Gallardo was named for one of the five ancestral castes of the Spanish bullfighting breed.

The Lamborghini Huracan is named for a bull that fought in 1879.  Huracan also means “hurricane” in Spanish.

All of Lamborghini’s companies are still around in some form or another today.  Lamborghini Trattori is still a subsidiary of SAME.  His son, Tonino (Antonio) Lamborghini designs a line of clothing and accessories under the Tonino Lamborghini brand.  His daughter, Patrizia Lamborghini, runs the private winery on his estate.

A museum near the factory honoring Lamborghini, the Centro Studi e Richerche Ferruccio Lamborghini, opened in 2001.  The museum is located just 25 km (15.2 miles) from the factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese.  Tonino may even be there to greet you, as you have to write ahead to get in, as conferences often happen and the museum is closed to the public.