The other night we went out to check out the underground car scene. It was kind of like bird watching, only with cars, and there really weren’t any cars.

Did I ever mention how much I love my old 1987 Toyota Corolla? Well, I do. (If you don’t care about reading my article and only care about the numbers then scroll the to bottom of the page.)

The past several month, life for Austin and I has been down right insane. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a person out there reading or checking out our web site who hasn’t experienced the craziness of life at one time or another. During this craziness, Austin somehow manged to coerce me out of my S13, 240sx, or what ever you’d like to call it. So I’ve been stuck driving my Corolla. Which it turns out I like actually better. So If your interested in an S13 email me allen@62mph.com

During the progression of time I met some fellow AE86ers’ (I guess that is what you call us… it’s a word now.) and made some new friends along the way. One of them John, who I hope at one point will get to interview and review his really sweet MR2 Spyder, works at a garage with a dyno.

A little beer, helping him put on his body panels on his MR2 and next thing I know I’m running my AE86 on the Dyno.

It was Austin, My friend Noel, John and of course yours truly. We decided to play the “Price is Right” with my Dyno numbers at which point I found out that John is a pessimist at 85 HP to the wheels. Noel was only slightly better with 90 Hp and I guessed 92 HP. Austin, Ah Austin the eternal optimist guessed 98HP.

Well with the car being pretty much stock with the exception of a TRD header, High-Flow Catalytic Converter, and an Megan under tail exhaust (I don’t recommend bad customer service and I had to get it re-welded for ground clearance.), I put down 106 HP! That exhaust kicks %^#!

Really?! The first run was 92 HP to the wheels. Looks like I was right. I would have been a little more excited to see 95 HP to the wheels but three HP is almost negligible.

But wait, I had the silencer in the muffler still and until now I’ve never ran the car with out it. So we ran the test again. 98 HP to the wheel and besides being ridiculously loud, it sounded about a hundred times better.

So if you have a silencer in your Megan Exhaust, burn it drive over it, use it for target practice but for the love of all things holy and horsepower related, never, ever, ever put that thing back in. That was an 8% gain in horsepower!

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For the past couple of months, while I have been waiting / trying to get my bike fixed, I have been borrowing Allen’s 240sx. To be totally honest and totally clear, this car is pretty much rice. The paint is bad, there is a big dent in the front corner (a standard on these cars), the lights no longer go down, it has an exhaust that battles with the jets at the airpark, and it is lowered. One thing that doesn’t really count but is worth noting is that it is NOT front-wheel-drive.

It is at this point that I should also note that Allen didn’t just lower it but completely redid his suspension from the ground up and that he also added a LSD to it so it is pretty easy and ready to drift (a fun rainy day event)

While I was driving today I see a car in my rear view mirror creeping up.

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I started a job recently in North Scottsdale. Yeah, its that Scottsdale, and its the rich area. It is in the air park where the elite, invitation only car club is housed. The one where you pay an arm and a leg to be able to rent crazy sports cars. It is about three miles away from where Barrett Jackson is held.

Pretty much every day is an adventure in amazing cars, and this is just when I drive down the road. The first day I worked was the week of the Superbowl and everyone was out. I saw a Bentley Continental GTC, Lamborghini Murcielago, Ferrari F430 Spyder, Audi R8, Porsche GT3 RS, and others. This was day one. Yesterday I almost got in an accident as I was driving next to and, in effect, looking at at Maserati Quattroporte. The point is that I get to see a lot of cool cars driving down the road, but today surprised me.

I was reading about the first Nissan GT-R being imported from Japan into the US, and the article was going on about being the first to own one and so on. Well that may be the case, but guess what. I saw one in Scottsdale today. It was red. It was DEFINITELY a GT-R. An R35. Unmistakable.

It was a quick look, but as I saw it and wondered, “What is that?!?” I turned my head for a brief instant while it passed by and there they were. The tell-tale round tail lights, and the rear end that always reminds me a bit of an Altima. It was for certain a GT-R.

Here is the deal. There are a few of these around town as the Nissan proving grounds are about a half-hour away (when there is no traffic) and my guess is that they are driving around some of them before they hit the road here in the US. Pretty simple, but a pretty car all the same.

This is a video that was taken of two GT-Rs in Mesa or Tempe (Southeasterly of Phoenix) by a friend of mine Brian Shaler. The quality isn’t great as it was taken by his cell phone, but apparently there are quite a few of these driving around.

Seriously, who knew that a combination of an 85 year old car genius, million dollar cars, Elvis impersonators, and Red Bull and Vodka could be so awesome and so devastating…

Last night was one of the best experiences that I have had in the automotive world. I got to see one of the greatest living automotive legends of all time, Carroll Shelby. You know, the guy who invented the Shelby Cobra. It was truly an honor to share in his 85th birthday (and if he reads this I wish him many more.)

But the night was not solely about Carroll Shelby and the impact that he has made to the performance of American cars. It was a celebration about one of the greatest car auctions in North America.

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The other day was my birthday and I believe it is generally the onset of most mid-life crisis; depression, countless hours of video games, and complete discouragement as to how my life has been thus far. I want to reach for greater things, bigger things, and things that excite me. I determined that I need the ultimate vehicle for the mid-life crisis.

First off I don’t want anything blatantly over the top. I need something refined and respectable. Something that gets great gas mileage but also performs; the vehicle has to make a subtle statement.It only has to carry two people because, frankly, it is my mid-life crisis and kids don’t have to be involved.

I was thinking the new Corvette because it gets a sensible 27 miles per gallon. The Corvette is the epitome of Mid-Life Crisis solutions, but it is just not going to work for me.  I don’t like to follow trends, I like to make them. As a result the Mustang and all of it derivatives are just plain out. Don’t get me wrong, both cars are great and I wouldn’t mind owning either, but this is a mid-life crisis not high school. (There was one kid at my high school who had a Vette and several with Mustangs.) Continue reading →

The Balancing Act

I’m still trying to figure out what TL stands for? It definitely is not for Totally Lame, because the Acura TL-S falls in the category of a Man’s Sedan. That’s not to say that women will not like it, but only to say that men will and do.

Acura is the Luxury division of Honda just in case you were wondering, and the TL-S is what you get when you take a Honda Accord and put it on steroids. This car balances performance, luxury and style much like a Tight Rope Acrobat at a Circus without a safety net. The whole time you’re thinking why, is that safe, or is he crazy? But the truth is when it is all said and done, Acura gets across the rope and the whole event is unforgettable.

The body is beautifully refined with smooth curves and a body lines similar to ones that you would find in a BMW. The standard TL comes equipped with a 3.2 L V-6 engine that puts out 258 HP with Honda’s clever VTEC system and is priced at $33,725 to start. Not to shabby, you know, if money was a concern.

But since I’m dreaming and I don’t like telling my wife that there is an option for less horsepower, let’s look a the TL-S. First off this comes with a few different options such as a 5-speed automatic, if your the sensible type or a 6-speed manual trans, if your the enthusiast type like me. Six gears, six times the fun, right? Both options of the TL-S are equipped with the 3.5 L V-6 engine (also equipped with VTEC) that produces a whopping 286 HP all for $38,225. The more horsepower, the better. Don’t ask why? It just always is! The price is the same with an automatic transmission or manual and there is a $200 extra option for performance tires.

Now there is one thing I don’t like about Tight Rope Walkers, well several because they work for the Circus, but one main huge reason. Spandex, tight pants, you know, tights. Well as it happens there is one thing that I am not terribly keen for on the TL-S and it just won’t be of my personality if I didn’t mention it. It is front wheel drive (cue the dramatic music). But honestly, I really don’t think that it will hinder the enjoyment of driving the car… Yeah, I’m going to leave it at that until I actually get to drive one.

To sum up, it is a great car that your girl will like. Oh, right “The Man’s Sedan”. The TL-S has the power, comfort and looks that will get your friends talking and make them jealous. It will have the similar affect of a stealth fighter by flying low and attacking quick to put the shock and shame to all guys everywhere. I humbly induct it into Man Sedan grouping, club or whatever it is.

I got an email back from Corvette regarding the Skull logo on the ZR-1 and I have to say that that the story behind it IS actually quite interesting.

Short story is this. It is an homage to the ZR1 Corvette’s racing heritage. It is the official logo of Corvette Racing. Long story is as follows.

The smirking skull is called “Jake.” The Corvette Racing team had been using various ’skull’ iconography for a while in various ways, but the guys at BadBoyVettes.com felt that there was a need for a proper logo. This is a scan of the original napkin design from that came from a night at the bar after the 2004 LeMans drawn up by Bad Boy Vettes while sitting with the Corvette Racing team. Since then the logo has been on the C6.R b-pillar as the official “mascot.”

According to BadBoyVettes, Chief Engineer Tom Wallace, “saw the crossed flags on the ZR1’s supercharger along with the conventionally placed ones on the nose and the intake snorkel he balked at the 3x arrangement. His solution? Honor the ZR1 connection to its racing roots and replace one set of flags with the embossed Corvette Racing skull.”

What is really cool is that later they invited the guys from BadBoyVettes to see a preview of the production ZR1 and popped the hood to show them their logo on the air intake. The full story can be found here. Congrats guys. Very cool to find your design inside of the fastest production American muscle car ever.

Interior and Header photo courtesy and © General Motors
The napkin is © BadBoyVettes.com
62mph.com is unaffiliated with either

Suzuki is leading the way in the new street motorcycles that it is releasing for 2008, and it has one of the most versatile line-ups in the industry. One of the newest additions is the “B-King” a naked sport/standard motorcycle that takes the crown on two fronts.

The first is speed.

This motorcycle has been built with the legendary Hayabusa 1340cc engine. Making this the fastest, naked bike on the planet. The engine has been re-tuned slightly so as not to take away from the Hayabusa’s title of fastest production motorcycle. In addition to the engine, the “King” is equipped with typical Hayabusa components like inverted front forks, adjustable rear suspension, and front and rear disc brakes making it not very light at 520 lbs, dry. Another thing that is not so light is the $12,899.00 MSRP.

But I said there were two things that “B-King” takes the crown for 2008 and that is the most unattractive motorcycle to date. I can’t really explain what happened between the concept that was revealed and what went into production. The concept has a more aggressive stance, looks lower and has huge wheels, where as the production “B-King” has terrible looking mirrors, wheels off of what look like a GS500F and a very upright stance. There is one feature that Suzuki did leave from the concept and that was the duel coffee can mufflers shoved under the tail. Seriously? It looks like Suzuki picked-up what was left of the meteorite from the movie Armageddon and slapped a couple coffee cans and wheels on it and called it good.

I guess if I want Hayabusa power, lighter weight, and better looks, I should stick with the sexy Hayabusa which, by the way, happens to be $900 dollars less on the MSRP then the “B-King”. The extra $900 might as well be the nails in the coffin. They should have named it “Suc-King”…

[Austin: I cannot stand the way this motorcycle looks. I disagree with Allen about concept to production changes. The concept looks better but only slightly. They both look like crap, and I am actually surprised that they brought this into production at all. The side view is one thing but from the top, the tail is HUGE. I am looking for more pictures to post on this beast. ]

The new Corvette ZR1 has a subtle design element that quietly speaks volumes. When you peak under the hood you see the awesome LS9 from the standard Corvette with a hi-tech supercharger strapped onto the top. Normally in a Corvette you see the the “twin flag” emblem all over the place. It is on the hood, under the hood, on the steering wheel, on the door sills, on the wheels, and on the floor. The ZR1 is no exception to this except that when you lift the hood, instead of seeing the standard twin flags on the airbox you see the twinflags making the eyes of an extremely stylized skull.

Now that is tough. This seems to represent only one possible thing. That the ZR1 means death. The 620hp in this 3300 lb car are meant to destroy the competition. There is no doubt that the Vette is going to take down the Viper throne, which it currently only holds in terms of American power. The Z06 has always been hoping to wrestle with the Porsche 911 Turbo which it has always fallen behind, but with this new Corvette rendition we will have to see.

The Corvette ZR1 is basically the fastest, most powerful, production corvette in history. That is the short story. The long story is that the ZR1 is so heavily modified from its origin that it is almost a completely different car altogether.

The ZR1 is targeting 100hp / liter making 620 hp at 6500 rpm and hits 585 lb-ft of torque at 4000rpm. Those numbers are high but get this. From 2600 to 6000 rpm you will have 90% of the torque available. With that much low end torque, I am imagining this to be a great car for power in the twisties. The horsepower starts to really kick in at around 3000 rpms with 300hp right in the middle and it just keeps climbing from there.

You might notice the brakes on this beast. They are Brembo 15.5 inch carbon-ceramic rotors on the front and 15″ on the back. That is a $20,000 option on a Ferrari. Impressive to say the least. There should be no question of its stopping abitily.

There is plenty more to discuss involving the ZR1 and so we will continue to cover it. Right now it looks plain awesome. Somehow I think I need to talk my wife into taking out a few mortgages against the house as well as convincing her that 110hp is completely inadequate for our growing family and that 620 would be far more reasonable. I am sure she will understand the need for a $100,000 Corvette when I tell her that it is the best one yet.

Allen: I concur! If the devil had to drive a new production car, I’m pretty sure this would be it. The ZR1 Skull just adds to the attention to detail that Chevy has put into its high performance car for years, turning an already awesome car into something sinister. That little skull screams “Death to all who oppose the mighty ZR1″ with its half grin.

As for Austin taking out a second, third, and four mortage for the ZR1, I’m all for it but you might have to explain to your daughter why she gets left behind. Even with its $100,000 price tag they still didn’t make the ZR1 with a back seat.