Rally Racing, part 1: Building the Car

This is the first of three articles on Rally Racing. I intend to cover car set-ups, driver training, different classes, and whatever else I may come upon. This part will show a built of an Open Class rally car, which is essentially a race car based on a production car, but with the least restrictions placed on it. For instance, the engine has to use the original block, but otherwise is only limited by a 34mmx3mm restrictor plate.

Helping me write these series of articles is Bacon Motorsport. Bacon Motorsport is a privateer family race team from Chemsford MA. Team drivers are William Bacon Jr and Peter Watt. Bill has more than ten years of racing experience and  Peter was the Canadian rally champion in 2004. The team has recently finished in third place at the Sno*Drift Rally in Michigan. … Continue Reading

Of Fords and Ferraris – Working on the Ford GT Program

My good friend Bob Knox is a serious car guy, but not the kind who can recite articles from Motor Trend of why the F-150 is a better truck than the Tundra. No, Bob is a purist, he is the kind of man who can explain design and engineering choices that a manufacturer has to make in order to put a product on the market. For Bob function and purpose triumph form and design. He finds beauty in physical properties and is able to adequately explain their attributes. Below is a short story written by Bob telling of his experiences working on the Ford GT program. Enjoy.

Of Fords and Ferraris

My destiny solidified back at the eighth grade science fair.  I made a wind tunnel with clear polycarbonate tubing, my mother’s vacuum cleaner, and a Group C Sauber C9 Matchbox car. My report about how aerodynamics were going to change the world of car design, and how we would all be driving door stop wedges with a coefficient of drag around 0.05 won me first place.  That was back in 1986.  I guess that didn’t work out quite to plan, then again, no one is flying around with a jetpack either.  Now, having spend more than twelve years as a mechanical engineer in the automotive industry, and having been friends with few generous enthusiasts, I’ve been able to work on and drive some pretty impressive cars. … Continue Reading

How “iPod Your BMW” Turned Into a Major iPain

The fall of 2004 was an exciting time in my life—I was a Bostonian living in Manhattan, and the Red Sox were about to win their first World Series in 86 years. I was a Sox fan, transplanted into the middle of Yankeeville, and thoroughly enjoyed watching the Red Sox pull off their stunning comeback against the Yankees.  I was lucky enough to attend one playoff game that fall at Yankee stadium, but the rest were watched from my studio apartment in Murray Hill. It was also in the fall of 2004 that BMW and Apple launched their huge “iPod your BMW” marketing campaign. … Continue Reading

BMW M Driving Experience (Driving School)

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When you spend around six figures on a car these days, manufacturers tend to do something nice for you, for instance: flowers, shirts, watches, chocolate, new transmission, ipods, umbrellas, key chains, etc. It varies by the price of the car, how much of a pain you were to deal with, and how much you’ve actually over-paid for the car itself. However, when you buy or lease a new BMW M5 or M6, you get something very different… … Continue Reading

My Favorite Cars (updated)

Let me start by saying that I really appreciate most cars. With each car I drive, I try to put all prejudices aside and enjoy it for what it is. I am not the Dalai Lama of cars, but you get the idea.

And now, like a complete hypocrite to the above, I say this: … Continue Reading

The Cars I’ve Owned

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So, Who Am I?

Let’s start off by saying who I am not. I am not someone looking to make money by starting yet another copy & paste website which takes information from other sources and passes it as their own in hope for people to click.

I am following a dream. A lifetime of dreaming about being an automotive journalist, a writer, driving all kinds of car to all kinds of places, photographing, writing about them. It didn’t happen this far, and it wasn’t going to happen by itself. I needed to do it. And one day I have just started writing.

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Buying a family car… at a dealer auction!

This is a quick story of how I purchased my current family truckster at a dealer auction. It includes everything from decision making to actually writing out the check, all of which happened within about three hours. It was nerve-racking and fascinating at the same time. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the read.

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