1982 Lancia Zagato

I saw a great video from Ferrari today that thanks it’s 8 million facebook fans by writing “8,000,000″ with the rear tires of a new 458 Italia.  (more on that, later)  The short film instantly reminded me of an adventure I had years ago…

It was 1994 and I was a sophomore at Lowndes High School My father had ceremoniously passed down his beloved Lancia Zagato to be my first car.  That’s right, my first ride was a shiny Red, Italian, convertible sports car – what the Hell was he thinking??? (Love you, Dad)   My long time friend and classmate, Daryle Mayer, decided that he wanted to learn how to drive a manual transmission.  As his Eagle Premiere (remember those?) was equipped with a slush box, the Lancia was chosen as our vehicle to “play” with.

We decided to use the parking lot of LHS, right next to Martin Stadium, as our ‘test track’ area, and I proceeded to pass down the art of using a clutch.  After a short time, Daryle had gotten the hang of launching in 1st and shifting through the gears.  Obviously, (think High School mentality here) the next logical lesson was the art of the burn out.  As an example, I proceeded to do something that would be talked about through the halls of Lowndes High for months to come; I used the tires of the Lancia (brand new ones as I recall – sorry, Dad) to write my name, “JAY”, across a large portion of the parking lot.

Smoke billowed out from the  fenders as I laid into the throttle and I’ll never forget Daryle shouting over the raspy scream of the Lancia’s exhaust, “Jay, I think the cars on fire!!!”  Ha!!!  I’ll never let him live that down.  The “JAY” script would fade in just a few weeks and it’s been 18 years now since that adventure; I would give anything to have video or pictures from that day.  Some things, though, never change; Daryle is now my co-producer and cameraman for the Test Drive video segments that you’ll see on this site.  And yes, we still like burning up tires.

Anyway… here’s Ferrari’s own adventure of using a very expensive Italian “pencil”; enjoy!

We had a great turnout for the latest South Georgia Classic Car Club’s cruise-in at Toys R Us in Valdosta. I showed up in the mighty Torino and took some picks while I was there. Highlights include a Cobra kit car and a Ford GT…

Our latest test drive video is courtesy of my new friends at Tifton Harley Davidson in Tifton, GA. We’re testing an all-new model from H-D; the 2012 Switchback. It’s most obvious attribute is right in it’s name… it can switch back and forth from a touring bike to a nice around town cruiser. It can do that because it’s standard windshield and hard bags are quick release items. You can literally remove or add the equipment in less than 60 seconds; a nice trick to say the least.

After 3 days of riding the Switchback, though, my mind started to focus less on the equipment and features of the Switchback, and more on the actual riding experience. It was very comfortable with a near perfect riding position, cushy seat and anti-vibration floar boards, plus, the new Twin-cam 103 V-twin is a downright torque monster that never fails to put a smile on your face.

Harley Davidson bikes have never been better and the new 2012 Switchback is a perfect example. Check out the Test Drive video above. If you’d like more information on the Switchback, or any of the great new Harleys, visit Tifton Harley Davidson, just off I-75 exit 61 or their website at tiftonharley.com

It used to be that the U.S. owned the big car world. Since the 80′s, though, it was the European luxo barges that got all the attention; in particular the performance versions of the big car offerings from BMW & Mercedes. Cars like the BMW M5 and Mercedes AMG E series (even the Audi S series) have been beating us at our own game; sort of. Those cars are pricey… REALLY pricey. The fact is we DO offer a car in the States that has similar size and performance to those German bruisers; the SHO. While the original Taurus SHO was more sports car, the latest version is a full size car with a bang… 365 horsepower and 360 ft. lbs. of torque worth of bang. For 2013, Ford has tweaked the styling of the SHO, added a better braking system, updated the MyFord Touch system, and, most importantly, added a new track-pack option. The best part of the SHO is the same as it has always been; bang for the buck value. A new 2013 SHO will be in the mid-$40s. That’s half, or less, than the a fore mentioned Germans.

The original VW Scirocco has always been one of my favorite V-dubs. Since 1988, though, it hasn’t been in the U.S. That’s not to say that the model is gone, however. In fact, on European soil, a new version of the VW Scirocco (based on Golf mechanicals) has been selling like hot cakes. Now, VW is said to be seriously considering bringing the sporty 2 door hatch back to the U.S. Now before you go screaming, “It’s just a re-skinned Golf”, you might consider that the original Mustang was just a re-skinned Falcon.