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down on the street bonus edition
Posts Tagged “
Bonneville
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down on the street bonus edition
ad watch
Obama Likeness Selling Kia Sorentos, With Bonus MLK Pontiac Bonneville Pitch
Obama-mania is spreading like a virus into advertising as Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" found in this Dallas Area Kia dealer ad for the Sportage. Of course John Stewart ridicules the spot, which features not only a likeness of the Illinois Senator but a rip-off his "Yes we can!" catch phrase. If this is the kind of stuff we have to look forward to during the closing months of this agonizingly perpetual presidential election, we eagerly await the "Bob Barr 'No Federal Regulations' Killdozer" ads. As a bonus feature at the end of this clip, Stewart and the boys make sure to chop up the "I Have a Dream" speech to help sell 1964 Pontiac Bonnevilles, now with free Simonizing! Clip below the fold. More »
movies
JT Nesbitt, Designer Of The Confederate Wraith, Readying Land Speed-Record Attempt Documentary
I first met JT Nesbitt in August 2005, when he was the most famous motorcycle designer in the world. I was in New Orleans to profile him, which I did in an article titled "Mafia, Guns, Sex Toys and Hurricanes." It's that hurricane that changed things. A few months later I finally got JT on the phone. He was at work, at his new job in a gay bar, cleaning used condoms out of the toilet with his bare hands. But even Katrina couldn't keep JT down for long. Last September he headed to the Bonneville salt flats to attempt to set a speed record in a Lincoln Mark VIII he salvaged from New Orleans' flood waters. The documentary Salt Dreams tells that story.More »
retro
When reader Thunder sent in the tip about this car, we all went "Damn!" But then we noticed the asking price and there was just this... silence. It's a reproduction of a 50s/60s Bonneville F-100 wink tank racer, with blown small-block and even license plates. Is it worth the price? Make the jump, take the poll, and let us know! [CarsOnline-Ads.com]
More »
Yours For Only 55 Grand: 1957 Fletcher Aviator
When reader Thunder sent in the tip about this car, we all went "Damn!" But then we noticed the asking price and there was just this... silence. It's a reproduction of a 50s/60s Bonneville F-100 wink tank racer, with blown small-block and even license plates. Is it worth the price? Make the jump, take the poll, and let us know! [CarsOnline-Ads.com]
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speed record
Biodiesel Beemer Sets Speed Record
Although we'd imagine breaking the land speed record among diesel-powered motorcycles was a matter of showing up, an oil-burning BMW was recently crowned with that honor nonetheless. This past week, A custom-built R 1150 RT, powered by a two-liter diesel mill from the company's European 3-Series, set the record at the BUB International Motorcycle Speed Trials at Bonneville Salt Flats, hitting 130.614 miles per hour on biodiesel. The bike, dubbed "Die Moto," was designed and built by Oakland-based industrial arts collective The Crucible. Stormy weather and a faulty engine-management computer reportedly stymied the bike, which the group says will be able to hit 160 next time out. [Motorcycle.com]
land speed record
Banks Sets the Record Straight
As the last chunks of salt are chipped off the race cars there is a post speed week battle forming. The SPAL Ford Powerstroke Rocket Ranger team is claiming the title of World's Fastest Diesel Pickup Truck. Gale Banks says this simply isn't true, stating that the Banks Engineering Cummins-powered Dodge Dakota Sidewinder still holds the official FIA World Record - set in 2002. More »
a noble craft, but somehow a most melancholy!
Boyd Coddington RV Mired at Bonneville
Gazing at images of Speed Week at Bonneville one might think the surface an impenetrable layer of white salt. In fact the salt is a relatively thin crust floating on a lake of mud. Boyd Coddington and accompanying American Hot Rod television crew found this out the hard way when their white whale of an RV broke through the salt on the return road. The first two wreckers called in were mired attempting to extract the RV. The legendary Big Blue was summoned to sort out the mess, but it too ended up askew in the landscape. Three tow trucks and a crew minivan driven into a taut steel cable later, a fourth tow truck packing three rear axles finally managed to unearth the RV, and the fallen tow trucks. One of the drivers was overheard lamenting, "From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee!" [National T-Bucket Alliance](Images: Ron Christensen)
The man known as Coop has installed a bang up gallery of Speed Week at Bonneville photos on the Flickr. Bathe your eyeballs with the 1327 pics that Coop took while he was out there.
fuel-cell fast
Ford Goes Over 200 mph in Fuel Cell Fusion, Sets Speed Record of One
Ford's surpassed the double-century mark, and joined the Bonneville 200-mph club, in its Hydrogen 999 fuel-cell-powered Ford Fusion. It's an industry first, considering other automakers' hydrogen fuel-cell projects have eschewed speed accrual for the message of environmental correctness. Why not do both, Ford says with the 999 project, which we're just fine with us old salts. The car was worked up with The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research, Ballard Power Systems and Roush Racing, and was piloted by Bonneville vet Rick Byrnes, who's also a retired powertrain engineer with the blue oval bunch.More »
down on the street
1965 Pontiac Bonneville, with Bonus Evil DOTS Car Poll
Without beat-ta-hell 60s cars still dragging their rusty mufflers down our streets, we'd get our impression of such cars entirely from the gleaming, coddled examples at car shows... and that would be a tragedy! This especially menacing Bonneville parks right by Alameda High, on the next block over from the equally menacing '69 Continental. More »
the long black line
Speed Week at Bonneville is Go!
The Southern California Timing Association reports that Speed Week at Bonneville is underway. Some rain earlier in the week had caused problems, but favorable weather helped the crews scrape out some courses. As of yesterday 230 entries were passed through tech inspection. Next year we'll enter the Jalopnik 1971 Fiat 500 in Classic Unblown Gas Coupe. Until then we hope the Burkland Streamliner can wick up the twin blown hemis and break its own 417 mph record. Stay on top of records as they happen over at the SCTA. [Bonneville records and photos via the SCTA]
it's a long way back to germany
Bonneville Oder Bankrott Machen! Blown Teutonic Belly Tanker
Somewhere between Nebraska and California these guys scored an auxiliary fuel tank previously attached to a 1944 American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The tank was shipped back to Germany, where it met up with an early hemi, a roots blower, some Merc running gear, and giant tiki head with a 13 on its forehead. The entire project is supported by the Konfederate Klassics crew, who also seem to be building a Kadett V8. [A German Tank in Bonneville via rennabteilung.de]
classic ad watch
1980 Bonneville: Reno To Tahoe On One Tank Of Gas!
With the '80 Bonneville's allegedly good fuel economy the main selling point here (rather than its stellar performance or matchless build quality), we can't help but wonder how many viewers asked themselves what the starting point for the one-tank-of-gas journey to California was. If it was Salt Lake City to San Diego, sure... but maybe it was Medford to Yreka. In any case, the Bonneville gave you More Pontiac Excitement to the Gallon!
alternative energy
300+ MPH Buckeye Bullet Hydrogen Fuel Cell Streamliner
A group of Ohio State University students are hoping to break the 300 mile per hour mark at Speed Week this August - using hydrogen. The Buckeye Bullet 2 will make history as first hydrogen fuel cell land speed streamliner to hit the long black line. The Buckeye Bullet 1 was the first electric vehicle to break the 300 mph mark, and currently holds a record of 315 mph. The team plans on success using a 700 horsepower electric motor and lessons learned from the first time around. No word on whether or not this type of fuel cell vehicle will be allowed on California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's hydrogen highway. More »
land speed record
Super Salty: 123 MPH Subaru Justy
Can your penalty box go 123.224 mph with a destroked one-liter engine? Didn't think so. Back in the late 1980s, a wonderful gang of engineers began tweaking a less-than-2000-lbs. Subaru Justy to set the Class I Production World Speed Record. The first problem they ran into was that the rules stipulated a maximum engine size of 1000 cc. The stock, US-spec Justy sported a (relatively) massive 1.2-liter three-cylinder mill. So they replaced the crankshaft and rods with the 1.0-liter parts from Japan. Butting right up against both the letter and spirit of the rules, Roger Banowetz and his team managed to squeeze 99 hp from the puny engine. A few more engine tweaks plus the removal of rearviews/windshield wipers and the addition of aluminum moon disks allowed the über-Justy to set a two-way record that stood for 18 years. Sadly, to save weight, they went with the FWD variant instead of the true econo-hero AWD model. Still, we love the #440 Justy. We simply love it. (Thanks to Ric Hawthorne and Roger Banowetz for the images.) More »
land speed racing
Last Chance for 2007 Land Speed Record Tires
From a tiny karting carcass to a huge slick designed to go from a standing start to 300 plus miles per hour in under five seconds, tires are a crucial part of any racing machine. Tires are of particular concern on LSR monsters - especially those of the wheel-driven variety. Streamliners moving into and beyond the 300 mile per hour zone for miles at a time require tires built specifically for the task. As the original Goodyear and Firestone 550-15 LSR tires were getting onwards of fifty years long in the tooth, Cooper Tire and Mickey Thompson teamed up to make LSR tires once more. The new tires come with speed ratings from 375 to over 590 miles per hour. The deadline on orders for this latest batch of speedy skins is the end of April. More »
novelty
Deep-Fryer Oil Change: Tastes Better Than BioWillie!
Midwestern Hoons + Beater Bonneville + Deep-Fryer Oil = Breaking our addiction to foreign oil! These hoons figure that Pontiac 301 will purr like a kitten with a crankcase full of used Melfry, and maybe they're right. Well, no. But let's hope they throw some wheels on and take the ol' Bonneville out for some off-road jumping action when the snow thaws. More »
retro
