Friend to Jalopnik, living punk rock legend (Minutemen
Bukowski and the Beetle
It's funny to us that one of the more enduring things associated with Charles Bukowski is his old Volkswagen Beetle, given the man's extra-manly reputation. This is not a photograph of his dash, but rather a 200mph speedo that a Herbie replica aficionado installed in his own '64. Then again, if we had Buk's Beetle,…
What Makes a Man Smoke Tires? Gasoline, Petrol, Benzin or Benzina?
On the occasion of the day after D. Boon's birthday, and having had all manner of fuel scents drift in from the harbor over the last few days, we started wondering why what we yanks call "gasoline" has so many names around the world. The Germans refer to it as "Benzin," based on the fuel's benzene quotient. The Italians …
Pack a Lunch, Kids! It's the Toyota Picnic!
Maybe, just maybe, if Toyota had introduced the Picnic on these shores... Maybe just maybe, if they had introduced the Picnic on these shores twelve years earlier... And maybe, just maybe, if D. Boon
Jalopnik Weekend: Ten Best Driving Albums
We're blasting the Brawlers disk off Tom Waits's new audio triptych Orphans and we hear Tom cough out, "It's a big old Lincoln Continental with the suicide doors." Reflexively, instinctively, naturally we stabbed the go-pedal of this week's Dodge Nitro (super review potential — wait for it), causing the 4.0L V6 to burst …
What the Hoot Page? Watt has Righteous Bro Blog 'Bout Hydrogen Stations …
And then it it all comes full circle... There's little we enjoy more than reading Watt's (increasingly) unique Pedro-speak concerning all things that exist in the form of Watt. But, given the "energy diversity" that all the big carmakers are struggling to achieve, well, this is time and place appropriate to us…
David Johansen is Making Out With ParanoidAndroid07
We really thought the Loverman would nail this one, but apparently, commenter ParanoidAndroid07's taste in experimental rock ranges beyond mopey Brit-types and into at-all-costs San Pedro corndogs obsessed with politics, poetry and brevity. Here's the winning comment: "Because it is the Daihatsu Boon and has a D on it. …
Hello From Pedro! Davey G. Returns
The prodigal West Coast blogger has returned after a week of Ann Arbor-outsourcing his posts to the the highly capable Mike Austin, whose deftness with a Bloom County reference knows fewer bounds than y'all could ever understand. I got lots of rest, drank plenty of fluids, and am back to proclaim May Day for all…
Celebrity Struggle Buggies: Mike Watt's '05 E-350
Look, I' ll admit it, punk legend Mike Watt and his brand of Pedro-Speak have been a part of this site since the day I came aboard. Plus, like Watt, I' m a sucker for old California maritime towns. Combine that with my desire to have a garage, hardwood floors and not live in the ghetto for under a grand a month in a…
