Last of the V8'sI was sitting at the long traffic light in the middle of all of the construction at 4th and Gandy in St. Petersburg the other day, contemplating a nap, when I started taking mental notes of all of the cars around me. This was nothing unusual. I noticed a good bit of new cars, like the two new Jeep Cherokee’s that were behind me and to my left. There was an AMG Mercedes Benz, a Mustang (because there’s a Mustang at every light) and what I assume are various rental cars and SUV mom-mobiles. Then I got to thinking about the changing landscape of the average cars you see on the road. The recent gasoline crisis has had a lasting effect on new cars being built today and the governments gas mileage standards, known as C.A.F.E.- Corporate Average Fuel Economy-are rising. That means that there are less cars on the road these days like that gorgeous AMG Benz at the light and my SS sleeper sedan. It seems that the rear wheel drive, V8 is going the way of the dead dinosaurs that currently power most cars and that makes me sad.
Shiny Things I Saw: Int'l Auto Show Edition look forward to the 2016 Model Tampa Bay International Auto Show every year at the convention center for many reasons but mostly because I’m a huge nerd. This year, I decided to take about a dozen of my closest friends who are all car nerds just like me and we like to travel in packs. This year, there were some cars that none of us have ever seen in person and we all spent far too much time downstairs looking at the exotic car collection. There was a Lamborghini Murcielago-LP670-4-SV something or other, a super rare Lexus LFA and a couple of Ferrari’s, each costing about as much as a big house in South Tampa and then there was the unicorn: a black Laferarri that is about as expensive as one of those houses that face the water and garbage mountain on Bayshore Drive in south Tampa.
Germany vs. America… I Mean AustraliaA few weeks ago, something happened that I never saw coming: I sold my beloved GTO. I should have seen this coming, being that the silver UFO was car number 36 or 37 - I can't remember which - but I thought I would have it forever. However, I owned that car for nearly 3 years and it was just time. There was only one car that I wanted more than the car I had and this summer was the right time to buy the very thing I had my eye on - a brand new 2015 Chevrolet SS.
'Top Gear' Goes Out With a Whimper