2012 Queensland Drift Matsuri – Scott Mitchell

Drift Matsuri is an event that began in Japan that embraces the grassroots nature of drifting. Any and everybody comes to drift in whatever rear wheel drive car that they can get a one day tag for. The casual atmosphere of Drift Matsuri cultivated the spectators wedge water bottles into the crash barriers and the drivers see if they can knock them out with the rear ends of their cars without crashing. Most of the cars are thrashed-within-an-inch-of-their-lives “drift missiles,” so the drivers don’t mind clipping the barriers in an attempt to improve their skills. The Drift Matsuri events continue to grow in their popularity simply because they’re a cheap and fun way to get better at drifting. The simple formula for success has even begun attracting drifters outside of Japan. Motorsports videographer Scott Mitchell brings us coverage of a recent Drift Matsuri event in Queensland, Australia. There’s some bad words and flipping of the bird, so the video gets a **NSFW**.


Hit and Run DC – QLD Matsuri – 2012
from Scott Mitchell on Vimeo.

ICON Derelict – Jay Leno

I’m a big fan of the stuff that they build at ICON. They take a lot of awesome nostalgic cars and trucks and put modern running gear under them. Muscle car guys would call these “Resto-Mod” except ICON likes to work with old 4×4’s like the Toyota Landcruiser and Ford Bronco. The owner of ICON, Jonathan Ward, started this Derelict product line after coming across some old American cars with perfect patina. The first Derelict is this Chrysler Town and Country wagon with a Desoto front end that Ward built for himself. There’s a complete modern chassis under the body and a new 6.4 liter Hemi V8 under the hood. It could be due to the fact that I also own a rusty car, but I think what they did with the wagon is just fantastic.


Source: Jay Leno’s Garage on YouTube

2012 Rally France Preview – Ford WRC Team

The Ford World Rally Team released this preview video for the upcoming France Rally this weekend. It’s a pretty cool inside look into the team’s shakedown process. Petter Solberg talks about his driving style and Jari-Matti Latvala brings up some interesting points about “blacktop” asphalt patches and how they affect grip.


Source: Ford WRC on YouTube

2013 Tesla Model S – Car and Driver

The Tesla Model S represents a pretty big milestone in the rise of the modern electric car simply because it’s a well thought out and executed car. It’s not a novelty based on outlandish looks or isolated performance statistics. Here is a practical electric powered car that you can purchase and use on a daily basis because it has enough storage space, performance and range to do so. If you are shopping for a car in this price range, then the Model S represents an electric option with very few compromises when compared side by side with its combustion engine competitors. Car and Driver’s contributing editor Csaba Csere brings us an in-depth review of the details of the entire car. The Model S certainly still has it’s own quirks, but I think it’s going to redefine a lot of people’s perception of EV capabilities.


Interesting fact: the touchscreen in the Model S is essentially a Mac Book Pro screen with no power consumption restraints.

Source: Car and Driver