Autoextremist Does LA, We Offer Our Own Take
Sweet Peet D. came down from his perch in the frigid wilds of Detwa to visit those of us who are too cheap to change our tires twice yearly. And what did he see? Well, he called the Honda Step Bus the "Short Bus" and neglected to note the puppies. He panned the Remix. He gave GM's hybrid efforts props and figures that the Tundra could eat a big hole in Ram sales. He called the Audi TT reveal a "yawner," obviously not recognizing that the best three-word phrase of the entire show was uttered during the runup to the unveiling — "ALUMINUM UND SHTEEL!" Oh, and he likey the Aston V8 Vantage droptop. As for one other reporter's opinion? Click through.
Hanging with Uncle Bumbeck is always awesome, as is hanging with the Loverman. Finally meeting up with Kasey after a bazillion late-night IM sessions dissecting Top Gear episodes and listening to his theories about how terrorists really could cripple Los Angeles. The kid's simply too smart to be an autojournalist. The CIA should hire him tomorrow. Always good to see Haller, Nick "Bobsleigh" Frankl and his twin sister Annabelle (not identical). Emil was out in force. Met a couple of the Intersection guys — if you haven't checked out their mag, you should. The Audi evening was a blast until the clueless fashionista hipsters showed up. Also, the Volvo C30 intro, "free will" silliness aside, was actually pretty cool, and I can't wait to drive the car itself. I genuinely think it's one of the best-looking cars a normal schmoe could afford. It's the first Volvo in a long time that reminds me of making out with girls in their hand-me-down 240s and 760s. It made me all emo. No, seriously. It did.
It's always good to chat with Victor, although it's pretty funny that I know a guy who owns a Formula One team. And he's not a cock. I remember when I heard he'd bought Midland out, I was like, "Holy shit! I know an F1 honcho!" Sometimes, this job just gets really surreal.
And, aside from the ducats Audi dropped to impress me at their events, as well as unintentionally providing Los Jalops with the ALUMINUM UND SHTEEL meme, I really warmed up to the R8. Despite the idiotic golf bag behind me, sitting in the car felt great, it's got the one part of the RS4 I simply can say absolutely nothing bad about — the engine — and it has a really heavy presence. Plus, the interior's better than the Gallardo's. In fact, there are only three cars I feel I must drive in 2007: the C30, the 599 and the R8. If I can score those three cars to test, everything else is gravy.
On the Table [Autoextremist]
Related:
Jalopnik's 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show Coverage [Internal]