As most of you know I am the Stunt King around the Enginehead.com Kingdom. I am your guide to what is and what is not in the stunt community. I try to keep you updated and in the know of what goes on in stuntriding. Whether its events, shows or just general parts knowledge, I strive to make you all geniouses in the stunt world. Well we all know that I am a slacker so today I decided to let you in on a secret of the stunt riding community that only the hardcore riders know.

OK it's been a while since I've posted anything - this past month (and year) has been a blur. Things have finally slowed down so I can take a breather and look back to my Top 5 automotive highlights of 2008, and make a couple of resolutions for 2009.

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Without further ado here's The WhiteRicePower look back at '08

1. Nissan GT-R. What else can be said about it? I've never seen a car carry so much hype and speculation before being released to the public. The best thing about it though, it lived up to all of it and then some. The specs have been repeated to the point of becoming sacred chant: 480 horsepower VR38DETT, twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-6. AWD, 6-speed dual-clutch transmission, and so on and so on.

But as much as this car is a technological marvel and a half-price Porsche and Ferrari killer, it's what the GT-R isn't that I love so much. It isn't a carbon fiber penis. It's not a fiberglass toupee. It doesn't make up for your shortcomings. It doesn't scream "LOOK AT ME" like a convertible Lambo or Ferrari. It's stealthy. It's an automotive ninja. It'll blow your doors off before you even notice. It's the underdog of the supercar playground. If 911's and F430 are the jocks and cheerleaders, and SRT-8's are the burnouts, then the GT-R is the nerdy kid always in the chem lab. Plotting his takeover of the world. If the meek shall inherit the earth, just remember to get out of the left lane when you see him pulling up behind you.

2. Lewis Hamilton. The Tiger Woods of F-1. Is he really? I think he's better than that because Tiger drives a Buick. Lewis drives a McLaren.

3. F1. Anyone who says that F1 is boring and that whoever wins pole, wins the race obviously did not watch this past season. I have never been so emotionally caught up in a season of any sport than I did watching this year's season of F1. There were 1117 total laps completed over 18 races in the 2008 F1 season and it all came down to the final turn. Plus how many other sports out there had its President embroiled in a Nazi-themed S&M party debacle?

4. The (possible) return of small cars. With the price of gas fluctuating more than Oprah's weight, it looked like the death of the Uber-SUV and the return of affordable, fun-to-drive, small cars was on the verge of becoming a reality. But then this thing called an economic meltdown happened and now no one knows what the hell is going on. Bad time to launch the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, 5-door Yaris, re-designed Fit, Kia Soul and upcoming Ford Fiesta? Possibly, but it could also be the perfect time. With less income to spend on SUV's and mid-size sedans these smaller cars just may be the answer auto makers are looking for.

5. The (possible) return of small RWD cars. Hyundai already threw its hat into the ring with the Genesis but they've already commited full force before the economic meltdown occured. With rumors of the highly anticipated RWD Toybaru being put on hold for at least a year and ditto for Nissan's S-16, the possible return of small RWD cars is just that - a possibility. Looks like the Genesis Coupe will be the big winner for 2009, but I've got my fingers crossed.

 

Now for New Year's resolutions.

 

1. Post more.

2. Finish restoring my damned Vespa, and post it.

3. Do something about my tail lights, and post it.

4. Get that BBist Type II wing.

5. Move into a house with a garage so number's 2 - 4 become reality.

 

Happy new year!

 

 

ok kids it's the holidays so I figured I would stop boring you with boring motorcycle jargon and pass along a cool little video that was forwarded to me from my buddies over at Squidwheelies.com

Did everyone have a good christmas? I know I made the best of mine! Even though this year I didn;t have the chance to go home and see my family, I invited some friends over to celebrate the holidays with me! We grilled some food and had some drinks and sat around the christmas fire and sang christmas carols!

Merry Christmas ladies and gentlemen!! I figured I would just check in to see how all of you cats are doing and hope that you are all having a safe Christmas!!

So by now I am pretty sure that everyone has heard of the new laws that have been passed against motorcyclist this past summer. I figured now would be a good time to review so no one forgets!

If you ride a motorcycle you have been cursed with the wretched red light.  This usually happens at 2am when you riding back from the local bike night and you pull up to a red light and because you are all by your lonesome the light never changes forcing you to break the law and run the red light. For those of you that don't watch the Science Channel this problem is caused because most motorcycles and scooters don't have enough conductive energy to disturb the electromagnetic field being generated by those wires you see buried in the pavement when you pull up at the traffic light. But no worries we at Enginehead.com and the people over at the Science Chanel have a solution for this problem.

It's almost back! The event all of you are waiting for! Stuntwars will be returning in January for there first event of 2009! Stuntwars has been traditionally the largest competition held on U.S. soil since the first one was held in 2002. While they have changed locations three times since the first one, every year the riding surface, vendors and show gets bigger and bigger!

Indy Racing League driver Jay Howard won the third annual All Stars Karting Classic race Thursday night, part of the Performance Racing Industry trade show activities in Orlando. Howard, the 2006 Indy Lights champion and a karter since age seven in his home country of England, was the fast qualifier and the heat winner on the quarter-mile track laid out in the parking lot of the Orange County Convention Center.

The people have spoken: I'm destined to be America's new car czar. I expect the call any moment now.
In fact, there it is now! ("Hello? Hello? Yes, I am in fact quite happy with my current long-distance plan. Listen, I'm trying to keep this line open…")
Anyway, back to saving the American auto industry, and by extension, America. It will not be easy. The $15 billion the U.S. Congress is in the process of approving is a start, but we have much work to do.