Justin Dior, Unlock Your Maybach

Hey everyone, sorry to have kept you waiting so long since my Camaro SS drive. The test was a blast (literally and figuratively), and enjoyed the SHO test as well. I was hoping to follow up with a small shoot-out of compact performance cars (think Civic Si, Cobalt SS, MazdaSpeed 3, GTI, and the likes). The problem for me was time. Who has enough of it? Sure, I’ll get out and test some awesome cars from time to time, but I can’t do that every week. When I don’t have a car review, I’ll have various other stories. Stories as ludicrous as the one about P. Diddy’s son’s birthday present. Any guesses? Maybe a scooter? He doesn’t have his license, after all. Okay, maybe they were looking at a car, because Diddy’s son just turned 16, and would probably like one once he gets a license. What’s a reasonable car for a 16 year old guy? There are many answers to that question, but Diddy may have come up with something his son likes. For his 16^th birthday, Justin Dior (Diddy’s son) received a Maybach 57. Wondering what that costs, are you? Roughly $360,000. But Justin doesn’t have his license, and Maybachs aren’t generally sporty, so how did Justin benefit? Diddy solved that one too. The car came with a chauffer.

Of course, not everybody’s father is a multi-millionaire hip-hop artist. For those of us who are normal, it may be another couple of years before you buy a Maybach. Of course, I had another way of satiating my want of cars. Here’s something (from 7^th grade) that I came across a few days ago, bear with me if you can. We had to write poetry, but the poems could be about anything. Skip the italics if you hate poetry.

Ode to a Lamborghini Gallardo

O Gallardo

Whose 493 horsepower

Are applied to the

Asphalt

Through four

Patches of rubber.

You make millionaires happy.

Work has carefully

Gone into you.

Your engineering division

Has slaved over you;

That powerful 5-liter V-10 of yours

Roars to life

From a simple

Spark.

Your bodywork

Makes people stare

And wistfully wish

They had $177,200.

One day

You will be

An old sports car.

Will anyone remember

your greatness?

Your incredible interior

Disgraces other,

Less noble cars.

All long for your beauty

As you whiz by them.

You slice the air gracefully

Like a chef’s knife

See how your power

Surges relentlessly

Through the transmission

You are the

King of cars

You are the

Very best.

Hm. That seemed a lot better when I wrote it, but I’m alright with it. At the time, the Lamborghini Gallardo was my favorite car. Though it is still among my top 15 or so, one can clearly tell which vehicle is my favorite if they see my room. I painted the room around an exquisite, framed picture of a Saleen S7. If you want to hear a noise that makes Vin Diesel and biker gangs cry, click on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_gQs0pnRW4

There’s something else coming up in the car world quite soon. NYIAS, the New York International Auto Show. And yup, I’ll be there. This will be different from the Detroit show for a number of reasons. Who’s ever heard of Bugatti? What about Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, or Porsche? Hopefully you know of at least one of those car manufacturers. They’ll be at the show, and they weren’t in Detroit. Of course, Ferarri should be there again, along with the luxury or exotic brands that were at NAIAS. Yeah, there will be a greater number of exciting brands there, but that’s not the only thing to look forward to. As a reader, you might appreciate the fact that the public won’t be getting in the way of the cameras; I’ll be there on press-only days. One of the biggest highlights of the show will be in the first few hours; Alan Mullaly, CEO of Ford Motor Company, will be opening the show with an “NYIAS/ International Motor Press Association breakfast.” I don’t really know what that means, but it should be amazing to hear from the man who managed to turn two major companies to make them profitable during major financial stress. Another huge highlight for the day will be the "World Car of the Year" program, which promises to be very exciting. As March rolls on, I’ll know more about what’s available on each day. There will also be three driving courses, and I’m led to believe that journalists will be allowed to drive on them, but we’ll have to wait and see.

If all goes well, I’ll be flying to the show on a Wednesday, March 31^st, staying in New York City on Wednesday night, going to the show on Thursday for anything I missed (as well as new conferences), and flying home Thursday night. Let me know if there are any cars or brands that you’ll want me to focus on while I’m down there, I’ll do my best to get pictures and information for those that want it.

And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten my other five worst cars, or my five best cars list. I’ll combine those with the lists I’ve already written to give you a top ten and bottom ten list. As always, thanks for reading!