A Memorial

While everyone is celebrating their right to drink, grill, and have an extra day off on this Memorial Day weekend, FPH would like to thank those that have served this country.  Thank you for protecting our freedoms and way of life.  This being an automotive blog, we thought it prudent to showcase some military hardware that have also served this country well.

Happy Memorial Day!  Have fun, be safe, and buy a serviceman a drink.

Pornography at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este

I don't even know why I'm writing a synopsis:

The three most prominent new/concept vehicles of 2011 come together at the Concorso d'Eleganza. Thank you, classicdriver, for sharing the incredible footage!

Done. Mind is blown... I'll need a moment to collect myself.



OH, and here's a sound bite

It's a Liberation!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the video, 32 year old Manal al-Sharif is a women's rights activist amongst Saudi Arabia's hyper male dominant culture. Her most recent cause is actually something very close to my heart, and something that many of us have taken for granted-- the right to get into the driver's seat.

A legendary circuit driven by legendary drivers

In anticipation of the coming Monaco GP, let's revisit the glory and glamour of the historic French Riviera. Notice the changes of the city and circuit, as well as the changes of the drivers, teams, and mechanics through the decades.









Happy Friday!!

Full of Hot Air

In a totally and completely unexpected turn of events, the F1 has decided that it will soon ban the most innovative break through in F1 technology.  Wait a second.  This isn't unexpected at all!  This is the status quo considering the "double diffuser" and "F-duct" were banned after only a single season of use.  Keep reading to see what I'm on about.

Double BMW 2002 All The Way across the eBay!

These posts are usually undertaken by Danny Chin, our resident eBay 'meister'. But I've got something pretty incredible-- and an opportunity to steal a bit of Danny's thunder is too irresistible to pass. (I love you, bro)

Behold! I was able to find not one, but two extremely rare and iconic BMW 2002s listed on eBay at the same time! If you've got $40k readily available, this can be your lucky day. If you've got the means to buy both of them, then you just made me spend the better of ten minutes trying to decide what insult to drop on you... You probably have a pencil mustache and I don't like you. UGH.

BMW 2002 Alpina Touring tii


BMW 2002 Turbo

Intimidator Edition

It has been 10 years since Dale Earnhardt died at the Daytona 500 but to this day he remains one of the most popular and profitable names in NASCAR. So it seems natural to slap his name on just about anything. If you combine that fact with the empire that is Dale Earnhardt Inc., it is actually a bit surprising that there isn't two dozen special editions already out there.

Looking past my own jaded opinions it is actually a pretty stout vehicle. It boasts 704 HP and 695 ft-lbs of torque via a Eaton supercharger. Other performance highlights include a one inch drop all the way around, 2" exhaust, cross drilled rotors, high flow injectors, and chassis stiffening through sub frame connectors.

Obviously a lot of the appeal of the car is that it's officially a product of DEI, and Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet. It sure has a lot of badges to make sure you don't forget too. I mean lets be honest, the macho of having the latest baddest super ultra mega special edition is what moves the new muscle car market. If it didn't, there wouldn't be a million versions of the Mustang out there.

I guess it really comes down to if it's cool. Yes... But is it worth the $79,993 base price? ehhh...

You can find more pictures and specs here

Petrol Powered Pet Peeves

There are a lot of things that annoy me about what people do when they have a car.  I'm not quite sure if this is because I'm an auto enthusiast, an engineer, or just a neurotic putz.  Regardless, here are the top five things that my girlfriend says I complain about most.

Jalopnik Causes a Runaway Train of Thought

Before I begin to write about the topic at hand, I'd like to address FPH's apology to the readers on Saturday. The apology is a bit preemptive but due to various events and projects, the first of which was Kyle Swift's wedding (Congratulations, buddy!), myself and fellow contributors will be busy with things outside of the blog and may post at a lower frequency for the next two weeks. I hope you won't miss me too much. Actually no, I hope you miss me to death and can't wait for me to be back.



Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about cars. So last week, a friend of mine sent me an IM telling me check out a comment from "wheatieboy" that was posted on a BMW 1M Coupe article written by Mike Spinelli of Jalopnik.

It's a Crude World

With the summer travel season approaching, many people are keeping track of how much a barrel of oil costs.  Having just paid $4.25 for a gallon of premium, worry is definitely settling in about how much fuel will cost after Memorial Day.  However, crude oil prices don't just affect fuel costs but also the life blood of our cars' engines, motor oil.

Marlboro Sponsorship

If you watched any of the top tier motorsports since the 1970s, chances are pretty good that you've seen a Marlboro sponsored vehicle.  Their mainstay has been F1 but have also dabbled in WRC, MotoGP, and Le Mans.  Their sponsorship have appeared on the vehicles of champions like Wayne Rainey, Michael Schumacher, Tommi Makinen, Ayrton Senna, and Casey Stoner, just to name a few.  Whether displaying the Marlboro name or a simple bar code, you can count of Marlboro to be at the track for many years to come.

Apologies to all of our friends

We are terribly sorry that we haven't posted anything lately.  We are having sporadic internet problems and  haven't been able to pull together posts.  As soon as we're back online, we will definitely make it up to you!

Our Deepest Apologies,
Flappy Paddle Heads

Neutral Bomb: Plymouth Prowler

I have a love/hate relationship with this car, and seeing one just the other night reminded me just how on the fence I am about it. I want to like this car, but I just can't bring myself to say that I do.

West Siiiiiide!

FPH is very much based on the east coast with Choy in New York and me in Boston.  So we drool at a lot of things from the left coast.  Sometimes they are a glimpse into what's headed in our direction.  Other times it's a look at an altogether different way of life.

This video represents the latter.  The sub-culture that consists of hot rods, rat rods, and lead sleds lives just under the radar... and we love them!


Viva Las Vegas 2011 from Josh Clason on Vimeo.

Affordable Supercar Series (ASS)

There are always pros and cons when two cultures come together.  On the positive side, there is a melding of food and traditions that often end up being better than the sum of their parts.  Conversely, past stereotypes and misconceptions are hard to forget.  When talking about Italians and Americans, the situation is no different.  Starting with the bad news, Italians in America have given us things like The Olive Garden and the cast of Jersey Shore.  However, that is a small price to pay for the goodness that the automotive world received in the form of the De Tomaso Pantera.

The Occupational Hazard of Automotive Journalism

I'm curious, have any of you ever tried to talk cars with your mom? And what was the result? When I was little, I suppose my parents thought it was cute and I'd imagine they were glad I was into something boyish, especially if for whatever reason they were concerned I would grow up effeminate.

However, if I mention anything remotely car related to my mom now, even it it's only for a second, I would likely be responded by sighs each more exasperated than the next... which brings me to this bit.

Those that have grown to know Clarkson understand that this is not a fault, it's merely a part of the package.



Happy Mother's Day!

Freak of the Week: Truck Fitter, Aston Martin. Aston Martin, Truck Fitter.

Meet FotW #19, Guy Martin, 28 year old truck mechanic. This is the cold "office" from which he travels to and from in a Ford Transit van, ideal in handling the decrepit roads of the truck yard six days a week. Those are his goggles propped on his mucky hair, that's his name on the breast pocket of his overalls, and these are his tools held between his greasy hands. Martin does not have a pension plan, has nothing in savings, and doesn't have a mortgage either because he never bothered to own a home. He lives in the home of his girlfriend's parents.

But what Martin DOES own... is this--

The Rich Man's 3-Series

Today is a day that ends in the letter "y" which means an Ebay search is inevitable.  After checking the usual lust worthy subjects, I stumble upon a hallowed mark that has had some rough patches over the years, Maserati.  To my surprise, it isn't the current Gran Turismo or Quattroporte that grabs my attention.  It isn't even the sexy lines of a coupe or cabrio.  It's this:

r3vlimited.com

Buying into another Saab story

In my years of automotive enthusiasm, there's been a particular brand that I never understood. Saab isn't small or attractive enough to be considered prestige, nor is it large and common enough to be considered mainstream.

Must See Movie Car Chases #2

Welcome back to Must See Movie Car Chases!

In this post, we will be looking at a collection from my absolute favorite movie trilogy, Mad Max! From the first time I saw these movies, the sheer awesomeness of the V-8 Interceptor had me hooked. Based on a 1973 Ford Falcon XB, this vehicle was available only in Australia, but to quote Wayne Campbell,  "It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine."

So sit down, bust out your leathers, buckle up and enjoy!

Mad Max:

Truck Takes Out the Toecutter
Mad Max at MOVIECLIPS.com

The Road Warrior:

Warning: Sad, sad scene below

One of the greatest, largest chase scene ever!

Beyond Thunderdome:

How Traffic Happens

This isn't a new video but is still interesting nonetheless.  The University of Nagoya in Japan performed an experiment to try and determine what causes random traffic jams.  The video doesn't explain much past the observations of the experiment but there are probably two schools of thought in how to interpret this.

One side thinks that people brake too often causing cars to line up behind.  The other group thinks people wouldn't have to brake if they didn't have such lead foots in the first place and close-in on the leading car.  I have a third opinion and it's a bit more objective.  There is a small amount of variation from car to car regarding speedometer readings.  American law states that speedometers may be calibrated from the factory to be optimistic but it is illegal for a speedometer to indicate a slower speed than the actual road speed of the car.  Notice the vehicles in the test are not all the same model.