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daleisgreat · 4 years

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20 Years of PS2: Flashback Special

October 26th this year marked the 20th anniversary of the North American launch of the PlayStation 2 (PS2) and I am ready to commemorate it with another flashback special recounting my highlighted highs and lows with the system since its launch. Like with my previous console retrospectives I have un-vaulted a few of my older podcast episodes focused on the PS2 and uploaded them to YouTube that you can check out embedded at the bottom of this piece for your listening pleasure. One of those episodes was recorded around the then-10th anniversary of the PS2 in 2010 where we brought on two hosts from the PSnation podcast and we waxed nostalgic for three hours about our favorite PS2 games and memories. The episode proved to be our most downloaded ever to the point we had to purchase more web server space to handle the downloads. Now I think the best way to start off this special on the PS2 would be to remember that leading up to its October 26th, 2000 launch, that it was impossible to ignore….. ….The Hype The PS2 was the first Sony console I purchased. I never owned a PSone because our family opted with the N64 (of which I have no regrets and many great memories of), and by the time I got my first job a decent way into 1999 where I could afford a system with my own income, it was either heavily speculated at that point or confirmed the PS2 would be backwards compatible with PSone games. This was a big deal learning of this in 1999. Up until that point in America, backwards compatibility only hit consoles (excluding handhelds) in small waves with the limited Master System library working on the Genesis with an adaptor, and the under-performing Atari 7800 having back-compat built inside the hardware so it could play 2600 games. So for having the mega-successful PSone library being guaranteed to work on the PS2 on launch day sold me on saving my money on a PSone system and waiting for the PS2.

The other big selling point for the PS2 was that it would be the first game console in America to support DVD movies. DVD players first started hitting in America in 1997, but it was a very slow growth process for them because they remained at a high price point their first few years on the market, and VHS tapes were exponentially cheaper. For you younger kids growing up with streaming tech, I feel obligated to say how big a deal was that PS2 was able to play DVDs. When I first saw what DVDs could do in 1999 at a friend’s place I was blown away with no longer having to rewind tapes, being able to pick certain scenes to jump to, interactive menus, extra bonus features and the big jump in picture quality. This is also why Dominic Toretto and his motley crew were hijacking semis in the first Fast & Furious film in 2001 for their precious DVD player cargo. With the PS2 being able to play PSone games, having guaranteed third party support from most of the PSone game publishers, being able to play audio CDs (which were still a major seller in 2000) and DVDs all for the launch price of $299 made the system garner mammoth hype leading up to the October 26, 2000 launch. The Launch After instantly getting sold on DVDs at my friend’s place in 1999, I started to collect some of my favorite movies on DVD leading up to the PS2’s launch and by launch day I believe I had roughly a dozen movies already with some of my then-recent favorite films at the time like Fight Club, Go and Detroit Rock City being early DVD favorites. The console was the first game product I remember our local Software Etc. offering to pre-order, and I was able to pre-order early enough to confirm a system for me at launch, which was a relief after hearing how Sony announced shortly before the launch they would be reducing the amount of systems available at launch by half from one million to 500,000. I pestered a co-worker at the time, Troy, a couple months before launch if he would be able give me a ride to the store that day to pick it up since the store was opening early before school started and he gave me his word. I thought it was not going to happen when he quit where I worked a few weeks before the launch, but somehow I was able to figure out where his next job was at and called him up at his other job a couple days before the PS2 launch to see if he would still honor his word and he assured me so. I showed Troy many thanks by covering breakfast for him that morning!

22 games launched with the PS2, and despite the variety, there was never a ‘killer app’ on the PS2’s launch. Despite Sony being a powerhouse of a first party publisher on the PSone, they only had one game available for the PS2 at launch with the puzzle game, Fantavision. I have always felt the PS2 launch got an unfair look over the years, as indicated in this AV Club piece. While there was never one end-all-be-all game, there were still plenty of solid ‘fans of the genre’ titles in my opinion. Racing game fans were covered with Ridge Racer V, the original Midnight Club and MotoGP. Over the years I became a fan of the three launch PS2 tag-focused fighting games Street Fighter EX3, Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore and especially putting a ton of time into the first Tekken Tag Tournament. FPS fans had a solid port of Unreal Tournament, and the heavily anticipated TimeSplitters with the gaming press at the time hyping it up to be the GoldenEye-killer since a fair amount of the development team worked on that hit FPS title. EA Sports had their latest NHL and Madden entries at launch, and the first game under their “EA Sports BIG” label with the original SSX. I think it is forgotten at that time the gaming mags and early online gaming press outlets heralding SSX as the surprise best original game out of the PS2 launch. For myself all I wanted was TimeSplitters and Madden NFL 2001. I knew my friend and former podcast co-host, Chris would be picking up TimeSplitters, so I stuck with Madden and a memory card for my pre-orders. Troy and I got there an hour before the store opened, and only one other person was ahead of us in line, so we were in and out of there in a breeze….only after the store manager jipped me out of a memory card I pre-ordered because there was a shortage on those too, but apparently the manager got first priority on the several she pre-ordered and offered to sell me one outside the store. I asked if it would be for MSRP, and she just gave me a knowing grin, and I was not having any of that and said no thanks and was fine waiting for their call when their next shipment of memory cards arrived (which was only about a week later, and for Madden it was not that much to get worked up over).

Those first few months of the PS2 launch from late 2000 into early 2001 were a memorable time during my senior year of high school. I played a plethora of Madden NFL 2001 against my neighbor friend Rich, and my brother-in-law, Shawn. I watched the hell out of those first dozen DVDs and threw in a few random PSone games I picked up too. Chris picked up several PS2 games at launch and for about two weekends a month I met up with him and the two primary games we played were TimeSplitters and Tekken Tag. The original TimeSplitters blew us away with its customization options for FPS multiplayer with being able to play against a huge variety of bots and in-depth level creation editors. We would create a map where we started in a room with all the ammo and weapon pickups, and a sea of mindless bots would march down a lengthy hallway to enter a room where we would be anticipating their entrance so they could rush into a hasty demise. I totally devoured Tekken Tag with Chris and got into its roster of characters and tag-style fighting, and especially its five star bowling mini-game, Tekken Bowl. Chris’s family had access to purchase bulk boxes of those rectangular bricks of school cafeteria pizza, and I have nostalgic memories putting away that delicious pizza while consuming the PS2 launch window games. Early-through-Summer 2001: My First Apartment Three Blocks Away From a Blockbuster Video As the months wore on after the launch window, the only early 2001 game I really enjoyed was the PS2 port of Quake III, even with its ridiculous loading times! For not having a powerhouse PC at that time, it was a fun alternative to experience the deathmatch chaos that was dominating the PC scene at the time. In the spring I got Onimusha: Warlords, and while I was digging the samurai/zombie action, the Capcom tank controls eventually got the best of me and I had to step away from it after a few hours. It was not until well into the summer of 2001 that I started experimenting more with the PS2 library when I got my first apartment with my friend Matt. We lived a few blocks away from a Blockbuster Video and so we made frequent trips there on weekends chancing random games that popped out to us. We did not have a computer at our place, and the high-speed Internet era was about another year or two from catching on, so that was one of the last years you could really just chance a game by going by the box and from whatever was available in print at the time.

Capcom debuted two classic single player franchises in the first year of the PS2 in the forms of Devil May Cry (left) and Onimusha: Warlords (right) We rented plenty of stuff throughout the remainder of 2001. Some titles like the quirky action/adventure game, Okage, was decent, but nothing remarkable. Others we ate up like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, where it perfectly encapsulated the addicting hack ‘n slash, action-RPG loot-fest gameplay of the acclaimed PC Diablo series on console. We took turns passing the controller progressing away at the stylistic action title Devil May Cry, which blew us away back then. Speaking of stylistic Capcom titles, we re-busted out Onimusha and I witnessed Matt get past my hang-ups and go on to blitz through it. It recently got remastered on PS4/Xbox One and worth checking out if you have yet not. Summoner was a so-so fantasy themed action game, but we were looking at the options screen for that game and for whatever reason we decided to check out the credits from the options. After a minute of that we realized this was a waste of time and pressed the X button to proceed on out of there, and instead were bamboozled at the following bonus cinematic it unlocked. We must have watched it at least four or five times throughout the day, because we got more out of that sketch than Summoner itself. It was a radio skit that was CG animated for this game and kind of went on to have some notoriety in gaming circles, but if you are unaware than I will encourage you to click or press here to experience it for yourself. Holiday 2001: A Flurry of All-Time Classics Arrive

The fall of 2001 was a big quarter for PS2. Several classic exclusives hit that holiday season for it. Metal Gear Solid 2 was the first entry in the series I played. Matt and I rented it, but its stealth-focused gameplay was too much for us at the time and both us kept messing up sneaking through the speech scene near the end of the opening boat mission. It would be over a decade before I revisited it and finally played through it in its entirety off the PS3 HD collection of the PS2 and PSP games. I loved both Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater, but I would have to give the nudge in favor to Snake Eater with its superb origin story, nonstop 007-homages, an extraordinary ladder climb like no other, one of the best theme songs in videogame history and one of the best final boss battles in videogame history too. The first of many yearly WWF/WWE games hit in fall of 2001 with WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It. We had the multi-tap, and for that game it greatly benefitted because it became a hit with our neighbor friends where we would play a seemingly infinite amount of Royal Rumbles and Survival elimination matches. I threw it in again a few days ago to prep up for this and to relive the dozen zany created wrestlers that still lived on in my save file. The graphics have come a long way I can say for sure! Twisted Metal: Black was a big deal for Matt and I at the time. The gritty, M-rated cutscenes for each character’s opening, middle and ending cinemas that were unlocked from their story mode completions inspired Matt and I to play through the story mode in co-op with every single character. Thankfully the game saved the cinemas unlocked, because Matt and I were so impressed by how they stood out at the time that we forced them upon several friends that stopped by over the coming weeks. Gameplay-wise, it was a well-refined, straightforward Twisted Metal car combat game, but its M-rated makeover from the T-rated PSone entries struck a chord with us.

Speaking of M-rated games that were huge for us that year, that was when Grand Theft Auto III released and changed the gaming landscape as we know it. I was vaguely familiar with the first two games, but with the third one having 3D gameplay and a more expansive open world, it seemed like it would be a surefire hit, and boy was it ever. I loved SimCopter on PC (an early 3D open world game), and the gaming mag previews gave me the impression that it would be SimCopter, but with guns and violence, and it delivered on that front in spades. I dug its primary narrative for it too, but I think it is safe to say that I was like nearly everyone else and eventually wound up having more fun getting lost and immersed in Liberty City’s world and eventually causing so much mayhem just to see how long I could hold up against a five star wanted rating. 2002: Highs and Lows The early months of 2002 I recall was when I kept going back to those same fall 2001 games I just broke down, but later came around on going all in on those aforementioned PS2 fighting games. I picked up a copy of Tekken Tag for myself around this time and invested a lot of time into it. I took a chance on Street Fighter EX3 and after getting over the initial awkwardness of a 3D-based Street Fighter game I got crazy into EX3 with its devastating meteor attacks, optional tag team fighting and its colorful cast of characters such as the affable Skull-o-Mania! This was right when Guilty Gear X released too and I absolutely ate up that title with it upping the WTF quotient like no other fighter before it. Its unique roster performed all kinds of bizarre attacks, and learning its intricate control systems with complex mechanics like instant kill maneuvers and ‘roman cancels’ had me studying its manual for days!

In late spring of 2002 I moved out of my first apartment so my renting marathons with Matt were over, but shortly-thereafter I landed my first sort-of major gaming press gig. I was independently submitting reviews to GameFAQs for a few years at this point, and the management at the website Game 2 Extreme (G2X) contacted me to coming on board and said while they would not pay me, they would offer me free review copies of games. As a freshly turned 19 year-old, I looked at this as an opportunity to bigger and better things and jumped on it. I will never forget the very first review copy I received for the so-so monster truck driving game, Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction. I spent the rest of the decade jumping to different websites to write for every couple years and lost track of all the titles I got to review. I can attest for the PS2 there was a wide range in quality of titles I received to review. For some of the higher performing games like SOCOM III, Hitman 2 and Star Wars: Battlefront I was able to review, there were bottom of the barrel licensed titles like Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly and Hard Rock Casino to balance things out. Also around this time of mid-2002 my PS2 became my first console to brick on me. Worst of all, it was a gradual, painful death. First, it stopped reading blue-disc games on CD-ROMs, and then it started getting sketchy performance out of certain silver-disc games on DVD-ROMs. My brother at this time had his own PS2 that he won in a local grocery store contest a few months earlier. The PS2 network adaptor coincidentally came out in mid-2002 as well and he was freaking addicted to playing the original SOCOM online all the time. I did not want to shell out $300 for another system so I believe after testing that SOCOM still worked fine on my degrading PS2 I offered to trade my breaking-down PS2, for his newer model for $100 and the condition that if my system I was trading to him would stop playing SOCOM that I would go back on the trade. Thank goodness that never came to be, and as an impressionable 19-year-old at the time I became kind of bitter to the PS2 for a few years with it being the first system I purchased to break down on me. A few years later though after having a couple 360s and my PS3 also all brick on me, I later came to accept that sometimes these systems go bad, especially when getting the first wave of systems rushed through manufacturing in time for launch. For the last two game console generations I have since waited a couple years after each system launch to purchase it in hopes of the console’s manufacturing process being less prone to producing faulty hardware. Sports-ball Love There was a ton of sports games on PS2 and I was lucky to review a lot of them. The football titles in particular I had to plead with editors not to trim down on 3000+ word counts because I exclaimed how the readers wanted to know each and every little detail of what was improved and added in the latest game. I had fun reviewing some of Midway’s arcade sports offerings that generation with NFL Blitz 20-02 and MLB Slugfest: Loaded. Another quirky arcade baseball game was 2K endorsing Konami to release MLB Power Pros in North America. It was a cartoony, cel-shaded baseball game that saw adorable pint-sized versions of MLB players duking it out, but fleshed out with in-depth single player modes. On the PSone I was happy to see Arena Football finally receive its own videogame, and on the PS2, EA acquired the license and released two AFL games that were faithful renditions of the sport, especially the second game that added both AFL divisions. They were sadly the last games released to get the AFL branding as the long running indoor football league finally folded operations last year after a 30-year run.

Two under-the-radar sports series I recommend tracking down on the PS2 are the Power Pros and Arena Football games. I played almost all of the 2K games on Xbox, but as I mentioned above I played a lot of Madden and NCAA Football on PS2 because the PS2 versions had exclusive online support for a couple years, and additionally because of my rivalry with my brother-in-law, Shawn. This generation saw both of EA’s football games explode in popularity and it was no longer apparent the NCAA game was the NFL title slapped with college teams and rules over it. Shawn and I played a lot of Madden at first, but eventually shifted over to the NCAA games more, with the 2003 and 2004 editions we especially played to death. I liked the variety of teams and unique playbooks, and found myself picking Navy a lot because of their unorthodox playbook that focused on fullback running plays. Shawn only played the football games to the point where I could hardly compete with him. One priceless memory of mine was having an awful game full of turnovers and pick-6s, and I swear to god I am not embellishing this: we were playing five minute quarters and it got to the point I wanted a moral victory to avoid a shutout and make one score, and somehow luck struck on one play where I connected on a deep throw in the final minutes of the game and proceeded infuriate my brother-in-law as I celebrated as if I won the game. I understood his frustrations because I will forever remember the final score of that game: 100-6. A Terrific Twilight The PS2 sold so well into the 360/PS3/Wii generation that its cross-gen viability lead to a regular slate of games releasing through 2009-ish, and a handful of sports titles sneaking out after that with the final PS2 game, Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, being released in North America in 2012. If you were keeping up with release schedules, you will notice that two types of games dominated the PS2 in its cross-gen years. One were ports of PSP games from Sony, with titles like Motorstorm: Arctic Edge and the pair of Syphon Filter games getting ported up to the PS2. The Wii was technologically not that far advanced from the PS2, so a lot of cash-cow licensed games on Wii also got ported to PS2 with titles like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Ghostbusters being completely different playing games by other developers when compared to the bigger budget versions on the 360 and PS3. Some PS2 exclusives also snuck out in this timeframe like the first two Katamari titles and the first two Guitar Hero games. I was a big fan of both games and invested serious time into both series. There are many fond holiday 2005 moments of passing the guitar around to family members trying to best each other’s high scores.

I recall being stoked that the PS2 became the first home console in North America to get an official FirePro Wrestling game with 2007’s FirePro Wrestling Returns. I remember speaking to some of the people working for its publisher, Agetec, at E3 and how excited they were that they finally got Sony to loosen up on its restrictions of releasing 2D games on the system now that the PS2 was in its waning years. Another hit stealth PS2 release from this time was Silent Hill: Shattered Memories that hit America in early 2010. I had a friend visiting from out of town that was huge into the series, but was unaware of this PS2 entry and so we stayed up all night deep diving into that unique take on the series. The first two Yakuza games hit late in the PS2’s lifecycle and I was especially eager to play them because they were being hyped as spiritual successor’s to the Shenmue games that I ranked so high. I played a good ways into the first Yakuza, but recall getting stuck at a funeral escape stage in that game, and unfortunately never got back to it. Yakuza 3 on PS3 is the only title in the series I finished, and now with the Kiwami remakes of the first two games I need to one day just dedicate a year to only playing the many Yakuza games that have since released. MISC Memories -I never got too invested into the online PS2 scene. Usually that was because my brother was always using the PS2 to play SOCOM online a lot. I would use it from time to time to test out online play for games I was reviewing, with Star Wars: Battlefront and SOCOM 3’s online play standing out the most of what I reviewed. I do recall taking up Sony on its mail-in offer for a free copy of Twisted Metal: Black – Online with purchase of the PS2 network adaptor and having fun online in that for a couple weeks. My brother got the PS2 version of Final Fantasy XI, and I briefly dabbled in that for a couple hours, and it was interesting at that time playing an MMO on a console with a controller. The original Xbox had a significantly better online interface with Xbox Live, so that became my preferred console online play option. Only exception to this was for the 2003/2004 installments of Madden and NCAA Football because EA Sports held off on implementing online play for their Xbox games for a couple years, and that was key for me opting in on their PS2 versions when both of those football titles were surging in popularity and lead to the most consistent online play I did with PS2.

-There were so many PS2 games being released in its heyday from 2001-2006 that I would take random payday visits to Best Buy when they had gargantuan videogame aisles in hopes of discovering games I never heard of from smaller label publishers. This worked out both ways in learning of little known ‘hidden gems’ of that era, and eventually finding utter trash. -One odd peripheral I received for review was the PS2 ‘Clash Pads.’ It was a pair of controllers that were connected together with a little accessory box that had switches to give your gaming partner/opponent advantages and disadvantages for gameplay. The controller was a mess to operate, and the added perks and penalties it implemented were mind-boggling. I will instead recommend Namco’s light gun for the Time Crisis games….but only if you still have a standard-def TV. -Popular in the retro gaming scene lately is HDMI cables for retro game consoles to up-convert a system’s signal to HD and provide a much improved looking display than the muddy, watered down graphics that would result when plugging in composite cables into an HDTV. I picked up the HDMI PS2 cables from Pound last year, and they worked nicely on my slim PS2. I understand there are more expensive alternatives out there that yield noticeably better results, but for $30, the Pound cables provided enough of a bump up in quality for me.

-I busted out several games over the past week to prep up for this flashback special. I was finally able to play my copy of the BMX title, Downhill Domination and regretted not trying it out sooner. I had a blast revisiting a couple old favorites in Rumble Racing and Motorstrom: Arctic Edge. Wish I could have tried out more games, but the PS2 was giving me ‘read disc errors’ with half of my attempts and I could not determine if it was the HD cables causing this or if it was the PS2 itself simply aging out. -I touched on a couple wrestling games on the PS2 already, but as a whole I would give the slate of wrestling games for the PS2 in America a hearty thumbs up. I believe I played the entirety and unlocked everything from all the first-run SmackDown games on PS2. When firing up Just Bring It again, I cracked a smile because I completely forgot Fred Durst was a playable character, complete with “Rollin’” for his entrance theme. FirePro Wrestling Returns was a long anticipated console debut for the franchise in America. Multi-platform games I played on other systems like the car-combat spinoff, WWE Crush Hour and the pair of Backyard Wrestling games were fun alternative wrestling games to take a break from the annual core WWE game. Yes, there was a car combat WWE game, and it is surprisingly halfway-decent. I picked up the PS2 version of TNA Impact, but it was a victim of the ‘disc read error’ from the past week. Ditto with the Ultimate MUSCLE-licensed Galactic Wrestling. I picked that one up long ago, but never played it all these years and was stoked to sit down with it on a couple occasions this past week to play it, but alas it was not meant to be.

-A game that was able to load on the PS2 this past week was Namco Bandai’s The Fast and the Furious. It turned out to be an ok-open world street racing game, much like Need for Speed: Underground on the PS2, but with more of a focus on drag races. Odd memory of the day I picked up this game I will never forget: I was out of town for a hockey game killing time at a pawn shop a couple hours beforehand with a buddy where I randomly bought this with a handful of other games. In a gut-punch of irony, it was later after the game while re-fueling on gas, I was catching up on my timelines when I found out earlier that day was when Paul Walker perished. -Another game I was hoping to throw in this past week was 24: The Game. I am a huge fan of the show, and I remember playing a demo of it at E3 2005 and thinking it was surprisingly alright for a licensed-based game. Sadly, that disc was also a victim of the ‘disc read error’ message, so instead I will point everyone to this highly entertaining spoof video review you can see by click or pressing here from then-GameSpot staff member, Alex Navarro.

-Speaking of PS2 games based off licensed TV properties, I want to shout out The Shield: The Game. It was a very by-the-numbers third person action game, and featured unremarkable gameplay, but having the show’s cast well represented visually and aurally in the form of voiceovers was enough to quench my fandom for that show. Despite the five out of ten I gave it in my review at the time, if you were a ardent fan of The Shield, then it was just something you had to play. -I am a big fan of the PS2 slim, but it is worth mentioning a major caveat of the slim: it does not support the PS2 multi-tap for reasons perplexing me to this very day!

-It is almost a prerequisite that I purchase faithful videogame conversions of my favorite board games and TV game shows every console generation and the PS2 was no exception. It had an adequate version of Risk with multi-tap support which was a semi-worthy substitute when we were not up for setting up the board game. Its versions of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune had a bountiful amount of hosting video clips from Trebek and Vanna, respectively, to perfectly capture the look and feel of the show. The PS2’s version of Family Feud however is easily the worst version I have ever played. Insanely short entry response times, unresponsive button inputs and overall clunky design forever marred the Family Feud brand! Looking back at my review I am guffawed that I scored this a six out of ten. -The last fighting game I was really into on PS2 than the others previously mentioned was Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution. I first played it at Chris’s place like how he introduced me to most other fighting games, and Chris would school me at it nonstop. A short while later, I was staying over at my sister and brother-in-law’s place where they also had that game. I stayed up late after they went to bed and spent hours mastering Wolf since he was the sole pro-wrestler of the roster. Next time I met up with Chris I finally won ONE match against him, but after that he refused to play me again!

-Now while I gushed earlier of my adoration for TimeSplitters during the launch window of PS2, I would be remiss if I did not give some well-earned props to the third game in the series, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. In the past several years, that game has remained in the rotation of go-to couch multiplayer game with my friends Derek, Brooke and Ryan. It retains the same style of FPS gameplay and creation options as the first game, but now with a ton of extra characters, weapons and levels available. My preferred playlist would be rocking the disco level with its appropriate theme music, and playing as a big bear (complete with bear claw strike!) and whamming everyone with gigantic bananas on the dance floor. Classic times! One of the Best Systems Ever? That is what hardware sales and overall critical reception trend to be when looking back at the PS2. While I now look back fondly at the PS2 as a whole, especially my first two years owning the system, I cannot deny for a few years in the system’s heyday I was not too keen on the system due to it bricking on me and preferred playing games on Xbox and GameCube instead. Like I stated above, I came around on this a few years later and had a blast with the PS2 in its cross-gen sunset years, and revisited its vast library numerous times over the years. While I cannot say it is my personal, all-time favorite console, I can safely rank it among my top tier of favorite systems.

If you want even more PS2 nostalgia coverage from me, then check out the three PS2-centric episodes of my podcast I have un-vaulted from my personal archives and embedded below. Right now I have my general all-encompassing PS2 retrospective I recorded on its 10th anniversary and the PS2/Xbox/Wii installment of the history of comic book videogames episode uploaded. Finishing it off is the PS2 installment in our history of RPG videogames series.

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This episode has special guest hosts from the PSnation podcast where we deep dive for three hours of nostalgic memories of the PS2.

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Matt and I spare no expense at elucidating on every major and minor comic book game on the PS2.

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Just over three hours we spend breaking down nearly every RPG to hit the PS2! My Other Gaming Flashbacks Dreamcast 20th Anniversary GameBoy 30th Anniversary Genesis 30th Anniversary NES 35th Anniversary PSone 25th Anniversary PSP 15th Anniversary and Neo-Geo 30th Anniversary Saturn and Virtual Boy 25th Anniversaries TurboGrafX-16 30th Anniversary and 32-X 25th Anniversary

You’re Still Here!?

Somehow you still made it to the end of another tome of a flashback special from me, so that means I must reward you with an oddball PS2 anecdote of my past! I referenced in past specials how I attended several retro videogame conventions that took place every year in Milwaukee - The Midwest Gaming Classic. At the time the podcast known as Team Fremont Live would always host Jeopardy-style game show each year. My brother and I were picked to be contestants that year! To spice things up for the crowd and get them involved, after every few questions of trivia there would be a quick videogame challenge for extra points and prizes for the crowd and/or contestant. I got picked to play a single stage of the space shooter/shmup, Castle Shikigami 2. Two incredibly loud kids got picked from the crowd got selected to only verbally trash talk and distract me, and if I lost one life then the kids would get a game, but if I somehow overcame the odds and finished a level on a single life then I would win. Now I enjoy playing an occasional shmup, especially in March (it is intergalactic Shmuppreaction month, ya’know!), but I nowhere consider myself legitimately good at the genre and usually lose at least a couple lives a level for almost any shooter I play. Somehow the shmup gods were on my side that day, because even with one of those kids unleashing maximum effort with trash talk directly against my ear, I somehow zoned them out and unbelievably managed to finish the stage and beat the boss with one life. I was at zenith-level of goosebumps during that boss battle and had a cool-down moment of emotions as soon as let go of the arcade stick. My prize? Metal Gear Solid 2, which I would eventually give a serious effort to and finish several years later! That moment, along with the 100-6 loss in NCAA Football 2004, are my two most cherished PS2 moments I will forever remember….and now you can too, because the MGC staff record my attempt and posted it on YouTube. I have embedded it below, or you can click or press here to see it yourself.

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#videogames #ps2 #metal gear solid #rumble racing #yakuza #grand theft auto III #smackdown #24 #the shield #family feud #tekken tag tournament #guilty gear x #street fighter ex3

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123designsrq · 5 years

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HARLEY DAVIDSON ENGINEER DESIGNS AN ELECTRIC BIKE

Erik Buell is a pretty common call within the bike circuit. Best recognised for founding Buell Motorbikes, a trueblue American bike company that made a few superb café racers earlier than being obtained by using Harley Davidson, Buell soon shifted his attention to the future i.E., electric powered motors. Buell’s state-of-the-art electric powered-ahead enterprise, Fuell, is part wordplay, part sardonicism, and entire visible and engineering bliss. The Fuell Fluid is the organisation’s 2d ever EV after the Flow, an city-aware electric powered motorcycle with a 125 mile range. Made, just like the Flow, for city mobility, the Fluid is an electric powered pedal-assist bike with the longest variety in its class. Engineered by Erik Buell himself, and co-designed with the proficient Belarus-based totally transportation clothier Artem Smirnov, Fluid is every bit a lovely, smooth, top rate e-motorbike. Ensconced in a matte metallic and black frame with subtle acid-green accents really making the motorcycle stand out, Fluid is ruled with the aid of straight, strong lines that supply it each visual and structural balance delivered about through the custom aluminum alloy used to craft the body. The e-bike has rear-wheel-equipped motor one of a kind to Fuell, which presents 100Nm of torque to assist your pedaling, getting you in addition with lesser attempt, while a carbon belt geared up on a Shimano Alfine 8-tools hub and Pirelli tires make Fluid practically one of the most spec’d out pedal-assist bicycles on the market. The Fluid comes no longer with one, however two detachable batteries that sit on the e-motorcycle’s thick pinnacle-tube, giving it a total ability of 1008Wh… sufficient to electricity the motorbike as well as rate your smartphone even as riding it. The batteries secure into the bike’s frame through lock-and-key, so best you could remove them when you want to charge them. Charging takes kind of 2.5 hours to hit 80%, making the removable battery clean to hold again home and rate in a single day. Fluid additionally packs an IPS display for a dashboard that indicates you your velocity, battery degree, and pedal-assistance level. It even packs anti-robbery functions along with an on-display PIN release, an non-compulsory foldable guide lock, and an non-obligatory GPS tracker (the GPS is simply available to EU backers for now). Available in two variants, Fluid 1 and 1S, the motorcycle offers max speeds of 20mph and 28mph, tailor-made to the regions the bike will deliver to. Designed and engineered beneath the understanding of Erik Buell himself, the Fuell Flow presents perhaps one of the finest e-motorbike experiences cash has to provide. After all, the man has over forty years of revel in and hundreds of motorbikes to his credit score… Click Here to Buy Now: $3,599 $5,499 (34% off). Hurry, prices go up on July 25th at 11:59 PT. FUELL Fluid: Longest Range, Pedal Assist E-bike The FUELL Fluid E-motorbike designed by means of mythical motorcyclist engineer Erik Buell comes with an high-quality a hundred twenty five mile/2 hundred km range which pursuits to alternate the manner urbanites journey and commute. The FUELL Fluid with a mid-drive bofeili 500W pedal assisted motor, giving it 100Nm of torque, that gives bicyclists exhilarating acceleration. The FUELL Fluid is constructed with a custom aluminum alloy frame giving it each durability and a sleek look. Adding to its durability is that the FUELL Fluid become designed with the city rider in mind. Specced with such things as a Gates Carbon Drive belt machine, and a Shimano Alfine eight-speed Geared Hub to make it sincerely protection-free. Two batteries provide the e-motorbike with 1,008wh ability and a a hundred twenty five mile expected journey range. Below: Designed by means of Industry Leaders Erik Buell is taken into consideration to be a pioneer in bike generation and earned his induction into the American Motorcyclist’s Association Hall of Fame in 2002. He has forty years of engineering enjoy, and based his own bike racing business enterprise Buell Motorcycle employer which in the end merged with Harley Davidson. His expertise on wheelers have transferred over to his new passion task, the tech packed, specced out FUELL Fluid E-Bike. Below: Why FUELL Fluid E-motorcycle The batteries are simple and short to price, reaching eighty% of its charge inside 2.5 hours and a complete charge at 5 hours. Both of the Fluids 504wh batteries are removable and if battery era evolves may be upgradeable. Seamlessly integrated onto the center of the deal with bars is a three.2 IPS colour display that displays essential records like pace, distance traveled, battery level, and five configurable motor assist settings. The e-motorbike comes geared up with an adjustable suspension for experience quality control and hydraulic brakes for mind-blowing stopping strength. https://youtu.be/6p59e8G77Kg https://player.vimeo.com/video/333868508 Click Here to Buy Now: $3,599 $5,499 (34% off). Hurry, prices go up on July 25th at 11:59 PT. best electric bike 2018, best electric bike under 1000, best electric bike 2019, best electric bikes under £500, best budget electric bike, best value electric bike, best electric bike for long distance touring, electric bike reviews 2018 Read the full article

#bestbudgetelectricbike #bestelectricbike2018 #bestelectricbike2019 #bestelectricbikeforlongdistancetouring #bestelectricbikeunder1000 #bestelectricbikesunder£500 #bestvalueelectricbike #electricbikereviews2018

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jesusvasser · 6 years

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The Pininfarina Battista Is a Stunning, Fully Electric 1,874-HP Hypercar

It has 1,874 horsepower and 1,696 lb-ft of torque. It’ll hit 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 100 mph in 4.3 seconds, and 186 mph in 11.8 seconds. The quarter-mile? Gone in 9.1 seconds. Top speed? An autobahn-busting 218 mph. And there’s not a single turbocharger or camshaft or piston to be found. Welcome to the shocking future of the hypercar. Welcome to the Pininfarina Battista, one of the star cars of this year’s Geneva auto show.

The name is steeped in history. Battista “Pinin” Farina founded his eponymous coachbuilding company in Turin, Italy, in 1930. The 1947 Cisitalia 202 coupe he designed was the first car to become part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection in New York. Pininfarina has also designed and built cars for Ferrari, as well as Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, and Cadillac (remember the Allanté?), among others. But the Battista is a digital-age, crowd-sourcing-era hypercar, combining traditional notions of Italian design and craftsmanship with financial and technological resources that simply weren’t available 10 years ago.

Pininfarina SpA, which will build the Battista in Italy, is today majority owned by Indian automaker Mahindra, best known in the U.S. for its range of tractors and the Roxor off-roader, an ancient CJ Jeep clone it has built for decades. Automobili Pininfarina, which developed with the Battista concept and will sell the car, is 100 percent owned by Mahindra and staffed by highly experienced executives and engineers who have variously worked for Porsche and Pagani, Lamborghini and Bugatti, as well as Alfa Romeo and Audi.

The Battista’s potent electric powertrain is from Croatia’s Rimac Automobili, whose electric-powered Concept_One and C_Two hypercars are quick enough to frighten a Bugatti Chiron. Rimac pricked the pop-culture zeitgeist in 2017 when former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond threw a Concept_One off the road while filming an episode of The Grand Tour. But performance-focused Rimac has also attracted attention from respected auto industry heavyweights: Porsche quietly took a 10 percent stake in the company last year. Rimac is also supplying high-performance hybrid battery systems for the forthcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie, and Koenigsegg’s Regera.

Designed by Pininfarina SpA, the Battista at first glance looks vaguely like a reworked Ferrari 488. The Ferrari vibe is perhaps understandable, given the company’s long association with Maranello, even though the brief for the Battista came from Automobili Pininfarina design director Luca Borgogno, who worked at Lamborghini’s studio in Turin, most recently on the Urus SUV. Automobili Pininfarina insiders insist, however, the carbon-fiber monocoque and body panels are all new and unique, a fact substantiated by doors that are cut into and are hinged at the roof, and swing forward and upward like those of a McLaren 720S.

The Battista’s proportions and stance are generic mid-engine supercar—the lack of exhaust pipes is the only clue to the e-powertrain underneath—which some may see as a missed opportunity. But as with a tuxedo, there are only so many ways you can tweak and tease a classic formula before it starts to look odd. The Battista is a conventional beauty, its form defined by a handful of artfully rendered lines. The most important of these run back from the front fender and tuck in toward the center of the car as they rise over the rear wheels, where they define the inner edge of surfaces that appear to float over the rear of the car. Critically, the lines—and the surfaces—don’t quite meet, making the Battista look as if it has a split rear wing.

“I love the wing,” says design director Borgogno. “It looks like two separate fins. On other supercars the rear wing leaves an ugly, dead hollow space when it’s raised, but on the Battista the wing is so thin it leaves just a shallow indentation, the floor of which we have perforated so that you can see into the rear airflow section.”

The lines also define air channels that run along each side of the greenhouse, similar to those of the McLaren 720S. The Battista may not need to gulp oxygen to make all that power and torque, but there are five radiators located around the car to help manage the temperatures of the 120-kWh,T-shaped lithium-manganese-nickel battery pack, as well as the four liquid-cooled Rimac synchronous permanent magnet electric motors.

Pininfarina claims a range of up to 280 miles between charges, though as in an internal-combustion engine vehicle, your mileage may vary. Rimac says the battery pack has the juice and the thermal stability to propel its C_Two concept for two full-power laps of the 12.9-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife with negligible performance loss. The Battista should have similar capability.

And they should be mighty quick laps. Carbon-fiber construction should keep the Battista’s overall weight around 4,500 pounds despite the heavy battery pack. Carbon-ceramic brakes are standard, with 15.4-inch rotors up front and 15.0-inch ones at the rear, each clamped by six-piston monobloc calipers. And with a motor powering each wheel (two motors share a common casing in the center of the car at each axle), the Battista will have infinitely variable torque-vectoring capability at each corner of the car.

Helping hone the Battista’s dynamics is former F1 and Le Mans 24 racer Nick Heidfeld, whose other day job is development driver for the Mahindra Formula E team. Working with Heidfeld is Peter Tutzer, who began his career at Porsche, where he was ultimately appointed chief engineer for the company’s race-car program; he then worked at Pagani on the Zonda before joining Bugatti, where he played an integral role in the engineering and development of the Veyron. No shortage of credibility there.

The Battista’s interior is at once high tech and luxurious, with state-of-the-moment infotainment interfaces and a wide range of available trim colors. Two screens are located either side of the steering wheel, the left controlling dynamics and performance, the right media and navigation. All vital information is displayed immediately in front of the driver on a small, centrally mounted screen. A rotary controller mounted on the door enables drive-mode settings; on the right is the transmission control. Drivers will also be able to set bespoke sound settings, ranging from silence to what Automobili Pininfarina intriguingly calls “a signature Battista sound.”

Automobili Pininfarina plans to make just 150 Battistas, with a third of them coming to the U.S. The first cars are scheduled to arrive in 2020, in time to celebrate Pininfarina’s 90th anniversary.

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eddiejpoplar · 6 years

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The Pininfarina Battista Is a Stunning, Fully Electric 1,874-HP Hypercar

Automobili Pininfarina plans to make just 150 Battistas, with a third of them coming to the U.S. The first cars are scheduled to arrive in 2020, in time to celebrate Pininfarina’s 90th anniversary.

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jonathanbelloblog · 6 years

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The Pininfarina Battista Is a Stunning, Fully Electric 1,874-HP Hypercar

Automobili Pininfarina plans to make just 150 Battistas, with a third of them coming to the U.S. The first cars are scheduled to arrive in 2020, in time to celebrate Pininfarina’s 90th anniversary.

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heyclickadee · 2 years

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“I know what I’m doing. It’s called strategy.” Okay first of all: Sir. Your hand in marriage sir. Second of all, that sounds exactly like something you have a character say right before something goes horribly wrong and if I have to watch Tech crash in the midst of his speed racer era with my own two eyes—

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robertkstone · 6 years

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Pininfarina Battista First Look: The Fully Electric, Nearly 1,900-HP Hypercar

It has 1,874 horsepower and 1,696 lb-ft of torque. It’ll hit 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 100 mph in 4.3 seconds, and 186 mph in 11.8 seconds. Quarter mile? Gone in 9.1 seconds. Top speed? An autobahn-busting 218 mph. And there’s not a single turbocharger or camshaft or piston to be found. Welcome to the shocking future of the hypercar. Welcome to the Pininfarina Battista, one of the star cars of this year’s Geneva auto show.

The name is steeped in history. Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina founded his eponymous coachbuilding company in Turin, Italy, in 1930. The 1947 Cisitalia 202 coupe he designed was the first car to become part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection in New York. Pininfarina has also designed and built cars for Ferrari, as well as Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, and Cadillac (remember the Allante?), among others. But the Battista is a digital-age, crowd source–era hypercar, combining traditional notions of Italian design and craftsmanship with financial and technological resources that simply weren’t available 10 years ago.

The Battista’s potent e-powertrain is from Croatia’s Rimac Automobili, whose electric-powered Concept_One and C_Two hypercars are quick enough to frighten a Bugatti Chiron. Rimac pricked the pop-culture zeitgeist in 2017 when former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond threw a Concept_One off the road while filming an episode of The Grand Tour. But performance-focused Rimac has also attracted attention from respected auto industry heavyweights: Porsche quietly took a 10 percent stake in the company last year. Rimac is also supplying high-performance hybrid battery systems for the forthcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie, and Koenigsegg’s Regera.

Designed by Pininfarina SpA, the Battista at first glance looks vaguely like a reworked Ferrari 488. The Ferrari vibe is perhaps understandable, given the company’s long association with Maranello, even though the brief for the Battista came from Automobili Pininfarina design director Luca Borgogno, who worked at Lamborghini’s studio in Turin, most recently on the Urus SUV. Automobili Pininfarina insiders insist, however, the carbon -iber monocoque and body panels are all new and unique, a fact substantiated by doors that are cut into and are hinged at the roof, and swing forward and upward like those of a McLaren 720S.

The Battista’s proportion and stance are generic mid-engine supercar—the lack of exhaust pipes is the only clue to the e-powertrain underneath—which some may see as a missed opportunity. But as with a tuxedo, there are only so many ways you can tweak and tease a classic formula before it starts to look odd. The Battista is a conventional beauty, its form defined by a handful of artfully rendered lines. The most important of these run back from the front fender and tuck in toward the center of the car as they rise over the rear wheels, where they define the inner edge of surfaces that appear to float over the rear of the car. Critically, the lines—and the surfaces—don’t quite meet, making the Battista look as if it has a split rear wing.

The lines also define air channels that run along each side of the glasshouse, similar to those of the McLaren 720S. The Battista may not need to gulp oxygen to make all that power and torque, but there are five radiators located around the car to help manage the temperatures of the T-shaped, 120-kW-hr, lithium–manganese–nickel battery pack, and the four liquid-cooled Rimac synchronous permanent magnet e-motors.

Pininfarina claims a range of up to 280 miles between charges, though as in an internal combustion engine vehicle, your mileage may vary. Rimac says the battery pack has the juice and the thermal stability to propel its C_Two concept for two full-power laps of the 12.9-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife with negligible performance loss. The Battista should have similar capability.

And they should be mighty quick laps. Carbon-fiber construction should keep the Battista’s overall weight around 4,500 pounds despite the heavy battery pack. Carbon-ceramic brakes are standard, with 15.4-inch rotors up front and 15.0 at the rear, each clamped by six-piston monobloc calipers. And with an e-motor powering each wheel (two motors share a common casing in the center of the car at each axle), the Battista will have infinitely variable torque vectoring capability at each corner of the car.

Helping hone the Battista’s dynamics is former F1 and Le Mans 24 racer Nick Heidfeld, whose other day job is development driver for the Mahindra Formula E team. Working with Heidfeld is Peter Tutzer, who began his career at Porsche, where he was ultimately appointed chief engineer for the company’s race car program; he then worked at Pagani on the Zonda before joining Bugatti, where he played an integral role in the engineering and development of the Veyron. No shortage of credibility there.

The Battista’s interior is at once high tech and luxurious, with state-of-the-moment infotainment interfaces and a wide range of available trim colors. Two screens are located either side of the steering wheel, the left controlling dynamics and performance, the right media and navigation. All vital information is displayed immediately in front of the driver on a small, centrally mounted screen. A rotary controller mounted on the door enables drive mode settings; on the right is the transmission control. Drivers will also be able to set bespoke sound settings, ranging from silence to what Automobili Pininfarina intriguingly calls “a signature Battista sound.”

Automobili Pininfarina plans to make just 150 Battistas, with a third of them coming to the U.S. The first cars are scheduled to arrive in 2020, in time to celebrate Pininfarina’s 90th anniversary.

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itsworn · 6 years

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Rarely Seen Vintage Photos of Southern California Road Racing in the 1950s-1960s

Road racing is largely overlooked today in the annals of California’s motorsports history. The immense success of drag racing in the 1960s stole a lot of the limelight, and it didn’t help that many of the tracks in Southern California had closed by the 1970s. But from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, the sport flared brightly, attracting tens of thousands of people to race events. Road racing had everything: action, danger, exotic cars, star drivers, all taking place within the beautiful scenery of Southern California.

While it is European cars that are mostly associated with road racing, a lot of American iron was on the tracks in the old days, too. In this pictorial retrospective, we take a look at some of the American machines that challenged the best Europe had to offer. These pictures appear in the latest Images of America series of books from Arcadia Publishing titled Southern California Road Racing by Tony Baker. They come from the albums of Virginia-based motorsports historian Joel Driskill, former California Sports Car Club flagman Bill Haislett, and a well-known driver from the era, the late John “Bat” Masterson.

A D-Type Jaguar leads the way down the long straight at the Paramount Ranch race course. The otherworldly beauty of the Santa Monica Mountains north of Malibu is evident in this image, and is the reason why motion picture studios like Paramount used the area as a setting for numerous movies. (Courtesy of Bill Haislett)

The orange and white No. 46 Corvette owned and driven by Walt Hansken charges through the redwoods at Pebble Beach. This image was taken during the last meet at the Pebble Beach race course, which was held April 22, 1956. Racing in the area moved to a new course at nearby Fort Ord called Laguna Seca. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

The 283ci V8 engine that most Corvettes were equipped with supplied more than enough horsepower to make them competitive in a road race. How they handled at speed was another matter, as can be seen by this Vette taking to the dirt at Pomona. The driver appears to be John Masterson. (Courtesy of Bill Haislett)

After racing the stock Corvette, Masterson purchased a car from Reno-based racer Merle Brennan that had been dubbed the Beast because of its rough appearance. The car was stripped down to its tube frame, which began life in a sprint car, and sent to the garage of Santa Barbara engine master Bob Joehnck. The frame can be seen at left in this image. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

Joehnck’s garage was, and still is, a legend to Central Coast hot rodders, having produced engines and cars for many of the biggest names in racing. Joehnck is seen standing at center. As the racer was being assembled, Masterson and Joehnck decided on a new Corvette 327 as the engine. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

Joehnck took the new engine and fine-tuned it with modifications including a Racer Brown cam, Hedman headers, and a set of six Edelbrock 97s. The fiberglass body shell was a Byers CR-90 made by Victress of North Hollywood. Suspension included a Ford V8/60 front tube axle and a Packard torsion bar in the rear. Note the wood veneer dashboard. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

Masterson’s Batmobile, pictured here at Willow Springs in 1960, is typical of the type of custom-built specials seen on West Coast race tracks during the golden age. Here Masterson is leaning hard on the brakes as he slows the special down. (Image by James La Tourette)

Masterson and the Batmobile cut inside another American-built sports car, a Devin SS. Built by fiberglass car body pioneer Bill Devin at his factory in El Monte, California, the SS was offered fully assembled with a tube frame and powered by a Chevrolet 283 for around $10,000 1964 dollars. The Devin SS was known for high-quality fit and finish. (Image by James La Tourette)

Max Balchowsky’s original Ol’ Yaller leads Ken Miles in the Porsche Spyder up the hill to Turn 5 at Paramount Ranch. The name Ol’ Yaller (we’ve also seen it spelled Yeller in magazines in the 1950s) was used on a series of at least nine specials built and raced by Balchowsky, a Hollywood garage owner. The version seen here, referred to as the Mark One, was actually built in Arizona by Dick Morgenson and Boyd Hough and raced there and in New Mexico successfully. Balchowsky bought the Morgenson Special, as it was known, in 1954. The special was reportedly built up from pieces of a Jaguar XK-120 and powered by a 217ci Plymouth inline-six. After a few races, Balchowsky replaced the six with a Buick V8. It’s seen here being driven by Eric Hauser to First Place at the September 1957 Cal Cub meet. (Courtesy of Bill Haislett)

Here, Ol’ Yaller Mark Two crowds a Ferrari Testarossa at Pomona. Referred to by Balchowsky as a Buick-Kurtis, it did use most of the parts from a Kurtis 500 kit but was built using many modifications devised by Balchowsky and his wife Ina, a fine mechanic in her own right. (Courtesy of Bill Haislett)

In this long shot, Eric Hauser speeds past the crowd down the long dragstrip straight at Pomona. According to legend, Balchowsky laid out and arranged the framerails and other parts of the Mark Two on his garage floor until “it looked right,” and Ina then jotted down the dimensions for assembly. (Courtesy of Bill Haislett)

Bill Murphy’s red and white Kurtis-Cadillac, seen here at Santa Barbara in 1960, was a familiar sight at California road races during the late 1950s. Murphy, a Culver City Buick dealer, was heavily involved in the sport. His driver during this meet was veteran racer (and designer of the Willow Springs race course) Bill Pollack. (Courtesy of Bill Haislett)

The Kurtis Kraft 500S was a fairly common sight at Southland speedways and was a good, inexpensive way to get into racing. Available fully assembled or as a kit, it could mount a wide variety of American V8 engines. Based in Glendale, California, Kurtis Kraft manufactured midget racers and was famous as a builder of Indianapolis cars. (Courtesy of John Masterson and James La Tourette)

Stirling Edwards was a prominent San Francisco industrialist and sportsman who was interested in motorsports of all kinds, particularly road racing. He had the sports special, seen here in 1950, custom built. Norman Timbs designed the aluminum body, which Edwards had the firm of Diedt and Lesovsky fabricate. The heavy tube frame was based on a prewar BMW, featured independent front and rear suspension, and carried a 153ci Ford V8/60 built by Eddie Meyer. The little special proved to be an excellent sports car, easily convertible from street driving to racing. It is seen here in 1951 at the inaugural Palm Springs Road Race, where it won First Place. (Courtesy of Joel Driskill)

Don Hulette and his blue ex–Pickford Jaguar Special were a common sight at race tracks in California in the late 1950s. Hulette replaced the Jaguar XK engine with a Chevrolet 283 V8 that turned the special into a real front-runner. (Courtesy of Bill Haislett)

Racing great Roger Penske Jr. is seen here at Laguna Seca driving one of the original Chaparral 2 racers. This groundbreaking car was the first of a new breed of American racecar that was built using scientific data more than experience gained on the garage floor. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

In this shot, taken on October 18, 1964, Penske climbs the hill before Turn 6 at Laguna Seca during a qualifying session. The Chaparral series of racecars was designed and built by a Cal Tech-trained engineer, oilman, and racecar driver from Texas named Jim Hall and his partner, Hap Sharp, who together formed Chaparral Cars. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

Hall and Sharp had bought one of Troutman and Barnes’s front-engine Chaparral racecars (which they were building after having left Scarab) and, after doing extensive modifications, decided to design and build their own car. This shot, taken on May 10, 1964, at Kent, Washington, shows No. 66, which was driven by Jim Hall, and No. 67, driven by Hap Sharp. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

Here Penske overtakes a Genie in a Chaparral 2A. The 2A can be identified by the aerodynamic vanes visible just forward of the front wheel on the car’s body. These were adjustable via a pedal by the driver’s left foot and were used to help hold the front end down on the straights. Also note the Kammback rear body, another aerodynamic feature of the car’s advanced design. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

The Cheetah was conceived by race driver and Corvette specialist Bill Thomas as a Corvette-powered rival to Carroll Shelby’s Mustang-based G.T. 350. Only 11 examples were built in 1963. The Cheetah never received support from GM for development, and Thomas was forced to quit producing them due to lack of resources. The 90-inch-wheelbase Cheetah was powered by a fuel-injected 327ci Corvette V8 and a four-speed transmission. The transmission output shaft connected directly to the differential through a universal joint, as the car’s small size made a conventional driveshaft impossible. (Courtesy of John Masterson)

Driver A.T Whatley is seen here in a Ford GT40 Mark 1 at Santa Barbara during the September 4, 1964, race. The Mark 1 pictured here was powered by a 289ci Ford Fairlane V8, and from the looks of it had already done a lot of hard racing when this picture was taken. (Courtesy of Joe Danely)

The mid-1960s saw more American cars competing in production-class road races. Chevrolet Corvettes had been on the racing scene since the mid-1950s, and soon Ford Mustangs began appearing on race tracks as well. The high-performance options available to the Mustang owner were endless, and individual dealerships offered their own custom performance packages tailored to whatever kind of racing the buyer desired. This one is driven by Ray Wolff for Hi-Performance Motors of El Segundo, California. (Courtesy of Joe Danely)

The Falcon, Ford’s economy compact, was designed as cheap transportation. A performance model, the Futura Sprint, became available in 1964 equipped with a 260ci V8. (It also shared several components with the Mustang.) Driving his own Falcon is Pete Cordts of San Gabriel, California. (Courtesy of Joe Danely)

Plymouth’s Barracuda, introduced just weeks before the Mustang, was not really a sports car, more of a sporty-appearing subcompact. It nonetheless handled tolerably well and came with a surprising number of speed and handling options. This example was owned and driven by Howard Lomazoff of Los Gatos, California. (Courtesy of Joe Danely)

The post Rarely Seen Vintage Photos of Southern California Road Racing in the 1950s-1960s appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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weeklyhumorist · 6 years

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Honest New York Times Wedding Announcements

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Alison Mulvaney, 26, and Derek van Hurt, 27

Alison Mulvaney and Derek van Hurt met at a gala for orphans’ rights hosted by Joshua Kushner in 2009. Four months later, happily unattached and relieved to learn that the African-American member of Derek’s pledge class would not be pressing charges, a casual friendship blossomed into romance.

“I had just ended a serious relationship, and I wasn’t looking for a commitment,” Alison explains. Little did she know, Derek had other designs. He surprised her with a last-minute trip to Paris for Labor Day weekend, where he presented her with a sparkling engagement ring, a bottle of absinthe—the bride’s favorite—and an ironclad non-disclosure agreement. “I knew I had to seize the moment before it slipped through my fingers and out the hotel room door,” Derek said. “My grandfather taught me that.” It was a successful approach. “His strength and sense of determination won me over,” Alison admits.

On July 21st, the couple married at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in a small ceremony attended in the presence of their family, closest friends, and former newscaster Charlie Rose.

Sasha Krauz, 31 and Henry Ackerman, 30

When Henry Ackerman was struck by an UberBLACK, he could only think of two things: Sasha Krauz, his girlfriend of three years, and Oscar, the healthcare startup founded by Joshua Kushner in which he had recently invested. Sasha, a graduate student in social work at New York University, and Henry, an angel investor and serial entrepreneur, met at a networking event hosted by the Harvard College Alumni Association in the City of New York, where they quickly discovered a shared passion for French pastry, expressionist painting, and pharmaceutical cocaine.

These two will wed August 25th where the spark of their relationship first ignited, in the Harvard Club’s Oak Room, beneath a statue of Depression-era financier and embezzler Richard Whitney. Alan Dershowitz, a friend of the groom’s family, will officiate.

The bride grew up in Roslyn, New York, the daughter of Phil Krauz, founder of the SkyBridge Real Estate Investment Trust, and Eileen Krauz (née Rothstein), the granddaughter of businessman and baseball aficionado Arnold Rothstein. The groom is the son of Charles Ackerman, personal lawyer for taxi entrepreneur Evgeny “Gene” Freidman, and Dana Ackerman, a former spokesperson for the Mogilevich Pickled Herring Corporation.

After their honeymoon tour of Moldova and Cyprus, the couple will be making their primary home at 666 5th Avenue in Manhattan, with a winter residence in Palm Beach, Florida. The bride will be keeping her name.

A Couple That Can Handle the Turns

There might be little left to excite when it’s your job to travel at breakneck speeds, but Argentine racer Diego Zambrano, 32, found just that in Helen Whitaker, 26, a Master’s student of Social Entrepreneurship at Columbia University in the City of New York.

Cautious after a love affair with a Peruvian freighthopper failed to go the distance, Helen didn’t plan to get involved with any paramours during her summer internship with the Water for the People Initiative, a division of the Coca-Cola Company. “But Diego made me feel like the only girl in the world,” Helen explains, “even though we both lead such busy lives. Me, with my internship, and Diego with his racing, the late-night meetings with potential sponsors, or when sometimes he just has to step out for an hour or two to look for a racing uniform or buy a pack of cigarettes. But he has this ability to understand you that American men just don’t have.”

With her time in Argentina soon ending, Helen and Diego thought that their love affair might be as brief as an afternoon picnic in Bosques de Palermo, cut short by an emergency meeting with Diego’s racing sponsor on the other side of town. But fate intervened in the form of tech wunderkind and wellness advocate Joshua Kushner, who arrived in Buenos Aires on a talent-scouting mission. Struck by Diego’s rugged sincerity and commitment to physical fitness, the self-made businessman offered to sponsor the young man’s visa.

Although initially reluctant to leave the comforts of his mother’s home cooking and close friendship with his cousin, Argentine body paint model Clara Rodriguez, Diego agreed to Helen’s generous offer to loan him a year’s supply of Berlitz English cassettes, packed up his racing gear, and secured a studio apartment just thirty-five minutes from Helen’s flat in Morningside Heights. And after a comical misunderstanding caused by Helen inadvertently consuming some week-old Pad Thai leftovers, Diego realized that he had learned not only the English subjunctive, but also that he was ready to commit.

The couple were married at the bride’s favorite childhood farm in Gansevoort, NY, where the couple exchanged heartfelt vows and the groom, true to his entrepreneurial spirit, excused himself during the reception to discuss a sponsorship deal with the maid of honor.

Honest New York Times Wedding Announcements was originally published on Weekly Humorist

#new york times #newspapers #nyc #sunday times #times #Upper east side #upper west side #wedding #wedding annoucements

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olivereliott · 6 years

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Rocket ship: An 80s-style Z800 from Smoked Garage

The Kawasaki Z800 flew under the radar in most countries. It’s good rather than great: a solid, slightly buzzy streetfighter that’s carrying a few too many pounds. It ended up being overshadowed by Yamaha’s all-conquering MT-09.

But once you strip off the jagged plastics, there’s a very good base for customization. We’re betting the Z800 will soon be a popular bike for remodeling—not least because it’s packing a hefty 113 hp. And this 2015 model from Indonesia’s Smoked Garage is one of the first cabs off the rank.

When Smoked’s client arrived with his Z800, he asked for all the plastic to be removed. “So we sat down with a coffee and started to look at the heritage,” says shop boss Nicko Eigert. “Back in the 1980s, this part of the Z family was the king of the race track.”

After immersing themselves in the era of classic racing bikes, Nicko and his client decided to marry the new tech with classic lines, adding a hint of flat track style into the mix and a big tank with decals.

“We wanted the vibe that comes from a couple of spare parts lying around the workshop, welded together quickly for the racetrack,” says Nicko. “But if you look closer, then you realize that it was all built from scratch—because the lines all match up, and all the parts link together nicely.”

There were a lot of hurdles to jump, starting with the gorgeous rims—with the 18” front an inch up in size from the stock wheel. “Making one-off wheels that resemble classic Morris wheels was a challenge. We wanted to pay tribute to the racing heritage and yet still be modern, so we had to go back-and-forth with the CNC team. It took ages.”

For the aluminum bodywork design, Smoked used sketches and foam—there’s no CAD here. “We used foam because we can add or remove material quickly, patch it up and even paint it.”

Even a seemingly minor item like the racing-style fuel cap caused problems. It started as a block of aluminum that was milled several times until it was just right. But it’s the crowning glory on that massive tank, unapologetically slab-sided and finished in Smoked’s favorite shades of blue.

“We promised ourselves that all the parts would be hand-made, so getting the right shape and dimension of the cap was a challenge. And so was the air filter—making sure it had the correction dimensions, while being in a different position.”

A sprinkling of classic decals adds to the delightfully vintage vibe, but the Yoshimura stickers have earned their place. The muffler is a genuine item, lifted off an early 90s Honda CBR.

“We had the CBR in the shop,” Nicko reveals. “When we wanted to start up the Kawasaki we needed an exhaust, so we measured the pipe dimensions and the Yoshi was the perfect size. So we cut and chopped the headers to fit.”

After a test ride, the Smoked guys loved the tone of the Yoshi so much that they decided to keep it. They cleaned it up a little, but not too much: “We wanted its vintage ‘ageing’.”

There’s a hint of the early 1980s AMA superbike racers in the headlight treatment. LEDs peek through the number plate, and the number ‘19’ decal has the right chunkiness. But why ‘19’?

“19 is our lucky number for this bike,” says Nicko. “Because it took 19 goes to shape that tank and the tail section right!” The signature on the tailpiece belongs to Gus Wi, Smoked’s head engineer. “He was on a major roll on this bike, and it was the right thing to do. He and his team put blood, sweat and tears into this build.”

The toughest piece of engineering is also at the back, where there’s a new rear frame to suit the airy single-seater look. This meant relocating the mono shock and incorporating motocross suspension parts to tuck the new Nitron shock out of the way.

Smoked have called the Z800 ‘Kerosin Burner.’ “Because it looks like a rocket, and goes like a rocket,” says Nicko. “I can’t describe in words how it feels to ride it.”

Well, what’s that saying about a picture being worth ..?

Smoked Garage | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Speed People

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alegendarystudentwonderland-blog · 6 years

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Will a car pool lane ticket cause my insurance rates to go up?

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I was recently pulled over in California by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for driving solo (by myself) in the car pool lane. I didn't break the yellow lines I was just pulled over for being in there by myself. The officer told me it wouldn't be a point on my record and is not a moving violation. All I want to know is... Will this ticket cause my insurance rates to go up?

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I am straight 'A' student, and I have completed the Driver's Education course at my highschool. My family does not really make that much money, but my parents would like to buy me a car at an exceptional rate. I am probably only going to live in Florida for another year, and then I am moving out to California. Depending on what type of car I decide to get, I don't know if I will be taking it with me or not. My mom wants to buy me a brand new car, meaning a current 2008-09 model, but I keep explaining to her that it's very hard to find a cheap new model (unless someone knows something I don't?). I would just like some third party input on this decision. What is the best car company, and what car model would have the lowest insurance rate? I have tried researching Mazda, Acura, Nissan, and Honda, because I prefer these companies; however, I haven't had any luck because I'm so new to shopping for a vehicle. I like hybrids, and it would help if I am able to get a car with great mileage as well. Of course, I'm sure many of you know this is because of our depleting economy, lol. Ok, I don't mean to make this a book, I'm just trying to give as much information as I can so I can maybe get a clear answer. Thanks in advance =).""

Car insurance price?

Does car insurance price depend on the safety of the car? Like a car that has 5 star crash test rating, does that mean the premium will be lower than a car has 3 star rating? Thanks.""

Should I tell my insurance company I race?

I am 17 years old and currently have a regular drivers license, with no class M designation. I have been riding dirtbikes since I turned 4, and have been racing them for the past 3 years. I think telling this to my insurance company would do one of two things (if it does anything at all haha). Either they will think, oh this kid knows what he's doing, let's cut him a break and lower his rates or they will think oh this kid races, he will probably carry those habits to the road, thereby endangering himself and others. Which do you think they will do? Also, I AM planning on getting my motorcycle license when I turn 18. I probably wont use it for everyday use, since I have a dirtbike meant for off road use, but there are some races where you are required to have a street legal bike, and that means it has to be registered and insured. Since im not gonna be using it much, I don't want to have to pay more for the tiny 250 cc dirtbike than I do for my truck with a v8, that can easily double the speed and endangerment to others of my dirtbike. All in all, im just wondering how the insurance company would react to me dropping that information on them. And for those of you who find it interesting, I also have a boaters education certificate (complete bullshit, but required for legal use) and a private pilots license. So once I get my motorcycle license, I will legally and safely be able to take control of any mode of transportation except helicopters, and I've flown enough of those in the sim that I could even autorotate one if I had to :D more than likely lol. Thank you to everyone who helps answer my question!""

How long does it take insurance companies to create your insurance?

My father just bought a mercedez sl 500 convertible. Its a 2000. We got it on saturday. Call the insurance to transfer myself onto the car on monday. todays wednesday and still no word. How long will it take for them to rate the car and post me on the insurance?

""What would be the best insurance group to go in, if I am a first time car owner/driver?""

Hi, I am going to turn 17 in the autumn and I am looking for a first (used) car. But I am unsure about which insurance group is the best to go in? Someone told me I could get insured fairly cheaply on Group 5? I would like a reliable car, at the moment I am looking at Ford Focus, Volkswagen Polo, and Fiat Punto. I want it to be fairly new, and look good. I can spend up to 2000. Hope you can help

Question about pitbull insurance in VA?

How much is insurance for a pitbull in Virginia?

Where can I find cheaper motorcycle insurance?

I need to get insurance today as I'm picking up my motorcycle later, it's a 1977 Honda CG125. The cheapest quote I have found is 377 TPFT, and that's with two years' NCB! Granted I'm still on a provisional licence but still ridiculous. Also, can anyone explain if there is any point at all forking out 150 more a year for Theft and Fire cover when it demands 500 excess? I'd have to pay that if it were stolen, right? Even though I paid less than that for the bike...""

Where can I get an insurance quote?

all the sites ask for a lot of info, can i get a site where i can just put in the date of manufacture of the car, and i get the quote.""

Car insurance question?

I have my own car but the title insurance and registration isnt in my name its in my girlfriends step dad name so I could have really cheap insurance. And some girl hit the back of my car the other day but didnt make no police report because I knew her. So she just gave me her policy number agents name and phone number. But my main concern is that will my car be able to get fixed because im not on the insurance? My girlfriends step dad has plpd insurance and so does the girl that hit me and I live in michigan.

What are some good cheap car auto insurance in the washington dc area for a 23 yr old female?

How much *Roughly* would my car insurance cost?

Im 19 i had my permit for almost 4 years now im about to get my license my mom has state farm and ill be added on to hers but i still have to pay her the difference. if it matters or affects me but shes had her license for about 20 yrs idk exactly shes only 38 though has never been in an accident or any tickets, always pay her bill give or take some how much would you say my insurance would cost?""

""Car insurance question. Help desperately needed, please!?""

Here's the situation. Before I start here, I will say I have never sold a car/transferred insurance in my life until now (I'm 37) and I'm panicking. (Please don't laugh; I am somewhat mentally disabled and have a hard time understanding business side of things). Please bear with me: I have a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu with 178,000 miles on it. Last Friday, my husband's brother decided to give his 2005 Hyundai Elantra (53,000 miles) to us as a free gift. We decided to sell the Malibu to some friends of ours (with whom we have been friends for quite a few years). My friends have already paid us and they have a Bill of Sale and next week we are getting a duplicate of the Chevy title in the mail (because we lost ours), at which time we will transfer. Here is where the confusion begins: My mother-in-law (who is a retired State Farm insurance agent) drew up a Bill of Sale that indicated as its last sentence at the end, Buyer will show proof of liability insurance at the time the car is received (or something like that; I don't have the Bill of Sale in front of me). We saw our friends today to get the Bill of Sale notarized (they already paid for the car; we're just waiting for the title for the Malibu to arrive via mail, as mentioned above). Their insurance agent is about 90 miles away, I find out, and will need pictures of the car. Our friends insist that my mother-in-law is just being a mom since we're new at such a transaction (our friends have owned and sold boats, cars, etc., so they are experienced at this, too), meaning that she's being overcautious by saying they need to present proof of liability insurance at the exact time I give them the keys to the car. So, once I give them the title and the keys, are they responsible for when they get the car insurance? My Hyundai is covered through my insurance agent (my mother-in-law called them and got coverage on it already), but she insists that I am not to get insurance verification on the Hyundai until the friends show proof of their insurance on the Malibu after they get possession of it. Is that correct, or is my mother-in-law just being overcautious? (I would think that once I switch the Malibu title to my friends' name and give them the keys, that would relieve me of any responsibility any longer to the Malibu). Help me, please. I am so confused; I have my mother-in-law telling me one thing, and my friends telling me another. Both sound correct. So would I be right if I did these (in this exact order): 1) switch the title over to their name & give them the keys to the Malibu. 2) call my insurance agent and report that I sold my Malibu, and ask them to type insurance vertification for the Hyundai. (would I have to be present in person for them to type the verification for the Hyundai? Also, would my report of me selling the Malibu mean that they would cancel the insurance on it immediately?) I am sorry this is so lengthy; I tried to explain this the best as I could. I just want to do what is correct in the eyes of the law.""

How much is Car Insurance in South Florida?

My husband and I are buying a second home in Florida. I am 42 and he is 52. Clean driving records no points only need liability on one 98 Ford Explorer and full coverage on a 2006 Ford Focus. Just an estimate would be great. Thanks

How expensive would a liability insurance policy be for a Companion business?

I'm thinking of starting up a Companion business in Connecticut. It will be just me and I will not be doing anything medical. The State of Connecticut doesn't require me to become licensed if it's just me but I would like to have a general liability policy anyway. I would love it if I could some helpful information. Thanks, Cathy""

Job suggestions for a nearly 16 year old with a national insurance card?

I'm a 15 year old girl with no money:( I NEED DOLLAR! Any suggestions? I'll do anything, maybe not give up my saturday's if helped? But if i have to then okay.. I'm desperate! And please, no stupid comments suggesting prostitution, i'm serious, just a decent job please guys? Thankyou.""

How much does a VW Golf GTi 2003 - 2008 cost on insurance? Help :( !?!?

I know a golf gti is very costly to insure which is a bummer! =/ Cheapest quote possible. Oh and it has to be Fully Comp! Haha have a feeling its going to cost an arm and a leg to insure. And which Car Insurance site is the best to use? Would be very helpful for some answers back :) Just need a rough idea how much its going to cost, so i could start saving and miss out the student nights and all the wonderful drinking with the mates. J x""

Do i need to be a full time student to be covered for medical insurance?

i've always been told that i need to have at least 12 credit hours a semester in order to be covered for health insurance. with the new obama health care is this still true since most 23-26 year olds do not attend school anymore?

""I'm Irish and moved to uk with my car 30 days ago, my insurance ran out today,?""

what do I need as regards car tax, insurance, mot etc, the system seems a bit different from the one I am used to back home. How much is car tax and how do I pay it etc. plus any other advice you could think of would be great. do i need to have a uk reg. before i can insure it over here""

Can car insurance companies check if you drive another car ?

if you get a car insurance quote and you say you have access to another car in your information is there any way they can check ? I have just renewed my car insurance and noticed that it was cheaper when i said i had regular use of another car. The thing is i do have use of my brothers car but im not an actual name driver on the insurance. My brothers car is fully comprehensive and thinks that anyone can drive the vehicle. Is this true ? i dont get how my insurance company are going to catch me out if im driving my brothers car without any mention of my name on his insurance

Will a car pool lane ticket cause my insurance rates to go up?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/which-type-car-insurance-coverage-byron-holland"

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bestautochicago · 7 years

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The Volvo Wagon Armada

It was the Woodstock of press drives, a car launch fit for a Swedish king or, better yet, a Volvo wagon nut just like me. To commemorate the launch of the V90, its new and large but chic and sleek carryall, we persuaded Volvo to let us drive one of the first examples on U.S. soil—actually former North American CEO Lex Kerssemakers’ personal car—from the company’s corporate U.S. headquarters (since 1964) in Rockleigh, New Jersey, to the site of Volvo’s first-ever and still very much under-construction U.S. factory in Ridgeville, South Carolina. Then back again. Close to 2,000 miles.

The V90 marks not just a new Volvo wagon but also the most upscale one. It’s also a welcome re-staking of the wagon flag on American soil for the Swedish firm, and we wanted to memorialize it properly. Ditto the new factory, even if it’s not finished being built, a facility made possible by a deep-pocketed new owner—China’s Geely—and generous subsidies from the state of South Carolina. It reflects not just the record sales success Volvo has enjoyed lately but also what a fresh credit line worth more than $11 billion and a friendly state government can do for the spring in one’s business plan.

Volvo loaned us its premium hauler ($53,295 base) and helped us find, organize, and support a group of other wagons representing all eras of the company’s extensive history in the genre, along with the cars’ owners to drive them. I brought along my own light green 1967 122S wagon, bought with 80 original miles on the clock but now with 5,000 miles. A few preflight repairs, and it was ready to go the distance.

Loyal Volvo Club of America (VCOA) members all, the owners who answered Volvo’s call to join the wagon armada were mellow, their cars gloriously representing each decade since the first Volvo wagons of the 1950s and all of the carmaker’s successive wagon eras. We had mostly everything—from a show-winning 1959 445 Duett through the 122, 245, 745, 850, 240, V50, V60, all of the V70s, and a handsome 1800ES from the company’s own collection that accompanied us as far as Delaware. I’m only sorry there isn’t room here to thank everyone by name.

What didn’t turn up was a Mitsubishi-derived V40 or any representative of the 900 series, the ultimate evolution of the 700 series wagons, renamed in honor of its independent rear suspension and, in the case of the one we’d like to have seen, the 960, a straight-six motor. A much better car than it gets credit for, cursed by a short lifespan, its absence was noticed.

The 2017 V90 is svelte and comfortable as it leads its historic counterparts on a 2,000-mile road trip.

The final omission from our cavalcade of Volvos was the 145, the progenitor (1968-’74) of all the “boxes” to come, the cars that cemented the Volvo wagon thing by looking more or less the same for a quarter of a century, from the late ’60s until 1993. But divine providence intervened to correct an unconscionable oversight as we ran across a 145, a runner in only semimoderate dishabille, when we stopped at the Sub Rosa Bakery in Richmond, Virginia.

To ensure this crowd of Volvo volunteers wouldn’t go hungry on our station wagon sojourn, we brought along a couple of knowledgeable food professionals for dining tips along the way. Adam Sachs is the editor of Saveur and drives a V70. Jay Strell, a food communications strategist and fellow Brooklyn dweller, keeps a V50. Along for the ride and some light driving duty, they’d leave their own cars at home. Ditto my old friend, painter Fred Ingrams. He left his car—a too-slow-for-America V50 1.6-liter—at home in Norfolk, England, to come on a forced march to South Carolina as a passenger in a different Volvo wagon. He just hadn’t counted on it being 50 years old. Another drop-in from NYC, Jake Gouverneur, owns a Saab 9-5 wagon, but it has a blown head gasket and isn’t going anywhere.

There would, however, be no shotgun seat for Steve Ohlinger of The Auto Shop of Salisbury, Connecticut. A veteran independent Volvo mechanic, former racer, and (something tells me) former hippie, Steve brought his brown 1984 five-speed manual 245 Turbo, a rare bird. His role, to which he readily assented, was to carry The Knowledge and useful spares for when older pieces of Swedish iron fell in the line of interstate duty—except this happened not once.

Throw in a couple of Volvo PR honchos, a videographer in a V90 Cross Country, an event planner or two, plus our Automobile photographers, and there must have been 25 or more of us driving or riding along at any given moment. Teenaged me would have appreciated this concept.

Funny enough, no one ever did get an exact count on the number of participants. I later realized I was too busy driving to notice. Berkeley County, South Carolina, is a long way from Bergen County, northern New Jersey, especially in an 87-horsepower car with a pushrod engine geared to turn something like 3,800 rpm at 65 mph. The journey seems even longer and more sapping when it is conducted during a two-day rainstorm, with ’60s wipers clapping and a ’60s defroster fan hyperventilating while trying to keep up. But like all the old wagons on this trip, the 122S completed the journey without incident and no worse for the wear.

Swedish cream puff: This 1970s P1800ES “shooting brake” still cuts a stylish profile today.

Older models from the last century are one reason Volvo still has a good reputation to fall back on. Return solely to the early part of the 21st century for your wagon memories, and you’ll find Volvos with some major technical failings to answer for, cars that tarnished the company’s long-running longevity and reliability pitch. We definitely feel better about its new cars nowadays, but there is no predicting what age will bring.

On first acquaintance, though, we are impressed with just about everything to do with the black V90 T6 AWD R-Design wagon we’re driving here, though even in a fast, all-wheel-drive car we hoped for something better than the 26 mpg over some 2,000 mostly highway miles. There were undoubtedly economy-sapping power surges for which we were responsible, as there will always be with 316 hp turbo and supercharged 2.0-liter fours. But there were many more hours of economy-minded highway driving. Results closer to the EPA’s suggested 30 mpg (highway) are not too much to ask for.

The V90 looks great, and its leather-lined interior compares favorably to several Germanic alternatives. If nothing else, it’s airy and different. The car drives and rides especially well, with a nimbleness that belies its size. A little more than 16 feet long, it feels like a big, opulent car in the best sense but drives like a smaller one. Naturally, this executive-priced load hauler also comes with all of the tech and telematics features you expect. That is, expect to love, expect to regret, and one that still has us scratching our heads: Pilot Assist II, Volvo’s second-gen semi-autonomous driving system.

With $600 million of Volvo’s own money invested so far and $200 million in state incentives, Volvo expects to have spent $1 billion on the new factory and to have created 4,000 jobs here by 2030.

The latest Pilot Assist no longer requires you to track a lead vehicle, and it operates in self-driving mode at speeds up to 80 mph, which is nice. (Its predecessor topped out at a considerably less useful 32 mph.) But as “semi-autonomous” suggests, Pilot Assist II only steers for you for 18 seconds at a time, at which point a human must provide input, or the car will come gradually to a halt, which seemed dangerous to me. Another concern? The camera-based system orients the vehicle by using painted road lines on either side of the road.

Will the new V90 still be on public roads decades from now? If its forebears are any indication, the outlook is good.

As you might expect once you know how the system works, the car made large corrections following the white lines into corners, often steering later than we would have with more roll and general back and forth than an attentive, sober skipper would have allowed. Also failing to inspire confidence was the discovery that the V90 seemed willing to veer off the highway around bends where the white paint was worn off or pieces of roadway had fallen away, taking the white line with them. Last-minute driver intervention was most emphatically required. So, as with similar systems from other makers, you can’t fully rely on Pilot Assist II because you still can’t take your eyes off the road. It might make you wonder, beyond tech boasts and consumer beta testing, what is the exact point?

A wagon usually boasts the same or better interior space than its jacked-up relations and fraternal twins, and it probably handles better with its lower of center of gravity.

Speaking of points, on the ride back to our hotel one night we got a chance to admire Ohlinger’s 245 Turbo in action. By action, I don’t mean heavy acceleration or drifting but merely having its headlamps turned on. That’s because they’re airport runway lights, an unlikely fitment the Volvo guru realized one day was a more or less straight swap, so he tried it, and guess what? They light up a road as if you plan to land a commercial jetliner on it, waking up everyone for miles and inducing post-traumatic stress syndrome in those unlucky enough to be in front of you when they suddenly catch your light show in their rearview mirror. We kind of liked it and made a mental note to look into the conversion. Although, as Ohlinger pointed out, “When they’re great, they’re great. But when they’re not, they’re really not.”

Bonding bricks: No fewer than 60 years and 229 hp separate the V90 from the author’s 122S wagon. Both have their unique charms.

Bonding Bricks: No fewer than 60 years and 229 hp separate the V90 from the author’s 122S wagon. Both have their unique charms.The following day we headed to the factory site, about an hour’s drive, to inspect it from a distance while photographing all the participants in our station wagon safari. With the plant rising in the background, and the rain miraculously halted, it’s a rare photo that speaks to Volvo’s storied history and equally strong present. Carved here out of swampy woodlands, it represents a minimum investment of $600 million of Volvo’s own money and $200 million in state incentives. Volvo expects to have spent a billion dollars here by 2030 and to have created 4,000 jobs. Perhaps not what you thought of, old timer, when you saw your first 122S wagon all those years ago.

Like the wagons, I was in good shape when we arrived in Charleston for a late lunch. In fairness, however, I must admit I turned over the 122S on several occasions to other drivers while I enjoyed long stints behind the wheel of the V90. The newest, fanciest Volvo wagon yet seemed rocket-ship fast yet delightfully restful, one of the most comfortable rides going, with better seats than most all its modern competition much less those in the 122S, its ancestor from a half century ago. Lack of wind noise lends an amazing quietness to the V90’s cabin, too. Indeed Gouverneur, playing with a decibel-meter app on his phone, explained that the all-wheel-drive model was significantly quieter at 115 mph in the rain with wipers at full chat than the 122S was cruising at 65 mph with wipers off. I can’t speak to the accuracy of this because I was driving, and we all know I would never drive anywhere near that fast.

The Duett was built as a dual-purpose work and personal car and was the only body-on-frame passenger vehicle in Volvo’s U.S. lineup.

This magazine has long maintained that the station wagon format provides the most practical automotive solution for millions more Americans than are buying them now. We understand the auto industry passes time by chasing the latest styling fads, but after being rocked by the ungainly minivan and then crushed by the SUV and the hulking crossovers that followed, the once-best-selling wagon’s pendulum, which swung highest in the 1960s and 1970s, is long overdue to swing back. To the extent that logic plays any part in the matter, which is probably a dubious idea at best, the wagon is more efficient—lighter and more aerodynamic—than its crossover alternative. A wagon usually boasts the same or better interior space than its jacked-up relations and fraternal twins, and it probably handles better with its lower of center of gravity. Almost half the vehicles sold in Europe are wagons. Is life there so much different? We don’t think so.

Gimmicks and scarcity marketing are cool, I guess, but The whole idea presumes scarcity. And our trip to Volvo’s new plant proved the V90 wagon is way too good to be scarce.

Volvo has had success with sedans and even sports cars in America, but it is best known for its wagons, which are standard fixtures of the landscape in many American neighborhoods to this day. In a world of ever-changing automotive ideals, the Volvo wagon is a basic unit of automotive currency for many, the kind that spans generations. In my life, my parents drove a Volvo wagon, I drove them, my kids drove them, and with luck their kids might. Unlike some makers, Volvo’s never left the wagon field behind, and new proof in the form of the V90 warms the heart.

Yet recognizing fashion and catering to what it thinks most people think they want, the company has hastened in the 21st century to keep its lineup of crossovers and SUVs fresh, lively, and growing. Although there’s really nothing bad to say about the XC60, XC90, and upcoming XC40 models, we still prefer these platforms set up for wagon duty, pure and unadulterated. We don’t begrudge Volvo its high riders—they help pay the rent and the high taxes of super-socialist Sweden. We wish the V90, which shares its platform with the XC90, had as an option a third row of seats as does the SUV.

This affection for the wagon form generally and Volvo’s biggest wagon ever specifically is why we can’t help but second-guess the decision to soft sell the model, which is only available via internet order and not off the showroom floor. Dealers will receive as many of the Cross Country version of the V90 as they can afford to stock but no regular wagon V90s without an internet order, which is a shame.

Seven decades of Volvo wagon evolution stages at the brand’s new South Carolina plant after 1,000 miles of driving.

Gimmicks and scarcity marketing are cool, I guess, but something is wrong. The whole idea presumes scarcity. And our trip to Volvo’s new plant (which won’t build the V90 but rather the 60 series sedan and SUV) proved the V90 wagon is way too good to be scarce. With a little work, it could be the belle of the ball in affluent communities across America, a big ol’ posh station wagon for our times, an anti-SUV. Wagons rule, and if anyone ought to know that, it’s Volvo.

Source: http://chicagoautohaus.com/the-volvo-wagon-armada/

from Chicago Today https://chicagocarspot.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/the-volvo-wagon-armada/

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