Comedian Kevin Hart answered six questions that I published on the blog I write for Forbes. He stars in a new Ford commercial — adding the funny into the Explorer campaign. Here’s what on his mind, when it comes to cars.

What is currently in your garage?

I currently have a Range Rover…SUPER CHARGED. I’m small so I have to compensate in other areas and I’m not scared to admit it.

When did you become interested in cars?

I have always liked cars ever since my older brother, Robert , gave me a 1980 Pontiac Trans-AM. I felt like Smoky and the Bandit.

Was there someone in your family who was particularly interested in cars?

Well my dad was a skilled handy man and he would work on peoples cars from time to time. He seems to get a kick out of telling people how screwed their cars were and how much work it was going to take to fix them.

How would you describe your driving style?

I like to call my driving style “AGGRESSIVE QUICKIE’. There short quick spells of aggressive driving. It is also can describe my style of sex also.

Do you have a history with Ford?

I have always been a fan of the Mustangs. I would always dream of having a 1966 Mustang convertible and driving it with a leather jacket on like James Dean.

What have you noticed about the Explorer that stands out to you?

Man, where do I start. I love the redesign, inside and out! It’s so stylish. Frankly, I feel like a super model when I drive it. The technology is incredible. From the mobile hot spot to the terrain management.

Here’s the commercial:

Tweet This Post

Actress LisaRaye caught up with our friends at Simply Rides about her new show “LisaRaye, The Real McCoy” on TV One and her love for BMWs. “My favorite cars are the cars that I can afford,” she says, and lists her modest fleet of Bimmers including a BMW 740, a BMW 645i and a BMW 525i. She also has a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Range Rover in the garage. “My car of choice is — all of those, preferably in white.”

LisaRaye also stars new VH1 show “Single Ladies,” debuting in also featuring Stacey Dash and Lauren London, about three women living the dating life in Atlanta.

Tweet This Post

At the 1934 Detroit Auto Show, pro athlete Mildred Babe Didrikson Zaharias endorsed the Dodge coupe for Chrysler and became the first official sports spokeswoman for a car company, which also her made her the first female athlete to officially endorse a commercial product.

They called her Wonder Girl, because of her athletic abilities.  At the 1931 women’s track & field championships in Evanston she won six first places transforming the typist for Dallas Employers’ Casualty Co. into a sports star. She went onto win two first place medals at the Olympics games in javelin and 80-meter hurdles. Zaharias also was a master golfer, swimmer, basketball player, baseball pitcher, football halfback, billiardist, tumbler,  boxer, wrestler, fencer, weight lifter and dancer.

The signing with Chrysler was the end result of a small controversy. After Zaharias purchased a 1933 Dodge, she appeared in local newspaper ads, endorsing the product.  A Dec. 1932 article in Time Magazine focused on the issue:

“Last week, Wonder Girl Didrikson had cause for wonderment herself. The Amateur Athletic Union suspended her from amateur competition in the U. S. and then promised to reinstate her if & when she took an action which would seem far more like professionalism than the one for which she had been suspended. In newspaper advertisements for Dodge automobiles last week appeared a picture of Miss Didrikson with a testimonial by her, saying: “One look at its trim beauty and you know it has class.” A. A. U. officials decided that the advertisement broke a regulation which says that amateur athletes may not give out testimonials. Miss Didrikson’s reply was that she had not been paid for the testimonial, that she had not authorized it. … E. Gordon Perry, auto dealer of Dallas, revealed that he had sold a car to Miss Didrikson a year ago, mailed her compliments on it to his home office. A. A. U. officials announced that if Miss Didrikson could prove, by suing the advertisers for causing her to lose her amateur standing, that she had not been paid for the testimonial, she would be reinstated.”

Zaharias eventually turned pro and officially signed with Chrysler, and also had endorsements with Wheaties, Timex and sporting good company P. Goldsmith Sons by 1935, and Wilson in 1947, according to the NY Times, who recently covered Zaharias’ claim to fame.

The article in Time is a delightful take on how she shattered the notion of the female athlete:

“Beyond a tendency to use explicit language and to despise small girls who play with dolls, Wonder Girl Didrikson’s demeanor during intervals between her physical exertions is not unfeminine. She likes to cook, dance, sew. Last year she constructed for herself a box-plaited dress. It won first prize at the Texas State Fair. A physical freak in her ability to co-ordinate her actions with her eye, Miss Didrikson is not freakish in appearance. Now 19, she weighs 126 lb., has slim hard wrists and ankles, long spatulate hands.”

The full article text from Time Magazine, Dec. 19, 1932.

Tweet This Post

1. Against all odds, electric cars are on the marketplace. The Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf did the impossible. What a difference a year makes when research and development gets a swift green kick in the booty.

2. Driving the MINI Countryman before anyone else across America for MINI Takes the States.

3. The Gotryke Soundtrack. Cop dat here.

4. The Jaguar XJ ushers in the return of the wild cat to Jag’s reputation as a rockstar.

5. The Rumblers 10th Annual car show under the BQE.

6. The joy of driving a Porsche Boxster Spyders at the Monticello Motor Club via helicopter.

7. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center.

8. Driving Aston Martin cars on the racetrack with Carl Craig.

9. While Jimmie Johnson stays afloat on NASCAR, Kevin Harvick showed promise in 2010. We’re waiting for Dodge drivers to step up. Lewis Hamilton voted best F1 driver of 2010 by F1Fanatic. Yahoo Europe likes Sebastien Vettel. We like Hamilton ’round here.

10. Great Cars exhibits: The High Museum of Art’s take on the allure of the automobile, curated by Ken Gross, caused a frenzy in Atlanta. Phil Patton’s summertime take on car culture at the City Museum of New York paired New York and the automobile in a first of its kind perspective.

Tweet This Post

Four art installations illuminated Parisian landmarks this week at the Paris Auto Show commemorating the launch of the 2011 Range Rover Evoque.

André (AKA Monsieur A), JCDC, the collective Surface To Air and creative director of Intersection Magazine Yorgo Touplas created the works from a wire frame replica of the Evoque on the grounds  of the Pompidou Centre and the Palais de Tokyo.

“My representation of luxury references grace, intimacy and protection,”  JCDC said of his installation. “This is a concept frequently related to the pleasures of enveloping oneself in a garment and my work with bespoke and couture fashion. Similar to luxury clothing, this installation reflects a graceful protection.”

The installations took place on Sept 28 and remained intact for three days. “Paris is the first city to see the car and we wanted to mark its arrival with a series of unique installations that epitomize the cars’ city spirit,” said Land Rover Design Director Gerry McGovern. The Evoque was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show on Sept. 30th.

An event was held on a boat that drifted in the River Seine to celebrated the works and Evoque launch on Tuesday. The set was created by designer Petra Storrs. Actress and musician Juliette Lewis performed an hour-long set.

Tweet This Post

One agile young woman was rewarded for her win of High-Heel-a-thon in Central Park on “LIVE! with Regis and Kelly.”  Ida Bernstein of Cockeysville, MD finished the 150-yard sprint in 19.12 seconds, setting a new course record. The 26-year-old grad student won the grand prize of an All-New 2011 Volkswagen Jetta and a $10,000 check.

Tweet This Post

NY Fashion Week – The Model Lounge from TangentVector, inc.™ on Vimeo.

It’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Where do the models go? You might see them slip out of Porsche Panamera into the newly opened Gaansevoort Hotel off Park Ave. That’s the location of the Model Lounge, which is just that a private area for models to cool out between shows and casting.

Tweet This Post

The Gotryke Mix Series debut with the right kind of pedigree from DJ 3000, a musically-inclined car connoiseur.

“Motech’s vision was born from the dust and destruction of the automobile industry in the Motor City,” said Frankie Juncaj, who records as DJ 3000. “Once a booming industry that influenced the world, it was reduced to shambles in one fell swoop and left a permanent residue on the city it once inhabited. Drawing from the never ending influence that Detroit had to offer, we began looking back to our ethnic roots. What eventually emerged was a unique blend of Detroit electronic rhythm combined with the sounds and textures of generations long past.”

The name is a play on Motown and techno, but also references an automotive trade school in Detroit from the 1980s. Falling in love with cars was natural for Juncaj, who grew up in Detroit. His father and most of his relatives worked at Chrysler and he hung out at his next door neighbor’s whose who built race cars for fun. Juncaj is into classic Chevrolet muscle cars and slick styled Euro- rides. “If I could buy one classic Chevy it would be a ’67 Chevy Camaro because to me it screams classic American muscle. I grew up seeing that car in my neighborhood. Yes, I know my dad worked at Chrysler but he even had a Chevy Monte Carlo.”

Juncaj relocated to Amsterdam, but if he moves back to Detroit he’ll buy a used 2004 Audi RS4. “Its fast and looks slick and without looking loud so this is the perfect car for me. I plan to buy one in the future….I hope!”

DOWNLOAD: View dj3000-karma-mix-mp3
Motech Records

Tweet This Post

By Tamara Warren

Lush green, idyllic European roads are lined with cafes, castles and quaint locales. Here is authentic European charm, outside of large metropolises where exotic cars find their calling on large expanses of highway. Here along winding stretches of road, exquisite, handcrafted cars that operate at lightening speed are in their element. This is where Maximilian Riedel, C.E.O of Riedel Crystal, spends much of his free time.

“The question is what sort of vehicles have I not take on these roads?” 31-year old Riedel proudly exclaims. The 11^th generation glassmaker is an avid enthusiastic car collector.  Ferraris are prominent in his stable. (He has four including a vintage Daytona and a new Scuderia). He keeps a canary yellow Lamborghini Murcielago and Mercedes-Benz S65 in his New York City garage. The pristine cars are not for show.  Every year the Austrian native who lives in New York, carves out time in his schedule for long drives through the European countryside.

While the clichéd image of European road racing is the iconic Autobahn, Riedel believes this perception is outdated. “Even though people say Germany on the Autobahn is the place to be because you can go as fast as you want to that’s not true,” Riedel explains. “Those days are over for the last 5 to 10 years.  There are speed limitations. The police are really hot on teaching the people who still live the dream of the 1990s.”

Riedel designs his travels to be conducive to the overall experience as the ambassador of the crystal wine glasses made by his family business. Top on the list are roads of the French countryside where he is planning his next trip through Strasbourg and the Loire Valley onto Burgundy in one of his Ferraris. “If you want to drive a car, if it is a nice car, if it is a fast car, if it is an old car, there is only one place to do so because the roads are absolutely the finest in the world and this is the northern part of France,” he says. “For sure one of the nicest routes is from Kufstein to Bordeaux, which is 800 miles.” Riedel stops at scenic outlooks and dines in fine restaurants located along the route.  “You can do it quick, you can do it in one day, you can do it in five days.”

Timing is everything – most Europeans take holidays in July and August, but Riedel thinks June is best, when the weather has turned warm and inviting, but the roads are still relatively empty. Also top on the list of routes is to begin in northern Italy and head south to Monte Carlo and onto Marseille. “At the same time if you like Italy and you like the small Autostrada then the Almafi coasts is one of the special trips,” he adds.

This passion for travel is an extension of boyhood nostalgia. “I started when I was 12. My parents bought a vintage 1989 Porsche. They forced my sister and I to drive with them with BMX helmets. I’m not a fan of convertibles because of this.” The Riedel family has an extensive car collection near their headquarters in Kustein, Austria. Maximilian has driven the family cars.  At other times, he’s shipped his cars from the U.S. “Last year I took on that road the Scuderia Ferrari.  This year I’m thinking of taking the F40, because I haven’t taken a long trip in the F40. In August, my Daytona is done so I could consider driving this as well.”

For U.S. travelers, he recommends shipping cars to Europe. “If you are American and you want to go drive in Europe you can do so with about $1000. You can put your car in a container and it takes about six weeks. Don’t rent your car, bring your own. It’s affordable, it’s less expensive than renting a car, and it’s really easy.”

These trips are for more than nostalgia for Riedel, they provide the research and  influence for the next collection of Riedel crystal. “I get very much inspired by my trips. I build the trip around good food and restaurants. You can read about them, but you have to see them. You’re out in nature. You smell, you see and you taste.” Another journey that he adds are regular visits to racetracks for training and recreation with his fast car.

Of course an essential part of Riedel’s luggage are his wineglasses, of which he has won awards for designs, particularly the O Glass.  He has a customized Louis Vuitton case for travel.  “ I carry my glasses with me wherever I go.”

Maximilian Riedel and his vintage Ducati

When Riedel’s not traveling, he’s still on wheels at home – he has a vintage Ducati 996 motorcycle installed into his apartment. “I sit on it to relax and be creative. The gas and the oil have been taken out, so the bike is not going to go bad.” While Riedel doesn’t ride motorcycles, his passion for motorcycles is sentimental. Riedel’s grandfather was a professional motorcyclist in the ’50s. “For me bikes are more of a piece of art.” The art of motion that pervades Riedel’s lifestyle is crystal clear.

More on Riedel:

Coolhunting

TamaraWarren.com

Tweet This Post

There’s something roguishly sexy about drifting. Drifting involves whirling, twirling and spinning for sport. That’s the spirit of the new Mustang RTR. The Mustang RTR is the brainchild of drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr., driver of the Monster Energy/Falken Tire 2011 Mustang GT in the Formula Drift series.

The juiced up Mustang features Ford Racing Falken FK-452 tires, unique 19-inch wheels, and RTR-exclusive interior details and striping scheme, and is available at select dealerships

Michigan-based Classic Design Concepts, orchestrates the custom job for the package which is available at select Ford dealerships for the 2011 Mustang GT. A souped-up carbon fiber addition is on the way.

Tweet This Post