Best of 2011 Nominees

I'm getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, and in developing a mental list of things that I'm thankful for, a list of the best of 2011 is emerging. I'll put up the potentials, you let me know what you think and we'll have a list of the best things a Pusher Truck enthusiast experienced in 2011 by year's end.

Man of the Year:

1. Ron Swanson/Nick Offerman

On Parks & Recreation, Ron Swanson is a breakfast enthusiast Libertarian with a weakness for women named Tammy and a strong sense of self reliance. The actor portraying Ron may not be so different.

Nick Offerman, the man pictured to the left, is an accomplished wood-worker and has an impressive body of work. Check out www.offermanwoodshop.com for more info.

Pros: A man's man. Very little drama. Not afraid to get dirty.

Cons: He's still a fancy-pants actor.

2. Henrik Fisker

Henrik Fisker teamed with Bernhard Koehler to create an electric car that didn't suck. They surveyed the automotive landscape and saw only a sea of beige in the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. Sure, the Tesla Roadster was available, but one does not waft to the country club in anything built on a Lotus Elise platform. The Fisker Karma, on the other hand, brings refined elegance with its performance. Henrik Fisker, thank you for saving us from both boredom and hippies. Check his work out at www.fiskerautomotive.com/en-us

Pros: 981 ft/lbs of rear wheel drive torque. Stunning beauty. Leonardo DiCaprio has shunned his Prius for one.

Cons: I can't afford one.

3. Colton Lucas

Colton, a 12 year old resident of Kitzmiller, Maryland, shot and killed a 376 pound black bear. Of the more commendable aspects of killing so large a man-eating-predator is the fact that Colton had to drag that 376 pounds out of the woods, skin it, clean it and eat it. So, in addition to making this world a little safer from bear attack, young Mr. Lucas also provided for himself and his family. Very manly indeed.

Pros: One less bear equals one less bear attack.  Pulling the trigger was the easy part.

Cons: Nothing comes to mind.

Car of the Year: 

1. Fisker Karma

Pros: Electric, rear wheel drive, 981 ft/lbs of torque, American made, and, well, just look at it.

Cons: Price tag.

www.fiskerautomotive.com

2. Icon BR Series

Pros: Modern drivetrain, no rust, manlier than sipping beer through a mustache while watching UFC in your underwear in a room that you built of mahogany and cedar.

Cons: If the other models are any indicator, Icon charges a gob of cash for one.

www.icon4x4.com/overview/coming-soon

3. 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Pros: You can almost drive this thing over any natural solid. It is reasonably priced, now has 285 horses (thank you, new 3.6 V6), both manual and automatic transmissions are solid, and has selectable lockers front and rear. Oh, and it's cheap.

Cons: Maybe 20 mpg.

So, those are the things that impressed me most this year. What do you think? Anything to add? Change?

How an NSX changed the way I evaluate cars.

Today I was given the chance to drive an Acura NSX. I almost peed myself. Allow me to explain why.

When I was 11 years old I noticed that a weird off shoot of Honda popped up calling itself Acura. I was a car geek even then, reading every Car & Driver cover to cover when it showed up in the mail each month before I got from the mailbox to the house. I was eager to drive in the same way that sharks were eager to devour the entire cast of Deep Blue Sea.

Acura was a collection of front wheel drive boredom until 1990, when they offered a Ferrari competitor. Imagine Lifetime channel airing Ultimate Fighting Championship and you'll understand the departure that the NSX represented from the rest of the lineup. The critics couldn't stop singing praises for the weirdly excellent mid-engined barnstormer. I couldn't read enough about the home run that Honda had just hit over the fences of all the exotics from Lamborghini to Porsche and even the most hallowed Ferrari. Meeting one in person gives me the same tingle sensation that I assume my buddy Justin Barksdale experiences when meeting Mariners athletes.

So, here I was yesterday with the keys in hand and a destination in store. I was to drive a childhood hero, and I was getting paid. I felt a little guilty.

The guilt lifted, though, when I tried to climb in. I don't fit into Acura NSXs. I can put my wide butt into the seat. I can put my trunk-like feet on the pedals, but in the end I'm 10 gallons of crap trying to stuff myself into a svelte 5 gallon container. The NSX was an extra small tank top, I was the portly gal wearing it while waddling through the aisles of Walmart with no apparent sense of shame.

I wept bitterly, then drove the damned thing anyway with my head tilted to the side and my elbow jutted way out the open window. Yes, it is finger-tippy (the steering wheel reacts beautifully to input), the pedals are refined and precise, the shifter a proud evidence of intelligent life on planet Earth, and that motor? Oh, that motor. Honda, I thank you.

Now make the new NSX big enough for grown humans.

I want one I want one I want one.

SIAS again.

Masters and I just got back from SIAS; my second visit, his first. I had a second glance at the Fisker, and a more in depth look into some other rigs.

The Fisker is clearly the most exciting American car in attendance this year. From the electric drive train to the stunning looks (both inside and out), it made sense that this car drew a crowd all day. I've walked past it more than a dozen times in two days now, and each time there was a crowd at least two people deep around the monster. And this while only 100 feet from the new Audi R8 Spyder (which consequently had no real crowd drawn). Well done, Fisker. Now let me drive it and we've got a deal.

The Americans seemed to have some pretty big victories, actually. The Cadillac CTS, CTS4 and CTS-Vs were silently seething with pure villainous intent from the center of the lower floor. Mazda seemed duly intimidated by the rear drive hooligans. Ford had a steady line waiting to sit in the Mustang Boss 302, while the SVT Raptor alone had more people in, on and around it than Kia had in its entire booth. Sure, people were milling around the Ferrari and Maeserati booth, but the Chrysler/Dodge booth drew the real numbers thanks in no small part to the 6.4L Charger, 392 Challenger, Rubicon Wranglers, and the regrettable Fiat 500s. Chevy's Camaro and Corvette were crowd favorites, and I heard close to a dozen people commenting on how they wanted to sit in the locked ZR-1. I even saw a security guard stop to take a photo of the 638 horse Vette.

So, what did I walk away with? First, American cars are once again something that we can all take pride in. Well, except those wretched GMC trucks. Almost as lousily made as the Toyota pickups. Second, you can make eco-mental cars that are beautiful, exciting and even sexy. Third, I learned that sitting in a car and touching the materials in the cabin offers way more information than does reading statistics online.

Finally, I learned that Americans are eager to buy cars that cause a fizzle, the kind that James May described. We want to be passionate about our cars again. We want flash, pizzazz and verve. Build us more Boss 302s, Ford. We don't want Fusions. Follow the CTS leader, GM. We aren't into Buick Regals. Give me more SRT8 Challengers, Dodge. I don't care about the Journey.

If you build it, we will come.

2011 Seattle International Auto Show

I went to the Auto Show today in Seattle. As I am a little overstimulated still, I'll try to write more tomorrow. Here's the highlight reel from today's smorgasbord. Sorry for the low quality cell phone pics.

Ferrari 458

Fisker Karma

Fisker Interior

Lamborghini Aventador

Audi R8 Spyder

Mercedes SLS AMG

Jaguar XK Convertable

Camaro SS 6 speed Manual

Want what you don't have? Make it!

This guy wanted a 4 door removable top Jeep but didn't have $30k to spend on a Wrangler Unlimited. Guess his next move.

He built the snot out of a Jeep Cherokee (the best bang-for-the-buck wheeler on the planet). Then, naturally, he cut off the roof.

Talk about having your cake and eating it too. Now this guy has a rig that's more capable than a Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited for the fraction of the cost and he can brag about building it himself.

You can read about the build at Pirate 4x4 Forum.

Now, get out there and build something. Send me pics so I can brag about you too.

Another from the pile of rejected applications.

Pusher Truck: The Rejected Applications File

The Emergency Rule: A Car Lunatic's Standard.

I am a proud product of Duvall, Washington. My lineage includes a scarily narrow family tree from Arkansas, so perhaps I was genetically predisposed towards 'hillbilly' tendencies, but I can't help but think that Duvall has imposed some level of influence on my life. As an example of Duvall's influence; many of you have a clear number in mind when asked how many cars you own, where I couldn't even start without throwing in asterisks and back stories. Car count? More like car biography. Ken Burns style.

Yep, I own many vehicles. And I may even, from time to time, attempt to claim too many as runners. For instance, there is a 1993 Mazda pickup stuck in the woods behind my Mother's house that I often label a running vehicle, even though it is stuck in a mud bog with two flat tires and no roof. Sure, in the strictest sense, it runs, but it wouldn't get me to a hospital quickly enough to save my life if I were bleeding severely. And here's the test.

If a car can't be driven with one hand (the other hypothetically severed) in enough time to prevent lethal hemorrhaging, then it cannot be considered a runner. I've found this a useful tool when attempting to relay to non-car people exactly how many of my cars are runners. Again, still no number can be affixed without a 9 hour mini-series in the way of an explanation.

If you are a car owner, I strongly urge you to count the items of your fleet that do not meet the Emergency Rule. It makes for a fun anecdote when boring the life out of others at dinner parties. Who knows, it may even save your life if your hand is severed and you need to get to a hospital. Of course, I'd likely die enroute trying to defend why we could have taken the 1993 Mazda pickup if we'd only taken the time to air up the flat tires, install a fresh battery, top off the gas tank, check the brake cylinder levels, and other minor touches.

But what a way to go!

A pet Tiger that we should all buy.

On August 18th, I wrote about the 1st generation Cadillac CTS. I was pleasantly surprised by its refinement, comfort, ride control, steering feel, and essentially every aspect of the vehicle. Well, today that ends. Today I drove a 556 horse 2009 Cadillac CTS-V.

This second generation CTS-V was not unlike the 2010 CTS4 that I drove in September, at least from the driver's seat. One notable exception was the little boost gauge on the bottom right side of the speedometer. On the other end of that little gauge was a fire-breathing supercharged LS9, only slightly detuned from its 638 horses in the Corvette ZR1. I wasn't worried until I accidentally engaged 25% of the throttle, and suddenly the cheesy wire mesh grill and lower bumper opening were forgiven.

At 25% throttle, with no intent on my side of stirring any antics, the rear tires of the CTS-V that I was piloting lost the inevitable fight with physics and the entire car started to pivot. I controlled the slide well, but I just learned my lesson; never awaken the beast beneath the hood. At least not on city streets.

I drove the car through the back streets of Bellevue and was amazed that the wailing monster I'd met only a short few blocks behind was a docile house pet with tiny throttle inputs. It was comfortable, smooth, controlled and luxurious. I settled into the Recaro seat and found the A/C control that set the car and seat both to cool. I was feeling a little pampered. Then I found the traction control button on the steering wheel.

The car that had just terrified me was harnessed by traction control! The wheel spinning, power sliding monster was reined in by a computer control nazi. With only 25% throttle, I'd nearly wet myself, and it was in the tamest possible setting.

On the rest of my journey, I jumped up to freeway speed smoothly and effortlessly, passed a slow moving caravan of commuters, and even changed lanes with one of the most finely tuned steering setups I've ever experienced. Exiting the freeway, I found the brakes more than sufficient when the jack wagon in front of me decided to jump into my lane. Smooth, rapid deceleration was only a short pedal pump away.

True, this CTS-V was an automatic. And yes, the flappy paddles behind the steering wheel were laughably poor in execution, but I found that as long as I left the transmission in Drive and let the gas pedal inspire fear, I was good.

Yes, this second generation CTS-V is a ruthless brute of a car. Yes, it is ridiculous and absurd for a daily drive. True, driving one to within 75% of its potential will land you in prison. I won't argue with anyone who questions the sanity of a CTS-V owner.

But as soon as my checking account permits, I'll buy one. And you should too.