I Left Wheelwell

Just wanted to explain why I left Wheelwell.  First off I'm not going to lie, I wanted it as a way to feed interest in my American Motoring blog, YouTube, etc and but when I post a new YouTube video or article and really didn't receive any traffic from there.  But I'm willing to accept that maybe there is no interest in my content from Wheelwell members.

The big reason I'm leaving is that I was once a member of the automotive site www.streetfire.net.  They were trying to be a kind of YouTube for the automotive community and it worked pretty good for a time but it started to suffer from the same advertising plague that is creeping into Wheelwell.  At first there was a "shop" page, then ads start to show up on the borders of the site.  Next they started to allow advertising video which soon turned to non automotive ads.  Then the site eventually was overrun and it was difficult to find anything automotive on the site.

Wheelwell is going the same direction.  When it first started it was all about the members and their cars, then ads and shop page, then ads showing up in your "garage page" around your car which I'm sorry is total BS.  You make a cool car, post pics on their site, which draws views that makes them money.  But I was fine with all this until today.

Today I got a direct message from a Wheelwell "Creative Director" reminding me that there is a shop.  Then she asked what's on my "to buy" list of parts I have planned for my car.  That was enough.  Ads I can choose to click on or not.  Stores I can choose to buy from or not but don't send me direct messages.  That's like telemarketer calls. I can create my own garage page here on the blog and it will be ad free.

I understand Wheelwell needs to keep the lights on but when it's in your face all the time you just don't want to go there.

So I wish Wheelwell luck and I hope they don't end up going down the same path as Streetfire.  I'll do my own thing here.

2016 Ford Stampede Photos Found!

Last year my girlfriend and I spend a day at the Ford Stampede car show shooting over 300 photos.  But we lost them or we thought.  The micro SD card was reading corrupted so we figured they were gone.  Oddly she bought a Macbook to edit photos on and it read the card!

It was a cloudy day which sucked a bit but the rain held off and we got some great shots.  We post the majority of car show photos over on American Motoring's Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/americanmotoring but here's a few shots to maybe tempt you to follow us.

There was a huge turn out as you can see.

Of course I couldn't leave out a shot of my Shelby.  Didn't win anything but that really wasn't why I went and some people really liked the car.

I Purchased a 2017 Focus RS......I think.

Last week I decided to trade in my '07 Hummer H3 for something a little better as a daily driver.  The less practical genes in me made the decision to get a Focus RS.  So I went down to a local dealer to see what they'd give me for the H3.

I wanted to get $8000 for the Hummer but due to an exhaust leak it had at the manifold they said they could only give me $5000.  I agreed however and said I wanted wanted the RS in Stealth Gray, they only had access to the blue.  I'm a little past the "boy racer" age so I passed and decided to look at other dealerships.

Calling a dealership in Barrie they said they could definitely get me gray.  I went to see them and they also determined the same trade price for the Hummer, oh well.  They also didn't have a Stealth Gray on the lot however they said they can get it and we signed the papers.

Now trying to be a clever person I had kept my insurance policy in the States when I moved to Canada.  At the time not only was this a cheaper rate but Allstate US and Allstate Canada don't talk to each other so when I would get speeding tickets in Canada my US insurance would never hear about it.  It was perfect.  They even allowed me to put my Shelby on the policy which was a Canadian car registered in Ontario.  I'm not exactly sure how they did that but I was cool with it.  But all good things must come to an end and when I asked to add the Focus to the policy as well it seems I "shook the monkey tree." They started asking why I was getting the car, how long was I going to be staying in Canada, where was my US residence in the States?  The jig was up and they dumped me.  So I needed to find insurance in Canada.  Fortunately my girlfriend's insurance had added me as a secondary driver so it wasn't hard to get my own policy but poking into my record of tickets getting a good rate could be a challenge.  Currently they are still investigating and haven't come to a decision.  If I can't get proof of insurance I can't pickup the RS.

In the meantime the dealer kind of sold me a car that didn't exist.  I don't think they did it in purpose but while they were selling the me Stealth Gray RS the dealer that actually had it was also selling it.  So the bill of sale was written up on a car that was sold to someone else.  Not they need to find me another gray RS if they can.

So right now I'm waiting to hear if I have insurance and also if I even have a car.  Maybe I should have gone with the VW Golf R like I had originally thought.

Small Spaces

Over this winter I'd certainly like to come up with a plan to make this small space useful for tinkering on vehicles.  I'm certain there must be some magic way to make the most of it.  Id you have any suggestions please let me know.

There's Yet Another Hellcat... oh Dodge, why?

Why the hell does Dodge have to Hellcat everything in their lineup?  They’ve got the Hellcat Challenger, then came the Charger, then came the Jeep Cherokee, and not they show the TrailCat Jeep concept.  They pimp out that engine to everything.  Have they never heard the saying, “If everyone is special then nobody is?”

Dodge Caliber SRT-4

This is one of the main reason I went with a GT500 instead of a Hellcat.  The Hellcat’s just aren’t as special as the Shelby’s.  Dodge does the same thing with the R/T trim.  Back in the 60s/70s R/T stood for Road and Track.  It meant a car that was just as potent on the road as it is on the track so you needed to watch out.  It was for Dodge’s big muscle cars.  But not they slap it on everything.  You could even get a Dodge Caliber R/T then later SRT.  Now it’s all just a joke and they are doing the same with their new Hellcat engine.

Ford on the other hand has said that the new flat plane Voodoo engine that’s in the GT350 Mustang will be exclusive to that vehicle and will not be found in any other model.  This makes it special and makes the cars with the engine more valuable.  The supercharged 5.8L Trinity engine in my GT500 wasn’t in anything else from Ford.  It was 662hp just for the GT500.  Classy.

UPDATE: ...and now a Hellcat Ram....of course. Shocking.

Picking Up the Shelby

I drove the Shelby home Tuesday night from the pickup location.  Basically I just dropped off my ’07 Mustang and picked up the Shelby without any sort of event.  So suddenly I went from getting out of a 300hp car and into a 662hp one in a matter of minutes.  How was it?  Well I found it fairly intimidating frankly.  You think you understand what “fast” means but then you drive something that redefines it.  This is one of those cars.  My 1968 Firebird 400 was a 400+hp car so I really felt I understood how a fast car felt.  I'm now certain if I got out of the GT500 and into a supercar or hypercar I would experience the same feeling.  There is always something faster.  Happily this realization created a great deal of excitement for me because I now have a lot to learn.  I look forward to this summer to start learning.

The car was being stored at a massive car dealer auction lot. Acres and acres of cars. I went to the gate they instructed and went to the trailer/office.  The guy inside looked at my ID and instructed me to go get the Shelby and pull it around to the exit gate to be checked through.  I walked over and got in, adjusted all the mirrors and started it up.  Wow, louder than I expected.  The shifter felt a little mushy after driving the notchy Hurst shifter in my GT.  I thought, "Okay, take it easy" and put it in first.

Noob Story 1: The clutch in the Shelby has a weird kind of uneven tension.  You seem to hit a mid-position and it wants to spring out.  I felt a similar feeling with the gas where a tiny tap seemed to make it scream.  The combo of these two things made me fairly terrified. David Freiburger over at Hot Rod mentioned this in a Roadkill video and I totally see what he was talking about.  After checking the car through the gate the guy cleared me to take it.  Luckily he thought I was revving the car for his benefit and cheered me on, but in reality I just didn't know what I was doing.  Down the road I quickly pulled over, composed myself, and removed the tags from the windshield so I could see out and headed home.  Traffic was heavy though so with the constant stopping and starting I got plenty of practice.  After about a mile or two I started to get the hang of it and by the time I got it home it seemed less terrifying.

Noob Story 2: The car had no gas when I picked it up so I had to pull into the closest station.  Looking at the fuel door I assumed there was an a button inside to release it.  I wasted a bunch of time looking for it and then looking through the manual before I realised there was no button and you just press the fuel door and it springs open.  Duh.

There are a few things I don’t yet understand about the car.  For instance it beeps at me when I accelerate hard.  I think this might be a traction warning or maybe a shift warning although I was not near redline.  I’ll have to figure it out and see if I can turn it off, extremely annoying.  I was trying to get the supercharger to whine but when it would start beeping I’d let off so I have yet to really hear it.  To be fair I shouldn’t be doing that anyway.  It’s cold and the car has summer tires so it just wants to spin.  Even when I was in third gear and hit it hard I could feel the car’s traction systems trying to keep the tires from spinning.

In regards to the reaction it got on the way home I just noticed two people checking it out but I was very "focused" you could say.  One guy with a tricked out Honda zipped past me in a different lane and seemed to almost snap his neck looking back.  The other guy was an Audi, didn't notice what type but he was revving like crazy at me.  I was in no way prepared for any racing so I just gave him a rev back and kept going.

Since then the car has been sitting in my rather crappy garage waiting for the snowstorm to end.  I haven't gotten a chance to even look at it because the garage is so small and I'd really rather pull it out so I have some room.  I think this summer I might at least paint the garage interior so it would seem a little more worthy of the GT500's presence, maybe even some nice flooring.

Overall I have some mixed feelings about the purchase.  It's always a little sad to see your previous car go but you can't keep them all.  Plus I swore to myself  I wouldn't get another Mustang and I'd try something different but I guess this really isn't a Mustang.  Also this car is way into the high end of my budget so I'm nervous about it's impact on my finances.  It should all work out but we'll see.  Also I've been a little disappointed with the response I get from most friends and even some family.  Seems they kind of hate me for having it.  I plan to write more about this in a different article.

So now we wait for warm temps.

The Problem With Mustangs

The problem with Mustangs is that they are so damn hard to find.  Sound ridiculous?  Sure it does.  Just going to work each day I must see at least 5 and that is minimum.  During the summer months that number can be well into the 20s in the Toronto area.  So what am I talking about?

I'm talking about the "special" Mustangs.  I'm talking about the Mustangs that people buy and keep a hold of.  I'm talking about the Mustangs that Ford produces limited amounts of and you can't get your hands on even of you have a pile of cash.  Mustangs like the 2016 GT350 and GT350R.  Here in Canada the GT350 costs $71,000 while the GT350R goes for $91,000.  That is if you can find a dealer that can order you one and you're willing to pay the 10k to 15k price gouge the dealers are handing out.

So I got the bright idea, why don't I go for a different "special Mustang" like a 2014 Mustang GT500?  They have 662 horsepower and there aren't lines of people trying to buy one.  However it turns out they are equally hard to find.  I found only one in Ontario for sale and they guy was asking $65,000.  The car sold new for $61,000.  Not to mention Royal Bank of Canada values the car at $55,000 which means you're not getting a loan for the full amount of the car.  Yes I went and talked to a bank about getting a loan.  What can I say, I'm weak.

I'd also have to sell my currently Mustang privately which could be an issue just to make the remaining money to pay for the car.  Although the loan officer talking to me said he might want to buy it. :P

In general it seems my previous post is correct.  I'm done with cars for this year.  Sigh...


Really seriously though.  I'm looking to buy a 2014 Mustang GT500.  I'm not just talking here so if you know of one in Ontario let me know.