s04e18

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400TH POST ON SUNSHINE

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Google is killing Blogger. That may not be news, and it may not be a big deal, but I - and many bloggers I know and interact with - have no idea what this means for us and for our blogs. What about all those links back to our stories? What about all the links and track-backs and ping-backs in our stories? What happens to them?

It seems like, for now, no one really knows. That should be sad, I think. It should be tense, maybe ...

... but it isn't, because I've lost interest.

I haven't lost interest in writing, of course. I still regularly contribute to "my hippie blog" Gas 2.0, and I've recently begun writing for Cleantechnica, as well. I still write PR and copy material for companies like Speedriven, Switzer Performance, and (on rare occasions) Genuine Scooters. I write for Scooterworks' blog on a "few times a week" basis, and contribute to that company's online scooter wiki, as well.

Here's the thing about all that: I get paid to do it.

The initial beginnings of Sunshine were based on friction, and an inability to get my writing (as it was) published anywhere else. In a nutshell, it was this idea that "If they won't publish me, I'll publish myself." and I immediately began self-publishing the PR and copy I was writing for RENNtech here on Blogger (the RENNtech SLR McLaren cooling PKG, in particular, is what "launched" Sunshine almost exactly 4 years ago).

Getting published isn't a problem for me, anymore. That means I'm extremely lucky - but, regardless of how lucky I am or amn't - I only have so many hours in the day, and (especially in the face of all the related uncertainty surrounding Blogger) I'm out of hours to devote to Sunshine.

I will, of course, continue writing - and I hope that you'll follow me over to the various outlets that have been generous enough to include me in their rosters and listen to what I have to say there. I'll continue to make those places my home on the web, and will push out new and exciting stories about Lancias there, rather than here ...

... for now, it's come to this: Thanks for stopping by over the years, and I hope I'll get to see you again.

i write about wine | part vi

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HIGH FIDELITY

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Devout Christians claim to see the hand of God in all things, and - to these people - that sight is a comfort and a strength. I've heard them read off beautiful expositions expounding upon the Graceful hand that shaped each leaf, sprinkled every drop of dew, and I've seen them grow in strength and joy simply reading about their creator. These few, faithful people really do see God in the details - let's face it: ain't just anybody seein' Jesus in a tortilla.

I think it's safe to say that I am not a Christian. Not really. It's not what I am or what I am not that is relevant here, though - what is relevant, and what I feel makes me very like these hyper-religious people I just described, is that I see Lancias everywhere.

Take, for example, the Dodge Avenger rally project shown in the video, above. Jalopnik writer Justin Hyde said that this 300 hp car - built in conjunction with Fiat and Magneti Marelli - was "all dressed up with no place to go."

Really, Justin? Really!?

Take a look at this car. Look hard, and soak it in - but keep an open mind, too, because - unless you're as damaged as I am - I'll need to explain what it is you're looking at.

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THIS DOES NOT MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS

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I submit, for your consideration, the following hypothesis: Justin (along with the boys at Autoblog) got it dead wrong.

See, the 300 hp rally-spec Dodge shown here is nothing but red-herring. It is a ruse. It is a diversion, if you will, which will allow Chrysler and Fiat to develop something novel, exciting, and inspiring in relative secrecy, by hiding it in plain sight. I am referring, of course, to a new Lancia HF.

:: remember to breathe, remember to breathe ::

There is very little in this world that is more exciting to me than the prospect of honest-to-goodness new Lancia arriving on US shores, and almost nothing that is more exciting to me than the prospect of a new HF.

Add the word "Integrale" to the end of that sentence and you can drop the "almost".

I believe, with the same religiastic Fervor that makes believers see the Virgin Mary in a grease stain, that the Dodge Stratus rally car that was making news today is a mule, proving that the platform can boogie in the dirt. The platform, by the way, which it shares with Chrysler's new 200. AKA the 2012 Lancia Flavia.

Lancia Flavia HF has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

With 300 hp on tap and sport-tuned, rally-bred suspension components managing the car's newly-refined chassis, a Flavia HF would go a long way towards building the Chrysler 200's cred as a Lancia worthy of carrying the shield and the flag... and Fiat would be mad not to move forward with the concept ... and I think someone at Fiat agrees.

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STEADY NOW

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I promise you: the Lancia Flavia HF will happen, and you'll be done seen 'bout ev'rything, when you see a elephant fly.

a real education

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YOUR PROFESSORS ARE DOGBERT

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I've been thinking a lot about school and education lately. Not only my own (laughable) attempts at learning anything worth knowing, but my sister's too. See, she's graduating from high school soon, and will be heading off to college in the fall ... and I feel like I should have something, some sort of Advice to hand down to her, you know?

Therein lies the problem: I'm not sure what to tell her.

It's not that I didn't learn anything in school - quite the opposite. My problem is that schools, even state schools, have become businesses first and hallowed halls of learning a far, far distant second (maybe fourth), and - in a few short weeks - my baby sister is going to be thrown into that grinder. In order to pursue whatever interests she may have, she'll have to jump through hoops like 1000-level English courses that she'll BS through, and 2000 level liberal arts courses that she'll BS through, etc., etc.

Will that help her become whatever she wants to become?

No. Of course it won't.

I'm not really bright enough or articulate enough to dole out any kind of well-formed insights, however, so the best I can do is quote the great Samuel Clemens, who said "never let school get in the way of your education."

Perhaps ol' Sam is a bit outdated, though, and a more "modern" philosopher might be able to help me relay a more contemporary message. With that in mind, I turn to Mr. Scott Adams.

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Adams wrote:

I understand why the top students in America study physics, chemistry, calculus and classic literature. The kids in this brainy group are the future professors, scientists, thinkers and engineers who will propel civilization forward. But why do we make B students sit through these same classes? That's like trying to train your cat to do your taxes—a waste of time and money. Wouldn't it make more sense to teach B students something useful, like entrepreneurship?

Adams goes on to share a series of anecdotes about his own college experience, where he learned how to "get things done", and to "make something out of nothing."

Getting things done, as it were, is far and away the most important skill I ever picked up - but I didn't learn it in school. To be honest, I'm not sure where I got it, but I know who was pushing it: my dad.

For most of my life, I thought the guy was pretty useless. I would ask him how to do something, he would look at me like I was wearing a meat helmet, then shake his hands dismissively and say "you just do it." One day - long after I'd given up asking his advice - he gave me some advice: just do it.

Whatever it was we were talking about, I handled it on my own. It started a trend.

I haven't done very much in life (yet), so it may seem stupid to give any kind of advice or wisdom, but whatever I have done, I simply just did.

Example: more even than all the car stuff, I am most proud of the writing I do for Gas 2.0 and - sad as this is - the writing I do here on Sunshine ... and at no point did anyone tell me how to go out and get published. No one told me how to get paid for writing. No one coached me, trained me, or pushed me there. In fact, it was literally a case of "no one else will publish this, so I will" that led me to start this Blogger account.

That doesn't mean I didn't get any help along the way, of course. Nick Chambers, Chris DeMorro, and many other great people at Important Media have helped me along, and I've learned a ton from Matt Hardigree, E Maureen, and the great Jack Baruth, but I didn't learn a lick of it in school.

I've been talking about writing a book (like, an honest-to-goodness Book book) for a while, and I think I will now, just to prove the point that if you want to do something, you do it by doing it.

That's my advice for you, I guess. Learn by doing ... and listen to dad.

a funny thing happened

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THIRTY THOUSAND

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In my last post, I mentioned that I'd been neglecting Sunshine a bit - which is true. The flip side of that statement is that I've been focusing my energies elsewhere. Namely: Speedriven (of course) and Gas 2.0, which has a steadily-growing audience many thousands strong. Granted, Gas 2.0 is a long way behind big car sites like Autoblog and Jalopnik, but it has its niche and fills it well, I think.

Over the past few years that I've been writing for Gas 2.0, I've posted a number of stories I found neat. Compelling, even. It was a bit of a surprise, then, when a quick article I wrote about a recycle and renovated Airstream trailer became the most wildly popular post on the site, generating almost 30,000 page-views within 24 hours of being posted.

Good news, for sure - but not at all expected.

What was it about the RV post that caused such a stir? No idea, but I tried to recapture some of the headline magic a few days later with only limited success. I'll keep trying, though (hard to keep a good car man down) and I'll keep you posted on the progress.

faith restored

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BACK ON THE ROAD

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It's been over a month since my last update here on Sunshine, but it's been a he(ck) of a month in many other ways. As always, there was plenty of good and plenty of bad - but I'll get to all that in good time. For now, however, I'd like to re-start my involvement here at Sunshine by following up on my last post.

As you can see from the photo above: the Shondes are back on the road!

See? Good things happen, too.

gotta love wordpress

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PRETTY

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If your only clue about what's going on in my life is time spent at Sunshine Supercars, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's been a quiet month ... nothing could be further from the truth, however, and we've been pushing through snow drifts, elbowing people at the Chicago Auto Show, yelling at suppliers, and moving the shop into new, classier digs. All of the above should yield some good posts, but you'll have to wait for that.

SO, what else is new? Speedriven's shiny new (Wordpress powered) website, which integrates news, press releases, product reviews, and even allows comments on some of the product pages! You can CLICK HERE to check it out, and let me know what you think in the comments.

Enjoy!

so that was 2010

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It's been a while since I posted something "heart-felt" here on Sunshine. There are always plenty of reasons for playing life a bit close to the chest, of course, and let me tell you: I have plenty.

That said, 2010 has come and gone - and I think we've all grown up a bit.

Personally, 2010 was a strange year for me. I reconnected with some estranged family members just in time for them to "be there" for me when my father passed away in July. It was around that time that I made the decision to do whatever was necessary to become a bigger part of my son's life, and moved across two states (with no job and no plan) to be with him.

Those were probably the two major events of the year. As it is, perhaps, with everyone in situations like these, I learned who would really be there for me when I needed them, and who was just along for the ride. I wish I could say that I knew who was who before-hand, but I was surprised - and grateful - every time.

SO, while I'm on the subject of gratitude I'd like to say that I couldn't have made it through this year's hard times (and there are a lot more than the two listed above) without the support and friendship of people like Jody, Bill, Don, and Frankie.

In many ways, 2010 was a very "adult" year. There were break-ups, heated arguments over my boy, multiple moves, financial struggles, personal struggles, stresses at work, and stresses at home ... but there were some great times, too.

For starters, I've been writing quite a bit more frequently - and I do enjoy it so. I've gotten re-acquainted with the Linux terminal, CSS, HTML, and AutoCAD, as well - just because I like myself better the better I get at these things. I learned a lot about sales and marketing from Jody, and (with Bill's help) I'm putting all of these things together.

Perhaps the biggest personal story of 2010, for me, was joining Speedriven. After the disappointments at RENNtech and Switzer I was almost ready to give up on automotive - but here I am, and (on some days) I couldn't be happier. Marcin has made me feel like I've been here since day 1 - which I have, in many ways!

It's still too soon to tell, of course, how the Speedriven adventure will play out. So far, though, I'm glad we're here and I'm glad we're doing this. We've had more successes than we could have reasonably expected, and (if our luck holds out) we've got a lot more success to come.

If I had to sum it all up, I suppose I would tell you that 2010 was the first year I really felt like an "adult", with all the pros (and only some of the cons) that the word implies.

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2011 HAD BETTER WATCH OUT

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I think that's enough philosophy for today, right?

Right.

Now, I'd intended to wrap this up here, but I can't justifiably close out any kind of retrospective on 2010 without mentioning Charis. I don't think she likes it when I draw attention to her, but nobody reads this anyway, so here goes: Charis has been an amazingly positive influence on me for the last six years. In 2010, however, she was my rock in so many storms that I sincerely lost count. Without her there to hold me up, I'm sure I would have fallen into a deep depression at best, and ... best not to think of the "at worst".

Thank you, Charis. I couldn't have made it through 2010 without you, and I can't wait to see what 2011 brings.

big beginnings

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There have been so many huge changes and new developments and stunning realizations for me these past few weeks, I hardly know where to begin ... or if I should begin at all, honestly. This is a goofy, geeky car-blog, after all, not an self-indulgent excuse to spill my guts.

In my experience, spilling your guts is exactly as attractive as it sounds. Still, I believe I should make a few things plain.

First, I am no longer the sales manager of Switzer Performance. I have no hard feelings towards Tym or the crew there, but it's time for me to pursue something a bit more "me". I'll still be working on Tym's website, answering any questions that come in through email, etc., but I am no longer a part of the shop's day-to-day operations.

Second, I am no longer doing things I do not like to do. I like reading, I like writing, and I absolutely love lording my knowledge and experience over the other humans. Luckily, the guys at Gas 2.0 have agreed to give me a chance to try my hand at automotive writing, welcoming me with open arms and enthusiasm (again) and encouraging me to do just that.

Third, I have come to realize that I would be nowhere in life without people like Mike Switzer, Jody Moeggenberg, Frankie Berti, and Nalan Li, who continue to be incredibly supportive of my (potentially suicidal) decision to pursue a more "freelance" sort of existence.

Today is August 20th, so (while I'm here) I want to say "Happy Birthday" to mom, "I love you" to dad and Allison, and "come home soon" to Nalan, who is imposing her pointy little will on me from Brooklyn this weekend.

Thanks to everyone, then, for everything these past few weeks. I hope you stick around, too - because things are really starting to get interesting.

serenity now

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LLOYD BRAWN SOLD THREE COMPUTERS TODAY

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This one is definitely a Mike, and for every Seinfeld fan out there who appreciates a good video/genre mash-up.

Enjoy!

the year we forgot to make contact

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SURE IS PRETTY OUT THERE

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2010 is a year charged with meaning in the sci-fi universe. In the fictional world created by acclaimed author Arthur Clarke, 2010 is the year that America makes contact with alien life on Europa.

For the uninitiated, Europa is one of the dozens of moons orbiting the planet Jupiter.

While Jupiter's moons may seem inhospitable to life at first glance, NASA scientists believe that Europa might be the most significant source of liquid water in the solar system, with massive sub-surface seas capable of covering every inch of Earth's moon under many thousands of feet of water - water that is heated by the churning forces of Jupiter's massive gravity acting on Europa's metallic core.

In short: Europa seems ideally suited to support what we think of as life ... sort of like the short-lived Lotus sportscar of the same name.

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I BET YOU WERE WONDERING WHEN WE WOULD GET TO THE CAR

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That's a long way to go to get to an obscure Lotus model that never hit US shores, I'll grant you, but you can't deny the linguistic symmetries here.

For the uninitiated, Europa is one of the dozens of variants of Lotus' diminutive Elise.

Lotus' Elise requires no introduction to the automotive enthusiast. It is a petite, nimble little car that exemplifies Lotus' corporate obsession with lightweight construction. The Elise is small, it is cramped, it is stiff, it is loud, and it is wonderful ... if you're in to that sort of thing. Most people aren't.

Cue the Lotus Europa, which was always intended as a bigger, roomier, softer, quieter, and wonderfuler version of Lotus' demanding Elise, marketed to people as a Lotus that could be driven to work, to school, to market, to dinner, and back home.

In short: Europa seems ideally suited to support what we think of as life ... sort of like the Jovian moon of the same name.

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SURE IS PRETTY IN THERE

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2010, then, stands out as a year that is doubly disappointing for me, personally. On the one hand, America seems no closer to sending humans into the Jovian system than it was twenty years ago. On the other, Lotus announced that it would be discontinuing the Europa line in all markets.

I admit that I haven't always been kind to the Europa (neither has Chrysler), but I will be very honest and also admit the Europa is more appealing than the sexy, slinky, but ultimately derivative Evora that is replacing it. It was a different animal, conceived when Lotus' designers didn't have more than a few nickels to rub together and had to cobble together a GT contender out of - quite literally - a bit of clay and whatever they could scrounge up from Proton's Malaysian parts bin.

Lotus were more romantic then. Lotus were the underdogs, and the Europa GT was the product of underdogs who aimed high to challenge the market's overdogs (?) like Chevy's Corvette and Porsche's 911. The Evora challenges the same Corvettes and Porsches that the Europa did, of course, but it's a more polished, sterile sort of thing. Where the Europa was chunky, the Evora is slick, and in the days since the Europa was announced GM has gone bankrupt, Porsche has been bought by Volkswagen, and Lotus? Lotus has been riding high, no longer an underdog at all ...

... which leaves me feeling an all-too familiar kind of disappointment.

shameless plug for my other blog

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CARBOTASTIC COMRADE

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I've been reading these Russian posts from the past year or so - stories filled with Switzer's mad Russians racing their super-fast cars at evil speeds on public roads, seemingly without a care in the world.

They fascinate me, these Russians. I want to know more about them. How do they think? Where do they live? What - most importantly - do they eat?

If you've read my other blog, then you know already I'm a bit of a foodie, so it seems a natural enough question to me. You'll also know that I have a real problem with Ohio winters, so how do these Russians get through theirs? By loading up on that superb Russian staple: bread!

I was as surprised as you probably are to learn that bread is one food item a Russian table is rarely without.

Now, we all know that no decent human can deny the satisfaction of a freshly-baked loaf of crusty bread, but the Russians elevate its importance to an intense level of seriousness. The Russian intellectuals have asserted that "the quality of bread is the quality of our life".

The importance the Russians have placed on their bread isn't recent, either. During the Cold War, the baking of bread was industrialized, and the Soviet government fixed its price, making a bland, homogenized, and stereotypically communistic sort of bread accessible to all.

In the home, more traditional wives and grandmothers prided themselves on their mad bredmakin' skillz. How did they organize culinary throw-downs in Russia? By pairing off a dense and chewy Borodinsky against a Chorni Chleb - a particular black bread with more than twenty ingredients, including rye flour, chocolate, shallots, coriander, and caraway seeds ... it sounds divine.

All this emphasis on bread and baking follows the Russian proverb, "bread is at the head of everything," and it seems to do a body good

In any event, I hope you enjoyed the little food-based side-track. I'll be posting quite a bit more about Russian foods on Let Me Be Frankie, so keep checking in there in-between your weekly doses of Sunshine.

And, finally, because I couldn't resist ...

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IN SOVIET RUSSIA BOBBY FLAYS YOU

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... ah, Yakov. You taught us well.

i write about wine | part iv

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WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT

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That right there is what I have been waiting for since I was five years old: a black Lancia Beta coupe.

You see, I did not grow up in a normal home. Not that anyone else I know did, but still - this home was blessed with an astonishing array of neat cars and people who were not afraid to test the cars' top speeds with a blood-alcohol content well above the legal limit and a five-year-old child riding shotgun, fire extinguisher at the ready.

Why the fire extinguisher? We had a few Renaults.

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WHICH MAY ALSO EXPLAIN THE ALCOHOL

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On the other end of the spectrum, though, were a pair of big silver Mercedes SEL sedans, a pair of 5-liter Mustang GTs, a 280ZX Datsun, an orange VW Camper van, and the reddest, loudest, tightest 1975 Lancia Beta coupe in all existence.

When I turned 14, the keys to Lancia were handed over to me.

I didn't want it, but there was no denying that I loved the Lancia. I hated it, too. It never ran. None of my friends knew what it was. It was a pile.

Even so, I would wash it every weekend. I would tinker with it, helped along by aunts and uncles who pointed out the Weber carbs and taught me how to gap the plugs.

Every now and then it would start.

Every now and then it would run.

Every now and then it was perfect, and I would charge around Kendall with the Ansa exhaust signing, not a care in the world.

I won't depress you with the whys and hows of that car's exit from my life. I will say, however, that I tried to recapture that experience twice since then, with a pair of newer red Betas, but they didn't work out.

"We" didn't work out, I should say, and any gearheads addicted to Italian cars of a certain age, I think, will understand my meaning there.

All of this leads me to something that's been on my mind these past few days: the potentially upcoming 2012 Chrysler Delta, by Lancia.

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SHE COMES WITH IN THE CAR

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I find myself asking all of my industry buddies about the car on an almost weekly basis, but few have seen it. Chrysler's trotted it out to a few auto shows, sure, but the general-public 'Muricans who saw it didn't know quite what to make of this premium compact. It was the sex of the thing; too much, I think, for a bunch of clods who think an Edsel looks like a vulva, you know?

I've put out some feelers to try to get the real scoop, and see if maybe - just, maybe - this will be the one that brings back that lovin' feeling ...

... in black, this time.

schaaadenfreude | part i

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A study at the University of British Columbia showed that looking at pictures of sick and injured people seemed to boost the human immune system ... which means that, pretty soon, parents may be asking little Billy if he's taken his daily dose of schadenfreude!

This is something I've suspected all along, since watching people get smacked in the face has always made me feel better, happier, and more energetic.

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I FEEL BETTER ALREADY

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Too far?

Hardly! Participants in the study were exposed to ten minute slideshows of images of diseased people and other "unpleasantnesses", with the science-types measuring something at some point along the way.

The participants gave blood samples both before and after each slideshow. Next the researchers exposed these blood samples to a bacterial infection, and measured the extent to which white blood cells produced interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine that white blood cells make when they detect microbial intruders. More IL-6 indicates a more aggressive immune response to infection. So, by measuring IL-6 before and after the slide show, the researchers were able to determine whether seeing pictures of disease-y people actually stimulated the immune system to fight infection more aggressively. And it did.

This elegantly explains how I made it through a snowy Ohio winter without getting sick - and totally justifies the time I spent laughing at all the people with flu vaccines that backfired horribly!

Now, take a look at the picture below ...

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I LOOK SICK WHEN I PLAY WITH THE CONTRAST

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... now, feel better, and don't say I never did anything to help the little people.

sunshine supercheese

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You like cheese?

The Amish are Ohio's gourmet cheese-gurus, and if you're an old man with a barn, they'll sell it to you!

Last weekend, we drove down to Ashland, OH and Grandpa Baum's famous "Grandpa's Cheese Barn and Village", where Granpda has been exploiting Amish farmers capitalizing on the fruits of Amish labor for decades.

Packed with every made-from-scratch delight this writer can imagine, Grandpa's Cheese Barn has ciders (blackberry, peach, red raspberry, and apple), jams (fig, raspberry, orange peel, and ginger), jerked meats (ha!), as well as a variety of cookies, coffees, and ice cream ...

... and then there were the cheeses.

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SIXTY FEET OF COUNTER SPACE JUST. LIKE. THIS.

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There was cheese everywhere in Grandpa's barn, and I'm not just talking about the schlock being pushed in the gift shop.

There was gouda, swiss, 'murican, and muenster. We tried triple-cream butter cheese that melted in our mouths. We sampled horseradish bacon cheddar, which was a glorious bacon-flavored kick in the mouth on our way to pinconning ... which was not obviously poison.

I mentioned the horseradish and bacon cheddar already, but we found more and more cheddars. Here were all manner cheddars, from cayenne (hot) and tomato (tasted like Spaghetti-O's) to strawberry.

We found something called beer cheese, which I truly believe was made by draining the distilled liquids of various corpses into week-old milk curds. I did not care for it, and plan on someday weaponizing it for sale to 3rd world dictators.

Being who I am, however, my favorite was the house special: Grandpa flavored butter, which was presented for sale un-ironically.

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YOUNG GRANDPA

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We are through the looking glass people. Tread lightly.

more beige

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Today's post about the brain-dead simple new Smart Cables from Michelin reminded me of my buddy Matt Hardigree's excellent Beige Bites Back series on Jalopnik.

I find myself torn on the issue of beige-ness. On the one hand, there is a strong business case for building the sort of mildly invisible / ruthlessly efficient appliances that the market demands in quantity. On the other, you find cars that require knowledge, attention, and (one might say) a bit of work to really get them down the road.

This principle applies to computers, cameras, and espresso machines, as well as cars. Some are fairly automatic, and easy to use for even the most lay of laymen, while others require a more informed touch - lest, something like this happen.

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DO YOU CONNECT THE "+" TO THE "-" OR THE "+" TO THE "+"

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I'm not really sure where any of this is going (still), but I don't think anyone else does, either.

That said, it may be that the future really does belong to the Soma addicts Prius drivers and iPad buyers, but I like to think there will still be some room for those people who like to tamp their own espresso on a copper-and-brass La San Marco, boot into Linux on a Sony PS3, and tune an orchestra of carburetors by ear ... but maybe there won't be.

If not that, maybe I'll be able to sip my Mc'Spresso and text about the good 'ol days while my automobot drives me to work in the mornings. That would be nice, too.

future-ific

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Now that we're well into aught-ten (as I may begin to say) the world feels very future-y and science fiction-y.

To celebrate, I've included the clip above: Pierre Henry's 1960 "Psyche Rock", which formed the basis for the Futurama theme some thirty years later ... which first aired about 10 years ago.

:: sighs ::

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Originally posted on iHeartChaos.

500 for love

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I love small things. Blame the estrogen.

I love fast things. Blame Hollywood, Tom Cruise sliding across the floor in his underwear, and Days of Thunder.

The Fiat 500 is one of my favorite cars of the first description, and I can't wait for the new Fiatsler to bring the tiny deathtrap back to US shores.

Unfortunately, it seems like these mini cars will be getting the Biggie-size treatment, with a longer, wider, and more "accommodating" version more fit for robust American bodies.

Embiggened microcars? The charm of these little 500s has always been their diminutive size. Is it sad, then, that the best I fear I can I hope for is a new Chryco 500 that's smaller than the newest Coopers?

Yes.

Until they arrive, I'll just have to enjoy dreams of this lil' rat-motored terror from the 2009 SEMA show, and marvel at what might have been.

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Photographs via the Autoblog.

two-thousand ten

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Welcome to 2010, everyone!

By "everyone" I, of course, mean both of the devoted readers who have been following Sunshine's epic journey from sunny Florida to snowy Ohio since 2007. Thanks, guys!

This little corner of the internet has been dormant for a few weeks - and for a number of reasons, all with little or nothing to do with the actual reasons we've had for not posting since late October ... but no more!

We (as the say) are back, and twenty-oh-ten is going to be HUGE.

Stay tuned!

sunshine theme week | godzilla ii | 'zilla v. frankie's pizza

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BIGGIE SMALLS. BIGGIE SMALLS. BIGG-

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If you say "Godzilla" three times, the damned thing appears smack in the middle of your quiet little liberal-arts town!

The original winner of the "I Ate Tokyo" Super Lucky Buffet Charrenge showed up on Monday while I was chatting up the Godzilla Theme Week during a typical lunch break at Oberlin's Java Zone.

Considering Java Zone's veggie-heavy menu, it should come as no surprise that there was very little "scurrying" fare to be had. As such, the big G zeroed-in on the next best thing: a super-greasy pizza.

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GODZILLA v. FRANKIE'S PIZZA (w/ ICED HAZELNUT COFFEE)

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In this case, "Frankie's Pizza" is both a literal and figurative name, since the thin crust basil-pesto, fresh tomato, red onion, black olive, and mozzarella masterpiece shown here is actually called Frankie's Pizza" on the Java Zone menu, and it actually was my pizza!

Like I said: Java Zone offers all sorts of vegetarian dishes at relatively cheap (private liberal-arts college) student prices. The employees with the sexy accents are all from some Greek or European or Mediterranean or Middle Eastern country way out there near East Texas, so there's quite a bit of regional influence in the remaining two-thirds of the hummus, baba ganoush, moussaka, sumac spiced menu, as well.

I should also mention another excellent item on the menu: the free wi-fi that kept me sane while the local yokels were responsible for setting up my internet connection.

Sad to report, however, that as good as the pizza was - Godzilla had the temperament of a five year old, and was not an ideal dining companion. Rather than try his own food, he played with the pizza, set it on radioactive fire, then refused to eat it.

6 bucks I'll never get back ...

sunshine theme week | godzilla ii | introduction

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ALL OVER AGAIN

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The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind, and it all started when a trio of Switzer cars finishing 1-2-3 at the Moscow Unlimited a few weeks back. Since then, our Tymmeh-tuned mecha-Godzillas posted record-breaking results (for an R35) in standing mile and dragstrip events in Miami, Moscow, and right up the road in Salem, Ohio.

During these hectic weeks, Tymmeh n' me have found ourselves stranded, lost, burned up, burned out, and beat down - but it was all in good fun, and I'll be bringing you all (both?) up to date on all the latest GTR happenings during this, the SECOND Godzilla theme-week from Sunshine Supercars!

Rejoice, dammit!