Cars on jasoncrowther.com

VW Harlequins

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 21:41:58 -0700

I’ve never seen a real one in real life, but these are so cool. I didn’t know the story behind them or that they did models other than the Golf.

In a dream...

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Walking around downtown Walnut Creek and found the Tesla dealer…

yeah, I’ll take one for me, and one for the Mrs. pleez.

NPR 'Car Talk' host Tom Magliozzi dies at 77

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

NPR ‘Car Talk’ host Tom Magliozzi dies at 77 | syracuse.com.

Aw, man. RIP. CarTalk was one of my gateway drugs for NPR.

ps, his obituary is also a delightful read.

Crazy Car Vent

Tue, 01 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Can’t unsee….

Mercedes 6x6

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Caught a review of this on Top Gear the other night.

Mercedes-Benz to Produce Limited Run of G63 AMG 6x6s—Just Not for America - Photo Gallery of Car News from Car and Driver - Car Images.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Why yes, you can pay off my old lease 2 months early and give me a way nicer model for the same monthly payment.

2014 Mazda6 Touring

Super-Secret Volkswagen Test Track

Mon, 23 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Well, it used to be secret. 5 mile straightaway, whoa!

Super-Secret Volkswagen Test Track — Google Sightseeing.

The Future Is Now

Thu, 14 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

For the last week, I’ve been rolling out in a 2013 Mazda3 hatch, while my regular ride (‘11 Mazda6) gets some body work sorted out at the dealer. I test drove a Mazda3 before I got my Mazda6 and found it pretty plain, boring and slow.

If you can't afford it, fake it.

Sat, 14 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Add a body kit, some choice accessories, and blam, super car!

Sub5ZeroTop 20 Replica Cars.

Interesting, I didn’t know the Ferrari in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was a fake.

Exotic Cars

Thu, 05 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I’m not sure why, but some of the most exotic cars I’ve seen in person, are at my local grocery store. Today, it was a Maserati Ghibli.

The configurator on the site doesn’t include pricing information. So, if you have to ask, you’ll probably never have one.

Real Life Hot Wheels Stunt

Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

A little old, but impressive none-the-less.

My New Obsession

Sun, 04 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Maybe you’ve heard of figure 8 racing before… But how about with school buses? 21 buses at a time. Bring on the mayhem! With zillion similar videos on youTube, I think I can now cancel cable.

'cause he's only 6' 6"

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

nice!

Dave Matthews Isn't a Car Person...

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Looks like a Prius to me…

Newsflash, cars still suck.

Thu, 30 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

First, returning to my car in the garage, yesterday, I found the guy parking behind pressed his license plate holder into my rear bumper (cars were still touching.) Enough to leave a mark and probably enough to get called out on when I turn in the car from lease next year. At least I was able to catch up with the errant parker. Super, more insurance hassle to ensue.

Awesome Stop Motion Animation

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Micro Mayhem! from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios on Vimeo.

I recently acquired IStopMotion. I don’t suspect that I’ll be able to make anything of that caliber, but hope to make something marginally interesting.

Mom Drives A 900 Horsepower Mitsubishi

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Mom Drives A 900 Horsepower Mitsubishi.

I’m pretty sure my Mom never got up to 140. Like the comment that she was disappointed she couldn’t get it into 5th gear because there was too much traffic.

Kombi's last rites: How a camper van changed the travel world | CNN Travel

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Kombi’s last rites: How a camper van changed the travel world | CNN Travel.

Whoa, I didn’t know they were still building ’em. Crazy.

Hot Bug!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Coming to US in 2014, the GSR special edition.

More on the Beetle GSR

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Only 10 more horsepower? Come on, lets do something to warrant the stripes.

5 Second VW Beetle Belt Change

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Guessing that’s probably not possible on 2013 Beetles.

And Christmas was little merrier...

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Finally got caught up on maintenance for the wife’s Jetta. New wheel bearings in the front and replacement trunk latch in the rear. $922! Yikes, I forgot how expensive VWs are to keep. Thankfully, we’re still under extended 3rd party warranty. So the total damage out of pocket was a far more palatable $100.

Sleek Ipad Mini Mount in a VW CC

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Slick!

All about Edd

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Edd China - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

from Wheeler Dealers on the Velocity channel.

Car buying is annoying.

Mon, 30 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Recently, the lease on my trusty Passat ran out. I tried hard to get another VW, but it didn’t pan out. There’s no 2011 Passat (new for 2012), couldn’t get to the payment I wanted on a Jetta Sportwagen, and I wasn’t very excited by the new Jetta sedan (not up to snuff if you’re a previous VW owner.) I was pretty surprised that they didn’t try to fight a little harder for a long time v-dub fan. Oh well, too bad.

VW Eco Performance CC Concept

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Interesting, VW is making pondering a new performance version of the CC (via). The enhancement is via a new 3 stage turbo that lets you dial in your fuel economy versus performance; nifty idea. On the low end, Eco Mode gives you 222Hp at 33/27 MPG. On the high end, Full Power Mode, gets you 313Hp (they didn’t list MPG though; guessing its not so great.)

Bugatti Veyron at top speed on Top Gear

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Some interesting video of the Top Gear guys running a Bugatti Veyron all the way up to its maximum speed of 253 mph.

Interesting facts:

To safely get up to the top speed they needed a straightaway of 5.5 miles.
At top speed, the tire lifetime is only 15 minutes.
No matter on the short tire lifetime, because the fuel runs out at 12 minutes.
To dissipate the massive amount of heat generated by the 16 cylinder, quad turbo engine, the car has 10 radiators.
A separate key is needed to put the car into maximum performance mode.

Rich folks get the coolest toys…

Videos of the Day, VW Style

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

A bunch of fun videos regarding VWs this week:

VW vs. Toyota Soccer Top Gear rocks. See the I-Go vs. the Fox.
V-Dubsrock Part 1 Hehe. “This amplifier has airbags…” With Nigel Tufnel from This Is Spinal Tap.
V-Dubsrock Part 2 Sweet. Can’t have rock and roll with out Slash.

V-Dubsrock is their new promotion where they’re giving away custom VW guitar with special models that include a guitar input for the stereo. Geez, and me with 2 years to go on my current lease. Bonus video. Its not VW related, but I stumbled on another Top Gear video about Odd Vehicles. This one will really make you giggle.

Case Dismissed

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Phew! Had my court date for that tinted window and license plate cover violation yesterday. After waiting about an hour for my turn to come up it was pretty much a non-event. The judge asked me what I had done about the offending modifications. I said they’d both been removed. He handed me off to the clerk, who in turn handed me off the to bailiff to confirm that the changes had indeed been done.

Operation: Unpimp My Ride, Day 2

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Figured it was probably better to get legal faster than worrying about some glue stuck to my window. So, last night, I detinted the front passenger window. This one was a little harder to get started, because the tint was still pretty well affixed at the top of the window (the other window was peeling back just a bit).

Operation: Unpimp My Ride

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Recently, my 8 year string of good luck came to an end and I got a ticket for illegal tint on my front windows. It was one of those traffic safety checkpoints. I thought I’d be OK (as I’m pretty sure I’ve been through them before), but when they stopped the car in front of me, I saw the officer clip a little black box onto the driver’s window. Suspicion confirmed when he got to me, it was an electronic tint meter. It accurately said my windows were only letting 36% of light through, far below the 70% minimum stated by law. I also got another ticket for a clear license plate cover (in NYS, you cannot have any covering on your plate. they’re afraid that it will obscure it enough to mess up a photograph; like when you’re using an ez-pass lane.)

VW 'Safe Happens' Commercials Work

Wed, 03 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

USA Today reports (via) that the VW Safe Happens commercials (see my related post) are really paying off:

Requests for brochures up 37% at call centers
Requests for brochures up 56% on their website
Requests for dealer quotes are up 58%

I tend to agree with the quote in the article that the commercials are pretty shocking and that they really make you think about the safety of cars. I hope my Passat never meets up with the same fate as those Jettas.

The Rabbit is Coming Back...

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0000

VW recently announced (via) that they’re bringing back the Rabbit name for the car currently known as Golf. I’m looking to economize a bit in my next set of wheels, and enjoyed my previous Golf so much I might give another one a shot.

Bizarre VW Jetta Commercial

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Even weirder than the freaky gti commercials (who are done by the same ad agency as the burger king ‘king’ series; like this), I caught this commercial hilighting jetta safety.

Wow, really gets your attention.

Attention Dukes Fans!

Wed, 03 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

New York Times had some pointers to cool Dukes of Hazzard cars:

‘69 Charger Replicas
Pick up yours for about $32 grand.
2006 Charger Painted up like the General
Cool step by step pictures. Loved the airhorns!

I’d love to have one of the new Hemi V-8’s (either in a 300 or Charger) but with gas prices where they’re at, I’m enjoying my Passat (even thought it requires premium).

That thing gotta Hemi?

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Jinkies, if the Chrysler 300C wasn’t powerful enough for you, stay tuned for the new SRT-8 high performance version. The regular v8 is rated for 340Hp (for reference, that’s twice as much as my Passat has already), the SRT-8 will be 425Hp. Gulp!

Buy One Get One Free Cars?

Wed, 27 Oct 2004 00:00:00 +0000

I heard previously that some dealers are giving used (just off lease) cars away with the purchase of a new car to reduce their inventories. The article below goes to the next step, giving away low priced new car with the purchase of a more expensive car. The only catch is don’t get the huge rebate on the expensive car…