Kyle Ashdown

Introduction Alternative intersection design is a hot topic with people who, quite frankly, don’t know how to drive. Seriously. It seems that the inability to be able to make a safe left hand turn (for those who drive on the left) has become such a hazard that it’s a matter of public safety. UPS and FedEx have instituted no-left-turn policies for their drivers, a move which they believe has saved them millions of dollars.

There are few things that most people can agree on in car culture. But one very indisputable opinion is that Jeff Bezos was a genius for signing Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman on to make the flagship TV series for Amazon Prime’s livestreaming service. But, until now, few people really saw just how ingenious Amazon’s business plan really was; let alone the value that the ex-Top Gear hosts have brought to one of the Internet’s biggest revenue generators.

Car accidents happen every day around the world for a wide plethora of reasons. Most of them are caused by driver error; and some of them are, unfortunately, fatal. But when Mother Nature plays a role in a car accident, her actions can cause unparalleled devastation.

As some of the more tech-savvy CTzens may be aware, you can buy a USB device whose sole purpose is to destroy the hardware of whatever’s on the other end of the port. It’s proven to be lethal against computers, so YouTuber TechSmartt decided to try one on his car.

OK, let me just make it clear: I feel for the people of Mexico. High gas prices suck. Raising the price of fuel would make me pretty mad, too. But these changes are a result of something that I think needed to be done. The reason the gas prices in Mexico jumped so high on New Year’s Day was that the Mexican government made moves to deregulate the price controls held by the gasoline industry there. In other words, the price of gas was a lot lower at the Mexican pumps than what it should have been.

Progression is a trait that humans have displayed since time immemorial—ever since we started building fires and drawing on caves, we’ve proven that we can do things that no other species on this planet can. It certainly wasn’t the plankton in the ocean that built the Panama Canal. Yet, for some reason, some of us cannot figure out how to put a vehicle with an automatic transmission into “PARK”.

You don’t need to see the movie Rush to know why many people consider Niki Lauda to be one of motorsport’s greatest drivers. He is a man who has pushed certain death off to the side to become a champion. His famous 1976 crash at the Nurburgring literally put him through Hell; and his will to survive that crash is what defines Niki in the minds of racing fans worldwide.

Much to the chagrin of my friends and family, I love to talk about obscure and esoteric historical facts; especially when it comes to cars. I confess to once drinking and explaining the U.S. “chicken tax” to a group of people who could have cared more about the history of parking meters or the Underarm Bowling Cricket Incident of 1981. I even told them how it related to how rare my truck is in Canada versus the rest of the world. So, naturally, I am intrigued by the most random of things.

The title of this list should speak for itself. Don’t be a wiseass to the police. Back seats of cop cars are not comfortable.

I’d like to start this post off by saying that I fully intend to make this post as politically neutral as possible. There’s enough misunderstanding, vitriol and cruelty out on the Internet as it is, and I want to have no part in any of it. All I am here to do is interpret the ramifications of Donald Trump’s economic policies in the light of car enthusiasts in a language that, hopefully, you will be able to easily understand. Here, I’ll discuss a few key points of Trump’s economic policy, and explain what they mean to petrolheads in America and the rest of the world.

If you’re a seasoned Car Throttle fan, you might remember the December 2015 video “10 Smells that Turn Petrolheads On.” If not, here it is:

Excellent news!

Introduction 2016 has, so far, been a year of interesting (and sometimes questionable) alliances between different automakers. The automotive industry is often a cutthroat enterprise; and sometimes the old adage “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer” has never been more true. While I’m not one to sleep with the enemy, these titans in the automotive industry have no shame. Here are some of the resulting creations, along with my own opinions as to whether or not they were a good idea.

Let me start this rant by saying that I am proud to live in a country with a government that is fair, just, and democratic. By and large, I do not have to worry about corruption, human rights violations, or an absence of the rule of law. Is my government perfect? Absolutely not, but it does its job reasonably well for the most part. And, yet, the justice system failed a 70-year old car enthusiast from my community.

Just like the bro-country song by Kip Moore goes, there’s somethin’ bout a truck. And, just like country music, the North American love affair with the pickup truck is something that many people in the rest of the world struggle to understand. The North American pickup truck is inherently cool. It’s a symbol of pragmatism, machismo and toughness. The more expensive ones are even considered, as near as makes no difference, luxury cars. You’ll always look more down-to-earth if you roll up to a social gathering in an F-150 King Ranch rather than in a Jaguar.

Between our day jobs, errands, obligations and chores, there is very little spare time left for you to work on your car. You probably want to spend as little time in the kitchen as you can. This does not have to mean, however, that you need to be confined to microwavable TV dinners for the rest of your life. You can actually have real food. Take, for example, the dish I am about to share with you. It took me about 20 minutes to make, over half of which was simply prep time. And the best part? It’s easy to make. You don’t have to be Guy Fieri to get a one-way ticket to Flavourtown.

Cars have been the transportation method of choice for over 100 years now, and technology has turned even the most bog-standard automobiles into complex technological masterpieces. The silicon chip has allowed us to invent cars that can park, brake, and even drive without any human input. However, I think that, if you really want to know what a car is all about, you need to strip down to the bare necessities, and drive a really old car that has none of that assistive technology on it.

I laugh at all the people who call minivan drivers “soccer moms” while sitting behind the wheel of their Ford Explorers, Hyundai Santa Fes, and Dodge Journeys. It’s actually an ironic (and sad) reflection of the sheer vanity of car buyers these days. And, by vanity, I mean sheep-like behaviour. Few of the nay-sayers will admit that their Chevrolet Traverse is essentially a big, heavy, ugly minivan. But even fewer will say this about the Ford Explorer.