E3 Spark Plugs News

Pro Wrestler John Cena’s flame-throwing, no-doors InCENArator built for the Gumball 3000.

It’s been called the world’s biggest, craziest moving car show.  Though constantly conjuring memories of the 1982 Burt Reynolds comedy The Cannonball Run, the Gumball 3000 is a decidedly more posh, yet perhaps equally wacky event – an annual favorite of E3 Spark Plugs. And this year, it’s celebrating its 15th year.

The 8-day competition across Europe revved up Saturday with launch party in Copenhagen, Denmark and will take competitors across the continent with stops in Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria, Italy and Monaco. Members of the 115 driving teams are quite the motley crew, consisting of film, music and sports celebrities, multi-millionaire Internet gurus, a Latvian soap opera star, a 3000-bout undefeated masked Mexican wrestler and two guys recently disqualified from NASA’s space program. Participating celebs include Pimp My Ride star Xzibit, rap star Eve, actor David Hasselhoff, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, pro wrestler John Cena and Swedish skiing phenom John Olsson, among others.

While the antics of such a cast of characters are sure to be entertaining, it’s the cars that are the real stars of the show. A few notables are Team Galag’s Batman-inspired Tumbler, Olsson’s Ultima GTR Rebellion R2K, Xzibit’s Bentley, a Rolls Royce Phantom, Morgan Aero SuperSport, Jaguar F-Type and Murcielago SV.

Often referred to as the rich guy’s Cannonball Run, the Gumball 3000 actually was inspired by films like  Two-Lane Blacktop, Vanishing Point, Bullitt and Le Mans. But we’re guessing its moniker was inspired by 1976′s The Gumball Rally, a film about a 3000-mile illegal road race across America with a disparate mix of international drivers driving exotic cars on public roads. Today’s Gumball 3000, founded in 1999 by British entertainment and fashion mogul Maximillion Cooper, also covers 3,000 miles and a host of colorful characters. But this show is set in Europe and is legally legit.

Also, organizers stress that it’s not a race, per se, but a road trip adventure. You won’t win a prize for being the fastest or flashiest. In fact the winners are the various charities that will benefit from seven celebrity auctions. Up for grabs: an electric light cycle just like the one featured in the movie Tron; Olsson’s XGames-winning skis; a Knight Rider steering wheel signed by the Hoff himself; and a day with Tony Hawk and your 10 best friends at Hawk’s personal training facility in San Diego, Hawk Headquarters and the new Birdhouse Skatepark, including a private session on the famous Boom Boom Huckjam ramp.

Who’s your favorite to watch in the Gumball 3000? Post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

• Gumball 3000

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  Pro wrestler John Cena's flame-throwing, no-doors InCENArator

  

• Gumball 3000

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  Swedish skiing phenom Jon Olsson's Ultima GTR Rebellion R2K

  

• Gumball 3000

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  Team Galag's Batman-inspired Tumbler

  

• Gumball 3000

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  Gumball 3000 boss Maximillion Cooper and rap star Eve's Morgan Aero SuperSport

  

• Gumball 3000

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  Tony Hawk's Alpine Edition Twisted Defender

  

Gran Turismo 6 for PlayStation 3 will be released just in time for the 2013 holiday season.

Hear that sound, gearheads and gamers? That’s your wallet cringing, backed by your inner teenager rejoicing at the news that Gran Turismo 6 for PlayStation 3 will be released just in time for the 2013 holiday season. Legendary GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi himself made the announcement at a celebration marking 15 years of the 70-million-selling series earlier this week.

The “Real Driving Simulator” promises a full battery of cool features including a collection of new cars that brings the roster to more than 1,200. And players get more customization options than ever before, assuring you’ll be able to rock your ride like no one else’s. You’ll speed through 33 locations and 71 layouts from day one, and more will be added online in the near future. Among the new tracks: the UK’s famous Silverstone Circuit. There’s also a revamped GPS-enhanced course maker function that will take you through some serious global scenery. A new engine improves game performance and an overhauled user interface make for simpler operation and shorter load times.

Thus far, info released to the press says GT6 is just for PlayStation 3 with smartphone, tablet and PC compatibilities. But Yamauchi says the company does have a GT6 version for PlayStation 4 in mind. Maybe next year?

“We’re pleased to deliver GT 6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform. However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments,” he told the crowd. “I already have many ideas for things I want to achieve in the next 15 years of Gran Turismo!”

What do you most want to see in GT6? Post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

The Lamborghini Egoista concept, debuted at the company’s private 50th birthday celebration in Italy, is creating quite a stir.

In what’s being touted as an epic midlife crisis, iconic automaker Lamborghini unveiled a one-off design that beats any superhero ride you ever sketched in bout of boredom during your high school civics class. Officials debuted the aptly named “Egoista” (which translates to “selfish”) at its 50th birthday celebration in Italy – and immediately revved up a global controversy.

Drawing love-it-or-hate-it coverage, the Egoista was designed by the famed Walter De Silva and inspired by the look of Apache helicopters. It’s powered by a 600-hp V-10 and seats just one passionate and unapologetic driver.

Says DeSilva: “I wanted to pay homage to and think up a vehicle to underline the fact that Lamborghinis have always been made with passion, and with the heart more than the head… This is a car made for one person only, to allow them to have fun and express their personality to the maximum. It is designed purely for hyper-sophisticated people who want only the most extreme and special things in the world. It represents hedonism taken to the extreme, it is a car without compromises, in a word – egoista, or selfish.”

That whole heart vs. head thing is evident in the Egoista, many say. Reviews point out the stealth fighter jet-like cockpit, fitted LED warning lights rather than headlights, and a front end that one reviewer said “looks as if it could julienne a pedestrian.”

The orange-tinted cockpit canopy slides forward and requires the driver to remove the steering wheel, open the dome with an electronic command stand up in their seat, sit down on a precise point of the left-hand bodywork, then swivel their legs 180 degrees to exit the vehicle – Top Gun style.

“Whoever drives this assault on the pupils must be dominated by ego,” one auto journalist wrote. But we here at E3 Spark Plugs think perhaps one (many) doth protest too much. Admit it – aren’t you just a little bit envious that you’ll likely NEVER drive the Egoista? After all, Lamborghini officials are adamant that they’ll never build or sell the Egoista. So there! Egoista, indeed.

What do you think of the Egoista? Post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

• Lamborghini Egoista

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• Lamborghini Egoista

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• Lamborghini Egoista

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• Lamborghini Egoista

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• Lamborghini Egoista

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• Lamborghini Egoista

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Team E3 Racing winner Danny Phillips helped boost lawn mower racing at his hometown’s annual Coalton Days homecoming celebration.

Coalton, West Virginian Danny Phillips has been racing lawn mowers for 15 years and has a mantle full of more than 50 first place trophies to show for it. But those trophies are far less important to Phillips than the message his custom-built racing mowers bear. That’s why Phillips is the newest Team E3 Racing Tier 2 winner.

“I have dedicated my 2013 team as a tribute to firefighters, first responders and 9/11,” says Philips, noting that one of his mowers has the names of all 343 first responders who lost their lives in the series of four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. area on September 11, 2001.” “No matter where you may travel across the country, you can count on firemen and first responders to be there in times of emergency.”

Phillips’ tribute is a deeply personal one.

“The passion I have for these brave men and women is wrought from my and my wife’s more than 20 years of service with our local fire department,” he explains. “I personally know the sacrifices made to work and volunteer in this field. Some people are not aware of risks involved with this service. Sometimes, we firefighters forget this as our focus is doing the job at hand, blind to the risks. Unfortunately, these brave men and women do not always get the respect they deserve, so I wanted to show my respect and share it with others.”

Phillips’ mowers are designed in tribute to firefighters and first responders everywhere, but particularly those who responded to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Phillips’ mowers, emblazoned with vivid decals bearing images of firefighters, the World Trade Center’s twin towers and the iconic American bald eagle, garner much attention from fellow racers, fans and the media at races and promotional appearances. That attention is sure to grow as Phillips’ racing aspirations continue. He’s already helped take a local annual lawn mower race to a faster, flashier and more professional level.

It began about 15 years ago when Phillips and other locals competed in race down a main street on stock mowers during Coalton Days, an annual hometown homecoming celebration. Over the years, competitors learned secret, sneaky ways to speed up their machines and up the ante in the friendly competition. When a fellow racer spotted a mower racing competition on TV, he recommended the track be move to a grass field lined with hay bales. This proved safer and lent a more exciting, “true race” feel, Phillips says.

But the real change came when Phillips, who recently was honored as the Coll Rides Online Featured Member of the Week, and wife Sarah stumbled upon a United States Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA) race while traveling in Ohio.

“We were intrigued,” Phillips says. “We booked a room for the night and returned to watch the race the following day. The racers shared a lot of information with us and we were overwhelmed by the friendliness and camaraderie of everyone we met. This lit a fire under me.”

Back home, Phillips began daily research on building new, souped up racing mowers and rallied the local racers who helped mine and share information.

“When we returned to Coalton Days the following summer, the fans, which numbered 600-800, were treated to an awesome show and the race was the talk of the county,” Phillips says. From then on, the crowds turned out in ever increasing numbers, rain or shine, to watch the on-track battle and cheer for their favorites. Phillips aims to continue pushing the limits, improving and promoting the experience for Coalton racers and fans.

From all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, congratulations and welcome to the team, Danny!

Your kids’ back seat dramatics are far more distracting than your cell phone, researchers say.

Those crazy kids! One might think that drivers fiddling with their cell phones would be the most distracting thing ever – what with the dialing, the texting, the checking of emails, the downloading of the latest Angry Birds smartphone app and all that. But in a recently released report, Australian researchers instead point the finger of blame at your… precious angels.

That’s right. Study results say kids are an even greater distraction to drivers than are cell phones – 12 percent more distracting, to be exact. Turns out, as many a minivan maven probably already knows, those backseat fits of giggles/rage/gotta-go-potties are a major distracted-driving force. And as many a police officer/paramedic/personal injury attorney knows, distracted driving is the leading cause of accidents, far outpacing drunken driving. In fact, a full 80 percent of traffic accidents nationwide are deemed results of distracted driving, statistics show.

The study revealed that during an average 16-minute car trip, drivers are distracted for an average three minutes and 22 seconds by the actions of their children. Participants drove with kids ages 1-8 in the car and here’s what ensued:

• 76.4 percent of the drivers turned to look at the backseat passengers or viewed them in the rear-view mirror
• 16 percent talked to their children in the backseat
• 7 percent passed food or drinks to their kids
• 1 percent played with their kids

A few tips: Make sure kids know that if they drop something and need you to pick it up, they’re outta luck until you’re able to fully stop the car. Pack a snack and a few toys or car-friendly games to keep them happily occupied, but skip balls or tubular-shaped objects that can roll beneath your gas and brake pedals should your future MLB pitcher decide to launch one into the front seat. Insist kids use their “inside voices” – no screaming, bickering or making like an American Idol contestant while on the road. And if all else fails, bribe the lil’ suckers. Offer a prize – a yummy treat, visit to the park, favorite TV show, etc. if they can just keep the peace until your tires hit the driveway.

What do you think, moms and dads? Post your top tips for keeping your kids’ backseat dramatics at bay on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page. And if you’re convinced that your beautiful brood isn’t crimping your driving style, check out this NBC Nightline feature wherein reporter Paula Faris’ pint-sized passengers put her to the test.

Are you attending the New York Auto Show? Show us your pics.

E3 Spark Plugs is stoked about the start of the New York Auto Show next week. Billed as “Ten Days of Triumph,” this year’s show revs up Friday, March 29 and runs through Sunday, April 7. Here are a few of the features we’re most looking forward to:

• Debut of the new 542-HP Jaguar XJR: The highest performance Jaguar ever is expected to demand a $130,000 price tag. Other NY Auto Show debuts this year include the 2013 Chevy Camaro, Corvette Stingray and Rolls-Royce Wraith.
• Gartel Art Cars exhibit: Including the Mercedes Art Car hand-painted by Lawrence Gartel, considered the “father of digital art.”
• EV Pavilion: An indoor ride-along track where fans can take a spin in a few of the newest electric vehicles hitting the market.
• Camp Jeep Outdoor Off Roading Ride Along: An outdoor track for Jeep enthusiasts.
• Dub Show Tour: The ultimate in custom cars, along with concerts and celebrity appearances.

Are you headed to the Big Apple for the show? Be sure to post your thoughts and pics on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

The Concours D’Elegance and Festivals of Speed take place this weekend at Amelia Island.

Hey speed enthusiasts – Got plans for the weekend? If you’re in the area, E3 Spark Plugs recommends you take a joy ride to Amelia Island, Florida for the Festivals of Speed and Concours D’Elegance.

The Festivals of Speed revs up with a Luxury Lifestyle Cocktail Reception at the tony Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort on Friday evening. Smooth jazz, premium handcrafted cocktails, luxury product displays and some casual conversation with fellow car buffs.

But the real draw begins on Saturday with the Festival of Speed’s display of dozens of the world’s most exotic cars, motorcycles and watercraft on the resort’s 9th fairway. This year’s event celebrates 50 years of Lamborghini and a full century of Aston Martin. Special displays will feature some of the most beautiful Aston Martins and hottest Lamborghinis around. And it all benefits the Spina Bifida Organization of Jacksonville.

Throughout the weekend, the Concors D’Elegance goes on at the uber-ritzy Ritz Carlton and the Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach. The area’s most exclusive auto show this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Porche 911 and the Ford GT40, as well as the cars of Harry Miller, the designer and builder called “the greatest creative figure in the history of the American racing car.”

Miller was most active in the 1920s and 1930s and his cars were much more than beautiful works of automotive art. They were powerful, too. Miller-built cars won the Indianapolis 500 nine times and others using his engines won three more. In fact, Millers accounted for 83 percent of the Indy 500 fields between 1923 and 1928.

On display this weekend are two Miller-built race cars, Edsel’s Ford, a prototype of the first Cadillac to bear the Coupe de Ville not displayed in public in 64 years, and the only original Lamborghini Miura Roadster ever built. Some new rides will be displayed as well, including the 2014 Corvette Sting Ray.

The 2013 event’s honoree is Sam Posey, a retired American racecar driver and sports broadcast journalist.

Will you attend the Festivals of Speed or the Concours D’Elegance Amelia Island? Post your pics and thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

Christmas Abbott is busting through the gender barriers in professional racing, making history as the first NASCAR pit crew member.

NASCAR pit crew members are a rare breed. They’ve got to be seriously strong, crazy fast, precision-minded and able to endure long hours in hot, chaotic conditions. And until now, they were all guys. Enter Christmas Abbott, a petite but powerful crossfit champion and former Olympic weightlifting trainer who recently became the first female to dare to brave the crew pit.

Several celebrated women have slipped behind the wheel to compete on the tracks – most notably Danica Patrick, who earlier this month became the first woman ever to claim the Spring Cup pole at the Daytona 500. But Abbott, a 5’3″, 115-pound blonde beauty, is the first to join a NASCAR pit crew. Defying the odds – and the whispered bets that she won’t make it a full season – Abbott inked a deal to serve on the NASCAR crew pit, changing tires for driver Jennifer Jo Cobb in the Camping World Truck Series. Her job involves whipping around the No. 10 Ford with an air gun in hand, unbolting five lug nuts, ripping a 60-pound tire off the car, bolting on a new one and doing it all one more time – all in 12 seconds or less.

While the idea is enough to make many women cringe and head for the day spa, for Abbott, it’s a walk in the park. After all, she’s been in far more daunting situations, and she started early. At age 10, she joined her neighborhood boys’ baseball team, much to the chagrin of her teammates and only after her mother’s threat to bring the local media to tryouts if her precocious preteen wasn’t given a fair shot.

“They chucked the ball at me,” she recalls with a laugh. “A lot.”

At 22, she again defied the gender odds, following her mother, a general contractor, to Baghdad. She spent her days at a military laundry center smack dab in the center of a war zone, sorting fatigues stained with desert sand, sweat and blood. She worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week and dodged IEDs (improvised explosive device) in the roadways. But it was there that she was introduced to crossfit and set out on a physical regime that would make her a celebrity in the fitness world and later catch the attention of NASCAR exec Ted Bullard. He invited her to try out for the crew pit gig and the rest is history in the making – though Abbott has no delusions that success will come easy.

“NASCAR fans are die-hard and they will call out your B.S.,” said Abbott, who sports a tattoo of a gun on her hip to remind her of her days in Iraq and reportedly is in talks with Hollywood execs about a reality TV show. “I want to go to the highest level.”

E3 Spark Plugs congratulates Abbott on her history-making achievement. We’re watching and expecting major success!

BBC’s “Top Gear” host Jeremy Clarkson recently unveiled the Peel P45, touted as the world’s smallest car. Would you drive it?

Once upon a time, a single computer took up the space of a huge room. Now, we can hold them in our hands. The first cell phones were a bit like holding shoe boxes to our gourds, but today’s fit in our pockets.  And those unwieldy 8-track cassette players have given way to tiny MP3 players. That’s the way it goes with so many of the products that we use every day. So why wouldn’t the automobile also experience a devolution of sorts?

Enter Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and his P45. Touted as the world’s smallest car (actually, the Peel P50 lays claim to being the world’s smallest street-legal production car, but we digress), the P45 sports a look described as resembling “a gas-powered Hoveround topped by lights, mirrors and a modern version of the armor worn by the Knights Who Say Ni.” And it just might take a Monty Python fan to truly love this… vehicle.

No need to actually exit the P45 to carry on daily activities, like checking out a library book.

Clarkson took the P45, with its 2-stroke engine and 1.7-litre (0.449092-gallon) gas tank, out for a spin through the London streets on a recent episode of Top Gear. His experience offers a few tips for future drivers. Skip gas stations with minimum purchase requirements. And drive with your face already on the windshield, so as to lessen the shock should you – Heaven forbid – hit a pothole. But it does make for easier passing of cars ahead in a traffic jam – Never mind the jam you’re causing behind you. And you don’t have to get out of the P45 to pump gas. Or shop the mall. Or check out a library book.

To us here at E3 Spark Plugs, the Transformer toy-esque P45 would be far cooler if it morphed into something actually useful. Like a giant IPod recharging station or portable cappuccino dispenser. But to each, his own.

Would you drive the P45? How small do you think a car can be and still catch on with the masses? Post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

Zombie lovers, movie goers and “fixie” riders all have surprises waiting for them at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show.

The 2013 Chicago Auto Show is underway. And the sights are amazing! Founded in 1901, it’s the nation’s largest auto show with more than 1 million square feet of interactive exhibits. But here at E3 Spark Plugs, we’re most taken by some of the coolest concept cars we’ve seen in a while.

The newest on the show floor is the Turbo Camaro Coupe, based on a character in DreamWorks’ new high-velocity 3D animated comedy, Turbo. In theatres July 19, the film centers on a speed-obsessed snail bent on winning the Indy 500. Of course, it’s a Chevy Camaro that helps him chase his dream. The real-world version of the cartoon car equipped with a supercharged 700+ horsepower V-8 topped off by a serious intake assembly for supercharger housing. Body modifications include rockers and fender flares in a wide body design configuration, a front splitter, rear diffuser and a GT concept rear wing spoiler. The body is painted black with a vinyl chrome wrap, dark tinted to look like black chrome and the front headlights sport a multicolor halo effect.

The Hyundai Veloster C3 Roll Top concept is influenced by the colorful minimalist single speed bikes seen zipping through traffic at breakneck speed every day. These fixed-gear bikes, called “fixies” by those in the culture, are half built by the manufacturer and half by the customer. So, the Hyundai Design North America team worked a few of those free spirited elements into this three-door convertible. Most notable is the dual-function power-retractable canvas roof. Roll it forward, open the tailgate, fold down the rear seats and you’ve got a recreational platform perfect for biking, photography or camping. The high gloss white painted exterior boldly contrasts with the flat back spoiler and front wheels, teal rear wheels and red mirror housings. Inspired by the proverb, “A rolling stone gathers no moss,” the Veloster C# sports a 1.6 liter GDI four-cylinder engine with twin scroll turbocharger and 201 horsepower.

Though it debuted six months ago at the 2012 Comic-Con, we’re still in awe of Hyundai’s Elantra-based Zombie Survival Machine. Designed by Robert Kirkman, creator of TV’s The Walking Dead series, it features a spike-laded cow catcher plow up front, spiked tires, armored window coverings, a CB radio system, front and rear floodlights, a roof hatch to allow passengers to fend off attacking walkers and a trunk full of electric and pneumatic weaponry. Hyundai and Kirkman partnered up to celebrate the 100th issue of The Walking Dead comic and Design Craft handled fabrication.

Are you attending the Chicago Auto Show? Post pics of your favorite sights on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

• Turbo Camaro Coupe

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  Based on a character in DreamWorks' new high-velocity 3D animated comedy, "Turbo," in theaters July 19.

  

• Hyundai Veloster C3 Roll Top

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  Influenced by the colorful minimalist single speed "fixie" bikes seen zipping through traffic at breakneck speed every day.

  

• Hyundai's Elantra-based Zombie Survival Machine

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  Designed by Robert Kirkman, creator of TV's "The Walking Dead" series in celebration of the 100th issue of "The Walking Dead" comic.