The Heavy Foot Goes to Gotham (Video)
This week, Alex and I had the pleasure of visiting the renowned exotic car rental company, Gotham Dream Cars. We took a look around the shop and the cars, and we had a conversation with COO, Rob Ferretti, who has been with Gotham since the very beginning.
Exotic cars have always been toys of the rich and famous. They were exclusive status symbols more than they were sports cars to be enjoyed on a long weekend drive. You had to hit it big in the city or the lottery to get your hands on one. Like a gold digging, high-maintenance girlfriend, they’d suck mountains of zeroes from your bank account and demand loads of attention. The sexy lines and ferocious roar of their engines would give you one hell of a romp on a curvy road, then nag you with prissy issues like a worn clutch, broken rag-top motor, or even catch fire in the wheel well. Exotic cars were not for the faint of heart; even less so for frugal folk.
The exorbitant price tags and maintenance costs are hard to justify when it comes to your weekend toy. We gentleman want our women to treat us right and bugger off so we can enjoy a round of golf afterwards. Nobody likes a blood-sucking banshee.
When founder, Noah Lehmann-Haupt decided he wanted to just borrow a Ferrari for a weekend in the city, he was frustrated to see that even Google couldn’t tell him where to go. So he decided to buy one himself and bring that service to life. Noah tapped on his buddy Rob to become the resident gear head and the company grew from a personal garage to a warehouse filled with a fleet of Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Ferraris and more.
Gotham Dream Cars revolutionized the game by trimming all the fat out of the exotic supercar experience; leaving the client with only pure driving euphoria. Our conversation with Mr. Ferretti gave us a new perspective on just how difficult a supercar is to own. For example, since purchasing their McLaren MP4-12C less than a year ago, Gotham has lost nearly $80,000 in equity already! That’s not even counting the gargantuan taxes and registration fees. You’d have to have made some hell of a deal with the devil to stomach that sort of loss, but Gotham’s rental service nearly eliminates that headache.
For a microscopic fraction of the cost, you can book yourself that same ride for an entire weekend. Furthermore, if your wife dumps the kids on you next weekend, you could swap it out for a Maserati. I couldn’t really justify blowing $400 grand on just one supercar when I could pay less than the taxes on it to get my pick of a garage full of exotics any time I want and never have to think about even changing the oil, which on a Ferrari costs more than a vacation to the Caribbean.
What’s even better is if the car gets moody with you and blows a gasket, Gotham deals with the hassle. Gotham is like your girlfriend’s gay friend who she can cry her sorrows to while you run off to your favorite wing joint with your buddies. Why deal with the nagging?
They offer a wide variety of options. You could go from paying by the mile to becoming a full-fledged member of the Dream Share Club. There are special events which allow you to drive a car around an autocross course or cruise up in the mountains in a group of like-minded individuals. For more information, head over to www.gothamdreamcars.com.
A video of our visit is below, also check out the Heavy Foot’s weekly podcast to hear us chat about our thoughts on Gotham.
Episode 6 – Google Dash Cams
Alex and Eric talk about the technology of cars and how things will probably be getting crazier in the years to come. They discuss the Police and ask the ultimate question,”Why are the Police so impolite when they pull you over?”
Topics:
Best small SUV for around 30k
Lamborghini Egoista
Whats wrong with Chrysler? Why aren’t they better?
Google glasses, and how they will effect driving
Dash cams, and why every car should have one
Lamborghini is Selfish
Lamborghini has debuted yet another highly obnoxious hyper car. Yawn. This has largely become a nuisance in my opinion as the models have been restricted to single digit production figures and their designs are gag-inducing monstrosities, save for the Reventon. The Urus was arguably the tamest of the concepts, yet it seemingly disappeared in a stack of foolish design sheets. The Veneno was the last straw for me with the most ricer body kit I have ever seen from an established auto manufacturer, until now.
Enter the Lamborghini Egoista. The name literally translates to “selfish.” The designers have gone absolutely hot wheels with this “attack helicopter” inspired, one-seat exotic. Its namesake holds true as only one will be produced. There’s a bit of Batman, Top Gun, and downright Transformer in the aesthetics. With more angles than Seal’s face, this car looks like it was created from a crumpled piece of scrap paper.
The “cockpit” looks like a fighter pilot’s wet dream. The steering wheel is a chiseled F1-style wheel with a HUD that appears to be aimed to fire a sidewinder missile. Topping the cabin off is an orange-tinted canopy. The body is also adorned with markings to show you to “step here” in order to climb your way to the command center. Furthermore, the fuel-cap may confuse you as it is marked “jet fuel.” Just aft of the cabin is the engine compartment, which houses a modest 5.2L V10 out of a Gallardo.
Alright, it is kind of cool…
Russian Dash Cam Catches Crazy Accident
All the craziest videos come from Russia! Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are sad, and sometimes like in this case; they are crazy. I feel like everyone in Russia is just walking around with a video recording device, ready to go. I mean come on, some of the videos online from Russia are either staged, or your amazed that someone was actually recording as the event occurred. As the case with the video we have here, who sets up a dash cam, randomly? I mean I have filmed my podcast before while I drove around, but nothing crazy happened when I did that. Well someone did get into a fight…hahaha…But nothing as crazy as this. Check out Episode 1 to hear about the fight.
Anyways check out the video below, action starts around 30 seconds:
“Reports claim the driver lost control of his vehicle after its front-left tire blew out. He then drove into oncoming traffic and crashed into a fence where the vehicle was launched high into the air.”
“Unfortunately, The report translated from Russian tells us the 30-year-old driver died at the scene from his injuries, and his passenger is still being treated for life-threatening injuries.”
These are reports translated with ‘Google translate’
Saying Goodbye to an Era – C6 Corvette Review (VIDEO)
Not many sports cars have been in existence as long as the Chevrolet Corvette has. A staggering 60 years in production really puts into perspective the history and heritage behind the Corvette. Since the inception, the formula has always been the same, front engine and rear wheel drive. The incredible styling always made it stand out from everything else, causing the brand loyalty to build from generation to generation. Over the years Corvette engineers have always pushed the envelope with the car, always trying to maximize performance and ride comfort, blended with a purpose build sports car. This years going out model (C6) was something of a marvel when it was released back in 2005. For the first time, the Corvette was redesigned with a new purpose and given the ability through better suspension and more powerful performance. Not only was it faster in a straight line than it’s predecessor, but it was able to out-handle it as well. It truly is America’s sports car with its exotic looks, low center of gravity, wide body, and all around performance; Chevy brings the supercar formula to the masses.
I got behind the wheel of a true specimen, 2013 Corvette Coupe 2LT package with extra options such as dual mode exhaust and magnetic ride control. Not a bad way to spend $56,050. It’s been a long-time misconception that sports cars, since they are built for race tracks, ride poorly and are a chore to drive around casually as a daily driver. This is not true at all. With magnetic ride control, and the suspension which was offered on the Corvette coupe, the ride is surprisingly smooth and relaxing, when set into Comfort Mode. When in Sport Mode, the suspension gets a little tighter and offers a sharp response to your steering, everything you look for in spirited driving. Other sports cars basically rip out your spine when they go over bumps or imperfections on the road, but not the Corvette; the suspension makes
2013 Spanish Grand Prix Recap
Catalunya proved to be quite the riposte for Ferrari to strike back at Red Bull’s lead in Constructor’s standings. The disastrous memories of Bahrain were quickly put out of mind by a fantastic finish by the Scuderia as hometown hero, Fernando Alonso, took the checkered flag, while Felipe Massa nabbed the final spot on the podium. Alonso began in 5th and Massa all the way back in 9th after a penalty for impeding Mark Webber during qualifying. Both drivers drove brilliantly.
The other star of the day was Kimi Raikkonen who split the Ferraris in P2. The Flying Finn has been among the most consistent drivers this season. With his excellent tire management and three-stop strategy, he closed the gap to Driver’s Championship leader, Sebastian Vettel to just four points. Romain Grosjean, on the other hand, suffered a race-ending suspension malfunction.
Red Bull’s pace was off of both Lotus’ and Ferrari’s, causing Vettel and Webber to finish at P4 and P5 respectively. The team blamed tire wear as the primary culprit preventing the RB9 from catching its’ competitors. Good driving limited the damage done as both drivers finished strong despite the rough start.
Every week we have to assign the “disaster day” label to one team, and that goes to Mercedes. The Silver Arrows struck a one-two qualifying finish on Saturday, yet their endurance under actual race conditions was absolutely terrible. Both cars ravenously ate through their rubber dropping Rosberg from P2 to P6 and plummeting Hamilton from pole all the way back to P12! Mercedes has a clear-cut objective in the coming weeks to decrease tire wear. Unless they can solve this issue, their blistering speed in qualifying will be nullified by their poor race day endurance.
The bottom half of the point-positions were rounded out by an excellent drive by Paul Di Resta of Force India in P7 and Daniel Riccardo of Toro Rosso who sandwiched the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez in P8 and P9 respectively.
Episode 5 – Cars Pick Their Drivers
Alex, Eric and Rich discuss ricers, their guilty pleasure cars and talk about car care detailing. All while having Albert in the background throwing in random comments.
Topics:
Gotham dream cars – exotic ownership vs rental
Ricers and what your definition is of them
Guilty pleasure cars…
LS12, V12 made from two LS1 Engines
Questions answered from FB and Twitter
What car should Albert buy under 25k?
V12 Engine Built In Home Garage From Two LS1 Engines
You know stuff like this has to make you happy. Lately all I keep hearing about is how turbos and superchargers are going to be taking over, while engines will be getting smaller. Well just like me, LS1Tech forum member V12Baker has a better idea. He calls it the “LS12″ and with good reason, it is a 12 cylinder made from cutting the last two cylinders off two separate LS1 engines. The LS12 is around 8.9 liters and produces 525 hp, at least that’s what it dynoed in the Tahoe it was mounted in.
That’s not even the most exciting part, V12Baker plans to build 5 more engines, to put them in various cars. With that he states that he will try and supercharge them in the near future. Gold bless people like this, there’s nothing like a mean high displacement V12 to set the mood; enough of these Lambo 6.oLiter V12′s, its time for real muscle to come into the frame. Check out the handy work below in a video and photos.
Mercedes GL-Class SUV Recall Due to Seat Belt Anchors
Seat belts are very important in automobiles. Countless lives are saved each year in accidents in the restraint of drivers and passengers. To not wear your seat belt is one of the biggest mistakes a driver or passenger can make when getting into an automobile. I, myself, am a victim of forgetfulness, and most of the time, I forget to put on my seat belt. I hope my mom isn’t reading this. For the most part you have to feel safe when you put that seat belt on right? But what if it didn’t work?
Mercedes’ latest recall is for the GL-Class SUV, where the second row seat belt anchor bolts may not have been torqued properly during production. The 2013 GL350 BlueTEC, GL450 4MATIC, GL550 4MATIC, and GL63 AMG vehicles manufactured May 15, 2012 through October 4, 2012 are being recalled. Faulty anchor bolts can lead to serious injury for passengers wearing seat belts. In the case of a collision, the seat belt could fail. I know a lot of people are probably going to say, how could Mercedes have this problem? How could such a world renowned automaker have a mistake like this occur? I would attest that the Germans are perfectionists. Every video I have ever seen in my life shows me how Germans have so much pride in this aspect, especially when it comes to the manufacturing of automobiles. Does that mean an assembly line worker will be shot at dawn? No? But seriously it’s possible…No way, I’m kidding.
OK, all joking aside, Mercedes-Benz plans to resolve this issue with haste and efficiency like Germans usually do. Dealerships will be contacting owners to inspect and if necessary fix all their cars free of charge. No big deal, easy fix.
Episode 4 – The Vette Gets ‘em Wet
Eric ends up being 2 hours late to podcast, Alex and Rich force an explanation, all while Eric is avoiding that he went to the mall to meet up with a girl. The crew talks about a bunch of topics today while trying a new beer that Alex bought from the local corner store called,”Staropraman.”
Topics:
Find My Friends App for iPhone
SSC Tuatara
Carol Shelby vs. John Hennessy
Formula E, electric cars racing?
Long Beach GP- possible new F1 race in California
Volkswagen 10 Speed trans and new trans tech from ford and Chevy
Automatic or Manual on a sports car?
Eric’s Fuck up moments: torn motor mount at Raceway Park
