Here we go again… it’s time for one more rally in 2008. This time TEAM ANGRY will be partaking in the “Fireball Run Transcontinental Road Rally”,  from Baton Rouge, LA to Grand Rapids, MI. 

(September 25th - October 4th ) Fireball Run 2: Back to the Track, will have an 1980’s themed auto rally. 100 teams comprised of some of the most successful people on the planet embark on a 3500 mile 9 day transcontinental adventure of a lifetime. The 2008 event will start in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and will zigzag through the coolest parts of America to finish in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Fireball Run is a highly interactive live action “game” and America is the game board. The safe and sanctioned event also incorporates race track competition events. 

This time around TEAM ANGRY is sporting some new faces and some new hardware. Coming to the table this time is Carmine “Mr. BOOM BOOM” Dell Aquila and John “Johnny Boy” Sigismondi driving a 478 rwhp Corvette Z06. This puppy is simply BADASS and has some pretty cool bells and whistles that we just can’t disclose to the public yet. 

Then there is Christine and Marash Elezaj, the father and daughter powerhouse that simply can’t resist kicking automotive ass whenever humanly possible. They’ll be rolling in a 300 hp,  4WD BMW 335XI. You may in fact want to check out this months “Billboard Magazine” because Kristine is in there… she’s got a voice like an angel and a right foot like an anvil… seriously, this chick is no joke behind the wheel.

Last but not least we have yours truly, Mike Musto rolling with Mr. Todd Ford. Last rally we both had a bit of trouble with our rides.  First our ‘69 Daytona shredded a front wheel and then Todd’s Ferrari F430 blew a transmission. But now where back and both rolling a COMPLETELY revamped ‘69 Daytona that we’ve overhauled since our debacle in Bullrun 2008. All in all this should be one hell of a run as TEAM ANGRY is once again going with a take no prisoners attitude. So, with that being said, I would stay tuned and check the site over the next two weeks because we’ve got 3500 more miles to cover and 60 other teams to give a beating too… 

I just spoke to Greg Cecil who is one of the men in charge on the Volt Project yesterday. I am the co-host of the “RPM” radio show on Maxim Magazine channel 108 on Sirius Sat. every Thursday from 2-3pm eastern time and he was our guest.

The Volt is a very interesting car and he was very quick to point out that it was NOT a hybrid but an “Extended Range” vehicle. You can charge it with a 220 or 110 standard outlet with a full charge w/ a 210 being done in about 3 hrs. where a 110 will take about 8 hrs. The first 40 miles of use will be done solely on electric power, no gas. After that there is gas a engine that will recharge the batteries. However the Volt’s wheels are ONLY powered by the electric motor, never by the gas engine. Once the 40 miles of electric charge runs out fuel economy will be that of an average 4 door sedan. He would not go into details about that or the price of the car.

All electrics in the car run off the batteries - even the heaters are electric. All in all it’s a really cool piece of technology. Batteries are said to have a 10+ year life span as well. If you do a 40 mile commute you can essentially run to work, charge the car and run home for about .80 cents… this thing is pretty cool. 0-60 is about 9 secs. with a top end of around 100 mph. Styling is “ok” as a lot of thought was put into the aerodynamics of the car to make it as efficient as possible. All in all a really cool little scoot from GM.

Yesterday I did something that I generally do not do… attend a car show. I brought the Charger because its more fun to drive than my 118,+++ mile Mercury Villager, however I had absolutely no intention of being judged and or entering the show.  We rolled up to the entrance, I paid my $20 bucks and told the attendant that I would like to pay to park on the show field as it was safer then parking in the standard lot, he said “ok” and we proceeded to park amongst the other cars. Now, at the entrance they generally give you a little card to fill out with your cars statistics but having no interest in being judged we just stuffed it in the glove box and proceeded to park. We then ran through the basic car show routine which is to buy a bottle of water and an overpriced pretzel and walk around to see the other cars.

We covered the show in about an hour and then proceeded to sit down with some friends and BS over what we had seen. No sooner did we sit down when I saw two judges scoping out the Charger. They looked over, under and around it logging little notes and their books and making comments to each other. Anyway, one of the judges noticed me notice him, came over and asked if I owned the car - “Sure do”, I said.  Then he asked where my information tag was and I explained to the judge that I had no interest in having the car judged and that we just came to see the other cars - this for some reason tweaked him a bit and he told me that if I did not get judged that I would not be able to get judged at any future show that was run by whatever the organization was that ran this show.

I told him that was fine and that again, I was only there to view the other cars. He then proceeded to tell me that he put a sticker on my windshield and took down my name in the record book so that if I did in fact try and attend another car show by this group that I would be ineligible for judging. When I explained that I didn’t care he got offended, wrote down another note in his little book, said a few words to one of the other judges, gave me the stink eye and walked away.

My question is, why would one do this? Why would you purposely ban someone from a show who had no intention of being in the show in the first place? If anyone out there can explain this to me please let me know because I don’t have a clue.

So, you want to build a custom car huh? Well, let me just start by saying that you’d better do some research before you jump in head first. I get A LOT of people telling me that they are thinking about building a car, but in reality they have absolutely no concept of what it takes to actually do this. They think that the shiny red tool box in the corner of their garage is all they will need to make a SEMA show car. They’ve generally read some magazines about how someone built a car for $4000.00 out of junkyard parts, a little rattle can paint and some upholstery work from their Mom and think: “Hey, I can do this… no problem. I’ve got the skills, I got the drive and I’ve got a red tool box. DONE!”

Oh how wrong they are. Being a backyard mechanic is one thing and by this I mean you’ve changed some brake pads, done some oil changes and maybe even installed a stereo or two. Being a true customizer is something totally different as you are generally creating something from nothing. That means taking parts that we’re never meant to work together and making them work together. It’s a bitch and one that constantly bites back.

MR. ANGRY INC.  just finally put the wraps on project “ANGRIER” and let me tell you something. It was a long road to get to this point, 15 months to be exact and all along the way things fought us. From simple electrical issues, to broken wheels, to suspension components, etc… Oh and lets not forget about the money, ALL the money. A good rule of thumb, if you decide to embark on a project is figure out your budget then double it - do this and you may come in on target.

All in all building a car is a truly rewarding experience and if the outcome is what you want you will be thrilled in the end. Just keep in mind that the project will cost you more than just time and money… don’t believe me, ask anyone who’s ever done it.

Good luck people.