2/7/16

Just released a new video on my YouTube channel devoted to some of my favorite driving fails.

Check out the link!

CLICK HERE!

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The Top 5 Moments From The Fast and the Furious Series

By: Robert Menjivar 3/3/2015

With Furious 7 arriving in theaters on April 3rd, 2015 I felt that it was time to look back on the series and my top 5 moments from the series.

One last time?

5. The First Race (The Fast and the Furious) The Fast and the Furious.
This was the movie that started it all. in what Universal Studios probably considered a risky move, they green lit a movie about the world of underground street racing.
For those who were oblivious to the street racing scene, the first street race featured in The Fast and the Furious was probably enough of an adrenaline rush to make newcomers want to sell their beat up mini vans for a 95 Eclipse.
And do not forget the actual car meet that this street race was located in, no doubt filling every one's minds with fantasies of being able to attend a car meet with a modded up car surrounded by admirers and beautiful women.
This was the scene that set the tone for the series. Fast cars? Check. Ridiculous modifications? Check. Flames shooting out of the exhaust pipe? Check. Quotable lines? Check.

Are those emissions legal?

4. The Monte Carlo and the Viper (Tokyo Drift)
Remember those times you saw someone at a car meet showing off their ridiculously priced ride that their parents bought them? And did you think, "Wouldn't it be great if I had a faster car, just to show him/her up a bit?"
Well Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) did.
Before Sean ends up in Tokyo, he was challenged by Clay, the kid from Home Improvement, to a race for pink slips. Sean's car? 1971 Monte Carlo. Clay's car? 2007 Viper.
It was a satisfying race to watch, as we got to see old vs. new, with awesome results as Sean proved that the price of the car did not matter.
Unfortunately due to a cheap shot the race never got to officially end as both cars ended up totaled.
Oh well.

Why you can't have nice things.

3. Drift Chase in Tokyo (Tokyo Drift)
In this scene we see protagonist's Han (Sung Kang) and Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) drifting through the streets of Tokyo in an attempt to escape the movies antagonist, D.K. (Donkey Kong).
This scene was pretty awesome as we get to see some awesome drift action going on as they dodge both cars and people (the "red sea" parting of the crowd was a pretty cool scene) in an attempt to escape with their lives.
Ultimately this scene ends with the death of fan favorite Han in a fiery explosion.
Probably the biggest game changer however in this scene was the later inclusion of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) who will be the villain in Furious 7 as it is revealed he was the one who caused the crash that took Han's life.

I don't have State Farm but insurance find me money....

2. Bank Heist (Fast 5)
Ocean's Eleven on NoS.
I feel this is a good way to put this scene. You get to see the series regulars contend with crooked police in Rio, Brazil in beefed up police cars while dragging around a huge safe full of millions of dollars.
The scene is every bit as cool as you can imagine.

Every bit as ridiculously cool as it looks.

1. Charger vs. Supra (The Fast and the Furious)
Yes, I know it is surprising.
This scene was an awesome conclusion to the first movie, as it set itself up for the future installments that we have seen and will be seeing.
This scene has it all, The awesome 1970 Dodge Charger for the muscle car guys to drool over and a modded up 1995 Supra that probably still inhabits most import people's list of "Cars I Would Love to Own."
Right from the get go this scene just oozed raw power, as is evident by the way the Charger leaps off its front wheels right from the get go. We are then greeted to an awesome mix of audio as you hear the roar of American muscle collide with the snarl of the legendary import. I will admit, I still use this scene to test out my audio systems.
And of course it is necessary to add a train in the end, to give both characters one more excuse to hit that red nitrous button of goodness.
Just an altogether amazing scene, and why I chose it as number 1.

A quarter mile at a time.

Honorary Mention: Hobbs vs Toretto
What happens when you make one buff guy fight another buff guy?
One hell of a fight obviously.
This scene, while light on cars, was an awesome face off as we had both leaders of their respective groups finally squaring off once and for all.
It was definitely a cool fight scene to behold, and an interesting end as Dominic Toretto made his choice on whether to be a killer or not. In the end his decision proved a smart one.

This is Rio.

And there you have it guys.
I know this list is probably not the same as your list, so let me know in the comments what scenes you feel should be included!

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11/30/2013

Paul Walker Dies In Fiery Crash

As you may have heard already, Paul Walker, star of the Fast and the Furious movie franchise, was recently killed as his Porsche GT, with him being passenger, spun out of control and crashed into a tree and burst into flames.
This is a sad say for his family and friends.
I feel that many people can say that the Fast and the Furious movies had contributed to their own love for cars in some way. I still remember watching "2 Fast 2 Furious" at the movie theater and never looking at cars the same way again. Many hours were spent afterwards looking up modifications and body kits for my parents 2001 Maxima *keep in mind I was 12*.
Let us not forget that Paul Walker had other roles as well, such as in the recent movie "Takers", his role in "Pleasantville" and the movie "Eight Below", a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed, particularly because I am a husky owner myself.

Definitely a sad day for Hollywood, car enthusiasts and friends and family.
He will be missed.

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The Decline of the Stick Shift

In February an old man was held up at gun point while thieves tried to steal his Corvette. Shortly after the thieves found out the Corvette was manual however they realized they did not know how to drive it and simply decided to ditch the car and leave with his keys, wallet and phone. This is not the first time this has happened in the country, and it shows where our country has gone in terms of automotive skill.

The Sad Truth

You see, America is the only country where cars with an automatic transmission drastically outweigh cars with a manual transmission. Now one would hope that perhaps this was due to the fast paced, traffic filled life most people deal with on a daily basis. The sad reality however is that many people simply don't know how to drive a manual transmission.

Call me old fashioned but I believe part of having a drivers license should be the ability to drive a manual. Heck, even in some countries you have to take your drivers test in a manual! I specifically made sure my first car was a manual because it seemed ridiculous to not know how to drive one when I have my license. It is not that I feel everyone should be high revving and red lining their cars down the freeway every day but simply because there may be a point in time when you simply need to know how to drive a manual.

Just imagine, you and your friends decide to go to a party and designate Tim as your designated driver. Tim just so happens to drive a manual, no big problem right? After all he is the designated driver and he will be the only person driving. Now lets say you get to the party and through some random turn of events he ends up plastered and you are the sober one? Guess this means you are the new designated driver and Tim hands you his keys accordingly. But there is a problem...you don't know how to drive a manual. So now what? You have to call around looking for a ride or call a taxi and when people say "why don't you just drive his car?" You get the benefit of saying "I don't know how!"

This is one of the many scenarios that can be presented to you if you don't know how to drive a manual.
I know, I know. Learning to drive a manual can be a frustrating process but just imagine the possibilities when you learn how, for example:
1. Economy cars are generally cheaper on Craigslist, think about it. With so many people not knowing how to drive a manual it means there isn't as much of a market for them, so that means price decreases!
2. Manual gives you more control. You know when you drive an automatic and you are on a hill and the car just slugs along until it finally downshifts? Well with a manual you can put it in a lower gear whenever you want to!
3. It just looks awesome to know how to drive a manual, seriously. Half the time I give people a ride the first thing they say upon entering my car is "you can drive a stick? Nice! I wish I knew how!"
4. Can't beat teaching someone to drive a manual as a fun first date! Just not so fun for your clutch!

I do understand though that sometimes owning or driving a manual is a pain. The past few months I have been driving to San Francisco and back at least twice a day and on my manual transmission it can be a pain, especially on those steep hills San Francisco is so famous for. I will admit it has made me long for an automatic at times! An automatic is also good for stop and go traffic!

I am not saying that everyone should go out and trade in their automatics for a manual, I do believe though that even if you never aim to own a manual car you should still learn how to drive one. Think of it as learning self defense, you pray you never have to use it but when you do have to use it you will be glad you made yourself learn!

Thoughts? Put them below!

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The car scene is a very interesting group of people.
It can be broken down into:
60% Chill People
20% Douche Bags
15% Sheep
5% Little Dogs, Usually of a Yorkie or Corgi Type

And it is due to this I feel like making this article. Obviously everyone probably doesn't hate the same 5 things as I do and that is cool too!
*List is in no particular order*

1. JDM/USDM/Euro Elitists. Or any particular brand elitism for that matter.
 These people are irritating. "Eat Rice. Build Muscle" says the USDM guy. "P.O.S. Burnout guy probably can't take turns in his American P.O.S." says the JDM guy. "Euro guys are douchebags" says both the JDM and USDM people.
Way I see it is if any one particular manufacturer was the best than wouldn't everyone be buying it? Everyone has their preferences, who are we to think ours is best?
I will admit I used to be a mainly JDM guy, if it didn't have Honda, Toyota or Nissan on it then I didn't like it....but that's boring. Only seeing one side of the equation at all times is never a good way to look at stuff.
Closed minds are never fun.

2. Hating on Other Peoples Rides.
Why so much hate? Just because the car isn't how you like it then by fact its horrible?
The car scene was always about expressing your taste in cars the way you want it, not by modding your car the way others like it. I am in no way saying that we should like every car, but is their a need to bash it openly and hate?
Nope.
I go on forums and people put up their rides and all I see is bashing "your cars too high its ridiculous" "your cars too low its horrible" "your wheels suck". It is ridiculous.
I got a better idea. If you don't like someone elses car and it bothers you so much then how about YOU buy them everything you want their car to have to make it look nice to you?
Simple solution. No?

3. Show Offs at Car Meets/Shows.
We all see them, that one guy who just has to either enter or leave the meet revving and doing burnouts. Do we need him?
No.
Those are the people that get our meets and shows shut down, its simple cause and effect really, here let me try to show you:
Burnouts > Cops Come > Cops Watch > Cops See More Burnouts > Cops Close Down Meet.
Simple. I mean what do you expect to happen if you leave like a douche bag? An auto shop to come chasing after you and say, "Hey man your burnouts are so cool let us sponsor you with free parts?".
NO.

4. Judging People For What They Drive.
This is ridiculous, makes me feel like we are in high school.
Way too often do I see people judge others knowledge on cars based on what they drive. You don't have to drive a built up car to show that you know about cars and neither does anyone else. Sometimes the guy with the fully built car might not know more then the guy who rolled up in a 1994 Corolla.
Same goes for the astigmatism that is attached to certain cars, not every Civic is driven by a stupid kid and not every muscle car is driven by a doughnut doing free-revving douche bag.
It isn't the cars fault who it ends up with.

5. Dogs At Car Shows.
Yes! Your little dog looks so cool with a brand emblem on its leash or vest or whatever. And yes it does behave around people well. But PLEASE pick up after your dogs at meets or shows. It is beyond irritating to walk around the outside shows and meets and see dog feces on the ground, especially when it has been stepped on.
Don't wanna pick up after it? Leave Fido/Apple/Kujo at home.

And that's it. I probably missed some. Sound off below! Learn more »