Queen City Cars & Coffee is back! The past two years hosting this show have been absolute blast, and I'm stoked to be putting it on again this year. Last year, over 90 cars attended, about 30 more than the first year. For QC3 (just made that name up right now and I dig it) the... Continue Reading →
Queen City Cars & Coffee
If last year's Queen City Cars & Coffee was great, the show this August was incredible. Over 80 cars turned out on a glorious Saturday morning against the backdrop of the Merrimack River and downtown ManchVegas. Hosting a car show has been a tremendous learning experience and seeing a tangible improvement over last year's show... Continue Reading →
Co-Driver: Track Day Lemonade
Welcome to the brand new Top Dead Center series, Co-Driver. Here, fellow gear heads have an outlet for their automotive passions, whether it's a exciting story to tell, photos to share, or the retelling of an epic adventure. Co-Driver's inaugural entry comes from Shawn Pierce, a talented writer and photographer and friend of TDC, who had... Continue Reading →
Wide eyed in The Big Apple: A car show rookie’s ‘Top 5’ from the New York International Auto Show
Over the past few years, I have made the journey to bustling downtown Manhattan and the Jacob Javits Center a number of times for the New York International Auto Show. If you have never been, I highly recommend going, even if you aren't a car carrying gearhead. Several stories tall, multiple blocks long, and many... Continue Reading →
The Torque Tube: Synaptic3 Performance
Synaptic3 Performance is a prime example of what this website was started for. Located in an out-of-the-way, unassuming business park in the fully unassuming town of Candia, NH, brothers Ron and Dana Salb have created a world-class performance shop that is turning out some of the most complete builds to be found on either road... Continue Reading →
Kicking The Bucket List: Yuppie Rally 2012 and driving the Tail of the Dragon
If you've spent any time around me at all for the past few months, you've heard me talk (with great vigor) about the Yuppie Rally. Put together by the great team over at Yuppie Racing, the 2012 Yuppie Rally ran from the Aston Martin of New England dealership in Waltham, Massachusetts, down to The Tail of the Dragon... Continue Reading →
Cars in the Wild
One of my all time favorite automotive quotes comes from freelance auto journo Andrew Frankel (@Andrew_Frankel). His experience driving the almighty Bugatti Veyron for the first time is still the best I've ever read: "When I finally stopped accelerating I had to slow down and do it all over again, just to make sure I... Continue Reading →
The Torque Tube: Peter Ladas and Yuppie Racing
Peter Ladas from Yuppie Racing is a self-proclaimed gearhead of the highest order—a diehard fan of the mad vehicles created by Mercedes-Benz's AMG tuning division and owner of brilliant cars like the BMW E46 M3 and Toyota Supra. Ladas' mission with Yuppie Racing was to create a close knit automotive community and re-create the public's ... Continue Reading →
Cars in the Wild
There is something commanding and empowering about driving a luxury sedan. And, when your luxury sedan is a Teutonic titan like the freshly redesigned BMW 7-Series pictured, lesser peoples will actually fall over themselves trying to get out of the way. Cars like the 7-Series look and feel more at home shuttling dictators, monarchs, or... Continue Reading →
Seeing 2011 out, welcoming 2012 in
Like a brilliant and complex sunset, 2011 is slipping under the horizon. The end of another year provides time for reflection, for speculation on what the future may hold, and a re-commitment to not put off all those important things for another year. 2011 was kind of a crazy year what with all the local and global... Continue Reading →
Cars in the Wild
The Germans aren't typically known for their passionate expressions of emotion. And this attitude especially applies to their cars. A standard German vehicle is sensible, built like a bank vault, understated, and is happy to drive by unnoticed. There must be something in the drinking water however, around the part of Mercedes-Benz factory that builds... Continue Reading →
Cars in the Wild
In the great pantheon of super-saloons, there is one car that is responsible for giving rise to the entire segment. Ze Germans without a doubt make some of the world's finest super-saloons, luxurious four door sedans that carry a velvet wrapped ballistic missile under the hood, topped with a dollop of technological whipped cream. Bahn-burners like the... Continue Reading →