AUGUST 19, 2020

(Ram Trucks) 
Get all the details on the new 2021 Ram 1500 TRX here. Also, not leaving any opportunity to extract money from its faithful untouched, Ram Truck is offering a special Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition (below). Limited to 702 units - in tribute to its 702HP - the TRX Launch Edition is visually distinguished by its exclusive Anvil Gray paint and red and brushed-aluminum center console badge identifying it as a special, limited-edition TRX model. The Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition package is coupled with the TRX Level 2 Equipment Group, which adds carbon fiber interior trim, color accent package, Head-up Display, beadlock-capable wheels, 19-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system, dual-pane panoramic sunroof and bodyside graphics. Production of the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition starts in early fourth-quarter 2020 at FCA’s Sterling Heights (Michigan) Assembly Plant. UPDATE: Ram Truck announced that orders for the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition were filled in approximately three hours on Tuesday, August 18. Only 702 - commemorating the TRX's 702HP 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V8 - of the Launch Edition trucks were offered to U.S. buyers. 

(Dodge)
Dodge bills the new 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock as "the world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car." Powered by the same supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® high-output V-8 that powers the SRT Hellcat Redeye, the SRT Super Stock features a revised powertrain calibration that increases power output to 807HP. The "Widebody" comes standard on the Challenger SRT Super Stock, making room for the wider wheels and standard drag radials. Other stuff? Uniquely tuned Bilstein adaptive-damping high-performance suspension; Lightweight all-aluminum Brembo four-piston brake calipers and 14.2-inch vented rotors; Standard lightweight 18-by-11-inch wheels in Low Gloss Granite finish; Sticky 315/40R18 Nitto NT05R drag radials at all four corners; and a Performance-tuned asymmetrical limited-slip differential with a 3.09 final drive ratio. The Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock has a starting U.S. MSRP of $79,595 (excluding destination). Dealer orders will open later this month with production starting at Brampton (Ont.) Assembly Plant this fall. Deliveries to Dodge//SRT dealerships are scheduled to begin later this year.

(Jeep)

The Jeep® brand announced the #JeepTopCanine finalists on Tuesday, August 11. Chosen from thousands of entries, the brand narrowed it down to eight finalists. Fans can now vote for their favorite at www.JeepTopCanine.com. The winning dog will be named the first-ever #JeepTopCanine on National Dog Day, Wed., Aug. 26, and will be the newest (and cutest) face of the Jeep brand across its social media channels, appearing in exclusive content for the next year, until National Dog Day 2021. Fans can vote now from August 11 through August 18 at www.JeepTopCanine.com: 

• Bear, Northborough, Massachusetts
• Floyd, San Diego, California
• Macy, Edmeston, New York
• Louis, Edwards, Illinois
• Luna, Pflugerville, Texas
• Stark, Ivyland, Pennsylvania
• Rollo, Columbus, Ohio
• Peaches, Madison, Virginia

The Sheer Joy of Driving.

By Tom Pease

Beverly Hills. One of the things I lament about the fact that we seem to be careening toward a future of shiny happy people movers is stories of the sheer joy of driving like yours, or mine. Although mine aren't anywhere near as interesting, I will share one: When I was a kid in Massachusetts, I had no intention of getting my driver's license. I liked cars, but at a young age decided that I was going to go and live in New York. Manhattan, thank you. (I just adore a penthouse view...) So, I figure, why do I need to drive? Everybody in new York takes cabs, right? My brother was silently incensed by this; no brother of his was going to eschew driving under his watch! So on my 16th birthday I came home to find sitting in the driveway a banana yellow 1967 Barracuda Convertible with a black bumblebee stripe and a 318 under the hood - he thought I'd rack up a 383 in about ten minutes. He looked at me and said, “So, you going to get that drivers license?” I did. Yes, I moved to New York (and quickly moved out) and since then have had a string of convertibles, from a FIAT 124 Spyder which was a joy when running and punishment when not, a Chrysler LeBaron with a pokey four-pot to the BMW Z3 I have today. In fact I credit the Z3 with keeping me somewhat sane during the Covid crisis: I may not be able to go to the movies or hang out with friends but I can put the top down and whiz through the “esses” on Mulholland, zip down Topanga Canyon, or just take the ride by the sea on PCH, smell the ocean air and listen to Anthony Valadez spin some tunes on KCRW. Somehow I can't see trying to hang out the rear end on the 150 degree turn from Coldwater onto Mulholland in a Prius. Even if it could I don't think the effect would be quite the same.

AE Song Lyrics of the Week:

Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy (Hey, what up girl?)
Grab my glasses, I'm out the door; I'm gonna hit this city (Let's go)
Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack
'Cause when I leave for the night, I ain't coming back

I'm talking pedicure on our toes, toes
Trying on all our clothes, clothes
Boys blowing up our phones, phones
Drop-topping, playing our favorite CD's
Rollin' up to the parties
Trying to get a little bit tipsy

Don't stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I'm-a fight
Till we see the sunlight
Tick-tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no

Don't stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I'm-a fight
'Til we see the sunlight
Tick-tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no

Ain't got a care in world, but got plenty of beer
Ain't got no money in my pocket, but I'm already here
And now the dudes are lining up 'cause they hear we got swagger
But we kick 'em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger

I'm talking about everybody getting crunk, crunk
Boys tried to touch my junk, junk
Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk

Now, now, we goin' till they kick us out, out
Or the police shut us down, down
Police shut us down, down
Po-po shut us

Don't stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I'm-a fight
Till we see the sunlight
Tick-tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no

Don't stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I'm-a fight
Till we see the sunlight
Tick-tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no

DJ, you build me up
You break me down
My heart it pounds
Yeah, you got me
With my hands up
You got me now
You got that sound
Yeah, you got me

DJ, you build me up
You break me down
My heart it pounds
Yeah, you got me
With my hands up
Put your hands up
Put your hands up

Now, the party don't start till I walk in

Don't stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I'm-a fight
Till we see the sunlight
Tick-tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no

Don't stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I'm-a fight
Till we see the sunlight
Tick-tock on the clock
But the party don't stop, no


"TiK ToK" by Kesha from the album "Animal" (2009)*. Written by Benjamin Joseph Levin, Lukasz Gottwald and Kesha Rose Sebert. Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Downtown Music Publishing. Watch the exuberant video here. 
*Before it was a popular video sharing app, "TiK ToK" was the breakout hit for Kesha, who was going by "Ke$ha" at the time. It was the first single from her debut album, Animal. Before recording the song, her resumé included co-writing The Veronicas single "This Love," providing background vocals to Britney Spears' "Lace and Leather," and most notably, belting the hook on rapper Flo Rida's chart-topping "Right Round." In an interview with Esquire magazine, Kesha explained the original inspiration for this decadent number. "One morning I just woke up, and I live in this house with I-don't-even-know-how-many roommates - it's this Laurel Canyon house with seven rooms and roommates fluctuating monthly." She added: "Well it was the house The Eagles recorded Hotel California in. So it's just this huge hippy... There are a bunch of hippies who come in and out, and there are all these people sleeping on the couches. I don't really care, I don't mind it. But I woke up one day after we went to a party, and I was surrounded by ten of the most beautiful women you've ever seen. And I was like, I'm like P. Diddy - there's no man like this in the entire world. So that became the first line of the new single, and we just went from there." American actor Simon Rex, who played George Logan in Scary Movies 3 & 4, appears as a character named Barry in the song's music video. Diddy contributes to this song rapping the lines "Hey, what up girl?" and "Let's Go." The story of how Kesha hooked up with the A-list producer and rapper is that after writing the first line of the song, which is "Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy," she took it to her producer, Dr. Luke. By coincidence about four hours later, Diddy called Luke for the first time ever saying they should do a song together some time. Almost immediately Diddy dropped by the studio to contribute his lines. Kesha told MTV News: "He agreed to come in that day. It was so bizarre, but as fate would have it, happened in the course of hours. We all were hanging out and I was so intimidated... but he was the nicest guy." Kesha became the first female vocalist to rise to have a #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her debut single since Lady Gaga achieved the same feat 11 months previously with "Just Dance." Ke$ha explained to Jam! Music that the dollar sign in her name was inspired by the fact that she never benefited financially from the massive success of "Right Round," which featured her vocals. She said of Flo Rida: "He's super-sweet. It's not like I blame him." Then added: "To me, it's not about the money. That's the whole reason I have (the dollar sign), 'cause it's ironic. Like, I don't care. I was so happy being broke. And I'm happy not being broke. It doesn't really affect me either way. I care about taking care of people that have taken care of me - that's important to me. But to be honest, I'm kind of repulsed by the gluttony and excesses of a lot of people in the limelight." She dropped the $ in 2014 after a two-month stay in rehab to treat an eating disorder. This unapologetic ode to getting totally wasted logged 11,224 spins in the tracking week of January 18-24 2010 setting a record for the most weekly plays in the 17 year history of the Billboard Charts. Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" was the previous record holder having been played 10,859 times in the previous seven day period. Kesha was tagged by some music publications as a white rapper thanks to her vocal delivery on tracks like this one and "Blah Blah Blah." The singer told Billboard magazine that initially she was reluctant to rap on Animal. "The white-girl rap swagger thing is really a little bit of a joke," she said. "I never thought of myself as a rapper. This is just the way I talk." This song spent nine weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the most for a single by a female artist since Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" stayed at the peak for ten weeks. in 1977. Kesha sings in this song about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack Daniel's. She told The Daily Telegraph that the lyric shouldn't be taken seriously. The singer said shaking her head: "Everyone's really offended by that, but come on, brushing your teeth with Jack Daniel's: what girl does that? People are like, 'Do you really advocate brushing your teeth with bourbon?' I'm like, 'Yes, actually, I do, every day, for everybody. Especially eight-year-olds.' I mean, what are you talking about? Of course I don't. Come on." Kesha performed this on the April 17, 2010 episode of Saturday Night Live with her band and backup dancers dressed as astronauts. (Knowlege courtesy of songfacts.com)