AUGUST 10, 2022

Editor's Note: Hard on the heels of Peter's column from last week - "The Affordability Crisis" - Jack Ewing of The New York Times weighs in with "Electric Cars Too Costly for Many - Even With Aid in Climate Bill" (paywall). Long story short - and one we know all too well - the current crop of EVs is aimed at the affluent, with the average sticker price now $66,000 (note: the Chevy Bolt is now under $30k and 2023 VW ID.4 starts at under $40k). Demand is so strong, most high-end EVs are already sold out and buyers are facing delivery times way in the future. And while there is a $7500 federal tax credit in the government's new legislation, there are strict requirements for the vehicles it applies to (i.e., standards for how much of the battery must be made in North America with raw materials from trade allies), which right now, are basically none. Not to mention the soaring prices of raw materials and various shortages. So, we're back to what we've long suspected (and what The Autoextremist has been saying for quite some time) - the transition to an all-EV future is going to be a long, long process, with full EV adoption just that - way in the future. -WG

(Audi images)
"Inspired" by the iconic design of the 1985 Audi Sport quattro S1, the S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron will be revealed in North America for the first time at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca during Monterey Car Week Aug. 17 – Aug. 21. The one-of-a-kind machine was developed exclusively for American drift artist Ken Block, and will be featured in the next installment of his famous Gymkhana series, “Electrikhana.” The Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron has dual electric motors, all-wheel drive, a carbon fiber chassis, and incorporates the full suite of safety standards as dictated by motorsports’ top governing body, the FIA. This will be the first time that the North American public will have a chance to view the electric car that Ken Block will drive in person. Furthermore, fans will also see the original Audi Sport quattro S1 that was driven by Walter Röhrl when he set his record of 10 minutes and 48 seconds on gravel at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in 1987. It still stands as the fastest time on the unpaved stretch of road into the sky as it has since been paved. While Audi Design in Ingolstadt, Germany, was responsible for the styling, the entire development, including the advanced technologies that brought the car to life, took place in Audi Sport’s Neckarsulm location. From 1984 to 1987, Audi rally driver Walter Röhrl drove the original Audi Sport quattro S1 during the Group B era of rally racing. This modern interpretation, the S1 Hoonitron, "serves as a nod to this significant period, while remaining laser-focused on the commitment toward electrification," according to Audi PR minions. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Just so you know, this entire exercise is a giant beat-off and a waste of time and money, because the whole Ken Block show grew tedious a long time ago. Yes, you can dial up boatloads of horsepower with electric propulsion, but are they going to project computerized external sounds too? Or are we just going to hear slot car sounds and burning rubber? Whatever. -PMD

(PPG)
PPG has announced that a custom 1969 Pontiac Firebird featuring PPG paint captured the coveted Goodguys 2022 PPG Street Machine of the Year award at the Goodguys 24th Summit Racing Nationals. Presented by PPG, the event took place July 8-10 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio. BBT Fabrications of Mahomet, Illinois, built the twin-turbo 1969 Firebird, which is owned by Brad Sather. Relic Restomods of Richmond, Illinois, painted the vehicle in McLaren Racing Green using the PPG DELTRON® refinish system.
(PPG)
In the PPG Best Use of Color category, a 1960 Buick LeSabre owned by Danielle Korek took the honor. Her husband, Ryan Korek of Korek Designs, painted the cruiser with a one-of-a-kind custom green color that he created with the PPG Deltron refinish system.

The AE Song of the Week:

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home (oh won't you please take me home)
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home (oh won't you please take me home)

Just a urchin livin' under the street
I'm a hard case that's tough to beat
I'm your charity case so buy me something to eat
I'll pay you at another time
Take it to the end of the line

Rags to riches or so they say
Ya gotta keep pushin' for the fortune and fame
You know it's all a gamble when it's just a game
Ya treat it like a capital crime
Everybody's doin' the time

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh won't you please take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah

Strapped in the chair of the city's gas chamber
Why I'm here I can't quite remember
The surgeon general says it's hazardous to breathe
I'd have another cigarette but I can't see
Tell me who you're gonna believe

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh won't you please take me home

So far away
So far away
So far away
So far away

Captain America's been torn apart
Now he's a court jester with a broken heart
He said "turn me around and take me back to the start"
I must be losing my mind "are you blind?"
I've seen it all a million times

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh won't you please take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh won't you please take me home

I wanna go, I wanna go
Oh won't you please take me home
I wanna see how good it can be
Oh won't you please take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh won't you please take me home
Take me down, lead me 'round
Oh won't you please take me home

I wanna see, what a woman can be
I want to take you home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh won't you please take me home
I wanna go, I wanna know
Oh won't you please take me home


"Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses, from the album "Appetite For Destruction" (1987).* Watch the Official (and awesome) Music Video here. 

*Much like "Welcome To The Jungle," this was inspired by Los Angeles, where the band was living. The verses deal with the rough life on the streets, but the chorus was based on Axl Rose's memories of the Midwest, with images of green grass, innocence and possibility. Slash wanted the chorus to be: "Take me down to the Paradise City where the girls are fat and they got big t--ties." He hated the "Grass Is Green" line, but the band overruled him to make the song more radio-friendly. This is the only track on Appetite For Destruction with a prominent synthesizer. It was Axl Rose's idea. This was the first song that the original Guns N' Roses lineup of Slash, Steven Adler, Duff McKagan, Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin wrote together - all five members are credited as writers. According to McKagan, they started working on it during one of their first rehearsals, and it started with some lyrics he brought from a notebook. On 93.1 WIBC FM, a radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana, Jake Query, who is a friend of Axl Rose, explained that the part of the song where they sing, "Where the grass is green, and the girls are pretty" is about when Axl Rose and his family would go down to Bloomington, Indiana. The city in which the Xbox 360 game Burnout: Paradise takes place was named after this song, and "Paradise City" is considered the game's theme song. "Paradise City" saw some renewed interest in 2022 after being included on the Thor: Love And Thunder soundtrack. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)



Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG