JUNE 12, 2024

The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo. 

The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG 

(Toyota images)

Bulletin: This car may actually be affordable, although we have no price information as of yet. Toyota will offer a new Corolla FX special edition for 2025. Toyota's PR minions say that this new offering pays homage to the 1987 Corolla FX16. We're not sure about that, but here it is anyway. Based on the SE grade, the Corolla FX adds an enhanced rear spoiler; new 18-inch satin-black finished alloy wheels with machined accents and black lug nuts; a blacked-out roof, black badging and black mirror caps. Other stuff? The Corolla FX sits lower with standard lowering springs and the Electric Power Steering has been tuned for a more sporting feel. The Corolla FX a 2.0L, Dynamic Force 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve engine with Dual Variable Valve Timing that delivers 169HP and 151 lb.-ft. of torque. The Toyota Corolla also has a manufacturer-estimated 34 combined MPG rating. Inside the Corolla FX has Moonstone sport fabric seats with orange stitching and a standard 10.5-inch Toyota Audio Multimedia screen. This 10.5-inch screen will also be available on other 2025 Corolla models. The Corolla FX will be equipped with the 7-inch multi-information display and the wireless charger from the 2025 XSE trim. Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 will also come standard on the 2025 Toyota Corolla FX. The Corolla FX will be available in Midnight Black Metallic, Ice Cap and Underground. Ice Cap and Underground will both have a Midnight Black Metallic roof. Corolla FX models will arrive at Toyota dealerships in the Fall of 2024. Additional details and pricing for the 2025 Corolla FX Special Edition will be shared later this year.

(Ted7/Alex Sims)

Worth a closer look, just because: This is the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150 C Lago Spéciale Teardrop Coupé by Figoni et Falaschi. The stunning masterwork of Art Deco-inspired design was ordered new by gentleman race driver and banker Antoine Schumann to replace his Bugatti Type 50. Sold to Schumann by Luigi Chinetti for the sum of 165,000 francs, this is the only Figoni et Falaschi Teardrop Coupé built on the T150 C Lago Spéciale chassis. A special-order body with unique features specified by Schumann, and a class winner at the 1948 Belgian Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Spa, chassis 90034 certainly has known provenance with ownership by prominent French collectors. It will be auctioned off by Broad Arrow Auctions (aka Hagerty) at Monterey on August 14th, with an estimated price of $6,500,000 - $8,500,000. 

(Ted7/Alex Sims)

(Ted7/Alex Sims)

(Robin Adams)

The AE Song of the Week:

 
My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about
He says it used to be a farm
Before the Motor Law
And now on Sundays, I elude the eyes
And hop the turbine freight
To far outside the wire where my
White-haired uncle waits

Jump to the ground as the turbo slows
To cross the borderline
Run like the wind as excitement shivers
Up and down my spine
But down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me
An old machine
For fifty-odd years
To keep it as new
Has been his dearest dream

I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant Red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
We'll fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime

Wind
In my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge

Well-oiled leather
Hot metal and oil
The scented country air

Sunlight on chrome
The blur of the landscape
Every nerve aware

Suddenly ahead of me
Across the mountainside
A gleaming alloy air-car
Shoots towards me two lanes wide
Oh, I spin around with shrieking tires
To run the deadly race
Go screaming through the valley
As another joins the chase

Ride like the wind
Straining the limits
Of machine and man
Laughing out loud with fear and hope
I've got a desperate plan

At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded
At the riverside
Race back to the farm
To dream with my uncle
At the fireside

"Red Barchetta" by Rush, from the album "Moving Pictures" (1981).* Written by Alex Zivojinovich, Gary Lee Weinrib and Neil Elwood Peart. Publisher: Anthem Entertainment. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Listen here. 

*This is a futuristic song about a farmer who keeps a Red Barchetta in his barn even after motors are outlawed (Before the Motor Law). The kid comes, takes the car for ride and ends up being chased by Gleaming Alloy Air car (Police is assumed). He outruns and ditches the law and returns to the barn, hides the car and goes to dream with his uncle by the fireside. During the Moving Pictures Tour, Rush used a video to bring the story to life. The Barchetta was a hot rod made by Ferrari. The first car to leave the Maranello factory in 1947 was a red, V12-engined Barchetta. From the beginning it was designed as a racing car and it went on to win at its second outing in the Grand Prix of Rome. Alongside the racing cars, development continued apace for a road-going version. This is how the 166 MM - the first Ferrari to win the Le Mans 24 Hours and also see use as a high-performance, road-going two-seater - was created. The history of the V12 front-engine Ferraris started here. This was the second song from Rush's best-selling album to date, Moving Pictures. This song was inspired by the story A Nice Morning Drive, written by Richard S. Foster. The harmonics in the intro were played by guitarist Alex Lifeson.  (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)

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