FiestaAgent33 is one of the faithful followers of our Twitter account, and today he posted an intriguing question to those on Twitter, “Fiesta Movement peeps, Does anybody think automatic rain sensing windshield wipers are a worthwhile option?”.  There are some people that would respond with a resounding “Hell yea!!”, some that may say “it might be nice”, and then there’s those like myself that might proclaim “I don’t need that crap weighing me down!”.  It really got me thinking about the whole situation and where cars are going.  I spent a good month looking for my new GTI.  Why?  Because I wanted one with no options…no sunroof, no leather, no naviagiton, traditional three-pedal foot-clutch manual and not a thing extra.  All of the GTI’s I could find were loaded to gills.  Leather, or sunroof, or power seats, or that blasted DSG tranny (I admire the technology, but it takes away from driving IMO) Yea, I’m that guy and true, I’m a rare breed.  Or am I?  Are there other people out there like me?  Are there other people that want to be completely uninhibited in their drive by technological widgets and knick-knacks?  I want to feel the road through the car with no translation, and there’s got to be other people out there like me…right? Of course rain-sensing wipers have nothing to do with the drive but to me, it’s just one more thing to break or more importantly weigh me down.  I want a car for a car…to drive and really exercise my thirst for engineering, speed, and fun.  Uninhibeted, raw, mechanical FUN.  So what’s the story, am I alone on this?

So, yesterday was a particularly hard day at work. Fighting every urge to punch something or drink a full bottle of Jack empty, I decided to do what any true motor fanatic would do…take the long way home. While I’m not particularly fond of my paying bills job, I must commend the office’s location to some of the best driving roads in Southern California. Right as the clock struck 5, I beelined out of the office and as soon as I could see it, I swear my little Tornado Red GTI was wagging its back end like a puppy anxiously awaiting a romp in the park. It knew as did I…it was play time.

Windows down, shades on, I slowly creep out of the parking lot gentle on the throttle until the eager turbo four is up to operating temp. Idling through town is anguish…and the final red light right before the road winds into the canyon is my final test. Green = GO! Revs at 3 grand, dump the clutch and off we blast with a fury to tire smoke and squeal…this wouldn’t be that last time I’d hear from the tires. No sir, I was about to make them beg for mercy.

This particular canyon road starts off with some gentle sweepers encouraging you to get your speed up and in the zone. Winding deeper into the canyon, the road tightens and builds intricacy making it all the more fun to test the little Vee-dub’s limits. Adrenaline and gasoline coursing through my veins, I build confidence and ferocity with each devoured corner. Tire squeals become more frequent, I hit the really fun button and turn off the pesky stability control. Tires are toast now as all four are squealing their apparent displeasure. Four wheel drifts sweeping through each turn as I dance across the pedals with red line bumped upshifts keeping the car at its limit.  I avoid under or oversteer turn after turn my teeth grit with concentration, eyes lazer focused on the top of each hill.

Cresting the top of the canyon, I realize that my fun is through. Too soon perhaps but no damage was done. I pull off to an overlook heart pounding and breath heavy. The valley glistening below an overly calm ocean ahead and the poor little GTI ticking itself to rest while the brakes and tires reek of pain. Having forgotten all about what ailed me just half an hour before; I reflect on how much I love my pacifier. Drinking…fighting…drugs: none have anything over a wild romp down a twisty road. Like a true motor fanatic, this is how I blow off steam.

Here’s the deal, car racing, and all its variations, draws ga-zillions of fans, and for me personally, the Le Mans series here in the states is probably my personal favorite.  You mix modified production cars, in a couple of different classes,  with completely dedicated LMP machines, and throw them all out together on the same track, at the same time.  Genius.  Because you and I don’t drive on tracks..we drive in traffic..and racing like that is a true test of a driver.   I’m drawn by watching a Porsche GT 2 or 3 duel it out with a  F430 Ferrari, or an Aston Martin…what? that rules…and then just as your getting into that part of the race..the leaders..in the LMP cars….SMOKE THEM ALL!  like they weren’t even there!  Its just fun on so many levels.  No, it doesn’t get the attention that NASCAR does, and F1 totally looks down on these guys..but you know what, I love it, and so do a lot of other fans….and hopefully Chris and I will make a couple races this year…come on, do you really think it takes more tallent to run TALADEGA than Laguna  seca?

Now, the point of this post..well, the American Le Mans series is about to start, and to celebrate that, Porsche decided to show us some past all-stars from their hall of fame stable.  They gave us the  718 RS 60, the RS Spyder as well as the 935 and 962 models.  So we’ve got the 718..it only had 160hp, and it smoked more powerfull competitors back in 1960, it was, and is, truely legendary.  The 935 cemented Porsches place in racing, and gave the company true credibility, and the respect they wanted. In 1985, the Porsche 962 continued the 935’s success streak with pilots A.J. Foyt, (racing hero, in any class)  and Bob Wollek . In the years 1986, 1987 and 1988, the 680 hp sports prototype with the 2.85-litre six-cylinder turbo engine also crossed the finish line first in Sebring.   In 1998 Porsche made legendary marks with the RS Spyder, the 4th vehicle in the photos…this car was just unstoppable, and if it wasn’t for this car, the Le Mans series would just be called the “Audi shows off” series.  Trust me, if Porsche will let us near their cars this year..we’ll try our best to bring it to you!

So back when the idea for MotorFanatics was in its hypothetical spit balling over beers state, I stumbled across a little program Ford was putting on called the Fiesta Movement. Apparently, Ford is looking for some people to drive around Fiesta’s before they’re even available…taking them on missions, and blogging about their shenanigans to the general public. Having just watched Jeremy Clarkson blast a Fiesta through a mall being chased by a Corvette on Top Gear (best show ever BTW), I was STOKED on Ford’s new little wonder car and brought it up to Dan. Immediately, we knew we had to be all-in on this.

All we needed was a video. A video! How could the contest possibly be any more perfect for us? Dan suggested a fight scene for fun, and I knew it would be an angle that most wouldn’t take. A fight scene, wrapped with our brand of car media, sprinkled with our beautiful mugs yammering about how awesome we are makes for a video experience only MotorFanatics could bring. Follow this link to check it out on our site, and if you would be so kind to hit up our YouTube channel here and rate the video, hopefully you’ll be seeing us in a Fiesta! A bright green manual would be our preference, but we’re not picky.