The Driving Thread

I had forgotten that connection until you mentioned it.

That relationship ended poorly.

David Baerwald of David & David was mostly responsible for the song "Leaving Las Vegas." It was from the memoir of his friend John O'Brien; the memoir was made into the Nicolas Cage movie.

When Sheryl Crow did the song on Letterman he asked her if it was autobiographical. She said it was. She says she wasn't expecting to actually talk with Dave and was rattled and didn't think the answer through, but knew immediately she had screwed up. O'Brien killed himself three weeks later, and while it seems to be largely unrelated it kind of ended her relationship with the TNMC guys.

 

Yeah, I'd take a "Z" in a heartbeat, especially if it were a Nismo. Thought about it ... test drove ... went with something a sliver more practical. Only a little.

 

Historically, the Z is pretty affordable. Like a Corvette. No need to win the lottery.

The GT-R, however - especially the NISMO - can really run up a tab.

And speaking of Axl Rose, he used to do his drinking at the Coconut Teaszer, a club at Sunset and Crescent Heights. He was a neighborhood guy (the whole band was for a while), and lived up the street at Fountain and La Cienega. I had an apartment down the hill behind Jay Ward Productions and the giant fiberglass Rocky and Bullwinkle.




More here:

Bullwinkle Statue fully restored!

 

If you're enamored with the Hollywood rock scene, be sure to see "Echoes in the Canyon," the documentary of all the rockers who lived in Laurel Canyon in the '60s and '70s.

 

Loved that.

 

I'll third Echoes in the Canyon. It was very interesting.

 

This is the Washington Commanders of Benzes.

 

No question. But the GT-R's competition makes its roughly $110,000 tag look like a stellar value (don't laugh ... it's going after cars costing three and four times as much and holding its own). And still ... the only thing keeping it from being a perfect sports car is the absence of a third pedal. Makes little sense. The "Z" is still available with one. If anything, the proper third pedal and gearshift might have cut the number of neutral drops people were doing with GT-Rs.

Now, back to Songbird (as in, keep up the good work).

 

lol but I'm likely done with them. 16 is a lot. Few ideas what to do with them if I ever get around to it.

That said, this beauty is at the gym most days. It's one of the beefiest cars on the road. I'd love to drive it.

 

Yeah, need to do better than a MoPar Challenger.

Typical muscle car ... impressive straightforward power and acceleration, but - similar to too many other muscle cars - brakes need to be better and it handles like a three-legged cow.

Go back to that blue Z ...

 

Naaaaaaa ... muscle cars don't need to handle. It's about how quickly they can cover 1,320 feet.

 

Such a drag ...