"Uber"

Okay, today's post has nothing to do with auto body but I couldn't pass up sharing this "Uber" that pulled up in front of me at lunch today (notice the decal on the windshield.) Happy Wednesday!

Acura NSX--The New Benchmark

We got to drive the new Acura NSX this weekend. The 1990 NSX redefined what a supercar could be. The 2017 NSX does it again--the new benchmark. It accelerates like a racing bike, sips fuel like an Accord, eats any piece of pavement with great style, comfort and ease.

We got an extended test drive in the mountain roads near Laguna Seca Raceway during the Pirelli World Challenge as the Acura NSX continued its awesome rookie year in GT3 against Aston Martin, Audi R8s, BMW, Cadillac , Corvette, Dodge Viper, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes Benz, Nissan GT-R and Porsche.

Art St. Cyr, President of Honda Performance Development, and John Watts, Sr. Manager for NSX Performance Team, chatted with us over lunch about the car and successes they've had so far (most laps led of any manufacturer, 5th place finish in its very first race and ranked well in virtually every race.)

Is there a flaw with the NSX? Maybe it is too good. . . it makes even me look like a brilliant and ridiculously fast driver. I want this car!

Thanks to Kobi Eshun for great photography.

The Worst Car In The World

Happy April Fools Day! This car really exists! The 1951 Hoffman. A 1935 Hoffman featured an X8 engine (as opposed to a V8) in a slightly more traditional chassis.

1951 Hoffman at 2012 Hilton Head Concours as shown in The Motoring Journal 

1935 Hoffman X-8 at Pebble Beach Concours from Hemmings.com

Alfa Romeo 4C Visits Shop

Almost Everything's Car of the Day is a 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C. We're car guys here so our hearts skipped a beat when this Italian beast pulled up. It was brand new and thankfully there wasn't a thing wrong with it. One of our long-time customers just purchased it and knew we'd enjoy being some of the first people in the USA to see one. I love Alfas and am excited that we are finally getting to taste them again in the United States.

Almost Everything's Painter Saves Priest

Almost Everything Auto Body's painter, Jose de la Torre

Today's article has nothing to do with cars and everything to do with the quality of our people. Jose de la Torre has worked at Almost Everything for years as a painter and body technician. He moonlights as a superhero.

Last week de la Torre saw a man, Juan Perez, knock 89-year-old priest John Coleman to the ground. Perez is suspected of being high on methamphetamine. Perez beat the priest with the priest's own cane until the cane broke. Our painter, de la Torre, ran from his car to help. As reported in the July 17, 2015 San Jose Mercury News, the priest said de la Torre, "tackled the guy so quickly. . . like a football player. He was really outstandingly selfless." Two other men pinned Perez until police arrived. Coleman, de la Torre and the 2 other rescuers sustained cuts and bruises and were treated by paramedics. Perez is charged with four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of elder abuse.

De la Torre never mentioned any of this to us. We learned of it by reading the newspaper. That's pretty typical of de la Torre. He is as honest, hard working and humble a man as you could know and we are proud and honored to work with him.

De la Torre shows his injury from fighting off the meth addict and saving a priest.

24 Heures du Mans (24 Hours of Le Mans)

The greatest auto race in the world starts tomorrow, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It's our favorite because since 1923, people have been racing whatever they could bring for a whole day without stopping. There have been cars taken straight off showroom floors: Porsches, Corvettes, Aston Martins, Jaguars, Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Lotuses, Cobras. And then there are the prototypes--the no holds barred version of racing that exists nowhere else. These are the fastest vehicles on the planet with bleeding edge technology that defines where automobiles will be decades in the future. Or not. Some of the ideas are downright weird and fail miserably. Racing doesn't get any better.

Join us for live coverage at: http://en.lemanslive.com/
http://www.24h-lemans.com/live/en/

Start: Saturday, June 13, 2015, 3:00 PM in Europe, 6:00 AM in San Francisco

Summer in San Francisco

Okay, so we can only live & breath cars for 23.75 hours per day. Every once in awhile we notice that we live in a pretty amazing place. Thanks to our friend BK Mair for some very cool photographs of sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge and from a very nice spot on Russian Hill overlooking San Francisco Bay.

Sunset over Golden Gate Bridge by BK Mair, June 2014

Sunset through trees on Russian Hill, San Francisco by BK Mair, June 2014

Lloyd Read at Long Beach Grand Prix

Almost Everything's very own Lloyd Read takes on the Long Beach Grand Prix in the #28 Bryan Herta Autosport Indy Lights car.



Read won the 2011 Goodyear Formula Car Challenge Series for Almost Everything. He led the series again in 2012 until crashes caused by other drivers put him out of contention. In 2013 Read piloted the #16 Almost Everything-JDC Motorsports formula car in the Star Mazda Championship.

For more information on Lloyd Read, Indy Lights and the Road to Indy, visit:

LloydReadRacing.com
Facebook.com/Lloyd-Read-Racing
indylights2014.com

Ferrari Pit Stop - Incredible

Photos from Indy500 Weekend

Lloyd Read signed autographs and held a news conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during 2013 Indy 500 Weekend. He piloted the Almost Everything-JDC Motorsports formula car in the Star Mazda Championship "Road to Indy" race during the weekend's events at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.

  

Read is the 2011 Champion of the Goodyear Formula Car Challenge Series and led the championship again in 2012 until crashes caused by other drivers put him out of contention. In 2013 Read moves up to the Star Mazda "Road to Indy" championship series.

For more information on Lloyd Read, the Star Mazda Championship and the Road to Indy, visit:

LloydReadRacing.com
Facebook.com/Lloyd-Read-Racing
wikipedia.org/Star_Mazda_Championship
StarMazda.com/