December 07

Is This Thing On?

I admit, I have been a slacker with this blogging gig lately. I got busy, I got sad, and I just set it aside. I’m making a comeback, though. There’s lots to talk about, like a new car (Mercedes C300 coupe in matte paint – purr, purr, purr), Formula 1 excitement, new forms of horsepower […]

May 14

Postscript: Bri

Time is a funny thing. It gives and it takes, it creates space, and sometimes it presses on you so hard it crushes. One month ago today, my best friend and sidekick, the yin to my yang, my little girl, my sweet puppy, left me behind and headed on to the next adventure. Bri the […]

January 20

The Agony and the Ecstasy: Detroit Auto Show 2016

First, the agony: average temperature during my stay in Detroit was 18 degrees. My face is chapped from the cold, and my legs ache from walking/standing for 4-5 hours straight two days in a row. Boo hoo. Now, the ecstasy: Detroit Auto Show, baby! I just spent Monday and Tuesday treating the Detroit Auto Show (or, […]

January 13

Detroit or Bust!

It’s official…Motorista is taking the 2016 North American International Auto Show by storm! As I have every year since 2012 (with the sad exception of last year), I am headed to Detroit for two full days (Monday and Tuesday) of auto show goodness. The press days took place earlier this week, so there’s already a […]

January 05

Women in the Auto Industry…and the World

Fired up by yesterday’s post, I went back through some of my prior posts on Mary Barra specifically and women in the auto industry generally, and came across a few oldies but goodies. Sharing the collection here for anyone interested: It Doesn’t Have to Be a Revolution – December 4, 2013 One Small Step for Woman – […]

January 04

Glass Ceiling: Smashed

As with everything other than work, I am behind in reading Automotive News, my weekly source of all things automotive. I just started on the November 9, 2015 edition, which includes a 128-page special section entitled 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry (shout-out to my friend Lisa Copeland for being included on this […]

January 01

2016: The Year of the Car

Welcome to 2016, race fans! One of my resolutions for this year is to spend more time on this blog again. I got so far behind in 2015 that you haven’t even heard about how I got tased by Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas. Or all the interesting car-related observations I made in Southeast Asia. […]

December 26

Beauty on Wheels

Sigh. The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe is such a beaut. I loved the 2001-2006 generation of its predecessor, the CL Class, and the new (renamed) S-Class Coupe is even better, truly the creme de la creme of luxury GTs. This beast, the two-door version of Mercedes’ flagship S-Class sedan, features a walloping biturbo V-8 and […]

November 29

F-Type = My Type

I have mentioned my love of the Jaguar F-Type in the past, based on a driving experience I had in Houston in 2013 and on my generally excellent taste. 🙂 It is my (not yet) attainable dream car, for sure, and I love using Jaguar’s most excellent online configurator to build various iterations, particularly the […]

October 28

Photo Preview of the USGP

Get the picture? It was a great weekend! 🙂 The full story to come…

October 23

F1icane

After weeks of no rain, we’re gettin’ all hurricane-ish around here. On Formula 1 weekend, naturally. But it’s okay. I’m ready. Check my Twitter feed tomorrow for dispatches from a water-logged Circuit of the Americas!

October 22

USGP Weekend!

It’s here! The Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, TX kicks off this Friday, Oct. 23, and culminates in the big race on Sunday. Unlike the tragedy of last year, I am here and ready to go! The race weekend actually started today for me, with a pit walk at Circuit of the Americas […]

October 12

Volksbottom

General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and Honda are happy right now. Why? For once, they’re off the hot seat. The apoplectic bunch in Washington has turned its focus from ignition switches, delayed recalls, sticky accelerator pedals and exploding airbags, and recalibrated its missiles toward one – very large – target. And, for once, it’s hard to […]

September 29

Travels in Southeast Asia: Cambodia – Impressions

It’s hard to adequately describe the smell of Cambodia. It is a combination of sweet and acrid, with notes of smoke and garbage. Sometimes nice, sometimes not nice at all, the various elements travel together on a continuum that follows you wherever you go (except, for the most part, the temples). That aroma was my […]

September 27

Travels in Southeast Asia: Singapore

Greetings, race fans! I’m sitting on the front porch of a beach house at Thong Krut, on the Thai island of Koh Samui. The wind is high, but the air is fresh. It’s Sunday night here, 12 hours ahead of my friends in Texas. What a trip. I intended to blog more frequently, but there […]

September 09

What’s Wrong with Cadillac

Dear Cadillac, I am young(ish), trendy (somewhat), and a discerning consumer of automotive sheetmetal. According to you, I am precisely the audience you want to target. But you’re not doing it right. I’m in the market for a car this fall, but you are not on my shopping list. Would you like to know why? […]

August 31

A True Champion

The 2015 IndyCar season ended yesterday, in a thrilling finish at Sonoma Raceway that left the season’s champion undetermined until the last turn of the last lap. It was pure, unadulterated racing. It also took place under a pall as grim as I have ever seen in any race paddock.  The reason – on Aug. […]

August 21

Surprises

On the way to work today, I ended up behind a Buick that was quite good-looking. A BUICK. More specifically, it was a red Buick Regal and, I have to say, it looks fairly sporty in motion. I was shocked, and I’m not even being snarky about it. Buick’s SUVs are looking pretty good these days, […]

August 05

Motorista Goes International

I may be dealing with a self-diagnosed bout of adrenal fatigue (I kept calling it adrenal failure until my sister pointed out that that kills you – important distinction!), but I’m not too tired to be doing backflips-excited about my upcoming trip across the Pacific. You guys, I haven’t taken an honest to goodness vacation […]

August 03

Karma

Heh heh heh.  One down, approximately 1,499,00 to go! Call me evil. Go ahead. 😀

July 27

Grace, At Speed

Somewhere in the whirlwind of the last few months, a most delightful announcement took place that makes me excited for 2016, girl power, and the future of motorsports in general. Ordinarily I would have been shouting this from the heavens on the same day, but I’ve been a little behind… On May 29, 2016, the […]

July 26

Comeback Kid

So peeps, here’s the deal. This posting once or twice a month gig is not working for me. I miss you guys, plus there are too many rants to be ranted, opinions to be opined, and photographs to be taken to do this on a monthly basis. So…I’m making a comeback! Starting now I’m going to […]

July 19

RIP, Jules

Very sad news that F1 driver Jules Bianchi, who was gravely injured at the Formula 1 Japanese GP in October, has passed away at age 25.  Bianchi’s death is the first in F1 since Ayrton Senna on May 1, 1994. I will just repeat what I said at the time of his accident. Racing is […]

July 04

‘Merica!

[Edited to say: Gah! Apparently, I did this before. Same title and everything!] God bless America. And its cars. Happy Fourth of July! Boy, patriotism makes me thirsty.

June 27

IS Bigger Better?

Howdy, race fans! It has been much too long since we’ve had a chat. Here’s what I’ve been busy with in the last month or so: running a law firm getting elected to City Council rappelling down a 38-story building (again!) keeping the dogs from eating important documents (FAIL!) Rappelling was the easiest. Now that […]