It just occurred to me a few minutes ago that I forgot about Motorista’s second anniversary! As of May 25, 2015, we have been up and running for two whole years. Wow. I know my posts have been sporadic since October, and I wish I had the time to blog almost every day like I […]
May
13
Practice Shouldn’t Be Interesting
posted by Motorista
The IndyCar folks are at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month, getting ready for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 24. Between now and May 24, the teams are practicing – working on setups, seeing how fast they can get their cars to go around the infamous oval, etc. Today was…well, interesting. And […]
May
08
Strong Women: Denise McCluggage
posted by Motorista
Late Wednesday, the car world lost a true legend. A writer, racer and adventurer, who could do all of those things while being a woman! I speak of the one, the only…Denise McCluggage. (You may remember I was thankful for Denise at Thanksgiving 2013.) I hope to be like Denise McCluggage when I grow up. […]
May
01
Pink is More than a Color
posted by Motorista
Welcome to the month of May! In IndyCar world, that means one thing and one thing only – the Indy 500! Like last year, female driver Pippa Mann is racing in the 500, in partnership with Susan G. Komen. Like last year, I wanted to get involved. Luckily, Pippa has made it easy. Last night, […]
April
25
Red Poppy Car Show, 4/25/15
posted by Motorista
It’s nice when there’s a car show that is walking distance from your house. Slightly fewer logistics than, say, Detroit. That being said, Thing 1 accompanied me and pretty much bossed me around the whole time, so I didn’t get very many photos of all the classic cars lining the main drag in my town. […]
April
18
La Bella Macchina, Jr. – Alfa Romeo 4C
posted by Motorista
A welcome oasis in the recent Motorista drought – a playdate with the new Alfa Romeo 4C this afternoon! This mid-engined beastie, the little sister of the magnifcent and mellifluous Alfa Romeo 8C, is fairly new to our shores and designed to stir the passions and lead feet of enthusiasts in preparation for Alfa’s USA […]
April
13
Car Hacking: My Article in Texas Lawyer
posted by Motorista
Are our vehicles’ computer systems the next frontier for hackers? Call me crazy, but I say, if not no, at least not YET. But it’s an interesting topic of discussion. See my recent article in Texas Lawyer for my take on the latest phantom menace: TLhacking_Eby. And goodness knows I’ve been storing up lots of opinions […]
March
21
Pirelli World Challenge at Circuit of the Americas
posted by Motorista
The Pirelli World Challenge sports car racing series had its season opener at Circuit of the Americas at the beginning of March, and your faithful motorsports reporter was there for the Saturday race! (I had plans for Sunday.) I may have mentioned before that I love Pirelli World Challenge, but let me recap: I love […]
March
19
While I Was Out
posted by Motorista
So I’m finally getting caught up on my Automotive News (weekly industry newspaper) backlog. As in, I’ve made it from July to November in the last several weeks. Turns out I missed all sorts of interesting things, like the Takata airbag recall (flying shards of metal are NOT okay), Cadillac raising a stir by relocating […]
March
01
Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution
posted by Motorista
You just never know how one thing can lead to another. After my Texas Lawyer article on self-driving cars was published, a producer from the Legal Talk Network called and invited me to appear on a podcast of the show Lawyer 2 Lawyer, discussing legal issues with autonomous vehicles. I taped the episode on February 18, and […]
February
21
Cars and Coffee Austin – February 8, 2015
posted by Motorista
Okay, enough sad! Let’s get back to happy, aka Cars and Coffee, from two weeks ago. Spyker C8 Spyder McLaren P1 Scenes And then the Italians took over… Thank you for your indulgence. Never look a Camaro directly in the eye. My favorite car there, of course. The SRT Viper racer.
February
20
Strong Women: Julie Dollahite
posted by Motorista
This has been a week of loss. At last count, four people I know have died since last Friday. The most personal, and recent, loss was my aunt. She passed away last night after a struggle with breast cancer. Life sure is challenging sometimes. Relevant to this blog, today I attended the memorial service of […]
February
04
Self-Driving Cars: My Article in Texas Lawyer
posted by Motorista
Look out – two posts in one month! How do I even live at this speed?? In a bit of exciting news, I recently had another automotive article published in Texas Lawyer. Remember the one I did a few months back on the GM recall? Well, the new one is about the legal questions surrounding […]
February
01
Teach ’em Young, Teach ’em Right
posted by Motorista
Hi, race fans! I’ve missed you! There’s plenty to talk about – both cars and life – but I just had to share a delightful development in the care and feeding of my young protege, Auto Buddy. You may remember Auto Buddy from his W Hotel rappeling observations and his impudent ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. […]
January
02
To Clarify – Not Goodbye!
posted by Motorista
A few of you thought my prior post was bidding adieu to the world of cars and blogging. Not so! In the words of Inigo Montoya: let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Fortunately for me, my professional life is overwhelming me with opportunities. Unfortunately, from a time management perspective, […]
December
31
The December Post
posted by Motorista
Let it not be said that I failed to post in the month of December. Here it is. There is a lot going on, race fans, and I don’t know how active I will be able to be on this blog anymore. I’ll keep you posted but, in the meantime, I hope you are welcoming […]
November
27
I’m Not Dead!
posted by Motorista
Yes, I’ve been gone for almost two months. Not just from the blog, but from home as well. In a big out-of-town trial that just keeps going…and going…and going… So the blog’s been on hold. I missed Formula 1, two Cars and Coffee events, the Jaguar Land Rover of Austin grand opening, the BMW i8 […]
October
06
Forza Jules
posted by Motorista
A sober reminder at yesterday’s Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix that racing always exists on that knife edge between exhilaration and tragedy. Driver Jules Bianchi of the Marussia F1 team crashed, in pre-typhoon conditions, into a crane that was attempting to lift another wrecked car. The impact was strong enough to change the direction the crane was […]
October
04
British Invasion, Year Two – a Longhorn Barbecue
posted by Motorista
[DISCLAIMER: No longhorns were barbecued.] Last Sunday, I spent my second year in a row as a judge at the Texas All British Car Days car show. Yes, all attorneys like to play judge for a day. But, as cool as my newfound (and temporary) author-i-tie was, the best part was getting to see all […]
September
30
The British are Coming!
posted by Motorista
For the second year in a row, I experienced a British Invasion. Expect a full post on the experience later this week. In the meantime, here’s a taste. Also, there were longhorns. And beer. What’s not to love?
September
27
15 Hours of Motorista: Lone Star Le Mans
posted by Motorista
Last Saturday, I claimed a personal record that probably no one else cares about: I spent 15 consecutive hours at Circuit of the Americas, that amazing racetrack less than 45 minutes from my house. If you count travel, that makes for a 16 1/2-hour day. It was delightful. The occasion was the Lone Star Le […]
September
19
Cars and Coffee Austin – September 14, 2014
posted by Motorista
Too busy to talk! But feast your eyes upon these…
September
13
La Bella Macchina: Alfa Romeo 8C
posted by Motorista
Every now and then, you see something – a sunset, a building, a painting – that just takes your breath away, that makes you feel like you are in the presence of, not some thing, but something. It doesn’t happen to me that often, not even with cars, but it did the other day. Ladies and […]
September
11
Thoughts on Loss
posted by Motorista
I’ve been feeling contemplative the last few days, with today’s somber anniversary, the anniversary of my high school coach’s death tomorrow, and a terrible tragedy last Friday in which two local 20-year-old siblings were killed in a car accident on their way home from college for the weekend. I never knew these kids, but I […]
September
10
Small-Car Syndrome
posted by Motorista
Today I had the privilege of spending a fair amount of time behind the wheel of the “work car,” otherwise known (by me) as the World’s Biggest Benz-o. I love driving, and I love driving all types of vehicles, including the Benz-o. But going from a MINI to Mercedes’ biggest SUV is quite the study […]
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