YouTube has been a boon for car enthusiasts. Before, we were forced to trash cable reality shows with scripted delays (where you could lose the shop!) and overacted drama. Sure, you had some great MotorWeek stuff, but it was a once-a-week affair. Now, in this future, we have an almost endless rabbit hole available to us at all times on YouTube – things that can entertain, surprise, and even tug at your heartstrings.
This week we learned from the depths of YouTube that the “pee Calvin” sticker started as a result of a football rivalry in Florida, because Florida. There’s also a random tuner shop in Japan that keeps a treasure trove of older AMG models we’d love to own. And more.
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Sit back, relax, and lose yourself with us as we browse through a handful of the best automotive videos YouTube has to offer this week. Enjoy!
Coilovers on the new Nissan Z
Track tests of Streetable coilovers for the Nissan Z Proto – Motive Garage
The new Nissan Z is pretty track-ready right out of the box. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t use a few upgrades. Motive Video’s Andrew Hawkins says the factory shocks on the Z are “terrible” and have sought to give the car a bit better performance, while lowering the suspension. It walks viewers through installing the new streetable coilover suspension to the Z, in conjunction with Australian aftermarket suspension company Shockworks.
The origins of pee Calvin
The Truth About Peeing Calvin
You have seen it everywhere. From the back of motorhomes to the rear hatches of family crossovers, “Peeing Calvin” has been around for years. But where does this thing come from? Phil Edwards details the sticker/meme’s surprisingly fascinating history, including its origins, the origins of the Florida football rivalry, and how the creator of Calvin really feels about the meme. [Spoiler alert: He’s certainly not thrilled.]
Buy a discontinued Corvette C5 Z06
I bought a Corvette z06 SUPERCHARGED LEFT in a storage unit
Who would give up a Corvette Z06? ScrapLife Garage recounts how it purchased a Corvette C5 Z06 that the previous owner had left in a storage unit for over three years. The YouTuber sets it up and runs it, and ends up modifying it.
Stolen Mazda RX-7 race car recovered
4 Rotor STOLEN and FOUND. Automotive near-death experience. Full story and details inside.
Did you know that the Denver, Colorado metro area is second in the nation for auto theft? Defined Autoworks found this out the hard way. The YouTuber was driving home and towing his race car, after being featured on a TV show in Las Vegas, when the trailer got a flat. No repair location was open, so the family was forced to spend the night in Denver. The truck and trailer were stolen within hours. Fortunately, the truck, trailer and RX-7 were recovered. Not before a grueling few hours of touch searching, though.
The failure of the Infiniti FX
2013 Infiniti FX – How this car proves why Infiniti was doomed
I will remember the Infiniti FX for ushering in the era of the decent-to-drive crossover. This thing shared a platform with the Nissan 350z/Infiniti G35. So that should have been great, right? Not everyone was fond of it. YouTube channel JayEmm on Cars explains how the FX was doomed from the start.
A Hidden Treasure of AMG Cars in Toyko
Tokyo’s hidden old-school AMG paradise
You would think that a treasure trove of beautifully maintained and rare Mercedes AMGs from the late 1980s and 1990s would be found in Germany. Turns out something like that exists and is thousands of miles away in Tokyo. Dino DC visited Tokyo’s Kanpachi Dori, a road lined with tuner shops of all shapes and sizes. Among these is a tuner shop called J-Auto which specializes in servicing older AMG models.
The complicated history of the BMW M1
The BMW M1: A Race Car That Couldn’t Race — Jason Cammisa Revelations Ep. 29
Hagerty details the history of BMW’s forgotten supercar, the M1. From its concept-car-based design to its straight-out engine straight from a race car, it all makes you wonder why BMW never really bothered to do something like this again.
Buy Godzilla
Flying to Japan to buy and drive my ultimate dream car: a 1999 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R
Flying around the world to buy one of the most iconic sports cars of all time must be surreal. That’s exactly what Larry Chen did when he traveled to Japan to buy one of over 600 1999 Bayside Blue R34 GT-Rs.
Build a Viper Offroad
Let’s build an all-terrain Viper
A first-gen Viper is already a crazy vehicle to drive (if you don’t know what you’re doing). Turning one into an off-road buggy like Desert Runner is even wilder. And fantastic. SuperfastMatt details his latest project as he takes a first generation Viper and turns it into what he calls a “Rally Viper”.
Take pickup truck rides
Why did people start RACING Vans? ?
Taking something with a high center of gravity and rolling it down a track or through mountain canyons sounds like dangerous and glorious fun. And it’s fun growing. The Smoking Tire joins the growing trend of Dajiban: Japanese sports bike racers throw sports car parts on old Dodge Ram Vans and go racing.
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