Author Archives: Tabitha

Overhaulit Part 12
Material matters

Overview

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Description

There’s a putty, glaze, primer, glue, sealer, top coat, welding wire, clearcoat, tape, undercoat and masking paper for every job. And that can add up to thousands. By now you’ve met our 1970 Project Plymouth, which also happens to be the first car I ever bought. Back in 1984, I did what any aspiring university sophomore would do: spend some of his precious student loan to repaint his car. Stupid? Likely. . .

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200-mph family Caddy
The Octane Lounge Nov 3, 2014

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, but still wish to check out some of our stories online, visit www.theoctanelounge.com, which is owned by Wheelbase Media.

Description

What is it with 200-mph cars these days? It seems like everyone has to have to one to sell, even brands with cushy images, such as Cadillac. Although you will never drive it that fast, a car such as the 2016 CTS-V is great for the ego. And for bragging rights. It’s like saying you can bench press 300 pounds. People are in awe even if you never have to whip out a set of bar bells in public to prove it.

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Soichiro Honda
Legends Nov 3, 2014

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, but still wish to read this and other feature stories from Wheelbase Media, visit www.theoctanelounge.com to subscribe to Auto Shift Weekly newsmag, available for your Apple iPad or for your home PC or laptop in pdf format.

Description

After World War II, with gas shortages crippling his country, the Honda Motorcycle Co was born. Under Honda’s leadership it would become one of Japan’s top engine manufacturers. Honda did a lot of his own market research, traveling to races around the world to examine the competition and incorporate it into his own product. In five years, Honda would go from a first-time entry in motorcycle racing to winning a manufacturers title. That success turned into huge sales numbers.

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2016 Volt
AutoGraph Nov 3, 2014

AutoGraph

Use: Media professionals demanding top-quality automotive content for their print products and/or Web sites. Professional artwork, editing.

What it is: Weekly automotive infographics that inform, enlighten and delight readers. Our high-impact infographics add visual appeal and variety to your auto-section pages. Wheelbase’s designers are some of the best in the business with numerous awards for dynamic newsgraphics and page design. AutoGraph will show your readers, with engaging visual style, what they want and need to know about their automobiles as well as today’s trends. These professional, useful and intelligent graphics will help raise the profile of your auto section.

Product specifications

Designed by Wheelbase Media’s editorial staff using Macromedia Freehand (for backward compatibility for most systems) as well as Adobe Photoshop.
Mac or PC use.
Files included in your download: native Freehand file; Freehand EPS file (which is how to edit the AutoGraph with Adobe Illustrator) and a 300 dpi CMYK low-compression jpg file.
Print size: 8 inches wide, 6 inches tall, scalable about 10 percent up or down.
AutoGraph uses typical system fonts for compatibility.

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Overhaulit Part 13
Custom fit . . . for an off-the-rack price

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

Do you see wheels and tires as an accessory to a car, the foundation of a vehicle, or the visual glue that ties the whole look together? It’s really a mix of all three when you obsess over it like we do, because, stylistically, the vehicle is a singular piece and not a collection of parts and pieces bolted together without consideration for the final result. So, you have to consider the vehicle, the mission of the vehicle – because functionality is a factor, after all – set the proper stance and “wheel up” appropriately.

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Overhaulit Part 14
Stance is everything

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

No matter how capable a project car will be, packed with all the latest engineering and technology, it has to have the right look and the right stance for the job. This is the exclamation mark that punctuates the end of the statement.
Mess this up and the life savings and sweat poured into the project will be down the drain.

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Overhaulit Part 15
‘Don’t blow it up, OK?’

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

And we might: as long as it looks right on the outside, we’re up for pretty much anything on the inside. It’s no secret that we like new tech. And there have been plenty of those developments over the last six decades, eh? But when it comes to restoring a classic Corvette, that’s not the way of the purist and there are several types of those, too.

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Overhaulit Part 16
Narrow minded

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?
Beginning with a goal and a process to get there, all we had to do was execute the plan. And this part of the plan involved putting down that just-right stance.
With the 2004 Mustang Cobra wheels cut apart and narrowed to fit our 1965 Mustang, there was one more major hurdle and a bunch of fine-tuning to do. Well, as much fine tuning as one can do with leaf springs, anyway.

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Ciao bella! (Hello, beautiful!)
The Octane Lounge Oct 27, 2014

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, but still wish to check out some of our stories online, visit www.theoctanelounge.com, which is owned by Wheelbase Media.

Description

While American muscle cars often dominate the headlines in the annual Arizona collector-car auctions each January, Ferraris continue to define the high end of the market and the rarified air around cars that routinely bring seven- and sometimes eight-figure auction prices. Following are some of the priciest “Prancing Horses” set to sell at auction this month in Phoenix and Scottsdale.

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Cart towns
AutoKnow Oct 27, 2014

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, but still wish to check out some of our stories online, visit www.theoctanelounge.com, which is owned by Wheelbase Media.
Use: Media professionals demanding a variety of automotive topics for broader readership.
What it is: Diversity matters. An automotive print product or Web site largely based on new-vehicle reviews is missing an enormous readership. Auto Know gives us the latitude to explore fantastic auto-related stories outside the realm of mere reviews. Whether it’s about how surround sound is engineered into a vehicle, European cars that will land on our shores, or knowing when it’s time to throw in the towel on your old beater, Auto Know is the perfect tool to capture new readers. . . with solid, interesting stories.

Product specifications

Mac and PC page layout with accompanying text and art files for maximum work flexibility.
Layout is 8×21.5 inches (newspaper), but can be reconfigured by your designer to fit most spaces.
PDF of layout included.
About 800-900 words; separate Word text included if you don’t want to use the supplied layout.
Artwork resolution (200-250 dpi) is high enough for print use.
Includes Photoshop layers file of main art.
Multi-platform page layout opens with either Quark Xpress or Adobe Indesign.
Fonts are not included, but we attempt to stay with standard system fonts. If not, just change the fonts to match your style.

Description

Writer David Kushner traveled to The Villages in south Florida to compile a story for Wired Magazine on the growing popularity of customized golf carts. When asked about the most lasting impression of his trip, Kushner was struck by how mainstream the golf cart lifestyle has become not only at The Villages, but also in retirement communities throughout North America, many of which are using a “cart town” mantra as a selling point.