Today, attempts to access RideLust.com return the message, “Page loading in a few seconds, please wait.” If you ask anyone that’s heeded this message, they’ll advise you that if you decide to wait, you might end up waiting forever. The website is no longer online.
If you’re wondering what happened to RideLust.com, you have come to the right place. In this article, we find out what the site was all about. Apart from trying to determine what happened to the website, we also sample ten of the best articles it published.
About RideLust.com
RideLust.com was captured on the internet for the first time in 2006. At this time, the site’s “about” page promised visitors, “RideLust is all about the jones for cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, and any form of mobility presented in a factually accurate, politically incorrect forum.”
If you thought the site was bluffing when it said it was politically incorrect, then you haven’t seen its editorial team from 2006. The person editing the website called himself MR. ANGRY. The lead writer was introduced as “Head Conductor of the White Knuckle Express.”
RideLust was produced by SeaWaves Technology, a company that owned other web properties, including Business Pundit and PopCrunch.
The Ten Most Important Articles
Regarding content, RideLust.com was unambiguous about what it stood for: “We strive to represent ourselves and the automotive industry in the most unerring, entertaining way possible, but although our dedication is serious, our attitude is not.”
The site adds, “We’re just as obscene as our name implies, which we only admit in accordance with the policy of full disclosure our lawyers enforce.”
We tested the site’s claims by looking at the ten leading articles it published. To determine whether an article qualifies to be called “leading”, we looked at the number of writers and editors who linked to it. We assume that the more writers and web admins link to the site, the more value an article provides.
1. Is Filling Tires With Nitrogen Worth It?
This article may have been published in 2010, but the question still generates much discussion today. In the piece, Kurt Ernst cites an ad from Porsche Center of San Antonio, offering nitrogen for five tires for $49.95 plus tax.
Even though the Porsche Center of San Antonio promises that the nitrogen will improve fuel economy, ride quality, and ensure drivers are not constantly irritated by false warnings, Ernst believes that the price is not worth it.
His opinion is clear, “Despite this ad’s claims, nitrogen does nothing to improve ride quality or fuel economy, and won’t prevent false tire warning lights any better than plain old air will.”
He advises that there is only one way to ensure that you prevent false warnings, attain better fuel economy, and have a smooth ride: “regularly check your tire pressure when your tires are cold.”
2. 190 Million Tires Thrown Away Each Year: Where’s The Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC)?
Written by Vito Rispo, this 2008 article begins by noting that everyone seems to believe that hydrogen cars, electric vehicles, and solar-powered cars are the answer to reducing the carbon footprint. However, the writer laments the fact that no one seems to be concerned about tires.
Rispo notes that around 78 percent of all tires will end up in landfills. This represents around 190 million tires a year in the United States alone.
This article proposes that the challenge of used tires can be solved by using them for Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC). He suggests, “It makes for better roads, it makes for roads that need less work later on, and it’s easy to make.”
He believes that we haven’t yet seen Rubberized Asphalt Concrete roads because it’s not in the government’s interest to change things owing to pressure from powerful lobbyists.
3. Illuminating: A Brief History of the Headlight
Could you imagine cruising down a freeway in a car using lanterns as lights? Of course, that would be impossible at today’s speed. Still, this article by Alex Kierstein tells the story of a time when carriages used just that.
In his article, Kierstein traces the history of the headlight through the ages. He reports that the early electric lights were invented in the days when starting a gasoline vehicle was a noisy and dangerous affair. The headlights of that time were not as bright as today’s and easily broke on the rough roads.
Kierstein ends his article by noting that light-emitting diodes will be the next best thing in automotive lighting as they get cheaper and less complex to deal with.
4. RideLust’s Top 25 Car Blogs and Websites
In this article, Ernst starts by admitting that “Contrary to popular belief, automotive writers are not born omniscient of all things mechanical.”
The writer also acknowledges the reality that people writing for top car blogs may not always have the opportunity to drive a Bugatti Veyron. So how do they come up with all those convincing descriptions we all love to read?
The article writer says that they use information from reliable sources. He adds, “We like articles written by others with comparable experience, not articles culled from press releases put together by corporate talking heads.”
Ernst’s 25 top car blogs list includes sites like Jalopnick.com, Autoblog.com, MotorAuthority.com, and TruthAboutCars.com.
5. Movie Cars: The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Another article by Vito Rispo tells the story of how the producers of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the American teen comedy, couldn’t afford to either buy or rent the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyders they wanted to use in the film.
Rispo reports that the producers hatched a solution involving hiring an outside company to replicate the car’s body using fibreglass. Modena Design and Research did the job so perfectly that many were fooled into thinking that what they saw in the movie was the real thing.
However, the executives at Ferrari were not impressed and filed a lawsuit because Modena had used real Ferrari logos. Again, Modena had a perfect solution: close down the company so there was no one to sue.
6. Gotham Dream Cars: Dreams Do Come True!
This piece is in the form of a thread where people tell stories about how their dreams came true with regard to either owning or driving their dream cars. Those who knew they would never afford the most expensive top-of-the-range cars could simply rent one from Gotham Dream Cars.
A contributor reminds readers, “Gotham Dream Cars is not a rental car agency, but a business that specializes in automotive fantasies.”
Another contributor writes, “As a moto-journalist, I am very fortunate to have had the privilege of driving just about every type of automobile out there. I’ve run a $750,000 Gumpert Apollo on the racetrack, flown through the air in off-road trophy trucks …”
7. Top 10 Everyday Things People Do To Ruin Their Cars
In this piece, Rispo lives up to RideLust.com’s promise that it wasn’t afraid of being politically incorrect. He writes, “People are idiots, and this isn’t a uniquely American phenomenon; it’s worldwide.”
He adds that most “… human beings on Earth are stone dumb. Being dumb, most people do dumb things, like unknowingly destroy their car.”
Here are some of the dumb things Rispo says people do to their cars:
- Not applying the parking brake.
- Riding the brakes down a hill.
- Forgetting to change the oil.
- Pressure washing the engine.
- Start a car without first turning off things that make the engine work harder to start the car such as wipers, the radio, and other accessories.
- Ignoring a car’s unusual sounds.
- Allowing the interior to degrade.
- Running the car down to empty.
- Driving past attractive women (this can only be suggested by someone whose aim is to prove that they are not willing to be politically correct).
8. Man Buys a Walmart to House His Car Collection
Imagine having a car collection big enough to occupy an entire Walmart store. Rick Treworgy doesn’t have to imagine because he knows what it feels like.
In this article, MrAngry himself reports that Treworgy has a car collection spanning 40 years. In the four decades, he collected 225 vehicles.
MrAngry describes Treworgy’s collection: “Everything from vintage 1930’s roadsters to hot rods and resto-mods can be found at Rick’s Muscle Car City, a museum that Rick opened inside an old Walmart when he realized that his old 40,000 square-ft warehouse wasn’t big enough.”
9. Seven Most Obnoxious Car Insurance Spokespeople, Ever!
Frank’s article presents a fact that most people already know: “Car insurance spokespeople, by nature, are obnoxious.”
He adds that any product that attempts to create excitement or humor out of something so dull and mundane as insurance is the epitome of being obnoxious.
Notwithstanding the reality that many of us think insurance spokespeople are generally obnoxious, Frank’s piece shows that some of their adverts can be the most effective on television.
10. Mahindra Gets More Bad News
Written by Ernst, this article presents the challenges faced by the Indian carmaker Mahindra in the US market in 2010.
Ernst reports about a Global Vehicles lawsuit against Mahindra for “… dragging their heels on EPA and DOT certification.” Global Vehicles is the company that was to distribute Mahindra’s vehicles in the US. Probably spurred by the lawsuit, Mahindra revoked Global Vehicles’ distribution status.
According to Ernst, the problems above were only the beginning for Mahindra because the EPA would later debunk the company’s claims regarding its Mahindra TR40 Crew Cab pickup fuel efficiency. The EPA fuel economy rating showed that the Mahindra TR40 Crew Cab pickup wasn’t as good as claimed. In the piece, Ernst indicated his belief that the truck’s future was standing on shaky ground in the US.
