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bmwbav
bmwbav New Reader
10/30/13 3:02 p.m.

Very dangerous, irresponsible, not grassroots, interesting.

http://jalopnik.com/meet-the-guy-who-drove-across-the-u-s-in-a-record-28-h-1454092837

DukeOfUndersteer
DukeOfUndersteer UltimaDork
10/30/13 3:21 p.m.

yea. I semi-know the guy that did it. He was a Lamborghini customer when I worked there, then became the Lamborghini Specialist after I left there. Doesn't surprise me.

emodspitfire
emodspitfire Reader
10/30/13 3:37 p.m.

Great story! Thanks,

Rog

mw
mw Dork
10/30/13 4:00 p.m.

So jealous. Would love to try despite people thinking I'm a horrible person for doing it.

Joe Gearin
Joe Gearin Associate Publisher
10/30/13 4:17 p.m.

Racing should be done on the track, not on the street. IMHO

It's all well and good until Mom in her minivan full of kids changes lanes in front of this guy doing 150mph. Breaking "records" to pump your ego at the expense of others isn't cool, it's selfish.

I could almost understand if this guy was an 19 year old kid and didn't know any better.....but he's not.

Sorry if I'm a buzz-kill, but I think this guy is an asshat. Making good time responsibly is one thing. Trying to break an undocumented "record" on public streets is stupid. He belongs in jail.

Cotton
Cotton SuperDork
10/30/13 4:21 p.m.
Joe Gearin wrote: It's all well and good until Mom in her minivan full of kids changes lanes in front of this guy doing 150mph.

She needs to get out of the fast lane anyway.

The_Jed
The_Jed SuperDork
10/30/13 4:23 p.m.

IIRC this guy did it in 32 hours and change.

mtn
mtn UltimaDork
10/30/13 4:28 p.m.
Cotton wrote:
Joe Gearin wrote: It's all well and good until Mom in her minivan full of kids changes lanes in front of this guy doing 150mph.
She needs to get out of the fast lane anyway.

Not if she is doing waht would be a safe and legal pass.

kreb
kreb SuperDork
10/30/13 4:34 p.m.
Joe Gearin wrote: Racing should be done on the track, not on the street. IMHO It's all well and good until Mom in her minivan full of kids changes lanes in front of this guy doing 150mph. Breaking "records" to pump your ego at the expense of others isn't cool, it's selfish. I could almost understand if this guy was an 19 year old kid and didn't know any better.....but he's not. Sorry if I'm a buzz-kill, but I think this guy is an asshat. Making good time responsibly is one thing. Trying to break an undocumented "record" on public streets is stupid. He belongs in jail.

If we wanted a voice of reason, we would have asked for it!

Cotton
Cotton SuperDork
10/30/13 4:38 p.m.
mtn wrote:
Cotton wrote:
Joe Gearin wrote: It's all well and good until Mom in her minivan full of kids changes lanes in front of this guy doing 150mph.
She needs to get out of the fast lane anyway.
Not if she is doing waht would be a safe and legal pass.

A safe and legal pass could be 70.02MPH with the cruise on while the slow lane bandit is doing 69.99.....they still need to get the berkeley out of the way.....imo of course lol.

Racer1ab
Racer1ab Dork
10/30/13 4:44 p.m.

I'm always torn at the news of these records. I find the logistics side fascinating, but do agree that its pretty reckless in this day and age.

Part of me wonders if putting a fuel cell in a modern diesel car to extend the range to possibly only one fuel stop, if you'd be able to break the record and still run somewhat near the speed limit. (Keeping it under 100 or so anyway.)

Will
Will Dork
10/30/13 4:45 p.m.
Cotton wrote: A safe and legal pass could be 70.02MPH with the cruise on while the slow lane bandit is doing 69.99.....they still need to get the berkeley out of the way.....imo of course lol.

She could be doing 90 and that's still a 60 mph closing speed. You're being deliberately obtuse.

I have no love for this guy. Stuff like the taillight kill switch is taking it too far, imo. That's only useful if you're trying to evade a pursuit.

Cotton
Cotton SuperDork
10/30/13 4:49 p.m.
Will wrote:
Cotton wrote: A safe and legal pass could be 70.02MPH with the cruise on while the slow lane bandit is doing 69.99.....they still need to get the berkeley out of the way.....imo of course lol.
She could be doing 90 and that's still a 60 mph closing speed. You're being deliberately obtuse. I have no love for this guy. Stuff like the taillight kill switch is taking it too far, imo. That's only useful if you're trying to evade a pursuit.

If she's doing 90 with her minivan full of kids don't you think that's dangerous too? THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

nicksta43
nicksta43 SuperDork
10/30/13 4:51 p.m.

I have had taillight kill switch in cars.

dculberson
dculberson UltraDork
10/30/13 5:23 p.m.
Cotton wrote:
Will wrote:
Cotton wrote: A safe and legal pass could be 70.02MPH with the cruise on while the slow lane bandit is doing 69.99.....they still need to get the berkeley out of the way.....imo of course lol.
She could be doing 90 and that's still a 60 mph closing speed. You're being deliberately obtuse. I have no love for this guy. Stuff like the taillight kill switch is taking it too far, imo. That's only useful if you're trying to evade a pursuit.
If she's doing 90 with her minivan full of kids don't you think that's dangerous too? THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Now we all know you're trolling. :-)

PHeller
PHeller UberDork
10/30/13 6:10 p.m.

Great now some rich Arabian dude who never uses his license over here anyway will proceed to smash the record while throwing millions of dollars at the project.

Tom_Spangler
Tom_Spangler Dork
10/30/13 6:39 p.m.
The_Jed wrote: IIRC this guy did it in 32 hours and change.

I read his book a few years ago. He's an arrogant ass, but it is a fascinating story. I'm in the category that finds the act itself reckless and dangerous, but I still can't help but be fascinated by the logistics of it.

And I blame Alex Roy for the fact that I want an E39 M5 so bad.....

JohnRW1621
JohnRW1621 UltimaDork
10/30/13 7:21 p.m.
Racer1ab wrote: I'm always torn at the news of these records. I find the logistics side fascinating, but do agree that its pretty reckless in this day and age. Part of me wonders if putting a fuel cell in a modern diesel car to extend the range to possibly only one fuel stop, if you'd be able to break the record and still run somewhat near the speed limit. (Keeping it under 100 or so anyway.)

Back in "olden time" in a world before the internet, Car & Driver did this. It was sparked by the US re-introduction of VW Diesels.
They modified a Jetta. The entire trunk was a fuel cell. The back seat was removed and included a porta-potty. The doors and windows were taped shut in New York and could not be opened until Calif.
The fuel onboard was enough to carry them the whole trip. They could not exit the car. The did driver changes by stopping and climbing over the center console.
I remember the story being funny. It largely surrounded around one guy in comfy clothes and on a liquid diet and the other guy in jeans and "snacks."
I also remember a highway being closed somewhere in the Rockies due to bad winter weather. The trip was then restarted and completed as a LA to NY trip making the whole experience twice as long as the drivers had planned for.

My google fu is weak but I would like to find the article again.

wae
wae Reader
10/30/13 8:14 p.m.

I'm torn on these, too. Putting way too many people at risk, but at the same time I can't help but be impressed. I dream of doing this the same way I dream of being a real life Joe Pesci mob movie bad ass type until I figure out that I wouldn't be able to do that without, like, killing people.

On the car & driver thing, I thought they didn't have a porta-potta, but a PVC pipe through a hole in the floor and an all-liquid diet. I had a pdf or something of the article at one time, but I'm not sure where it went...

TRoglodyte
TRoglodyte Dork
10/30/13 8:26 p.m.
JohnRW1621 wrote:
Racer1ab wrote: I'm always torn at the news of these records. I find the logistics side fascinating, but do agree that its pretty reckless in this day and age. Part of me wonders if putting a fuel cell in a modern diesel car to extend the range to possibly only one fuel stop, if you'd be able to break the record and still run somewhat near the speed limit. (Keeping it under 100 or so anyway.)
Back in "olden time" in a world before the internet, Car & Driver did this. It was sparked by the US re-introduction of VW Diesels. They modified a Jetta. The entire trunk was a fuel cell. The back seat was removed and included a porta-potty. The doors and windows were taped shut in New York and could not be opened until Calif. The fuel onboard was enough to carry them the whole trip. They could not exit the car. The did driver changes by stopping and climbing over the center console. I remember the story being funny. It largely surrounded around one guy in comfy clothes and on a liquid diet and the other guy in jeans and "snacks." I also remember a highway being closed somewhere in the Rockies due to bad winter weather. The trip was then restarted and completed as a LA to NY trip making the whole experience twice as long as the drivers had planned for. My google fu is weak but I would like to find the article again.

I also have a vague recollection of this article, tortoise and hare. slow and steady.

novaderrik
novaderrik PowerDork
10/30/13 9:41 p.m.

what's a "normal" timeframe for doing the same drive? i made it from the southern part of Oklahoma (Durant) to west central MN in 17 hours- and that included stopping to eat a couple of times, slow gas stops, and going about 200 miles out of my way to drop off my co pilot at her house.. google says 1,015 miles... and that was with a top speed of 80 or so mph. it took us just over 9 hours to get from Corpus Christi to Durant, which teh google says is just over 500 miles.. so that's 26 hours of driving to go 1500 miles taking it pretty casual, which is a 57mph average...

z31maniac
z31maniac UltimaDork
10/30/13 10:02 p.m.
Racer1ab wrote: I'm always torn at the news of these records. I find the logistics side fascinating, but do agree that its pretty reckless in this day and age. Part of me wonders if putting a fuel cell in a modern diesel car to extend the range to possibly only one fuel stop, if you'd be able to break the record and still run somewhat near the speed limit. (Keeping it under 100 or so anyway.)

No, because the even 5 fuel stops is a minimal amount of time compared to the mileage.

logdog
logdog Dork
10/31/13 4:44 a.m.

I heard the real reason he did it was to run interference for a semi truck load of Coors.

spin_out
spin_out Reader
10/31/13 7:31 a.m.

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'... I say it can't be done.

failuer
failuer New Reader
10/31/13 7:49 a.m.

In reply to novaderrik:

I did Southern California to Orlando, Florida in a Jeep (YJ) years ago. I slept in the car (for only a few hours ) and made no stops and it took ~2 days of non stop driving.

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