Author: Chris Birt

  • Car Talk (of the Uncommon Kind)

    Here’s something for all you folks reading the Saturday paper (and getting really mad that there is nothing of substance to read) or perhaps streaming that silly show “Car Talk” online. I say silly in a good way. The two guys are a hoot. However I think they discuss really boring cars for the most…

  • French Cars. Still Foreign To Me.

    Buon Giorno mi amici. Oggi ti vuol parlare come’ la macchina franchese. No mi piace la macchina franchese. La macchina franchese non e’ bella. La machina franchese look like the froggie. OK, OK, I am just proving that not all things are foreign to me. I can speak a little Italian (accent on little and…

  • Wheels for White Folk

    I am not black. I am white. But here is a topic that is gray. I am talking about the indelible influence of black, urban, “ghetto” culture on white, affluent America. It’s a discussion that’s been bounced around since Brown, Busing, and the The Black Panthers (Leonard the first was a big fan), yet it…

  • Sunday Break: Be Cool. Fight Commonism.

    Again it’s a Sunday, and again I will take a break from cars. Hopefully, you glanced over the post from my first Rakette, Cyd. Cyd, you see, is a really cool young person, primarily because she doesn’t try to be. Two sunny people who don’t try to be cool (see also: Sun King) Cyd is…

  • Rakette to Marry Penguin: A Love Story From AMG.

    As this is my first blog, I feel that I need to tell you a little about myself: Born and raised Savage, Minnesota, I will never have a trust fund, allow my children to live off a trust fund, or even be remotely considered a ‘trust fund baby.’ But I would drop what ever I…

  • Veracruz. Almost Ready for Battle.

    On Friday, I should be seeing my first post from my hand-picked Road Rakette, Cyd. Cyd is a college student that just started her career this summer (and may not even know that yet). Cyd is a millenial. Her Dad is what the automotive biz might call “mature” but then he would get all up…