JULY 30, 2025

The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo. 

The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG 

SPECIAL EDITOR'S NOTE: We're thrilled to announce the debut of Peter's first work of fiction, "St. Michael of Birmingham." Make no mistake, it doesn't resemble anything you've read from him before. In fact, it is quite a dramatic departure. It is mystical. It is sexy. It is funny. It's moving. And it is a flat-out wild ride unlike anything you've experienced. Having said that, it is definitely not for everyone, but then, it is from PMD, so that probably shouldn't come as a surprise! Check it out on Amazon Kindle here. -WG

(GM Design images)

GM has revealed the second in a series of three Chevrolet Corvette concept design studies to debut in 2025. The California Corvette concept was developed by GM’s Advanced Design studios in Pasadena, as part of a global design project. This latest concept reimagines the Corvette with a futuristic, Southern California twist and reflects GM’s deep roots in the SoCal design community. “Our Advanced Design teams are dedicated to shaping the future, driving innovation, and exploring what’s possible,” said Bryan Nesbitt, vice president of global design. “The California Corvette concept is another example of forward-thinking design. We invited multiple GM studios to envision Corvette-inspired hypercars — the first of which was revealed by our UK studio in March. The California team has now delivered a complementary study that honors Corvette’s legendary performance, while infusing it with their own distinctive vision.”

The California Corvette concept "pays homage to Corvette’s iconic heritage, but with a distinct SoCal flavor," according to GM PR minions. For decades, GM has leveraged the Corvette nameplate to introduce concepts, experimental cars and prototypes that push automotive design and engineering forward, and the California Corvette Concept continues this legacy. While there is no production intent behind this design study, the Pasadena team embraced this project as a blank slate to reimagine what the Corvette could be. “Southern California has been at the heart of automotive and design culture for a century, and GM has had a deep design presence here for nearly 40 years. We wanted to ensure that this concept was developed through that SoCal lens, but with a global and futuristic outlook. Duality of purpose is the basis of this concept’s design strategy,” said Brian Smith, design director, GM Advanced Design Pasadena. “The defining design aspect is the single-piece, front-hinged canopy than enables the entire upper shell to be removed, transforming the concept from an agile, slick sports car to a lightweight, open-air track car.”

The minimalist interior centers on the driver, with integrated structural elements and performance-focused displays. An augmented-reality HUD enhances high-speed driving with only the most essential data displayed.

Concept technical specifications and assumptions:

Body structure: Tunneled underbody with lightweight carbon tub; Active aero spoiler and air brake; Large, staggered wheels – 21” front wheels and 22” rear wheels; Assumed T-shape prismatic battery pack - enabling low seating and better airflow around and through the chassis.

Dimensions: 41.4 inches (1,051mm) / 86 inches (2,184mm) width / 182.5 inches (4,669mm) length; 109 inches (2,767mm) wheelbase.

The GM studios in Pasadena encompass a 148,000-square-foot campus spread across three buildings, and housing about 130 staff, spanning design, creative, facilities, operations, sculpting, fabrication and artisans. It’s fully equipped for advanced design, development, physical modeling and builds, and it plays a key role in GM’s global design network, which spans studios in Detroit, Shanghai, Seoul, the UK and Los Angeles.

(Honda)

Honda has confirmed that the 2026 Prelude will feature the suspension, wide front and rear tracks, and Brembo front brakes from the brand's high-performance Civic Type R. This marks the first time the innovative dual-axis front suspension design, first introduced on the 2017 Civic Type R, will be utilized on a non-Type R model. The suspension and brake systems will be tuned exclusively for the new Prelude to deliver a sport/grand touring driving experience. The first-ever electrified Prelude will be powered by the Honda two-motor hybrid-electric system found in Civic hybrid. The award-winning hybrid system will be paired for the first time with the innovative new Honda S+ Shift system, a new drive mode that further advances Linear Shift Control to enhance Prelude's sporty yet comfortable GT experience. As a result, "the new 6th-generation Prelude will deliver high levels of driver exhilaration and engagement, including unmatched driving dynamics and fun-to-drive feel – all while remaining comfortable for everyday driving," according to Honda PR minions. The new grand touring sports coupe is set to arrive at dealers later this year.  

  

(Toyota images)

The Toyota Tundra pickup is enhanced, tweaked and generally improved for 2026, including: Luxurious interior updates; new packages and features; a larger, 32.2-gallon fuel tank; standard tow hitch; an all-new TRD Pro color called 'Wave Maker" (shown) and more. Power choices are a twin-turbo V6 engine and a hybrid twin-turbo V6; both engines thave a 10-speed Electronically Controlled Automatic Transmission with intelligence (ECTi). The 10-speed features a sequential shift mode, uphill/downhill shift logic and TOW/HAUL driving modes. The i-FORCE, twin-turbo V6 uses DOHC 24-valve cylinder heads and Dual VVTi systems to yield 389HP and 479 lb.-ft. of torque. The i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain is available with 437HP net combined at 5,200 rpm, and 583 lb.-ft. of torque at a low 2,400 rpm. The i-FORCE MAX combines the twin-turbo V6 with a motor generator with a clutch located within the bell housing between the engine and 10-speed automatic transmission. The motor generator provides additional power through the transmission, while the engine start-up, EV driving, electric assist and energy regeneration are done via the hybrid components. The Tundra is assembled at Toyota's assembly facility outside of San Antonio, Texas.

 

 

  

The AE Song of the Week 

All aboard! Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa!

Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay...

Crazy, but that′s how it goes

Millions of people living as foes

Maybe it's not too late

To learn how to love and forget how to hate

Mental wounds not healing

Life′s a bitter shame

I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

Let′s go!

I′ve listened to preachers, I've listened to fools

I′ve watched all the dropouts who make their own rules

One person conditioned to rule and control

The media sells it and you live the role

Mental wounds still screaming

Driving me insane

I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

I′m going off the rails on a crazy train

I know that things are going wrong for me

You gotta listen to my words, yeah, yeah!

Heirs of a Cold War, that's what we′ve become

Inheriting troubles, I'm mentally numb

Crazy, I just cannot bear

I'm living with something that just isn′t fair

Mental wounds not healing

Who and what′s to blame?

I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

I′m going off the rails on a crazy train

"Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne from the album "Blizzard of Oz" (1980).* Written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley. Watch the Official Animated Video here.

*In this song, Ozzy asks when we can all learn to love in a world gone mad. Ozzy wrote the song with guitarist Randy Rhoads and bass player Bob Daisley. In the Songfacts interview with Daisley, he explained how it came together:

"Randy had the basic riff, the signature riff. Then we worked on music together. He needed something to solo on so I came up with a chord pattern and the section for him to solo over.

Before it was called 'Crazy Train,' before we even had a title, Randy and I were working on the music. He had his effects pedals, and coming through his amp was a weird kind of chugging sound. It was a phase-y kind of psychedelic effect, this chugging sound that was coming through his amp from his effects pedal.

Randy was into trains - he used to collect model trains and so did I. I've always been a train buff and so was Randy. So I said, 'Randy, that sounds like a train. But it sounds nuts.' And I said, 'A crazy train.'

Well, that's when the title first was born. And then Ozzy was singing melodies and he was phrasing exactly how it ended up. And I started writing lyrics to it."

While many believe that this is yet another Ozzy song about insanity, it's actually about the Cold War. Evidence in the lyrics: "Millions of people living as foes," "One person conditioned to rule and control; The media sells it and you live the role," "Heirs of a cold war, that's what we've become. Inheriting troubles, I'm mentally numb." The relevant acronym was "M.A.D." (Mutually Assured Destruction), a doctrine which basically amounts to "if they shoot their nukes at us, we'll shoot ours right back, and that would be the end of the world that nobody wants, so it won't happen... as long as we keep pointing nukes at each other." Hence, "crazy" is another word for "mad."

The M.A.D. logic actually extends from "Nash equilibrium," a concept of zero-sum strategy first theorized by game theory mathematician John Nash. You'll remember him as a character from the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind. The acronym M.A.D. was formulated by computer science pioneer John von Neumann, who had a taste for satirical humor. In fact, this concept, and the "Doomsday Device" idea behind it (coined by war strategist Herman Kahn), forms the entire basis for Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The real-life version of the device is the "Dead Hand" control system deployed by the Soviets. Cold-War paranoia extended from the 1950s until the famous end to it in 1991. By the way, the actual term "Cold War" was coined by one George Orwell, in his essay "You and the Atomic Bomb."

Randy Rhoads was Ozzy's guitarist on this song - he was in Quiet Riot before joining Osbourne. Like most of the guitar solos he recorded with Ozzy, Rhoads had to "double" all his guitar parts. This means he had to play every note of this very difficult solo exactly the same way, twice. This is one reason why the solo on the recording sounds so unique.

Rhoads was a very proficient and influential guitar player, and the first guitarist to seek Ozzy's input during the songwriting process. "He was the first guy to go, 'Maybe you should do it in this key,'" Ozzy said. "He was a first guy to ever consider my opinion and give me a break." This was the first single Ozzy Osbourne released after leaving Black Sabbath in 1978. He left the band after a particularly heated dispute with guitarist Tony Iommi, at which time Ozzy was painted as a substance-abusing layabout by his former bandmates. "Crazy Train" was a triumph for Ozzy in that he proved that he could succeed outside of the Sabbath shelter, albeit with lots of help.(Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com) Ozzy Osbourne passed away last week at the age of 76.

 

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG