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There Was Once A Glorious Compact Chevy ZR2 Truck

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Those who saw the meteoric rise of off-road vehicles through the 2010s and onward probably associate the ZR2 badge with the Chevy Colorado. The Colorado ZR2 was Chevy’s halo midsize truck when it was released in 2016, but the ZR2 badging goes all the way to the 1990s when Chevy made the S-10 ZR2. It’s gnarly.

When Chevy released the second-generation S-10 in 1994, it also added the ZR2 package to its compact truck lineup, available with either a Vortec inline-four or a V6. The package took the little S-10 and gave it a three-inch lift, increased track width by four inches and added fender flares to accommodate the wider stance. The S-10 ZR2 also had a Bilstein suspension and an Eaton rear locker, and it rode on 31-inch all-terrain tires.

1994 Chevy S Series ZR2 Truck commercial

Of course, the original Chevy ZR2 lacked the Multimatic DSSV dampers of the later truck. When the Colorado borrowed the ZR2 badging from its predecessor in 2016, Chevy wanted the new model to stand out among midsizers with a suspension unlike that of any other truck. The spool valve dampers of Formula 1 fame set the ZR2 apart from its competitors, such as the Nissan Frontier, Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger.

Even though the revived ZR2 was never a direct competitor to the Ford F-150 Raptor, it spun in a similar orbit as the full size Ford; both were meant to be radically capable off-road machines. The big differences were in their size— what with the Raptor being a full-size four-door truck—and in their suspension systems.

The Raptor had internal bypass shocks with external reservoirs; the Colorado ZR2, on the other hand, was a midsize truck with spool valve shocks. That meant it was lighter and smaller than the F-150 Raptor, which gave it an advantage off-road. The updated Colorado ZR2 was even available as an extended cab model like the S-10 before it, but you don’t see that many of those around. Shame, really.

Front-3/4 view of a Chevy S-10 ZR2 pickup

Photo: Chevrolet

The S-10 still outdoes the Colorado in terms of configurations because the S-10 ZR2 was available either a single cab or an extended cab. Both builds had the same wider, taller stance but the single cab looked objectively cooler, no ifs ands or buts about it.

Of course, the Chevy S-10 gave way to the midsize Colorado, and the ZR2 followed the same progression as every other truck: getting bigger and gaining a set of doors. The newest Colorado ZR2 generation is even larger and more capable, too. But for a while there, from 1994 through 2003, we could get a true compact ZR2 from Chevy, an honest-to-goodness small truck built specifically for off-roading from a U.S. automaker.

Rear 3/4 view of a black Chevy S-10 ZR2 pickup

Photo: Chevrolet



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Lewis Hamilton’s Car Was So Bad This Year He Doubted His Own Talent

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The 2023 season will certainly go down in the history books as among the worst in seven-time Formula 1 Champion Lewis Hamilton’s 16-year career. Despite beating everyone in the World Drivers’ Championship bar and two Red Bull teammates, he saw just six podiums from 22 races, his lowest ever in the sport. He scored just 234 points this year, which is his lowest points tally in a decade. That kind of performance will weigh on a guy who won six championships and 81 races between 2014 and 2021.

According to Hamilton, it was enough to make him doubt his ability to continue racing at the top level.

“Ultimately,” Hamilton said in an interview with the BBC, “when you have difficult seasons like this, there are always going to be moments when you’re like: ‘Is it me, or is it the car? Do you still have it? Has it gone?’

“Because you’re missing that, you know… when the magic happens, when everything comes together, the car and you, and that spark, it’s extraordinary. And that’s what you’re in the search for.”

“I’m only human,” continued the 38-year-old. “If anyone in the world tells you they don’t have those things, they’re in denial. We’re all human beings.”

Hamilton admits that he knew immediately he’d end another season without a win when he first drove this year’s Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 chassis. Following a terrible 2022 season, the driver’s first in F1 without a single victory, Hamilton knew the car had to make big sweeping changes for the 2023 season. At that first test session the new car didn’t feel any different to drive than it had the prior year. “I had asked for certain changes, and they weren’t done.”

“Having the experience of the previous year, I just applied myself, in terms of digging down, sitting with the guys. We were having much better meetings.

“I was able to stay a lot more positive during the year and be like: ‘It’s going to be a long season, but let’s not give up. Let’s keep pushing towards getting the maximum out of the car, whatever that may be.’

This season the Red Bulls, Max Verstappen, and Adrien Newey’s RB19 chassis just had the measure of the field. Max won 19 of 22 Grands Prix this year, and that kind of trouncing is just downright demoralizing. When the whole field is finishing half a minute down to Max at the checkered flag, it has to cross your mind that you just don’t have the talent anymore.

Hamilton gave a long and sweeping interview to the BBC, and it’s well worth reading. You should head over there now to check out the rest of what he had to say.



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These Are The Coolest Car Companies

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This is gonna be a polarizing take because 1) they don’t actually make cars, so much as heavily modify them and 2) very very few people here will actually agree, but it took me a really long time to get to this point and I have to give credit where credit is due.

You’re probably thinking of one car company but it is definitely not that one. What I’m thinking of is Mansory.

Now you’re probably thinking, “dude, nobody should be buying these statement pieces for insecure egocentric blowhards with money that outnumbers sense 1,000,000-to-1″ but lemme tell you, there are very very few people who are willing to hack apart rare, exotic unobtainium and turn it into even rarer, exotic (and oftentimes uglier) unobtainium. If I was buying a completely bespoke one-of-one car that can be a better representation of my flaccid and shallow personality than I could ever be, I’m asking these guys to hack apart my nonexistent Ferrari or Lamborghini into a hodgepodge of forged carbon, chameleon paint, and unnatural cyan-colored leather that nobody else will have.

Let’s be real too. There are tons of car companies that do this, and they are specialists. There’s at least a dozen for classic Porsches and Ferraris and other niche cars like Subaru (Prodrive), Lancia (Kimera, Automobili Amos), Alfa Romeo (Totem), but when you’re talking about so many different rabbit holes for people doing what is essentially the same exact thing, who among them is standing out when the color-shifting widebody Urus Coupe shows up? Drive a Matchbox car or a Hot Wheels car. They’re both relative versions of cool, but very different types.



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The Cleanest Cadillac Cimarron You’ll Ever See Is For Sale In Dallas

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There is a rarity for sale on Facebook Marketplace. It’s a triple threat of a car that not only is cheap, but also controversial and pretty clean. The car in question: A one-owner 1983 Cadillac Cimarron with just 38,000 miles on it that’s listed for just $3,000.

If you’re a car enthusiast, you likely know the story of the Cimarron all too well. If you aren’t, here’s a brief history. By the early 1980s, Cadillac wanted a car in the lineup that was smaller than the Seville to meet the demands of a buying public that wanted compact vehicles. Rather than properly invest in a ground-up design for the brand, Cadillac went and developed its own version of GM’s J-body, which consisted of the Chevy Cavalier, Buick Skyhawk, Pontiac J2000, and Oldsmobile Firenza. That’s not exactly a lineup of cars you want to develop a small luxury sedan from, and it’s said that General Motors president Pete Estes warned Cadillac’s general manager at the time against making a J-body into a Cadillac.

Despite that, the Cimarron was born. Aside from a different grille, a few plastic panels and new tail lights, the Cimarron was identical to the other J-body cars. And it was not well received. Somehow, though, it managed to stay on sale for six years before it was axed in 1988. The Cimarron has been called one of the worst cars of all time, and it’s one of the reasons Cadillac lost market share going into the 1990s, something the brand would ultimately come to regret.

Image for article titled The Cleanest Cadillac Cimarron You'll Ever See Is For Sale In Dallas

Image: Facebook Marketplace

Despite that rather dark history, this Cimarron is pretty clean, and the seller says that it’s a one owner car. Whoever owned it must’ve not liked driving (or maybe not liked the car) because it’s pretty remarkable for any 40-year-old car to have just 38,000 miles on it.

The interior looks to be in pretty great condition as well – the leather(?) on the seats doesn’t even look that worn. Don’t think about getting anywhere fast, though. While the Cimarron debuted with a 1.6-liter inline-4 making all of 88 horsepower for 1982, that decklid badge on the trunk says this one is powered by a 2.0-liter engine. Despite being bigger than the previous year’s engine, its tuning meant the 2.0-liter motor lost two horses for a whopping 86 HP.

If any of this appeals to you, the Cimarron is still listed as of this writing, though it’s been updated to say that a sale is pending. Apparently someone bit.

Image for article titled The Cleanest Cadillac Cimarron You'll Ever See Is For Sale In Dallas

Image: Facebook Marketplace



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