1954 Ford FX Atmos, a concept car designed for nuclear power and hands-free driving. On New Year’s Day, TechCrunch.com posted an article that got E3 Spark Plugs thinking about the car of the future, with a little retro-tastic inspiration. The article took a look at the iconic TV cartoon The Jetsons, set in a Space Age utopia in the year 2062 – a century ahead at the time of the show’s first airing in 1962. At question was just how many of the show’s then-futuristic features have become everyday reality. First, there’s RUDI, George’s Referential Universal Digital Indexer, which looks an awful lot like today’s PC. Remember George seeing and speaking with Jane or his boss, Mr. Spacely of Spacely Space Sprockets, via a monitor? Skype made that a...

E3 Spark Plug co-sponsors the 2012 Hot Rod Power Tour. Auto buffs, gear up for a fantastic year of car, truck and bike shows. Whether you’re into the latest and greatest auto technology or the sheer beauty of restored vintage treasures, there’s an auto show ticket with your name all over it. To see all the opportunities, you’ll have to do an Internet search. But E3 Spark Plugs has a few favorites. Topping our list is Hot Rod Magazine’s annual Hot Rod Power Tour. E3 Spark Plugs is a sponsor of this year’s event, which will take drivers on a 7-day, 7-city, 1,400-mile road trip from Detroit, Michigan to Arlington, Texas. Each city will host a one-day car and truck show, where you’ll see some of the most envy-inducing hot rods around. A few host cities...

Current Supercross champion Ryan Villopoto begins defending his title this weekend witht he Anaheim, CA opening of the 2012 SX season. The 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Series revs up Saturday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA. All eyes will be on 2011 champ Ryan Villopoto as he begins his fight to defend his title against a full slate of the world’s top riders. And he’ll start that fight with a hard-charging bid to become only the sixth rider in history to win the series’ season opener in back-to-back years.   Villopoto also is the current AMA National Motocross Series champion and the Motocross of Nations champ, and he made headlines in 2011 for his utter decimation of the competition in the Monster Energy Cup. He dominated the field...

Levi LaVallee and Robbie "Maddo" Maddison power in 2012 with record-breaking jumps across a San Diego harbor. Photo by Garth Milan for Red Bull. So how did you ring in the New Year? Major props if you powered into 2012 anywhere near the way pro snowmobiler Levi LaVallee and FMX rider Robbie “Maddo” Maddison did – with record-breaking jumps across an icy San Diego harbor on a snowmobile and a motorbike at Red Bull’s New Year-No Limits event. The two rode side-by-side with a shared goal of breaking their respective sports’ longest-jump records. Both succeeded fantastically. Maddison beat his 351-feet, 3-inches certified world record with an impressive jump of 378 feet, nine inches. He came a bit short of his 400-foot goal, likely because wet conditions...

Optimistic about 2012? E3 Spark Plugs has a few tips for New Year's resolutions that will keep both you and your ride healthy and happy. Assuming the cataclysmic theories about Earth being sucked into a black hole, colliding with another planet or otherwise disintegrating on December 21 aren’t true, 2012 looks to be a promising year. The economy is starting (though ever so slowly) to mend, Jon Bon Jovi is still alive and, if the Toyota Fun-Vii ever comes to market, you’ll one day be driving around with a hologram hottie perched upon your dash board. Something to look forward to, indeed. In the meantime, no doubt you’re busy building your list of New Year’s resolutions. E3 Spark Plugs offers a few suggestions to help keep you and your ride healthy, happy and on...

Chad Reed (22) leads James Stewart (7) in one of the two rivals' epic dirt battles. Each is a two-time Supercross Class champ with an eye on winning the 2012 championship. The 2011 Supercross season proved quite the exciting ride. When the dust finally settled, it was Ryan Villopoto at the podium as the 2011 AMA Supercross Series Championship winner. So how will the 2012 season play out? E3 Spark Plugs has a few predictions. One guess is that we’ll get quite the show from the ongoing rivalry between Australian native and two-time Supercross Class champion Chad Reed and James Stewart, also a two-time Supercross Class champion, as well as a former AMA Motocross champion and the first African American to win a major motorsports title. The two have treated fans to some of the...

1954 Mercedes W 196 - $24 million We should all be so lucky as to drive a gorgeous classic car around town now and then. Alas – no such luck for many of us. But one can dream. And plan. And make that move. If one of your New Years’ wishes is to finally fix up that old jalopy in your granddad’s garage or to buy that dream ride you’ve been eying for decades, E3 Spark Plugs offers a little visual inspiration. Behold the world’s three most expensive classic cars: 1954 Mercedes W 196 – $24 million: Considered the “holy grail of racing cars,” the Mercedes-Benz W196 debuted at the 1954 French Grand Prix at Reims. Throughout the 1954 and 1955 Formula One seasons, the car racked up nine wins in 12 races, helmed by racing legends Juan Manuel...

New Year's Day is the deadliest on the roadways. E3 Spark Plugs offers tips for staying safe in the hectic Christmas and New Year holiday traffic. When the sounds of sleigh bells and carolers get rudely interrupted by the sounds of glass shattering and metal crunching, you know your holiday spirit just took a dive. E3 Spark Plugs wants you and yours to enjoy a safe and happy holiday, so we’ve compiled a list of top holiday roadway safety tips. It’s not exactly a news flash that America’s roadways are more dangerous during the holidays. Christmas parties and New Year’s Eve bashes nearly always involve drinking. Those who get a little too merry too often end up behind the wheel – and in the hospital. The National Highway Traffic Safety...

= E3 Spark Plugs has a few great stocking stuffer tips for the auto buff you love. Are you a serious slacker when it comes to holiday shopping? No worries. E3 Spark Plugs has a few great ideas for those last-minute, stocking-stuffer gifts for the auto buff on your Christmas list. A good read: A subscription to an auto magazine is always a welcome gift from a car enthusiast. There are lots to choose from. Publications like Automotive News and AutoWeek, which offer across-the-board industry coverage. Others like European Car, Hot Rod and Vette cater to car lovers with particular automotive interests. That’s the ticket: A pair of tickets to a great auto event, whether to a mud-flinging Monster Truck show or a fancy-schmancy Concours d’Elegance, is sure to get you a sincere...

IndyCar has released its official review of the October 16 crash that killed Indianapolis 500 champ Dan Wheldon. The report acknowledged that Wheldon’s head coming into contact with a fence support post was ruled the specific cause of death, in keeping with the October 17 autopsy that concluded blunt force trauma to the head killed the British racer. However, the report added that the exact cause of the accident itself could not be pinpointed. = Late IndyCar racer Dan Wheldon and son. “While several factors coincided to produce a ‘perfect storm,’ none of them can be singled out as the sole cause of the accident,” investigators concluded. “For this reason, it is impossible to determine with certainty that the result would have been any different if...