Rides Complex Expert Guide: Ken Block On How To Drift

Illustration by Marcin Kuligowski; Step Illustrations by Sonia Chang

No matter how nice you believe your wheel game to be, we’re pretty sure it’s not as nice as Ken Block’s. A love of all things motor led the co-founder of DC Shoes to train as a rally driver so he could compete in the Rally America series. He was so nice behind the wheel of his Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru WRX STi that he won Rally America’s Rookie of the Year award. To further show off his skill, he put together two videos of him in his Subaru ripping and sliding through a Gymhana course, both of which became instant hits on the ‘Net.

Yeah, dude knows a thing or two about car control. So who better to teach us how to do a drift? We got Ken to give us a basic run through on how to initiate a slide through a hairpin turn. Keep in mind: These four steps are basic instructions and won’t make you an expert, so please be careful. So buckle up and read on to learn how to get (safely) sideways, and then peep Ken’s second Gymkhana to see how it’s really done…

TV HONK! 9 Candidates for “America’s Worst Driver”

We can’t front, we love shows that highlight people’s incompetency. So when we heard that the Travel Channel was developing a show called The Search for America’s Worst Driver, we might have sprung a little bit of a chub.

Morons who are allowed to control thousands of pounds of metal moving at high speeds? Then failing spectacularly? Sounds like a hit! Also sounds like our usual webvideo dicking around, so we thought we’d share the wealth by showing you a few people who are prime candidates to win that show when it finally makes it to air…

Rides Diesel And Fiat Debut Limited Edition Car

Italians know a little something about cars and fashion, so it’s no surprise that the new Fiat 500 by Diesel is so dope. The collaboration between Fiat and Diesel combines Smart-car efficiency with a solid dose of Italian panache. Diesel’s logo appears on the car’s 16″ rims as well as the rear decal, with denim-inspired “rivet” detailing on the fenders and body trim. The Fiat’s interior also features unique touches, like the “fifth pocket” stitched onto the front seats.

Starting Sunday, 10,000 models'in the pictured black as well as green and bronze'will go up for sale. The bad news? Like most cool stuff, it’s only available in Europe and Japan. Take a look inside the Fiat 500 by Diesel below…

Rides Concept Hummer Can Take On A Tank

Regardless of how today’s insane gas prices have left the Hummer an endangered species of SUV, it seems as though some engineers are focused on reinventing the 4 x 4. This tank-like twist on the original gas guzzler crawled into the 2008 SEMA auto show in Las Vegas, and immediately turned heads.

Similar to the all-terrain rubber tracks on snowmobiles, this concept H2T seems to apply the tire-to-tread conversion system (usually called Mattracks) that is commonly seen in off-road vehicles. Sure there’s no real improvement to the vehicle’s speed, but if you’re looking to push the truck that has the biggest balls on the road, keep tabs on the production of this beast. See more photos of the crawler below.

Rides Test Drive: 2009 Ford Flex

As the masses turned away from SUVs faster than Patriot fans have abandoned their squad , Ford went back to the drawing board to create a crossover that would appeal to those who need the space of an Expedition but whose wallets are more befitting of a Focus. What came out was the Flex. We took Ford’s new crossover around for a weekend to see if it’s as good as the blue oval hopes it is. Check out our breakdown of the truck below…

Rides The Corniest Car-Branded Products

Many people don’t know this, but almost every car company has a retail division that sells branded merchandise. They sling everything from ashtrays to customized GPS systems. And, of course, some companies are much better at hawking these themed products than others. Porsche, for example, has a design arm called Porsche Design that works with a number of different companies to create aesthetically sick and slick products that exude the coolness and exclusiveness of the storied brand.

But then there are the companies who just throw their name on anything regardless of the looks or quality. The tacky Lamborghini branded cigar set pictured above that surfaced today is one of those products. But they’re not the only ones guilty of watering down their brand with cheap merchandise. See below for more shitty auto-spawned products…

Rides The Great Debate: Gumball 3000 vs. Rental Car Rally

The Gumball 3000 is in full swing right now, with drivers over in China en route to Beijing to go high five Micheal Phelps. There is a lesser known car rally going down this weekend as well, however.

This morning at midnight marked the start of the Rental Car Rally, a 36-hour drive from NYC to Montreal and back. Sound lame? You’d be surprised. We pit the two head to head…

Rides Test Drive: 2009 Hyundai Genesis Sedan

While you were out jockin’ M-B’s, Lexus’s and BMW’s, a little Korean company called Hyundai was creepin’ on the come up. Bet you didn’t know they’re now the 7th best selling automotive brand in the U.S., did you? Turns out a lot of Americans love low priced cars'who knew?

To celebrate, the company best known for econo-boxes is looking to go head to head with the big boys by introducing their new rear-wheel drive Genesis platform. Their first Genesis offering touching down in the states will be the amazingly priced 4.6 and 3.8 Sedan, followed later by the coupe. Hyundai threw Complex the keys and we took this recession special for a ride. Read the full review and check out a gallery below.

Rides Tape-Master Turns BMW Into A Wrap Star

After you choose which car to buy, the hardest decision is picking out the color. Of course you want to get something that’s in style at the moment, but will remain cool through a number of different trend changes, because (good) paint jobs are expensive. The owner of this BMW 335i found the perfect solution for those of you ballin’ on a budget: wrapping your car…

Rides Datsun Rises From The Dead With The XLink Concept

Consumers love revivals. Nothing whips ‘em into a ducat dropping frenzy like the words “throwback” or “retro.” Every company from Nike and Reebok to Chevy and Mercedes bring back popular marquees and models in hopes that the nostalgia will make them flock to stores. Recently, German design student Benjamin Nawka proposed his Datsun XLink concept in hopes of doing the same for the old Nissan brand…