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…

Needed: A Manual-Drive vehicle, driver’s license, and lots of space (parking lot favored, empty is ideal)

1. GET UP TO SPEED.
Firstly, you need to find some open space (a parking lot or course is ideal) and start on the straightaway slowly. In order to drift, you need to break your tires’ grip on the road, so your car needs to get up to a certain speed. Eye the drift point and begin to accelerate down the straightaway. Keep the car in second gear and accelerate so that you hit the drift point going about 40 mph. For your first time, if you’re going any faster than 60 mph, you may not make it, so don’t go too nuts.
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2. HIT THE BRAKES.
Weight transfer is the key to car control and the easiest way to control your car’s mass is with the accelerator and the brake pedals. “I would come in at a pretty high speed,” explains Block, “so I would brake fairly hard with the regular brakes to get the weight transfer and to get the weight under the front wheels.” As you approach the turn, tap your brakes. This will transfer the weight of the car from rear to front, which lightens the load over the rear wheels. That allows them to break traction more easily, and allows you to get them sliding.

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3. INITIATE THE SLIDE.
Now that the weight is off of the rear wheels, you can begin the drift. Gymkhana has a lot of tight turns, so Ken Block recommends using the handbrake at the start: “I sometimes initiate with an opposite turn to get the rear wheels loose but using the handbrake is a little bit more consistent and a little bit quicker.” At the top of the corner, turn your steering wheel slightly into the turn, give it a little more throttle, push the clutch in, and pull the handbrake. You will feel the rear wheels lose traction and the rear of your car will begin to slide out.
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4. CONTROL THE SLIDE.
Once the rear of your car begins to drift, use the steering wheel to keep the car going around the apex of the corner. First, keep it pointed in the direction of the turn; then, as you reach the apex, quickly begin to counter-steer (turning wheel in the opposite direction) while pulling the handbrake intermittently. That will keep the wheels loose, but will also slow the car down. So, depending on the angle of your corner, you need to keep on the throttle and make sure enough power is being sent to your wheels. Once you’re through the corner, point your car towards the next turn, hit the throttle, and repeat.

VIDEO: KEN BLOCK GYMKAHANA INFOMERCIAL (FEAT. ROB DYRDEK)

*DON’T WRECK YOUR CAR (OR YOURSELF) WITHOUT CHECKING OUT TEAM O’NEIL RALLY SCHOOL FIRST.

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…

SO BY “PARALLEL,” YOU MEAN…?

IT’S A NICE FOUR THREE-DOOR…

YEAH, THAT’S COMING OUT OF YOUR TIP

CLOWN CAR

UHHH…

THE JERK

HOLY SHIT, DUDE, JUST PULL OUT ALREADY!

PROBABLY NOT THE BEST WAY TO GET OUT OF A TICKET

BROUGHT TO YOU BY JACK DANIELS

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…

[500bydiesel]

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.

[Slippery Brick Via Jalopnik]

PRICE:$28,295

SPECS:
Engine: 262hp, 3.5-liter V-6 Duratec Engine

MPG: 16 city/22 hwy mpg (AWD)

RIDE: Despite the feeling that you’re pushing a hallway on wheels, the Flex has the road manners of a mid-sized sedan. The multi-link, fully independent suspension and the gas pressurized Macpherson struts provide a extremely smooth ride that will have passengers thinking they’re riding in a Lincoln. Steering is too light to do any real crazy driving (take it easy on the curves), but it feels confident whether you’re going 25 mph or 90 mph. Also, parallel parking this barge is made much easier with the great built in back-up camera.

INTERIOR: We’re not sure how this happened, but the Flex interior felt more high class than the Lincoln Navigators. The leathers are soft and supple, the wood grain lining the dash and the steering wheel looks great and there’s crazy head and leg room. The four moon roofs give the Flex an even more spacious feel. And while you’re riding around you’ll notice that road and wind noise is kept to a minimum, so you won’t be disturbed while you’re doing whatever you do in the back.

AUDIO: Sony comes through with a 390 watt, 10 speaker, 6 disc sound system that knocks pretty well. However, it doesn’t get nearly loud enough. For a ride as big as the Flex, we expected a sound system to match. What we got was a stereo fit for a Civic. It does come with a Aux and USB input so you can play your iPod or other MP3 players through the stereo.

WHIP APPEAL:Ford did the smart thing and went with an entirely different design route for this crossover. The box-on-top-of-a-box look, along with it’s faux wood grain and two tone paint schemes allow it to stand out from the rest of the crossover onslaught. You’re not guaranteed to get any numbers strictly off the strength of the Flex, but it did get the attention of a lot of people while sitting at traffic lights. Mostly just wondering what the hell we were driving.

ONE MORE THING: Most companies advertise that they can fit mad people in their crossovers. What they don’t tell you is that they all need to be the size of Bow Wow and Yung Berg. The Flex actually has the room for six to seven full sized adults. It also has a fridge for the bubbly.

SUMMARY: Ford’s newest crossover attempts to make you rethink what a crossover is supposed to look like and, for the most part, they succeed. It’s a huge ride that drives like a much smaller car. While the gas mileage is still not good enough to make those sick of SUVs buy it, if we needed to haul around a gang of people, we’d strongly consider it.

RATING: 4/5

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…

LAMBORGHINI FEROCE COLOGNE

If you were really ballin’ enough to buy any Lamborghini, we’re pretty sure you wouldn’t be wearing this. This is obviously for the douchebags who hit South Beach and rent one for the weekend just to ride around shining. Either way, it’s corny. Spend more than $30 and cop yourself some Tom Ford so you smell like you got some damn sense.

FERRARI  x  SEGWAY 

For a second, let’s forget the fact that this costs double the price of a regular Segway. Instead let’s focus on Ferrari thinking that just because they painted it fire red and slapped a Ferrari emblem on it, the Segway would become cooler. Nah, son. In fact, it makes it that much cornier. Ferrari selling a Segway is like Rick Ross pushin’ Slim Fast, shit just doesn’t add up.

 HONDA CUFFLINKS

Whatever your set may be, we here at Complex are all for the reppin’ of it as long as you don’t come off as a rabid fanboy. And if you wear these Honda cufflinks, that’s exactly what you’ll come off as. Unless you work for Honda, these are a no go.

CORVETTE PUTTER

Unless you’re under the age of 10,  your golf clubs should come from actual golf companies. Rick Wagoner and Bob Lutz would throw you outta the country club if you pulled these out of your bag.

CHRYSLER 300C BENCH 

This bench is just laughable. Not only is it ugly, there’s a big Chrysler 300C on it. We know that was one of Chrysler’s most popular cars of late'we’re fans'but this is just silly.

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…

COST:

Entrance fee for the Gumball clocks in at around $120,000. Entrance fee for The Rental Car Rally is a cool $150.
Rental Car Rally: 1
Gumball: 0

LOCATIONS:

San Francicso -> San Diego -> Las Vegas -> North Korea -> Shanghai -> Beijing
OR
NYC -> Montreal
Nothing is worse than driving a car in California, but Montreal can’t really compete with North Korea and China. This one goes to Gumball.
Rental Car Rally: 1
Gumball: 1

SEX:

For whatever reason, Montreal is filled with awesome hot chicks who like to party, stay up late, and do whatever the fuck they feel like. On Gumball you get herded around with powerful pricks, like Kim Jung II and are catered to by models that they bring in. You will probably have fun sex in Montreal. You might have fun sex in China. For this, we’re going with the sure thing.
Rental Car Rally: 2
Gumball: 1

CARS:

Let’s get real. Maximillian is pushing a Jaguar XJ220. A rental car? No contest.
You can rent a Lambo, we get it. You can also rent a hooker, but it’s not the same as the real thing.
Rental Car Rally: 2
Gumball: 2

PARTIES:
There is probably some serious partying to be had on both trips. Both rallies go through major cities, both have high profile nightclub parties during the nights. Gumball is 8 parties, Rental Car is 1. Gumball is 8 cities, Rental Car is 1.
Rental Car Rally: 2
Gumball: 3

Winner: Gumball (barely)

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.

PRICE: $37,250

SPECS:
Engine: 375hp, 4.6L V8
MPG: 17 city/25 mpg

RIDE: Hyundai may bill the Genesis as a luxury sport sedan, but once behind the wheel there wasn’t much sportiness to be found. Although the peppy V8 made it easy to go up against any other big body sedan on the road not rocking an “AMG” or “M” badge, whipping it through corners wasn’t very confidence inspiring. The steering was a little unresponsive and numb. But that’s not what the Genesis was made for. If you wanna get your Nurburg’ on, get a sports car. The Genesis aspires to be more luxe than sport. Cruising at any speed feels like you’re floating. Hop in the back and you might think you were in something with a six figure price tag. All that’s missing are curtains. And the Cristal.

INTERIOR: Sleek and sophisticated. Hyundai realized the real indicator of a luxury car is the interior and made sure to pay extra attention to detail, and for the most part they succeeded in providing a high class experience. The leather and wood grain that wrap the steering wheel and dash felt as high grade as any other luxury brand. But the aluminum looking panel around the shifter and entertainment system felt cheap, and an analog clock would have been a better fit than the bargain basement digital joint they put in there.

AUDIO: Our model had the Technology package with a 40 gig hard drive, navigation system, and the Lexicon surround system with 17 speakers and 11 channel digital external amplifier, that knocked pretty well. A little more bass would have been perfect. The iDrive-esque controller worked well too. The tech package is well-rounded and you don’t need to study the instruction manual to use it.

WHIP APPEAL: Take the Hyundai badges off of this and it could be anything from a Lexus to a Mercedes. We’d rather push this than a Chrysler 300 or even a BMW 3 series. Driving it around, you definitely don’t feel like you’re in a Hyundai, and most people on the street didn’t know it either until they get closer.

ONE MORE THING: Of course, for the low-low price tag, somethings are missing. While most luxury brands are implementing next generation safety features, Hyundai just rocks with traction control. The heated and cooled seats are pretty dope and lets not forget Hyundai’s 10 year/100,000 warranty.

SUMMARY: The Genesis accomplishes a lot with a little. There are some hiccups, but for those looking for an entry luxury car, this is it. Rear wheel drive, luxe interior, powerful engine, good looks. It’s all there.

RATING: 4/5

It’s mostly seen on rap promo vans, but many aftermarket tuners have begun wrapping their cars as an alternative to droppin’ Gs at a paint shop. After seeing the color white come back in style heavy in his native Germany, the owner of this black Bimmer coupe decided to wrap (or foil) it with 3M’s shiny white tape. Besides changing up the color, the tape will also protect the car’s original paint for a couple years. It’ll also make it easy for homie to evade the cops if need be. See photos of the finished product below.

[Jalopnik]

Designed as a four-seater coupe, Nawka’s XLink'inspired by aircrafts (hence the winglets) and architecture'was envisioned to be a competitor for brands such as Scion and Mini. Despite it’s low slung look, it features a height adjustable chassis to allow drivers to ride over rough terrain, making it possible to sell it all over the world. On the technology front, it features the XLink Experience, a system which would allow you to talk to other XLinks. At the moment, Nissan doesn’t really need another brand, but if they were to bring Datsun back after 22 years, this would be a good place to start.

[Car Body Design via AutoBlog]

Impressed by her assets, her temper, and her accent, we checked into Senora Duno’s story, and found that the Venezuelan native has four Master’s Degrees. Suck on that, bimbos! We’ve always had love for Danica, but we’re beginning to think this brainy busty brunette could be our top pick for pole position, nahmeean? After the jump, watch the spat that started it all and see some other pictures of Numero Duno.

PRICE: $25,735

SPECS:
Engine: 256hp, 3.5L V6
MPG: 15 city/22 mpg

RIDE: Being that the Edge shares the same platform as the Ford Fusion, it was no surprise that it handled like a car. Whipping it around the curves of the Jackie Robinson Parkway on my way to Queens to pick up some air conditioners, there was a little body roll, but not enough to make my boy, who was riding shotgun, want to hop out and hail a cab. Cruising over the pothole filled roads of NYC, the Edge kept its composure, only passing the most serious of the roads bumps and knicks through its gas pressurized shocks.

INTERIOR: For a ride that costs $25K the Edge's interior is pretty sick. First off, there's enough room for five grown men to comfortably ride around in. The leather on the seats ain't as soft as Weezy's, but it's still leather, and leather's always better than cloth, homey. Although everything works really well, nothing will blow you or a shorty away. Except maybe the panoramic moonroof that looks just as hot closed as it does open. Maybe even hotter.

AUDIO: The Edge comes with Microsoft’s in car entertainment software, Sync. Sync allows you to basically control everything connected to your car's radio with voice commands. And it actually works. Well. Once the iPod was plugged in via the USB connection (there's also a normal 3.5mm AUX jack), I was able to play anything on my iPod, except playlists.

WHIP APPEAL: The Edge is definitely one of the best-designed rides Ford has dropped in a minute, however, cruising through the boroughs, no one seemed to notice it. Granted, it's been out for a year and change and there're a good number of them on the road. That said, it's one of the coolest looking crossovers on the market.

ONE MORE THING: One of the main selling points of crossovers is supposed to be their gas mileage. But the Edge isn't all that green. If you're taking this on a road trip (which would be dope), be prepared to cough up some serious dough.

SUMMARY: The styling won't break necks, but the Edge, with its balanced ride and cool tech features, won't break the bank, either.

RATING: 3.5/5

The racing simulator'which will be available for PS2, PS3, Wii and DS'lets you choose from a wide variety of whips, gameplay modes and international circuits to race on. You’ll even be able to race with up to 16 players online and download new cars and tracks in the future. Apparently the developers at System 3 worked closely with the actual Ferrari folks, so expect the game to mimic the type of precision that has made the luxury car company such a success. Check out some gameplay below.

[IGN]

Following suit is Nissan with the Cube. Also a Japanese import, the Cube is a moderately powered, fuel sippin' (you guessed it) cube on wheels. And though the Cube will probably be just as big a hit with the kids as the Scion was, Nissan wanted to prove just how cool they really were by giving two Cubes to eight Pratt Institute grad students to go nuts on. And the results were pretty dope. Check out the two customized models after the jump.

MODEL #1: NIELUS

The Nielus, designed by Kaspar Heinrici, Minos Tzouflas, Diana Thomas and Susan Hasselbrook, “fuses two different stylistic color schemes into one harmonious composition through the aesthetic considerations of hierarchy, proportion, scale, direction and movement.” It took a total of four months to complete. One of the designers even likened the look of the Nielus to the design of a sneaker, with all the different complimentary colors that needed to be used.

MODEL #2: QUAZE

The Quaze, designed by Emily Potter, Tawny Hixson, Yeon Jee, and John Renaud, is the more fashion forward of the two models and is supposed to use the 3D random grid pattern to represent the uneven and complicated streets of Brooklyn. This model took about two months to complete. They laced the interior with a satin like material and funky looking full torso seatbelt vests that they claim are really comfortable.

[Left Lane]

Kidz In The Hall f/ Pusha T, The Cool Kids & Bun B
“Drivin’ Down The Block (Remix)”


Related:
-Album Preview: Kidz In The Hall

- Kidz In The Hall Explain Hipster Rap

[Ubergizmo]

Made by Canadian based Zenn Motor Company, the Zenn is a tiny two-seat, three door, Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) which means, thanks to the six 12V Deka batteries that power its drive train, the Zenn is only meant to be driven around your immediate area. This humble hatchback only hits 25 mph and has a range of only 35 miles per charge, so highway use is outta the question. To test out this Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) we whipped it around the one 'hood where low speed driving is inevitable: Midtown Manhattan. Check out our first impressions (along with a gang of exclusive images) after the jump.

EXTERIOR:
Off the bat, the first thing you notice about the Zenn is how incredibly tiny it is. Driving among the MTA buses and Mack trucks on 6th avenue, it's hard to feel like you're not driving a Powerwheel, or a Peddle-Cab. The second is how damn ugly it is. And not ugly like a bulldog or a Smart car, where it's so ugly it's kinda cute. Nah, ugly like Flava Flav. But that's beside the point, we're here to save the planet, not rip the runway. While driving, we got more stares than someone driving a Mercedes CL-500.

INTERIOR:
Slide yourself behind the airbag-less steering wheel and you'll find yourself in a cocoon of hard plastic. While it may feel cheap to the touch, it works with the rest of the Zenn's minimalist, no fuss interior. The top of the line model sports comfortable cloth seats, power windows, a JVC CD player and A/C, a single cup holder and a power panoramic moonroof. In lieu of a speedometer there's an easy to read central information display that tells you your current speed and the charge left in your batteries and other car vitals.

PERFORMANCE:
You don't buy the Zenn for 0-60 times. If you want speed, wait for the Tesla Roadster. The Zenn only packs 43 ft-lbs of torque and can't go over 25 mph. That said, moving around the city is surprisingly spirited. With a curb weight of only 1,200 lbs, the Zenn has no trouble quickly hitting 25mph and keeping up with midtown traffic.

CONCLUSION:
As battery technology advances, expect better looking, feature-filled offerings like the Chevy Volt to start flooding the market. We say wait it out. But if you absolutely can't wait to stop using fossil fuels and you're too lazy to hop on a bike, the $15,000 Zenn , while wildly under equipped, would work well as a complimentary car for just getting around your town or small city. For more information, go to Zenncars.com

[Click on an image to view full size]

[IGN]

[Click on an image to view full size]

[Crave]