In the long history of motoring, the unspoken goal of the starting process is to make it as easy and invisible as possible. Cumbersome cranks gave way to a combination of keys and starter buttons, then to just a twist of a key, and now many new cars just use a simple button.
One time, though, on one car, there was a totally different goal: to make starting the car a challenge. To make it require effort. To make it a game.
If you’re into racing, chances are, you’ve played at least one racing game in your life. With technology ever on the rise and sim racing becoming more than just a ‘game’, Germany’s racing governing body, Deutsche Motor Sport Bund, has decided to officially proclaim sim racing as a legitimate motorsport discipline.
Back in February, I wrote an essay about how a car accident left me with a stubborn fear of driving -- something that GTA V's unnervingly realistic car crashes reminded me of often. My colleagues at Jalopnik weren't having it. They eventually convinced me to try driving again, and you can see how it went in their story.
The reader blog over at Jalopnik got a pretty sweet deal last month: for just a few bucks they could get their names on a car that was competing in the famous 24 Hours Nürburgring endurance race in Germany. Thing is, not everyone who contributed went with their real name.
