MotiveMagazine - Motive Gear: Cars with sole - Co-branded Driving Shoes

Tycoon

Shoes: DC Pro_Spec v1.0
Car: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Price: $200.00

If you dream of being the next Travis Pastrana, DC will sell you the shoes right off their man's feet. Well, not quite — you see, Travis has a specially made gold (to represent his victories) version of the shoes you see here, but the style and construction are the same. These are no poseur pieces: Their Nomex lining is fire resistant and FIA certified, their patent-pending "DGT" soles are grippy and stiff for good feedback, and the heel and ankle sections are padded for extra comfort over a long special stage. Plus, behind the tongue's DC logo, there's a hidden pocket for tucking the laces away to prevent pedal interference. Along with the bright blue you see here, they're available in solid black, plus with red/white and yellow/blue combinations. Just be prepared to pay for the impressive content.

Wearability: Medium. Lots of attention was given to making these shoes feel like the exact opposite of the STI they represent: They're soft, fluffy, and comfortable. But like Subarus, they're built to handle a lot of mud. If they didn't look like the official dance shoe of the Blue Man Group, they'd be very wearable.

Fanboy Factor: Medium. While the shoes don't actually say "Subaru" anywhere, wearing bright blue high-top shoes with Velcro straps will let the world know you're obsessed with something. They'll just have to guess what that thing is.

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Shoes: Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 Clubman Hot Chocolate
Car: 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S
Price: $120.00

Calling these kicks "driving shoes" is a bit of a stretch, considering that Onitsuka's Mexico 66 shoes were first made popular at the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games and have recently become the official footwear of the indie-rock/bike-riding crowd. But hey, they have Mini badges on the back and brown leather that matches the Clubman's seats. Even the insoles mimic the Clubman's front buckets. Plus, it turns out, their simple construction and low weight make them great for quick pedal action. They do cost $40 more than a basic Mexico 66, which is pretty steep for a special color and a Mini badge.

Wearability: High. Onitsuka hasn't changed this shoe in over forty years because it's just so comfortable. This shoe's brown and crème color combination adds some serious style to the classic design, making this pair the most wearable of those we've assembled here.

Fanboy Factor: Low. Unless a friend sneaks a peek under a small leather flap at the heel or takes a shoelace's metal aglet under a microscope (they read "MINI"), they'll never notice that these are linked to Mini. Unless, of course, you're friends with Mini designers.

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Shoes: Puma Inflection F1 BMW Sauber Team
Car: 2008 BMW 135i
Price: $120.00

Puma has this co-branded driving shoe thing all figured out. It has offered Ferrari and BMW shoes for years and just recently added Ducati to its partnership portfolio (which is fortunate, as BMW will soon leave it). We picked the BMW shoes in the hope that they'd be the least likely to provoke scoffs and "douche" comments. The huge expanses of white leather over silver-and-red accents didn't help in that mission. "Where's your silk shirt and gold chain?" one editor asked when I arrived back from the local Puma store. Still, they're comfortable. And I happen to think that touches like a carbon-fiber-look sole and off-center laces are modern and attractive.

Wearability: Medium/Low. If they were some other color — dark blue, perhaps — this would be one nice set of footwear. But they're white, making them not only hard to look at but hard to keep clean. Maybe you could keep them in the car, where no one will see them.

Fanboy Factor: High. Decked out in BMW F1 team colors and with "BMW Sauber F1 Team" stamped down the side, only the most serious BMW F1 freaks need apply. But those guys are probably holding on to their Williams-era shoes as collector's items anyway.

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Shoes: Adidas Porsche Design S2 Leather
Car: 2008 Porsche Cayman S Porsche Design Edition 1
Price: $95.00

Some partnerships just make sense. Like Sirius and XM for the sake of survival, or Daimler and Chrysler for the gladiator-like experience of watching a wild beast strip a poor weakling down to the bone. The Adidas/Porsche Design team link-up makes sense for both brand's shared Germanic values of simplicity and functionality. The black and silver shoes you see here will be sold as the Fall 2008 model, so don't be surprised if you don't see them on the shelves of your Adidas store until the summer sweat has all dried up. Along with the Pumas, these shoes fall somewhere between the heavy stiffness of the DCs and the light flexibility of the Onitsukas. They're small and light but their thick lower construction makes them stiffer than they appear. And who would have guessed that something wearing the Porsche name could be so (relatively) cheap?

Wearability: High. Only Gianni Agnelli could get away with wearing these to a black-tie event, but these clean, stylish shoes do border on eveningwear. The only difference is that shoehorning won't be required and you won't want to chop off both feet after a few hours. These fine slices of leather are very wearable.

Fanboy Factor: Low/Medium. Yes, they say "Porsche Design" right down the side, but in black lettering low down to the ground on what's otherwise a pretty subtle shoe. One needn't be a complete Porschephile to appreciate them.

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From that collection, guess which one i own?

And they're very comfortable for driving.