German Car Zone

HighestOfHigh · 10-05-2009, 03:09 PM

Hardcore drag racers take their expensive hobby very seriously. Some drag owners cut into their 401k just to knock a couple tenths off of their quarter mile times, while others spend every possible spare moment of their lives holed up in a garage, perfecting their hot rod for just a few chances to take that magical run down the track. Keep that in mind, if you will, as we explain to you why the owner of an altered wheelbase 1963 Chevy II is angry over an apparently Photoshopped photo of its run against Car and Driver magazine's BMW X6 M.

Car and Driver took the 550 hp X6 M to Milan Dragway in Milan, MI as part of an article which featured the beastly Bimmer on the track, off-road, and at the dragway. One of the runs the X6 M took was against said Chevy, which reportedly runs the quarter mile in the high 9's, reaching a scorching 135 mph in the process. The X6 M is no pushover either, as it can hit a sports car like 12.8 seconds at 110 mph. At no time did C/D claim that they bested the heavily modded Chevy (nor did they mention the hot rod at all), but what they did do was publish a photo of the Bimmer and the Bow Tie'd bandit battling nose to nose down the dragway. Actually, judging purely by the C/D photo, it appears that the X6 M may even have a bit of an edge in the high horsepower battle.

After seeing the photo, the owner of the Chevy II is apparently hopping mad. "Rotten Johnny" on the H.A.M.B forums claims to be the owner of the dragster in question, and he was less than thrilled with what he called a Photoshopped pic that deceives the public.

"Alls I can say is the mag,editors and writers are LAIRS,CHEATERS and WANNA BE SCAMMERS. Bring that ol BMW out, title fer title and write an article bout that.I'll be driven around in a little red suv. No wonder the only time i see that mag is in the doctors office, makes me sick."

We can definitely see where Rotten Johnny would be upset over the photo (he says he was actually doing a burnout in the altered pic), but we can also see where it was necessary to bust out Photoshop to get both vehicles into a tight frame. After all, who wants to read a feature of the X6 M with a lead photo of a 1963 Chevy II with a spec of a BMW SUV off in the distance? Then again, was the image really necessary to support the story to begin with?

In any case, C/D has issued a reply that includes a heaping helping of the sort of snark made famous by the mysterious "Ed." in the magazine's monthly reader mail section. To wit:

"John Phillips became so attached to the BMW X6M that it - appropriately enough - triggered many irrational responses. One of these was his insistence that we photoshop the BMW beating the clearly superior Chevy Nova. Any attempt to dissuade him - by telling him, for instance, that only an idiot would believe a BMW SUV could beat a purpose-built drag car - just resulted in heated calls to the suicide hotline and even more foaming at the mouth than usual."

- Car and Driver drawing flak over Photoshopped BMW X6 M drag racing pic? — Autoblog

siko · 10-05-2009, 03:17 PM

Sounds like Johnny is trying to get his 15 minutes by making a big deal out of nothing.

NarutoRamen · 10-05-2009, 03:43 PM

Worthless much?

Bartek Sikorski · 10-05-2009, 04:51 PM

Sorry, photoshop.

CarandDriver Photoshops Fake Drag Race, Blames Suicidal Fan-Boy Writer

NarutoRamen · 10-05-2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bartek Sikorski

Sorry, photoshop.

CarandDriver Photoshops Fake Drag Race, Blames Suicidal Fan-Boy Writer

We know. That's pretty much the whole issue that HOH's text indicates.

bmer · 10-06-2009, 04:35 AM

Moved to "The Garbage Bin" where it should have been from the beginning...

coligny · 10-06-2009, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmer

Moved to "The Garbage Bin" where it should have been from the beginning...

BMW and drag racing, like a perfect storm...

Pagani · 10-14-2009, 08:14 AM

I suppose it is too much to ask for journalistic integrity from Car and Driver, since it's easily be traded in for a "cool" look of a picture.

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German Car Zone

BMW X6 M drag racing pic Issue!