Wheels06 Test-Drive: This Year's Models

Josh Grier, lead singer of the Minneapolis indie-rock quartet Tapes 'n Tapes, and keyboard player Matt Kretzmann both drive Nineties Japanese econoboxes. If you were to combine the power of those two vehicles, they would not have half the muscle of the orange monster sitting before them at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

The Shelby Mustang GT500 is a 500-horsepower steroidal machine boasting a supercharged V8 that was initially designed to run a full-size truck. Its eighteen-inch wheels are stopped by brake rotors the size of Frisbees. A silver cobra -- the signature of designer Carroll Shelby, who created the classic first-generation Cobra in the 1960s -- is curled up on the grille, both front fenders and on the steering wheel. The car is an awesome sight to behold. Grier and Kretzmann are taking a break from a dizzying trip that saw the Tapes go from an unsigned band in March to this year's critical sweethearts. Today, bassist Erik Applewick has opted to stay home, and drummer Jeremy Hanson is traveling. Thus, says Grier, "We're the lucky ones."

On the freeway, Grier flicks the wheel, attempting to lay some rubber. I point out that, because of its heft, the car is notoriously squirrelly, and so traction control is best left on. "Screw traction control," he says, and pushes the plastic tcs button sunk in the plastic dash. Inside the Mustang, in fact, plastic abounds. You could recycle the interior and supply enough beer cups for an entire season of Chicago Bears home games. "It's pretty trimmed down," Grier notes. "I guess you're paying for the engine."

At $45,000, you're actually not paying much. The Corvette Z06, previously the cheapest 500-horse car on the market, is a good $20,000 more. Heading back to the airport, Grier fires it up out on the highway. Each time he revs a gear, an orange light on the console flashes and the car beeps at him. None of us know what this means. "That's the 'you're going too fast' light," Grier says.

Above the road, an electronic sign reads "O'Hare, 18 minutes."

"Easy," says Kretzmann. To which Grier replies, "Let's do it in four." JOSH DEAN