Also this issue: Canned Hamm -Sam Adams 76ers Summer Hoops Tour -Ainé Ardron-Doley The Lego Challenge: “What Will YOU Make, Philadelphia?" -David Schulman

July 17-23, 2003

mixpicks

Mazda Rev It Up

by Juliet Fletcher

Slice 'n' dice drivers don't respond to subtle hints. Eye them beadily as they swerve past you, and don't notice you; honk, and you're part of the pointless chorus of carpers and cabs. But maybe Mazda knows how to handle 'em. As manufacturers of zippy cars, they have to handle their customers' liking for speed, while downplaying it for safety purposes. So a new venture offers reckless drivers the one lure to learning safe driving: Acing a sit-down safety class enables you to take a spin on specially constructed street-style courses, and log your fastest time just like a pro racer. Rev It Up, a series of touring events which makes a pit stop in Philly this Friday, offers the chance to beat local competitors to file the fastest time, and then progress to the grand final, held at Laguna Seca raceway in California. While the key tournament prize is a brand new Mazda6, the reward for just entering the field is to take instruction from such young racing stars as Adam Andretti, (nephew of Mario Andretti) and John Rutherford IV (son of Johnny Rutherford) and NASCAR instructor Randy Tolsma, who'll conduct "chalk talk" classes. It remains to be seen whether the carrot-and-stick approach can have more luck in curbing meanness on the streets than the extended middle finger.

Mazda Rev It Up, Fri., July 18, noon-6 p.m., Sat.-Sun., July 19-20, 7 a.m.-6 p.m., $39 to compete (pre-registration recommended), free general admission, Philadelphia Park, 3001 Street Rd., Bensalem, 877-311-5771, www.MazdaRevItUp.com.