It’s hard to imagine, but this is what it has come to: GM may cut Saab, Saturn, Hummer and even Pontiac. The fate of these brands hangs in the balance as GM gets ready to submit a plan to Congress. Via Freep

I don’t know what you guys are seeing in your neck of the woods, but I couldn’t believe that it only cost me $16 to fill my tank on this holiday weekend. Oh, by the way, those seven gallons will get me 300+ miles in the smart!

Scott’s Silverado is sick! No wonder it was featured in Sport Truck!

Thanks to Maffew for sending this one in. You know the drill: Come up with a caption for the picture below by noon PST next Thursday. If you submit the funniest one, we’ll send you a great big bag of CarDomain swag. And remember to leave a link to your ride page so we can contact you. Three entries per person max. Good luck!

So, perhaps you’ve seen a Redline Time Attack event, or somebody has mentioned just how cool this form of competition is and now you’re ready to sign up for the next event. That’s great, but we should take some time and talk about what you’re getting yourself into. Surprises are best left to birthday parties, not for your arrival at the track.

A Time Attack session is your opportunity to pit yourself and your car against the clock, to gain fame and glory by posting a better time than anyone else and not have to worry about some other car crashing in to you. When you’re out there, you’re all alone. It’s you, the track and the clock. Sounds great, but how does it work?

First, there are three classes, or levels of vehicle preparation for track competition – Street,
Modified and Unlimited. Each of these is also broken into Front, Rear and All Wheel drive groups to keep things reasonably balanced. A Time Attack weekend may start on Friday, with a high performance driving event, or open lapping session. This can give you some extra time to get acquainted with the track, particularly if you’ve never been on it before.

On Saturday and Sunday, before the main event, there are also practice sessions and these can get pretty interesting. All Street cars practice together, as do the Modified cars and the Unlimited cars. This can make for some pretty high closing speeds on the track. For example, in the Unlimited class, a nicely prepared CRX Honda with 250 hp could be on the track at the same time as a 750 hp twin Turbo NSX or an American Iron Extreme Mustang. You could come screaming down a straight and into the braking area about 40 mph faster than the car in front of you. Let me tell you, that calls for some fast reflexes to avoid a bad start to the weekend.

Read the full story at Uber Drive Magazine.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Entry # 1237 shows how it’s done.

I have been in love with horses ever since i was a young boy and told myself that ever since i will start driving my first car will be one with a horse symbol. Keeping in mind the Ferrari was out of the question, I fell in love with the body style of 99-04 Mustangs. My first car was and is a Satin Silver Ford Mustang GT that I will never get rid of! Consindering I am 20 yrs old, I plan onto adding performance and suspension mods as i pursue my college and job career! Is it worth it? Of course it is! Why? One of the reasons is that because my mom said so.

There are still more chances to win, so if you haven’t already thrown your hat into the ring, make sure to enter the Amoco Ultimate Your Car Is Worth It Photo Contest!

Anyone who has ever loved racing has their favorite venues. There is drag, road, rally, Nascar, F1, and many other forms of automotive racing. For many of us having been involved from behind the steering wheel for many years, we can enjoy all of the above but there always seems to be at least one racing venue that seems to stand out from all the rest. For me it is hands down La Carrera Panamericana. In short this race started in 1950 with the Mexican government inviting top drivers from all over the world. The race starts at the border of Guatemala and continues 2500 miles back to the United States over seven days with some cars reaching speeds up to 200 miles per hour. And that’s through the middle of down town Mexico City!

Continue reading after the jump, with tons of pics from the race!

Continue reading "My Favorite Race" »

Anyone headed out to the 35th Annual Turkey Run at Daytona International Speedway?

I don’t personally know anyone that drives a Hummer H1 but I’ve always got the impression that H1 drivers think they can do anything…  I sure would like to know what this guy was thinking!

Inspiration—that is something that is shared between this particular ROUSH pickup truck and a nineteenth century novel. ‘Nightmare’ was the original term for the state later known as waking dream, first credited to Mary Shelley in her novel ‘Frankenstien.’ Anonymously published in 1818, the story came about one stormy night in a cottage on the shores of Lake Geneva. Together for the evening, Mary, her husband and Lord Byron challenged each other to write the most fearful ghost story. In 1831, she revised her first novel, Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, and republished it under her own name.

When it comes to the ROUSH Nitemare pickup truck though, there is nothing anonymous about it. Back for a second run, the 2008 version was distinctly different from the original black-only predecessor. Once again limited to a run of 100 units, this flare-sided implementation was made available in three colors—black, red and the gleaming white version we were loaned for a long weekend.

Starting from a standard cab, F-150 FX/2 model ensures that this dream isn’t carrying any excess weight. Under the hood, the ROUSHcharger power adder boosts the 5.4L, 3-valve engine to 445-flywheel horsepower and 500 lb-ft. of torque. Additional go-fast pieces include updated intake manifolds, intercooler, radiator and air induction system.

Aside from the color selection, the most obvious change for the new model is the inclusion of 22-inch chromed wheels. A revised graphics package also sets the newer model apart, while ’stealth’ badges do nothing to hide the fundamental nature of this beast. Driving the truck around the Detroit area elicited only one of two responses from other wannabees—either a ‘thumbs up’ gesture, or an attempt to make some snarling noises out of an anemic aftermarket exhaust.

Read the full story at Uber Drive Magazine.

Want a spacious, AWD family hauler and have a bit over $30k to spend? Well, here are two great options. Which would you choose?

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I’m really loving entry # 1284, a rat rod CRX.

Bought this car from a guy that was taking it to a scrap yard. I payed $800 for it and started restoring it. After three years its almost done. I did a 95 del sol motor swap then turboed it with a homemade turbo kit I put together. Its making just over 200HP and is a blast to drive on the street.

There are still more chances to win, so if you haven’t already thrown your hat into the ring, make sure to enter the Amoco Ultimate Your Car Is Worth It Photo Contest!

It seems crazy to try to pick 10 winners out of over 2,000 rides at SEMA, but we did just that—with your help. So here are the cars that came out on top this year. Thanks to everyone who voted!

Muscle Cars: Dale Jr. Edition Chevy Camaro

Racing and Motorsports: Viscardi Boyz Pro Mod Mustang

Exotics: Lamborghini Reventon

Off-Road: Skyjacker F-150 but still close…

Trucks: Baldwin Motorsports F-150

Luxury: ASI’s Bentley Continental GT Speed

Restoration: Old School Skyline

Sport Compact: Vivid Racing EVO X

Hot Rods: ‘31 Studebaker

Green: X Prize Fox Body Mustang

See pics of all the cars after the jump!

Continue reading "Best of SEMA: 2008 Winners!" »

Nissan has formally announced that they are pulling out of the North American International Auto Show, along with their Infiniti brand. They join Ferrari, Porsche, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki in "reducing costs." This leaves more room for the locals (if they pony up for it) and for the upstarts from China that provided us with so much entertainment last year. I’m starting to wonder if we will see one of them on the main floor. Who’s press conference will get crashed this year?

When the average citizen thinks about art, they probably go with something traditional–Monet, Ansel Adams or even dogs playing poker. This past weekend I visited two museums that are more our speed: the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, located just outside Birmingham, Alabama.

Both places are out of this world. The Lane museum’s collection can best be described as cars you have probably never seen: microcars, Western European cars, French cars, Japanese kei cars, amphibious cars, wooden cars and even a car driven by a propeller. The Lane museum houses one of the biggest Lotus collections, but their main focus is bikes: hundreds and hundreds or motorcycles. The collection ranges from the earliest bikes to new Hondas. I’d say both are worth a visit, either online or in person.