By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

For a while there it looked like this project was dead in the water. Turns out it just got delayed a bit, owing to the challenges presented by trying to apply direct injection to the flat-4 boxer engine. Fans of the AE86 will like the new code name. Heck, maybe this news will make Nissan reconsider their decision to cancel the Silvia replacement. More at 7Tune.com

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is. Today’s featured car is that last of the once great Packard line of cars, but by this time they were nothing but glorified Studebakers. Let me introduce you to the 1958 Packard Hawk.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The 1958 Packard Hawk" »

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

I was unprepared for this one. I picked up a G5 at John Wayne during my recent trip to Cali, and woof! Between the peeling exterior vinyl blackout trim and the paint that looked like it had been to Vegas and back through a Saudi sand storm, this car had less than 1400 miles on it and it was beat. It was hard for me to believe that this car was built on the same line as its sister, the Chevy Cobalt. The interior was dull and uninspiring, even drab. The engine ran rough for a minute or two after every startup (it did level out), and the suspension and steering were far from the sporty image that Pontiac is supposed to convey. I have to say it—if the rental desk offers you a G5, ask for an upgrade. Or at least ask for a real Cobalt.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Automotive News is reporting that General Motors has killed off the GM Performance Division. This is crushing news to fans of domestic performance vehicles and the decision appears to have been made in order to appease the government.

Quoting directly from the AN piece by Jamie LaReau, “All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold,” GM spokesman Vince Muniga said. “The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs.”

Outside of the obvious implications regarding the desirability of the GM product line, we think that this means no SS Camaro. This truly is a shocking and frightening development for everyone involved in the automotive hobby, whether you are a GM fan or not. Continue reading at Freiburger’s Junkyard

By David Clarke

highspeedhijinks

Ever thought to yourself that the Mini is far too wide, the Smart is far too long, and the Tata Nano is just out of your price range? Honestly I’d say it’s time to buy a bike, but if you lived on the Isle of Mann in 1962, there was car for you. I recently stumbled on the Guiness world record holder for the world’s most compact car. It was known as the Peel-50 and measured out to a measly 4′ 4″ long, 3′ 3″ wide, and 3′ 10 tall. Other underwelming tech specs include a 49cc engine capable of bringing the automotive housefly up to 40mph, but was capable of up to 100mpg. To turn the car around, though, you’d have to get out and physically turn it around, thus giving all your hypermiling buddies a chuckle at your expense. Don’t take my word for it, check out this hilarious video from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. And for more pictures, check below the jump.

Continue reading "World's Smallest Car" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Thanks for the great Chicago Auto Show pics, Matt! And if you missed Kathy and Matt’s awesome coverage, you can check it out here!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Ok, this is pretty funny. A Legacy GT owner who posts as Scruit over at LegacyGT.com was worried that the dealership kids would joyride his car, so he mounted a DVR in the trunk and taped them with four in-car cameras. The kids driving the car seemed to be aware that they were being taped, so I’m sure they held back a bit. But they really didn’t treat the car THAT badly.

So do you worry about your car when you drop it off? I know my small and independent Subaru and Volvo mechanics way too well to be worried, and anyway, both those cars are too boring to thrash on. And only one other guy besides me touches my Mopar, and he’s more anal than me! Now, I guess if I had a newer Mustang or Challenger I’d be worried… Via Jalopnik

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Ok, so we have a Lancer GTS on loan right now. So I’m thinking, what does this thing compete against? The closest thing I could come up with was the Jetta S. They both provide a big bang for the buck at just under $18,000. The Jetta has an extra 2 hp and 200 pounds, and smaller wheels (17″ vs. the 18″ wheels on the Lancer). Oh, and no wing. So, which would you choose?

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

We had a lot of response to last month’s post regarding the Chevrolet dealership in LeMars, Iowa, including a few people who wanted higher-resolution shots of the cutaway Corvette display, so we asked Craig Hover to provide the photos for scanning at a larger size.

Craig responded by not only sending us the original four photos, but also about 10 more, all taken at about the same time. Only a couple had notes written on the back, but the rest all seem fairly self-explanatory. Continue reading at Hemmings

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

These photos are completely for real. I took them one day while driving home from class at college (I always kept my camera with me as I do now). I nearly drove off the road when I saw this contraption and basically blew a donut to make sure I didn’t miss the chance to get a better look.

The car, a Mustang GT was owned by a kid I knew named Joel. To be fair, Joel was what scientists like to call a “drug addicted lunatic.”

He got all wound up on God knows what one afternoon and started buying leaf blowers, tie-down straps, PVC pipe, and duct tape and came up with this. Note that he sealed both tubes into the air box lest he lose any boost pressure. As I was taking the photos the car was idling horribly and the blowers were running at full tilt cramming who knows how many CFM into the factory airbox. Continue reading at Freiburger’s Junkyard