By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

The German company set to supply the top for the new Camaro convertible has gone under, pushing out the release of the droptop even further. Meanwhile, the 570 hp Z28 has been canceled altogether, owing to budget cuts at GM. Good times! Via Jalopnik

By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

This particular car caught Colin’s eye at the weekly Cars and Coffee meet in Irvine, CA last summer. He doesn’t have much information about the car other than it’s a genuine JDM Fairlady Z with an immaculately done RB25DET swap. Talk about a fantastic update, bringing a beautiful classic up to modern day standards. The best part about this car is how well integrated the swap was done. To a normal person, the swap is almost imperceptible. This is a great example of doing it right and paying attention to the details.

Continue reading "Super Clean S30 Nisan Fairlady (240Z)" »

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

So a recent bout with the flu had me riding the couch for a few days. Bummer, yeah, but I was able to catch up on a couple forums I’ve been too busy to check lately, and on one of those forums, I came across something that should not be: a 401-powered 1978 Concord AMX.

As any student of AMC history knows, the one-year-only Concord AMX (nestled in between the 1977 Hornet AMX and the 1979-1980 Spirit AMX), had essentially two engine options: the 258-cu.in. straight-six and the 304-cu.in. V-8. So when forum member spf150 bought his Concord AMX (for $75!), he saw the V-8 and assumed he had the 304. But a ruptured oil pan led him to notice the 401 cast into the engine block.

Continue reading at Hemmings

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

The Caprice wagon you see in this rather poor photo from about ten years ago was my first attempt at a demo derby car. The good news for the Caprice is that it never saw a demo derby.

The whole thing started on a whim. I happened to see a flyer stapled to a telephone pole announcing a local fair hosting a smash-‘em-up derby. That same day my friend Jess mentioned that her parents were looking for someone to take their old family car, the Caprice wagon, to the junkyard, as it had been living in their driveway for far too long and no one wanted it.

I offered them 50 bucks and the promise to have it out of their driveway by the end of the week. It was, as everything I take home, not running. On the way home dad and I grabbed a cap and rotor, plugs, a battery, carb cleaner, and some ether. We zipped the tune-up parts onto the motor, gave it some juice and a zap of ether, and the wheezy 305 sprung to life. We were going to be in the derby business!

Continue reading at BangShift.com

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

The ultra-compact Toyota iQ has long been rumored to become part of Toyota’s US lineup, and it looks like we might be getting some official word on this at the New York Auto Show next month. The iQ won’t actually be sold in the United States as a Toyota, but as the latest addition to the Scion line. Scion hasn’t released any specs on the USDM version of the iQ yet, but their press release says they will be showing a “micro sub-compact” concept, which is exactly what the iQ is. According to Scion’s press release, “the concept reflects Scion’s youthful image and represents a new segment for the brand aimed toward the growing urbanization trend”.

We will find out next month at the New York Auto Show exactly what Toyota and Scion have in store for the US-spec iQ.

By Mike Garrett Source: World Car Fans

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

As we announced yesterday, CarDomain’s moving to freaky Fremont. And Ryan, who’s even more precious about his cars’ paint and wheels than I am, is having a bit of a meltdown over the prospect of having to park his A5 on the street like a chump. The rest of us have beater-commuters lined up already–Rob’s not worried about anything happening to his Volvo, and I’ve nominated my 50mpg diesel Escort as my sacrificial Fremont beater. But Ryan’s going to have to get something new altogether. We’ve narrowed it down to the following: a four-door Dodge Dart (plentiful, bulletproof, yet small enough to park), a Wrangler (short-wheelbase parking, plus it might be able to run over Priuses), this pink CRX (appropriate car for the Fremont freakshow), an art car (ditto), or a diesel VW Rabbit (he can run it on vegetable oil like the rest of the hippies). Cast your votes–what should Ryan get?

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

CarDomain Headquarters is moving to the wacky Seattle neighborhood of Fremont this weekend, so I thought we’d do an art car for the caption contest. 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 some CarDomain swag. Three entries per member max. Good luck!

By Chris Bicknell

Bick66

Originally a stock 540hp GT500, this car is one of only 1,000 hand-picked by Shelby Automobiles to become a Super Snake and one of only 427 to become a 427 Limited Edition pushing 750hp with a laundry list of other high performance upgrades. The freshly finished modern muscle car was then selected by NASCAR to pace the March 1, 2009 Sprint Cup Series Shelby 427 Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Click here to watch the in-car interview given by Carroll Shelby during the pre-race laps, and check out the eBay auction for this extremely rare Mustang.

More pictures below the jump.

Continue reading "Shelby GT500 Super Snake 427 Pace Car on eBay" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

New CarDomain member Piper is totally on the right track: with her learner’s permit in hand, she went and bought this lifted 4WD Dodge Ram pickup the day she turned 15. She’s since acquired a nice Grand Wagoneer as well. Both trucks are running death-proof 318 V8′s, and both are in really nice shape inside and out. Check out Piper’s ride pages and drop her a welcome!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Daryl over at Just Driven has some interesting low-down and spy shots of the stunt R34 Skylines built for the new Fast and Furious movie. The clean R34-bodied Kaizo that stars as Paul Walker’s ride is the only one that doesn’t get hurt. The rest of them are GTS-T mules dressed up to look like R34 Skylines on the outside. Then there’s one lucky car, Daryl says, that’s fitted with a VW buggy drivetrain and running gear, and gets jumped and run down a flight of stairs. See build pics below the jump.

Continue reading "Fast & Furious R34 Skyline Stunt Cars: A Mixed Bag" »