By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Sadly, I didn’t make it out to the All Italian Show at XXX Root Beer in Issaquah this weekend. Luckily, someone over at 6SpeedOnline posted some great pics. I’m guessing that’s Sam Barer’s blue 328 below, since he wasn’t able to get his GT4 ready in time. More pics after the jump, or see them all at 6SpeedOnline!

Continue reading "All Italian Show" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I replaced a carb base gasket on my Escort GT to get rid of a bad vacuum leak, then tuned its Weber up a bit. After some minor tweaks, the car’s got more get up and go than it’s had since I got rid of the 4-bbl Holley. I spent the rest of the weekend doing front-wheel burnouts and fending off my boyfriend’s pleas to let him drive it. I also swapped on this rare one-year-only ’81 Escort grille with the blue oval delete and offset Ford lettering that I found at the Pick A Part in Canada.

How about you? What did you do this weekend?

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

GM made it official this morning. Jalopnik and Autoblog responded with top ten Pontiac lists. I don’t really know what to say. But as a long-time Plymouth guy, I feel for all you Pontiac folks out there. Get your G8 while you still can.

By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

Daimler’s Freightliner trucks displayed an aerodynamic concept last month. This is the biggest use of aero parts (in a literal sense) I’ve ever seen.

I usually don’t find much cool about trucks like this but to see functional aero in this context is pretty cool! Rather than for racing use, this truck concept uses aero for fuel efficiency during long hauls by lowering the aerodynamic drag. It also uses an electronic adjustable suspension that lowers at speed to get even better MPG. More pics after the jump!

Continue reading "The Biggest Front Diffuser Ever" »

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Monster trucks. Love them or hate them, they are a part of American culture, and still draw massive crowds to arenas and stadiums all across the land. As young gearheads in the 1980s we were obsessed with these massive trucks.

Back then they had steel bodies, leaf-spring packs large enough to support the weight of a battleship, and lots of chrome. They crushed cars slowly, with their massive weight doing the work of flattening the cars.

Nowadays they are all high-tech, fast, agile, and impressive, but back then they were lumbering beasts that pulled the front wheels up about half a foot when they smashed into the stack of cars. Now they fly over them with ease.

Anyway, this web site is the mother load of monster truck photos spanning the decades form the very beginnings of the phenomenon to today. Even though they are a guilty pleasure of ours, the trucks are impressive feats of engineering.

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

What a day today turned out to be. I got to Odaiba nice an early, not really knowing what to expect, as it was my first time covering a custom car show like the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals. The “Car Show & Swap Meet,” as it was described on the Mooneyes flyer, was held at the Aomi parking area, same place where the D1-GP Exhibition will be held next month. I felt like a fish out of water for a while but soon realized that, as long as you are a car nut, there is really something to appreciate in every scene. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Dino Dalle Carbonare

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

There will be no room for error with this new round of cuts, as GM will be close to the bare bones of having enough staff to operate. Overall, they are proposing a nearly 30% reduction in everything. I’m waiting for the list of plant closings to hit, and confirmation of the loss of Pontiac is a downer. The new plan builds on the planned cuts in the February 17th report. Read the new details over on the GM Media site.

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, and to throw all conventional thinking out the window while we’re at it. This time, instead of highlighting one obscure piece of muscle, I thought it was time to review a new type of muscular performance car, offered in three distinct flavors, all from the Ford Motor Company during the 80s. Instead of using V8 power, these cars were equipped with a snorting, growling, turbocharged 4 cylinder engine, with outstanding handling, and monochromatic good looks. Let’s look at Ford’s attempt to re-invent the muscle car, with the Ford Mustang SVO, the Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, and the Merkur XR4Ti.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: Ford Turbo Coupes, Mustang SVO, T-Bird Turbo and Merkur XR4Ti" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Gullwing-America just announced plans to build this beautiful modern day 300 SL Panamerica. The body is comprised of fiberglass-reinforced aluminum over a steel chassis, and power comes from a 370 hp supercharged 5.5 liter Mercedes V8. Sounds pretty good to me. Full press release after the jump. Via Autoblog

Continue reading "2009 Gullwing-America 300 SL Panamericana" »

By Austin Knight

Gotadime

Personalized plates always have been a large trend in the car community. Some people consider them to be the single object that ties everything together or completes the ride. Plates really tell a lot about a car’s driver, and can range from being funny, creative, descriptive and just about everything in between. Continue reading and see more plates after the jump!

Continue reading "What Are Your Favorite Personalized Plates?" »