By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

While we’ve outlined the proposed federal cash for clunkers program and we’ve looked at several similar programs outside America, the fight against these programs should not stop there. In fact, there’s probably a greater threat of seeing one of these bills passed on the state level than there is of seeing it passed on the national level.

Perhaps the most threatening one is in North Carolina, where their House Bill 1207 (pdf) – titled the Clean Cars/Vehicle Retirement Program, filed April 7, currently sits in the (deep breath now) Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, if favorable, Commerce, Small Business, and Entrepreneurship, if favorable, Finance. In the bill, any vehicle from the 1995 model year or or older (so, presumably, meant to target OBD I and earlier vehicles), if crushed, is worth a $1,000 to $1,500 voucher toward the purchase of a new car. The plan doesn’t seem to discriminate between buying a new domestic or buying a new import. Continue reading at Hemmings

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

One of the coolest machines that competed at Formula D Long Beach had to be Calvin Wan’s S15. It was sporting a full Vertex body-kit made by T&E, one of my favorite designs. With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to have a look through some of the Vertex body-kits. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Jeroen Willemsen

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

There is some significantly awesome stuff that will be crossing the block at the upcoming Mecum Auction in Indy on May 13-17, 2009. Among the stuff we’re fixated on, there’s a real 1965 Shelby Daytona, and a 1970 Hemi ‘Cuda. That’s the average junk.

Also being sold is part of one man’s collection of lightweight factory drag race cars and it’s probably the most impressive lineup of them that have ever been sold in one place at one time. We’re not going to waste our already short breath with the minutia, hit the link and see them for yourself. Keep the drool towel close at hand.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

From the ad on UsedVicoria:

Come view this fine vehicle on Ross Durrance Rd where I parked it on the side of the road in the swamp. Carpets a little wet, and a few minor dents and scratches. Handles air time well. Seems to pull to the left a bit.

Two more pics after the jump! Thanks for the tip, Evan!

Continue reading "1990 Nissan 240SX For Sale" »

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

I’ve wanted to participate in the 24 Hours of LeMons since the series started. But I wanted to do it with an early 60s car, something that you would never expect in a race dominated by BMW E30s, Mazda Miatas and Honda Civics. So what’s my car of choice? A $400 ’63 Corvair 700 four door with only 43,000 miles. It didn’t run (but it does now), it’s equipped with a powerglide, and, well, let’s just say it has a rusty patina (remarkably, only on the surface).

Now for the real news. Coming along for the ride will be CarDomain regulars Mike Musto (Mr. Angry) and Katherine Helmetag (Atomicalex). And we will document the entire full saga in CarDomain Blog, from the roll cage install through the team meetings, and on to race weekend—July 11th and 12th. So stay tuned for all the mayhem.

Continue reading "Racing the New England 24 Hours of LeMons in a Vintage Corvair!" »

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

What makes the weekly Cars and Coffee gathering at Ford’s Western Regional Headquarters such a great event is that every week is a surprise; today was no exception. Whether it’s seeing Lamborghini’s latest parked next to a vintage Ford pickup, or this week, more than two dozen Boss Mustangs commemorating the 45th birthday of America’s most popular Pony Car, nothing can quite beat this combination: a period-correct recreation of a Bud Moore Ford Race transporter with a tribute to Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Trans-Am championship-winning 1970 Boss 302 Mustang on top. Continue reading at Automotive Traveler

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I love surprises. I love finding that I already assigned a story that I thought had fallen through the cracks, and I love hearing from old friends. The Kia Soul is a most pleasant surprise. To be honest, I expected some sort of cut-rate boxy transport device.

While it is shaped like a box, the details are extremely impressive for this class of car. I’m talking about switches, knobs and interior details that easily meet—and in some cases beat—those found in similar vehicles from Japan. Look out world, the Koreans really are here.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

This happened last month in Texas. Luckily, the driver walked away. Full story at Jalopnik

By David Clarke

highspeedhijinks

Wheels allow cars to go from a glorified boat anchor to viable transportation. That’s really more of a literal definition, though. A wheel to me signifies a whole lot more than that. It’s my honest belief that wheels make the car. Take my Caprice as an example, or Jen’s Concord. Here are cars that are seemingly just transportation for the gray haired community (two-tone brown paint and vinyl tops don’t help much), yet when you change the wheels you change their stance, their look, and ultimately the personality of the car. What one other mod can do all that ? Today, with advancements in C & C machines, and with tire companies looking to develop the next hot product, you and your car now have more options than ever before. Pick the right design with the right color, twist some lugs, and you can transform any car from Not to Hot. I like my Dayton knock offs on my Caprice, but if I had some more cash I’d definitely spring fro some gunmetal gray Foose Nitrous wheels. If money was no object, what wheel would you slap on your ride ?

By Steve Neill

Steve Neill

A fellow in Poland has decided to build his dream car in his garage. And so far, it looks like he’s doing a pretty good job. He managed to capture quite a few key parts of the original design, such as the center seating, the gullwing/scissor doors, and the angled suspension. He states in this forum thread that there have been other F1 molds, but he says no one has ever made a full exact reproduction. He’s even using a BMW V12! Check the forum thread for all the pics!