By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

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 Dan Strohl

Hemmings

With no apologies to Farago for the title, we continue to round up reactions and arguments for/against cash for clunkers. If by now you haven’t seen that this is the most ill-begotten, shortcut-derived piece of legislation on Congress’s plate at the moment, then perhaps you need to read deeper.

First, John Voelcker over at GreenCarReports continues his patsyism for cash for clunkers. He goes after one of the environmental arguments against cash for clunkers, pointing out a Duke University study that claims to calculate just how much of an increase in mileage a car needs to offset the energy expended while producing the car. If the math behind the study escapes you for the moment, don’t worry: It’s simply not necessary. The study misses the point of the environmental argument that creating more and more new cars by artificially shortening the lifespan of old cars generates pollution and waste of energy, while keeping an old car on the road simply does not. The longer one can keep an old car on the road, the fewer hits the environment takes during a new car’s production. Continue reading at Hemmings

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

I thought I’d show off a new Supermini hot hatch which has just been announced by SEAT, one of the divisions within VW Group. The new SEAT Ibiza Bocanegra made its debut at the Barcelona Motor Show today, less than a year after it received rave reviews as a concept. For North American Speedhunters, who might not be aware of SEAT or the Ibiza, this car is based on the Ibiza SC, which is a 3door hatch (SC stands for Sports Coupe apparently….) in the VW Polo/Ford Fiesta segment, one size down from the Focus. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Andy Blackmore

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Most call cars like this lowly looking Chevy Corsica a sleeper. We like the older school Q-Ship terminology.

Q-Ships were essentially decoy ships used by the British and US Navies during WWI and WWII. They were heavily armed warships dressed up to look like merchant vessels. The trick came with the Japanese subs or German U-boats came up to make a surface attack and were then blown to smithereens by the harmless looking steamer in front of them.

That brings up right back to the Corsica, yes, the Chevy Corsica in the video below. This little killer has a 3.4 liter V6, four doors, junk paint, and, oh yeah, a turbo. It goes 13’s easy, has seen the 12’s and has probably humiliated hundreds of unsuspecting Japanese subs and U-Boats, err, we mean Mustangs and Camaros. It has several neat tricks up its sleeve using factory parts as well.

Dare to be different!

Continue reading "The Corsica Q-Ship" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

The 7th Annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion will be held from June 19-21 at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. A highlight of this “3-day festival of speed, hot rods and American automotive enthusiasm” will be the Mopar Hemi Challenge, featuring a new ’68 Barracuda from 2008 Series Champ Charlie Wescott Jr. Full details at Museum.NHRA.com

By Austin Knight

Gotadime

GM is voluntarily recalling the new Camaro due to a minor battery cable issue. It is a reportedly easy fix and simply involves wrapping the battery cable with protective insulating tape and rerouting it to ensure enough clearance between it and the starter. As a more permanent fix, dealers will receive new engine wiring harnesses by May 11th. The question is, will this damage the Camaro’s reputation, even though it’s an extremely minor problem? Via Autoblog

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 showcase those cars that you may have forgotten about. It was late in 1973, and the Detroit automakers were celebrating because of a record production year. However, there were ominous clouds gathering, with pending emission regulations, newly enacted crash and safety standards, and federally mandated bumper regulations. Engine output was being choked with air pumps, and a myriad of vacuum hoses, to try and clean up tailpipe pollution, so the performance market was lagging. During this dark period, a distinctly designed two door coupe was let loose on the market, from the smallest of the Detroit automakers. Let’s take a look at the 1974 Matador Coupe (with the 401 V-8).

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The 1974 AMC Matador Coupe 401" »

By Craig McAlpine

imotormag

Mercedes knows that thanks to tighter emissions regulations and the increasing price of fuel, mpg is as important as bhp these days. So that’s why the new E-Class Coupé looks so sleek. It just so happens to be the most aerodynamic series production car on sale. The new diesel unit in the car I drove produced 500nm of torque from just 1600rpm, so this thing pulls like a train! Check out the full review here.

By Alex Vickers

Katakuna

My father suggested “Redneck Yard Art,” due to the fact it’s been sitting in his backyard for almost a year now.  I thought of a few inappropriate names for it, none of which are appropriate. So what should I call it? What sort of heinous nicknames can you come up with? I’m looking for something funny and sarcastic, but without any expletives. Any ideas?

By Chris Borrelli

Chris Borrelli

Modifying a 2001 Ford Taurus often presents its challenges, and often makes me a little more than angry. Setting aside all of that, I love my car. My car is literally my best friend. It’s something that I constantly think about, and spend a great deal of time with. The thing I like most about my car is that it is my way to just leave reality, leave all problems behind and not worry about anything. Everyone has a special reason they love their ride. What does your ride represent to you? Is your ride a haven from everyday troubles, or is it a way to show your personality?