By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

I’m extremely grateful for the support of this trunk project from MOST of the community. As readers of this blog already know, this trunk was one of the first products that Bulletproof invested in to develop. This trunk was never going to exist but we paid Do-Luck Japan’s R&D costs to build this trunk for us because we felt that the US market would enjoy it. And so far many people have!

At the same time there are still some people that just don’t get it…I just read 11 pages of posts on a message board about this particular client’s car and the trunk in particular. There were at least 5 people asking for someone to make a knockoff of the trunk. Are you serious? This trunk was not going to even exist because Do-Luck is already hurting from the knockoffs and they obviously don’t have the R&D budget to do so many new projects these days. I went ahead and helped them pay the expenses (removing their risk to make these trunks) just to have people ask for more knockoffs!? The Evo community needs to become more aware of what is going on with this industry and what these particular people are doing to it. Continue reading at The Real JDM

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Hot on the heels of our Scirocco GT24 post last week, Volkswagen have announced the new 2.0i TSI 265hp ‘R’ version of the Scirocco for the European market. As with all Volkswagen ‘R’ products it is presented in their ‘Racing’ Blue seen on the Golf R32 and GT24 race car. Visually, the car is similar to the GT24 with deeper front bumper and larger air intakes, compared to the standard version. A new gloss black grille with ‘R’ Insignia sits between the aggressive headlamps. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Andy Blackmore

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

With the festivities of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and all the Monterey Classic Car Week activities and auctions now less than three months away, it’s the perfect opportunity to look in detail at what promises to be one of its highlights, the no-reserve auction of the 52 Ford and Mercury station wagons from the Nick Alexander Collection at the Portola Hotel & Spa and Monterey Conference Center on August 13. Mr. Alexander, who is a well-known BMW dealer here in Southern California, has consigned his collection over to RM Auctions, the prestigious international auction house whose Monterey Week auction has been a fixture on the peninsula for the past 24 years. As we’re woodies fans ourselves here at Automotive Traveler, it gives us great pleasure to showcase the highlights of Mr. Alexander’s outstanding collection of Ford’s station wagon history. Continue reading at Automotive Traveler

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Cause they will be available for to order June 1! Via Jalopnik

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Um, wow.

Continue reading "How Not To Do Exhaust" »

By Ron Honig

WaytooFurious

Sunday was a great day for me. I got to attend the All European Day at Flemington Racecourse. The show was held in the members section, which turned out to be a great venue. I really enjoyed myself because it is not the usual type of car show that I would go to. My interests lie with muscle/American cars, but it was great to see a lot of cars that I had only ever read or heard about. I particularly liked the wide selection of English cars. When it comes to cars the English sure do have their own style. More pics after the jump!

Continue reading "All European Day" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

This is sad news for fans of Samuel Hübinette and his cool Challenger drift car. Full press release after the jump.

Continue reading "Ma Mopar Pulls the Plug on NuFormz Racing" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Even if you didn’t see the title of this clip, it’s clear from the first couple of seconds that disaster is eminent. If I had to guess, I’d say this road is one of those uber-pretty stretches that wind through big-ass parks, and while it looks like a great place to play around, the tight clearance for traffic and the limited—read: nonexistent—margin for error makes it far less so. As as kid, I used to hate Corvettes, but after learning what incredibly potent racing machines they are—even in stock trim—I’ve come to love the beefy domestic supercars. So watching some dork crash one into a tree is a little painful, but I still played this clip like ten times. Enjoy.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Buckcherry’s cover of the Deep Purple classic “Highway Star” will be TNT’s new theme-tune for its 6-race Sprint Cup broadcast, which begins June 7th at Pocono. If I’m remembering it right, TNT’s 2008 race coverage was beyond dismal, and in light of NASCAR’s declining TV viewership generally, a shot in the arm of high-energy rock anthem might be just the thing to shake things up and regain the attention of the idiocracy. The official music video, released today, consists of the expected high-octane crash comp, including pretty recent footage such as Carl Edwards’ fence-shearing flight at Talladega. Watch for goofy touches like Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd’s jump–with microphone!–over the TNT car at around 2:37. While the song and the presentation might be a little generic overall, “Highway Star” sure beats the hell out of Fox’s cornball “Let’s Go Racing” theme, which after a two-season run is well overdue for being put out of its misery. (And no, “Lil’ Digger” does not constitute an acceptable replacement). Check out the official “Highway Star” video below, and read the press release here.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Here’s another entry in the 2009 March Meet drag racing action videos that we introduced to you here. This installment features burnouts, wheelies, and launches from the doorslammers of the race. And, as requested by many of you, the music does not get in the way of the engne sounds!

For 60 still photos of doorslammer action, see our photo gallery here.