By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I’ve had a lot of people asking me about the Showroom Showdown, which stalled out over the summer. Why the lapse? Well, it seems like we ran through just about every new car combo out there, and it was getting harder and harder to pick compelling match-ups. A bunch of members also suggested that I start doing used car showdowns, since most of us car enthusiasts go used anyway. So today I’m kicking off our eBay Motors Showdown. Each week I will feature two cars plucked off eBay Motors. They’ll both be priced about the same, and they’ll both be enthusiast cars. Other than that, pretty much anything goes, as long as I think we’ll have a good battle.

This week I’m starting out with two cars I love. In fact, I waste a lot of time looking at Bullitts and 993s on eBay. 993s tend to command a bit more money than Bullitts, so for this showdown I picked out a nicely modified HPDE ready 993, which in some ways is a lot cooler than a stock car, but will probably command less money. The Bullitt in question looks to be a low mile, clean car. Both cars are fast, fun and should hold their value pretty well. So, which would you choose?

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

We’ll admit to once taking our dad’s four wheel drive truck out for a spin in the mud when he was on vacation with our mom years back, but we had a license. Oh yeah, and the fire department didn’t get called in to rescue us, either. A 15-year old kid in Pennsylvania was not so lucky, and we can only guess just how much trouble he was in once he got home.

The photo is of the truck involved, which looks to be an S-10 Blazer. It also appears to be buried to the bumpers in muck. The kid must have really been laying the lumber to the thing to dig it that far down.

The fire department had to come rescue the wayward teen from a muddy demise. Apparently this muck was like quicksand as firemen told a reporter for ThePittsburghChannel.com that they had some trouble getting him out. We guess they left the Blazer to slide under the muddy waves.

By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

ASI Japan has released this image of what their Prius aerodynamics package will look. According to ASI, this is the confirmed final version of the design. In other news, ASI has launched a sub brand called ASI Green to release this Prius kit. More at The Real JDM

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

One of these has been haunting Pebble Beach for a few years, complete with a pair of externally mounted spares sunk into the trunklid. Doesn’t seem this particular Silver Shadow has that external-spare option, but it does come with racing history, having been entered in the 1981 Paris-Dakar rally. And it’s now for sale on Hemmings.com for $230,000. Continue reading at Hemmings

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

We all know that Toyota teamed up with Subaru on its latest FT86 concept Jeroen posted about last week, but it looks like the rumored Subaru STi version of the car may be the one to wait for. According to Autoblog, where I found this image, the STi version of the car might be ready for the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show and pack a 250 HP EJ25 along with a rear-wheel-drive layout. I wonder if a turbocharged 300+ HP STi AWD variant may be on the cards too?

By Dino Dalle Carbonare

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Oh my god: I need a woodgrain Concord wagon with a built 5.0. I’ve been cruising around thinking my 75-dollar sedan is pretty sweet, but I’ll be the first to admit that it doesn’t hold a candle to this monster. Bravo to Frank on an ultra-clean build–the attention to detail is amazing. See more at his ride page!

By Rob Krider

Racerboy

You’ve read about it in all the car magazines and you’ve been to the 24 Hours of LeMons website a hundred times, obsessively pouring over the rules. It’s the endurance road racing series for $500 cars. You’ve commented on numerous forums that “someday, if you can get a team together, you want to do LeMons.” Stop blowing bench racing smoke up everybody’s ass. Find a piece of crap car (that runs unlike a piece of crap), make four new friends (one with money, one who can weld, one who can fix motors and one who has a car trailer) and get yourself to the biggest thing happening in the world of motorsports. The 24 Hours of LeMons is absolutely the coolest thing you will ever do in an automobile.

To learn about cost, car preparation, adrenaline factor and how to actually win LeMons, read the rest at Speed Sport Life.

By Ron Honig

WaytooFurious

What do you see when you look at this photo? Yes, it is a Charger on a rotisserie. However when I look at it I see some real inspiration. This Charger belongs to CarDomain member mopar_nut_440_6 who has done just about all the metal work on the car himself. When you are staring down the barrel of a full nut and bolt restoration on your own Charger like I am, something like this only helps to reinforce your own plans. Get the full story on James’s ride page. If you are wondering James is currently building a new garage and hopes to have the car finished for next year.

By Antonio Alvendia

Antonio Alvendia

Whoa! Check out what I saw last night! I was driving around near Pasadena when I noticed a black Honda S2000 with Mugen M7 wheels. Upon closer inspection, I found out that the car wasn’t actually black – it was dark green! Since this obviously isn’t an OEM Honda paint color, I knew I had seen this S2000 before! The only guy I know with an S2000 painted this color (Maserati Verde Good Wood Metallizato) is Alex Zhao from Southern Cali’s AS1 crew. Approaching the car for a closer look, I also noticed that Alex’s slammed S2K was proudly rocking a Motor Mavens “M” sticker on his windshield. Awesome.

I didn’t recognize the car at first, because the last time I saw it, it was wearing a different set of wheels. Apparently, Alex changes his wheels more often than most people change their oil. He was in the area to meet up with his friend Brian; another Honda guy who had his Acura RSX recently featured in Super Street. Obviously since Alex was already rocking a MotorMavens sticker on his window, he didn’t mind repositioning the car really quick so I could snap a few photos. (Luckily, I was coming back from another shoot and had all my gear with me!) Continue reading and view more photos on MotorMavens!

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

What is it like to ride in a highly modified Nissan Skyline R34? Ultimate boost from the HKS ball bearing turbo, instant spool, and awesome sounds create the ride of your life. Hang on to your mouse as this Nissan Skyline R34 swoops and pulls through traffic at crazy speeds. 1000 horsepower combined with all-wheel drive is the ultimate when it comes to traction, stability, and acceleration. Listen to the turbo spool and boost as the driver rips through traffic. Ah, the sweet melody of JDM performance.