By Ryan Brutt

HemiPwr70

The Charger was another story. 1970 Charger R/T with a 69 R/T front sheet metal and a 70 Super Bee hood scoop welded on–not well, though. It was a really interesting car. It wasn’t in that bad of shape. It wasn’t good, but very restorable.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Mountain Men, Cars in Barns and Crazy Bees: Part Deux" »

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Have you ever noticed that the car model you owned in the past has grown in size, in weight, and in displacement? This phenomenon affects almost every car line from BMW to Honda, with a few exceptions. Remember when the name Honda was synonymous with lightweight, economical cars? The company established itself in the United States in 1970 with the N600, a small four-seater. It hit pay dirt with the introduction of the larger 1973 Honda Civic, a car that was light and fuel-efficient yet could fit four adults in modest comfort. Honda sold many first-generation Civics during its seven-year run, as the car was just what Americans needed during the first OPEC oil embargo. During subsequent redesigns, Honda offered more Civic models. What had been just a two-door truncated sedan became a three-door hatchback, a formal four-door sedan, even a five-door wagon. Engine size increased as well, growing from a 1.3-liter four-cylinder to a 2.5-liter. Read more about the ever growing models, including BMW, and a surprise Detroit entry at Automotive Traveler.

By Fireball Tim

Movie Car Design Master

Last year at SEMA I got to meet all kindsa cool people. Car People. But not just ANY car people. SERIOUS CAR PEOPLE. And… I got the opportunity to cause some trouble…

Just wait ’til I there this year…

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

A recent track test by Hennessey Performance of their V700 CTS-V package set off the OnStar emergency system thanks to a .99g longitudinal pull. This is the same vehicle that ran a 185 mph standing mile! The car simply has too much horsepower! I guess Cadillac didn’t think of the tuners when they designed the big brother alert system. Too much technology, not enough consideration for all possibilities. It doesn’t look good for the OnStar system, but it speaks extremely highly of Hennessey’s performance capabilities!  It would get mighty annoying if every time I launched my 700 horsepower CTS-V I was contacted by OnStar. “Just me again, no emergency just too much power!” Read more at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’m absolutely stoked out of my mind about SEMA 2009, which the CarDomain crew will be hitting up next week. And one of the aspects of this mega-show that I always look forward to are the crazy, cobbed-together, WTF monstrosities that always seem to find their way onto the show floor. SEMA never seems to have any shortage of freaks of nature–or more accurately, freaks of overzealous builders with too much meth and too little time. And it’s not like I’m knocking SEMA’s automotive mutants–hell, you guys know the cars that I’m into are far from pretty. I’m a huge fan of the orphaned and the unwanted–and I’m well aware that what looks to me like Jabba The Hut in a discarded prom dress can very easily be someone else’s dream car that they’ve loved, dreamed about, and slaved over–that cherished project whose every last godawful detail is meticulously attended to as its builder bravely perseveres in the face of scorn and ridicule. Blessedly, SEMA is the place where the finished monstrosities finally come home to roost, where they have their day in the sun–and where we too can lovingly ridicule them in all their hideous glory. And as far as I’m concerned, the uglies are what make the show–they’re the essence of SEMA’s unique and unmistakable brand of over-the-top excess. This year, we’ll be sure to bring you a whole slew of the bloated, garish, over-embellished, ridiculous hulks that’ll make your eyes bleed. Bring on the freaks!

The Hummer is an ex-SEMA show truck up for auction now on ebaymotors.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I had to be down in Portland for the weekend, so I thought I’d take our Mazda 3 test car over to the Burnside skate ramp where a Jeep had famously rolled over a few days earlier. Once I saw the ramp, I wasn’t sure that the Mazda would fare any better, plus I was pretty sure no one would ever give me a test car again.

Skate ramps notwithstanding, I came away pretty impressed with this little car. Actually, it didn’t feel little. It felt just about right. Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "A Week With the Mazda3 i Touring 4-Door" »

By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

I always love it when you got to a baseball game and you either get something free for being one of the first 1,000 people in the door or because your team hit a home run in the 7th inning. Well, the guys at NOS Energy Drink just one upped the good old Mariners by sounding out some cool NOS Gear to celebrate Chris Forsberg as the 2009 Formula Drift Champion. Being that I”m constantly switching from computer to computer my NOS flash drive is my favorite item!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

This canyon run in an Exige took some serious stones, as there are plenty of unforgiving sections along the route. But whatever. Listen to that supercharger!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

On one hand, I’m completely appalled at the whole gas/brake confusion happening in this clip. But on the other hand, I’m totally impressed with how the X5 took out those cars. I guess hitting the parking block gave it a little boost, but it looked like with a little more gas, it might have been able to just drive off the other side. And what’s up with the person not even getting out to check the damage?

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

That’s the only possible reason I can think of that Mike was turned down for a chance to go up against Bob Lutz and his CTS-V. As many of you know, Mike is a NASA track instructor with a lot of experience at the Monticello Motor Club, where this little event will be held on Thursday. Mike also just acquired a Dodge Magnum SRT-8 that he was gonna run (yeah, it weighs a lot more and has less hp than the Caddy). But GM won’t let him. If you have a comment, you can leave it at the GM Blog.