By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Congrats to Mike, the the latest winner of our “Castrol GTX How Do You Keep Your Car So Clean?” contest! Here’s what he had to say about his ride:

The stresses and loads on oil in a classic Mini is second to none due to the engine and gearbox sharing the same oil. Through the long racing/rallying heritage of the Mini, Castrol GTX has always been the life-blood to these pocket rockets. All of my Minis run Castrol GTX. Granted this Mini, named Minissan, has a nitrous injected 3.0 liter V6 from a Nissan 300ZX, but quality is quality. I’m breaking the engine in with GTX and then going to the Edge. Minissan took over 4,000 hours to build, so taking care of it inside and out has become a passion in itself. While we completed the build for under $8,000, money is no object when it comes to taking care of it. We’ve learned by trial and error what waxes, polishes, and cleaners to use to make it stand out and last. But after using Castrol GTX for the past 30 years the choice for oil was obvious, Castrol. Thanks for all of the years of quality and performance! To truly appreciate Minissan you need to see the rusty shell we started with and how a V6 looks right at home under the hood!

Well said, Mike! Congrats to all the great winners we had in 2009! Stay tuned, because there are more great contests coming for 2010!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

The CarDomain and StreetFire crews head to SEMA to party in Vegas, eat free food, and camp out at the multitude of open bars. Of course, in between those activities, we try to make some time to write blogs, take pictures, and shoot video. But unlike the armies of shiftless journalists wandering the floor, there are plenty of  people who actually have to work the show, and most of them are there hawking new products. To salute these brave individuals, we’ve gone ahead and posted tons of videos detailing all the trick new hardware. Head over to StreetFire and check them out.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

This was my first full week back in the office, and I have to say I’m just glad the holidays are over. All the traveling,  visiting family and partying really took it out of me, and I’m happy to back to my normal routine. In other news, another shipment of t-shirts is on the way, big-time thanks to all the winners who’ve been so patient about getting their gear. Anyway, the winner of this week’s contest is VWLarry, who came up with; “Willing to do Jack Nicholson impersonations for food.” Nice work, Larry! Welcome to CarDomain! I don’t think anyone’s ever won a Caption Contest after being a member for less than a week! Tune in tomorrow for the next outrageous installment!

By Ryan Douthit

Drivingsports.com

Driving Sports breaks the news (Tuesday night, Jan 5) that Ken Block will driving for Ford in 2010 in both the Rally America Series and the World Rally Championship! Plus, we talk with Pastrana before he makes his big New Year’s jump and check out the MINI Beachcomber, a modern version of the classic Mini Moke.

Extra!+Block+to+Ford%2c+Pastrana+Jumps%2c+Mini+Beachco

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I dig the retro white stripe package! One more pic after the jump!

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Continue reading "Plum Crazy Challengers are Shipping!" »

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

I took this photograph of the Saab booth at last month’s Los Angeles Automobile Show, knowing full well it might be the last time we would see the embattled Swedish brand’s wares on display at a major auto show. I couldn’t help thinking, as I walked around the gorgeous near-production 9-5, what a crying shame it would be if we were to lose the iconoclastic and quirky brand. On New Year’s Day morning, Autoblog.com posted an interview that gives a faint light at the end of a long, dark tunnel that Saab might dodge the Grim Reaper. By Thursday, January 7, we should have our answer. As a serial orphan-car owner, I’m hoping that in the weeks to come I won’t feel compelled to go out and buy an Eighties-era Saab 900, that the brand will survive, and that the 9-5, the 9-3, and the Cadillac SRX-related 9-4X will see the light of day in your local Saab showroom. Continue reading more about the Saab Retrospective at Automotive Traveler!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Holy cow. See the full sequence after the jump. Via VWVortex

Continue reading "Volvo Driving Swedish Cops Own Audi Driving Bad Guys" »

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

DMC Racing is loacted in Halifax, Massachusetts, and has developed a reputation as one of the premier small-tire drag race car builders in the eastern half of the country. The spotless, humongo shop was filled to the gills when we stopped by to bother shop owner Dennis MacPherson in the middle of a blizzard. He allowed us in and let us roam the shop and pepper him with questions. This place is gearhead nirvana.

The shop’s main concentration is on building small-tire drag cars but MacPherson does still do some show car and custom work for longtime customers. When we stopped by there was an interesting mix of cars in the shop but the overwhelming thing we saw were turbos. There were twins hanging off of just about everything. Aside from a few child swallowing single set ups, twin turbos were the rule and they were on everything from SN95 Mustangs to a beyond bad ass Camaro that you’ll see in the gallery.

MacPherson gave us the greenlight to stop by and bother him some more so we’re going to take him up on that and keep you up on some of the truly awesome projects the guys at the shop are working on. He has five full time guys working in the shop and is so busy he is looking to add two more.

Are you a talented fabricator looking to make a move to a premier shop? This is a golden opportunity. You can e-mail Dennis at dennis@dmcracing.com

LINK: The DMC Racing Shop Tour Gallery

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Mecum’s Kissimmee auction is scheduled for later this month, and the folks at Mecum wanted to make sure you knew what all they’re selling in Florida, so they listed just about their entire inventory on Hemmings.com. That includes some interesting items like a 1964 Datsun 1200 1/4-ton pickup, the Bobby Allison Dodge Daytona, the Herbie’s Hugger Super Stock L89 Camaro, the 2002 Mercury Marauder two-door convertible concept car, a GMC-based swamp buggy (up high so the gators won’t get you, Amos Moses), and a 1983 Jeep Scrambler. See them all at Hemmings

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Here at Speedhunters we try to diversify and bring you the best the worldwide car scene has to offer. And as you have probably gathered by now it’s hard to top Japanese car culture, as there is really something for everyone, and then some! I have been holding on to this feature for a while now, waiting for the right moment to post it up. A while back I got a call from Andy at Powervehicles.com, telling me he had just picked up a crazy Japanese custom van at the Tokyo car auction and that I really needed to check it out. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Dino Dalle Carbonare

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