By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

When I first saw the new SLS Mercedes I didn’t know quite what to think. If I’m honest with myself, it was one of those cars that I was unimpressed with at first glance and then with each new look it grew on me. Regardless of the SLS growing on me, I never really thought about it in the context of a race car. So when I saw the news that Mercedes was building a race version SLS I couldn’t even begin to imagine what to expect.

The SLS is obviously a very retro influenced car to begin with, paying homage to the classic 300SL gullwing. Most logic would say that mishmashing modern racing aerodynamic design on a retro influenced car would lead to massive style clash and lost identity. Yet the SLS GT3 in my opinion turned out to be extremely sexy! So sexy that it made me make up a new word to describe it, retrosexual. I think you would agree… See more pics at The Real JDM

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

The Golf driver or the BMW driver? Watch.

BMW vs. Golf in Hong Kong

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I don’t mean to be pigeonholing anyone here, but I get the impression that the folks who buy new Toyotas tend to be the kind of people who don’t want to have to think about their cars, ever. They get in them to drive uneventfully from a to b, they expect them to behave like obedient appliances, and they cite “reliability” as their number-one vehicle priority. So I guess it’s not all that surprising that, in the wake of Toyota’s massive safety recall, these same “consumers” (as distinct from “enthusiasts”) are leading the charge in a sharp reversal of the company’s popularity ratings. Hey, we already know they’re mad: there’s been a rash of class-action suits. But now the wider fallout is being registered in a new report by Bloomburg, which shows that Toyota’s reputation is on the rocks with only 49% of respondents–the lowest in years–reporting a favorable view of the company (compared to 77% for Ford, the leader). I guess it makes sense. I would never foresee, say, Porsche owners or Corvette owners turning on their brand this way, no matter how glitchy their cars turned out to be. But if a new Toyota is perceived by the public as not being able to function reliably as an appliance, what really is left for them?

By Fireball Tim

Movie Car Design Master

Recently, I hit up an awesome Grand Opening for the Ridemakerz new store at Walt Disney World’s Downtown Disney. If you’ve never heard of Ridemakerz, check THIS out. Over 6 million different ways to to modify your ride!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Somehow I get the feeling that King has had his lowrider Crown Vic pulled over a time or two, but that hasn’t stopped him from planning some really awesome mods. Wait’ll you see the 22″ wire wheels he’s got for it, and the lambo-door conversion he’s working on. Astonishingly, he’s hooked up a functional train horn on the old cruiser as well. Check out King’s ride page!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

CarDomain member GTRad actually uses his Ferrari 430 Scuderia for its intended purpose. I definitely think he deserves to be invited to this this year’s Grassroots Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Jim’s Viper is entered in this year’s Grassroots Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge rating category. If you think he deserves to go, rate him up!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I never would’ve guessed that candy-metallic magenta ghost flames would look good on a ’10 Camaro, but somehow, it works. Rodger is still building out his new car’s ride page–stop in and take a look!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Today’s pic is from Omar’s 1991 Dodge Dynasty ride page. The photo was taken at the at Bonneville Salt Flats way back in 1992, less than a year after he purchased the car! Keep those photo of the day PMs and e-mails coming!

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

We are now at the halfway point of Bullrun Season 3. The proverbial herd is starting to thin out and teams are finally starting to realize that they must a adopt a do or die attitude if they want to stay in the game. Last week we saw the unfortunate demise of Team Mustang which meant only 6 teams remained to battle for the Bullrun trophy. For both the teams and the viewers this is a pivotal time in the season. Viewers of the show have now had plenty of time to get to know, and decide on who their favorite teams are. We’ve seen how they deal with navigation, challenges and have been granted some insight as to what their strategies are. We’ve also gotten to know them on a somewhat personal level by seeing them interact with each other throughout each leg of the event. The teams on the show are at the same point, but at a much different level. They’ve sized up the opposing teams strengths and weaknesses and know now who their biggest rivals are. Now it all comes down to strategy.

The teams started out in route to the High Desert State Prison, but out of the box problems started arising. Team Hemi Cuda has apparently been plagued with a fuel issue, more specifically there was some water in their tank – this is never good. Poppa’ Janos however took control of the situation by drilling a hole in the tank to drain the fuel. Now, I am not advising this, but as mentioned before, he knows his car better than anyone, so if he felt this was a safe idea then so be it. I was just hoping we weren’t going to see a Matt Kutcher style explosion at the hands of Hemi Cuda’. Speaking of Matt (the stunt coordinator)… Dude, are you trying to blow up the Earth because the explosions seem to be getting bigger and bigger… LOL!

Read more at Ridelust.com