By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

It’s official: Ford’s Mercury division is the latest casualty of the automakers’ brand-shedding craze that has claimed a host of GM littermates and narrowly missed a beloved Euro or two. I guess it’s only right to say that Mercury will be missed, that they produced a lot of cool cars back in the day, etc., but I honestly can’t muster up anything to feel other than numbness. Brand killings are getting to be an almost daily occurrence, and it’s hard to recall much of anything cool that’s come out of Mercury in recent memory that isn’t just a novelty variant on the corresponding Ford product: the 5.0L Capri comes to mind. And with its current offerings of porky SUVs and blandly derivative sedans, it’s clear the make has been dying a slow death for years. R.I.P.

By Alex Vickers

Katakuna

I’ve gone back and forth about actually fixing this car: should I shell out $400 to get it running, or should I let it sit in my driveway like redneck yard art? Should I save it from eternal damnation, or should I leave it to rot in automotive hell? Should I breathe life into it once more, or should I pull the plug (so to speak)?

Here’s what’s almost made up my mind: I just got an insurance quote from Hagerty Collector Car Insurance. An entire year’s policy would only cost me $315.82 a year. Think about that: It’s only thirty dollars a month! I’m only eighteen years old, and I got an insurance quote for a man thrice my age. Hit the jump to read more…

Continue reading "Wow! Now that’s Cheap Insurance!" »

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Out of all things that one can do with his or her spare time, creating a musical instrument out of a spark plug is genius and yet really strange at the same time. Seriously, who thinks of this stuff? Squeaking out “Twinkle, twinkle little star” through a computer and some Radioshack components, the march on Broadway has begun. It’s only time before we have a mass symphony and light show created by the holy plug. Read more about the singing plugs at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

With its use of Buckcherry’s “Highway Star” last year, TNT shed its stodgy news-bot image and became the rock’n'roll voice of NASCAR for its broadcast segment of the Sprint Cup season. It’s going to run with that again this year for races aired in June and July, incorporating AC/DC’s anthem “TNT” as its musical score. The network just released the official video: expect lots of fire, crashiness, and a Angus Young rocking out in his Beavis and Butthead shorts. Yeesh, but good!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Way before I started at CarDomain, I drove a 1980 Chevy Custom Deluxe.  I didn’t have parking at the time, and was glad the bumpers were big, burly steel jobs that would give worse than they got from all the careless city drivers.  This video makes me want to go out and buy another pickup.

Tight Parking Spot

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Yeah, it’s a bit grainy, but I still thought it was a pretty cool night shot in Tokyo. More pics on Shin-ichi’s Honda Civic ride page!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

This may look like something out of a movie, but it’s real footage of thieves hijacking an armored car in Marseille, France two days ago:

The robbers stole 2.1 million euros from the Loomis cash transit van, which was carrying between six and seven million euros. On Monday morning, a group of ten heavily-armed robbers used stolen vehicles to block the van before blowing open the back and making off with the money. They escaped in two black Audis. One was discovered in Aix-en-Provence and another near Bouches-du-Rhône. The last time the cars were seen was near Vitrolles soon after the robbery. A stolen bus was also used in the hold-up. The robbers filled it with tyres, which they set on fire to create a smokescreen at the time of the attack.

english.rfi.fr via VWVortex

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

A lot of you guys were pissed off about Michael’s post yesterday about the wreck in the video below. Yes, clearly the accident was caused by the little Nissan. Luckily no one was seriously injured. Major props to the driver of the Porsche Cayenne in the oncoming lane who was able to swerve out of the way. Here’s the original article on the wreck.

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Tom Coronel is one of the Good Guys. An ace driver of Touring Cars and GTs he is in demand wherever he goes. This year he races for both SEAT and Spyker but what sets him apart from some of the more dour, “focused” professionals is his sense of fun, life is for living at the highest intensity. Time spent in his company is never wasted, you always end up with a smile on your face.

Out on track he is usually good value too……………..I was in Imola back in 2005, working the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari track, specifically the Variante Alta. Most of the WTCC cars were leaping there but none jumped like Tom in the SEAT. Best of all, the spot drew many photographers but I was the only one to be lucky enough to get the “decisive moment”. We are also intensively competitive.

I showed it to Tom after the action had finished, he promised to pay me if I kept the shot hidden as he had come up with another explanation to the team for the damage to the car……sure I said……..of course he did not keep his promise and neither did I. So the following month it ran full size in Sport Auto…………his reaction? A huge laugh and a slap on the back for me. Some days this business nearly makes sense.

By John Brooks

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Honda, you either love it or hate it. The following commercial is considered one of the best commercials in automotive history by Honda fans as it sweeps us through the various transportation devices and products Honda has created over the years. No matter where you want to go on earth, a Honda can get you there. Whether you want to trim your hedge, or take a private jet flight to the North Pole; look to Honda. Honda has changed our lives in so many ways, most of us just take their technology for granite. Honda is sending a message with this commercial, what do you think they are saying? Read more about Honda’s greatness at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.