By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

As we are starting to get inquires over here to import CR-Z tuning parts for clients, the excitement over the North American release of the CR-Z is starting to grow. Tuners in Japan have had the car for some time now and the internet has shown us numerous examples of tuned CR-Zs. However, this is the first example I can think of using forced induction.

HKS Japan has been on a heavy promotional push lately for their GT Superchargers. All of the current talk in Japan is showing some momentum for supercharger popularlity to gain marketshare compared to turbo cars. In fact there are even some pretty wild examples of HKS GT supercharged JZA80 Supras in Japan pushing respectable power (500hp range). The idea of a supercharged Supra seems really nuts to me since the car is one of the most famous uses of a turbo charged setup in modern car history. Yet the value of supercharges always creates a good and interesting argument between the merits of going SC or Turbo. While there is no proven correct answer, the line continues to get blurred as a lot of current superchargers start to look even a lot more like turbos.

Continue reading "Honda CR-Z Tuning Scene: Supercharged CR-Z by HKS" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Ok, we need to play a bit of catch up with the caption contest winners. Starting with the “No Right Hand Turn For 18 Wheeler Trucks” the win goes to LN7_NUT for “Dammit, I thought they meant a Metric right…” For our Spider-Man edition, the win goes to rchayes for “O No – Das Web Kaput.” And finally, for this week’s Mini woodie edition, the winner goes to REdVENGER96 for “The Italian Job 2: a Treehouse and Two Picnic Tables.” Turn in tomorrow for the next installment of our insatiable caption contest!

By Karan Singh

StreetFire.net

One badass Trans Am!

COOKIE MONSTER!!! V 3.0

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I love people who know how to do cool color-saturation effects on their car pictures without making them look totally cheesy. Gustavo has some great examples on his Dodge Stratus’s ride page, and it was hard to pick the best one. I like this shot, which is backed off enough from the car to show a bit of contex.

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

To tell you the truth I was probably more excited about seeing Hideo Itakura’s RA28 Celica GT liftback in Okayama than Yoshioka’s FD. At lest it was out on track drifting! There is something so cool about seeing old vintage cars going sideways… …especially when they look this good doing it! The Celica actually debuted into the drifting scene late last year at Rd.11 of the MSC championship. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Dino Dalle Carbonare

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

We’re going to get your morning started off with a Texas sized bang today. We were tipped off to this video which shows a pass down the strip that goes very badly for both racers. When the slower car in a bracket-style race gets into trouble, it never ends well.

This wreck is really a mini version of the infamous 2005 smash-up between Pro Stock racers Bruce Allen and Kenny Koretsky at the Texas Motorplex. The massive impact you’ll see is scary enough, but the fire? Yeah, the fire is bad.

Thanks to Robert Martin for the tip on this scary video!

By Fireball Tim

Movie Car Design Master

Courtesy of ComingSoon.net, these car shots reveal automotive coolness at San Diego’s ComicCon. First reveal of the bike we built at CVS for “Priest.” (I’ll be posting a ton of shots of this actual bike soon.)

Tons of costumes, Green Hornettes and just about everything automotive that’s coming in the next year. Strap yourself in, ’cause it’s gonna get hairy… See all the shots here…

Continue reading "Fireball Reveals ComicCon Car Coolness" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Here’s the latest from my buddy Neil Tjin:

In light of the recent release of the new Scion tC, Gurnade and Tjin Edition have teamed up to design their own interpretation of the new Scion coupe. Due to the newly fashioned sculpted roof, the car has been outfitted with wide box-like fenders, aggressive front fascia, and matching sideskirts. Although, the design doesn’t stop there! To complete the look, the roof was chopped nearly 4 inches, and the rear windows were extended to visually lengthen the car. Deep-dish wheels, Status racing seats, harness bar, custom grille, Webasto sunroof, HID headlights, and slammed stance thanks to Air Lift suspension also add to the visual appeal and design.

This isn’t the first time that Gurnade and Tjin Edition have teamed up. Last year, Neil Tjin turned to Gurnade to complete his green Chevrolet Camaro. Gurnade will not be building this Scion for SEMA 2010. You will, however, see Gurnade all over SEMA this year. The guys are proud to say they will have five Gurnade designed vehicles at SEMA in three different OEM booths–some sporting custom parts, kits, and products. SEMA is still a few months away, so in the meantime follow Gurnade on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/gurnade) and check out the soon-to-be launched site at www.gurnade.com.

Stay tuned–Neil has some other new builds that he will be documenting on CarDomain (check out his CarDomain profile here).

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

German TV at its finest! I caught a few minutes of the game show “The Car Maniac” the other day. The contestants have to answer questions about general automotive topics, and are trying to win prizes that include a trip to the US for a NASCAR race. Wait, what? Anyway, in typical German fashion, the show is hosted by a hot blonde chic who may or may not have any idea what she is talking about. Specifically, TDI, which does not stand for “turbocharged Diesel injection.” VW fans know that it means turbo direct injection. She also had trouble with “muscle car” – when the choices are Camaro, Corvette, Charger, or SuperBird, Camaro is not the right answer, ok… Significance of the pic below? 313 is the area code for Detroit.

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Who knew that the Tesla was capable of creating the needed 1.2 gigawatts of electricity needed for time travel? If any vehicles out there today are capable of zipping back to the future, I’d say the Tesla takes the historic pie. Do you think a Tesla can reach 88 mph within such a short distance? Read more about the Tesla Dr. Emmett Brown would be jealous of at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.