By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

Oh, boy. If I was going to buy an SUV… If that SUV was actually available in the States… I would get a Defender. I spied this particular Land Rover Defender in the parking lot at work, kitted out for zombies, deep water, sand, and whatever else you can come up with. The Defender is one step down from a UniMog in functionality, and it’s definitely one of the truly classic functional vehicles. The dreary day seems to underscore the timelessness of it. I recently discovered that you can order a Defender as a pickup – I’d always figured that the ones in the movies were hacked up. Hmmmm, if it weren’t for the taxes, I’d be pretty tempted to enjoy one of these bad-to-the-bone toys while I’m over here.

Continue reading "Zombie Apocalypse Defender" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Watch the three battle it out the Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca a few weeks ago. Great sound! Via Autoblog

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

After Rob just about lost it over a new olive green FJ Cruiser that drove by the office the other day, a visit to the Toyota Configurator revealed an interesting omission. The Voodoo Blue paint option, a seemingly very popular choice over the last couple of years, has been quietly dropped. When did this happen, and why? And do you think it could have anything to do with the massive proliferation of that FJ-Portapotty photo, endless permutations of which have been making the rounds though the forums since the dawn of the blue FJ’s existence?  An online “chat” with a couple different Toyota help-bots at the site (“chat with a FJ specialst!”) didn’t reveal anything except the official name of the color, and the Portapotty references didn’t seem to compute at all. Very suspicious!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Do two wrongs make a right? Check out the build pics at autobeyours.com

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

The Volvo P1800 that holds the Guinness World Record for most miles clocked by a single owner on a non-commercial vehicle, is approaching 2.8 million miles. Granted, that’s on a twice-rebuilt motor, but the Volvo has most of the rest of its original drivetrain intact. Owner Irv Gordon is going for the 3-million mark, and will probably do something special with the P1800 to celebrate the milestone–at 2 million, he drove it through Times Square. And with the kind of mileage he’s been putting on the car, he’s hoping to hit the big 3 sometime in the next 5 years. As an admirer of both P1800′s and high-mileage vehicles, I’m rooting for him. See the full story at aol.

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

This supercharged Interceptor replica is totally for the Road Warriors. The only thing it’s missing is Mel Gibson, and frankly I wouldn’t trust him behind the wheel of a golf cart let alone this beauty. Read more about the replica at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’m not generally a big proponent of sitting on your car’s bodywork, but the pic is great nonetheless. From djkingassassin’s ride page, on which there are currently no other photos besides this one.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

The advent of the affordable on-board camera has made the wonder of in-car video a rather normal thing these days. Footage of cars crashing from the inside out never gets old in our book. We were tipped off to this video while cruising YellowBullet.com and were pretty blown away by it. Nothing like seeing someone go for the ride of their lives in HD!

This dragster is powered by a turbocharged EcoTec engine. We have a feeling that it may be the former digger of Don Nase, which was a six second capable machine. This one has plenty of snot and unfortunately for the driver, had a mind of it’s own on this run.

The real action starts around the 3:00 mark.

HOLD ON!

By Karan Singh

StreetFire.net

Last week McLaren unveiled its newest supercar, the MP4-12C, at a private event in Beverly Hills. The Fast Daily crew were on hand to speak with the Director of McLaren North America, Tony Joseph, about the latest ride from McLaren. Skip to 3:50 for the interview.

Fast and Furious 5 Spy Shots, Baby Porsche, …

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

When RM Auctions put the Astra coupe up on the auction block at its Arizona event back in January, it had a lot going for it–recent magazine coverage, a recent restoration, and plenty of history to separate it from most other mid-1950s homebuilt cars. Yet it came down from the block a no-sale, bidding up to $120,000 (RM estimated before the auction that it would sell for $150,000 to $250,000). Now we see the 1952 Astra coupe for sale on Hemmings.com, at a price not too far off from that high bid. From the seller’s description:

Metallic Blue with White and Black Interior The Astra Coupe is a stunning custom creation first completed in 1952. Built with aluminum panels on a tubular steel frame, the car was fabricated almost completely from the ground up. The workmanship is remarkable, with aluminum panels countersunk and then screwed or riveted to the frame. The hood alone is made of 16 separate pieces of aluminum, all seamlessly welded together. The powerplant is a 303 CID Oldsmobile Kettering V8, while the gearchange was operated by a modified column shifter which Everett adapted to operate as a floor change.

Continue reading at Hemmings.