By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Jalopnik is all excited about the revised interior in the 2011 Jeep. And most of the automotive press did backflips over the 2010+ Mustang interior. Honestly, though, I prefer the older, less “refined” interiors in the 2007 – 2010 Wrangler and the 2005 – 2009 Mustang. I think that Jeeps and Mustang should be more plain jane and less “soft touch.” Below is a pic of the 2011 Wrangler interior. I’ve pasted interior pics from the 2007 Wrangler, the 2011 Mustang GT and the 2008 Bullitt after the jump! Check ‘em out and let us know which interiors you prefer!

2011 Wrangler

Continue reading "Should Jeeps and Mustangs Have “Refined” Interiors?" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I went to the Pull A Part in Tacoma, but it was a fail. While I’m generally up for some leisurely junkyard sightseeing, this time I was on a mission to get some body panels for my diesel Escort project from specific cars that the staff told me were in the yard, but which were nowhere to be found once I got there. So it was basically a wasted trip, apart from the fact that I got to see some derelict gems like this Plymouth Volare wagon, and mourn over a completely demolished AMC Eagle. I should have used our one hour of sunshine for sanding and priming, which I got to spend the rest of the weekend doing indoors. Cough.

How about you? What did you do this weekend?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Call it “2010 Mustang Syndrome”–an unattractive redesign comes out that helps push prices down on the previous-generation model, which is the one you’ve been holding out for anyway. Prices for ’05-’09 Mustangs have come down to within reach since it’s no longer the current bodystyle, and amidst all the new developments like the fuel-sipping V6 and the return of the 5.0L. And I’m pretty sure the same thing is about to happen to the Charger. The upcoming redesign doesn’t do much for me, but I’ve long felt that the current-generation Charger is the best-looking passenger sedan on the road. And the Hemi-powered R/T, which has been deadlocked at $15-$20K for ages, will probably take a dive once the redesigned 2011′s hit. I’d say that’s a fair enough byproduct of nice cars getting uglier. See more pics at Jalopnik.

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Now that the Honda CR-Z is finally hitting dealer lots here in the US, I’ve started to take quite an interest in the little car. I was browsing the CR-Z section of Minkara earlier today when I found this white car dropped on Buddy Club dampers and equipped with 17″ Volk TE37 SL’s. Looks great doesn’t it? The owner of this car also has an awesome AE86 Levin, so you can expect to see some cool things here.

-by Mike Garrett

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

The Dodge Dakota R/T was a neat little truck that never quite eeked itself into legit “muscle” territory. They were decently quick, but not the blazing hot rod truck that many expected them to be. In fact, we road in and thrashed a couple of 318ci, 5-speed trucks, that seemed to haul as much mail as the R/T. A manual transmission conversion would go a long way for the R/T trucks. Here’s video of one!

Shafi Keisler of Keisler Engineering takes us on a cruise with his 1998 Dakota R/T that is now sporting a six speed Keisler transmission and far more fun. Everything about this swap is right and unleashing the truck from the factory four-speed auto really seems to wake it up.

We want one. We want one bad!

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Imagine if a motor swap and rebuild only took seven minutes in real life? In the following BMW M3 time lapse rebuild video, we get to see the speedy version of a process that usually takes up to a year. How fast can you rebuild and swap a motor? Read more at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

My Michigan license has a picture of this cute chick with a big grin and bouncy blonde curls. So what happened on the way to the German license office? I was worried about having to take one of the most difficult driver’s license exams in the whole world, that’s what! I got lucky, though – my saucy Michigan license qualified me for a pass, and I got to skip the usual 120-question written test and the driving practical. Good thing for me, as regular Germans spend up to two years and $2500 on driving instruction to qualify for their lifetime license. Imagine if we had that in the States – would you have a licenswe if it cost $2500 to get? More on the Mighigan thing after the jump!

Continue reading "Worst Driver’s License Photo Ever" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Do Aztek’s really deserve all the hate? How do you like this one? One more pic after the jump!

Continue reading "Awesome Aztek" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Jonathan is building his ’93 Camry to resemble a BTCC Super Touring car, yet still keep it streetable. Check out his ride page!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Now that is some blue paint on Chris’s third gen Camaro! It’s a brand new ride page so I’m looking forward to seeing more!