By Ralf Becker

Chromjuwelen

What a great season opener! Just in time to the first warm days of the year, our friends at the German ''Street Magazine'' asked us to come out to their famous "Street Mag Show." To give you an idea of what kind of US iron we have in Hamburg, check out all the pics after the jump. And for even more, check out our full coverage on Chromjuwelen.

By Ralf Becker

Chromjuwelen

Well, ok, Hamburg isn't right round the corner for most of you, but in case you are planning a trip to Germany, you shouldn't miss a chance to visit our brand-new ''Prototyp'' exhibition (and while you're at it, you could also drop by one of our Chromjuwelen Motor Shows). To call this place a museum would be wrong. Prototyp is more a treasure collection of German engineering--especially Porsche engineering--with the 356, 597 Hunting Car and 906 Carrera 6, just to name a few. To give you a quick impression of the ''pre-opening'' event, I've included a ton of pics after the jump.

By Ralf Becker

Chromjuwelen

While everybody talks about "green cars," Jens Broedersdorff and Uwe Koenzen built one. Sure, converting a 1967 Porsche 912 into an electric-powered car will probably confound a lot of people. A range of 90km won't distinguish this Porsche as a long distance cruiser, but doing burnouts without engine sounds is definitely different. I think it's cool. What do you think?

By Ralf Becker

Chromjuwelen

You might remember the Wartburg ''Zonen Zombie'' project, where some German custom culture nuts started to hot rod a Wartburg 311. This project is typical of the new ''East'' movement in Germany. Especially in East Germany, where you see more and more slammed, shaved and chopped jalopies popping up, with either glamorous paint jobs or a more vintage rat look.

Even more popular than the Wartburgs are the Trabants. Gone are the days where you could score these cars easily. While those two-stroke rides were once denounced as ''Rennpappen'' (''race cardboards''), they are now one of the most popular cars to hot rod. If you're luck enough to own one, I have the perfect tool for you: the TrabiCustomizer. Simply choose your model and do a digital sketch before you pull out your angle grinder. And if you're more into air cooled stuff, try out the fabulous Bug-/Bus-/Type 3-/Porsche-Selcta.

By Ralf

Chromjuwelen

Normally british classics like MG, Triumph or Healey are too well-behaved to break ranks. But there are some guys who turn british understatement upside down by swapping, for example, a Pontiac V8 into a '69 TR6. Or a Buick V8 in a '74 Lotus Elise. So, if your heart beats for orginal matching numbers cars, don't go to www.britishv8.org!

More pics of this '65 Austin-Healey 3000 III BJ8 with a Chevy 350 engine after the jump!

By Ralf

Chromjuwelen

Sick of losing your keys? I don't know if the London design team at Thabto are car-addicts, but they created something perfect for us absent-minded gearheads. This wall-mounted key holder is a belt buckle, and the idea is that, over time, plugging in your keys will become as much of a habit as putting on your seatbelt. Sounds easy to me.

By Ralf

Chromjuwelen

Customizing isn't that common over here in Europe. In fact, if you start channeling, chopping or even engine swapping with an "old timer" (the German expression for classic car) you will be universally derided. So you can probably imagine what  would happen if someone willfully executed a "goddess"
(or "La Déesse"--what a Citroën ID 19 is called over here). When Andrew produced some sketches of his project for the first time, traditional car collector enthusiasts nearly had a heart attack. To keep a long story short: Corvette LS1 engine, beefed-up independent suspension, all-around performance braking, custom Billet Specialties wheels, and the original front wheel drive has been switched to rear wheel drive. For more details check out his CarDomain ride page and his blog. I think it's a-w-e-s-o-m-e. What do you think?

By Ralf

Chromjuwelen

The students at the Shizuoka Professional College Of Automobile Technology in Japan hot rodded a Mazda Carol, the first car ever build by Mazda. The Mazda Carol has its engine in the back, but to make it a more traditional hot rod, they took the ladder chassis from a Suzuki SJ30 and put the engine in the front. Mission accomplished! More pics after the jump.

By Ralf

Chromjuwelen

So, you are bored of all the tiki and pinstriping in the hot rod scene? And lowbrow art doesn't satisfy you any longer? Then do it like the German artist Benjamin Tillig: go to your garage, collect some old spoilers and body kits, park your jet-powered dragster in front, and let them melt to a real motorkultur sculpture. Burn baby burn! You can see a video of his work here.

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

You may have noticed that we have a few new bloggers today. It's all part of our effort to bring you guys new and varied voices in the blog.

First up is Ralf, who heads up the very cool Germain site Chromjuwelen. You may have read about his crazy Pontiac with a Supra drivetrain. He'll be sending us a weekly Dispatch from Deutchland.

Then there's Mike, AKA Mr. Angry, who needs no introduction. Mike has a few big things up his sleeve this year, but he's gonna try to take time out of his busy schedule to blog for us twice per week.

And finally we have Dan from Hemmings Motor News. In addition to writing for the Hemmings Blog, Dan has a very cool 1979 AMC AMX--he's promising to build a ride page for it soon!

By Ralf

Chromjuwelen

So your super gasser needs a little test and tune? And the next dragstrip is too far away? In Europe it's simple: grab your friends, go out to the closest Autobahn and let her rip! I don't understand Swedish, but I definitely understand the rallying cry of the Birka Cup, which has been around since 2005: "Run what you brung and hope you brought enough." I wonder how much the bail money us Germans would need if we were to show up with a handful of cars. You can watch a Birka Cup video here.