A couple of idiotic teenagers were attempting to catch some air at an intersection and get some glory on YouTube when they wrecked their 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse.
Authorities said the car did go airborne, but the 16-year-old driver lost control of his car, drove off the road and hit several trees before rolling the vehicle. The driver was ejected and is in critical condition. His 17-year-old female passenger was pulled from the car by friends who witnessed the incident. She was treated at a hospital and released. Police said the driver's friends were too scared to record the video with their cell phone camera due to high speeds, estimated at 70 to 85 miles-per-hour.
Hmmm, sounds like the driver wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Well, we know CarDomain members would never do anything this stupid for CarDomain video. kstar.com via VWVortex.
I spent the weekend down in Daytona Beach covering the Spring Break Nationals Car Audio Competition. Were you there? Man... Tons of hot cars, cool products, a bright warm sun, girls in bikinis.... This job is really rough sometimes. I don't know how we do it. You know what keeps me going? Cool stuff like this:
- The guys at EyeCandy in Orlando Florida brought an absolutely INSANE Hummer limo to SBN. Stretched, third axle, six 30" chrome wheels, full Pioneer A/V DJ system, marble floors, suede and leather interior, and... a throne. Seriously. Check it.
- Scosche has a new dash kit available for all you 2007+ Mitsu Eclipse owners. You can finally dump the factory radio and upgrade. For real.
- The guys at Al & Ed's Autosound checked out the new Pioneer AVIC-D3x in a smart FourTwo. We've got the video, and it's dope.
- Orca design just developed a new marine audio grille that'll keep Focal speakers dry in your boat. It uses a mesh backing like that used on an Injen cold air intake. The stuff is called "hydro-phobic polyester". No you can make your owns waves in audiophile style.
- Infinity just released the deets on the new Kappa speakers, and we've got all the specs and lots of pics! THey look like a million bucks, but come in under $250!
- If you're an audiophile who likes to spend ridiculous amounts of cash on your car (like me), then these new Morel Elate Limited speakers are right up your alley! Carbon fiber cones, bad-ass crossovers, and they ship in a big metal suitcase. Morel calls it a "gift box", but it looks like a case the Transporter would carry.
Straight out of the box, Mitsubishi's EVO delivers wicked performance, and with some choice upgrades, these babies can hang with cars which cost twice as much. That said, I'd love to see some footage of RR's ride on the track—just look at the huge turbo he's installed! Of course, the turbo isn't the only mod he's done. Head over to his page to check out the rest of them! Congrats man!
We last saw the hellaciously amazing work of Full Blown Kustoms at the SEMA show. Now this video, documenting the shop's transformation of a Mitsubishi 3000GT from stock sheetmetal to color-change flames, gives you some idea of what happens behind the scenes at a top-caliber body shop. Lots of horsing around by Ed Hubbs' cute apprentices is left in for authenticity's sake (what do you think goes on at most pro shops, anyway?), but the paint-booth sequence in the second half is worth holding out for.
We're making kind of a big exception with the Showoff pick this week, because generally, we like to see big, glossy pics of the nominee. But even though Justin seems camera-phobic, his page is extremely compelling. Head over to his page to see what we mean. Congrats Justin!
Looking at the old badging is one my favorite parts of car shows, and this site has a cool page documenting how emblems have evolved over the years. While BMW's spinning prop has been essentially unchanged since the '20s, and Aston Martin has used the same winged badge since the '30s, brands like Buick and Mazda have seen dramatic changes, and the story behind the Cadillac logo is pretty fascinating. What's your favorite?
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to talk numbers. Two numbers, actually: the number 1131 and the number 1248. What do these numbers pertain to, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Numero uno is the number of Subaru STIs registered here at CarDomain and numero dos represents the Mitsubishi Evos on CarDomain. Both cars are wicked little bastards--all wheel drive, 300hp, with handling and acceleration characteristics that would make full-blown super cars from twenty years ago run for cover. These are both great cars, they have bulletproof mills, all-day comfort and a pretty decent ride to boot.
My question is, why did you--the 2379 of you--buy these cars? Are they everyday drivers, track day weapons, or both? My only foray into this market was back in 1998 when I bought a brand new Subaru Legacy GT. Nice car but PAINFULLY slow. I kept thinking, "man, if this thing just had some motor it would awesome." So, are they? Lets hear some road and track experiences, why you love 'em, etc.--enlighten me, people. (And don't turn this into an STI / EVO pissing contest!)
The Mitsubishi Eclipse received a minor refresh for 2009, and is being officially unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show. In addition to a few visual tweaks to bring it more into line with the new Lancer, the 3.8 liter V6 has been bumped up to 265 hp. Left Lane News has tons of high-res pics of the coupe and spyder.
Pics of the 2009 Mitsubishi Galant have gotten out, and I think the new ride looks hot for a family sedan. It seems to be getting just the right amount of facelift, giving it a broad and happy smile without looking stretched. The rear clip has benefited from a nice little bit of sculpting as well: see it at CarScoop, and watch for the full reveal at the Chicago Auto Show next week.
Many think that the current Mitsubishi Eclipse does a rather lackluster job of upholding the performance legacy established by the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive, highly moddable Eclipses of decades past. But the Concept-RA that Mitsubishi unwrapped at the Detroit auto show may send enthusiasts' hearts a-fluttering yet, even if it doesn't end up replacing the Eclipse in the brand's model line. The big news about the Concept-RA is that it's a diesel. The 2.2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder makes 204 hp, which doesn't seem like that much until you consider that 310 pound-feet of twisting action is on tap. That's enough to make you glad that you got caught at a red light, since taking off again will be so much fun. Although no fuel economy figures have been released, the Concept-RA is one of those "clean diesels" you may have heard about, which means it can run on ultra-low-sulfur fuel and its bumper isn't going to turn black from soot. Best of all, the Concept-RA will emphasize high-performance driving dynamics thanks to a low curb weight (there's a great future in plastics) and Super All Wheel Control. The latter is like combining all-wheel drive with an advanced traction control and then putting the whole system on steroids. The results just might be spectacular.
Check out the Mitsubishi Concept-RA! It's got a clean-diesel, turbocharged 200 hp 2.2L with an AWD drivetrain that uses the same dual clutch as the Evo. This one could be pretty fun if if ever makes it to production. Check out the gallery at Left Lane News.
I'm predicting 2008 is gonna be a great year for gearheads. Why? Cause a ton of cool cars will be hitting dealer lots. Here's my list of the ten hottest cars for 2008 (and this is our last year-end top ten list, I promise).
1. Nissan GT-R. 'Nuff said.
2. Dodge Challenger. Though I still have to see it in person.
3. Tesla Roadster. Ignore the doubters and the haters.
4. Mustang Bullitt. Worth it just for the Dark Highland Green.
5. Corvette ZR1. The Veyron is silly--this is a real supercar.
6. Impreza WRX STI. Sure, it won't win any beauty contests, but it's better than ever.
7. Mitsubishi EVO. Might not please the purists, but this is a much improved car.
8. BMW 1-Series. Long live the 2002.
9. Chevy Malibu. Does Detroit finally have a Camry beater?
10. Pontiac G8. V8, RWD, good looks and under $30k--what else do you want?
Sara—who apparently also goes by EvoLady—has already put almost 100K on her 2003 Evo, so she really must dig being behind the wheel. Just check out this footage of her whipping it around an autocross course. It makes me wish we had more GoPro cameras to give out!
Our friends at Road & Track were front and center for the GTR reveal, and they captured this killer footage. Check out Godzilla's American debut, then stick around to watch footage of the new Jaguar XF, the Viper SRT10 ACR and Mitsubishi's new EVO.
Ok, so I know the driver of the EVO totally creamed that cone, but other than that little slip-up, I think this looks like a textbook perfect donut. The dude in the Civic also pulls off a pretty sweet J-turn. This video makes me want to go find a big parking lot and get stupid.
