How’s your 50s and 60s American automotive knowledge? Take this 17 question quiz and find out. And when you’re done with that, take the engine identification quiz. Post your scores, and let us know if you find any errors (an expert source tells me they have the wrong answer on question #8 of the automotive history quiz).

I am a big fan of vans. I’m not talking about the modern minivans of today, but the great vans of yesteryear. Mainly those of the late 60s and early 70s. Vans in general fall into one of two categories: creepy or cool. My wife seems to think that all vans, regardless of the year, make or model are just plain creepy. I disagree–I think that vans have gotten a bum rap over the years. When many people see an old van they conjure up visions of teenagers in the back, fully ablaze on illegal substances. Others see them as solely purpose built vehicles–load em’, lug it and unload em’, end of story. I just love them and think they’re just plain cool. Just take a look at Julie’s Dodge A100. Simply put, this thing is COOL. What do you think?

One area where Detroit seems to get bashed a lot is on the quality of their interiors. I constantly hear about their "cheap materials" and "poor finish." People complain about the interior quality of the 2005+ Mustang, and I’m already hearing whining about the 2009 Camaro (hey, people, the car isn’t even out yet!). Yeah, in theory, I agree that Detroit should be able to build a $25k pony car with an interior on par with a $17k Jetta or Civic. But personally, I really don’t care too much about interior aesthetics or finish. In fact, I kind of like cheap, junky interiors. I figure if Detroit spent less on the interior, it’s reflected to some degree in the MSRP. Hey, I like vinyl seats and roll up windows–I wish they were still on the option list. Perhaps my favorite interior ever is the stark taxi cab-like interior in 1968-69 Road Runners like the one below. At the end of the day I just want the wheel, shifter, pedals and gauges to be in the right place. But I don’t get all worked up if the turn signal stalk feels cheesy or the radio and climate controls aren’t Feng Shui. What do you guys think? Am I alone on this one?

The Ford GT40 is the original American supercar, taking down Ferrari at Le Mans. And Superformance arguably builds the best and most accurate modern day reproduction–over 90 percent of the vehicle’s components are interchangeable with the road-going version of the real GT40s of the 60s. And now Chevy has created a modern day supercar, the ZR1, which is set to challenge anything Europe or Japan has to offer. Both cars will set you back around $100k. So which would you choose? Old school or new school?

USA Today has realeased some of the first stills from the new live-action Speed Racer movie. The latest in a rash of toonstalgia films adapted from comics and Saturday-morning cartoons, Speed Racer is based on the popular 1960′s Japanese cartoon series of the same title. The film’s special effects are purported to be pretty spectacular, but no word yet on whether that lovably inane theme song will carry over from the series.

By Jen

Editor

Fueled by the Fallen is a non-profit org spearheaded by Kevyn Major Howard—yeah, the guy who played Rafter Man in Full Metal Jacket!  He’s converted his 60′s Novas into drag cars, and races and displays them around the country to raise money for families of US Marines killed in Iraq. What’s more, there’s even a chance that the Novas will be flown to Iraq for Christmas. As far as supporting the troops goes, this is the next best thing to bringing them home! Here’s a walkaround video of the cars.

Seriously, who doesn’t love a woodie wagon? But it wasn’t always this way. The beloved wood-bodied wagons that draw such a crowd at car shows today have gone through a series of incarnations and popularity cycles, starting out as top-of-the-line coachwork-inspired country-club cruisers, transitioning to metal-saving workhorses during the war years, getting mass-produced as family road-trippers in the post-war boom, then surplussed off inexpensively to surfers and artists when their popularity dipped in the 60′s. OldWoodies.com is an entire site dedicated to wood-bodied vehicles, from wagons to mobile houses, from the gorgeous to the just plain weird.  In addition to covering the fascinating production history of these rides, the site offers a library of feature articles and an extensive gallery of awesome pictures. Be sure to stop by!