As loyal blog readers know, the CarDomain staff thinks we’re going to cross the 600K ride mark on Friday, May 16th. So to celebrate, we’re giving a swag pack to our favorite new ride page and our favorite updated ride page each day until then. Well, there were some dope rides added today, but out of all of them, Mike’s 1949 F-Series pickup stood out. While Ford purists might dig the Mustang front end this baby is rolling on, I get the feeling that the 350 mill might not go over as well. Hey, to each his own! As for our favorite updated ride page, we liked the one that Sly has put together for his ultra-clean Accord. He says he’s almost done with this baby, but somehow we doubt he really means it. Are rides like this ever really done? Congrats gentlemen! Jen will pick two more winners tomorrow!

Like a lot companies, CarDomain runs its servers on Linux. And while that OS is still a little above my head—I’m just happy I can use my iPod—I thought it was interesting to see it’s the system of choice for F1 teams. How long will it be before it’s practical for regular users? Anyway, here’s the news:

• Stop the presses! It looks like RENNtech has made a brake rotor big enough to handle a hi-riser! At 16.2 inches, it’s more than half the size of a pair of "30s, so being donkalicious no longer means having to coast to a stop. Jalopnik
• Hillary Clinton and John McCain want to give consumers a break from the gas tax this summer, and while it sounds nice, it basically means they both think you’re dumber than you look. Carpetbagger Report
• Honda is probably the most boring company in the world, but guess what? America loves boring! Last month, the Accord was the best selling vehicle in the States, and this April isn’t looking bad for it either. Auto Observer
• If you have a few grand to spare and want to get a feel for what Audi’s burly new 420 horsepower R8 can do, you might want to check out Audi’s "driving camp" in Cali. Hey, burning rubber beats the hell out of weaving baskets. AutoWeek
• Volvo has built its reputation on safety, so it can’t be happy about having to recall 65,000 cars. The problem? A software glitch is delaying the deployment of side-impact airbags. This is one situation where late really isn’t much better than never. CarScoop

According to Australia’s The Age, a 30-year-old man will be charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle after taking a new car on a 6200-km test drive. What Mr Luu discovered was that you can’t take a dealership car to test out for five days at a stretch. Pretending to be a legitimate customer, Luu asked for the test spin in a $40,000 Honda Accord at a Melbourne dealership. He filled out all the requisite paperwork, but then drove off before the salesman had a chance to get in the car. Of course, cars get stolen every day, but what’s remarkable about this case is the boldness of the thief’s approach and the distance he managed to cover before getting busted. Driving from Melbourne to Adelaide and then on to Tennant Creek, he covered a total of nearly 3900 miles, the equivalent of London to Istanbul—greater than the distance from Seattle to the very tip of Florida! In the end, Luu was only apprehended because he failed to pay for petrol on his last stop. The good news is that the Accord was undamaged, and the owner of the car lot is intending to use the story as a sales gimmick to sell the car.

There were lots of cool rides at the Geneva Motor Show that we aren’t gonna get in the States. We don’t get the Scirocco. We don’t get the Euro Accord wagon. We don’t get the Fiat 500 Abarth below. We don’t get the SEAT Bocanegra. Fine. Whatever. We didn’t want them anyway. And hey Europe–no Challenger for you.

Here’s another one from the Geneva Motor Show that we won’t see in the States: the Accord Wagon. For some reason Honda stopped selling us Accord wagons in the mid-90s. Why? Wagons are cool. Maybe they’ll send us a TSX wagon. This one definitely looks kind of Saab-like. Insurance adjusters are gonna love the rear hatch/bumper integration. Two more pics after the jump, and you can see the rest of the photos and read the boring press release at Jalopnik.

Continue reading "Accord Wagon: We Don't Get It" »

I just tallied up the votes in our latest showroom showdown, which had over 100 comments. By my count, each car ended up with forty votes. Time to call in the super delegates!

What cars do you want to see in this week’s showroom showdown?

The two hot import FWD V6 coupes for 2008 are the Honda Accord Coupe and the Nissan Altima Coupe. There were nice examples of each at SEMA–Honda brought this Accord, and Brian Fox brought this Altima. So, which would you choose?

I know you all wish the SoundDomain Sound-Off would post earlier, since I know reading it is highlight of your day. But I like to think that because of my tardiness, you’re ending it on a high note. What better way to unwind than to read the latest and greatest news about car audio and portable gadgets? Bon appetit: 

• Attention true gadget geeks! The NaviSurferII is the world’s first single-DIN in-dash carPC. If you want something more than just an in-dash LCD, the NaviSurferII offers GPS navigation, a built-in Media player, at least a 40GB hard drive, USB inputs and AV inputs, and comes in way under $1000.
• More great news from SoundStream! Just as the auto industry is reviving old model names from the good ‘ol days, audio companies are doing the same thing. SoundStream announced the re-introduction of the famous Lil’ Wonder, which features killer power and awesome sound quality with an amazingly small footprint. And now, the series will include 2-, 4-, 5- and mono subwoofer amps!
• SoundDomain moderator Thumper26 recently finished fabricating custom A-pillar tweeter mounts in his Honda Accord. It turned out very clean, looks nearly factory, and he was nice enough to provide a brief tutorial. Great job, John!

And don’t forget to voice your opinions in the SoundDomain News forums!

So I guess this is the second Honda this kid has trashed since he got his license. But apparently, his parents can afford it. RollingInDubs, a regular at VWVortex writes:

Well as I was sitting in the living room wide awake I heard *BOOM* followed by a four cylinder screaming full throttle down my hill. This was then followed by the sound of the car getting airborne and another sudden crash…and with a great flash all my electricity went out. So immediately I ran out the door and couldnt see anything at first…I went back into my house and grabbed a coat and a flashlight and went running out the door to find an Blue 01 Accord Ex sitting airbags deployed…in my neighbors yard. The car had the windshield cracked, and its wheels were dug into the earth. The kid had managed to stay conscious through this whole event, and had hopped into a white camaro that had been following him, and took off.

Read the rest and at VWVortex.

Chevy’s new Malibu is gunning for the Accord and Camry. Chevy is so confident about their new family hauler, they will have Accords and Camrys on dealer lots so that you can test drive all three in one place. Meanwhile, Honda redesigns the Accord every four to five years whether it needs it or not, and their latest version looks to be pretty darn nice. So which would you rather have?