By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

In Australia, police crushed a known street racing offender’s vehicle that was deemed a public danger. Unlike Canada’s preemptive crushing policy, this offender was caught three times street racing before being sent to the “Crushinator”. Do you think street racers should be crushed preemptively, the first time they get caught, or after a three-strike offense, or not at all? Read more about the crushing at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Tony Castellano

Tcassa

Hundreds of American muscle cars were on display in the heart of Melbourne, Australia this past Sunday. The day long event, appropriately titled the American Motoring Show, included some of the finest iron this side of the Pacific. Rods, replica Cobras, Studebakers, and countless Pony cars to name a few were all fighting for the passing attention, with my favorite being a beautiful 1934 California Kid tribute. With a relaxed atmosphere, this turned out to be one great show! Loads of pics after the jump!

Continue reading "Muscle in Melbourne" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Those Australians sure do love their burnouts, and the sole purpose of a lot of these roasting competitions these days seems to be to shred the tires until they and the car they’re attached to are literally burning. I personally can’t imagine loving burnouts enough to set my car on fire over them–but hey, it takes all kinds right? This totally isn’t the first time Steve Loader’s blown and methanol-injected monster has burst into flames while roasting the skins, and purportedly the crispy critter turned up on eBay some time after this footage was shot. Watch!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Now, I know that saying something is the best anything is just going to inspire argument, but regardless, this is a pretty wicked burnout. Of course, if I was going to do burnout in a classic Camaro with a fresh, blown big block, I’d want to be like, 18 miles away from any concrete walls…

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

This clip feature highlights from Australia’s largest burnout competition at Avalon Speedway, and while it doesn’t get off to the best start—the first competitor stalls out—there’s plenty of wicked footage here. My favorite contender has to be the second guy. I don’t know what kind of car he’s rocking, but it’s a blue four-door, it says “Elite” on the side, and the motor is sticking halfway out of the hood. Can any of our Aussie members identify it? I started to get a little bit worried about three quarters of the way through his run, because there looked to be some burly flame action brewing in the back, but fortunately no car-b-que occurs. Make sure to watch this clip in a well-ventilated area, there’s a lot of smoke here!

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

A few weeks ago I went out with the Midnight Mechanics crew to shoot their two Toyotas. The afternoon consisted of a crisp drive to the east coast of QLD, also known as the Gold Coast. A well known hot spot for Australian tourists. We decided to choose more of a natural and calming location, Springbrook Mountain. Springbrook is located about 20minutes inland from the beach pushing a few hundred metres high. For these two JDM vehicles they where both right at home in the mountains, with the lovely sounds of the 4-AG’s running through the hills, it was quite a scene. Continue reading at Speedhunters.

By Casey Dhnaram

By Ron Honig

WaytooFurious

When Top Gear Australia hit the small screen last year some people wondered if it would survive the first season. It didn’t help when the shows host, Charlie Cox, quit. I have seen a preview of the first episode for season two, and I have to say that if it is anything to go by, the rest of this current series should be great. Cox has been replaced by renowned musician James Morrison, who has been a long time car aficionado. The team get up to some great antics. Where else are you going to see someone race a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 against a personal watercraft? I don’t know how the other Top Gear franchises have panned out, but if you have cable or live in my part of the world keep an eye out for Top Gear Australia. Thanks for the preview Heidi.

By Ron Honig

WaytooFurious

Sunday was an interesting day. My friend John and I decided to check out the 2009 Australian Van Nationals. Unfortunately we were rather disappointed. The number of spectators and vans was low for a national event. I think that the organizers failed to take into account the fact that people don’t like going to car shows when they are held in dust bowls. On the plus side I did manage to take some interesting pics that you can see after the jump.

Continue reading "2009 Australian Van Nationals" »

By Ron Honig

WaytooFurious

Last year I wrote a brief piece on the Bill Bourke Falcon GT that was for sale. The Ford Falcon GT is an Australian motoring icon which is still highly desirable despite the world economic downturn. Bill Bourke’s car was exported to America and then sent back to Australia. But his car was not the only one to cross the oceans. That’s why my jaw dropped when I saw the photos that my friend Dale e-mailed me. If someone was looking for the Ford Falcon GT mother lode outside of Australia, then this must be it! The only information that I have is that these cars were all found in the same place in South Africa. A number of GTs were exported from Australia to South Africa where they were assembled and sold as Fairmonts.  Although they do not have the same clout in our car market as the “Australian” GTs, they are still highly desirable. If you know anything about this find please let me know. More pics after the jump.

Continue reading "The GT Falcon Mother Lode" »

By Ron Honig

WaytooFurious

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week you would have heard of the devastating fires that we have had in my part of the world. They have had a huge impact on the rural Victorian community. One of my friends lost two of his nieces to the fires. People deal with grief in different ways and John decided to come with me to the 2009 All Ford Day in Geelong. I honestly didn’t expect him to see him but as he explained he needed to clear his head, and for him there was no better way of doing that than by going to a car show. We could not have picked a better day, the weather was great and there was a fantastic variety of cars on show. There are more pics after the jump. If you would like to help the victims of the tragedy the Red Cross is taking donations.

Continue reading "Car Show Therapy" »