I recently attended John’s Rod And Custom Picnic at Pakenham, Australia’s largest rockabilly and hot rod festival, which spans three days each November. The thing that I really like about the rod and custom shows is the variety in the cars on display. One of the more unique vehicles was this VW. I have heard of Volks Rods before but this machine takes it somewhere completely different, and whether or not it’s a good kind of different is a matter of personal taste. Then there was this hearse. What I really like about it are the R.I.P license plates that are the real deal! Another thing that I noticed was the number of blowers on cars—it seemed that every second or third vehicle had some sort of wicked supercharger jutting through the bonnet, and I really liked the custom touch that the owner of this Ford had given his. See them all below the jump!

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I’ve often been asked if I get bored going to so many car shows, to be perfectly honest I don’t. It just seems that no matter how many you go to, you’re guaranteed to see something that you haven’t seen before. The other week I attended the annual show run by the Melbourne-based Chrysler Restorers Club of Australia. Much to my surprise someone had brought along a sensational looking Chrysler 300, which had only just arrived in the country and is probably the only one in this part of the world. There were a lot of other cool cars, like this 70s Valiant in yellow with a brown vinyl roof—talk about retro. And despite the fact that it was a Chrysler show, there were a few nice rods of other makes in the car park. More photos after the jump.

Continue reading "Australian Car Show Season In Full Swing" »

It’s been a bad week to be an Italian supercar. Earlier today, Rob posted about the Gallardo just bisected via tree down in the Lone Star State, and I just stumbled across these shots of a Ferrari 360 doing a pole dance in the Land Down Under. Details come from local single-name-like-Madonna resident Vlado, who reported the car "sounded just like ‘zing, zing,’ as it want past," and that "the Stobie [telephone pole] split the car in two and it’s basically up where the gear stick should be." The driver and a passenger were taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries. More details on the wreck available at  Adelaide Now. Four more pics after the jump.

Continue reading "Ferrari 360 Wrapped Around a Pole in Australia" »

In Australia, my favorite season is at hand. While most of the car-crazy world is heading into winter, It’s spring here so the weather is mild and daylight savings means I get to come home from work while the sun’s still out. Best of all, though, is that car show season is just starting. I attended the Euroa Show and Shine on Sunday, and like last year, it was a great event. Held in the small Victorian town of Euroa, the show caters to all makes and models. In total there were about 900 cars, ranging from sensational to mind-boggling. In the mind-boggling category was this 1960s home-made car constructed from Morris and Mini parts, plywood, and fiberglass. As my friend John said "it’s so bad it’s good," it just made me laugh. In the sensational category was the Jaguar D type racing replica that you can see after the jump.

Continue reading "Weird Home-Build At The Euroa Car Show" »

I love innovation in the automotive industry, even more so when it comes from my part of the world, Australia. The country that gave you the Ute now presents the winner of the Ford Global Challenge. It’s been a hundred years since the Model T helped to change the world, and to mark the occasion, the Ford Motor Company invited six schools from around the world to present concepts for a car that embodies the essence of the Model T, 100 years later: the new car would have to be "simple, lightweight, practical, compelling and low cost." Sharing the win with Germany’s Aachen University is Deakin University of Melbourne, Australia. According to Bernard Rolfe, the project leader for the Deakin team, the "T2" concept offers value for money as well as being a green machine. Designed to run on compressed air, the T2 produces zero emissions and uses air rotary hub motors to give it an approximate range of 125 miles, which can be extended through the use of compressed natural gas. Running on three wheels, the lightweight T2 could be one of the answers we need to resolve today’s fuel crisis. Now if they could only come up with a compressed-air Hemi. Read more on Ford’s contest here.

Continue reading "The Next Model T?" »

While the blokes on Top Gear Australia don’t have the hilarious interplay of their British brethren, in all fairness, it takes time to develop such seasoned report. But judging from the ratings, the Aussies will have to shape up quick—or they might not get a the time to settle into their dressing rooms. Just under a million viewers caught the premiere, which isn’t bad, but a quarter of those choose not to tune in for the next episode, which is. Personally, I think this clip is just ok, but if I could watch this show in prime time, I totally would. What do you think? Will Top Gear fly in the Land Down Under? via Jalopnik

So maybe you’ve done an advanced driving course or two. Or you might be a weekend racer who enjoys getting your thrills around the track or on the strip. Either way, you might think that you have pushed your driving skills to the max. Well think again, because it’s time to take it to the next level. In my part of the world, Driver Dynamics is offering stunt driving courses, and they seem to be the real deal. While it’s only a one-day course, it has participants practicing multiple 360 spins, 180-degree handbrake turns, and two-wheel driving. But the real icing on the cake with this course is that participants get to do ramp-to-ramp jumps. How about you guys—anyone done any stunt-driver training before?

This is the most we’ve seen of the Aussie version of everyone’s favorite car show, and it looks like the producers have kept the hilarious spirit of the UK version intact. Given the—apparent—success they’ve had in the Land Down Under, I’m hoping the US version of Top Gear will be another triumph. Enjoy this clip—and keep your fingers crossed!

The first episode of Top Gear Australia isn’t set to debut until September 29th, but if you’re wondering  what to expect, this trailer should give you a pretty good idea. Judging from this clip, it looks like the Down Under edition should be a blast to watch—let’s hope the producers do as well with the US version.

Geoff was stoked to be able to find a full-time 4wd transfer case with low-range gearing for his burly little GL, especially in Australia, where these boxes are apparently hard to come by. Now this Sube is unstoppable, both on the beach and in the mud. Next up: a snorkel. Check out his page!