By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

When pondering the question of whether or not I’d want to live in a given locale, it always comes down to the issue of vehicle storage. LA’s Hermosa Beach is pretty, but I’d  have some reservations about parking all my rides in the street on an incline in a drunken-frat-boy part of town. Whoever owns this collection–and I’m guessing, just a hunch, that the trio of tan pickups plus what I suspected to be a suicide-doors Continental under a car cover all belong to the same person–seems to be making it work. Or not? The International camper was slowly accumulating parking tickets, and it’s hard to guess where you’d wrench on anything. More pics below the jump.

Continue reading "Gearhead Living in Hermosa Beach" »

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

This is just not the week for the Ferrari California. Early this week, the vehicle was seen smashing into a bulldozer. Now, it’s getting stuck in gravel pits. Is this a cursed Ferrari, or just a string of bad luck? Read more about the instance at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Saturday at the Hot Rod Reunion is the big day, with more show cars, more action in the pits, and more spectators than any other day. On Friday we covered most of the show cars, but there were so many more on Saturday that we had to bring you a second gallery. There are links to all the show coverage below. Click here to see the BangShift.com photo gallery of the Saturday car show and drag pits at the 2009 California Hot Rod Reunion. And click here to see links to all our coverage from the weekend.

By Bob Balderston

Bob Balderston

As we enter the new era of enlightenment, a new mindset has been thrust upon us, one that may threaten the way we own and drive cars in this country. With sponsors from the great state of California, a bill has been introduced that would make a nationwide incentive program to take old, fuel inefficient vehicles off the road and send them to the scrap yards to be crushed and destroyed, in return for “vouchers” for up to $4,500 dollars to be used towards purchases of newer cars or credits for inner city public transportation. Continue reading…

Continue reading "No Help For the Hoopties" »

While I think Ferraris are awesome—they’re some of my favorite cars in the American Le Mans Series—I have to admit, I didn’t like the California from the beginning. I’m sorry, but the idea of a convertible hard-top on a Prancing Horse just rubs me the wrong way, and when I saw this clip, I was even less stoked about Modena’s latest. Because here, the spokesman says that they have "adapted" the California for women. What? Now, any woman I know is more than able to adapt a car for herself—even on a Ferrari, it’s easy to adjust the seat and mirrors—so I’m wondering what else machismo-drenched Ferrari thinks necessary. Something tells me my Bullrun buddy Rachel wouldn’t approve…   

While trying to recover the body of a recent suicide, Coast Guard servicemen in the UK narrowly avoided being killed when another person determined to die drove into the water near where they were working. The suicide attempt succeeded, but fortunately, nobody else was hurt. Here’s the news:

• While the Viper is one of the greatest examples of sheer American bad-assery ever produced, Ma Mopar’s money problems have made its future uncertain. But don’t count the burly snake out just yet—Chrysler might sell the Viper division to an outside investor. Detroit News
• Ok, I’m totally not hating, but the more I hear about Ferrari’s California, the more skeptical I get. The latest announcement is that it will be available with a stick—uh, thanks—and that an advanced handling package will be an option. I’m sorry, but should a Ferrari really need a "handling package?" World Car Fans
• Making a Lamborghini Murcielago look ugly isn’t easy, but the folks over at Hamann have proved they’re up to the task. What’s up with this "chrome" paint? And am I the only one that thinks it’s completely hideous? CarScoop
• Right now, Honda is the only company which makes engines for the IndyCar, but the series is currently in discussions with other manufacturers. Hopefully, we’ll see some real competition come 2011. AutoWeek

If you read any tech blogs, you’re familiar with the whole "unboxing" thing. Now, I thought Apple had everyone beat in the trick packaging department, but this clip demonstrates that Samsung totally rules the school. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Apparently, if you want to get work done on your car in the UK, you don’t have to pay the mechanic. Just agree on a price when you drop off the vehicle, and when you come to pick it up, call the cops. They’ll arrest the mechanic and give you your car back. Sunday Sun via Autoblog
• Hyundai is looking to sell 50,000 of its new Genesis series per year in the United States. But you know what’s more exciting than that? A Genesis sedan should be arriving at CarDomain headquarters in two hours! Stay tuned! Automotive News
• The General’s Camaro might not drop until 2010, but full sales brochure has already hit the web. One cool piece of info? If you select the automatic tranny with the V8, the engine mated to it doesn’t have all the grunt of the one paired with the manual. Viva la stick shift! World Car Fans
• First, it was the Ferrari California, and now it looks like Maserati’s GranTurismo is going to get a retractable hardtop. While I think all that heavy equipment makes more sense on a GT car than on a Prancing Horse, I still don’t like how Modena has been inclined to add those fancy systems to its stallions of late. CarScoop

Is it just cause I picked a blue Ferrari, or are there a ton of Alfitsi on CarDomain? Did Ferrari perhaps make a slight goof with the new California? Or is the Alfa just way batter looking? Whatever the reason(s), the Alfa Romeo 8C absolutely murdered the Ferrari California in our latest Showroom Showdown. Truly, no contest.

Two of the hottest new Italian cars coming to North America in the next year or so are the Alfa Romeo 8C and the Ferrari California. Both are front engine V8s with 450 and 460 hp respectively. Both will set you back over $200k The Ferrari comes only as a retractable hardtop, while the 8C will be available as either a coupe or spider. Which would you choose?

Yesterday, I drove back from Deadwood, Oregon, and made a little detour so I could take 101 along the Pacific. Even thought I get nervous when I’m too far from tall buildings or Thai food, it was still awesome. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Transformers star Shia LaBeouf, was arrested for DUI early yesterday morning after an "unsuccessful" turn left his truck upside down in a LA intersection. Seriously, why don’t drunken celebrities just take a cab when they get wasted? Are they really worried about a $20 fare? Perez Hilton
• If you kill someone while sending a text message in England, you’ll get a stiffer sentence than you would if you were talking on the phone. Is it fair? Who knows. The one clear thing here is just how awful it would be to be responsible for a traffic death. Auto Express
• The first Ferrari California has been spotted in the wild, and even thought I don’t like the idea of a Prancing Horse with a convertible hard-top, I still think it looks pretty good. What do you think of the blue? World Car Fans
• Well, if there’s one thing that all model of cars have in common, it’s that sometime, somewhere, somebody is going to wreck one. For the Tesla Roadster, Friday was that day. Jalopnik