Growing up the ’80s I was totally obsessed with Transformers, though to be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed—I know, I know—with the new movie. But that doesn’t make this pic of Bumblebee any less cool, and I’m sure the display looked even better in person. Of course, there were plenty of other awesome rides on hand at Autorama Detroit. I loved the look of this ultra-smooth Civic, even though the lack of taillights and indicators make it complete show queen, and I absolutely loved this orange Cobra rep. Now, I’m sure some think that car is getting overdone—just like folks say the ’32 Ford should be officially retired from the show scene—but I’d still build one in a heartbeat. Check out the rest of the pics over in our Events section.

The Melbourne Motor Show didn’t disappoint. Along with this wicked Holden Coupe 60, there were a ton of killer exotics on hand. This classic Maserati racer drew a bunch of attention, as did this electric-green drop-top Gallardo. And there was even a Veyron on display! Head over to the events section and check out all our photos!

• They keep the good news coming: Six new JL Audio W3V3 subwoofer systems are now available. The 10" FlatWedge box caught my eye – less than 5" deep, but packs a JL W3V3 woofer!
• Bassform’s "Does Your Box Rock" Challenge at the Spring Break Nationals in Daytona is ON. Competitors will showcase their vehicle-specific custom fiberglass enclosures for a chance at cash prizes. Bassforms locked down a great line-up of judges, we’ve got the list.
• Gotta Zune? Play any good games on it lately? You will be soon!

• Ben was reminiscing about the good ‘ol days and flashed a few pics about his first car audio system. It was a pretty impressive system for day: two 12" Pyle subs, an Autotek amp, Boston Speakers and a Panasonic head unit. Mine system was in an 87 Civic Si: a single JBL 8" woofer, Pioneer amp,  Blaupunkt speakers and Sony CD player. We’ve all come a long way since then…. Do you remember your first system?
• Home audiophiles come up with some pretty crazy stuff to stretch out every last dB of sounds quality from their systems. Some even resort to using video RCA cables rather than audio RCAs, assuming the lower resistance allows for better flow of the audio signal. Is this a good idea for a car audio system?
• CarDomain member OneCrazy95Civic has been modifying his Civic for a few years now. Once he was "satisfied" with his first award-winning design, he ripped it all apart and has been building out an even crazier all new design. The system list is enough to put almost any system to shame, and the install… Well, you just have to check out the videos. Seriously.
• Throwing down a paint job on a project using rattle can leave a lot to be desired when it comes to accuracy and precision. Unless you really enjoy sanding, you should check out Alsa’s Killer Cans.

Boyd Coddington’s company has confirmed that the famed hot rod builder died at approximately six this morning. He was 63. Coddington was the star of TLC’s American Hot Rod and universally regarded as one of the world’s premier hot rod builders. No details are available as to the cause of death. The automotive world is a better place because of Boyd Coddington, and he will be missed. Godspeed Boyd! Source: Jalopnik

• The Alpine Imprint RLS will always be one of the most amazing demo cars ever produced. But before the Imprint made it’s impression on car audio history, the Alpine crew built the Sinister Six. What started out as an innocent $84,000 BMW 645ci ended up a jaw dropping, road raging, Sinister sports coupe. And SoundDomain has two videos  from Alpine following the crew through the amazing build.
• It interesting what you can find in life if you just look a little bit closer…. SoundDomain’s new guestblogger, Ben, writes about the hidden easter eggs found on circuit boards. Who’da guessed engineers had a sense of humor?
• Car manufacturers aren’t the only ones getting hit by Chinese knock-offs; even car audio manufacturers have to step into the ring. Check out the pics of this bogus Alpine amplifier found out in the wild. Would you have spotted it?
• Our main man Steve Meade is back and shaking up a ruckus at Taco Bell. Watch what happens when the two drive thru guys ask for a sample of the Tahoe’s beefy beats. Notice the bills in Taco Dude #2′s hand when Steve gives the magic knob a twist… The looks on their faces are pretty priceless too: from excitement to satisfaction to shock & awe. It’s always a good time with Steve.
• Bored? Add Bluetooth to your 5G iPod.
• We’ve also got a video of CarDomain member Jamminwagon plugging in and jammin’ out on his electric car through his Dodge Magnum’s sound ssytem. Boy’s got some skills, car’s got some beats!
• Scosche built out a pretty crazy demo car for SEMA 2006: a bright orange FJ Cruiser stuffed with EFX gear: eight 12" woofers, twelve amplifiers, seven monitors (including a 32"monitor in the rear door!), twenty speakers, three batteries, and over 9000 watts of power!

After a long cold winter, events season is finally starting to heat up, and we couldn’t be happier. Last weekend, CarDomain sent photographers to the Portland Roadster Show and the Dallas stop of the World of Wheels tour. Between the two of them, they delivered about 700 images. So what are you waiting for? Go check out all our new pics! 

Ever wonder what life would be like without music? I’ve wondered it, but I don’t think I’d ever want to experience it. Music is one of the reasons I got into the Mobile Electronics industry. The gadgets and the cool devices that help make the music in my car and life are only secondary, but they make my job and hobby that much more exciting. I know nothing really beats the sound of a finely tuned engine, but nothing compliments it better than a finely tuned car stereo system. And if I couldn’t listen to music, well, then I guess I’d just hop over to SoundDomain and catch up on the news!

• High-end home audio manufacturer Naim has announced it will provide the audio systems for future Bentley vehicles. Produced under the moniker "naim for Bentley", the system will belt out 1100 watts of pure audiophile power to 15 speakers. How much does the Naim system add to the bottom line of a Bentley? Well, as the saying goes – if you have to ask….
• If you’ve got an old school muscle car or classic cruiser in your garage and you’ve considered upgrading the radio and audio system, your options are pretty slim. Fortunately there are companies like RetroSound that offer the latest technology in a radio package designed to look factory in your retro-rod. USB, MP3, CD Changer controls, multi-color LCD… Get all the modern luxuries in a classic package.
• Blast from the past… Back in the good ‘ol days of Car Audio, Alpine and the Lambo Countach were one of the most recognized symbols in the industry (Alpine still is for that matter). I was digging around the net and stumbled on some oldie-but-goodie shots of this classic car stereo icon.
• Our man "Crazy Like a" Brian Fox is at it again… This time he’s creating a work of art to be showcased at Nissan’s booth at the New York International Auto Show this March. His new project is another Nissan Altima Coupe that will sport the new Fox Marketing 6-piece body kit, 19" Work wheels, and a bad-ass Rockford Fosgate stereo system.

There comes a time in every man’s life when he has to make a decision. You should weigh the positives, and negatives carefully because you don’t want to make a hasty decision and figure out it was the wrong one after its too late.** Well, while you’re thinking about your decision, maybe you should catch up on the SoundDomain news:

• We told you about Realm’s ’63 Lincoln Conti not to long ago; the car is just plain hot. Well, apparently MC Hammer thought so too and at CES he tested out his new CD on the Conti’s system and the guys at Realm snagged some video of Hammer getting down to his album. Hammer didn’t hurt ‘em, but you still can’t touch this. Oh yeah… I went there.
• The guys at Thought Out developed some pretty unique iPod and iPhone accessories and the Ped3 for the iPod Touch and iPhone is by far one of the best desktop solutions I’ve seen yet.
• Tim from HzEmall Customs is back and his most recent installment for SoundDomain gives us an in-depth look into the progress on a 1969 Camaro project car. The crew is basically customizing the entire interior, re-doing most of the electronics, suspension, etc. This is going to be one big, bad-ass old school when the wrap it up. Custom seats, VERY custom car stereo install, custom center console, custom trunk, custom suspension, big ‘ol LS2/6 motor and tranny swap, air bags, and chrome 18s up front and big ‘ol 20s in the rear. You don’t want to miss this.
• And don’t forget to check out the last two installments of the Alpine Million Dollar Imprint RLS demo car build videos. In Part 3 the guys get the exterior skeleton built for the custom body panels and the fabrication of the interior panels. In Part 4, with 1 week to go before CES, it’s paint, prep, and finished product. I’m surprised Gary, Steve, and Brent had any skin left on their fingers after all the sanding this project needed!

**The CarDomain editors are not responsible for pointless, mindless, babble contained in these blog posts. And what are you doing reading this anyway?? You should be reading the SoundDomain news!!

This baby was rusting in a field before this builder got a hold of it. Without the engine and tranny, the car is so light that two guys can pick it up, and the Jag motor is pushing over 300HP. You do the math. Check out the wicked intake they made!