By Tony Castellano

Tcassa

The annual Wintersun festival has come and gone, and boy what a show it was! The rock ‘n’ roll event is held each year on Queensland’s Gold Coast, and is an absolute must for anyone interested in all-things American. The festival is now in its 32nd and final year, with government bureaucracy relocating the show 6 hours south, much to the disappointment of all those involved!

My family and I made our way down early Sunday morning to enjoy a nice breakfast before hitting the strip to view the muscle on show. The festival caters for all American muscle enthusiasts, with a variety of 60s and 70s Mustangs, Camaros and Mopars pulling plenty of crouds. I payed special attention to the hot rods that were on display, with my favorite being a beautiful 32 coupe that was near spotless. Plenty of pics after the jump!

Continue reading "Wintersun Rocks On" »

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Many BangShifters are totally against wrecking perfectly good old cars in the name of movie action, but we figure that as long as the cars were already wrecked 20-plus years ago, we might as well get some thrills out of it now. This video is packed with nothing but muscle cars (and one Fast and Furious car) jumping rivers, trucks, and other cars in movies and TV shows like Dukes of Hazzard, Smokey and the Bandit, Starsky and Hutch, and more. We recommend you turn off the audio and supply your own soundtrack. We mean, unless you’re a Starship fan.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Everyone, it seems, even the auto company executives themselves, is perplexed as to why sales of cars like the Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger continue to troop onward and upward when the rest of new car sales slump. Why would people be driving cool, powerful, fun to drive cars? What would attract a buyer to a car that stands out from the crowd, allows owners to compete at the race track in, and has great looks and sound?

Maybe some guy working in the basement of one of the domestic auto companies will churn out some massive spread sheet that comes to the stunning conclusion that people don’t really want to buy bland junk.

When you read the quotes from the guys that work for Chevy in this Wall Street Journal story you’ll probably be as frustrated as we were.

Viva la muscle!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

So it’s time to kick of our Best of SEMA voting, and I thought I’d start with muscle. There were a ton of cool muscle cars at SEMA this year (half of them were Camaros), so it was difficult to narrow it down to just five cars. But here goes. For your consideration, the Mustang RTR-C, the Tjin Edition Camaro, the Super Cuda, the Ring Brothers Fairlane and the Tom Nelson Camaro. Vote for your favorite, and be sure to come back over the next two weeks to vote on vehicles in each of ten categories. We’ll announce the winners shorly after Thanksgiving.

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By Joseph DeLucca

Luxvelocity

I recently had the chance to interview Mr. Dana Mecum, CEO of Mecum auctions. If your are interested in getting in on the auction game or are just curious about his company, it is a really great interview. Also if you’re a huge muscle car fan like myself then getting to see the HDTV tapings of the show on television is a huge treat. Someday I hope to snatch up a hot muscle car from one of these auctions. What is your dream muscle car from the past?

1) What was the first car you fell in love with?

Dana Mecum: The first car I fell in love with was actually a motorcycle. When I was 14, I had a Honda 125 for off-road use, however I did ride it on the highway and freedom was found.

How my passion for cars relates to my business? There’s a fine line there. Again, my father has been selling cars for close to 60 years now, so I grew up around selling cars. I have just as much a passion of making a deal as I have a passion for a car, so oftentimes it’s caused conflict in my business life. The way I’ve been able to raise and provide for my family has been selling cars. Over the years, there have been times I’ve made a poor decision and not sold the car because I liked the car more than the money. At times this has created a conflict. There are cars that I’m really in love with and fascinated by, so the way those cars usually get sold is the intrigue or the art of the deal outweighs my passion for the car.

View the entire interview at LuxVelocity

[Photo Courtesy/Credit: David Newhardt]

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Call us nuts, but we were actually feeling pretty good after reading this piece from the Detroit Free Press. Writer Mark Phelan brings up some great points and actually clues us in on some existing technology that is going to give some immediate help (when implemented) in the fuel economy department of gasoline engines.

There’s so much doom and gloom happening in the media on a nearly daily basis with respect to cars, especially the types of cars we like. It was great to read something that actually gave us some hope for the future that isn’t pie in the sky fantasy.

If you are looking for some positive muscle car ju-ju click on the link to the Detroit Free Press story.

By Tony Castellano

Tcassa

Well, actually it’s winter now in Oz, but with the temp in the mid 20s (that’s Celsius), it’s hardly a winter! So, my folks made their way down to view some Vettes by the beach, and going by their pics, it looked like a good turnout. And no, your eyes arne’t playing tricks, most were right hand drive. Enjoy the pics, with plenty more after the jump.

Continue reading "Corvette Summer" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Before I even picked up my 2000 Suzuki TL1000R, I had the dealer swap the stock units for a set of D&D carbon fiber race cans, and though I never got around to changing the mufflers on my XJ6—I was totally happy with its exhaust note—when I get a new ride, the first thing I’m going to do is put a Magnaflow on it. Lately, the company has been busy developing units for all the new muscle cars, and its posted the results of its efforts over on StreetFire. You can check out how the ’09 Challenger sounds below, but there’s also plenty of of other audio-porn featuring the Mustang GT, Camaro SS, Corvette ZR1,  Pontiac G8 and BMW M5 on its profile page. Head over and have a listen.

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Over the past few years there seems to be an explosion of vintage Muscle Cars available for sale, with values for GM Big Block, Mopar Hemi, and Ford Cobra Jet equipped vintage cars leading the pack in both dollar value, and desirability. Although values have started to cool, most are still out of the realm of affordability, while their desirability grows to an ever increasing car loving public.

Certain models will always be on the top of any list, including icons such as the Chevelle SS 396, the Plymouth Hemi Superbird, the Ford Talladega, or even the Oldsmobile 442. When you think Muscle Car, most enthusiasts think of cars like the Pontiac GTO, Mustang Boss 302, or Mercury Cyclone, and with good reason. Most automotive aficionados probably remember the 1964 Pontiac GTO as the birth of the Muscle Car movement, while they also lament it’s passing after 1972, when GM dropped the lithe “A” platform (Chevelle, Skylark, Cutlass, LeMans) for the newer Colonnade intermediates. However, it is my duty to try and expand your mind to the possibility that the Muscle Car started much earlier, and is still available, brand new, today.

Continue reading after the jump.

Continue reading "The CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Winter vacation is just about here, which for a lot of us means a bunch of restless kids trapped inside, bouncing off the walls. If you’re looking for cheap ways to keep them entertained, why not print out a bunch of muscle car coloring pages! I’m loving this ’70 Fury.