By Antonio Alvendia

Antonio Alvendia

As one of the more prolific tuning platforms on the market today, the Z33 even in stock form provides an excellent combination of power, handling, looks, and relative value. The RWD sports coupe can be found in nearly all forms of motorsports and has particularly excelled at drifting, capturing back to back championships for Tanner Foust in 2007 and 2008.

The long awaited introduction of the 370Z has many 350Z fans scratching their heads, however, as Nissan took away the flowing lines and sleek styling in lieu of an overly edgy and incoherent design. For many of us here at Motor Mavens, the 07-08 Z still stands as arguably the best looking Z of the past generation and fellow Maven Mike Maez unequivocally agrees.

Mike’s take on the Z33 is one that caught our eye for a number of reasons. For one, it isn’t too over the top with a flashy body kit or a wild graphics scheme. There is attention to detail with the fitment and the wheel selection, which is always a plus, but furthermore it represents a very specific paint and wheel combo that we’ve never seen before on the 350Z. Combined with a solid ride height, an Akebono brake setup borrowed from the aforementioned 370, and just the right amount of bolt-ons, we were convinced that this was one Z that easily takes Center Stage. Continue reading and view more photos on MotorMavens.

• These days, new cars usually pose some problems when it comes time to the upgrade audio system. However, the new VW Jetta is actually a great sounding car just waiting to happen! SoundDomain moderator Keep_Hope_Alive recently rented a 2008 VW Jetta and decided to rip into the doors to check out the potential for upgrading the speakers. In the end he was pleasantly surprised!
• Focal’s new SOLID amps start shipping next month! If you’re looking for a compact, audiophile sound quality amplifier, make sure to check these out!
• Rockford Fosgate is one of the premier names in mobile electronics. Have you ever checked out their website? They have a HUGE gallery of pics from around the world!
• The guys from Elemental Designs just put out a new informational video explaining proper subwoofer wiring and what happens if you wire your system up wrong. Has your sub ever just not sounded quite right? Maybe you need to check this out.

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.

That’s right folks… I’m heading to Vegas this weekend. I’ll be there all week bringing you the latest and greatest in the car and portable audio world. Of course, CarDomain will feature some the hottest cars at CES right here in the blog, but for complete coverage make sure to keep your browser peeled to our recently redesigned sister site SoundDomain.com. DVD players? Yep. Navigation? You-betcha. Bluetooth? Count on it. iPod adapters? Satellite radio? In-car computers? LCD’s? Alarms and remote starts? Yes, uh-huh, yes, yeah, and you know it! We’ll be meeting with Directed Electronics, Alpine, Clarion, Pioneer, JBL, Infinity, Rockford Fosgate, MTX, Kicker, Eclipse, and Maxxsonics, just to name a few, and we’re going to have the most comprehensive coverage on the net for all things car. But in case you think we might miss something, speak up and let us know what you want to see!

From the man that brought you the "That’s a Lot of Bass. Hey, Where’s My Eyeball?!" video and the "Window Shaker Bass Maker" clip comes the next generation of absolutely insane sound systems. That’s right, Steve Meade is back, and this time he’s upped the ante to 30,000 watts RMS. The victim is a 2002 Caddy Escalade dumped on bags and sitting on 24" chrome. Steve and crew have it packed to the gills with a slew of audio gear, including eight 18" Fi BTL subwoofers, 36 speakers, 5 batteries, and as the piece de resistance two, yes two, Rockford Fosgate T15Kw amplifiers which each pump out 15,000 watts RMS. Damn. The amps retail for $24,999 apiece, and they’re like nothing the world of car audio has ever seen. Steve has a ton of photos of the build over at his forum, and make sure to hop over to the SoundDomain Blog for a video walk-through of this insane system.

When Rockford Fosgate announced a line of amplifiers to commemorate their 25th anniversary, I suspected that the Power 1000 would be the most popular of the lot. That didn’t turn out to be the case—probably due to the $1500 sticker price. So they gave us a smoking deal to get these out of their warehouse, and while supplies last, we’re passing those savings on to you! While rated at 50×4 and 300×1—according to the birth sheet which comes in the package—this beast actually puts out more than twice those numbers. At $599.99, that seems like a steal!