If this this real, this is the most amazing vehicle stunt I have ever seen, and a much better attempt than the Jeep half pipe flip blogged about earlier. To learn more about this stunt sponsored by Bridgestone, visit Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

Remember the movie Cannonball Run (back when Burt Reynolds had a full head of hair)? It was bad ass cars and madmen drivers on an all out road race across America’s highway system. Well, Beetleball has the same concept, only the bad ass cars have been replaced with air cooled Volkswagens. Good news for the drivers, it’s hard to get a Volkswagen to go fast enough to get thrown in jail. The Beetleball Long Beach to Las Vegas Endurance Rally was run October 3, 2009. Nobody was imprisoned but a few VW motors died trying. You can read coverage (now on Memorex) at Jalopnik.

The streets of Miami are filled with tons of high end, exotic cars. From South Beach to Star Island and Coral Gables to Downtown Miami, you can find Lamborghinis, Porsches, and Ferraris littering the streets – you literally see them parked on every street corner. The funny thing, though, is that while I constantly drive right past Lamborghinis with a bored look on my face, I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw this 1967 Volkswagen Single Cab (truck) cruising down the street. To be honest, I had never seen anything like it before. I just don’t see these types of cars every day!

When I saw this Volkswagen Single Cab driving down the street, I was already late to meet up with some friends from out of town who work for a big car magazine, but they would just have to wait a bit longer – this Single Cab had me buggin out because it has so much style. I just had to stop and shoot some photos! Check out the detailed photos and continue reading at MotorMavens.com.

I have loved the VW CC since I saw the first concept car renderings almost a year ago, and I figured this car would blow up in the tuning world. I figured that it had the right lines for a lowered VIP style car, and just today on a forum I frequent one of the guys posted pics of his VW CC dumped. What do you all think? Hot or Not?

Continue reading "The Volkswagen CC: Hot or Not?" »

Some people have said about the new Golf 6 that it’s more like the Golf 5.5, due to the similar looks to the outgoing model. However, aside from the exterior cosmetic tweaks, the new Golf is actually hiding most of its changes under the skin. So what better way to check it out than to use this cool draggable X-Ray? We also did a comparative video review to highlight the changes with the new model. Enjoy!

I sometimes have people tell me that I have a brake light or tail light out when I am parking in a busy parking lot. Granted it only happens when there is heavy snow, torrential rain, heavy drizzle or dense fog. Why? Because in these conditions I use my rear fog light.

Rear fog lights are not as common in the US as they are not required by law. In some states they are even illegal. The purpose of the rear fog light is quite simple: they make your car more visible to vehicles behind you when visibility is poor. When activated, one (or in some cases two) rearward red lights are constantly and brightly illuminated. If it is a single bulb, it will be on the left side of the car, and will look like a brake light is stuck on all the time. This is because the rear fog is illuminated much more brightly than standard marker lights.

Continue reading after the jump.

Continue reading "Hey! Your Tail Light Is Out. Or is it?" »

It appears that more companies will be going small to help cope with increasing pressure to have affordable, fuel efficient vehicles. With fuel costs expected to go up again, and increasing pressure by states like California, more foreign automakers are looking to bring over more vehicles to raise their companies average fuel economy. We have seen this more and more recently with vehicles like the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, and the Nissan Versa selling relatively successfully.

In the European import circle, the hot topic going around recently stems from a post on Autoweek.com. From reading that article,  it appears that Volkswagen is looking to bring over its highly beloved Polo hatchback. This is good news for many of us in the US that consider the current Golf (sold here as the Rabbit) a bit too large and thirsty to fit the fuel sipping commuter job position. Many of us are hoping that VW will do this right the first time, and offer both a TDI and GTI version of this vehicle at a respectable price point!

I’m at a loss for this one. Whose spell-checker failed?

I recently installed the Forge diverter valve with atmospheric spacer on my GTI and it’s honestly pretty sweet. Translation, my turbo now makes that cool and uber desirable ppppsssshhhhhhtttttt sound every time I shift, and it fully restored my boost numbers. In my case, I installed the replacement diverter because the factory valve (shown below) failed shortly after my car was chipped.

Continue reading after the jump.

Continue reading "Forge Diverter Valve FTW" »

The Eos beat the G6 by a 7-to-5 ratio in this week’s Showroom Showdown. Seems like the lack of a manual tranny really hurt the G6 in the voting (Pontiac dropped the optional six-speed manual in the G6 in 2007). I dig Stanley’s Eos with the JE Design body kit.

Winter is here, so why not look at FWD retractable hardtops? Here are two of the more affordable options, priced just north of $30k. With the Pontiac you get a 222 hp 3.5 liter V6, but you’re stuck with an automatic. The VeeDub comes with a 200 hp 2.0 liter four banger, and it’s available with either the DSG automatic or a 6 speed manual. Which would you choose?

CarDomain member powerpuffmookie created this amazing Herbie replica, after doing a full resto on a cream-puff, one-owner car. And earlier this year, he took it on Le Rallye du Cinema, which included 50 other movie replica cars, including James Bond’s Lotus Esprit, Magnum’s Ferrari, Bullitt’s Mustang and Burt Reynolds’ Trans Am. Check out the pics!

Here in the wooly Northeast, even in the summertime, it’s not often one spies a dune buggy, far from its ancestral home of sun, sand and surf. But the last couple years, I’ve spotted this blue buggy with all the right touches here and there, and it makes me feel funny inside, like there’s something missing from my life—like a topless, doorless fiberglass bucket wrapped around my hide with just a single-hoop rollbar over my head would fill that hole.

Most recently, I spotted it at our Musclepalooza VIII at Lebanon Valley Dragway at the end of August, a bright sunny day that showed off the bass boat worthy metalflake in the paint. Again, though, I couldn’t find the owner around anywhere, so I couldn’t tap him for information about it, so I’ve yet to suss out what company built the tub (I’m pretty sure it’s not a Meyers Manx) and what VW engine he’s got pushing the thing.

Still, I can’t help but appreciate the polished mags, the square-shouldered bias-plies and the Miller beer tap handle atop the shifter.

Continue reading "Dune Buggy Done Right" »

In order to squeeze the most horsepower possible out of our late model performance cars, it makes sense that we have to turn our eyes to the ECU’s (Engine Control Unit). As it turns out, car manufacturers are able to make the same engine perform much differently for various markets, and in many cases reduce a significant amount of horsepower and torque. Continue reading…

Continue reading "Hidden Horsepower" »

By Katherine Helmetag

AKA atomicalex

VW’s been putting out some aggressive bodykits for the past few years, and this one comes attached to a high performance Passat CC. Power comes from an APR Stage 3 turbo kit on the 2.0T engine. The kit has three tuning modes—performance, GT, and Eco—that vary in output and fuel economy. Big brakes and forged wheels put the power down. Derek Jenkins, VW’s designer, hooked up the interior with two-tone leather Recaros and black chrome trim. More pics after the jump.

Continue reading "VW CC Performance Concept" »