"That thing got a Hemi?"

I.Love.It. What better way to brighten your holiday than by hanging 426 cubic inches of raw power on your Christmas tree? Guaranteed to vulcanize the tires and burn down the house. I want one, but alas, the better half has vetoed it in no uncertain terms. But for all you guys that are not married to Scroogette, here's the full line. Sweeeet.

For Sale: Slightly Repainted Jag.

Cheap Jaguar for sale in the U.K., if you don't mind washing it first.

The story behind this little artistic beauty is the typical one of the woman scorned: husband buys fancy car, registers it in wife's name (probably for tax reasons), then uses said auto to cheat on the aforementioned wife. Can we say dumb?

Now, the aggrieved spouse is selling her tainted automobile, paint job included, for about $20,000, which is a steal if you're looking for a used luxury car. Naturally, if you don't want to have the paint removed, you can always go with a new model, which may also smell better.

Don't let the modest price tag get you down, either; financing is available for this little monument of wedded bliss.

The cheating husband would do well to follow the links and find new wheels; the ad states that the paint damage to the car is nothing compared to what she'll do to him. Hell hath no fury, eh?

Readers of this blog know I'm a car buff; they also know I take my marriage vows seriously. I'd never cheat on my dear wife, firstly because I love her, secondly because infidelity hurts more than your spouse. I'd never give my wife any reason to do something like this to such a fine piece of automotive machinery.

You've Never Done Laps Like This Before.

Where can I get it?

Alas, it's only a concept in CG. Still the thought of wrapping my leather-clad hands around the F1-style steering wheel, listening to the roar of the motor as I set out to fight the suburban man's battle turns me on.

Too Fast, Too Furious.

I've written here before about my enthusiasm for import tuners. I also pointed out the dark side to that hobby, namely illegal racing and personal excess.

Alicia asked me the other day if I had heard about a little girl killed by street racers. I hadn't, as most of the news sites and blogs I read cover political news, and such stories rarely get any play. It piqued my curiosity, though, because I love racing and driving, and bad examples of this outrage me.

It turns out that such instances are on the rise, and stupidity does not discriminate. What are these guys trying to prove? I understand the desire to go faster than the other guys, and I've accumulated my share of speeding tickets. What any serious driver knows, however, is that there is nothing safe about pushing a car to the limit of its performance, and it shouldn't be done anywhere. Fortunately, these criminals may soon get their reward.

If you've got to prove something, then go to the local racetrack, most of which host street-legal drags on the weekends. You can race in a controlled and (reasonably) safe environment. Life isn't a video-game; there is no reset button, and no second chances.

Link to image source.

Back in Time.

Fans of Back to the Future have something to cheer about with the news that Steven Wynne, president of the DeLorean Motor Co., will begin producing DeLoreans from his stock of replacement parts.

Prospective buyers had better be connected though, because while the cars are not terribly expensive by collector's sports car standards (about $57,000), DMC only has enough parts to build 500 cars and ensure that they have enough parts left over to maintain them.

The DeLorean has never been one of my favorite cars. It's styling is rather bland, even for the Eighties, and I never understood why they put a puny non-turbo (originally) V6 into a sports car. Apparently the new iteration of DMC's cars will include upgraded electronics, better construction, and as an option, a peppier engine package. I suppose it's good for those who are fans; you just won't see me chomping at the bit to be one of the lucky 500.

The real stroke of genius here is the way Wynne has ensured continuance for his business, which is primarily maintaining surviving DeLoreans.

Link to image source.

Blues Cruise In.

Yesterday the kids and I went out to my great-uncle's third annual Blues Cruise In car show in Clermont, IN. It's a small show with some really neat cars. They had a blues band and a raffle to benefit Riley Children's Hospital. I didn't stay for the awards ceremony for the car contest, but here are some pictures of my favorites.



It wouldn't be a car show without something outrageous, and here we go. This was the first of many hot rods we saw, and it was the wildest. This one could have been driven right out of the pages of one of Andy Southard's hot rod books.


This one was a little more traditional, except for the admirers. Think they waited a long time to see it?


One of my favorite types of hot rod: the "high boy." If you're not a car person, the high boy is a (usually) 32 Ford that has had the fenders removed, leaving the body sitting high atop the frame. The alternate version, or "low boy," has the body channeled down over the frame.

Here's another neat rod. I like the skinny white walls and the white headers.


The best of the hot rods was this 1934 Ford pickup. It was clean, inside and out.

There weren't very many custom cruisers at the show. This was the most radical. I think it was a '53 Ford.



This is another custom, and one you don't see every day. A 1957 Plymouth Belvedere. The inscription on the fin reads, "Steamy Windows." I'll bet.

Many of the cars were simply restored classics. My favorite was this 1950 Ford convertible.



One word always seemed to describe these cars to me: meaty. I've always been a Ford man, but you can't go wrong with a '57 Chevy.

Another rarity: a 1968 T-Bird. According to the sign in the engine bay, of the approximately 64,000 '68s built, 136 of them were white with black interiors. This is one of them.



I'm not a big truck fan, but this '72 Chevy was so sweet, I had to take a picture. I'd like to do something like this to my dad's 1969 Chevy pickup that's parked beside my house.

Here's something for the Brits out there. A classic Jaguar.



Another one for the Brits. A very clean Triumph.



There were quite a few Mustangs in attendance, one of which was this hot Shelby.


A very nice 1967 Mustang.

There were a slew of GTOs, all of which were in fabulous condition. My favorite is the 1966 model.



The best of the "Goats" was this awesome Judge.



To me, Mopar means muscle. The epitome of that is the 1969 Charger. Also in attendance were a '68 Charger, a 1969 Road Runner (with the lift-off fiberglass hood), and a couple of 'Cudas. Sheer heaven. However, being a purist, I have a couple of critiques of the Mopars. Firstly, the hood of the Road Runner should have been painted flat black; it was glossy. Second, none of them had original engines; they all looked to have the crate engines that you can order from Mopar Action or Muscle Car Review. I can forgive though, since these cars are getting so rare and expensive.

One neat thing about the interior of the '69 shown above. There was no center console and it had a column mounted automatic shifter. Usually these cars are seen with either a floor mounted automatic or manual. The engine was pretty customized, so I think this may have been a base-model Charger that has been dressed up.

Here's one I haven't seen very often: a Malibu. I don't know the exact year, but it must be a '66 or '67.


A muscle car with no muscle. This '66(?) Nova had a straight six under the hood.

The only Corvettes I really like are the late 70s/early 80s version (I believe they are referred to as C3s?). This one was in particularly good shape and absolutely sizzled.

There were a few cars that just didn't quite fit into any category. I'll round out this post with some of those.

How many times have you seen one of these? A Studebaker pickup, hot rodded.

I thought this Mercury was pretty nice. Evidently someone didn't agree with me. (Relax people, the dog's fake.)

That's all for the car show. There were more cars there, and I have pictures of some of them that I may post later on, but these were some of the best. I hope you've enjoyed it, and guys, you can stop drooling and replace your keyboards now.

Modern Day Muscle.

I'll admit it, I like tuners. You know, those little compacts with the huge wheels and obnoxiously loud exhausts? The ones with the wild graphics and paint jobs? Yeah, those cars. In a way, they are the modern version of the muscle car.

What defined a muscle car is an over sized, overpowered engine placed in a bare-bones mid-sized car. They were intended to raced, and raced they were, either on the track or on the street. Modern tuners are similar in origin, as early examples began as economy size coupes and sedans with easily souped up engines.

There's nothing like modern excess though, and the aftermarket soon sprouted wild wheels and graphics, along with ground-hugging fiberglass body kits. They look good and go fast.

However, like the bad boy reputation of muscle cars of yesteryear, the tuners have their sinister side. Excess is as much a part of the lifestyle of many who drive these cars as it is of the cars' appearance. Wild parties and illegal racing are typical of the modern day car culture. Naturally, I don't approve of those activities, but there are plenty of legitimate avenues opening up.

There are sanctioned drag racing divisions for street tuners, where racing is done in a controlled environment under official rules. Drifting has caught on in a big way. But deep down, the last forty years has not really changed the deep seated desire of young people to have a car that looks good and goes fast.

Link to image source.

The Holy Grail.

One of my hobbies is building model cars. I like watching a scale automobile take shape in my hands as all the pieces come together. Looking at the completed cars on my shelf bring back memories of similar cars I saw growing up or at shows. It's also the only way I will ever own a certain type of car. I also occasionally build a model of a subject that someone else likes and give the model to that person. But I have something in common with nearly every other model builder: the Holy Grail project.

Every modeler has a project that for them would be the culmination of their efforts, either in skill or subject. For most it is a subject that has never been produced in kit form, or one that is so rare it is almost never seen anymore. Most of the subjects are something that mean a great deal to the individual modeler; mine is no exception.

The subject of my holy grail project is a 1976 Plymouth Fury Salon. My mom had one of these cars when I was little, and it was probably my favorite family car from my childhood. It was the same model used by many police departments during those years, and it had power as well as looks. For years I've wanted to build a model of that car, but no kits were available. The closest was a 1978 Dodge Monaco, which has the correct body, but until recently was out of production. MPC did a kit of the 1975 Road Runner, which was based on the Fury, but that kit has never been reissued.

Fortune struck about a year ago, however, as I found a promotional model of the 75 Road Runner on eBay for a bargain price. I had already acquired a 78 Monaco (reissued as the Joker Goon Car), and a 1974 Plymouth GTX. All that remained was a kit to provide a suitable chassis, which I found in the form of the 1971 Charger.

Now I find myself intimidated. It has come to the point, and I have everything I need. I sit and look at the kit boxes on my shelf, imagining just what processes I need to go through to assemble my dream. It will involve learning some new skills, such as mold-making and casting, as well as modifying parts and scratch building. I think I'm ready, yet the boxes sit there, staring back at me. So many modelers never reach this point, yet here I am. Will I be successful? It's time to find out.