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Metal Heart from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

1964 Malibu SS

I recently picked up a Panasonic sd-9 HD camcorder and figured since I have never made a short about my malibu, it was about time to do so. I filmed the car in my driveway and around my neighborhood, pulled the footage into iMovie, did some edits and added some music. All said, it took me about 3 hours to make this movie.

My Friend Cameron photoshopped up the new Hyundai coupe. Not half bad looking. Too bad they don’t come like this from the factory.

I went to Bob’s Big Boy down in Toluca Lake, California with my wife and mother in-law to take in a few burgers and the famous car show and came across the coolest Bel Air I have ever laid eyes upon. Typically I am not that impressed by anything I see at Bob’s, but this was amazing. Look at the detail on the front bumper. The time was taken to section and re-weld the stock bumper into an airdam, and I for one, find the results to be quite impressive. The windshield declares LS7 lurks below the bonnet, and I would see the 6-speed in the cockpit. Not a bad way to keep things moving, especially if that 620HP is not an exaggeration. I also love that decklid spoiler and faded paint on the car. This is a similar style to that I went after with my 1964 Malibu SS, but I was a bit more Lowrider/NASCAR fusion, and this is Rockabilly/NASCAR fusion. Anyhow, I loved the car, enjoy the pics.

EVS Motors Presents The Worlds First and Only 2JZ

I think the 2JZ sounds decent, but it certainly does not beat the sound of a 900hp v8. I got to give credit to the guys that put this car together, it looks well built and it certainly is unique.

88 Grand Marquis Crushed!!!

Just think, this car managed to survive nearly 20 years before it was unloved enough to meets its’ fate at the jaws of an auto wrecker. I wonder how many cars are dismantled on an average day around the world. I also wonder how many of those cars are probably still usable, just unloved. Maybe we need to hold on to our cars a bit longer, and reduce production of new ones. I know my 1990 Mustang and 1993 Lexus still have another 10-15 good years in them. Hotrodding, not all about going fast, sometimes about loving old things and keeping them running.

Toyota Corollas and Honda Civics have become used car gold. Excursions and Tahoes are lepers, sent to live apart from society. As someone who has owned and driven vehicles on both sides of the fuel economy scale, I wanted to spend some time and do a breakdown of actual fuel savings yielded by switching from a Tahoe to a Civic.

First, I used www.fueleconomy.gov to get the combined mileage for both vehicles. The Civic with auto transmission gets 29 MPG compared to the Tahoe that gets 16. If we assume that you drive 10,000 miles per year at $4.25 a gallon, switching from the Tahoe to the Civic will save you $1200 in fuel. In order to achieve this same saving by simply reducing use, you would have to drive the Tahoe only 5,500 miles per year.

Now since fuel economy is only a portion of a vehicles cost, lets take a look at the price for a used Civic and Tahoe on Craigslist, lets say a 2004 with around 50,000 miles on the clock. As of August 14th, 2008 the Civic will cost you around $14,000, the Tahoe has a bit more of a range, but 13-16k is pretty common. I think it is safe to call this one a tie, as shopping around for either car could yield a similar deal.

You get a lot more vehicle with the Tahoe, but the Civic will save you $1200 a year. Now the question becomes, are you ok with packing the family into the Honda and heading down to the river?

For me I think the choice is clear, figure out how to drive fewer miles and get the Tahoe so I can tow my racecar in comfort!

When I first saw Marty McFly hop behind the wheel of Doc Browns DMC-12, I was hooked. At that time I had no idea the man behind the version without a flux capacitor was the very same man credited with hatching the Pontiac GTO in 1964. There are few things as magical as sitting behind the wheel of a midsize American sedan with a long wheelbase (115″), a ton of power and absolutely stunning visual style. Although I don’t actually own a GTO, I have two examples of the Chevrolet version of the A-body in my stable, and one day when my wife forgets that I already have 2 hotrods, maybe I can sneak in a 1965 GTO Tri-power. Maybe the DMC-12 would have sold better if it had the big bad rumble of a v8 engine?

Enough treading down memory lane, lets set the time circuits forward, and see what lies in store. According to an article on BBC News, James Espey of Delorean Motor Company in Texas is producing around 20-25 hand made DMC-12s each year for sale to hard core Michael J. Fox fans. Hopefully Mr. Espey and his crew give the car a bit of a performance upgrade, because according to the ever reliable Wikipedia, these things take over 10 seconds to hit 60mph in stock form. That’s slower then my wife’s Escape Hybrid, which although it may have a flux capacitor, does not inspire the mind of the performance enthusiast.