“You don’t know it, but you are one bill away from losing your hobby.” Editor’s note: With major elections coming in November, all Source Interlink Media publications (40-plus titles with 6.6 million paid readers-car, truck, and motorcycle) that are on the newsstands during the months of September and October will run a cover story with the theme of “Protecting our Passion, Sport, and Hobby.” The future of our hobby depends on you. The ballot box is one venue for making your views known. We also urge you to work collectively with your fellow enthusiasts. How? Join the SEMA Action Network (SAN). SAN is a partnership between enthusiasts, car clubs, and members of the specialty auto parts industry in the United States and Canada who have pledged to join forces in support of legislative solutions for the auto hobby. It’s free to join; SAN keeps you informed about pending legislation and regulations-both good and bad-that will impact your state or … [Read more...] about Can They Outlaw Hot Rodding? – The Time Has Come
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1966 Batmobile – Auto News and Events
Race Car Of The Month Penske NASCAR Matador But there was one glorious attempt to bring the Hudson Hornet’s racing legend over to AMC, and it started in 1972 with a series of Roger Penske-prepared Matadors. Penske and driver Mark Donohue had considerable success with Javelins in SCCA Trans Am racing after their legendary run from 1967 through 1969 in Chevrolet Camaro Z/28s. So even though NASCAR was something new to both Penske and Donohue, and the boxy ’72 Matador couldn’t have been more ill-suited to competition, they entered stock car racing with great expectations. Besides the AMC’s challenging aerodynamics, the big problem for the team was engines. Going up against the well-developed big-block engines from GM, Ford, and Chrysler, AMC had to run a 366ci small-block, which in many ways was an upsized version of AMC’s 305ci Trans Am engines. Despite rules that favored small-blocks, reliability hampered the Penske effort throughout 1972. Their best … [Read more...] about 1966 Batmobile – Auto News and Events
The Life and Tragic Death of Racer Steve Bovan
Drag racing is dangerous, but there are worse things out there—things besides a bad crash that can get you killed. Funny Car pioneer Steve Bovan couldn’t have known what dangers lay outside of drag racing, but the sensational end to his life might have been avoided had he stuck with the danger he knew, instead of the danger he couldn’t have imagined. Bovan was a barnstorming drag racer in the 1960s and early 1970s, something most racers dreamed of doing. Who wouldn’t love to have been a touring drag racer from that golden era? Bovan raced his Junior Stock Corvette in the early 1960s with Dick Castro, winning NHRA C/Stock in 1964. He also raced a 1956 Chevy in Modified Production, and later in 1964 he was running a Max Wedge Mopar. But he wanted something faster. Says fellow Blair’s Speed Shop alum Robbie Robison, “He was a tough kid out of a tough area: El Sereno, California, just east of downtown Los Angeles. He had gotten into trouble, but once he … [Read more...] about The Life and Tragic Death of Racer Steve Bovan
Hot Rod Registration – The Defining Moment
All of us knew it was a matter of time. As far back as the ’70s, hot rodders and legislators were headed toward a collision course over hot rod titling and registration. Many of us knew it was coming while others choose to “temporally” ignore the subject. STREET RODDER will feature this month the first of several articles that will deal with hot rod registration in both broad and specific strokes. Starting next month, STREET RODDER will address the specifics of each of the following subjects: the current 2010 California amnesty program, registering hot rods under SB-100 (Calif. VC 4750.1), registering hot rods under the Special Construction Vehicle (SVC) law, and the tried-and-true method: “It’s nothing more than a used car so why do I need to do anything?” approach. As part of this series we will try our hand at re-registering a hot rod through the amnesty program, register a car under SB-100, and install one of the new GM Performance Parts E-ROD … [Read more...] about Hot Rod Registration – The Defining Moment
Gas Panic Stirs Fear Among Those Left In Sandy’s Path
In theory, industry analysts say there's no reason that victims of Hurricane Sandy's devastating path should face gas shortages or long lines at the pump. In reality, many gas stations are shuttered. And at ones that are open, customers face lines that are hours and miles long. Tempers are raging, and even fights are breaking out.It's not necessarily happening because of a lack of gas."Right now, we don't have a gasoline crisis or an oil crisis or a diesel crisis," Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. "We have an electricity crisis."Fewer stations are open because they need electricity to pump gas. Some have run out of gas because tankers cannot bring new supplies through storm-ravaged streets. At the stations that do remain open, customers are rushing to fill their tanks and cans to supply fuel for generators.Government officials are making changes to try and speed the flow of gasoline. President Obama waived the Jones … [Read more...] about Gas Panic Stirs Fear Among Those Left In Sandy’s Path
Ford Escape XLT 4WD Review
In an era where Explorers are MIA and Expeditions can't make it out of base camp, Ford's cute ute is a mission-critical machine. If Ford's going to Escape its financial woes, their compact SUV has to at least keep the lights on. To find out if the new Ford Escape is "the end to boredom" (as the website proclaims) or simply "the end of the line," I ran America's most popular softroader up the Adirondacks, down the interstate, into Manhattan traffic and ‘round the ‘burbs.Now that Honda's gotten edgy with the CR-V and Toyota's RAV-4 is too intelligent to be classified (says them), Ford opted to cowboy-up the Escape. To that end (front?), Ford added a shiny new chrome grill, hood and headlights; rounder wheel arches and new taillights– all designed to link the Escape to the Explorer. And there you have it: the Ford Five Hundred of SUV's. Or, as Ford puts it, "One look and you know it's built for people on the move." Escaping the exterior's old ennui for the Escape's … [Read more...] about Ford Escape XLT 4WD Review
Big Trouble in Little China: The Feds Crack Down on Vehicle-Export Fraud from the U.S.
Ray, a New York–based attorney, is representing Unicorn Tire of Memphis, Tennessee, which had 47 luxury SUVs and trucks seized by the federal government. The vehicles were new, packed two to a shipping container, and on their way to China. Some were seized at the Port of New York; others were turned around while at sea. None were stolen, and all were purchased at dealerships across the United States. The government also seized $3.7 million in cash from several of Unicorn’s bank accounts. Beyond that, says Ray, a $9 million line of credit to Unicorn Tire was effectively canceled.Arbitrage—buying something where it’s cheap and selling it where it’s expensive—is pure capitalism. Usually, it’s legal. Right now, in America, a BMW X5 starts at $53,725. In China, the same vehicle goes for more than $150,000. Even after paying taxes, tariffs, shipping, and handling, there’s a substantial profit to be made by buying the vehicle here … [Read more...] about Big Trouble in Little China: The Feds Crack Down on Vehicle-Export Fraud from the U.S.
2011 10Best Winners and Losers
Overheard Around the Punch Bowl in 2010: After a Toyota Prius allegedly sped out of control near San Diego, helping fuel a nationwide hysteria about unexpectedly accelerating Toyotas, Sgt. Kern Swoboda of the New York State Police urged calm when he said, “We don’t want to make the assumption that because a Prius is zooming around at 90 miles an hour that it’s a mechanical issue.” Right. It could be a scatological issue. Facing a whole 30 seconds in which he might not find some aspect of Barack Obama to lambaste, right-wing noisemaker Glenn Beck said, “Here’s President Obama in the all-new Chevy Volt, the electric car that goes 40—count ’em, 40—miles before the electricity runs out. And it can all be yours for the low, low price of $41,000. That’s quite an accomplishment. The Nissan Leaf goes 100 miles and costs $32,000. So I apologize. Barack Obama has clearly turned that [GM] ship around.” Somehow, … [Read more...] about 2011 10Best Winners and Losers
20 Tough Questions About the Auto Industry in 2017
From the September 2016 issue 1) What's Up? Calling this our "new cars issue" is a little redundant. Every month, Car and Driver is a new cars issue. We rarely write about anything else. We exist to celebrate the best, to expose the worst, and to keep our readers apprised of where the car market stands. The auto industry is regularly assailed for being an elephantine lump that stubbornly resists the changes the world demands of it. But to cast it as such is to greatly underestimate what this enormous establishment is and does. Tech companies make gadgets. Clothiers define fashion. Home-security providers peddle protection. The automotive industry does all that. It's a vast and necessary interweaving of physics, aesthetics, engineering, chemistry, computer programming, and psychology, plus economics, a touch of black magic, and a dose of good luck. Sure, the product cycles are longer than in, say, the smartphone business. Apple may introduce a new iPhone every couple of … [Read more...] about 20 Tough Questions About the Auto Industry in 2017
Why GM’s Q3 Earnings Report May Not Be as Rosy as It Seems
Weird as it may sound for an automaker that has recalled 34 million vehicles in nine months, General Motors is celebrating its third-quarter earnings report that notes bigger profits and a healthy wad of available cash. But hundreds of pending lawsuits and investigations against GM may pose a greater risk to the company’s bottom line than its latest report actually shows.First, the good news. GM ended the quarter with $1.4 billion in net income, a sevenfold increase from the second quarter where it recorded $200 million. (The first quarter came in at $125 million.) The North American division posted a 9.5-percent profit margin adjusted before interest and tax, already nipping at the heels of its 10-percent goal for 2016. Global sales through September, at 7.37-million cars, are up 1.7 percent year over year, although higher overall industry sales put a small dent in GM’s world market share from 11.5 to 11.3 percent (the automaker claims 17.4 percent of the … [Read more...] about Why GM’s Q3 Earnings Report May Not Be as Rosy as It Seems