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Mr. Honda developed a V-8 Curtis Wright aircraft engine to race on a Ford chassis. He took the wheel himself that year and set a Japanese speed record hitting 75 mph. Honda Racing was born. And people think Hondas has no roots in racing, think again, better yet read some of the timelines of Hondas racing milestones in the link.http://racing.honda.com/about/heritage.aspx?page=0

Kyle Busch, one of the most talked about drivers in the garage, left California with bragging rights for leading two of the three premier series points in NASCAR. And just think, he was kicked out of his ride in the #5 car to be replaced by Dale Jr. which is NOT having a great start to his Hendrick ride. Get used to it people, Toyota is here to kick butt, and it is going on right now before our very eyes. And this kid is going to be something to watch!!! Thanks to NASCAR.COM for this headline review.

Carl Edwards won Sunday's Auto Club 500 at lunchtime Monday, complete with his trademark backflip onto the grassy infield.

With its classic long-hood GT proportions, the Maserati GranTurismo has fantastic style. via Jalopnik

So yesterday, we brought word of International’s D-MAXX, a street-rodded 1939 International D-series pickup that International commissioned, and today comes word of Caresto’s Jakob, a lakes modified-style hot rod based on Volvo’s 1927 OV4 and apparently endorsed by Volvo as a part of the company’s ongoing 80th anniversary celebrations. ClassicRallies.com has the whole press release, so I won’t reprint it here.

Other than the hand-formed aluminum body, about everything on the Jakob comes from the Volvo parts bin, including the T5 engine converted to run on ethanol and the M90 rear-drive transmission.

With that, the D-MAXX, the Chrysler SR-392 and GM’s E85 coupe, it seems the OEMs are finally starting to recognize good hot rod aesthetic. Now if they’d just put these hot rods into production, I might actually consider buying a new car.

"We assume that Chrysler doesn't expect the Wrangler to perform much better, even with the optional airbags"

Midsize SUVs are becoming safer, but side and rear impact crashes remain a weakness, according to recent testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. via CNN

Who said there weren’t that many custom station wagons in the 1950s? Oh, yeah, Ryan did. While Robert Blasier’s 1955 Plymouth two-door station wagon may not have had face time in the pages of the little books like Cerny’s Suburban did, it certainly qualifies as a custom, albeit a mild custom.

Blasier, of Algoma, Wisconsin, said he customized the wagon in 1958, treating it to a dechroming, a four-inch lowering and a respray in 1958 Cadillac Tahitian Coral. And those spun aluminum discs and fender skirts. The stock 318 and three-on-the-tree still powered the wagon.

I put a lot of miles on it until it got too small for the family. I wish I had it back now. If anyone out there had any contact with a car like this, please let me know.

Two-door Suburbans in 1955 certainly weren’t rare - Plymouth built 31,788 of them just in the Plaza series - but they numbered less than the four-door Suburbans - Plymouth built 33,930 of those over the Plaza and Belvedere series. Gotta imagine few, however, were treated to such customizing, especially when they were just three years off the dealership lot.

Tags: MINI Tag Link: MINI 2008 John Cooper Works MINI and Clubman, 207hp and fuel-efficient MINI has announced that it will hold the world premiere of the new MINI John Cooper Works and Mini John Cooper Works ... via AutoSpies.com