Fire up the... Volkswagen Beetle 1.4 TSI 160PS Design

ASPIRING hippies looking for bit of a flower power in the new Beetle are going to be dissapointed. Look as hard as you like but this openly retro Veedub doesn't have a vase.

The old Beetle - by which I mean the cutesy hatchback of 1990s vintage, not the clattery rear-engined original - had a slight notoriety because it was the only new car on sale which offered you a vase rather than an ashtray. It's a novelty that's vanished from the latest version, but don't let that put you off. If you really want somewhere to stick your flowers, go to a garden centre.

What it lacks in floral storage systems the new arrival makes up with having something much better; substance to match the groovy, Sixties-inspired styling. While there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the outgoing Beetle it was trying to compete with the MINI and the Fiat 500 with nothing more than a twelve-year-old shape and Golf mechanicals long past their sell by date to call upon; the new one, on the other hand, is genuinely new and an an awful lot better.

By far and away this Beetle's best bit is the interior, which is not only easier to live with than the last one but genuinely stylish too. The body coloured dashboard, the neatly integrated stereo, and the glovebox seemingly inspired by a SMEG fridge are a joy to behold, and has the same chunky, bombproof feel as everything else the enormous VW Group, Europe's biggest car company, makes.

It's no hot hatch to drive but for something that doesn't pretend to be it's a reassuring companion, with handling that's tidy rather than grin-wideningly fun. That said, the 160bhp petrol version I drove pulled more than quickly enough, and settled down to offer nothing more than an ambient hum on longer runs.

 The new Beetle, however, is all about looks and it's here where I genuinely don't know whether it'll thrive or flop. I like it because it's more sophisticated and less cute than the old car - something I'd happily be seen in - but it loses a little impact in the process.

For nineteen grand it's a genuinely good offering. Perhaps one you'll love a little bit less, but definitely one you'll respect a whole lot more.

Hot Rod magazine and Mackeys Hot Rod Shop in Huntington Beach Ca are trying to win a contest and raise cash for the Semper Fi Fund

So.. why am I telling you about it? You can use this link :  http://www.builtfromebay.com/?utm_campaign=si_social&utm_medium=fb_post_hr&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=episode_01#episode1    and vote for the van, and when it wins the contest, and gets sold on Ebay, the money goes to the Semper Fi Fund http://www.semperfifund.org/ that assists recovering US Marines and their families while recovering from, or getting therapy for, debilitating loss of limbs, mobility, or other severe complications from roadside bombs, Al Queda bullets, rocket propelled grenades, etc etc and other rotten stuff that war inflicts on soldiers

http://blogs.hotrod.com/help-hot-rod-help-injured-marines-30639.html for the full story about the contest between magazines (you don't want a Porsche, El Camino, or Jeep winning, do you?) and http://mackeyshotrods.com/ for the shop that is doing the work, in case you like to help a little too (I bet pizza and beer are a great "Thank You" )
http://www.builtfromebay.com/?utm_campaign=si_social&utm_medium=fb_post_hr&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=episode_01#episode1 to vote for the van

That leaves Hot Rod. Our esteemed Publisher Jerry Pitt bought a 1968 Chevy van residing in Ohio from ebay, had it shipped to Mackey’s, and now you’re going to vote for it to win the competition. Build-up videos of the chaos, voting and more can be had at ebay, you know, that web site where great cars and parts are found that you never dreamed you wanted until you clicked onto them.

The van is only half-a-heap; and Mackey’s has a concept, a plan, the expertise, a wad of money, and six weeks build time to make our readers proud and our competition wish they were working for the winning team.

The winning Hot Rod van and three losing projects will be on display in all their glory at the 2012 SEMA Show in November. And the best part comes after the hoopla when the proceeds from the sale of the van will be donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund so go to http://www.builtfromebay.com/?utm_campaign=si_social&utm_medium=fb_post_hr&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=episode_01#episode1 to vote for the van, and the Semper Fi Fund!

The van is currently in 3rd, and needs a lot of votes to beat the others

Once you vote the bar turns gray... so I guess to vote more than once I have to do more than hit refresh (of course I'm trying to cheat... aren't you? For the Marines? Hell yes and hoo rah!)

Don't drag race a junkyard car, you don't know what will break, but this guy found that his bench couldn't take it

found on Hot Rod.com http://blogs.hotrod.com/video-backseat-drag-racing-is-not-recommended-14505.html

Some famous great hot rodders passed away this summer

I could have posted another photo of him on the Chevy V8 powered motorcycle, Black Widow, but this Allison aircraft engine powered tractor "Double Ugly" is a new one to me
EJ Potter, the Michigan Madman http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/12/ej-potter-michigan-madman-tried-unreal.html
photo from http://www.bangshift.com/forum/showthread.php/25969-Mad-Man-Video-EJ-Potter-Runs-the-Widow-Maker-V8-Bike-in-the-1990s!

Carroll Shelby http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2006/12/meanest-cobra-ever-made-ever-carrols.html


Big Willie Robinson http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Big%20Willie

Jim Nelson (Dragmasters) http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search?q=dragmaster

in the early 30's, during the great depression, a fishing tackle sales man was on the road from Florida around the Gulf of Mexico

images and info from http://auctionsamerica.com/events/feature-lots.cfm?SaleCode=AF12&ID=r101

marine products representative J.M. Keely is one of them. A combination of a 1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Coupe and custom-built trailer, the unit served as both a sales platform and on-the-road accommodations as Keely plied his trade along the coastal towns of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.


For sale in the Auctions America by RM August 30-Sept 2nd in Auburn Indiana http://auctionsamerica.com/events/all-lots.cfm?SaleCode=AF12

A990 superstock Plymouth trivia

 above photo from http://draglist.smugmug.com/Drag-Racing/2010-York-Musclecar-Madness/12886056_HLL43/3/930442314_XDG4d#!i=930442314&k=XDG4d

above photo from http://stores.ultimatediecastmusclecars.com/Detail.bok?no=55

the trivia.. this was one of only 3 A990 known to still exist with a 4 speed, 833 trans

It was the winner of the (Tulsa Oklahoma )World Nationals in 1967.. and was 2 years old. Obsolete by most opinions of drag racers, but beat the factory racers in the newest lightweight cars, with the newest most expensive trick parts. Grumpy Jenkins, Sox and Martin, etc etc etc were not the champs in 1967, it was a couple guys you've never heard of in a 2 year old car that was getting by on pity parts from friends and fans, Like George Hurst who gave them a shifterand line lock, and they won the largest purse to that point for Super Stock  $10,000

Learned about this story in the Oct 2012 Mopar Muscle magazine

Just how far do you go with your classic car?

THE MAN with the exploding E-Type knew how to make an entrance.

Not only had he turned up to Bretherton in a V12 convertible sports car, but thanks to a mechanical malady it came shrouded in a dramatic cloud of steam too. It was luckily, just a blown hose and nothing more major than that, but the spectacular arrival did at least highlight the stunning old Jag, which didn't look a day older than when it left the showroom. A big cat, obviously, which had been properly restored before being allowed to go on the prowl at last weekend's Bank Hall Classic Car Show.

It does, however, bring up the age-old question familiar to most fans of automotive antiques; just how far do you go and how much cash should you splash? Classics, you see, exist in three basic states; unloved wrecks which have weathered badly over a course of decades and are badly in need of a bit of TLC, everyday smokers which have a bit of wear ‘n' tear because they get used regularly by their owners, and the immaculate, big money restorations. The concours winners, basically.

My old MG would never win at concours, which is sort of like an automotive Crufts anyway. You do occasionally get the odd snob pointing out the bits of paintwork where a spot of rust is starting to show through, but that's missing the point. If you want to buy a car that looks pretty and does nothing else then get an Audi TT; I'd much rather be out on the country lanes in my old car, en-route to somewhere nice, using it as its creators intended.

I could lavish thousands on the old girl to bring her up to showroom standard but then it'd be no more useful to me than the watch my late granddad left me. It's a beautiful bit of chronography and one of my most prized possessions, but I'd never actually take it out anywhere because I'd never forgive myself if it got scratched.

I thoroughly admire the work, the love and the care that goes into bringing a 40-year-old car into as-new nick, but I just know I'd turn my own motor into a granddad's watch if I went down the same route. It'd look a million dollars, but it'd no longer be a car I could trust leaving in a supermarket car park, a place where scratches are but a misplaced parallel park away from the pristine bodywork.

Besides; why spend thousands on a classic car when you spend a fraction of that on making a memorable entrance? Man with the exploding E-Type, you've laid down the gauntlet...