As long as most of us can remember, there has been discussions of Domestic versus import cars. As a young couple in the Eighties, we bought a Japanese import because it was the best fit for our lifestyle and pocketbook. My Dad was upset because he believed in buying domestic. It took him years to come over to the import side & now I don’t think you’ll ever catch him driving anything other than a Toyota.

Over the past few years, as the lines between domestic and import have blurred, I’ve begun using the tagline “traditional domestics vs. modern domestics”. The former would obviously be a Ford, GM or Chrysler, while the latter could be anything from a Honda, to a Suzuki or a Chevy.

Cars.com has posted a list of the Top Ten American Made Cars. This list is not only based on the manufacturer’s country of origin, but also the origin of parts, where the cars are assembled and how many were sold.

The list may surprise some of you.

#1. Ford F-Series assembled in Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia

#2. Chevrolet Silverado, Indiana, Michigan

#3. Toyota Camry, Kentucky

#4. Ford E-Series, Ohio

#5. Chevy Cobalt, Ohio

#6. Ford Explorer, Kentucky, Missouri

#7. Chevy Malibu, Kansas

#8. Ford Escape, Missouri

#9. Toyota Sienna, Indiana

#10. Chevy Trailblazer, Ohio

Over at World Car Fans, they are reporting that Nissan’s unoffical Skunkworks have been hard at work preparing a 350Z GT-S concept for the Goodwood Festival of Speed next weekend. Visit WCF for the full story, but the highlights include 380 supercharged horsepower, more agressive exhaust note and retuned suspension to handle the additional power. The goal has been to shave a full second off the already quick (5.8 seconds) 0-60 mph times and a full 2.5 seconds off the 0-100 time.

Engineers have been hoping to build a true clubman’s car, that can be raced on the weekend & then driven to the office, so the maintaining streetability has been a priority. While Nissan has not said anything officially about the car’s future, it seems promising that they are showing the car at Goodwood. Maybe one of the best sportscars on the market might just get even better soon.

It’s been an interesting beginning to the Canada Day long weekend. As I was leaving the house at 6 am this morning, I headed into The Garage to get out some bags of old clothes that were headed to the Sally Ann or some such organization. A couple of these bags were inside the old Volvo Turbo. One of the last times I drove the poor old girl, a rock hit the left 1/4 glass and shattered it. Fortunately, the glass never fell out, so we’ve just left it alone. Until this morning, when I inadvertantly pushed on the window instead of the door to close it. There is now a 6 inch hole in the middle of the 1/4 glass, where my hand went through it. Following this stroke of brilliance, Mrs G and I had to spend the next 15 minute picking tiny glass shards out of my mitt. What a spaz!

It’s been years since I’d seen a 124 coupe race car. The first car I ever paid for was a 75 124 coupe that was metallic blue with white interior. I suppose it was early Italian pimp. I loved that car, so seeing this one in nice shape was sweet.

After the break, there are a couple more pics…

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Well known Tokyo drifter Taro Koki has discovered Rat Rods, he just wasn’t sure what he was looking at! “The body has the used up look, but the engine room was shining just like new”. Good to see that good old North American style has made it’s way back to Japan.

Here’s one for all you Lotus Elise fans. Those lucky guys over at Axis of Oversteer recently spent the day at Lime Rock Park at an open lapping day. As always, they have some stunning pics of some really cool machinery. It always amazes me how many people there are with a ton of money when you see some of the casual drivers who show up for a lapping day with ultra rare, expensive race cars. Enjoy the full gallery at A of O.

Here is an interesting study done by Kelly Blue Book for Forbes.com about the buying habits of men versus women. While I know that Forbes caters to the well heeled, this list is crazy. The average purchase price of the men’s top ten is close to $90,000 us! The women seem to be a bit more real, with their top five averaging out at only $24,000.

Top Ten Cars for men

#1 is a 5 way tie

2006 Chev suburban C2500

2006 MB S55 AMG Sedan

2006 MB S600 Sedan

2006 MB S65 AMG Sedan

2006 MB SL65 AMG Convertible

#2 2006 BMW M6 Coupe

#3 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10

#4 2007 GMC Yukon XL K2500

#5 2006 GMC Sierra 1500HD Pickup

Top Five Cars for Women

#1 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse

#2 2006 Audi TT

#3 2006 Volkswagen New Beetle

#4 2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor

#5 2007 Saturn Sky

Source Forbes via Autospies

Pope Benedict XVI seems to have won his very own treasure, but he didn’t need to search for all those pesky clues. Following a short ceremony at the Vatican, Volvo presented the current Catholic Chief with his very own Volvo XC90. Clad in dark blue, with light interior, the V8 powered Papal SUV has had some personal details added just for his emminence.

No word if Johnny Depp was in attendance.

Source Topspeed

Over at Top Speed they have listed the Top Ten cars for Making Love. Of course this is a european list, so most of the cars aren’t available on North American soil.

1. Fiat Stilo

2. Seat Leon

3. Fiat Grande Punto

4. VW Golf

5. Ford Focus

6. Renault Twingo

7. Honda Civic

8. VW Fox

9. Ford Fiesta

10. Renault Clio

Just like Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, it’s the difference between “here” and Europe is the little things. In my eyes, there is no way that any of those cars qualify as a Love Machine. My best ever Love Machine was either the double bed sized bench seats in my 69 Plymouth Fury 2, or the folded down back seats of my 79 Dodge Monaco wagon.

What was your favourite Love Machine?

Things have been crazy at work & home, so uploading and editing to close to a hundred paddock pics hasn’t happened yet. Just a teaser is this pic of the Krause & England paddock spot. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Alfa GTV, and this was a stunning example. Thanks for making the long drive guys.

Even though we only stayed for a few hours this weekend, we had a chance to renew old friendships and build a couple of new ones. Part of the reason Mosport has been able to stay around throughout the years is the wonderful people who congregate there year after year. I was born in early in the summer of 67, into a racing family and Mosport has played a part in almost every summer since. The history of the place is enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, every single time I turn onto the entrance road. The only time I’ve felt the same, was the first time I visited The Glen. Same type of history.

Over the next few weeks, The Garage is going to start showcasing some of the cars that were around this weekend. The first will be Ian Lok’s Volvo 122S, followed up by the Hubley Bluenose Special and maybe Ted Humphries Daimler SP250. If any of you want to share the history of your special car, send me some pics and a brief history and I’d be more than happy to showcase your pride and joy as well.