Sometimes, work in the real life version slows things down in The Garage. Over the past week, we’ve been dealing with month end, year end inventories and the like which means I haven’t had an awful lot of time to keep up on all the happenings in the blogosphere. That’s one of the nice things about the CoW. It let’s everyone keep up to date with a few of the weeks hot topics. So, without further ado, let’s strap in for a hot lap around the auto blogs.

First up, Jeff Fisher is reporting on Car & Driver’s report of a press day road test of a JDM Mitsubishi Evo X. Even though it’s not the same as the cars we’ll see here in North America, it’s still pretty cool. This is kinda fitting for us here in The Garage, because if all goes well tomorrow we might have some special Evo stuff to share with our readers.
Continue reading →

Motor Trend’s C. Van Tune and long time friend wrote me today with his feelings and press release about the passing of another one of the great automotive legends, Wally Parks. Before he passed away I was also blessed to call “Terrible Ted” Gotelli my good friend who was also one of Wally Parks good friends and one of the original guys who helped Parks start the dry lakes racing era.

Gary,

The below press release notes the passing of the father of hot rodding, Wally Parks. He was a great guy and friendly to all. I remember first meeting him at a race when I was about 12, and he was as gracious then as each time I’d talk with him during my automotive writing career. He was one of a kind. He will be missed.

Van

NHRA FOUNDER WALLY PARKS, 1913-2007Patriarch of Drag Racing Dies at Age 94 GLENDORA, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2007) – Wally Parks, the driving force behind the formation of NHRA, has died at the age of 94. It was Parks’ vision, goals and unconditional commitment to the need for speed and side-by-side racing in a safer, more controlled environment that created what is today the world’s largest motorsports governing body.Parks, who founded NHRA in 1951, never implied that he did it all himself. Reflecting on the tremendous growth and success of NHRA, he noted how fortunate he was that so many dedicated people had shared his outlook that almost anything is possible if you believe in it strongly enough. One of the most dedicated was unquestionably his late wife, Barbara Parks, who was regarded as the most influential behind-the-scenes force in the growth of NHRA. Mrs. Parks succumbed to cancer in late January of 2006 after a long battle with the devastating illness.But without Parks’ vision and perseverance, much of what has happened may not have been achieved.Born in Oklahoma and living in Kansas until age 8, Parks and his family then moved to California, where his automotive interests surfaced. In his high school years, he became active in building stripped-down Model-T Fords and Chevy fours for use on the street and in early speed trials conducted on dry lakebeds in the Mojave Desert, north of Los Angeles.In 1937, Parks took part in the formation of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) – an organization focused on conducting land speed record events – serving as one of its officials until World War II began. In 1946, following military service in the South Pacific, Parks was elected president of the reorganized SCTA. In 1947, after 10 years of employment as a road test driver and process engineer for General Motors, Parks left GM to assume a new role as the SCTA’s general manager. It was his concept that produced America’s first Hot Rod Show, presented by the SCTA in 1948 at the Los Angeles Exposition Armory.In 1948, Parks helped co-publishers Bob Petersen and Bob Lindsay in the introduction of Hot Rod magazine, which became one of the world’s largest-circulation auto-enthusiast publications, and later was named its first editor. In 1949, Parks organized the campaign that led to the opening of Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats for hot rod speed trials – a still-thriving annual activity.In 1951, utilizing Hot Rod as a conduit to nationwide readership, Parks formed the NHRA. In 1963, he resigned his position as editorial director for all of Petersen’s automotive magazines – Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Car Craft, Sports Car Graphic and Motor Life – to assume full-time administrative duties as president of NHRA.An early recipient of Car Craft magazine’s prestigious Ollie Award for his many contributions to motorsports, Parks was named Man of the Decade, 1962-1972 by Popular Hot Rodding magazine and was recognized as Man of the Year in 1973 by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). The American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) honored Parks in 1988 and again in 1994 for his pioneering efforts in motorsports. Parks received his highest honors in 1992 and 1993. He was drag racing’s first inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992 in Talladega, Ala., and in 1993, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in Novi, Mich.In 1994, the tributes to Parks’ legacy continued to pile up. A large bronze statue of Parks was presented at NHRA’s Gainesville Raceway, which was eventually moved to its current location in front of the NHRA Motorsports Museum at Fairplex in Pomona, Calif. Later in 1994, Parks and wife Barbara were co-inductees into the Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in Ocala, Fla., for their pioneering efforts, which spearheaded NHRA’s success. Parks also was the first recipient of the Don Prudhomme Award, a trophy presented by NHRA to an individual who has made a profound impact on the growth and positive image of the NHRA POWERade Series. At the 2001 NHRA Awards Ceremony, Parks was presented the prestigious Blaine Johnson Award for his dedication, perseverance and nurturing commitment to the sport throughout the years.In 2002, Parks again was recognized for his many contributions to the sport of drag racing. He was presented with the inaugural Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award at the fourth annual Hot Rod & Performance Trade Show in Indianapolis. The late Petersen, a renowned automotive publisher and creator of multiple automotive magazines, then presented Parks with the all-bronze sculpture which was created to honor the entrepreneurs who have contributed to the history, growth and well-being of the hot rod industry. In late 2003, Parks received another honor of distinction, as he was named the Dean Batchelor Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the Motor Press Guild in Los Angeles.Parks remained on NHRA’s board of directors and dedicated much of his time to his personal involvement with the cultivation and expansion of The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum at Fairplex in Pomona, home of the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals and Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. Although much of the museum’s historical focus is on the evolution of NHRA and drag racing, it also features many other forms of motorsports that relate closely to the formative years of NHRA, including dry lakes, Bonneville, oval track racing, and allied performance industries.These are elements that appealed most to Wally Parks, a guy who had been there, done that, and enjoyed and appreciated it for decades.”Today is a sad day in the world of NHRA and the sport of drag racing,” said Tom Compton, president of NHRA. “Words simply can’t describe the immeasurable impact Wally has had on the sport he created and the millions of people’s lives he touched along the way. The name Wally Parks is synonymous with drag racing, and his vision and direction will guide NHRA for years to come. Everyone in drag racing, and the industries formed to service the sport, will forever be indebted to Wally, his vision, his focus and his desire to create, build and grow NHRA.”“Wally spent his lifetime doing what he loved,” said Dallas Gardner, chairman of the NHRA board of directors. “He marked the path and led the way for this incredible industry and the sport of drag racing. Wally was NHRA, and through his dream came a path to follow with lofty goals and ambition. He put the people in place and trusted in them. He has not abandoned us. He has left us with a road map that he knows will be followed.”

The previous generation Sentra SER Spec-V was a bit of an odd little beast. Stiffly sprung and with bags of horsepower through the front wheels, it was a torque steering nightmare. The fit and finish inside and out was haphazard at best. Overall, it felt like some tuner had gone wild adding performance bits to a basic Sentra and had built a car that handled like it was on rails and went like a scared cat, but really wasn’t a very nice car otherwise.
Continue reading →

While I sit here mired in year end inventory preparations, let’s take a few moments out for a bit of a laugh courtesy of the folks at Atom Films.

Did you ever wish you could say exactly what’s on your mind? Me too!

One of the side effects of blogging is my growing obsession with photography. Whether this is a positive or negative side effect is up for debate within the family, but I have managed to get a bunch of great car shots over the past 6 months.

Fellow Canadian car blogger Phillip Powell is a regular reader of the New York Times and he’s alerted the online world to the NYT’s new contest. They are offering up $5,000 for the best photo of a collector car as a way to get interest in their new Share & View photo gallery. Hmmm…the times is trying to get into the social networking world. That’s ok, it’s a cool opportunity to share some photos and maybe win 5 large! Submissions are open until October 25th.

Oh yes…The Garage will be submitting photos.

A soaring Canadian dollar and ongoing news of price disparity between cars sold in Canada and the United States has prompted 4 new car buyers to take matters to court.

Four Toronto residents, who’ve all bought new cars at Canadian prices recently, have enlisted the help of law firm Juroviesky & Ricci to launch a lawsuit against the Canadian and American branches of General Motors, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda. Apparently the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association and the National Automobile Dealers Association have also been named in the suit.

In the suit, the manufacturers are being accused of collusion between American and Canadian head offices of some manufacturers and the subsequent battle to prevent cross border shopping. The suit alleges that US dealers who sell vehicles to Canadians are threatened with penalties that could include revocation of their franchise. Also mentioned is the practice of refusing to honour warranty on US cars in Canada as a method of discouraging cross border shopping.

It’s interesting to note that this news comes hot on the heels of Porsche’s announcement that they would be dropping the price of some models by 10% to help decrease the disparity.

This is going to be a fight worth watching folks!

Full press release and contact info for interested parties after the break
Continue reading →

Part of the fun of writing about publishing The Garage is that I get to refuel all that automotive passion from driving all sorts of exciting cars. It really is all about the passion, so what the heck are we doing in a Hybrid? After all, Hybrid vehicles aren’t exactly known for their stirring performance. Or are they? Early Hybrid vehicles were generally bought by back to the earth, Jerry Garcia disciples who generally had the social skills of someone who had consumed just a few too many bags of grass in the early days. The cars were untried, had oddball styling and don’t even think about taking your clubs away for the weekend.

With the price of gas in today’s world, something had to be done to bring the cost benefits of the Hybrid vehicle to the masses. For Ford, that means offering the consumer a range of Hybrid vehicles, including our tester last week, the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. Now the Hybrid vehicle technology isn’t the only part of the vehicle to make the socially conscious happy. The Escape’s seats are covered in a rugged looking fabric that is constructed of 100% recycled materials, which likely means you’ll be sitting on last month’s pop bottles and Twinkie wrappers. The end result is a comfortable fabric that gives the appearance of being quite durable and is likely easy to keep clean. Fortunately, the kids didn’t manage to spill anything this time around so we didn’t have to test out the stain resistance factor.
Continue reading →

Like everyone else I really enjoy reminiscing old memories especially bench racing with friends about some of those times where all didn’t go as planned.

One such time was back in the late 70’s when I was an active member of the U.S. Olympic International Skeet shooting team. While hosting a weekend international competition at our local club in Palo Alto California there were many good friends and fellow competitors present. Two of them were John Satterwhite my coach and Eva Funes the women’s East German champion. One afternoon after the event had ended for the day John was telling Eva about my GT500 but she had no idea what was special about it. The next day I drove it to the club and John said, “Come on Eva… Hop in the front and Gary will take us for a ride.” It didn’t take long before we were on the freeway moving at a pretty good clip when John said, “Come on Faules, show us what she’s got!”

Continue reading →

Hot on the heels of this morning’s videos of our west coast contributor, Gary Faules’ GT-350 lapping at Infineon Raceway, now we have some killer in car footage of the break in. Perhaps more important, Gary’s co-driver, Jon Emerson is finally allowed to spill the beans on the team’s big news.

I’m sure Gary will have lots to tell here in The Garage, but for now check out the extreme coolness that is Lucky at Sears Point! Once the car is broken in, don’t think that Spec Miata will sail past quite so easily!

Finally, after all these months, Gary Faules’ GT-350 clone, Lucky, has some laps under his belt. Last weekend, Team California’s Best took Lucky to Sears Point (ok, so it’s called Infineon now but this is a GT-350) for his first shakedown. Fortunately for us, they’ve got some rough video of the car on track for the first time.

After the break, a short interview with Gary about the day. The quality of this snip may give some indication of whats coming soon from Team California’s Best.
Continue reading →