Hot rod haven

Source Interlink, which owns Motor Trend and Hot Rod magazines, has shuttered Modified magazine, fired its editor, and is rumored to have let go of as many as 100 people from other publications according to sources. Modified, which is part of the "Tuner Group" of Source Interlink magazines, focuses mostly on modified cars as the name suggests. Particularly, there was a strong focus on Euro and JDM tuner vehicles — especially the Nissan GT-R. Advertisement Its editor, Peter Tarach, was allegedly let go yesterday and told the magazine was closing. We're also told that dozens of employees from other magazines — including Truck Trend and Hot Rod — were also cut, although there's no confirmation on that as of yet. The rumor is that advertisers aren't renewing contracts, circulation is dwindling, and splits within the company are making it difficult to operate. We've also heard that the expectations that Motor Trend's YouTube channel would be self-supporting weren't … [Read more...] about Modified

Psychobilly 101 When punk and rockabilly had a baby, the little bugger wasn’t pretty. Called psychobilly, the greasy mutant lovechild and its birth were both figuratively incestuous and totally inevitable. Advertisement According to most rock ’n’ roll histories, Eisenhower-era hillbilly rebels like Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, and Jerry Lee Lewis were the Johnny Rottens of their day. Recognizing the kinship, many of the first-generation U.K. punks nicked ’50s fashions and hairstyles, and their simple three-chord bashing harked back to rock’s early days—before everyone grew beards and started singing about politics and feelings and other crap. Psychobilly’s official place, date, and time of birth are points of debate, but two bands generally get credit for the musical midwifery. Only one of them, enduring British trio The Meteors, accepts the honor, and while that group certainly pioneered psychobilly as it became known and codified in … [Read more...] about Where to start with psychobilly

Oh. My. God. We always thought the purple Diablos were sorta lame. Then again, it was the mid '90s, and many a Saturn was painted a similar shade. But how does one take it over the cusp of lameness and into pure, retina-searing, vomit-inducing bad taste? How 'bout by having dolphins painted all over the damn thing? We shot the eBay link over to our pal Dana for review and she commented thusly: "If I had a million dollars I'd buy that car and blow it up. No, I'd first run the seller over and then blow it up. EXCELLENT SELLER! WOULD RUN OVER AGAIN! A++++" [Thanks to Jeff for the tip.] 1994 Lamborghini SE [eBay] Related:Hayabusa-Powered Isetta Update: It's En Fuego! Advertisement … [Read more...] about Abomination of the Day: Dolphins Diablo

Russia's postwar GAZ-M20 was the symbol of Soviet postwar prosperity (a potato in every pot, and all that). According to Wikipedia it was dubbed Pobeda, or "victory," and is best remembered as the first car in the USSR with turn signals, electric wipers (not the mechanical kind connected to the drivetrain, as was used formerly), an electric heater and an AM radio. Now among the classics, M20s — like this one — are often customized by people like Chip Fooski and Boydchik Codding . [Thanks to Mark for the tip.] New Old Car Remake: Pobeda [English Russia] Related:'This is a Tough Car for a Tough Guy.' Russian BRDM Gets Blinged [internal] Advertisement … [Read more...] about In Soviet Russia, Pobeda Customizes You!

Yes, yes, yes — we all know the 507 is the ultimate in post-war BMW hotness. And we'll get there. Before that time comes, we'd like to direct your eyes and brains to another Bimmer designed by the same dude, Count Albrecht von Goertz. All you really need to know about von Goertz is that the good Count had a significant hand in the Nissan Silvia 1600 Sports Coupe, the Toyota 2000GT, the Datsun 240Z and something called the Porsche 911. Oh, and he also fought against the Axis powers as a member of the US Army and was so into hot rodding that he had a shop in LA where he chopped Ford As and Bs. Sadly, one of the Count's greatest designs is his most overlooked, the BMW 503. More sexy precision after the jump. Advertisement The 503 not only debuted simultaneously with 507 at the 1955 Geneva Auto Show, but underneath they were basically the same car. For obvious reasons, the svelter 507 stole said show, but not for the 503's lack of trying. Like all of von Goertz's work, both the … [Read more...] about Know Thy Germans: BMW 503 Coupe and Convertible