Archive for February, 2009

Remember the ATCC?

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February 9, 2009
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Do you?  I do.  It was once upon a time, a fantastic spectacle of multiple manufacturers.  Everyone I’m sure is well aware of what lead to it’s demise.  If you’re not, the brief answer to that is narrow minded Australian folk and industry who tried to save their own manufacturing and design by ruling out any technological advancement brought forth by opposing nations automobiles.  The crux being the Sierra vs. Skyline battles.  The Aussies didn’t mind the Sierra so much, irrespective of the fact that it had nothing at all to do with them, it still had a blue badge on it that circled their problems.  It really wasn’t until the Skyline started it’s similar destruction of the fields that they changed the rules entirely.  They were fine with the Skyline and with Nissan in general when it competed but was further down in the standings.  Winning was a different kettle of stingrays.  Afterall, a 4cylinder Turbo had taken pole position in qualification in the form of the Fury 910 Bluebird one year and no-one cried foul then.  Why?  Well it didn’t win the race, it just qual’d really well and subsequently failed come race day.  I digress.

I was browsing about the other day and happened upon this website which I thought I would share with you all.

Evidently a 2008 round of the Australian V8 “Supercars” had an invite for some of the old Group A and Group C cars to take to the track.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.  The link to the gallery is at the bottom of this post.

Something

BMW 635 leads the pack

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: Automotive History, Car Spotting

Yard spotting…

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February 5, 2009
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Wouldn’t it be a pleasant surprise to walk into a car yard and stumble across a tidy nostalgic hidden amongst the late-model plastic fantastic? Here are three such picks from vendors across Japan.

on offer this week from Mibu, Tochigi-based yard GARAGE-SUCCESS is this mint condition 1984 Mazda Savanna RX-7 GT-X. Mileage is 81,000km. Asking price? 840,000 yen.

SA22C

1984 SA22C Mazda Savanna RX-7 GT-X turbo - click to view ad

12A turbo RX-7s, as always, command a healthy premium in the homeland and 840,000 yen is pricey given the current NZD-JPY exchange rate ($18,400 after conversion)… but nowadays you’d be hard-pressed to find another S3 turbo in similar condition on a Japanese yard for any less than around 750,000 yen – especially the mid-range GT-X model with its plush maroon velour interior, full electrics and removable sunroof. This one seems to have escaped serious modification apart from the aftermarket strut brace in the engine bay.

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: Car Spotting

End of an era – zeppan.jp to close

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February 3, 2009
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It is with some regret that I recently learned of zeppan.jp‘s impending closure. For those who have never heard of the site before, it’s one of the interweb’s longest lasting repositories of original showroom Japanese car catalogues, founded in 2001 by a chap who lives in Hiroshima by the name of Takeshi Kubo – once upon a time it was the only place online where anyone not living in Japan could directly obtain hard-to-find vintage and nostalgic car catalogues from, as well as modern ones.

SP310 catalogue

SP310 Fairlady, anyone?

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: Automotive History

80′s Hot Hatch!

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February 2, 2009
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From looking and getting around in the last few years, you would think it was only the bad parts of the 80′s that had come back to visit us (one hopes temporarily) things like mullets and clothing infested with horrible patterns of a fluorescent nature.  The return of these alone is enough to make one want to kill themself or at least those who perpetuated this fashion nonsense.  It’s only recently that the only important part of the 80′s, the start of the turbo trend in vehicles and hilarious digitised “space-aged” dashboards has become popular again with the masses.

Of course, as with all things there’s those that appreciated and took care of these cars right from the offset.  Once such person is Ed.  Some of you might know Ed or recognize the nickname from his numberplate.  Ed is a key part of retro-classics, his dedication and love of cars was all part of the same passion that aided in retro-classics coming from a concept to a reality.  His devotion (perhaps addiction is a better word) to cars from the 80′s has lead to him having an impressive and ever growing stable of 100% awesome.   The focus of this entry however is probably his largest and longest automotive addiction, that to the Ford Laser.

1985 Ford Laser TX3 4WD Turbo (BFMRF)

1985 Ford Laser TX3 4WD Turbo (BFMRF)

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: Feature Car

More RC & EP Wallpapers

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February 1, 2009
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This time I asked ElPieso for some larger shots from the “Wheels on the Waterfront” shoot, a particular few had caught my eye that I thought would make for some pretty impressive wallpapers.

retro-classics & elpieso wallpaper, number 2

retro-classics & elpieso wallpaper, number 2

Again they’re in 1600×1200, to download them just follow these simple instructions;

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: Photographs for Wallpaper
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