Spotted! 1948 Ford F-3 Pickup Custom, Fairfield, CT
Posted: April 11, 2013 Filed under: Hot Rodded, SPOTTED!, Unique | Tags: badass, Custom Truck, Dual Rear Wheels, F-Series, Ford, Hot Rod, Mind over motor, Spotted!, Tasteful, Unique 3 Comments »
Courtesy of one of my family members, Sheryl Paul, here is this 1948 Ford pickup truck custom, in possibly the most searing shade of orange I have ever seen. The custom job on this truck has turned it from mild to absolutely mean, with a stance that other duallies could only dream of. The front bumper is gone and gives the front end a new lease on life–it looks quite special for a truck. Genuinely, I wish we saw more trucks like this.
Spotted by: Sheryl Paul
-Albert S. Davis
Scarsdale Concours d’ Elegance: Ford Rat Rod
Posted: December 31, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 1930s, 2012, Ford, Mind over motor, Rat Rod, red wheels, Scarsdale Concours, Supercharged V8, whitewall tires Leave a comment »
This epic Ford rat rod was at the Scarsdale Concours d’ Elegance. It was very well done, with a brutal supercharged V8 powering it. One has to wonder why someone would give it all that power with such skinny rear tires, but hey, it sure caused a scene amongst high society. This glorious rat rod stood in stark contrast to the high dollar luxury cars that filled the streets that day. It was a big calloused middle finger to the Rolls Royce crowd, with their pocket watches, and yippy appetizer dogs. This thing added a bit of flavor to this year’s event that is not normally present at a Concours, and for that I loved it. This is one of the coolest rat rods I have ever seen, the supercharged V8, the red wheels on whitewall tires, everything about it screamed “F**k you society!”. And at the end of the day, that is what a rat rod is supposed to say, so it is quite proper. Enjoy the pics. Read the rest of this entry »
Badge Engineering: How one got it right, and one got it utterly wrong.
Posted: December 6, 2012 Filed under: AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS | Tags: Automotive Insights, Bad Ideas, Badge Engineering, Cadillac Seville, Cimarron, design, Ford, General Motors, Good Ideas, Honda, Japan, Lincoln Versailles, Luxury, Mind over motor, USA 3 Comments »
The Cimarron, by Cadillac. A.K.A. The Cavalier, by Chevrolet.
Back in the 1970s, Cadillac and Lincoln were facing an onslaught of luxury imports. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar were all moving in on their sales and they needed to adapt to the newbies, which were just as luxurious (if not more) for a decent price, with better economy and reliability. Both brands went to the drawing board, and within two years of each other debuted a new, smaller model which was designed to give an owner the same experience as the bigger cars, but with a nod to better economy and practicality. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: 2013 Ford Focus ST
Posted: November 17, 2012 Filed under: Cheap Fun!, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 2.0L, 2013, American, Drive, ecoboost, Focus, Ford, Hatch, manual, Mind over motor, review, Sport, ST, Test, turbo 3 Comments »
There is a wonderful array of legitimately fun cars available for under $30k these days. Ford has had the Mustang available for for those who like high horsepower and rear wheel drive, but now they have added a different flavor to their pallet. Meet the Focus ST, a turbocharged hot hatch from the European market now hitting US shores for the first time. Over in Europe the Ford Focus has been a benchmark setter for some time now, acclaimed by everyone as a fantastic car. Here in America we have always had a different, much more mediocre version… until now. Knowing this, and having recently driven many of the ST’s competitors, I went to go see how it stacked up from behind the wheel. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: 2013 Ford Mustang V6 Pony Package
Posted: October 24, 2012 Filed under: Cheap Fun!, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 2013, 3.7L, 305hp, American, April, Black Mustang, Chrome Wheels, Coupe, Fastback, Ford, fun, Leather, Live Axle, Mind over motor, Mustang, Pony Car, Pony Package, Rental, review, Test Driven, USA, V6 3 Comments »
The Ford Mustang is a true American icon. There isn’t much else to say about it. However, the Mustang has not always been a perfect car (nor will it ever be). Over the years, it has gone from an affordable sporty car, to a pathetic little economy car posing as a sports coupe, to a small, boxy, yet rather quick little ponycar, to a retro-styled sports coupe which has plenty going for it. The base model, however, has always been the one that most enthusiasts tend to laugh off as a rental car special and a fake sporty car. That all changed a few years ago when Ford put a new engine into the V6 model, something enthusiasts pined for. Read the rest of this entry »
Spotted! ’30 Ford Rat Rod, Woodward Ave, MI
Posted: October 1, 2012 Filed under: Hot Rodded, SPOTTED! | Tags: 1930, 30, 302, Ave, badass, Ford, Hot, MI, Michigan, Mind, motor, Over, Rat, Rod, spotted, V8, Woodward Leave a comment »
Every dad dreads the day that some other man will come to pick up his daughter for the first time. Now usually a guy in a Mustang is bad news, but if he rolls up in this thing then a father’s worst nightmare has become a reality. This 1930 Ford has obviously had a lot of custom work done, slamming it to within a few millimeters of the pavement, but it has retained its original body and frame from the Prohibition Era. Powering this ominous carriage is a 302ci Ford V8 with an Offenhauzer intake, and with those short, terminating headers it makes quite a racket. This is a really badass car, one that draws attention in any crowd of cars. Its edges are rough as hell, but there aren’t too many cars out there with more in the way of character and personality. Here comes Trouble!!! Read the rest of this entry »
Lead East 2012
Posted: September 17, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: Chrysler, Mind over motor, Ford, GM, show, Events, Rain, party, Big Three, Lead East, Clouds, Storms, Muscle Car, Parsippany Hilton, Route 202, Route 10, Classic Cars, Labor Day Weekend Leave a comment »
On Labor Day weekend, Lead East held its 30th annual party in the Parsippany Hilton complex. Lead East is essentially a block party and a car show, as well as a 50′s revival, all rolled into one weekend. This year was the first time I have attended in quite some time (not since 2006) and this year, the caliber of automobiles was incredible. The vehicles in attendance were not quite concours quality but definitely represented a wide variety of American and a few foreign marques, with a heavy emphasis on muscle cars and vehicles from the 1950s and 60s, as well as some very offbeat rides. It rained, but the weather did little to dampen the spirit of the day–there was even one guy (the owner of an immaculate 1970.5 Ford Falcon two-door sedan) ripping around the parking lots in a golf cart for no apparent reason. Enjoy the photos, some features to come in the month to come.
-Albert S. Davis
Spotted! 1940 Ford Hot Rod, Woodward Ave, MI
Posted: September 11, 2012 Filed under: Hot Rodded, SPOTTED! | Tags: 1940, Ave, Blue, flames, Ford, Hot, MI, Michigan, Mind, motor, Over, Rod, Woodward 1 Comment »
This Beautiful 1940 Ford hot rod was at the Shell station in Royal Oak on one of the Saturday cruise nights this summer. Its beautiful airbrushed flames really made it stand out in the crowd. I’m a sucker for a nice blue, so these flames were really my thing. Enjoy the pics.
The 2012 Woodward Dream Cruise: General Highlights
Posted: August 20, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 2012, American, Auto, Birmingham, Cadillac, Car, Chevrolet, Chevy, Chrysler, Coverage, Cruise, Detroit, Dodge, Dream, Ferrari, Ford, gallery, Highlights, Hot, Jam, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Mercury, MI, Michigan, Mind, motor, Muscle, Oak, Over, photos, pictures, Plymouth, Porsche, Rod, Royal, show, Subaru, Toyota, Traffic, Truck, Woodward 2 Comments »
I was in attendance for this year’s Woodward Dream Cruise. This was my first time at the event, and it is by far the most epic traffic jam I have ever witnessed. The scale of the event is mind-boggling, with around a million people flocking to the Detroit area to see and show off cars of all types. I have a lot more material from the event, but this is a good overview of what was happening. Keep checking back for features on specific cars not shown here. Enjoy the gallery.
Spotted! Gennadi Ford GTX1, Woodward Ave, MI
Posted: August 17, 2012 Filed under: Exotics, SPOTTED! | Tags: Ave, Convertible, Cruise, design, Dream, Ford, Gennadi, GT, GTX1, Mind, motor, Over, public, Rare, Roadster, roof, Spider, spotted, Spyder, Street, Supercharge, V8, Woodward 1 Comment »
The GTX1 is a roadster conversion of a Ford GT by Gennadi Design. 600 GTX1s were planned but only around 100 or so wer completed by the time production ended in 2008, making this quite a rare car. In addition to the roof modification GTX1s were also upgraded to around 700hp, given better suspension, new interior parts, and given a few visual bits to set them apart from a standard GT. It is easy to mistake one for a standard GT though, and I had to do a double take on this one to notice the lack of a roof; at which point I took off after it to get these pics. This is the first GTX1 I have seen on the street. Enjoy.
As a car site we are basically obligated to post this: Gymkhana 5
Posted: July 11, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 5, 650, Block, Car, DC, Fiesta, Ford, Francisco, Gymkhana, hp, Ken, Mind, motor, Over, Rally, San, Shoes Leave a comment »Maybe the best one yet just because of the location. We’re a little late posting it, but its just good to have. Ken does some pretty extreme stuff in this, including a jump-drift. Enjoy if you haven’t seen it, and enjoy it again if you have.
-Nick
Spotted! Mercury Scrape Rod, Birmingham MI
Posted: June 13, 2012 Filed under: Hot Rodded, SPOTTED! | Tags: 32, 40, ass, Ave, bad, Birmingham, Black, carbs, Cruise, Detroit, Flat, Ford, Hot, MI, Mind, motor, Muscle, open, Over, Rod, Scrape, spotted, V8, Woodward 54 Comments »
Spotted this seriously sinister Ford scraper on the side of Woodward Ave last weekend. It was so cool that I had to turn around to get these pics of it. Awesome car, so badass. Enjoy.
