1991 Dodge Viper at Almost Everything Autobody

2001 Dodge Viper RT/10 that was hit by some debris on the freeway. The carbon fiber hood was damaged and the driver's mirror destroyed. Almost Everything Autobody repaired the hood, replaced the mirror and painted the entire car with a high quality base coat/clear coat.

Volkswagen TDI Cup: Rookies to Racers

Watch Volkswagen TDI Cup on Discovery Channel. It's an ad for VW masquerading as a reality TV series. . . and it's brilliant! Volkswagen offered an opportunity for young drivers between the ages of 16 and 26 to race in a 10 event series. Qualifiers had to pony up $45K USD (cheap for car, track, crew & training.) Only the top 25 applicants were chosen for the series based on performance in go-kart, physical and technical trials.

The show gives a great sense of how demanding racing is physically and mentally and how difficult it is to rise above the rest to become a champion. Congratulations to all of the young aspirants on the show for making it this far. We can't wait to see the rest of the season.

The racing is also a plug for diesel and Volkswagen's turbo direct injection diesel technology in particular. These cars are quick, thrifty and they never rattle or spew smoke.

Thanks to the following for background and images:

http://froma2j.blogspot.com/2010/08/volkswagen-jetta-tdi-cup.html

http://blog.cochesalaventa.com/uno-abajo-seis-para-ir-por-el-vw-jetta-tdi-cup.html

http://foro.tuning-on.com/stock-cars/eeuu-vw-jetta-tdi-cup-street-edition-racing-t58532.0.html

David E. Davis, Jr., Hero, Died Last Week

David E. Davis, Jr. photo on AutomobileMag.com

David E. Davis, Jr. died March 27, 2011 at age 80 after a battle with bladder cancer. Davis was an automotive hero. A little over 25 years ago I met Davis through the pages of his newly minted Automobile Magazine. His writing and editing were brilliant and funny and unlike anything else out there. The magazine was devoted, of course, to the love of cars but also to the great places, events and friends that cars enable us to visit. Davis worked at Motor Trend in the 50's then as editor of Car & Driver through the 60's & 70's. Davis was good friends with racing legends like Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and Phil Hill and he made them our friends too.

I kept the inaugural issue of Automobile for decades and am sad that I can't find it today upon hearing of our loss of Davis--Frank