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Shaping Trends For the FutureWhere is car design heading? Answering that question is well above our pay grade, but the young designers of today will be the ones responsible for the cars of tomorrow. Hey, legendary stylists such as Giorgetto Giugiaro and Marcello Gandini were juniors once. Over in Japan, Daihatsu, Toyota's small-car specialist and maker of the great Copen, and the HAL College of Technology and Design had students drum up ideas for the future of the kei car, and some pretty crazy concepts emerged. HAL College The Big IdeaDaihatsu gave the theme "Daihatsu cars that will revitalize regional areas in 10 years' time." It's a pretty broad topic, but the automaker and the school let the students' imaginations run wild. Many proposals were given, and judges chose three that stood out. The winning designs are called the E-Nova, the :Do, and the Promenade. What's interesting here is that all three look worlds away from each other. E-NovaThe E-Nova looks much like a reimagined Daihatsu Midget for the 2030s, but it's far more clever than that. Its rear pod detaches to form what's called community mode. It appears to be aimed right at the rural small business owners, exactly the kind of market where small kei trucks thrive. :DoIs it a car or a pickup? Well, it's a bit of both. The mini-adventure vehicle features beds at the front and rear, maximizing its versatility and flexibility. It can also be configured in a variety of ways for either work or play. PromenadeUnlike the first two concepts mentioned, the Promenade is a sporty little roadster. But unlike the Daihatsu K-Open revealed at the Japan Mobility Show, corner carving isn't its main priority. Instead, the topless car offers a 360-degree view of the scenery. It's more of a cruiser than a sports car, and something for its occupants to soak in more of rural Japan. Granted, these concepts won't be reaching production any time soon, but we could expect some of these designs to trickle down in one way or another. At the same time, the winning students could find it easier to find work once they've gotten their diplomas. View the 9 images of this gallery on the original article View the full article

Fresh off a breakout season in the Mid-West Drag Racing Series, where he finished second in Pro Mod championship points, Jacob McNeal has officially accepted his invitation to compete in the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service. The rising young standout has firmly arrived on the national Pro Mod radar and now looks to build on the momentum of his career-best year when he makes his Winter Series debut this December at Bradenton Motorsports Park. McNeal has become one of the most talked-about new faces in the doorslammer world, showcasing both raw talent and impressive versatility throughout the 2025 season. In recent weeks, he added another headline to his growing résumé by strapping into a Nitro Funny Car for the first time at the IHRA season finale in North Carolina – a move that has only amplified his buzz and expanded his fanbase. Now, with the Winter Series approaching, McNeal is ready to test himself against the deepest, most competitive Pro Mod roster on the planet. “This really means a lot to me personally,” McNeal said in response to receiving his Winter Series invitation. “I’m thankful for the opportunity, and I’m going to give all these big-name Pro Mod guys a headache being there – that’s the plan. I’m coming to run hard, make a statement, and prove that I belong in this group.” With more than 80 Pro Mod teams expected for the 2025-2026 Winter Series and some of the biggest names in the sport preparing for battle, McNeal enters the season as one of the most intriguing emerging competitors in the field. His MWDRS success, combined with his rapid progression and willingness to step outside his comfort zone, sets the stage for a potentially disruptive winter performance along the Florida Gulf Coast. “First and foremost, Jacob is a great guy who I’ve gotten to know over the last few years, and is a great fit for this growing fraternity of bad asses we’re bringing together every winter. He’s the kind of guy we want to have involved with what we’re building, and he’s proven this season that he’s a helluva race car driver. So, it’s a perfect situation for us and we’re thrilled to be able to put him on the stage he deserves to be on.” The Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service features the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, U.S. Street Nationals, and the World Series of Pro Mod – three races that routinely produce the quickest, tightest, and most pressure-packed Pro Mod fields in the world. McNeal’s addition to the lineup adds yet another compelling storyline to a winter that already promises heavy hitters, major incentives, and historic levels of competition. Tickets and VIP packages for all three events are available now at https://bit.ly/3LvZ4DR. This story was originally published on November 26, 2025. The post Mid-West Pro Mod Standout Jacob McNeal Looking to Shake Things Up at the Drag Illustrated Winter Series Presented by J&A Service first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

Land Rover's Return to DakarAny form of motorsport is tough, but when it comes to the ultimate test of man and machine, none come close to the Dakar Rally. It used to run from Paris to Dakar, but over the years, geopolitical issues and other factors have forced the rally to scale back a bit. In its current form, the Dakar Rally spans around 4,970 miles across lifeless, barren, and basically roadless deserts, with 3,107 miles of timed stages, and over 80 hours of competitive driving across a two-week period. Dakar's legend is such that multiple manufacturers still seek out an overall win as a testament to their core strengths and durability. The 2026 installment of the race will see the return of off-roading experts Land Rover to the famed rally with the Defender Dakar D7X-R. Yes, returning, as the British automaker has been absent since the 1990s. Land Rover Based on the V8-Powered Defender OCTAWith new rules to be enforced in 2026, the Land Rover Defender Dakar D7X-R adopts the same robust D7x body architecture, transmission, and driveline layout as the Defender OCTA – the most capable production Defender ever made. Powering the Defender Dakar will also be the OCTA's 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, which is one of the parts the FIA says cannot be modified and must run on sustainable fuel. One of the few changes to the engine is the coding, to properly operate in the most extreme conditions. Powertrain cooling gets beefed up as a prerequisite for any type of racing, let alone one as intense as the Dakar. The D7X-R gets a reworked front fascia that prioritizes better airflow, and the radiator is now a single large unit type supported by four fans. Finally, a particle filter has been added to prevent sand from entering the air intakes. There are also other notable modifications made to the Defender Dakar to make it rally-ready. A 550-liter fuel tank has been added, and to meet the demands of the desert, the Defender Dakar features a 35‑inch tyre package, complemented by a 60-mm track width increase and a raised ride height to improve ground clearance. In terms of the suspension (a crucial element for rallying), the Defender Dakar D7X-R uses the same kinematic principle as the Defender OCTA, with a performance damper system that includes single-coil-over front and parallel twin rear dampers, developed in collaboration with Bilstein. Land Rover Flight Mode Because...DakarAll the upgrades are pretty much par for the course when it comes to competing in Dakar, but Land Rover added something interesting: Flight Mode. According to Land Rover, "Flight Mode automatically adjusts torque delivery from the engine to the wheels whenever the D7X‑R is airborne to ensure a smooth landing and protect the driveline." So, yes, take it as it is – Flight Mode is a feature designed to help deal with the numerous (and inevitable) jumps along the way. Related: How the Defender Became Land Rover’s Best-Selling Model There will be three pairs of drivers and co-drivers piloting the Land Rover Defender D7X-R for the 2026 Dakar. They are Dakar‑legend Stéphane Peterhansel and Mika Metge; Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal; and Sara Price with Sean Berriman. Land Rover View the 10 images of this gallery on the original article View the full article

In early May, former DI contributor Craig Cook sat down four of the original Street Outlaws cast members for a roundtable interview at Mo-Kan Dragway’s inaugural 405 Shootout. Cook spoke with James “Doc” Love, Joe “Dominator” Woods, Sean “Farmtruck” Whitley, Jeff “AZN” Bonnett to discuss the early days of the show, how it evolved over time, and what the future holds after 15 seasons of the original show and numerous spinoffs. At the time, many of the drivers were at a crossroads: with no television deal in place and fewer contracts being offered, they had to decide how to proceed moving forward. Since then, Speed Promotions Racing, which took over the No Prep Kings framework, canceled the final races of its 2025 season, effectively ending the Street Outlaws era. This excerpt of the roundtable, which appeared in DI #196, the State of Drag Issue, in September/October 2025, features Sean “Farmtruck” Whitley. Looking back on when the original 405 show first started, did you ever believe it would blow up and become as popular as it did? Oh no, we definitely thought they were cops. We thought it was a sting operation. And whenever they sent the guys out to film the sizzle reel, I thought, “They’re going to film us racing each other for how long? Eight weeks?” I thought they’d never air a single episode. The first season was eight episodes, and I really thought we weren’t going to make it out of our first season. For it to go 12 years, and we’re still recognizable, that blows me away. Everyone recognizes the truck. That’s just an old crappy truck that we built in my garage. We worked on it on weekends and started racing it, brought it out of town and it was a great sleeper, it worked. But yeah, I’m still blown away that we can go to a track and have a line. You all have done this for quite a while now. Looking back on the show, what’s either a favorite memory or accomplishment that each of you had over the course of Street Outlaws? Talking about memories and favorite moments…my favorite moment is when we built the Dung Beetle, and AZN got behind the wheel. He had to row gears, and he showed them all how it was done. It was the only stick-shift car out there and he did pretty damn good, outrun a bunch of supercars with it. Even though we’re not related, he’s 20 years younger than me and it was like watching my boy. We built the car, we raced the car, and that’s one of my fondest memories. As things progressed, it wasn’t just the 405 show anymore. With nearly 20 spin-off shows, you were basically filming year-round. With a cast made up primarily of regular, blue-collar workers, how did you balance your regular jobs and filming full-time? Well, first of all, you mentioned spin-off shows. I think we, or Street Outlaws, set a record for the most spin-off shows in any reality TV show series. We’re proud of that. One of the most popular spin-off shows was No Prep Kings. How did you all balance the idea of being street racers that are now competing at the track, but also giving fans of the show the opportunity to come out and experience what you’re doing? Well, a little bit of the history of the show and how it evolved. Every human wants a nicer home and a nicer car. Same thing with racers – they want to go faster. We had run out of real street racers on Street Outlaws to race and the producers started finding us races, and that’s when you saw Pro Mods show up. All the other guys said, “Hey, we’re in front of the world here. We got to step up our game. If we’re going to be racing Pro Mods on the street, we got to do this.” They did what they had to do to compete. AZN and I, we knew we couldn’t compete. We just wanted to keep it simple. So we still have the same old Farmtruck. We put a bigger and better motor in it, but it’s still streetable, and it’s still what we wanted the show to be. Our last season, we were driving street cars, we were cruising, we were getting back to our roots. Everybody was having fun, no one was arguing. We were racing in other towns, other states. That was the best the show had been in a long, long time. With the evolution you talked about – the never-ending desire to continue going faster combined with big-money teams jumping in – do you believe it eventually went too far from what made it popular to begin with? Well, it’s gone too far for us, but not for them. They did it, and I’m glad they stepped up and built these awesome cars to compete. People evolved and they got better at what they do. AZN and I, we’re still stuck in the past. Looking ahead, with Speed Promotions Racing taking over what was formerly No Prep Kings, and no television show currently in place, what are your plans moving forward? Will you continue with SPR, or focus more on match races and paid appearances? No, we want to do what we want to do. We want to build cool stuff. We just got done with our “Funny Farm,” which is like a double truck, with two front ends. And we want to have a lot of fun creating stuff like that. We want to come to these tracks, do some grudge racing. We don’t do much street stuff anymore. A lot of these small towns will block off the roads and let us race. We love that stuff. We’ve been invited to go out and race with the other guys [SPR], but we didn’t hear from them in a long time and so we booked the whole year, and we really don’t have it in our schedule to go this year. We love doing stuff like this at small tracks like Mo-Kan. There’s lots of friendly people, a lot of hardcore Street Outlaws fans that come out to see us. The post DI Interview: Sean ‘Farmtruck’ Whitley on The Heart of ‘Street Outlaws’ & Getting Back to His Roots first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

American Jeep Compass in a LimboJeep’s entry-level SUV occupies a simple role in the lineup, but its future in the US has been stuck in limbo. While Europe rolled out its all-new, Italy-made Compass this year, American buyers remain tied to the long-running generation that has been on sale for nearly a decade. The delay wasn’t because Jeep lacked a replacement. Stellantis needed to finalize where the new model would be built, and tariff considerations pushed the decision further down the timeline than expected. There is some progress. Stellantis has now settled on Belvidere Assembly as the production base for the next-generation Compass, returning a major plant to service after its 2023 shutdown. The catch is timing. Belvidere won’t begin building the new Compass until December 2027. That places the US launch in the 2028 model year, roughly three years after the redesigned version was introduced. View the 1 images of this gallery on the original article Phased Production TimelineAccording to Mopar Insiders, the production schedule follows the updated Capacity Assessment system that Stellantis now uses for major launches. Belvidere is set to begin its first early “X0” pilot builds in December 2026, focusing on tooling verification and basic assembly. The more refined “X1” pilots arrive in April 2027 to test early parts and validate the manufacturing flow. Full production doesn’t begin until December 2027. Phase Timing Purpose X0 Pilot December 2026 Supplier tooling kickoff, early component checks X1 Pilot April 2027 Early-build quality and fitment validation Start of Production December 2027 Full manufacturing launch for the US market This phased rollout means the US-spec Compass continues unchanged in showrooms through 2026 and 2027, filling the space while Belvidere ramps up. Exercise Patience While Waiting For the New OneWhen the new Compass finally arrives, it is expected to take a different path from earlier assumptions. Instead of launching as a hybrid-first product, the model will start with a gasoline engine and mechanical AWD. Hybrid and electric variants are planned for later in the cycle, giving Jeep a more flexible and accessible entry point for North America. Until then, the current model keeps carrying the segment for Jeep. For 2026, the US-spec Compass continues with its known package, though the base Compass Sport trim has been dropped. This means the new starting price is $32,985, including destination, or about $4,090 higher than before. Stellantis View the 5 images of this gallery on the original article View the full article

Fiat’s quirky but unsuccessful 500X crossover was killed off in late 2023, having last been on sale in the United States for the 2023 model year. Believe it or not, sales of the 500X have continued to trickle in this year (31 were sold in the third quarter), as the last few units to be built have been incredibly difficult for dealers to sell. The problem is so bad that some dealers are selling 2023 Fiat 500X models with over $14,000 slashed off the original price. Is this a great opportunity to get a charming “new” crossover for roughly the same price as a budget sedan, or should you give this Fiat a skip? Related: 2024 Fiat 500e First Drive Review: Reborn EV packs style, plays music out its bumper Multiple Savings of Over $10,000 2023 Fiat 500X Sport S View the 1 images of this gallery on the original article A dealership called Criswell Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Fiat in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is currently offering some of the most significant savings on a 2023 Fiat 500X. As spotted by Carscoops, the biggest price cut applies to a 2023 Fiat 500X Sport AWD, which is the more highly specified of the two trims. The dealer is offering a staggering $14,116 off this model, dropping the price to just $22,999. Other savings for 2023 models range between $12,786 to $13,866, with the cheapest models being two Pop trims that are available for $20,999. The Pop models originally cost $28,965, according to the manufacturer, excluding the destination cost of $1,595. These deals all expire on November 30, but we wouldn’t be even slightly surprised to see the same 500Xs still sitting on the lot next month. A Georgia dealer is selling a 2023 Fiat 500X Pop AWD with a $12,395 discount. Add trade-in assistance of $1,250 to that, and this one is available for as little as $19,400. This deal had an expiration date of July 30, but since it's still listed, it looks like nobody has bought the Fiat. In the low-$20,000 range, you can buy a brand-new crossover like the cheerful Nissan Kicks or Chevrolet Trax. They aren’t as powerful as the Fiat nor as uniquely styled, but they look good and will be easier to sell a few years down the line, especially factoring in the Fiat’s poor resale values. Related: No, Fiat is not doing well Great to Look at, But Not to Drive S Although it was officially discontinued a few years ago, the Fiat 500X still looks better than several newer rivals. Available features like the Al-Fresco soft top are perfect for warmer climates, and the top trim enjoys equipment like a power driver’s seat, front/rear parking assistance, and dual-zone climate control. Both the Pop and Sport trims have a 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 177 horsepower and 210 lb-ft of torque, paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. It’ll saunter to 60 mph in just under nine seconds, but while the ride is comfortable enough, the 500X is not nearly as much to drive as a Mazda CX-30. It’s not known exactly how many 2023 500X units are still sitting on dealer lots, but the existing discounts point to more of them than Fiat would like to admit. They could be a great deal if you’re after a unique crossover, but there are newer subcompact crossovers that are more sensible buys. View the full article

Cars and TariffsThere are heaps of cars that we wish were sold here, but regulations prevent that from happening for the most part. However, tariffs have made it harder for automakers to bring in products they believe will sell well in the US. Of course, it's not the first time tariffs have blocked cars from coming to the country. The Chicken Tax is a prime example of how it's still a deciding factor in the light truck market. But today, there are more tariffs being imposed on cars made outside the country, throwing some automakers' plans into disarray. You Can Forget About the TasmanThe Tasman has been in the headlines a lot in recent weeks. While it's not really flying off showrooms in Australia, the US could be its saving grace. Unfortunately, the chances of it coming to America are becoming slimmer and slimmer. Speaking to Car and Driver, Kia America vice president of marketing Russell Wager explains that the Tasman will be slapped with a heap of taxes even before it lands on American soil. As it's a light truck built in South Korea, not only will a 25 percent chicken tax be imposed on it, but the tariffs add another 25 percent. Of course, the workaround is to build the Tasman in the US, but that's a whole heap of hurdles Kia has to jump to make it happen. The executive said that automakers can't absorb the additional tariffs to keep prices competitive. He added that raising the prices does help, but he's observed that companies that have done so have experienced a sales drop. It's a tough balancing act, and it's becoming harder to make a decision without a resolution in place. Kia View the 6 images of this gallery on the original article Kia's Indefinitely Delayed EVKia is one of the many companies that have had to rethink what models they will bring in due to said tariffs. There's the electric pickup, although that might be more of the market not being too receptive towards battery-powered trucks. But one model that's indefinitely on hold is the EV4. It was introduced earlier this year, and it's now on sale in its home market of South Korea. There were plans to bring it to the US, but Kia told Autoblog earlier this month that its launch is on "temporary hold." The main source of contention is that the EV4 is its country of final assembly. Kia View the full article

A wildly modified 2007 BMW 328xi Sports Wagon, now powered by a Maserati 4.7-liter V8 and a Nissan CD009 six-speed manual, has landed on Cars & Bids with a current bid of $9,000. Finished in Sparkling Graphite Metallic and sitting on 19-inch Volk TE37SL wheels, the long-roof BMW has been transformed into a one-off European-Japanese-Italian mash-up that blends a Ferrari-related engine family with E9X M3 hardware and custom fabrication throughout. The chassis shows 143,800 miles, though the swap and supporting components were installed only a few months ago. For BMW fans used to seeing more conventional builds on the market, like the new lease deals for the BMW X3 or clean M models such as the 2011 BMW M3 Convertible, this 328xi wagon heads in the opposite direction, leaning fully into enthusiast-engineered chaos. The Maserati V8 Swap and Full Drivetrain ConversionUnder the hood sits the Maserati F136 4.7-liter V8, factory-rated at 433 horsepower and shared with models like the Quattroporte and GranTurismo. It has roughly 85,000 miles on it and breathes through a Maserati 4200 intake manifold wearing a Ferrari badge, a K&N filter, custom stainless fuel lines, and a full E9X M3 catless exhaust system with headers. Fuel and spark are controlled by an ECUMaster standalone ECU. The original xDrive and factory transmission are long gone. In their place is a Nissan CD009 six-speed manual using a Speed Gems adapter, a custom clutch rated to 600 hp, a stainless clutch line, a 7/8-inch master cylinder, and a custom driveshaft. A manual steering-rack conversion completes the drivetrain overhaul, turning the wagon into a rear-drive, high-revving V8 sleeper. This kind of high-effort swap sits closer in spirit to limited-run track specials, like the 2016 BMW M4 GTS, than any stock 3 Series wagon ever built. View the 4 images of this gallery on the original article Exterior, Interior, and Chassis DetailsThe wagon wears an aggressive mix of M3 and aftermarket parts, including an E9X M3 front bumper, fenders, side skirts, mirrors, core support, a carbon crash bar, and an M-Sport rear bumper. A Seibon carbon-fiber hood (also wearing a Ferrari badge), aftermarket LED headlights, smoked reflectors, red taillight overlays, and a custom rear diffuser sharpen the look further. Inside, the factory wagon has been replaced almost entirely with performance components: Recaro Sportster seats on powered bases, an E9X M3 steering wheel, a Serial Nine CD999 shifter, Alcantara trim pieces, a carbon-fiber weighted shift knob, an F8X-style head unit, and custom A/C routing with a hidden on/off switch. Chassis upgrades include E9X M3 front brake calipers and rotors, H&R lowering springs, a manual steering-rack kit, and of course the lightweight Volk wheels. Known flaws include scratches on the passenger doors, a ding on the rear quarter, some interior wear, and active 4x4/ABS/brake warning lights, the seller says the FRM and CAS modules need coding. View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article Why It MattersEngine-swapped BMW wagons are already rare, but a Maserati F136 V8 paired with a CD009 manual gearbox and full M3 running gear pushes this one into truly unusual territory. For enthusiasts seeking a wagon with character, noise, and the sort of “why not?” engineering spirit normally found in grassroots motorsport, this 328xi offers massive uniqueness per dollar. With fresh major work completed just months ago and an extensive parts list, it’s positioned as a high-effort, high-personality build that could appeal to anyone wanting a sleeper wagon with supercar-source material under the hood. View the full article

The English workshop Auto Fabrica delivers another show-stopper. This time, it's the Honda CB750 that goes under the knife.The Muharremi brothers over at Auto Fabrica have been busy. Last week, we unveiled their first-ever custom BMW K100—now we've got a look at the Honda CB750 Nighthawk that they b... View the full article

Ford built the original Boss 429 as a limited-production Mustang in 1969 and 1970, aiming squarely at the heavyweight end of the muscle car world. More than half a century later, Florida-based Revology has revived the Boss 429 name, but this time a bit differently. IN tradtional Mustang restomod style, the original design stays intact, even its iconic five-spoke wheels, but everything beneath the skin has been rebuilt with modern engineering – and the result comes with a price to match. Boss 429 Soul, Modernized Revology Cars Revology Cars Revology Cars Even up close, the restomod looks indistinguishable from the original Boss 429. But beneath that Lava Orange paint sit newly stamped steel panels assembled with contemporary welding and curing techniques. The iconic look remains intact, but the structure is entirely new and considerably more rigid, and Revology didn’t stop there. Updated subframes, a reworked chassis, and a completely modern suspension setup transform the way the car drives, turning what was once a rowdy '60s muscle car into something much more precise. Modern Supercharged Power in a Classic Ford Mustang Revology Cars Revology Cars Revology Cars The 1969 Boss 429 earned its legend through its enormous 7.0-liter V8, a homologation motor built for NASCAR. Revology’s version honors its power-hungry spirit, but has a new standard to live up to. The saying "there's no replacement for displacement" has become outdated thanks to forced induction. Under its hood sits a supercharged 5.0-liter Coyote V8 – borrowed from the current Mustang GT – that delivers 710 hp and can be paired with either a 6-speed manual or a 10-speed automatic. A Price Tag That Reflects Its Craftsmanship Revology Cars Revology Cars Revology Cars The new body, upgraded hardware, bespoke engineering, and hands-on labor push it firmly into premium territory. And that's not even to mention the overhauled interior, drowning in premium leather and wood. Whether it justifies its $395,000 price is up for debate, especially when the 815-hp Mustang GTD and other modified Boss 429s cost less. But restomods like this aren’t made for mass appeal, nor do they have to make sense from a value perspective. They exist for the few buyers who want the soul of a classic Ford Mustang wrapped in the capability of a modern performance car – Revology's Mustang Boss 429 restomod does exactly that. View the full article

Slow Charging NightmareOne of the biggest pain points customers have when buying into the EV lifestyle is the battery charging time. With EV adoption still somewhat limited, automakers have been working to address this by offering more EVs that can charge quickly. One brand, though, seems to have dropped the ball in this regard – VinFast has been slapped with a class action lawsuit relating to charging times of the VF 8 EV. Ronan Glon VinFast VF 8 24-hour Charging IssueA report by Car Complaints states that some VinFast VF 8 owners are experiencing catastrophically slow charging times, with some reaching 24 hours to fully charge. The issue apparently affects the VF 8 AWD variants, and not the Eco ones. The two named plaintiffs are Gil Abrahem Swigi and Joseph Mizrahi, who brought up the suit after both leased a 2024 VinFast VF 8 Plus AWD EV. Both vehicles were leased under the brand's claim that the VF 8 AWD charges at "industry standard speeds," but the owners now say the charging speed is unsatisfactory. An excerpt from the lawsuit highlights: "All persons or entities in the United States who, within four (4) years prior to the filing of this complaint, purchased or leased a VinFast VF 8 Plus AWD vehicle that failed to charge at the advertised wattage rate (typically 6.6kW or more), resulting in materially longer charging times than represented by VinFast." The VinFast VF 8 AWD comes with an 87.7 kWh battery pack. The automaker claims that the VF 8 should support Level 2 or higher charging speeds, which are around 6.6 kW or higher. In the suit, it says the plaintiffs' affected units are only capable of charging at 2 kW, which means it takes a full 24 hours to fully charge. VinFast also claims the VF 8 charges at 32 amps, but due to supposed software defects, the SUVs shut down, which stops charging. The amps issue has become so bad that the plaintiffs "must manually lower the amps to 19 or below to prevent the charging process from stopping. But this means the charging speed is reduced by nearly 40%." It has come to a point where the vehicle shuts down without warning, causing the plaintiffs to either wake up in the middle of the night to restart charging or wake up to an unusable car. No Solution in SightVinFast, which has yet to introduce a new set of EVs this year, is apparently trying to resolve the issue affecting the VF 8 EVs, but both plaintiffs still claim that charging times are too slow, even after multiple repairs. This has forced them to buy expensive charging equipment to improve charging speed. The latest court action states that the judge halted the class action suit after VinFast claimed that both plaintiffs had signed valid arbitration agreements when they leased their VF 8 EVs. Ronan Glon View the full article

Ah, the holiday season. The air is crisp, the roads are often dusted with an unforgiving layer of salt (or, in my case, snow), and for those of us who live and breathe two wheels, it’s a time to retreat to the garage, fire up the shop heater, and dream of next season’s rides and projects.But Christm... View the full article

The latest 46Works build transforms BMW’s R12 nineT with signature craftsmanship and select components. View the full article

Your “Dead” EV Battery Still Has JuiceWhen a dealer says an EV battery is degraded it’s, perhaps surprisingly, often still sitting on 70–80% of its original capacity. Research from the Union of Concerned Scientists puts that number right in the sweet spot. That is not scrap. That is a slightly tired athlete that no longer sprints, but can jog all day. DENIS CHARLET/Getty Images For driving, that drop feels like shorter range and less freedom on road trips. For stationary work, it’s perfect. A home or grid battery does not care about 0–60 times, turbocharged power, or highway passing. It just needs cells that charge and discharge reliably. Your “worn” pack does that for years. So when you sell your electric car, the most expensive part of it often begins a whole new career. Second-Life Packs: From Driveway to Power PlantCarmakers and utilities now treat second-life batteries as serious hardware. Nissan and Enel run a project in Melilla, Spain, where used LEAF packs help keep an isolated grid stable for tens of thousands of people, turning old car batteries into backup power for a whole town. Nissan’s own energy division proudly shows it off as a circular economy win. Academic reviews of second-life battery projects show the same thing: once a pack leaves the road, it can still deliver years of grid storage, soaking up solar during the day and feeding homes at night. Your old pack becomes quiet infrastructure instead of dead weight. For you, that means the pack in your driveway carries value beyond its driving life. Buyers, dealers, and fleet operators know there is money left in that metal box, so it props up resale values and takes some sting out of battery anxiety. When Recycling Takes OverEventually every pack really does reach the end. That is where EV battery recycling steps in. Companies like Redwood Materials recover more than 95% of the nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper, and other metals from used packs and send those materials straight back into the battery supply chain. So your pack does not head for a landfill. It becomes feedstock for the next generation of cells that will power cars with better range, tighter handling, and stronger real-world efficiency. Recycling also reduces the need for new mining, which helps steady long-term battery prices and makes future EVs cheaper to build. What This Means for YouFor you as a buyer, this story means older EVs look less risky. A degraded pack still has clear second-life and recycling value, and the industry treats it as an asset instead of a time bomb. For you as a seller, it means the “worn-out” battery you leave behind still works hard in the background, holding up your trade-in price while it quietly powers homes, data centers, or the next wave of electric cars. You drive away in your next ride, and that old pack keeps earning its keep long after the plates change. View the full article

The IHRA has acquired the WDRA to expand its footprint once again. The goal is to improve the landscape for grassroots racing. View the full article

A Sleek Electric Sedan Begins to Take ShapeMercedes-AMG is steadily peeling back the layers on its first ground-up electric performance sedan, the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe. After months of development sightings wrapped in thick, geometric camouflage, the electric grand tourer is now transitioning to lighter coverings. The shape underneath is clearer now: a long, low silhouette with a smooth roofline, flush detailing, and lighting signatures that preview something cleaner than the brand’s earlier EV efforts. Mercedes has been building anticipation through staged teasers and, most recently, a Las Vegas stunt featuring Brad Pitt – its new brand ambassador – and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 driver George Russell. The movie trailer-style video offers glimpses of a prototype being put through quick, playful maneuvers, the kind that underline how AMG wants its EVs to feel. With the camouflage thinning and marketing momentum building, the model’s reveal is clearly moving into its final stretch. Mercedes-AMG What to Expect From AMG’s First Dedicated EVThe new AMG GT 4-Door Coupe marks the first production model on the AMG.EA platform, a dedicated high-performance EV architecture. This setup supports three lightweight axial-flux motors – two at the rear and one as a front booster – paired with a direct-cooled battery for high, repeatable power delivery. AMG has been open about borrowing heavily from the Concept AMG GT XX for both layout and control logic. Design-wise, the car mirrors the concept’s lighting elements with sharper DRLs and a cleaner rear signature. Pop-out door handles, a subtly tapered tail, and a low stance help it read more like a four-door grand tourer than a conventional EV sedan. Inside, earlier spy images hint at a cockpit close to the XX Concept, including a wide digital cluster, a sculpted center console, and materials aligned with AMG’s usual sporty-luxury mix. As seen in the teaser video, AMG is also experimenting with simulated sound profiles and pseudo-gearshift cues – something that Hyundai has mastered with its electric N models. Mercedes-AMG A Record-Breaking PowertrainWhat sets this model apart is its powertrain, which Mercedes says is derived directly from the Concept AMG GT XX, which recently set a new endurance benchmark. The XX ran almost continuously for several days at Italy’s Nardò high-speed track, averaging 186 mph and covering 3,405 miles in 24 hours. Across the full attempt, two cars logged over 24,900 miles each, enough to circle the Earth’s equator in under eight days. That same tri-motor setup, supported by the 800-volt system and the ultra-fast 850-kW charging capability, forms the backbone of the upcoming production car. While output figures haven’t been confirmed, the technology is engineered to deliver sustained power rather than short, attention-grabbing bursts. Mercedes-AMG is expected to reveal the production GT 4-Door Coupe in 2026, followed by market arrivals just in time for the 2027 model year. Until then, the camo will continue to come off piece by piece. Mercedes-AMG View the 5 images of this gallery on the original article View the full article

Bring-a-Trailer just started an auction for one of Ariel's old square-engined motorcycles, affectionately called the Squariel. And you could buy it. View the full article

His stats speak for themselves: six IHRA Pro Modified world championships, 28 IHRA Pro Mod national-event titles in 43 finals for a 65-percent win rate, plus countless match-racing victories and track records set over the course of two decades of doorslammer driving. Add to these accomplishments the 1999 NHRA Rookie of the Year award, two IHRA Top Fuel wins and serving as crew chief for his son Scott Jr.’s 2007 IHRA Pro Mod championship-winning season and it’s clear Scotty Cannon has earned every bit of the legendary status and respect he now enjoys from fans and competitors worldwide. Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #66, the Nostalgia Special Issue, in June of 2012. Growing up in Greer, South Carolina, from an early age Cannon worked hard in his family’s diner, aptly named Cannon’s Restaurant, where after 40 years in business, locals and visitors still sit down to enjoy the house specialty Southern-fried chicken and chicken livers. Cannon recalls being at the restaurant “practically 24-7” after graduating only from ninth grade, but once he reached driving age he’d slip out during breaks and head to a nearby service station where the owner also kept a race car, just so he could watch and learn. “He wouldn’t let me work on it; I was too young,” Cannon remembers. “But I loved hanging out there.” Back at the restaurant, though, Cannon met with the disapproval of his father, Virgil, especially after he began bracket racing in 1978 as a teenager with a then-brand-new Trans Am at nearby Greer Dragway. “If I was around him, we didn’t talk about racing; he would just always down it. He thought racing was a big waste of money. It was 10, 11 years of living through moral hell with him because he hated it so bad.” Still, his father did lend Cannon enough money in the early-‘80s to build a tiny 16- by 24-foot shop to house his first real race car, a back-halved ’68 Firebird that set him on a straight path to international Pro Mod stardom and even made a believer out of his dad. “When I got to where I could make a few bucks at it, then it was okay,” Cannon says. “He became one of my biggest fans once I turned professional.” Cannon won four straight IHRA Pro Mod championships from 1991-94, got his fifth in ’96 and scored his final season title in 1998 before making the move to NHRA in ’99 as a rookie Funny Car driver. Though never managing to score a win in five years among the flopper ranks, Cannon continued as a crowd favorite in his Oakley-backed machine, partly as a result of his willingness to mix it up verbally with the stars of the day, most notably by challenging John Force before even turning a wheel in NHRA competition. “What most people don’t know is that John knew what was going on and what we were doing was trying to set up a two-car match race and make a bunch of money,” Cannon explained in a 2005 DragRacingOnline.com interview. “We were going to race 100-percent heads-up, straight down the line, but to be honest, our car just didn’t perform good enough for it to happen. “What everybody has to understand is that Scotty Cannon did not go out there with big balls to attack John Force. I caught a lot of flack off that, but to be honest; to all the critics out there I really don’t care. My fans that stuck by me, I love ‘em to death and I owe them everything I’ve ever got because if it wasn’t for them, people like (Oakley owner) Jim Jannard never would’ve believed in me neither.” After the NHRA experiment, where a few too many bouts with tire shake took their toll on Cannon’s vertebrae and led to three corrective surgeries (the most recent being a year ago), he took some time off from driving to help get son Scott’s career up to speed. Last June he told Drag Illustrated, “Me watching Scott going up that track, I’ll admit I was a little nervous, but I got a lot of thrills and a lot of happiness out of it. It’s not the same (as driving), but I felt just as good as crew chief as when I was driving.” These days, Cannon is back to helping run the family restaurant, but always remains open for a return to racing. He’s feeling much better, too, with his back finally getting the time it needs to properly heal and perhaps even allow a return to the cockpit. “There’s nothing I’d like better,” he told Drag Illustrated this April in a wide-ranging conversation that covered everything from his early years in the sport to some memorable moments to what needs to happen for drag racing to prosper in the coming years. Were you good at racing from the start, or was winning something you had to learn? I did pretty good, I think. I was bracket racing and this was before delay boxes and I was one of the guys to outrun. Looking back on it, I didn’t think I was doing that good at the time but it always funded what I was doing; it would stay where I could always race on the money I won, which wasn’t much, usually just $800 bucks or so. But back then, there were a lot of people that helped me. I remember going to one of the junk yards one day and an older man that ran a wrecker service said he just picked up a ’68 or ’70 Corvette with a big motor in it and said to me, ‘You can have it.’ There was nothing wrong with the motor; it hardly had any miles on it and he gave me the motor. And that was one of my first race car motors. It was a 427, 425-horse motor and I threw it in my car to race it for two or three years. I got faster and I won. So it looked like I knew what I was doing, but I probably just got lucky. You’ve got to have a lot of luck. Then I built that shop and I built one of my buddies a car. I didn’t charge him much; he’d come help me at the races, but the next thing you know, I start building cars. Back then, street racing was popular on Friday and Saturday nights. So I got to doing that. And then the Top Sportsman thing was kind of brewing in the early ‘80s and then the Quick 8s and Quain Stott, me and him were buddies, he built me a car, I helped him, and that was my first Willys. So the Quick 8s around here, I got involved and there was one guy, Ronnie Barbosa, he got on board. He said he’d help pay for gas and tires, this, that and the other. He bought food, tires, paid for all the expenses and that kind of took a big load off me. It let me set my program up. Was that your first sponsorship deal? It wasn’t really a sponsor. He had his own business, and just wanted to go racing but couldn’t. What had happened was when we were bracket racing this guy had a race car and he wrecked it. He got hurt real bad at Greer and while he was gone to the hospital—we thought it killed him—me and my buddies loaded his car up and I took it home for him, about an hour away from us. Anyway, he heard all about what happened and he called me after the race. He had one of the faster cars and had like a 540 motor that Gene Fulton built in it, and he said he was going to give me all the stuff that was still good on his car, the converter maybe, the rear end and the motor. Then he said he was going to miss racing, so I said, why don’t you just go with us and that’s how we got started. He didn’t really spend money on the car itself, he paid for the little stuff, but in this business that’s a big expense. It freed me up and I had Tommy (Mauney) build me the first car that I entered in Top Sportsman at Darlington and that’s where I met OnSat and that’s when I got the sponsor. It used to say Barbosa and Cannon on the car, if anybody remembers. I just put his name on it just to put it there. That was my second Willys and it was probably 1990. So the OnSat deal, that was your first major sponsor on the side of the car? Yeah. They were from Kings Mountain, about 20, 30 minutes from my house. I’ll tell you how it happened. This gentleman walked up within the pits while I was getting ready to qualify. I didn’t know him from anybody, but he said his favorite cars were Studebakers and Willys. So I took the door off and asked if he wanted to get in. Well, he got in and fit pretty good. Then he asked, ‘Do you have a chance of winning?’ I said I’m going to qualify for Top Sportsman, but I don’t have a motor fast enough to run the Quick 8 on Saturday night. He asked why and I said it comes out of my pocket; we want to one day, but we just don’t have it right now. He said well you have a good car. I said yeah, Tommy Mauney built the car; he’s one of the best craftsmen there are. He said I know Tommy, he’s from Kings Mountain; how did you ever get him to build a car; it’s kind of hard to get him to do stuff for you. So we got to joking and carrying on and he said he owns OnSat in Kings Mountain, told me what they did and said let me get back to my office Monday and let me talk to my partner and see if we can come up with some money. He asked how much did we need and if we could paint the car any color? He said red is his favorite color and could I live with that. He said he wasn’t sure if he wanted anything else on it, but if they put OnSat on it would it be okay? I said sure, we can paint it red, pink, purple, it don’t matter to me. Then he said, ‘Is $25,000 in the range that you could work off?’ and I’m sitting there thinking, I got my car, I could get me a motor, I’ve got everything else and we could go race. So that happened and I wasn’t obligated to run IHRA the first year; I was just obligated to run where I could. I went and bought a 615 from Gene (Fulton) and my program got better and people started giving me stuff as I started winning. The more I won, the more they gave me. I was the man to beat around here on the Quick 8s. I was beating Blake Wiggins and Michael Martin and Ed Hoover and it just kept going and going as I got more money. Were you still working with your father at the time, or had racing taken over your life by then? Once I got my sponsorship, I quit all that. I had had enough of the kitchen and the bitchin’ and him being negative. It was a lot of different reasons. I got a little bit of money and could build race cars on the side. I had a kid and a wife. I saw where I could make ends meet if I could keep winning. So when I went to the race track I was hungry. I would sell out my T-shirts at the local Quick 8s and make a few hundred here, a few hundred there. Then when I’d go back I’d sell out again. I won a lot and stepped up my program every year and I started getting other sponsors. Was that Pro Mod by that time or were you still doing the Top Sportsman/Quick 8 deal? Pro Mod was getting started in ’89, but I didn’t run all of the races that year. In ’90, it was the first full year and I finished sixth, behind Tim McAmis, who won the IHRA championship. I won my first championship the next year in ’91, but that’s when we all had 615, 632 nitrous motors and Walter Henry and ol’ (Jim) Oddy showed up with the blown stuff and I saw they weren’t putting any rules on them and they were making a lot of horsepower so I switched over to the blower and I won the championship again the first year I went to it. And then it took them a while to chase me down with all the rules. Were you having fun back then or was it just a lot of work? At the time, I thought it was the end of the world sometimes because of all the rule changes and the controversies. But looking back on it, we had a good time. Now if I hadn’t of done good I probably would have thought it was a nightmare. There wasn’t any partying or drinking. We stayed up all night fixing motors and trying to make them faster. We had fun, but man, it was a lot of hard work, unreal sometimes. I made my own blowers, except for the rotors and the case, I’d buy the stuff from Mert (Littlefield) and I’d locate my own rotors, change my openings, just to make my cars run the way they did. I’d go through six, eight or ten cases a year just trying to make a blower. I knew there was a lot there, just like with an intake manifold, if I changed my openings and configuration, because we didn’t have blower overdrive back then, but there was no one to ask who knew what to do; it was all trial and error. Compare that with today where my son is working on the clutch for (ADRL Pro Nitrous racer) Robert Patrick. They’ve only been out a few weeks, but they’ve got a brand-new Sonny’s motor and Rickie Smith helping on the tune-up and they’re already one of the fastest cars out there. It wasn’t like that for us; we were on our own to figure things out. You mentioned the rule changes and the controversies. Did that ever create any trouble in the pits for you? I wasn’t used to having the rules changed on me and I never did like it and sometimes it would mean some guys would be laughing at me if I struggled for a race or two, but mostly it was just bickering between Tommy (Mauney), Gene Fulton, me, Shannon Jenkins, Carl Moyer, your normal racing bunch. We just stayed at each other’s throats 24-7. There were arguments and occasional confrontations, but when I pulled up to the race track, Shannon never had to worry about me walking over and punching him out and I never worried about him doing that to me. I’ll never forget one time in Epping, New Hampshire, and I had set one end of a world record, but I’d used up all the fire bottles and was trying to borrow them from anybody, even the Funny Car guys, and they (IHRA) came over to me and said if I’d used up all the fire bottles they weren’t going to let me run again. So I said I just won’t blow up anymore and I’ll let off at 12-hundred feet. They said you already do that and I said no I don’t; I only do that if I know it’s going to blow up. So the next run, I reached in the car and changed timing and took a bunch of compression out of it, but once I got going I wasn’t paying attention and got overwhelmed with how good the weather was and that next run I ran it to the end and it set both ends of the world record and I won the race. Well, somebody had took a bag of peanuts (considered unlucky in racing) and strung them from the front door of my trailer that night. It had to be about 4:00 in the morning because we worked until 3:30 fixing motors, and they thought that was funny. I got mouthy with a bunch of them that time. But looking back now, that’s part of what made it fun back then; that’s all gone now. It’s dying. And a year or two ago I would have agreed that it’s probably good, but now I don’t. What do you mean? The reason why is because looking back on the whole picture, and it’s easier to be judgmental about history, me and those nitrous guys had to fight it out. If I hadn’t of went blown, would ADRL even be here today? I don’t know. If Walter Henry had not come out with that lock-up clutch and all that Funny Car stuff in his car before he got killed, would we be where we’re at? I don’t think so. If Oddy didn’t come out with that solid-mounted car and just stomped everybody’s butt back in the early ‘90s, would we be where we’re at? I don’t think so. The controversy and the difference in the class that everybody else seems to try to take out of it—and by everybody I mean rule makers and organizations—that’s what makes things interesting. When a person tries to create a class and tailor it to one specific combination, that’s okay if you just want to create a playground to play in, but that’s not the smartest thing. Even in ADRL now, there’s not any rivalry. Here’s what happened; if you take someone like me, that’s going to be opinionated and still going to give 110 percent, a sponsor sometimes is still a little leery because they don’t know which way it’s going to go, so the nice guy thing seems to work. Well, Hulk Hogan isn’t a nice guy, but he’s filthy rich. So what should be done to promote rivalries? Well, I was in on some of the NHRA meetings and they actually said we need more ‘enthusiasm,’ as they called it, and more energy in my interviews. I said I don’t know what you mean by ‘enthusiasm;’ if I get out and piss in the wind, is everybody going to like that or just call me stupid? You’ve got to admit one thing. I still to this day, even though I don’t run Funny Cars or dragsters, the one thing that I did that people who don’t know anything about drag racing still remember is when Oakley used me to challenge John (Force) for a big race when I first came over, and he knew all about what we were doing. I don’t know how much money (Oakley) made off it and don’t care; I’m glad they did well. But they told me more than once they did very well. And Jim Jannard and I are still real good friends, always will be. To make a long story short, where’s that kind of stuff now? Name anybody, even when their car’s running good, that would challenge John. Him and John don’t need to be hugging; he needs to be kicking John’s ass in the eyes of the public. And when John’s kicking it, he needs to be the old John that John used to be. Everybody bring it on, that’s what he used to tell them. Or how about me and Whit Bazemore in Atlanta? There was never a punch thrown; we were teammates; all it was was words, his words and my words, but we covered the TV screen. They kept us on that and the big screen at the track. He mouthed off and I mouthed off, and it kept brewing from a few days before. But truthfully? Whit Bazemore is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet; you’ll not meet a better person. A lot of the fans, they want to paint Whit as some kind of candy ass, but you’ve got to be kidding me! He’s no candy ass. He was ready to step up to the plate and go toe to toe with me. I was dumb enough to try and he was smart enough to lock the doors on the car. But it sold a shitload of Oakley stuff at that event, as I remember. A few more incidents like that and we would have had to get another merchandise trailer. But all that is gone. It’s not there anymore, in no class, in no series. But can those kinds of incidents be promoted without it getting out of control? There was never any harm done. I never hurt anyone, I never touched anyone. Nobody’s going to do that. It’s not the way to settle things. But aggressively expressing your opinion, there’s nothing wrong with that. Look at professional wrestlers; all they do is run their damn mouths and make millions. We didn’t do that on purpose, but it worked for us, too. I don’t care; if you take one driver that doesn’t have charisma and a driver that does have it, if you’re trying to create it you can’t make it happen. If you take that guy who has it already, you can calm him down to where if you tell him to shut up, if he’s smart, he’ll shut up. You can’t make actors out of drag racers because we’re hard-working and passionate people. There were more than just me out there before, too. We had a lot of guys that were what I call real visual racers. Jim Oddy was one of them. He’d stand there with his car and the friction was there, the air you could cut it with a knife. But that was good. Looking back on it, that was good. It’ll come back, somewhere, somehow. Right now it’s fading away and not because of IHRA or ADRL, but because we let it happen. People have let it drift away a little bit. And the money; the more money that gets in it, the more politically correct it becomes, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Yes, you have to be respectful, and yes, you have to know who the boss is and know when to sit down and shut up and know what to say. But you don’t have to walk around scared. And I hate to say it, but drag racing has got 90 percent of its racers scared. You have to let the stars be stars. What was it like being one of the first U.S. Pro Mod drivers to compete in Australia? For years, all I heard was you couldn’t go down there and outrun them Australians, and I was like, bullshit! I had never met (Top Doorslammer champ) Victor Bray or even talked to him, but they built me a car and I used his motor and most of his parts, but I took my own blower. It was a Roots blower versus a screw, which was unheard of and everybody was laughing at me and saying I was going to get my ass kicked. Now he was running a whole bunch of speed, but he wasn’t running ET, and what he failed to understand was they didn’t make the rules for what I was bringing. So instead of me taking a 60-degree rotor, he found out when I got there that I had Mert make me a special 16:71 high-helix that I’d never run before. Well, the second pass on the car that thing went like a 6.36 and the best he’d ever been was a .32—and I’d left at idle just to get my license. He said we’re in trouble, and I said no we’re not; you are! And all over Australia, that was it. Understand, I would eat, work and sleep with this guy over there. We drank whiskey together at night; we celebrated and were best of friends. But when I got in the car, Victor Bray became my worst enemy. He couldn’t stand me and I couldn’t stand him. And you know what? That made the whole show. They sold out almost every ticket at every race we went to. Going to Australia also introduced you to Murray Anderson and his swing-arm rear suspension, right? Yeah. Naturally they had it over there; he built it for Victor first and I guess all the cars there had them. It’s a big, long ladder bar, basically; it’s a little higher but not much. I wasn’t sure about it but they told me not to worry, the car goes straight, and Murray was there at every race. He never really told me what to do, but I watched him. He said this is really hard for me, to make your car run, and a tenth or two-tenths faster than Victor, and he’s my main customer. Oddy actually had someone here that designed something similar a couple or three years before I went. Mine was a new design, the first long one. Murray told me that and I told him to do what he wanted. He said no other car is like this, yours is going to be different than Victor’s, but I know what to do and you’ve got to trust me. The first three or four runs it wouldn’t go down the track. Were you feeling pretty concerned at that point? I wasn’t concerned; I was so mad and disappointed that I was ready to shoot myself. I couldn’t go two feet. But we tried a few things and finally got it figured out the day I got my license down there, right before we had to go race for real. It must have worked pretty well, since you bought and brought that Anderson-built Studebaker back to the States with you. Yeah, I had mentioned I’d like to run it at home because when I was over there they had changed the rules at home from a straight-rotor blower to a 32-over high helix. And I had run a high-helix there and knew they had more power. I said to someone, if I had this car back home I could smoke those guys so bad they’d think the ‘90s had started all over again. Knock on wood, they passed the rule before I came home and I made sure I got the car. The government down there actually helped Victor pay for that car in some roundabout way and when I went to buy the car from him I was allowed to pay just what money he had in it. And their dollar was a lot less than ours at the time so I only gave $30,000 for that car. That was without motor and transmission. Victor took all his personal stuff off. So I only got the car seven days before the first race that year (1998) at Bradenton (Florida), but I had them ship me the doors ahead of time and I made some lightweight doors because the car was way too heavy. They run real heavy over there, like 2700, 2800 pounds, but we could run 2500 and I eventually ended up making it a whole new body. But at Bradenton both doors flew off the very first qualifying pass. That wasn’t too good. I let off it at a thousand feet and the only reason I let off was because I was scared; the doors were off, but the car was hauling ass. It went number one. I won that one and went on to win the championship that year. I’m the only one I know of at that time to win a championship with a foreign-built car. In IHRA I know I was for sure. How are you feeling these days? I don’t really have any health problems; my blood work is 100 percent every year. I have reading glasses, if that counts. The one main problem that I’ve had is with my back, but it’s the best it’s been in years now. I’m not making excuses, but I never really had much trouble with my back in the ‘90s. It hurt some, but not severe, but I did rupture it in ’97 before I went to Australia, in the last (IHRA) race that year. I qualified, but I didn’t get to stay and race the next day and I had surgery three days later. Four weeks later I was in Australia. I never went back to the doctor. I came back and went straight into IHRA racing, won the ’98 championship and went straight into the Funny Car that winter. So I never did let it heal, they say. In ’06, I ruptured it again. I broke it in the Top Fuel car in Rockingham on the top end. They’ve got skid plates on those cars and the seat belts were tied down over my shoulders and were pulling my spine down when the car bottomed out. I knew that, but that was a brand new car and it was the first time we ran it. We were going to move the bar up later and just didn’t have time. That cost me an operation, but I had three weeks before the next race so they did emergency surgery on me two days later and I was back driving again. This last time I had surgery, the same one, just a ruptured disc, they had to dig all the scar tissue out and operate on me with no trauma, meaning if you ever ruptured your back and let it slide for six, seven, eight weeks, whatever it takes, it’s not infected or inflamed. There’s no trauma around the wound. What he fixed this time, the doctor said this is the best operation you’ve had. He said if you’d just give me six weeks of nothing much at all and six months of light duty, no race cars, you’re going to see a difference. And he was right. It takes a year, by law or science, for your back to heal from surgery. It’ll let you get up and move around, but it really takes a year for it to heal; it’s the slowest healing thing on your body. But it feels great now. Either that or I’m just used to it. What would be your ideal job in racing now? Everybody says, well, what do you want to do now? My cat’s meow right now would be to crew chief for a team, it doesn’t matter who drives. I would like to fool with the turbos some because I can see the turbo era in the era I was in back then. I think I could apply myself, especially down at the race track with some of the cars and the stuff I see. I’ve got to be smarter than I was back then; I think I could apply it and make it happen. The good thing about the turbo stuff is they have the power; they’re just having trouble maintaining it and managing it. Well brother, I’ve raced 54 races in one year. I’ve been up and down dirt roads, racing. Raised a family on it, so getting down the tracks was one of the key objects once I went to a blower. When I would match race, I could put a high helix on it and the power was unlimited for what I needed; it wasn’t even a question. But going down the track was a horse of a different color; it was all in the clutch set-up. I actually ran an automatic a little bit back then, too, but the converters and the input shafts wouldn’t stay in the car. Are you not interested in getting back behind the wheel? I’m interested in whatever. I wouldn’t expect an outrageous price to drive, but if somebody came along right now, I would sure try. If there was enough money to run the car, the door is open for anything. I’m only 49, so I do hope I have that opportunity again. My wish in the world right now is that somebody would read this article and call me and say, ‘Hey, let’s see how it goes, see what happens.’ I’m game because I’m healthy enough to try. But if I felt myself going downhill, before I wound up in the hospital, ruptured again, I’m old enough now to say hey, I need to get out of this or whatever—but I really don’t think that would happen. What are you most proud of in your career? Just being a part of Pro Mod when it started from scratch, the roots of it with Oddy and Quain and Bill Kuhlmann and Blake Wiggins and Tommy Mauney and all those guys. And I’m proud of the time I spent with the fans. I spent as much or more time than anybody talking to the fans, talking to kids. When I look back, do I remember what races were the best? Not really. They were all equal to me. What championship? My first one and the ones I got after I lost in the ‘90s, they were probably my most gloriful because I was on the pedestal for four years in a row and I got beaten off it. Not bad, but I still fell off. You go from the top to the bottom, I don’t care if it’s a number one or a two on your car; it makes a difference. And just racing and enjoying myself, I just love it. I drove a Top Fuel dragster and a Funny Car, but the Pro Mod doorslammer, that’s my passion for sure. Just racing, I love it. It’s all good. The post DI Classic: Scotty Cannon’s Drag Illustrated Interview first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

The Street Car Super Nationals 21 put on one heck of a show. Here's who picked up the win at The Strip in Las Vegas. View the full article

If your favorite carmaker doesn’t make the model you actually want, what do you do? For one Subaru fan from northern Virginia, the answer was to take matters into his own hands. Stephen Ketelsen’s ideal ride is a modern WRX hatchback, but Subaru only makes a WRX sedan. This led to Ketelsen creating his own WRX hatchback, which combines the WRX powertrain with the body of a Crosstrek Ketelsen purchased back in 2020. After a lot of elbow grease and assistance from a Subaru specialty shop, the final product looks like the perfect Toyota GR Corolla rival. Related: Top 5 Features That Make the 2025 Subaru WRX tS a Surprisingly Good Family Car Humble Crosstrek Beginnings Custom Subaru WRX Hatchback Stephen Ketelsen View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article The desire to take on a project of this magnitude started with the Subaru enthusiast’s purchase of a previous-generation Crosstrek, but although it had a manual, the crossover’s underpowered four-cylinder engine was a disappointment. However, Ketelsen still had a soft spot for the Crosstrek, his first new car, so embarked on a much more daring way to keep it but add more power. “Once the WRX moved to Subaru's Global Platform with the new generation, it kind of presented an opportunity in my head,” Ketelsen told Road & Track. “Because that whole premise is that all of Subaru's models are built on the same chassis, essentially, and then it's just modular from there: what powertrain goes in it, suspension and subframes and body panels and all that.” Mach V Motorsports, a Subaru specialty shop in Virginia, worked with Ketelsen to prove the viability of the idea, and once he had test-driven a new WRX, nothing could stop the project from going ahead. A wrecked WRX from Copart provided the powertrain and interior, and that’s when the fun really began. Related: 2025 Subaru WRX vs Mazda3 Turbo: A Sport Sedan Showdown Engine A Near-Perfect Fit—But Not The Back Seats S The older Crosstrek and new WRX have different body styles, so it figures that tearing apart the Crosstrek and making the WRX’s powertrain and interior fit would present some problems. Fortunately, the shared platform allowed the more powerful 271-horsepower WRX flat-four to fit without any major problems, but items like the rear seats and third brake light were challenging. Ketelsen began tearing apart the cars himself in his garage, but soon realized he’d need help with more complex sections. “When I moved up front, I pretty quickly realized that I didn't really have the means to do it on my own,” Ketelsen said. “My garage had parts lined from floor to ceiling just from pulling all the stuff off." The WRX’s radiator, condenser, and fans were not identical to the Crosstrek’s though, so a body shop worked its magic to make everything fit, while also transplanting fenders and other parts from the new WRX onto the shell of the old Crosstrek. The finished product is a hot hatch any Subaru fan would be proud of, and looks far more appealing than a new Impreza, the only other hatchback Subaru sells in the United States right now. “You know, it’s awesome. I love it,” Ketelsen said about driving his new car. “If you close your eyes, it sounds like one, it drives like one, it shifts like. So it’s, for all intents and purposes, a stock WRX.” All we need now is for someone to find a way to create a modern version of the iconic WRX wagon for Americans, a car that still does a few things better than today’s WRX sedan. Related: The Subaru WRX STI Wagon Is Now Available But You Can't Have One View the full article

Royal Enfield celebrates 125 years with a special edition Classic 650 that’s somehow even more Classic. View the full article

Kia Pushes Further Into Adventure EV TerritoryHyundai's been betting on off-road-oriented vehicles lately, with the new Crater Concept making a small splash at the LA Auto Show. Its sister company, Kia, looks just as committed to that direction. The brand already experimented with rugged "Weekender" versions of the Tasman and PV5, and the newest addition just debuted in Guangzhou: the Kia EV5 Weekender Concept. Like the Tasman Weekender before it, this version of the EV5 gets the kind of upgrades that make the compact electric crossover feel more comfortable on trails than on mall parking lots. Kia evidently wants to widen its EV portfolio beyond urban-friendly family models and tap into the still-growing market of buyers looking for electric adventure vehicles. Kia Underneath Behind the Rugged LookKia's China Style Design Team developed the EV5 Weekender Concept, and it shows. The concept rides higher than the production EV5, gets chunkier all-terrain tires, widened fenders, and more aggressive body cladding. The matte beige paint with lime accents ties it back to other Weekender-branded concepts. There's a new roof rack that looks built for actual load, plus side-mounted brackets reminiscent of the Land Rover Defender's gear pods. Reinforced skid plates, updated bumpers, and added protective elements complete the exterior. Inside, Kia puts in more work than most concept spin-offs usually get. The panoramic display now runs across the passenger side, the steering wheel is new, and the center console and vents are redesigned. Materials were reworked to include a 3D texture and modular storage solutions, like brackets and ceiling rails. Kia hasn't shared technical specs, but the base EV5 already offers FWD and AWD on the E-GMP platform, with a GT variant on the way. Kia A Cool Concept for a Model the US Won't Even GetUnfortunately, the EV5 isn't coming to the US. Kia clarified that the model will be sold in Canada but not here, despite early hints that North America would include both markets. That alone puts some distance between American buyers and the EV5 Weekender Concept – and the concept itself isn't confirmed for production yet. Still, the EV5 Weekender's near-production feel makes it easy to imagine it eventually reaching showrooms in other regions. For now, though, the US won't even get the regular EV5, making this rugged concept feel even farther away. Kia View the 7 images of this gallery on the original article View the full article

Oracle Reimagines the HeadlightAutomobile headlights have seen their fair share of innovations over the years. But perhaps the most revolutionary, dare we say, is the latest lensless technology developed by Oracle Lighting, a Louisiana-based outfit specializing in automotive illumination. Oracle Lighting It’s a ground-up rethinking of what a headlight is. Traditionally, you’d find a clear outer lens housing what is the light itself, which, through decades, evolved from basic acetylene flame lamps to modern LEDs. Oracle has reimagined the idea and now eliminates what the company claims is the most failure-prone element of the system. This, of course, unlocks several benefits, which until now, were things that we had to live with or remedy ourselves, often requiring a lot of time, money, and DIY shenanigans. According to Oracle Lighting, its latest lensless system ensures there is “No more fogging. No more cracking. No more yellowing or hazing. No more lens oxidation. No more moisture behind your lens.” Toyota Tacomas Only—For NowTangible benefits aside, the system is modular, utilizing Bi-LED emitter pods that are IP68 certified for water and dust protection. Perhaps the most ingenious part of this is its maintenance and reparability characteristics. Because of the modular nature, a single LED failure won’t require you to replace the entire light assembly, which is often the case with current headlight designs. You can even, in most cases, swap the pods without taking the headlight out, says Oracle. Oracle Lighting Additionally, the added curb appeal, evidenced by the rather bold and aggressive design, is a welcome feature. Customers are also given the option to match the headlights with their vehicle's paint color, should they wish to. Oracle Lighting However, it’s worth pointing out that Oracle’s lensless headlights are exclusive to the third-generation Toyota Tacoma as of now, with an expected price of $800-900 per set. That said, very soon, the company will extend the lineup to the Toyota 4Runner and Ford F-150. If you happen to own a Tacoma and don’t mind shelling out the dough, this should be a cool yet genuinely practical headlight upgrade. In the words of the company itself, “The lensless design solves real-world problems with style, performance, and longevity.” You’ll just have to wait a little—the headlights aren’t expected to hit stores until early 2026. View the full article

The Icoma Tatamel Bike can fold down to the size of a suitcase, and proves that big things come in small packages. View the full article