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You know about Google Books, right? It's an ambitious project by Google to, essentially, scan and make publicly available every known book. I'm guessing the end goal is to put them all onto a chip implanted in Larry Page's brain so he can always beat anyone in an argument, forever. It's a grand, noble idea, and it's made possible via some amazing technical feats, such as scanning 1000 pages per hour via some elaborate scanning setup, which I'm picturing as having dozens of whirling, gleaming metal arms. More »
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Kirkham Motorsports usually needs about 30 hours of computer-controlled machining to turn a 383-lb. aluminum billet into a 64-lb. engine block for its self-designed 427. Luckily for manufacturing geeks, they've shortened the process to seven minutes for this video. More »
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What started as a simple question from a woman unhappy that her boyfriend's 1996 Jeep Cherokee was demanding more of his attention and money has become a viral manifesto on what men should expect from women and vice versa. More »
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German police broke up a theft ring of BMW factory workers in Munich who stand accused of secreting $4 million of car seats and other parts from the plant for years. Maybe they need longer lunch breaks. (Thanks BusterBrew!) [DailyMail] More »
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Finding the right parts for your project car can be tough. Who can you trust these days? As we learned with the Unique Performance saga, even seemingly reputable businesses can turn out to be suspect. Things get even tricker when buying things over the web, as this horny car-jacking victim discovered. Thankfully, we've got television news investigators on our side. [My Fox Detroit] More »
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No chop shops involved here. As part of a UK advertising campaign, 21 different Ford Focus parts have been transformed into 31 musical instruments. The instruments—including a door harp, clutch guitar and bass repurposed from a fender—are played by professional orchestra musicians who don't mind getting up close and person with some of the Focus' bits and pieces. The commercial is the brainchild of composer Craig Richey and sound designer Bill Milbrodt and is set for a television debut on February 4. [WCF] More »
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Scott Burgess, the most cuddly of auto critics over at the Detroit News has come up with an interesting, one-man-focus-group pseudo-review of the best parts of cars this year. Deftly sidestepping the realities of engineering, Burgess asks for somebody, anybody to put parts of some of the most dissimilar cars around into a Frankenstein's monster of platform prostitution. Take the brain from Ford's Sync System and put it into an Audi R8 body, bring in a heart from GM (what?!) and eyes from Mercedes... okay that's where our body parts/car parts metaphor runs out, but it's still madness, madness we say! Mwah ha ha ha ha! We're totally loving the diabolicalness of it all.[detnews.com] More »
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If you're not sure what the ideal gift would be for the gear head in your life, a gift card is always a good way to go. But how to know if it's the right gift? If someone in your life goes to the auto parts store more than they go to the Safeway, they might like an O'Reilly Gift Card. If they wear a jumpsuit more than any other type of clothing... well you see where we're going with this. It's also scalable to however much you want to pay/how much you like the person. More »
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Not to be outdone in the aftermarket-parts goldmine, BMW is launching a line of factory performance parts that will challenge those from tuning shops. Apparently, the line only includes gear for the Z4 and 3 Series, with a concentration on the last-gen model. To wit: BMW claims a performance exhaust offers five more horsepower at a reduction of 8.8 pounds, and an engine kit for the 330 adds 10 horsepower and 8 lb-ft of torque. Also in the catalog are a shift kit, suspension hoo-has, drilled brake rotors, an air intake, and wheels. We'll hold out for the V10 crate motor for our Mantamino project, thanks. [Automobile] More »
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The National Corvette Museum just received a gift of several pallets of never-used manufactured Corvette and GM parts from Guide Corporation. We're talking all sorts of parts for every model Corvette going back to the 1950's. You've got your grilles, chrome pieces, headlamps, lenses — really, a little bit of everything. The NCM's decided that each week for the next couple of months they'll be dropping a dozen or so of the parts onto eBay for all to enjoy — as long as they win it via "Buy It Now" or straight-up by auction. What — you think they'd just give these generally vette-tastic parts away for free? – Ray Wert More »
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So, n00b, you've been staring out the window at a patently stock vehicle, getting all itchy in that special place car freaks call "the wallet." You'd love to imbue your assembly-line queen with a semblance of sporting trim, but the aftermarket is so vast, you have no freaking clue where to start. Thankfully, you have Los Jalopniks to guide your hand. That's the segue, kids. How should someone starting down the Path of Lost Wages spend their add-on bucks, and what products should they avoid like sparklers on crepe-paper day? Don't hold back. – Mike Spinelli More »
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