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This photo is what awesome sees when it looks in the mirror, photoshop or not. Update: this is a real photo! Buy a copy here from the photographer/Jalopnik reader John! [Not Stock Photography] More »
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Lined in creamy yellow leather, this Mahogany soapbox is the most luxurious way you can race down a hill with the power of gravity. But lacking steering and brakes, you'd better hope that hill is straight and the landing soft. More »
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Zebco is not a name you normally associate with automobiles, but the fishing reel company recently threw their in-house designers, engineers and machinists into a soapbox derby contest with spectacular results. Set aside memories of the best lazy summers you ever had in your youth, avoiding chores, floating the river in a leaky boat fishing with your buddies, because rods and reels and worm guts this ain't. More »
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Lots of people daydream of being part of Scuderia Ferrari, but the closest mere mortals can really get to living the dream is plunking down some serious coin for a Ferrari FXX. So if you're looking for a slightly cheaper way to play dress-up Formula One, perhaps you should consider joining the Scuderia Ferrari Club in Italy and entering their soap box racing league. More »
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We first heard about The San Fernando Valley Illegal Soap Box Federation last year. The downhill antics seemed fairly safe and totally fun, but just recently there's been a tragic accident. Reportedly, during a race, one of the soapboxes lost control and ran into a parked Lexus, killing the racer. The future of the SFVISBF is in limbo. [CBS2 KCAL] More »
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Amid Saturday morning cries of "hooray for gravity", the 8th Annual Los Angeles edition of the All-American Soap Box Derby went down in close proximity to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. While most of America's race fans were parked in front of their 42" flat panel televisions for some five-hour NASCAR pre-race drivel show these guys were out racing and having a wicked good time. And even though we've seen plenty of equally entertaining drunken hipster versions of Soap Box Derby this was the real deal, with winners potentially moving onto the national Akron, Ohio meet in July. More »
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Sitting here on 2nd Street in Long Beach, we just saw a guy at a stoplight in a shiny, newish BMW 3-Series convertible cranking the Descendents' "Suburban Home," which struck as as oddly perfect and highly incongruous. So we decided to post on something completely DIY: Outlaw soapbox racing. The Fall Classic Soap Box Invitational, in Durham, NC took place October 22nd and featured everything from a downhill Barcalounger to something that looked like a cross between an Incom T-65 and a Dalek. And if that last simile made perfect sense to you, you really need to get outdoors more. We're bloggers. What's your excuse? [Thanks to Kevin for the tip.] More »
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