Our time-machine has the dial on 1979, and the location is São Paulo, to be more specific the VW booth at the "Salão do Automóvel"
See how forward thinking we were, a car on ethanol, does that not sound familiar today?
On the other hand the forward thinking stood still with the booth babes they looked more "nun" than "babe", also the air-cooled boxer was a best-seller.

HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda will unveil a sporty, compact crossover concept vehicle, Mazda Kazamai, at the Moscow International Automobile Salon (MIAS) on August 26. Kazamai, which means "swirling crosswinds" in Japanese, expresses the powerful yet nimble image of a stylish and compact crossover. The concept is based on Mazda's long-term vision for technology development, Sustainable Zoom-Zoom, which aims to provide a unique balance between sporty driving fun and superior environmental and safety performance. Kazamai will be joined at MIAS by the Russian debut of Mazda's CX-9 SUV, which was crowned 2008 North American Truck of the Year in February.

The Kazamai concept further evolves Mazda's 'Nagare' design language by fusing Nagare's 'flow' design cues with aerodynamic proportions. The design features panel lines inspired by crosswinds in nature which evoke visual lightness. Its bold five-point grille, accentuated front wheel arches and sleek roof line, combined with large 22-inch wheels, lend it high emotional appeal.

Sporty to look at, Kazamai is meant to be spirited and fun to drive, with compact dimensions. Kazamai's four-wheel drive powertrain will consist of a next-generation direct injection engine and a newly developed transmission. It is also aerodynamic, with an evolved lightweight body structure and enhanced the vehicle safety attributes. Were it to be built, Mazda's latest show car would deliver exciting driving dynamics, frugal fuel consumption and greatly reduced CO2 emissions.

The Mazda Kazamai promises to be another ground-breaking show car from Mazda Design, winner of this year's Grand Prix du Design in Paris. Created especially for the Moscow International Automobile Salon, it gives a good indication of where Mazda is going with a possible future compact crossover. And in Russia's growing automotive market, compact SUVs are the second-largest segment, representing about 13 percent of all new car sales.

Complete information will be made available immediately after Mazda's press conference at 10:15 a.m. local time, on August 26 at the Mazda stand.

Insider: 2008 Mazda 6 To Be Introduced In October, Sales Start In November [via Winding Road]

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Our 1960 Ford Fairlane 500 driving Vegas homeboy Curtis Walker snuck away from the Las Vegas Grand Prix long enough to stop by Viva Las Vegas 10 at the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino. It was the latest in a decade's worth of rockabilly/hotrod that's gone, daddy. Check out Curtis's photo gallery and wish your pompadour was tight enough and your chick chick enough to have attended in the flesh. – Mike Spinelli

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The Mercedes CL65 dropped like a big chunk of Afghani hash at the AutoRAI in Amsterdam earlier today. According to the press release, translated by World Car Fans, the tuner CL will get a 612-hp version of AMG's booster-rocket V12. That's the six-point-oh-mein-gott-liter, twin-turbo devastation engine, hand-signed by its factory endower. That gives it a zero-to-62 mph time of 4.4 seconds, though the electronically limited top speed of 155 mph can only be unhooked in exchange for a large quantity of cash, and only in the home country. We'll know more when AMG releases the goods later today. – Mike Spinelli

Mercedes-Benz CL 65 AMG Unveiled [World Car Fans]

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Anyway, this is it. Hands down, my favorite hot rod at Detroit's Autorama show. The product of a long-gone chop shop somewhere in Ontario, this Stude has been chopped, channeled, lowered, and lightened. Man, just look at the way those skinny wire wheels in the back stick up over the bed. The devilish way those water hoses snake from the rad to the block, like a pair of horns poking out of it's head. That ivory colored steering wheel, the tilting windshield, the purposeful flathead, the subtle pinstriping... I"m in love.– Ben Wojdyla

Oh it's so good.

There's the money shot.

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Vintage rodding now is basically the same as it was when it was just rodding. You find the best parts, the rarest treasures, and put them on your ride to make it go faster or look cooler. Wondering around amidst this treasure trove of chrome and aluminum and rust and WD40, the gorgeous bits and pieces you find are sometimes astonishing. Also amazing are the clever ways people work around pieces that they either can't find or don't want to buy. What follows is a gallery of awesome parts treasures which I'm sure most are at least two or three times older than I am (check out the hand welded intake manifold - rad). – Ben Wojdyla

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Okay, so maybe it would have to be Grandpappy from the American side of the family (before coming over to Deutschland), but that's the first thing I thought when I saw this low and lean roadster. Looking at that worn paint, the zoomies, the Native American blanket seat cover and the underhung headlights. It all makes me giddy as a schoolgirl. There's just so much coolness packed into this little car. It's a wonder I didn't walk out of that place with a significantly lighter wallet and a basketcase that looked really cool. For no good reason, the craziest/coolest part of this car is the trunk if you believe it or not. Take a look after the jump.– Ben Wojdyla

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More on Autorama [internal]

A couple of stretched out bruisers were sitting nose-to-nose in the first row of the lower level. I almost fell over when I saw em. They were raucous and unconventional, seemingly thrown together with whatever parts could be found. They were also done with so much style you had to love 'em. What's not to love about a car with gull-wing doors, whose rear axle is under the your knees, that's also called "Hemirod"? Or whose roof has more metallic sculpture than the Guggenheim museum and a dually truck axle? Nothing, that's what. – Ben Wojdyla

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I think Ralph Nader's infamous title is perhaps more apropos in this situation than in its original context. I first saw this contraption cruising Woodward during the Dream Cruise last summer, but couldn't seem to catch up to it. Now it's cornered quarry and far more dangerous than I'd thought. As mentioned, that's a blown GM 502 ci V8. The shock comes from the numbers: 700 hp and 733 lb-ft of torque. That goodness is running through a custom-built 200R4 transmission to a Ford 9" rear and 20" wide Mickey Thompsons. Yeah, that's more batshit craziness than most muscle cars with four wheels (and seat belts and a roll cage, and...). I can almost taste the sublimated June bugs just looking at it. – Ben Wojdyla

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Taking the esco downstairs is like going from Heaven to Valhalla. It's the same idea, but a completely different execution. Upon arriving in this value-added paradise I knew it was much more my speed. The main floor is packed with high-dollar artwork that will probably never see the open road, along with an insane quantity of people. Still, all that perfection and primping, pomp and circumstance for cars you know will be trailer queens is a bit disappointing. In the belly of the beast that is Cobo, the cars get driven hard and put away wet. Duct tape is allowed and creativity and McGyvering are encouraged. Here, everything pretty much falls into two categories: ricers and vintage rods. Guess which ones I care about. Get ready for the best part of the show kids. – Ben Wojdyla

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More Autorama [internal]

"Hmm, that's a funny start to a hot rod."
"Why is it so narrow?"
"Is that a strange car or what?"

All quotes heard while in the company of the assembled gawkers. It is in fact the beginnings of an unfaithful reproduction of what's been known historically as "the golden submarine," a 1917-era streamliner built under the masterful watch of racing legend Harry Miller. This new hotness is the baby of Taylor and Dan Webb. Like the original, this one is a bit unorthodox in its construction. Custom fitted eccentric brakes from Buell, a nicely massaged Zetec powerplant from Ford and handsomely lightened components all around. The original car could throw down 136 hp and roll to the tune of 107.6 mph. Considering the stock Zetec puts down 130 hp, and the SVT goes to 170 ponies, I'd bet it'll be fast. Based on the historical pics (below) and the changes to the design that have already been made, I can't wait to see what it looks like next year. – Ben Wojdyla

Just look at those tiny dimensions, it's going to be spectacular.

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In 50,000 years, when our mutated evolutionary relatives comb through the still radioactive debris of our civilization, in an effort to reconstruct early transportation history, they'll stumble on this 1974 Karmann Ghia and puzzle over it. Is this the long postulated early missing link between Audi and Volkswagen? The body is obviously a modified hardtop Karmann, but the powertrain is that of a two-wheel-drive A4 2.8-liter V6. But what's this? The front suspension is off of what? A Corvette? They would, of course, re-bury it and avoid causing too much controversy among the automotive archaeological community. Proof of this shame after the jump. – Ben Wojdyla

[Distinctive Replica]

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Vespa, maker of iconic scooters, apparently fancied a run at the American automobile market at one time in its life. Unfortunately a compact two seater powered by a two-cylinder power unit wasn't really what the market was asking for in 1960. These are very nice examples nonetheless. The designers of this model later found success in the sales and marketing of Micro Machines. I'm not going to lie, I thought about putting one in my pocket and walking out without paying.– Ben Wojdyla

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Sometimes, on this great journey through life, you witness something so truly breathtaking, so utterly, impossibly perfect, pure and good, it shifts the paradigm of your perception. It is deceptively easy to go right by the "First Love" exhibit in front of Detroit's Cobo hall. A passing glance will reveal nothing out of the ordinary, as slick show cars go. Look closer and you'll bear witness to high-dollar rodding nirvana. Simply put, this is, by a wide margin, the finest example of no-holds-barred custom fabrication work this Jalop has ever seen. Ever.

The details on this '36 Ford are so fine and numerous, the quality of the build so high, the execution so flawless that I cannot imagine a better example of the art. While his contemporaries are going with full chrome inboard Jag E-type suspensions, Troy and his team are giving us inboard drums and hidden discs. While the competition throws out candied colors, he goes for subtle, almost factory finishes that catch the eye like the Mona Lisa. They go with big chrome wheels, he's sporting custom-machined and painted wide fives, with a tasteful throwback hubcap. Even the hubs to match the wheels are works of art. The underbody of this car is better than most of its contemporaries' coachwork; nary a bolt, rivet, or pin is visible. The mesh below the hood has cutouts that match the car's heart shaped logo. Nothing has been overlooked, nothing is flawed. I, and many others, stood mouths agape at the craftsmanship of this car. Bravo sir, bravo. – Ben Wojdyla

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Yes, those are 30" wheels made by DUB. Yes, that's a Cadillac Caprice with a Rolls Royce schnoz. Yes, the kid after the jump is barely taller than the wheel with which he is posing as if it were Spongebob (who was incidentally posing with kids not a hundred feet away). Does that about cover it? It's becoming a challenge to bring you continuously flashier and yet so so smooth rides; the ne plus ultra seems to have a short shelf life these days. Can Spate Kreations claim this as the current winner? It's a tough call between this and the orange Caprice with clear kicks from earlier, but in the end, we all win. – Ben Wojdyla

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Yeah, that's right, I'm thumbing my nose at the establishment, giving the finger to the man, and gesturing in any other phalangically based displays of disrespect. I say this is the first C6 Corvette-based conversion that does not, in fact, suck. In pictures it may not work; our very own commenters raked it over the coals when Spinelli wrote about it back in November. But in person it works surprisingly well. I spoke with Fred Kanter, chairman of n2a (and owner of the Packard brand name - cooool!). Apparently the idea was to meld different aspects of the '57, '58, and '59 Bel Air models into something interesting but familiar. One remarkable aspect of the build process was that the entire undertaking, from purchase of Vette to carbon-fiber body #1, was only about 14 weeks. Damn impressive for the level of detail if you ask me. It even uses factory reproductions of the original headlight and taillight buckets. Come on, what's not to love about that? Sure, there are a couple of things that could be massaged. The interior could stand a bit of tarting up and the license plate spot in the rear isn't as cool as it could be. But it's a great start for such an ill-received concept. – Ben Wojdyla

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On hand for this past Sunday's Autorama festivities in Detroit were Chip Foose of high hot-rod art (and Overhaulin') fame, and his partner in crime/sidekick Chris Jacobs. Apparently Foose is kind of a big thing in hot rodding circles, as evidenced by the throng of fans awaiting a signature in what I could only assume was an infinity hour-long line. I'll just take my forget-me-not pic from the sidelines and call it good.– Ben Wojdyla

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Rivets, rivets, rivets. Everywhere, on everything, holding all parts together, acting as thematic motivator and functional fastener de rigeur. The WW2 themed offering is a really cool take on a the open-topped hot rod. It's spartan interior is reminiscent of early Jeeps and Willy's runabouts. Check out the trunk with its gas tin and one-off battery box. Rodding magic. I have no explanation for the brass head as a shifter knob. Some things are best left not known. Oh so much below the fold.– Ben Wojdyla

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The Foose P-32: What Could've Been [internal]