When thinking of a car to compliment The Batmobile, the first thing that comes to mind usually isn't a 400hp 2008 Volkswagen Golf GTI. Well, we think Batman would strongly consider this one built by Tuning Works in Copiague, New York. Sporting an Avery matte black wrap and sitting on three-piece, gold Rotiform wheels wrapped in Nitto Invos, how could he not like it? It even has a "DRKKN1TE" vanity plate!

If that doesn't leave enough of an impression on him, then surely the GTI's built TSI long block with a top-mounted turbo will. Of course, because it'd hypothetically be for Batman, there has to be an enormously aggressive APR Performance Subaru STI wing mounted to the rear hatch—for downforce, obviously! The addition of the ECS Tuning carbon fiber fender flares completes the aggressive look, giving it that wide stance.

Since the real Batman enjoys both a subtle and sporty interior, he'd feel right at home in this GTI. The COBRA sport seats and harnesses would keep him firmly planted while the gold accents and bat signals throughout the car would remind his passengers whose car it was.

Want to see more awesome rides? This is just one of many Rides of the Week!

Formula Drift’s sixth round of competition on the 2018 schedule ventured to a new venue just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, the first new venue since the 2016 season. Gateway Motorsports Park sits on the Illinois side of the Mississippi river, and the round dubbed “Crossroads” was sure to shape the championship chase for the final two rounds. With an 85 point lead entering the event following his win in Seattle, James Deane looked like a sure thing to repeat as Formula Drift champion. However, Fredric Aasbo and Deane’s teammate Piotr Wiecek were looking to reel the championship into their sights.

Gateway Motorsports Park Course Layout

As a new track, the layout at Gateway Motorsports Park was guaranteed to be a relatively even learning curve for all drivers. While some drivers have driven at the track for grassroots or festival events, the way Formula Drift prescribes specific clipping points and zones ensured that all drivers required some time to get used to the proper line. Formula Drift used Turns 3 through 6 on the road course section of the track, which created a layout fairly similar to the original one at Texas Motor Speedway from 2013. Drivers enter a left hand chicane known as Turn 3 on the traditional roadcourse and hit an inside clipping point positioned on the traditional racing curb, then transition quickly to hit an outside clipping point on the opposite side of the same chicane.

They have to carry their speed all the way to the opposite side of the track before transitioning to a touch-and-go zone just before Turn 4. If drivers are on the right line and transition at the correct time, they brush the back end through the touch-and-go, slide the front bumper inches from the inner clipping point on the inside of Turn 4, then transition and ride the outside of the large Turn 5 sweeper before a final front clip at the apex of Turn 6. Drivers are carrying more than 100 mph of wheel speed through the entire sweeper, which makes this one of the longest full-throttle sections of any course on the series schedule.

Qualifying

With the championship chase in the balance, the top drivers were looking to gain vital points by finishingh ahead of points leader James Deane. Fredric Aasbo laid down a first qualifying run that scored him 98 out of 100 points from the judges, which survived as the high-water mark through the entirety of the second set of runs to earn the top qualifier position. Matt Field and Ken Gushi both earned 95 points in their best runs, but a higher secondary run from Field gave him Q2 over Gushi. Odi Bakchis, James Deane and Nitto Tire driver Chelsea DeNofa earned scores of 93 points, 92 points and 91 points respectively, which slotted them into Q4, Q5 and Q6.

Only 29 drivers were able to put up a qualifying score, which gave the top three qualifiers bye runs in the first round of tandems. Unfortunately, one of the drivers who failed to earn a qualifying score was Nitto Tire driver Alex Heilbrunn, who had a catastrophic mechanical failure on his last practice run before qualifying and was unable to make repairs in time. Rounding out qualifying for the Nitto drivers, Vaughn Gittin Jr. qualified in 21st while Federico Sceriffo qualified in 23rd.

Tandem Battles

As we’ve seen several times this year, the higher qualified drivers won most of the matchups in the Top 32 outside of a few exceptions. Although Gittin Jr. qualified lower than Ryan Tuerck, he was able to win the battle between longtime friends when Tuerck over-rotated near the outside touch-and-go in front of the judges and went off-course. Similarly, Jeff Jones eliminated Alec Hohnadell when Hohnadell slid off-course midway through the sweeper, despite Jones qualifying in 22nd position compared to Hohnadell’s Q11 qualifying effort.

Championship contenders Aasbo (bye run), Deane (Austin Meeks), Wiecek (Dean Kearney), Forsberg (Matt Vankirk) and Pawlak (Kyle Mohan) all moved on by eliminating their Top 32 opponents. For Team Nitto, Gittin Jr. and DeNofa moved into the Top 16, while Sceriffo’s day ended after his Top 32 tandem battle with former series champ Dai Yoshihara.

The first four battles in the Ford Top 16 round all had championship implications. Aasbo defeated Jhonnattan Castro after a “One More Time” round, Forsberg moved past Essa, Wiecek defeated Bakchis and Deane ended Gittin Jr.’s day. On the other side of the bracket, Pawlak moved on to continue his championship hopes, and DeNofa moved into his second Top 8 of the season. Field and Gushi won their first tandem battles of the day in the Top 16 round, as they both had bye runs in the Top 32.

In the Nos Energy Drink Great 8, the championship chase shook up for the first time as both Forsberg and Deane bowed out of their battles due to mechanical issues. While Forsberg had been battling high engine temps all day, the engine in Deane’s Nissan S15 let go midway through his run with his teammate Wiecek. This gave Aasbo and Wiecek a huge opportunity to gain points in the championship as they were scheduled to face each other in the Final 4.

On the other side of the bracket, Field ended Pawlak’s day, while DeNofa defeated Gushi for his first Final 4 appearance of the season. Forsberg and Pawlak being eliminated in the same round as Deane effectively ended their championship hopes, but both have the chance to end the season strong by finishing well in the final two races.

In one of the best tandem matchups of the day, Wiecek and Aasbo pushed each other to a pair of One More Time battles. A slight mistake from Wiecek that pushed him up over the racing curb at the second inner clipping point in the third battle was the only difference between the drivers.

Field earned the win over DeNofa in the other tandem battle, as DeNofa got too aggressive in chase and made contact with Field. Although DeNofa was frustrated with the mistake, he earned the final podium position over Wiecek due to a higher qualifying position.

In the final, Aasbo narrowly defeated Field, earning his second victory and fourth podium of the season. The “perfect event” for Aasbo (top qualifier and event win) helped him narrow the championship deficit between him and Deane down to just 30 points with two events to go. Wiecek climbed to within 105 points of his championship-leading teammate, while Forsberg (125 points behind) and Pawlak (133 points behind) are far enough back that they are unlikely to be able to catch up for the championship.

The podium finish for DeNofa was his first of the season. DeNofa remains the highest ranked Nitto Tire driver in the championship in 13th position, with Gittin Jr. shortly behind him in 15th position. Heilbrunn (23rd overall) continues to fight gremlins in his BMW, while Sceriffo (28th overall) is still getting used to the pace of Formula Drift competition in his rookie season.

The Formula Drift championship rolls into Dallas, Texas for the seventh of eight rounds in just a few weeks before finishing out the season at Irwindale Speedway, just outside of Los Angeles, in October. We’ll keep you posted on all of the remaining rounds of competition here on Driving Line!

Want more Formula Drift? We cover every event all season long!

As the sun set at Ridgecrest, JP Gomez claimed his first Ultra4 victory of the season to go along with his Nor Cal Rock Racing Championship. This was an incredibly successful event for Team Nitto, with all of the top seven spots running on Trail Grapplers. Wayland Campbell finished a minute and ten seconds behind JP in second, with Cody Addington finishing in third for his second podium of the season. Driving Loren Healy's old rig seems to be paying off. Following them were Shannon Campbell, Raul Gomez, Loren Healy and Bailey Cole. 

With Vaughn Gittin Jr. in St. Louis for Formula Drift, Matt Howell took the win in the 4500 class. Team Nitto driver Jimmy Jack finished second and Sarah Amaral finished third. In the 4600 stock class, Sean Gill finished first, Josh Atteberry second and Dawson Allington third. Casey Gilbert didn't come out to Ridgecrest, leaving the door open for someone else to win. Brad Lovell took the opportunity and the win, with Cody Young finishing second and Jade Wickham third.

Want to see more Ultra4? We cover every race all season long, from KOH to the Championships.

Recently, the 70th edition of the Spa 24 Hours was run around the fantastic but challenging Francorchamps track, arguably the greatest racing venue on the planet.

Sixty-three GT teams showed up to the Spa 24 Hours, making it the biggest event of its kind. The list of marques contesting for victory reads like the roll of honour at a motor show: Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, Nissan and Porsche. Only Corvette was missing from the lineup. The drivers ranged from fully professional crews to Pro-Am and Am, each racing to win their own batch of silverware awarded at the finish of a long, long day and night. The teams also were cosmopolitan, from thinly disguised factory efforts to Pro and semi-Pro outfits. Every colour and size showed up to Spa.

For example, Ferrari’s official GT outfit, AF Corse, solely focused their efforts on the ProAm class and not an outright victory. If you're wondering why, just follow the money. Customer racing programmes are how this part of motorsport will be run in the foreseeable future. The days of spending $300 million per annum on going racing (like Porsche and Audi did recently in WEC/Le Mans) are gone, probably forever.

Pre-Race Festivities

The atmosphere in the Ardennes region of Belgium is invariably laid back and this informality is reflected in track walks for the fans and the traditional parade of cars and drivers in the centre of Spa, a few miles from the race track.

The whole field is driven down on the public highway, with a police escort, then parked up in the middle of town while the drivers get their formal briefing and indulge the enthusiastic fans with an autograph session. Then, around 9.00 p.m. whistles are blown and the racers blast up into the hills and the village of Francorchamps to the circuit. I know of no other major race that takes its stars to the streets in this fashion.

Thursday saw action all through the day and into the early hours of Friday morning. In the late afternoon the Super Pole session was run, giving us the first big news story of the weekend. Local heroes Team WRT and Dries Vanthoor had grabbed a sensational pole, but not without raising a few eyebrows. Then on Saturday morning, the Stewards acted. According to the reports received from the Technical Delegate, the car had a “modified air tract which gave a performance advantage.” Pole Position disappeared for the Belgians. Not good.

Just to make the point to everyone that this sort of behaviour has no place in the Blancpain GT Series, the car also had to serve a three-minute stop-and-hold penalty during the race for, “Non-sporting behaviour—presenting a car with a technical non-conformity of which the competitor should have been aware.”  With two laps gone, their chances of victory were drastically reduced, so one of the favourites was pretty much out of contention before the race had even got underway.

Saturday dragged on with races and parades and all manner of distractions. Like I said, this region is very laid back. It seemed like the whole host of spectators and other attendees congregated on the grid wouldn't ever leave, but with the race imminent,  the mob dispersed as quickly as it assembled.

The Race Begins

Suddenly, the late afternoon peace was shattered and the race roared into action with 63 GTs racing down the hill to Eau Rouge, then catapulting up though Raidillon and on to the Kemmel Straight.

The weather had been most un-Belgian, with the thermometer hitting 98 degrees Fahrenheit on several occasions, and while it cooled off a little for the race itself, the conditions in the closed cockpits would be challenging even for the fittest of drivers.

Fast and furious would be a good description of the race during the opening quarter running up until nightfall. Whenever it looked that one of the contenders would break away from their rivals, proceedings would be upset by a full course yellow, with pit stops almost mandatory during such periods.

At various points Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley and BMW were at the head of the pack, with Nissan and Lexus in close attendance.

Heavy Wrecks at Night

Just after midnight came the first of two serious race incidents when the veteran star Stéphane Ortelli crashed his Lexus heavily at Raidillon with the car bursting into flames. The Monegasque driver was released from hospital after checks.

A couple of hours later the Red Flag was thrown by the Race Director in response to a massive accident involving Andy Meyrick’s Bentley and Jürgen Krebs’ Lamborghini, once again at Raidillon. When Krebs spun to a halt facing the wrong way just over the crest of the hill, Meyrick had no chance to avoid him and hit the Lamborghini front on at around 170 mph, completely destroying both cars. Although both drivers were immediately rescued and transported to the local hospital's Intensive Care Unit, their injuries were described as "not life-threatening" and both drivers have subsequently left hospital. Meyrick even got married a fortnight after the accident.

Racing got underway again after being halted for two hours, with the contest shaping up to be a German affair of Audi vs. BMW vs. Mercedes-AMG in the run to the chequered flag.

Down to BMW

Attrition played its usual role in endurance racing, with minor problems blunting the challenge of several contenders until the duel came down to the BMW M6 GT3s of Rowe Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport.

The race organisers, SRO and the RACB, have created a festival atmosphere with concerts going on late into the night. Naturally, this attracts a huge crowd of locals who party hard, mostly oblivious to the action happening on the track not more than 100 yards from them.

The BMW pair exchanged the lead over the final six hours of the race and then, remarkably, the advantage fell to Walkenhorst. What made it remarkable was that while both cars had factory BMW drivers, Walkenhorst’s pair courtesy of Munich, Tom Blomqvist and Phillip Eng, had the silver-rated Christian Krognes, a Dane who sells bricks for a living during the week, as their teammate.

Fairy Tale Victory

Walkenhorst are a private team who are tiny compared with the factory-supported Rowe, but in an almost Hollywood-style fairy tale, they triumphed over the rest of the field. It was the stuff of dreams.

The Spa 24 Hours is surely worth a place on any petrolhead’s bucket list. It's very different in flavour and atmosphere from its elder cousin at Le Mans and has a charm and style all its own. You should try it one year. I guarantee you'll want to go back.

Did you miss what happened at Le Mans? It was a historic race for Toyota! 

When we think of the most iconic manufacturer battles in automotive history, Ford vs. Chevy tops the list. The two companies have gone toe-to-toe for decades in a constant battle of one-upsmanship. That’s why, for this episode of Driver Battles, we brought out a 1987 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 and…1995 BMW E36 M3? Something’s not adding up.

Of course, much like every car in this series, this M3 isn’t quite like the one that rolled out of the factory. In fact, on top of numerous upgrades, it’s been given a 7.1L LSX under the hood. Now this battle makes a bit more sense.

Let’s take a closer look at both of the cars from this battle. First up is Joe Ayad’s 1987 Ford Mustang LX 5.0. Battling him is Amir Bentatou, driving for redemption after his performance in episode three, in an LS-swapped 1995 BMW E36 M3.

1987 Ford Mustang LX 5.0

The Ford Mustang. This was the car we all had on our bedroom walls. Its V8 power in a small platform is what made us, Joe included, fall in love with it. That said, Joe has invested more into his Mustang than most of us.

Starting with that V8 power, it has a semi-built SBF 306 bottom end, Paxton Novi1000 supercharger at 16 psi, solid motor mounts, 80 lb injectors and a 70mm throttle body. Comp Cam, Trick Flow and ARP have provided the finishing touches, with a Comp Cams camshaft and 1.6 roller rockers, Trick Flow twisted wedge aluminum heads and street heat intake manifold and a full ARP suite.

Moving down the powertrain, Joe has a Fresh T5 five-speed transmission, coupled to a short throw shifter, Solid Trans mount and aluminum driveline.

The suspension has been completely redone, thanks to a Maximum Motorsports grip box package. There are too many upgrades to list here, but a few highlights include front control arms, an adjustable rear sway bar and HD rear lower control arms. On top of this is a set of 40-way adjustable coilovers from QA1.

Putting power to the ground are 315/30R18 Nitto NT01s all around. That’s right, those massive tires are on both the front and rear. Joe thinks that this upgrade will make the biggest difference on the track, and we agree. Inside those massive tires are 18x10.5 ESR SR01 wheels and five-lug cobra brakes.

Every part of the interior has been made track-ready. From the Sparco wheel and Evo2 seats, to the five-point harness, 10-point cage, Holley HP with 7.5-inch dash display for tuning and logging on the fly and the removed radio and back seats, this car is made for speed.

A Carter Customs front splitter and rear diffuser help guide the air for maximum downforce. All of this adds up to a car with a wide stance and great grip that’s a joy to carve on open roads. With over ten years of driving at the drag strip and three years on the track, do he and his car have enough to spoil the return of Amir?

Tuning Menu: Joe Ayad's 1987 Ford Mustang LX 5.0

1995 LS-Swapped BMW E36 M3

You may remember Amir from episode three, when he lost to a Porsche 996 in an R32 Skyline GT-R. Well, he’s back for redemption and the taste of victory, this time in an E36 M3. With its great, neutral handling, the M3 reminds Amir of another JDM vehicle: the Miata. Only the M3 is both larger and faster. With upgraded suspension parts and an LS, all those great elements are supercharged and turned up to 11.

Let’s start with the star of the show: that LSX. Specifically, it’s an ERL Superdeck Aluminum balanced and blueprinted 434ci 7.1L LSX with AFR 245 heads. The LS gives the car the power that it lacked from the factory, with all the torque you need from the beginning of the powerband to the end. This could be a game changer in this battle. To list a few of the many other upgrades to the engine, a Mishimoto radiator, Nick Williams 102mm throttle body, Fast 102mm intake ported by Mamo Motorsports and Walbro 485 high flow fuel pump have been added.

Moving on to the transmission, we have a RPM Stage 5 T56 transmission with an RPS twin disk carbon clutch and flywheel and Lakewood scatter shield. Inside, it’s been mated to a MGW short shifter and Condor shift knob.

Even though the suspension was good to begin with, everything can be improved. Moton Motorsport two-way coilovers with swift springs are aided by a 3.91 210mm Cusco 1 Hybrid limited slip differential and Ground Control camber plates and front and rear sways.

The M3 is also on Nitto NT01s, though he only has 315/30R18 on the rear. His front tires are 275/35R18. His wheels are Volk TE37 SLs sized to 18x10.5/12 with Motorsport Hardware race grade 12.9 78mm studs, Titan nuts and spacers. Stopping the crazy LS power are Sparta Evolution 6/4 Piston BBK brakes and pads.

This car’s interior has been modded for racing too, with a stripped interior, Kirk four-point roll bar, Condor Speed Shop clutch and brake pedal bushings and an OMP HTE-R seat with a Sparco harness.

A custom widebody with flares, custom canards, a Mateo Motorsports rear diffuser and a Voltex type V 1700mm double plane wing give the M3 its aggressive look and help keep it planted to the track.

This car is the best of both worlds, Amir says. While the M3 may have come from the factory with great handling, it lacked in power. Now with an LS, it has all the power it needs to push its suspension to the limits.

Tuning Menu: 1995 LS-Swapped E36 M3

Will the pairing of American muscle and German engineering win out over a beautiful piece of Americana? Can Ford one-up Chevy’s legendary engine? You’ll have to tune into episode seven of Driver Battles to find out.

Do you like the cars of this battle? We have a ton of other battles for you in our Driver Battles series!

Everyone says that time flies. It seems like just yesterday we were slipping and sliding our way through the Rally America Championship’s Sno*Drift in Montmorency County, Michigan, but that was six months ago. Just recently, we found ourselves on the same dirt roads caked in an uncomfortable muddy dust-sweat mixture, cheering for the competitors and capturing spectacular images during the Summer Sno*Drift rally.

This year’s Summer Rally may have brought 28 teams to Atlanta and Lewiston, Michigan, but only 22 made it through the eighth and final stage. The prior winter season’s snow, slush and ice laden roads were long replaced by suspension-snapping gravel over soft, sinking sand. Hidden boulders bashed against skid plates so aggressively that teams had to pound out the dents during service. Adding to the challenge was the rally’s usual old school twist: There’s no recce or notes to aid the teams in navigating their way through the zigzagging stages, only a generic route book.

Despite the heat and their gritty teeth, the spectators were all smiles. Watching (and hearing) a rally car rip through the woodland canopies is an experience that can’t be explained with words. We can only imagine how hot it must have been for the drivers in those race suits. The smoldering humidity made the air heavy. It was the kind of heaviness that never seems to move no matter how strong the breeze. When the air was still, billowing dust clouds acted as a partial blindfold to the competitors.

Braving the conditions is well worth it. Where else can you witness your favorite rally cars tearing through untamed terrain? Take the Fetela Rally Team’s 2017 Ford Fiesta FRT Prototype, for example. This turbocharged AWD 2.0L is built to battle through the most severe conditions. Piotr Fetela and Dominik Jozwiak dominated the first four stages of the event, then maintained their lead until the finish. They earned first place overall, but it wasn’t an easy win. “We were setting top times and built up almost a one-minute lead, but the car developed fuel pressure issues mid-race and we were forced to back off,” Fetela said.

Dave and Mike Brown returned to compete for their spot on the Open Light class podium, but Sneak Attack Rally’s Nathan Usher and Mariana Langosch amped up the challenge. It was a close race. “Stage 1 started amazing,” Dave said. “Mike and I were in the groove”. However, two-thirds of the way through, the engine began misfiring. The team was able to limp the car to the finish once they realized that restarting the car would temporarily resolve the issue. For the remainder of the race, Dave would restart the car while in motion through the stages. The Browns drifted in just 53.9 seconds ahead of Sneak Attack Rally.

Mike Hurst’s nostalgic Ford Capri was freshly rebuilt after enduring a crash’n’roll last season. At sixth place overall, Mike and his daughter, Katherine Hurst, were the top two-wheel drive crew in the event, more than a minute ahead of Michael Ryba and Burke Davis in their ’93 Honda Civic. The Hursts were also the winners of this year’s Daddy-Daughter Challenge, completing the event five minutes faster than runners-up Eric and Camille Carlson. 

The top two B-spec competitors came to claim the class lead. Doug Gekiere and Matthew Hoffman maintained their position going into service piloting their 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, but Honda’s Chris Sladek and John Sharps pressed ahead in the second half of the race and finished just over two minutes ahead.

If you can’t get enough of the rally car photos, you’re in luck! Scroll through the Summer Sno*Drift gallery above to get your fill.

Want to see how Sno*Drift is when there's actually snow on the ground? It gets pretty crazy.

Building unique vehicles is nothing new to Tim Odell. In fact, the Vice Unlimited owner is the man responsible for some of the most incredible builds we’ve seen in recent history. When he’s not building things like the Legend Jeeps or the Cummins-powered Colorado Kymera for clients, he’s wrenching on one of his personal projects. His latest build started off with a platform that’s known the world over: the military HMMWV (High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle). Now being phased out of active duty, the HMMWV (or Humvees as they are often called) are pouring onto government liquidation sites.

When he picked up his 1992 four-passenger open-top version, it was a far cry from what you see here today. The main draw of the HMMWV for Odell was his want to build a top and door kit for them. Of course, once he started working with the nearly 30-year-old military truck, he realized the body wasn’t the only area that would need some help. Aside from the zero-comfort military-spec seats, the stock 6.2L diesel was painfully slow. Luckily, a quick search at his local wrecking yard yielded junkyard gold: an intact 5.9L 24-valve Cummins engine sitting in a 2003 Dodge Ram.

While you can learn more about the how his HMMWV came together from the man himself in the video above, we’re diving into the details in our feature breakdown below.

Cummins Swap

The original HMMWV’s came with an anemic naturally aspirated 6.2L diesel engine. At Vice Unlimited, Odell is used to removing these relic V8s in favor of more powerful Duramax and Cummins engines. For his personal build, he went with the modern 5.9L Cummins. To get the power numbers up a bit, he had a custom tune applied to the Smarty engine tuner. This bumps the horsepower up to 400 and the torque figures north of 650.

While the 24-valve engine retains the stock turbo, it gets air upgrades thanks to a four-inch turbo-back exhaust system. The intake on the HMMWV was also modified to allow for greater flow and to use a more conventional K&N air filter. Helping to feed the common-rail engine is an Air Dog fuel pump and filter setup.

To keep the forced air temps down, Odell built custom charge pipes and modified the OE intercooler from the ’03 Ram truck. Coupled with the custom slant-mount setup is the stock radiator and Derale transmission cooler.

In order to allow the forward driveshaft to connect with the front differential, the oil pan on the Cummins engine needed to be modified. Since the new engine and transmission combo was longer than the original, a new front driveline was also added.

Controlling the ignition, lights and majority of the gauges is a dash-mounted iPad. While the HMMWV still uses dual batteries, it’s been converted from 24 to 12-volt. Mounted behind the inline-six engine is a 4L80E transmission. It’s been fit with a custom torque converter along with billet internals. It now receives its marching orders from a US Shift stand-alone control module.

Unmatched Ground Clearance 

One of the features that make the HMMWV so unique and effective for the military is the 16 inches of ground clearance. This is achieved by using center-mounted AMC 20 differentials front and rear. These have been flipped from their original low-pinion configuration to a high-pinion configuration. The reason for the flip is so the half-shafts powering from the diff will turn the two-gear portal hubs in the correct direction. The combination of the 2.73:1 differential ratio combined with the 1.92:1 at the hubs equates to a 5.24:1 final drive ratio. If you look closely next to the differential housing, you can see the disc brake setup that’s tucked neatly out of harm’s way.

Aside from changing the oil and upgrading the idler arm, the suspension and remainder of the drivetrain remains as it came from the factory. All HMMWVs are built with a massive IFS/IRS coil and shock configuration.

Some of the modern touches you’ll find throughout the build include the assortment of LED lighting. You may also notice that this HMMWV looks a tad taller than most. That’s due to the custom three-inch body lift that was necessary in order to fit the Cummins engine under the hood. With the increased separation from the body to the frame, Odell built a custom gap guard for the front and fabricated the chassis air lift mounts you see poking through the hood.

Locked & Loaded 

Thanks to the added lift, Odell was able to move up to a 40x13.50R17 Nitto Trail Grappler. The Trail Grappler has been a go-to tire for Odell on a few of his builds as it's one of the only tires of its size to offer uncompromised off-road performance with excellent street manners. These massive mud-terrain radials were paired with a custom set of 17-inch KMC Enduro beadlock wheels. These cast-aluminum wheels are built with similar backspacing as the OE military wheel, but are significantly lighter.

Cooling the interior is a Magnum kit from Vintage Air. It’s mounted in the back, with custom ducting piped throughout. Sitting just left of the Joes Racing Products steering wheel is an Equus gauge set. One reads the engine’s oil pressure, while the other monitors the fuel amount in the Vice Unlimited fuel cell.

Stow 'n Go

If you’ve never peaked inside of a HMMWV, you might be surprised at how far you sit apart from the other passengers. This is due to the drivetrain being tucked high within the body. To add modern comforts to the extremely spartan interior, Odell laid a ½-inch layer of sound deadening material throughout the cabin, then covered it with carpet. The seats mount via the Vice Unlimited front pedestal and rear plate set and were sourced from a brand-new Dodge Caravan. Not only do the seats fit perfectly, but they have the Stow ‘n Go feature built in!

Odell’s background in bodywork gave him the upper hand when it came to making a hard door and top for the HMMWV. The doors are actually modeled after what’s commonly known in the HMMWV enthusiast world as the X door. It ties that styling with the armored window-look, creating the unique setup you see here. Each door is comprised of 3/16-inch aluminum to keep weight down and are built to be weather tight.

Like the doors, the Vice Unlimited hard top kit is comprised of 3/16-inch aluminum. These have a full back glass along with a heavy-duty drip rail.

Out back, you’ll find an air-lift series rear bumper, which has been mated with the Vice mud-flap kit. Coating the body is a two-stage Line-X that uses an Ultra top coat for a sealed and easy-to-clean finish. While the color looks close to the military tan, it’s actually a Toyota color called Quicksand.

We got to check out the rig in action at one of our favorite southeast ‘wheeling venues: the Flats Offroad Park in Marion, North Carolina. While the stock 218AMG transfer case is still splitting power to the Torsen differentials, the rig worked surprising well. Despite not have a tremendous amount of suspension travel, the width and immense ground clearance helps it to excel off-road.

While it’s hard to consider any purpose-built military vehicle practical, Odell has done an excellent job of adding refinement to the HMMWV platform. Sure, you could start off with a civilian H1 Hummer and have a slightly more refined setup out of the gate. However, the price of entry of an H1 can easily be triple that of what you would pay for an ex-military HMMWV.

Fun Fact

In an effort to shed weight, the body of the HMMWV is comprised primarily of aluminum. The massive hood is made out of a sheet molding composite, making it similar, but stronger, than ordinary fiberglass. This creates a very light overall weight, which is one of the reasons Odell nets over 20 mpg with his setup.

Be sure to check out more of the build in the photo gallery below. After that, check out this one-of-a-kind Cummins-powered Chevy Colorado. 

As great as the selection of modern cars and trucks is, most brands are severely lacking when it comes to color choices. For many models, you can only choose from black, white, a few shades of gray and perhaps your traditional blue or red. Volkswagen, though, is looking to change things up with the Spektrum color options for the 2019 Golf R.

Already available for customers in other markets, including our friends to the north in Canada, the Spektrum Program allows customers to choose from a palette of 40 different paint colors for their 2019 Golf R.

You can still get a Golf R in the standard colors for no charge, but a custom color from the Spektrum Program will add an extra $2,500 to the cost. (Canadian prices are shown in the image below.)

While $2,500 certainly isn't chump change, given the choice of unique colors like TNT Orange and Viper Green, we're guessing many buyers will spring for the option and wait the couple of extra months for delivery.

Given the endless stream of boring-colored cars we see today, we are very excited to see VW introduce the Spektrum Program to the US market and hope that they'll start offering it on other models as well.

Even moreso, we hope that other car makers will follow VW's lead and introduce custom color options for their cars, or at least consider expanding their color offerings beyond an extremely limited number of choices. Bring on the colors!

Once you get your Golf, what do you do with it? We've spent some time upgrading ours.

Temps where high and the cars were fast at the Rigid Rampage at Ridgecrest. Team Nitto driver JP Gomez notched his first Ultra4 victory, leading the way for Team Nitto taking the top seven spots in the 4400 Unlimited race! Set in Ridgecrest, California, the course was a punishing 51-mile desert loop (three laps for the Unlimited race and two laps for the limited classes) that included high-speed desert, beat-you-senseless rough terrain, two rock sections and a whole bunch of dust. JP Gomez withstood challenges from Kings and Young Guns alike to bring his single seat UFO car across the line in first.

Temps during the day were running near 110 degrees as the desert got ready to claim victims. To minimize the worst of the heat, the main race would start at 4 p.m. and the limited class races were scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. Night racing is not a staple of Ultra4, but like everything else about the series, you have to be prepared for anything. A few weeks ago racers battled mud in Kentucky at Battle in Bluegrass, and now they’re dealing with high temps and dust in a California night race. The truly diverse race conditions of Ultra4 always test these ultimate off-road vehicles and their drivers.

Qualifying

Teams laid it all on the line for qualifying, trying to get clean air for the main event. The qualifying course was one mile of actual race course—with teams having the choice to head back to pits or continue on course with pre-running (at a reduced pre-running speed). Anticipation was high as several heavy hitters were getting ready to show what their cars could do in the desert, notably Team Nitto drivers Nick Nelson and Loren Healy in their Jimmy’s 4x4 cars, the Campbell family and the Gomez Brothers.

When the dust settled, it was Loren Healy on the pole, winning the KMC Hard Charger award, follow by newly-back-in-the-Ultra4-seat Nick Nelson less than a second behind. Both cars were screaming on course and appeared poised to be the cars to beat on Saturday. Shannon Campbell qualified third, followed by Paul Horschel and JP Gomez for the top five. The race would be an adjusted time race, with cars leaving the line in one minute increments—but heavy dust and a burned-out track would wreak havoc, so the closer to clean air, the better on this one. Cole Clark took the pole in the 4900 UTV class, Team Nitto driver Cade Rodd was first in the 4800 Legends class, Matt Howell was the 4500 Modified class hard charger and John Snell took the pole for the 4600 Stock class.

Early Leaders Experience Problems

As the green flag dropped, the twin Jimmy’s machines—driven by Loren and Nick—shot off into the desert. Hard, dusty and much anticipated, the first lap went fast. Both Nick and Loren’s new cars are two seaters and the co-driver/navigator role showed its importance early on. Nick took the lead from Loren on lap one and was in the process of extending his lead early into lap two when the front end let go and ended his day. Loren also had issues, only his on lap one, that took away his pole position advantage. On an adjusted time race, Loren would not only need to come across the line first, but he would have to put time on the whole field.

With Nick falling off the lead, Shannon Campbell, JP Gomez and Wayland Campbell took up the mantle of frontrunners and proceeded to put on a heck of show. Having all started within three minutes of each other, it was a race for position as well as against the clock. Shannon started pulling one of his patented madman charges to the front, only to be caught by Wayland. If you’ve ever seen these two race, there is no quarter given. Having to earn the pass, Wayland got around his dad and started working on running down JP on the last lap. With both JP and Wayland reaching speeds over 100 mph through the desert, it was a wild 51-mile dash on lap three.

Waiting for the Win

A common theme in Ultra4 races this year has been the intense focus on the clock after the leader crosses the finish line. JP crossed the line first, in a cloud of fury and dust. All heads (and stop watches) then turned to watch for Wayland’s dust. There was a one minute differential that JP had to overcome. One minute came and went and the smile on JP’s face kept getting bigger and bigger. After a few more minutes, Wayland came across the line, locking up second place and solidifying JP’s very first Ultra4 racing win, as well as the first U4 win for a UFO chassis.

Teams continued to cross the line—hot and dusty but relieved to see checkers. After time adjustments, Team Nitto driver Cody Addington continued to show why he’s a worthy successor for the Red Dragon. Cody laid down fast lap times and overcame an eleventh place starting position to land on the podium for the second time this year. In his first race in the new-to-him car, the 2018 Stampede, Cody took home second—so he’s now taken a podium in two of his first three races in the Dragon.

In addition to sweeping the podium, Team Nitto took all of the top seven positions. Fourth place went to Shannon Campbell, Raul Gomez took fifth, Loren Healy roared across the line in sixth and Bailey Cole capped a solid run with seventh. Jeff McKinlay was eighth, Brian Caprara was ninth and Levi Shirley rounded out the top 10.

A very special congratulations to JP Gomez, Gomez Brothers Racing and UFO fab for their first Ultra4 victory. This has been a long time coming and is a well-deserved victory for a classic “checkers or wreckers” race program that always leaves it all on course.

The Underclassmen at Night

Heading off into the desert after dark, all four limited classes raced a classic night race on the same course as the 4400 Unlimited cars. Starting off the line in one minute increments, the Underclassmen raced two laps in a roughed up and rutted out course already burned in hard by the early race. Teams had to overcome navigation, terrain and car issues to soldier on through the night. Some teams finished well after midnight as recoveries lasted until the early morning hours.

Matt Howell, the 4500 Modified class pole sitter, came in first overall, just ahead of Team Nitto driver Jimmy Jack. Sarah Amaral rounded out the podium. Brad Lovell put together a solid run to win the 4800 Legends class, followed by Cody Young and then Jade Wickham for third. Sean Gill won the 4600 Stock class, followed by Josh Atteberry and Dawson Allington, respectively. 

The 4900 UTV class had perhaps the most drama of the night with Chayse Caprara crossing the line first, only to be bumped to second by Scott LeSage on adjusted time. Scott won the 4900 class, with Chayse in second and Jacob Versey barely edging out Team Awesome’s Casey Scherer for third.

Western Series Championship

The Rigid Rampage at Ridgecrest marked the final race of the 2018 West Series and crowned the West series champion. Congratulations to Team Nitto driver Wayland Campbell for winning the West! Three-time King and Off-Road Hall of Famer Shannon Campbell took second for the series. Levi Shirley came close to repeating his 2017 championship, but finished the year in third, capping off another successful race campaign.

Brad Lovell continues to show his consistency and experience by taking the 4800 Legends Series Championship, edging out David Hartman for the top spot. The brother duo Jade and Kyle Wickham took third for the season, while Team Nitto driver Jimmy Jack won the 4500 Modified West Championship in a hard fought, season long battle against Matt Howell, who finished second. John Matthews wrapped up third in the West. In the 4600 Stock class, Dawson Allington edged out Brian Behrend to win the top spot.

Nationals Coming Next

The story of King of the Hammers, the East Series and West Series have been written for 2018, which means the Nitto Tire Ultra4 Nationals are right around the corner. Truly the most spectator friendly venue in Ultra4, Wild West Motorsports Park just outside Reno, Nevada will be home to the final event of the year. Only 100 points separate the top four drivers: Erik Miller, Wayland Campbell, Josh Blyler and Shannon Campbell. All four drivers are members of Team Nitto and are guaranteed to put all on the line as they battle for the championship. Teams will have all of September to prep their cars for the finale on October 19. Plan your trips to Reno now and head to www.ultra4racing.com for more information.

Want to see more Ultra4? We cover every race all season long!

While Dodge has gained a lot of attention lately with its ever-increasing lineup of drag-strip-ready Challengers, Ford hasn't forgotten about the quarter mile either, and it just unveiled the 2018 version of track-only 2018 Cobra Jet Mustang. Ford is calling it the fastest, most powerful factory drag Mustang ever and you'll see why in a moment.

It started 50 years ago, when Ford debuted the first Cobra Jet at the 1968 NHRA Winternationals with its 428 ci naturally aspirated FE engine, and the newest version pays homage to the original, albeit with a ton more power and modern race technology.

While the body doesn't look too much different from the 2018 Mustangs you'll find at the dealership, the Cobra Jet is purpose-built for serious drag competition. The factory IRS is gone, replaced with a heavy duty Strange nine-inch solid axle, and the cabin features an NHRA-certified roll bar along with a Racepak digital instrument cluster.

Power comes from a 5.2L version of the Coyote V8 with a 3.0L Whipple supercharger, which makes enough thrust for mid eight-second quarter mile ETs with trap speeds around 150 mph.

We have to say we also really dig the throwback grahpics that are part of the 50th Anniversary 2018 Cobra Jet. If you'd like one for yourself, the car can be ordered now from Ford Performance with an MSRP of $130,000. You might want to act quick, because in honor of its 1968 debut year, just 68 examples will be built.

Want to know how the latest iterations of the Challenger drive? We took the Redeye and Scat Pack Widebody out to the track!

When you see these two cars, you might not think classic American rivalry, but that's because you haven't looked under the hood. Joe's Mustang has its classic engine, like you would expect, but the E36 M3 Amir is driving has ditched its stock engine for a 7.1L LSX. Now it's classic Ford vs. Chevy.

While some may say that Joe could never overcome the power of that LS, some people haven't seen Joe's tires. At 315/30R18 on all four corners, this Mustang can put more Nitto NT01 rubber on the road than almost any other car we've seen. In this battle of classic American horsepower, who will reign supreme?

Watch the video above to find out!

Do you like this battle? We have a ton more, including Amir's first appearance in episode three!

If you’ve been reading the automotive headlines the last three years, you’ve no doubt heard of “Dieselgate,” the emissions scandal that involved Volkswagen’s calculated uploading of emissions-cheating engine calibrations into its TDI model vehicles. After the news broke in 2015, diesel has been slowly trying to recover from the proverbial black eye left by the German automaker, and VW has since discontinued any plans of offering diesel-powered vehicles in the States.

Life Goes On

So what is life like after Dieselgate? Are OEMs now afraid to introduce or offer new diesel models? How many manufacturers are even offering diesels these days? We’re happy to report that the answers to these questions are: good, no and plenty! Although the hybrid-electric and anti-diesel crowds would have you believe diesel is on the ropes, nothing could be further from the truth. Even with Volkswagen pulling the plug on diesel and backing out of compression ignition engines in North America altogether (which means VW, Audi and Porsche are out), several OEMs are introducing new diesel-powered vehicles, while others continue to hold the line on existing models.

Press-Worthy

While mainstream media and (sadly) even the manufacturers do very little to report or promote the fact that diesel engines are available in many North American cars, trucks and SUVs, fear not. We’re doing it here—and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. With GM releasing the revamped diesel-powered Cruze for ’18 and the coming unveiling of a diesel option for the all-new ‘19 half-ton pickups this fall, the General has been busy. Also, for the first time in history a Power Stroke can be had in a Ford F-150. Meanwhile, Ram, Jeep and Nissan continue to press on with their respective oil-burner options.

Without further ado, here’s what you need to know to become better-acquainted with the current crop of diesel-powered domestic cars, trucks and SUVs available in North America.

Playing by The Rules

Trust us, if you think any OEM would dare tinker with emissions defeat functions within its engine calibrations at this point, you’re sorely mistaken. Don’t believe us? Just ask VW executives (the ones that aren’t headed to prison) how their $30 billion in losses for selling dirty TDIs helped improve their company’s bottom line, worldwide reputation or future business model. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the entire dieselgate scandal is that Volkswagen didn’t have to cheat. Other manufacturers are proving that emissions regulation standards can be met using the technology that’s already available. The OEMs have been able to make their cars, trucks and SUVs cleaner, more fuel efficient and powerful without the need for an illegal workaround.

Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 1500

General Motors has made a huge investment in diesel in recent years and the latest newcomer to the compression-ignition party is the 3.0L inline-six Duramax, available on ’19 Silverado and Sierra 1500s in LT, RST, LTZ or High Country trim. While official power figures have yet to be released, GM has led us to believe it will be comparable (if not more powerful) than Ford’s new 3.0L Power Stroke, which is rated at 250hp and 440 lb-ft. The I-6 Duramax will be bolted to a new Hydra-Matic 10L80 10-speed automatic transmission, which should also help the oil-burning GM half-tons rival Ford’s 30 mpg Power Stroke F-150 in the mileage department. In our opinion, a diesel-powered Silverado/Sierra 1500 is more than just a “me too” decision to keep up with Ford’s F-150 and stay ahead of Ram’s 1500 in terms of sales. Over the last five years, GM has made a conscious effort to include a diesel option in various classes of vehicles. For more on that, keep reading.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 3.0L LM2 Duramax, direct-injection, turbocharged I6
• Injection System: TBA (but likely Denso high-pressure common-rail)
• Horsepower: TBA
• Torque: TBA
• Emissions Equipment: TBA
• Transmission: Hydra-Matic 10L80 10-speed automatic
• Payload Capacity: TBA
• Towing Capacity: TBA

Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon

In 2016, GM brought diesel back to the compact pickup market—a segment that had been void of a diesel option for three decades—by offering the 2.8L inline-four Duramax in its Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Thus far, the diesel-powered compacts have been a subtle hit despite their limited publicity. The 4,700-pound trucks, while somewhat hefty for the compact category, can tow as much as 7,700 pounds and haul in excess of 1,500 pounds in the six-foot two-inch long bed. Thanks to a common-rail injection system that makes use of a Denso HP4 high-pressure fuel pump and advanced solenoid-style injectors, the 170 ci baby Duramax produces 181hp at 3,400 rpm and a very respectable 369 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 2.8L LWN Duramax, direct-injection, turbocharged, 16-valve I4
• Injection System: Denso high-pressure common-rail with HP4 pump and solenoid-style injectors
• Horsepower: 181hp at 3,400 rpm
• Torque: 369 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: Hydra-Matic 6L50 six-speed automatic
• Payload Capacity: 1,508 pounds
• Towing Capacity: 7,700 pounds

Chevrolet Cruze: 52 MPG

While first introduced in ’14, the original diesel-powered Cruze was canceled after the ’15 model year. This wasn't due to lack of demand or emissions issues, but to prepare for an all-new version of the sedan that included a fresh diesel mill under the hood. The ’18 Cruze makes use of a 137hp 1.6L ECOTEC inline-four sporting an aluminum block with a bed plate, dual overhead cams and a common-rail injection system that makes use of a Denso high-pressure pump and injectors. Better yet, the Cruze is available in six-speed manual transmission form, with the MZ4 gearbox allowing the car to achieve as much as 52 mpg highway.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 1.6L LH7 ECOTEC, direct-injection, turbocharged, 16-valve I4
• Injection System: Denso high-pressure common-rail with solenoid-style injectors
• Horsepower: 137hp at 3,750 rpm
• Torque: 240 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: MZ4 six-speed manual (standard) or Hydra-Matic 9TXX nine-speed automatic
• MPG Highway: 52 mpg (manual), 47 mpg (auto)
• MPG City: 30 mpg (manual), 31 mpg (auto)

Chevrolet Equinox/GMC Terrain

Load up the family and fill up the tank 600 miles later. By lightening up its curb weight for 2018 (without sacrificing cabin space) and using the same 1.6L ECOTEC diesel found in the Cruze, GM’s Equinox and Terrain are some of the most fuel efficient crossovers in North America. While the compact SUVs aren’t rocket ships, off-the-line performance and highway merging performance is adequate, while a six-speed automatic transmission (not the nine-speed offered in the Cruze) keeps gear hunting at a minimum. Front wheel drive models can knock down 39 mpg highway and 28 mpg around town, while all-wheel drive versions are good for 38 and 28 mpg, respectively.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 1.6L LH7 ECOTEC, direct-injection, turbocharged, 16-valve I4
• Injection System: Denso high-pressure common-rail with solenoid-style injectors
• Horsepower: 137hp at 3,750 rpm
• Torque: 240 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: Six-speed automatic
• MPG Highway: 39 mpg (FWD), 38 mpg (AWD)
• MPG City: 28 mpg

Ford F-150

Even with its immensely popular EcoBoost mills and the revered 5.0L V8 already available in the F-150 stable, Ford still believes a diesel half-ton will sell. While FoMoCo only expects a five-percent take-rate on Power Stroke-equipped models, there was never a question as to whether or not the company would bring one to market. Similar to the engine used in Land Rover and Range Rover applications and produced in the U.K., the 3.0L Power Stroke V6 is based on a compacted graphite iron (CGI) crankcase, utilizes aluminum cylinder heads with four valves per cylinder and features dual overhead cams. The high-pressure fuel pump for the injection system is belt-driven from the rear, while quick-firing piezoelectric injectors keep combustion ultra quiet and extremely efficient.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 3.0L Power Stroke, direct-injection, turbocharged, 24-valve V6
• Injection System: Bosch common-rail with piezoelectric injectors
• Horsepower: 250hp at 3,250 rpm
• Torque: 440 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: 10R80 10-speed automatic
• Payload Capacity: 1,940 pounds
• Towing Capacity: 11,400 pounds
• MPG Highway: 30 mpg (4x2)
• MPG City: 22 mpg (4x2)

Ram 1500 EcoDiesel

Other than offering the EcoDiesel in more trim levels over the years (for 2018, the EcoDiesel was offered in Sport models for the first time), Ram’s VM Motori-built 3.0L V6 has gone virtually unchanged since its inception in 2014. Still, all things considered it’s a lightweight anvil of an engine—with its CGI block, one-piece bed plate, 14mm head bolts and sub-500-pound overall heft—and it’s still slated to be offered in the ’19 Ram 1500 lineup. While the EcoDiesel is undergoing some emissions-system changes and won’t be available until midway through ’19 model production, it will likely have the same 240hp and 420 lb-ft rating, with the same proven eight-speed 8HP70 automatic transmission backing it. With the improved aerodynamics package on the ’19 model Rams showing fuel economy gains in gas-powered trucks (see PickupTrucks.com’s testing), who knows? Ram’s EcoDiesel may rival Ford’s best-in-class 30 mpg highway figure.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 3.0L VM Motori, direct-injection, turbocharged, 24-valve V6
• Injection System: Bosch high-pressure common-rail with CP4.2 pump and solenoid-style injectors
• Horsepower: 240hp at 3,600 rpm
• Torque: 420 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF 8HP70 eight-speed automatic (TorqueFlite 8)
• Payload Capacity: 1,620 pounds
• Towing Capacity: 9,200 pounds
• MPG Highway: 29 mpg (4x2)
• MPG City: 21 mpg (4x2)

Jeep Grand Cherokee

North American Jeep owners have been privy to several different diesel options over the last dozen years. First, there was the 2.8L VM Motori-equipped Jeep Liberty offered in ’05 and ’06. Then the 3.0L Mercedes V6 finally became available in stateside Jeep Grand Cherokees from ’07-‘09. Since ‘14, the same engine and transmission package used in the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel has been an option for Grand buyers—with the latter being its most fuel efficient and powerful version yet. Two-wheel drive models are rated for 30 mpg highway while 4x4 versions are pegged for 28 mpg. With a 700-mile range, a 7,400-pound maximum tow rating (4x2) and all the classic off-the-beaten-path agility a Jeep is known for, the EcoDiesel rendition of the Grand Cherokee literally makes it one-of-a-kind in the domestic mid-size SUV category.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 3.0L VM Motori, direct-injection, turbocharged, 24-valve V6
• Injection System: Bosch high-pressure common-rail with CP4.2 pump and solenoid-style injectors
• Horsepower: 240hp at 3,600 rpm
• Torque: 420 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF 8HP70 eight-speed automatic (TorqueFlite 8)
• Towing Capacity: 7,400 pounds (4x2)
• MPG Highway: 30 mpg (4x2)
• MPG City: 22 mpg (4x2)

Nissan Titan XD

Although it’s yet to take a big bite out of the half-ton or ¾-ton truck markets, Nissan continues to field its “5/8-scale” Cummins-powered Titan XD. While sales have remained low in comparison to the kind of numbers the Big Three see (and the press on the Titan XD typically trending toward the negative), most XD owners will tell you they really like their truck. It’s often praised for its roomy cabin, more-than-adequate power provided by the 5.0L Cummins V8 and the smooth operation of the six-speed Aisin automatic transmission. Those who abandoned their half-tons for the Titan XD are especially fond of its towing stability.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 5.0L Cummins, direct-injection, turbocharged, 32-valve V8
• Injection System: Bosch high-pressure common-rail with CP4.2 pump and piezoelectric injectors
• Horsepower: 310hp at 3,200 rpm
• Torque: 555 lb-ft at 1,600 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: Aisin A466ND six-speed automatic
• Payload Capacity: 2,420 pounds
• Towing Capacity: 12,640 pounds

It Goes Without Saying…

As always, the diesel options offered for ¾-ton and larger trucks from the Big Three continue to see an exceptionally high take-rate (Cummins-powered Ram 2500 and 3500s, Power Stroke equipped Ford Super Dutys and Chevrolet/GMC Silverado/Sierra HDs, respectively). Based on their capability alone, these mountain-movers will likely always keep Detroit humming along, but it would be neglectful to not credit them with helping to bring modern diesel to the masses. After all, the extraordinary popularity of the heavy-duty segment was the catalyst behind the OEs bringing diesel power to the light-duty truck market.

Photography courtesy of the manufacturers

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Tom Bailey’s Annual Woodward Dream Cruise Pre-Party isn’t just a run-of-the-mill August car show. It’s a horsepower festival that also has the feel of a long-awaited family reunion. Some of the most bad-to-the-chassis streetcars in the country rumble into the Pontiac, Michigan Club House 81 parking lot to celebrate horsepower in all its glory with good company, burnouts, dyno challenges and a pig roast.

Seeing 70 parachute-equipped streetcars lined up back-to-back in lines across the front lot was a sight to behold. If each revved out to at least a thousand horses, that could be over a 100,000hp in one parking lot. Maybe next time we can convince the owners to start all their engines at once.

Tom Bailey’s car, Sick Seconds, also made an appearance. Of course it was there; the event wouldn’t feel the same without it. Here the 3,500hp sleeping beast waits patiently for the races on Woodward Avenue the next day.

To the right of the lot facing towards the road was a Semi truck mated to a dyno trailer. Those looking to test their cars stepped up to the dyno challenge. He or she with the most horsepower walks away with $5,000.

The Club House’s parking lot extends to the side of the building, which is where a burnout box was placed. The winner secures bragging rights and $1,000 cash, and the contestants give it their all. Spectators watched silently, jaws dropped and smiles wide, while engines revved and thick tire smoke billowed up and over the audience, then above the trees. Just seconds after the tires stop screaming, the built-up cheers erupted from everyone’s chest. Burnout contests have all the feels.

Proud Dodge Demon owner Matt Zurbrick put the pedal to the metal so hard, the brakes caught on fire. He then headed off to the races on Woodward Avenue the next day. We can only assume he at least replaced the pads and rotors beforehand. 

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Now that was unexpected. The battle between Joe's supercharged Fox body Mustang and the LS-swapped E36 M3 driven by Amir may not have ended the way we anticipated, but that doesn't mean the on-track action wasn't as intense as ever. 

Watching that insane LS power and Joe's massive Nitto NT01s in action needs to be seen to be believed. This truly was a battle of epic proportions. 

Have you not seen the battle yet? Don't let this spoil you! Watch episode seven first, then come back to see how it went down. 

Like this battle? We have a ton more in our Driver Battles series!

Pro-am drifting is kind of crazy right now.

Some series are shortening their season schedules, while many regions are shuttering altogether. That isn't necessarily the case in SoCal, where two series are still running strong. Capable and formidable competitors traveling here from other regions to compete means that, at least for the time being, there’s possibly no better place in the country to see tomorrow’s big names than Southern California.

Enter Top Drift, which has long been the premier pro-am drifting competition in the region, if not the country. It’s the series responsible for rearing drifters like Jeff Jones, "Rad" Dan Burkett and plenty more, and is run by Formula Drift veterans Hiro Sumida and Taka Aono. Its traditional, four-event season is held on four very different tracks within Willow Springs Raceway, just north of Los Angeles county lines, and is designed to give drifters a feel for all they might encounter in the pro ranks.

While certain past seasons might have been easy to call, with one or two standout drivers dominating competition, the last few seasons have been anything but. We’ve seen sure bets stumble, underdogs prevail and more than a few transplants and rookies dominate veteran competition. At the close of Top Drift’s fourth and final round in 2018, this leaves quite an interesting mix of names who could be tomorrow’s Formula Drift champions.

1. Dominic Martinez

Drifting is hard. Cars, maintenance, transportation, tires and seat time—they all boil down to time and money. Even if you’ve got a natural inclination for drifting, the logistics of it are difficult for most of us to manage, but every once in a while, a competitor comes around who seems to have all those bases covered. Meet Dom Martinez.

At only 16 years of age, Dom’s got a proven V8 S14 240SX modified in all the right ways, a solid team of friends and family (crew chiefed by his dad), a couple years’ experience and most importantly, natural ability in spades. He’s earned wins in Round 1 and 3 this year, qualified high all around and while he was ousted in Top 8 at this latest and final round, amassed enough points throughout the course of it all to clinch second in the season championship chase—a result he might’ve achieved the previous year, had he not gotten grounded and been forced to withdraw prior to the final round. Means, motive and opportunity put Dom at the top of the “Who to Watch Out For” list.

2. Rome Charpentier

About a half-dozen Top Drift competitors have steadily progressed into “impressively good” territory over the last few years, and Rome Charpentier has pulled ahead of that pack in 2018. He podiumed at Round 1 and podiumed or made it into the Final 4 in each subsequent round since then, from behind the wheel of his trusty no. 17 E36 BMW. He didn't get any wins, but that type of consistency in an otherwise tumultuous year is what deservedly earned him the 2018 championship.

While there’s no word yet as to whether Rome will make the jump to FD Pro 2 in 2019, whenever he decides to do it, he’ll make life very difficult for the rest of the field.

3. Alex Grimm

Alex has had a crappy year, but in terms of raw talent, you’d be hard-pressed to find a pro-am competitor with more of it. His multiple podiums and top-qualifier performances achieved with his V8-swapped S30 Datsun 240Z in 2017 and previous years were only upstaged in his door-clinging tandem drifting with pros in bashes like Street Driven Tour and All Star Bash, all of which has impressed us for years.

While he scored an impressive win in Round 2 this year, besting drifters Zach MacGillivray, Pablo Cabrera, Dom Martinez and Brian Page-Howell in the process, the tuning and learning curve with his new, Pro 2-spec Chevy Camaro proved too steep to graduate from the pro-am ranks just yet. With that ironed out, we’d make Grimm the heavy favorite win the Top Drift championship in 2019 and pose a serious threat to Pro 2 in the near future.

4. Shaun Doom

Everyone loves a good underdog story, and in Top Drift competition, that story is Shaun Doom. Where V8 S14s seem to be the hot ticket to championship success, Shaun is keeping it real with a turbo-four S13—a turbo KA24, at that! He’s killing it, steadily progressing at every round in 2018 to finish in third, both in the final round and in championship points for the season.

We’d be surprised to see him make the jump to Pro 2 competition next year, with one more year of pro-am (and possibly an engine change—let’s be real) likely transforming him into an even more threatening challenger. We’re excited to see just how much better he can get and farther he’ll go.

5. Aaron Muss

In a lot of ways, Aaron “AJ” Muss should be at the top of this list, but something tells us we might want to save that for another day. This guy is definitely going places! His main gig is being a back-to-back champion snowboarder and 2018 Winter Olympics qualifier, but when he’s not doing that he likes to drift his turbocharged E46 BMW.

We’ve seen him at the Hyperfest/U.S. Drift pro-am competition at Virginia International Raceway and were surprised to see him trek all the way out from his New Jersey home to compete in the final round of Top Drift at Willow Springs in Southern California. We were even more surprised when he beat Shaun Doom and Rome Charpentier to take the win, throwing a major wrench into the championship order! We're not sure when or where he might pop up into Pro 2 competition, but when he does, he’s sure to put on a hell of a show.

6. Amir Falahi

Think of Amir Falahi as the Dom Martinez of the north. He has a great team of family and friends behind his pro-am drift campaign, a great car in the form of his insanely loud V8-swapped E30 BMW and plenty of natural ability to bring all that to its full potential. After the sudden closure of the Bay Area region’s Golden Gate Drift pro-am series, a handful of the region's top wheelmen began flying south for the summer and wreaking havoc on series like Top Drift, where Amir has been steadily gaining ground.

After forgettable performances at Round 1 and 2 in 2018, Amir landed in second in Round 3 (falling only to Dom) and had the unfortunate circumstance of meeting Rome Charpentier in the Top 16 this time in Round 4, who he almost beat in a One More Time match! Forget what the points say—if you’re looking for someone to keep an eye on in coming seasons of pro-am or even Pro 2 competition, keep Amir Falahi on your radar.

7. Zach MacGillivray

“Zach Mac” is on a championship curve. It might not be as steep as some of the other drivers here, but he’ll get there. Zach kicked off the Top Drift 2018 season by qualifying in the top spot and finishing fifth at Round 1 from inside his Z33 Nissan 350Z. He has driven ferociously since then but just didn’t catch the best cards in the deck. He qualified fifth but fell to eventual winner Alex Grimm early in Top 16 at Round 2. He qualified fourth at Round 3 but met Rome Charpentier in Top 8, who went on to take third. In this fourth and final round, he encountered some mechanical gremlins that made him exit his battle against fourth place finisher Vadim Todorov.

It’s a good bet that Zach will be back next year, and an even better one that if he is, he’ll be a championship contender and a near shoe-in for that coveted Formula D Pro 2 license.

With the 2018 Top Drift season in the books, we’re looking forward to seeing these aces emerge in Pro 2 and improve in Top Drift competition next year, and we will be every bit as eager to see who steps up to fill their places.

Looking for more? Check out the gallery below!

Want to see our favorite cars in Top Drift? We made a list of our top 10!

Every year on the second Saturday in August, the city of Pontiac closes a portion Woodward Avenue near the M1 Concourse to host a full day and night of street racing with 128 registered street legal race cars. The event is Roadkill Nights powered by Dodge, and its fourth consecutive year saw some of the biggest burnouts yet.

The opportunity to race on the historic Woodward Avenue without risking jail time only comes but once a year. There's a limited number of slots available and the racers are diehards. Even after his twin-turbo 1930 Plymouth Sedan suffered a flat slick when the rear tire met the rough Michigan roads, Nick Plewniak managed to find a replacement and get back on track. He celebrated by burning rubber all the way down the strip.

Racing on Woodward is a whole different experience than going full-throttle on prepped-surfaces. The pebble-filled, cracked and then sealed pavement lacks traction. This also makes the burnout box more challenging. Some racers skidded off to the side from a lack of sticky traction, while others couldn't smoke the tires much at all. Not this guy, though. He's one of the pros.

Taking a Pause

One endearing part about racing on Woodward is the periodic road closures that allow trains to pass. There’s something about being close to a fairly fast moving cargo train while being surrounded by race cars. That moment gives a serene pause, but with an energetic, anticipating feel.

This duo of Chevrolet Nostalgic gassers raced side-by-side throughout the day, and they looked good doing it. From what we were able to see, they may have also been the only gassers on the strip.

Get Ready to Rumble

Standing near the track when Matt Hagen burns rubber down the strip in his Dodge Charger Nitro Funny Car and Leah Pritchett does the same in her Mopar Dragster is like getting punched in the chest by a whoosh of electrified, booming wind that soon starts burning as the nitromethane fumes settle in your eyes and sinuses. Pure perfection.

For this year’s celebrity shootout, Richard Rawlings of Gas Monkey Garage went up against Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett, both driving Dodge Hellcats. Just milliseconds after this photo was taken, Rawlings ran the Dodge up and into the barrier, leaving tire marks across the concrete wall. His ego may be temporarily bruised, but at least he’s not the only person to get passed by Pritchett, and he certainly won’t be the last.

What’s that? You can’t get enough of the burnout action? Flip through the gallery above for more shenanigans!

Like what you've seen here? The Pre-Party was just as awesome!

One of the biggest reason so many people modify the 2007 to 2018 Jeep Wrangler JK is because, quite simply, it’s easy. Fit with solid axles, a coil-sprung multilink suspension and large wheelwells, the JK is a breeze to lift and squeeze larger tires on. In fact, with what may be the strongest aftermarket support of any vehicle ever produced, the options are seemingly limitless for what you can do with the modern Wrangler platform.

Recently, we had a friend looking to modify his 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. As is often the case, he wanted to start off by improving the overall stance of the vehicle. Given this Jeep will spend the majority of its time on-road, ride quality and handling were both extremely important. Having modified Wranglers in the past, he knew some of the critical components he needed to achieve his on- and off-road goals. 

With so many options, he decided to make things easy by checking out Rough Country Suspension’s website. While Rough Country’s budget friendly pricing initially drew him to the site, the fact that he could piece together a suspension to perfectly fit his needs was what tipped the scales in their favor. With the Jeep in the capable hands of Low Range 4x4, we stopped by to check out the build. While the video above gives you a thorough rundown of the 3.5-inch lift, we’re diving even more into the details in the article below.

Adjustable Shocks

One area this JK owner did not want to skimp was on was the shocks. So, he opted for Rough Country’s Vertex series shocks. These nitrogen-charged reservoir shocks come with a massive 2.5-inch shock piston, along with a sizeable 22mm chrome-hardened piston rod. Moving to this performance level series of shocks isn’t cheap, but it gives him a shock that he can easily dial in and adjust as the build evolves.

The real draw to the shocks are the eight-stage compression dampeners. These allow you to dial in the suspension with the twist of the knob. Given this Jeep owner likes to move quickly in the dirt, it’s easy for him to dial up the compression for more spirited off-road driving. Once he’s ready to take it easy on the street again, he can quickly click down the compression settings. These will also come in handy as he adds items such as bumpers and body armor that increase the weight and require additional dampening force.

Proper Geometry

Jeep spent an obnoxious amount of time and money dialing in the suspension geometry of the JK. In an effort to preserve this work, Rough Country offers a 3.5-inch lift that uses control arm drop brackets. These reduce the operating angle of the arms, which ultimately translates to improved handling and ride quality dynamics over retaining the arms in the stock mounting locations.

Opting for Rough Country’s adjustable front track bar was another easy way to dial in the suspension system. This forged-steel bar is fit with Clevite bushings on both ends to ensure long life and removing unwanted vibration. The bar is also designed in a way that it can be adjusted on the vehicle, making life easy for you and the people handling your alignment.

Improved Ride Quality

Rough Country’s 3.5-inch lift coils are engineered with a similar spring rate as to what the JK left the factory with. This preserves the Jeep’s ride quality while giving you the lift you’re looking for.

To dial in the rear suspension, a track bar relocation bracket is used. While this allows you to retain your stock track bar, it raises the mounting point on the axle to retain proper on- and off-road handling. Just like the front, new raised bumpstop landing pads are bolted to the axle.

Ensuring the Jeep’s electronic nannies wouldn’t throw a fit is a Quick Cal module from Rough Country. The unit allows you to easily adjust your speedometer in addition to working as a trouble code reader.

Mud Grapplers

While Rough Country recommends 35-inch-tall tires for this lift, this owner decided to step up to a slightly taller 37x13.50 Nitto Mud Grappler. Despite being the most aggressive tire in the Grappler catalog, it's extremely well mannered on the road. This, along with the un-matched off-road performance, has made the Mud Grappler the go-to tire for this particular Jeep owner for years.

The extreme terrain tires were paired with a 17x9 Manifold 740B series wheel from Gear Allow. Fit with 4.53 inches of backspacing, the cast-aluminum wheel is a strong and lightweight wheel. Yes, this setup does rub at full suspension compression off-road. Given the next modification will be done to the fenders, this issue should be taken care of soon.  

The Build Continues…

We got a chance to check out the new setup on-road and off. While a differential gear upgrade would definitely bring the power levels back, we found the overall ride quality and handling extremely plush. Playing with the compression adjusters on the Vertex shocks absolutely yielded noticeable results. For the trails and intended use of the Jeep, we think this setup is great. Sure, the fenders will need to be trimmed or replaced eventually to allow the tires to properly cycle off-road. However, on-road, it isn’t an issue.

Like most builds, this one is still a work in progress. Thankfully, the owner is starting with a solid base to build from.

Thinking about building a JK? Here’s what you need to know!

Of all the many automakers out there, Tesla is by far the most divisive. So much has been said about these cars: “This is an iPad on wheels,” “The Model 3 was totally worth the wait,”“Their cars suck, quality sucks and their interior is cheap,” “It is the BEST car I’ve ever driven.” Love it or hate it, but everyone has an opinion. 

When it comes to the new Tesla Model 3, it's all of those things. It's a computer on wheels, fast, fun to drive and great for sitting in traffic. The body panels don’t fit perfectly, and I guess the interior could be considered cheap, but all that said, it’s one of the weirdest cars you can buy—in a good way.

After two years of hype, the long-awaited entry level Tesla is finally here. However, it isn't exactly offered at the originally-promised $35,000 price point, as the cheapest version you can configure comes in at $49,000.

The particular Model 3 that I drove comes in at $56,500 as configured and features the 310-mile long-range motor, which generates 271hp and 317 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels.

Unlike Anything Else

There is nothing normal about the Model 3. There’s no engine, gauge cluster, engine sounds, nor even a key to get in/out/start the car. Instead, you get a “frunk” under the hood, and the only thing on the dashboard is a giant 15-inch screen with all your information and controls. Even the air vent direction and glove box latch are controlled through the giant screen. A phone app recognizes you upon approach, so you never have to touch a button to lock/unlock or start the car. In case the phone doesn’t work, there is a card similar to a hotel key used to enter and start the car.

The large center screen may seem jarring at first, but you'll quickly get used to it. That said, I really wish it had a heads-up display. Otherwise, I’m really relying on Autopilot to keep me from hitting the car in front of me while I see how fast I’m going.

Always Unexpected

One of its best aspects is how it's everything you don’t expect it to be. It will do 0-60 in about 5 seconds. It will overtake cars on the highway without hesitation. Set on Sport, the steering has a slight resistance, giving it a weighted, sporty feel. It’s no BMW, but point the wheel and it takes off. Take a corner hard and the Model 3 will whip around with little to no understeer. Some have compared its driving characteristics to a Porsche Cayman or Audi S4. I've never driven either of those cars, but if thats the case, I'd say the Model 3 is among good company. It reminds me of the current BMW M3 with much more linear power delivery and slightly less sporty but more controllable handling.

The Model 3 is fast, but without any noise, it feels uneventful. One moment, you’re doing 15 mph. In the blink of an eye, you will be well beyond the speed limit, and you won’t even notice it, aside from seeing how quickly you are passing things. There isn't the snap, crackle, pop and burble associated with cars that have similar performance numbers, and there’s no transmission to downshift. The instant torque never gets old, but on occasion, I catch myself making engine noises as I’m driving. There's something about the visceral feeling of hearing an engine roar that a Tesla can't ever give you.

Burnouts? Don’t even think about it. Not like you can build up the revs, nor will it even let you apply the brake and gas pedals at the same time. Since all 317 lb-ft of torque is unleashed the second you step on the pedal, you won’t really need to anyway. It'll get you where you need to go, even if you can't have the same style about it.

Why Get One?

It does a lot of things better than other cars, but as with everything in life, the Model 3 isn’t perfect. As mentioned earlier, the build quality isn’t the best. At the price range for the one we drove, $56,000, you can buy a ton of other great enthusiast cars, like the BMW M2, Audi RS3, used Porsche 997 and Civic Type R—even with dealer mark-up. So why buy one? 

You buy one because the Model 3 breaks all your misconceptions about electric cars. It’s not an oversized golf kart, like many compliance EVs are. The interior is roomy and well thought out. Unlike most cars on the market today that are just plastic-clad hatchbacks calling themselves SUVs while funneling fake engine noises into the cabin, the Model 3 doesn’t pretend to be something it's not. Drive a Model 3 and everything else seems slow and out of date.

A Great All-Around Car

The Model 3 is a no bs, fantastic all-around car that drives like a sports car. Its initial acceleration will blow the doors off anything under $60,000, yet it's roomy, quiet and comfortable. It's fun when you want it to be and a smooth and quiet highway cruiser when needed. Not too many other cars can claim to do all that.

For an additional $18,000, you can step up to the Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive Performance package. That version will do 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, has a 155 mph top speed, has bigger brakes and has a track setting that will allow you to drift. It all sounds amazing, but for that big of a price difference, I would rather take that money and build a track car that makes engine sounds and bang gears, because after all, shouldn’t your daily driver be smooth and worry free while your track car is all involving?

So was it worth the wait? Despite how positive this review has been, I'm on the fence. Still, there's a lot to love. Even at $56,000, it's a bargain considering the tax benefits, low maintenance, tech, features, performance and depreciation. It's a great car, and with over-the-air updates, just like updating your cell phone, it keeps getting better. 

The Model 3 wasn't the only car to surprise us lately. We also enjoyed our time in the Toyota Avalon.

These days it's down right amazing what you can do in a racing game or simulation, from white-knuckled hot lapping in virtual reality to spending hours customizing your car and creating elaborate liveries to show off online. Speaking of online, how cool is it to be able to hop on and go up against dozens of fellow racers from all over the world—all with physics that are as close to real world as they’ve ever been.

Yet despite the incredible advances in driving games over the years, there’s a game that came out nearly 30 years ago that, in some ways, still hasn’t been rivaled to this day. I’m talking about a game called Street Rod, which was originally released on DOS computers back in 1989.

Part racing game, and part RPG, Street Rod was a game that was truly ahead of its time, and despite its decades old graphics and simplistic driving physics, there are still many parts of the game that impress today.

Starting the Game

Street Rod takes place in Southern California in the early 1960s, and it begins with you entering the name that goes on your California drivers license. From there you head to your garage with $700 in your possession to spend on a car.

Rather than picking your car from a showroom, you find and buy vehicles by looking in the classifieds section of the newspaper, where you’ll find a variety of old-school American machinery for sale.

Setting the Standard

Initially, you’ll be forced to start with a rather pedestrian, low buck machine, with the higher performance cars priced well above your allotted figure. This wasn't a bad thing, though. A big part of the game’s appeal was starting with a simple car and upgrading it along the way as you win money racing.

While this sort of “race, win, upgrade your machine, repeat” progression has pretty much become the standard formula for modern racing games, at the time Street Rod came out it was pretty unheard of to have a racing game that was this deep.

You start racing your newly-acquired ride by heading out to the local burger joint where a stream of rivals roll up in front of you. From there you are given the choice whether to ask them to race or let them cruise by while you wait for a different opponent.

Once you decide to challenge someone, you are given the option of either a drag race or a road race, and a number of wager options. You can challenge someone to race “just for kicks,” a specified amount or even pink slips.

Showing Its Age

Once the race begins, Street Rod begins to show its age. The graphics are decent for the era, but anyone who is used to a more contemporary racing game will find the visuals, basic arrow key controls and simplistic physics a big step back from the modern era.

Yet even despite its age and simplicity, Street Rod has some unique features that add quite a bit of realism. For example, if your car has a manual transmission you’ll have to let off the accelerator for a moment when you shift, and timing this can be a big factor in whether you win or lose.

If you select the longer, road race option, you’ll have to navigate corners and even potentially escape the cops. If they catch you, they'll write you a speeding ticket that you’ll have to pay from your funds.

Impressive Depth

After you’ve tried a few races, you’ll naturally want to start upgrading your car, and this another area where Street Rod shows some impressive depth. You buy upgrade parts the same way you buy cars, in the classified section of the newspaper.

As you browse through the list of manifolds, carburetors, engines, transmissions and more, you have to remember to purchase the parts that fit your car. For example, if you bought a racing transmission for your Ford Thunderbird, you won’t be able to swap it over to your Chevy Bel Air.

Better yet, after you buy the parts you actually have to install them by opening the hood, unbolting them and swapping them out. At one point we upgraded our factory two barrel carb setup to a dual quad setup, which required buying and installing a race-type manifold and two separate four barrel race carbs.

If that wasn’t enough, if you want to go out and race, you’ll need to make sure your car has gas, which is purchased by going to the gas station and manually filling up the tank. You can even play with the timing to extract that last bit of performance from your machine.

In addition to that, Street Rod even features basic forms of visual customization, which was unheard of in a racing game at the time. You can shave the bumpers, chop the top, add decals and even change colors—all for a cost.

Taking on The King

Eventually, your goal is to climb the ranks and win enough races to earn a challenge from “The King,” the boss of the game who drives a heavily modified ‘63 Corvette. Come out victorious and you’ll not only win his car, but his girlfriend as well. Because that’s how it works, right?

With some features that were ahead of their time, and still others that haven’t been seen since, Street Rod is well-deserving of a spot on the most of important racing games of all time. It laid the groundwork for what’s standard in racing games today, and with its RPG elements, it went well beyond being a simple driving game.

Best of all, if you weren’t able to experience this game when it was new 29 years ago, you can play it right now in your web browser via the highly addicting Classic Reload site. Try it out and see what a cutting edge racing game experience was like back in 1989. Just don’t blame us when you lose all of your productivity as you try to dethrone The King and his mean ‘Vette.

Were you a fan of another classic driving game? We have a list of our 5 favorites!

For Part 2 of our Life After Dieselgate series, we’re taking a turn toward luxury. It’s a segment that has, at times, been grossly neglected by the media and in many instances is now associated with the deceitful TDI-powered Audi, Porsche and Volkswagens that once belonged in this category. Even though Volkswagen has withdrawn from the North American diesel market completely, a couple big name OEMs remain committed to offering compression ignition engine options here. Among them are BMW and Jaguar Land Rover, and the diesel-powered vehicles they offer are the epitome of refinement. They’re quiet, comfortable and powerful. Cool, calm and collected. Of course, they’re fuel efficient, too.

If you’re after a diesel-powered luxury sedan, Jaguar offers the XF 20d and XE 20d, while the BMW 328d comes with ample fun-factor. If a top-of-the-line SUV is more your thing, Land Rover has you covered with its Range Rover Velar, Range Rover and Discovery models, while BMW’s X5 xDrive35d boasts 413 lb-ft of twist and sprints to 60 mph in just six seconds. Even Jaguar jumped into the luxury crossover foray in 2018 with its 33 mpg F-Pace. While VW’s TDI-powered cars and SUVs have disappeared from this segment, we can’t say they’re missed. After all, each of the remaining players are offering cleaner engines making the same, if not more, power.

The following sedans and sport utilities are the finest diesel-powered vehicles you can get your hands on in North America.

BMW 328d

For a lot of reasons, BMW’s 3-series is legendary. It’s sleek in appearance, agile on the road thanks to a near 50/50 weight distribution and has a ton of options. As for the 328d model, it can be had in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive (xDrive) form. When optioned with xDrive, the 2.0L four-cylinder diesel can grip and zip the 3,700-pound sedan up to 60 mph in a reasonable 7.3 seconds (rear-wheel drive 328ds require an extra tenth of a second to get there). A well-refined, ZF-manufactured eight-speed automatic keeps the torquey 2.0L in the meat of its curve (where 280 lb-ft is sustained from 1,750 to 2,750 rpm) and helps rear-wheel drive models achieve a 43 mpg highway rating.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 2.0L B47, direct-injection, TwinPower turbo I4
• Injection System: Bosch high-pressure common-rail
• Horsepower: 180hp at 4,000 rpm
• Torque: 280 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF eight-speed shiftable automatic
• MPG Highway: 43 mpg (RWD), 40 mpg (AWD)
• MPG City: 31 mpg (RWD), 30 mpg (AWD)

BMW X5 xDrive35d

BMW’s original luxury crossover, the X5, has come a long way since being introduced in 2000—and they still sell exceptionally well. Now in its third generation of X5 production, the model we’re showcasing here is the xDrive35d, which with its dual overhead cam 3.0L diesel inline-six packing 255hp and 413 lb-ft of torque can complete a 0-60 mph sprint in just six seconds. If you can manage to keep your foot out of it, a respectable 29 mpg can be gleaned while out on the highway. As for comfort, ride quality is about as plush as it gets thanks to BMW’s Dynamic Damper Control system. As is becoming more common on small-to-mid-size SUVs these days, a third row seating option is available as well, although it’s best-suited for short trips due to space.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 3.0L N57, direct-injection, TwinPower turbo I6
• Injection System: Bosch high-pressure common-rail
• Horsepower: 255hp at 4,000 rpm
• Torque: 413 lb-ft at 1,500 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF eight-speed shiftable automatic
• MPG Highway: 29 mpg
• MPG City: 23 mpg

Jaguar XE 20d

Surprisingly, opting for the 2.0L Ingenium diesel engine in Jaguar’s XE 20d makes it the second most affordable path to owning one (pricing starts at $37,225). The 122 ci inline-four cranks out 180hp, a healthy 318 lb-ft at just 1,750 rpm and, in turn, can propel the compact luxury sedan from 0-60 mph in 7.4 seconds. While that kind of get-up isn’t life-altering, it’s not bad for a car with a curb weight approaching 4,000 pounds. In the mileage department, the XE 20d’s 42 mpg highway rating (rear-wheel drive) definitely delivers. Around town, 30-32 mpg seems to be the norm. As for interior comfort, the XE 20d receives high marks for its spacious cabin, although it’s noticeably noisier than one of its foremost rivals: the aforementioned BMW 328d.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 2.0L Ingenium, direct-injection, turbocharged I4
• Injection System: High-pressure common-rail
• Horsepower: 180hp at 4,000 rpm
• Torque: 318 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF eight-speed shiftable automatic
• MPG Highway: 42 mpg
• MPG City: 32 mpg

Jaguar XF 20d

A step above the XE 20d you’ll find the XF. Now in its second generation, this luxury mid-size isn’t nearly the seller the XE is, but it holds its own with the 5-series and offers diesel power where the 5-series (or anyone else in the category) doesn’t. It shares the same 180hp 2.0L engine with the XE, as well as the same ZF 8HP eight-speed automatic. The diesel power plant is nowhere near as explosive as the optional 380hp supercharged gasoline 3.0L V6, but if you want a car with elegant styling, upper tier ride quality and a tank that rarely requires a fill up, this is your sedan.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 2.0L Ingenium, direct-injection, turbocharged I4
• Injection System: High-pressure common-rail
• Horsepower: 180hp at 4,000 rpm
• Torque: 318 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF eight-speed shiftable automatic
• MPG Highway: 42 mpg
• MPG City: 31 mpg

Jaguar F-Pace

Built to compete with the likes of BMW’s X3 and Audi’s Q5 in the luxury compact SUV class, Jaguar’s F-Pace brings unique styling, above-average agility and (of course) diesel power to the table. It’s powered by (you guessed it) the same oil-burner found in the already-mentioned XE and XF sedans. In all-wheel drive crossover form, the 2.0L diesel and eight-speed automatic deliver a 33 mpg highway rating, along with 26 mpg in the city. The F-Pace’s on-road comfort and driving mannerisms are tough to beat. Venture off the pavement, on the other hand, and you might wish you didn’t (leave that to its Range Rover cousins). Pricing for a diesel-optioned F-Pace starts at $48,500.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 2.0L Ingenium, direct-injection, turbocharged I4
• Injection System: High-pressure common-rail
• Horsepower: 180hp at 4,000 rpm
• Torque: 318 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF eight-speed shiftable automatic
• MPG Highway: 33 mpg
• MPG City: 26 mpg

Land Rover Range Rover Velar

Nestled in between the Evoque and Range Rover Sport, the Range Rover Velar is new for 2018. This crossover too shares the 180hp 2.0L Ingenium diesel found in the Jaguar F-Pace and XE and XF sedans, while also resting on the same foundation as the F-Pace. Thanks to its Terrain Response system, optional air springs and well, the fact that it’s built by Land Rover, the Velar is one of the more capable compact crossovers you’ll come across when it comes to off-roading. It’s been praised for its top-notch interior materials, but that it’s a bit heavy with touchscreen technology. Fuel economy checks in at 26 mpg city, 30 mpg highway.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 2.0L Ingenium, direct-injection, turbocharged I4
• Injection System: High-pressure common-rail
• Horsepower: 180hp at 4,000 rpm
• Torque: 318 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF eight-speed shiftable automatic
• MPG Highway: 30 mpg
• MPG City: 26 mpg

Land Rover Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery

If you want access to Land Rover’s more powerful HSE Td6 3.0L V6 diesel, you’ll have to spring for one of the larger SUVs listed above. It’s been said before, and we agree, that the Td6 engine option is for the rare Range Rover owner who cares about fuel economy. He or she doesn’t necessarily calculate the fuel savings by driving one, but burning fuel efficiently seems to fit the mindset of 8-17 percent of Range Rover owners. The ultra-quiet 254hp 3.0L V6 diesel turns out 443 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm. Better yet, independent testing has shown the Range Rover’s EPA mileage ratings of 22 mpg city/28 mpg highway can easily be topped. In fact, many owners report freeway numbers in the low 30s.

Hard Facts

• Engine: 3.0L HSE Td6, direct-injection, turbocharged V6
• Injection System: High-pressure common-rail
• Horsepower: 254hp at 3,750 rpm
• Torque: 443 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm
• Emissions Equipment: Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
• Transmission: ZF eight-speed shiftable automatic
• MPG Highway: 28 mpg (Range Rover)
• MPG City: 22 mpg (Range Rover)

The Diesel-Powered Mazda CX-5 Is on the Way

It’s been years in the making, but Mazda is finally bringing compression-ignition to the U.S. Does anyone remember when Mazda had plans to release a 2.0L compound turbo’d SkyActiv-D for the Mazda6, then didn’t, then did again, then shelved it? Anyway, the popular CX-5 crossover will be graced with a diesel, and it should debut in the somewhat-near future. Why do we think it’s a sure thing? Because its fuel economy ratings have been posted on FuelEconomy.gov. There you’ll find that front-wheel drive versions should be good for 28 mpg city and 31 mpg highway.

Hard Facts

• Engine: TBA (but likely the 2.0L SkyActiv-D)
• Injection System: TBA
• Horsepower: TBA
• Torque: TBA
• Emissions Equipment: TBA
• Transmission: TBA
• MPG Highway: 31 mpg (FWD)
• MPG City: 28 mpg (FWD)

Want to know how the domestic diesels are doing? Spoiler alert: really well.