The Dinosaur that is

So has the speed inducing, growl and formidable lumbering of the locally grown V8 come to an eventual end? Has the rise of the opposition and call for the dismemberment of fossil fuels finally put an end to Australia's home grown and much lauded V8 franchise?

It has been a long 47 years since the inception of the first locally produced V8 and much has happened over the years.  Between the introduction of independent rear suspension to the whine and pull of a factory superchager, the Australian automotive scenery has much to thank for the humble Holden Commodore.

So is this truly the end of an era or did it merely open a door for future possibilities? I feel as if most of us have come to the realization that we won't be rumbling around with the sound of masculinity through the suburbs for the rest of our lives. Some of you may have seen the end coming and snapped up a few of the last, reasonably well-kept models, and have them lovingly kept within the confines of your man cave.  Some of you may have been a tad late and picked up anything you can at the expense of a few stockies and a loud Friday night at the legal or not so legal skid pan.

Regardless of whether you have one or not, the Commodore as we know will soon cease to exist.  Will the next incarnation be pulled around by a 4 cylinder along the lines of a larger Astra? Will anyone buy it?  Bottom line is we will end up with another Camry, a white econo-box that gets us from A to B with the possible weekend getaway to C.  That's what the big automotive manufacturers see at least anyway. Small cars that use minimal amount of fuel with the least possible personality so as to not detract from the functional machine it is meant to be.  The automotive equivalent to those Styrofoam boxes the lite 'n' easy meals come in.

Whilst Holden and Ford's bottom line numbers have improved this year, especially over the Korean multinational that everyone knows and loves - Hyundai -  the fate of the pants tightening V8 is all but sealed.

What is to happen with the automotive scene now? We know now that Mazda executives have approved the design of the RX9, the eventual successor to the RX7, but what are Holden to do? reinvent the Torana with a turbo 4? Import as many GM produced yank tanks ala Ford's Mustang? I guess its back to yard finds and troweling the dust pages of old auto magazines.

End rant


See you at the track
- Willie

A new era of Summernats?

Another January is over and with it another Summernats is done and dusted.
With the influx of flagship cars as well as what is always regarded as the hottest day of the year, the 29th year of Summernats was the second in a row in which a non-V8 came away with the prestigious Grand Champion award.  That being said however, the much acclaimed Mazda that came away with the top honours was a shoe in amongst the sea of lion and blue oval badged behemoths.

Much can be said about the spectacle that is Summernats.  Some say the belligerent wrong-doers with reckless attitudes towards personal and not so personal safety that attend this festival of fire do nothing but promote the maligned and degraded brand the name Summernats was identified with in days gone by.

Others say that since Chic Henry sold the carnival of chaos, the new owners have continuously raised the bar and ushered in a new era of automotive debauchery, just without as much debauchery.  The emphasis of family days, the assurance of safety and the inclusion of key cars such as the Red Bull Racing V8 Supercar wheeled by Jamie Whincup assist in stimulating the friendly attitude and encourage local law enforcement bodies to praise the lack of attacks on a Saturday night.

I love the Summernats as much as the next red meat eating, methanol whiffing male but to me it feels like the makeup gun that Homer made Marge "Homer, you've got it set on crack whore!".  At the end of the day the Summernats will always be a celebration of all that is masculine. You can tone down all that made it everything it was to begin with, but as long as people are willing to shred compressed rubber to appease the shirtless masses who are willing to pay $8 for a can of beer, then you will have 100,000 people streaming through the gates at $70 a ticket.

I for one think that the Summernats as a brand will go from strength to strength doing just what they're doing:  providing a locale at which to perform burnouts as much as your hearts content and present your hard earned and built ride for the inspection and admiration of your peers. So long as they show that they are making an attempt to curb the alcohol fuelled violence and endorse a family friendly event, then the public just may be appeased.

Next year will be no different, with Summernats turning the dirty 30, it will prove to be a true spectacle.  Lets just hope the ACT government doesn't have other plans.  With the revenue the Capital receives from this revelry of rev-heads I highly doubt anything will happen to waylay the event.


See you at the track
- Willie

Import Parts Canberra Cruise

Nestled away in a quiet corner of Mitchel, an industrial estate in Canberra's north, lies an unassuming import workshop.  Import Parts Canberra.

Lead my mechanic and owner Ben Mejlak, it's not only a  place to source parts for your mechanicaly or aesthetically misalligned import, but also a place for general services, engine swaps, motorsport builds and everything in between.

On a sleepy morning in August, Ben and the lads decided the time and the weather was right to organize a small cruise around Canberra and down to the Cotter.

The plan was to head out from Mitchell en-mass and make our way to Symonston where a previous all jap meet was held, then out to the Cotter and back to Kambah for Dominoes which the gracious owner and GTR aficionado had prepared.

Due to time constraints, I unfortunately wasn't able to head out on the cruise, however I did manage to capture the initial meet that overrun Winchcombe court.

The cars that turned out, whilst predominantly Japanese derived, provided an eclectic mix. everything from a new 86, a turbo lancer, a handful of Evo's and more GTR's than you could poke a stick at.

Even some home grown aussie muscle headed out for the festivities. Some lower than others with the aid of airbag suspension.

Speaking of muscle, one of the first few cars that turned up was apparently well known to the boys at Import Parts.  This Falcon ute was partly built by the lads, quite unassuming from the outside besides the Project D wheels with dish and some meat on the back.

But when you pop the bonnet, a Boss V8 greets you with a cheeky little surprise on the side. As it turns out, fat tyres are need, this damn ute runs nitrous. 

As it turned out, the Falcon ute wasn't the only ridiculously quick car to turn up as Ben brought around his own R34 GTR in that gorgeous Bayside Blue, the second it came screaming up the street, all heads turn and conversations stopped.

However, due to gasket issues, the R34 wasn't able to come out for a stroll around Canberra, what's a bloke to do? Well bring out his drift spec, blown V8 powered S13 of course!

Like the Falcon ute, once the bonnet was opened, a crowd flocked to see what was under it.  Not that you needed to actually open the bonnet - please note the holes for the charger...

Evidently Ben drives this on the street and regaled to all and sundry of numerous times he'd driven it to the local shopping mall.  Apparently Ben takes this S13 out for a spirited jaunt regularly despite the conspicuous holes in the bonnet and stripped out and caged interior, what a boss!

As everyone had gotten acquainted for the cruise, some formalities were touched on and the cruise route was established, it was time to head out on their Canberra adventure.

As I watched everyone pack up and get ready to roll out, I 100% regretted the fact that the 200 was sitting in my drive way unable to take part in the most basic of enthusiast activities. The cruise.

The lads are gearing up to organize another cruise later in the year so keep an eye on their Facebook page and give them a like and a follow. Maybe when I'm back from the honeymoon, I'll have a little coin to splash on the 200 and finally be able to enjoy it!

Speaking of enjoying a cruise, Adam and the boys from Underground Industries were in attendance, make sure you check out their facebook page and sus out some more photos of the whole day, they've even posted a rad video, so make sure you give them a like as well.

Well that enough cruise action from me, make sure you give our facebook page a like and a share and don't forget, we're on insta and twitter as well

See you at the track!

- Willie

Shannons All Japanese Day

Canberra.  It's a sleepy town.  Between roundabout, fireworks and sitting time in parliament, it seems like not much happens in our humble capital city opposed to the larger cities like Sydney and Melbourne. Partly due to its comparatively diminutive size, partly due to the age demographic.

As a precursor to Mothers day in early May, Shannons car insurance - the patron saint of modified cars - put on a show and shine in the largely unassuming and leafy car park adjacent to the Geoscience Australia building.

With entrants arriving at 10am and spectators at 11,  by the time I had arrived, things were already on their way.

Canberra show and shines are usually a petri dish consisting of many various scenes and styles, besides the minitruck scene and the Holden and Ford camp, most shows have a multitude of flavors depending on your tastes.

Today however, was specifically marketed as an all Japanese day, with partner host REACT, the rotary enthusiast ACT club bringing in a few tasty morsels.

I'm not sure why but I always find it hard to uncover local shows, some (Summernats) are more well known and some, unfortunately are not.

Either I'm not looking in the right place or they rely on word of mouth too much.  Fortunately for us, Wakefield park raceway is only a short drive away.

When I found out about this show I took it with a grain of salt and didn't expect very much, while the show was a tad small, the cars on display did not disappoint by any stretch of the imagination.

There were more GTR's and EVO's than you could point a stick at

But then, whats not to love about GTR's and EVO's?

Hmmm, do you think there's a 12a under there?

I loved this integra, there's not enough stripped out race prepped hondas prowling the streets of Canberra

It looks like it came straight from the TODA school in Initial D

This 300ZX was an interesting creation, judging from the paint scheme and windscreen banner, I'd say it was a Shannons company car.  Too much fibreglass and 90's styling cues for my taste.

I loved this RX7, the bolt on flares were a nice touch to the stark white paint. Panda mobile?

The bite to match its bark, atmo 13B inside

I'm growing fonder and fonder of the old mx5's, there is so much track and stance potential for a minimal outlay

This mx5 however... I'm not quite sure Australia is ready for the itasha movement just yet.  I'm not sure what these two old fella's were more interested, the scissor doors or the graphics..

 I love the subtle unassuming styling cues on this 300Z

Hello sir, how would you like your 4G63 packaged?

Um, just put it in an esky thanks...

Another classic you don't see very often, Mazda Cosmo 20B, yes please

This super clean RX3 sedan made a fashionable late entrance, all heads turned to hear its distinctive brap

Another car that commanded attention in a more ... unique way

All about that bass

2JZ's go in everything, they're like the cats of the automotive scene, 'if I fits I sits'

Anybody recognise this old bird? This is OG grand-daddy Honda Civic

If you were thirsty through the show, you could grab a quick cappuccino, seriously though, there was a van selling delicious coffee

I think this guy was on his way down the coast and stopped in for the show

With this ratsun in tow bringing the beers

This.  This needed a big ol' hole in the bonnet to fit in those enormous ITB's, love the USDM theme with the different coloured engine bay to the body.

Well that's it for the coverage so far, as always there will be more photos on our Facebook page and Insta account.

See you at the track

- Willie