Autoblog

Spend a couple of minutes surfing the net and you'll find all sorts of contests giving away all sorts of prizes. The best of them – ahem, like the Autoblog Relaunch Celebration Sweepstakes we ran a year back – give away a new car. But how about an old car? We mean, like a classic... a classic among classics, even, like the 1957 Ford Thunderbird.

That's exactly what Blaster chemicals – makers of a variety of lubricants and rust inhibitors – is giving away to mark its 50th anniversary. Residents of the lower 48 can enter the sweepstakes online until the end of July. The grand prize consists of the T-Bird and a trip for two to Cleveland – home of Rock & Roll and our own John Neff – to pick it up at the awards ceremony. They're also giving away five classic pedal cars, five leather jackets and Blaster-branded apparel. Follow the jump to enter.

[Source: Blaster Corporation via All Cars, All the Time]

Click above to view the video posted after the jump.

Okay, Mio's Knight Rider GPS unit is now officially "hella" cool. Engadget snagged some video of the startup sequence, and we're overcome by nostalgia for 1984. We're not excited to the point where we've gone digging for vintage Le Tigre polos or pulled that zombie leather jacket (the Thriller replica, natch) out of deep closet storage, but seeing that sweeping light bar and watching the flanking LEDs twinkle to the dulcet tones of William Daniels brings back sunny memories for those of us that lived it the first time around. Even cooler is that there's a bank of 300 names to choose from, so odds are good that KITT will greet you personally – that closes the sale right there, we officially want one.

[Source: Engadget]

BMW has announced that the legendary M1 Procar series will return for a one-time curtain call in support of the upcoming German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on July 19-20. The series originally ran in fields of 20 in support of the 1979 and 1980 European Grands Prix. Fifteen young aspiring drivers would face off against the five fastest F1 drivers from that Friday's practice session in homologated M1s. The only mid-engined BMW sportscar was originally unveiled thirty years ago and retains a cult status among enthusiasts, to which BMW recently paid tribute to with the M1 Homage.

According to BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen – also head of the BMW Sauber F1 team – "Just a mention of the M1 Procar series today still triggers an enthusiastic reaction. This revival serves as a thank you to the fans." This year's revival will feature many of the original drivers who campaigned the M1s in the original Procar series, including Jacques Laffite, Christian Danner, Marc Surer, Dieter Quester, Harald Grohs, Prince Leopold of Bavaria, Jochen Neerpasch, and Frank Stella. Follow the jump for the full press release, and check out the images in the galleries below for a trip down memory pit-lane.

[Source: BMW Motorsport]

Click above image for photo gallery

OntarioStreetCar caught sight of a transporter loaded with Detroit Muscle being used in the filming of the fourth installment of The Fast and the Furious saga, innovatively titled, Fast and Furious. This is one truck we'd gladly hijack with a crew of accomplices driving tuned Civics, as it's hauling, at minimum, a pair of Chargers, a Chevelle SS, and the wicked Torino GT you see above. Not included in the attached gallery are studio shots of Vin Diesel with a Grand National and yet another Chevelle, both of which you can see at OntarioStreetCar. The F&F films may be light on plot, but they're long on car porn, and we can say without a hint of embarassment that we are totally going to see this movie. Thanks to Jesse for the tip!


[Source: OntarioStreetCar]

If you look back over the years, Volkswagens have been steadily marching toward the gaudy. We're not talking Sagrada Familia amazingness, but chromey, buck-toothed, overwrought fussiness. Walter Da'Silva is out to change all that by realigning Volkswagen design with its past. That doesn't mean that every VeeDub becomes a K.D.F Wagen throwback like the New Beetle, but certain proportions and themes from the historical portfolio will define the design language.

Da'Silva expounded on his efforts with CAR, and used a lot of adjectives to tart up what's simply a course correction of Volkswagen styling. Look for the next Passat to be de-chromed and given a nose and tail treatment that follows a tighter brand template. Basically, what Da'Silva really wants to do is forget that the last eight years happened, and bring new VW designs more in line with the Wolfsburg of the late 1990s. If we could pipe up with our votes, we'd like to see the classic angularity of the Mk1 Golf come back -- Citi Golf, anyone?

[Source: CAR]

click the picture for a hi-res gallery of the Cobra Venom V8

The Cobra formula was simple: small British roadster + American V8 drivetrain = racing success. Early Cobras sought balance by utilizing Ford's modest 260 cubic-inch small block V8, but all Hell broke loose when a hairy-chested 427 cubic inch FE big block was installed. As a piece of history, and an exciting way to tickle your adrenal gland, the Cobra is legendary. The perennial practice of plucking a significant car from the 1960s and rehashing it, rather than coming up with something entirely new, has struck again, and now it looks like a new spin on the Cobra might be coming. The Cobra Venom V8 will undoubtedly be more refined than the visceral glory of the original Shelby vehicles, and while the concept images show a derivative car, it's still good looking; classic proportions never go out of style

A supercharged Ford modular V8 spinning out 524 horsepower is the intended power source, squirting the aluminum and carbon fiber coupe around with authority. 0-62 will come up in 3.4 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 214 mph. While the concept renderings look good and the specs sound impressive, we're not sure whether this vehicle exists beyond its concept renderings. If it ever does see the light of day, we'll be sure to climb in, fasten the harness and put on our helmet before complaining that it's really time to move on from the 60s. Then we'll attempt to tear up some track, Shelby style.


[Source: Auto Express]

If you're a child of the 80's, you may very well have gone ballistic when news of Mio's Knight Rider GPS hit cyberspace. The sat-nav unit is not only styled like the original Knight Industries Two Thousand, but even has blinking red lights along the flanks (just like KITT's voice modulator) and features voice directions recorded by the man himself, William Daniels. (What do you mean, who is William Daniels?! He was the original voice of KITT!) You can have it call you Michael and feel like The Hoff himself, or select from a long list of pre-recorded name to have KITT speak to you when that gets old.

The boys over at Knight Rider Online got a hold of a preview unit and did a short video review, which you can check out after the jump. Thanks for the tip, joe!

[Source: Knight Rider Online]

Click above for more shots of the Harley-Davidson XR1200

Last year, the collective hearts of dirt track Harley lovers all across the United States dropped when The Motor Company announced that its XR1200 model was destined only for markets outside the states. It's not that a dirt track Harley couldn't be done, it's that the conversion was priced way out of the market for many riders. One company which offered just such a conversion is Storz Performance. According to Motorcycle.com, Harley-Davidson has just purchased the rights from Storz to the XR1200 name in America, which offers more than a glimmer of hope to the HD faithful.

Of course, no announcement has been made by Harley regarding a new Sportster model, but why else would the company go to the trouble of securing the name? As for us, we're pretty hip to the idea of bringing the sportiest Sporty to the market where the Harley XR originally made its name in racing.


[Source: Motorcycle.com]

Click above to view more shots of the Mio Knight Rider GPS

"Michael, you're going the wrong way, you ninny." For all you Knight Rider fans no longer moved by finding a perfect 45 rpm single of "A Knight Rider Christmas," Mio has a brand new toy that's capable of Knight Industries Two Thousand level antics. The Knight Rider-themed GPS unit has voice prompts recorded by the one-and-only William Daniels (thankfully not Val Kilmer), the original voice of KITT, and asks cordially "Hello Michael, where do you want to go today?" when powered up. The LCD display is also flanked by a series of red LEDs reminiscent of KITT's nose-mounted lights. Once the unit is available for sale, about $270 is all it'll take to get KITT in your KARR. Thanks for the tip, Dan!


[Source: Next Autos]

Click to view the '61 Alfa Giulietta in our hi-res gallery

Everyone has their own idea of heaven on earth: the first snowfall, a cold beer on a hot day, a pristine azure beach... Cruising around town on a beautiful summer day in a classic Italian roadster may just be ours.

There's just something, what the French call a certain je ne sais quoi, an indefinable quality about a vintage Alfa – found somewhere in between the exhaust note and the chrome details – that has a unique capacity to make driver and passenger forget about everything else and just enjoy the drive. Don't get us wrong, we're big fans of progress. But after spending a few hours with this beautiful 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, we're gaining a new appreciation for the phrase "they don't build 'em like they used to". Follow the jump to read why.

Photos Copyright ©2008 Noah Joseph / Weblogs, Inc.