I always get a kick out of street cars that have been lowered within an inch or two of the tarmac. Sure it looks good, but 9 times out of 10 lowering these things makes them completely undrivable. Road imperfections, potholes, speed bumps and even foul weather are the enemies of a lowered car. Hell, even getting in and out of a driveway can be a hassle. Understand that manufacturers go through great lengths making sure that their cars will perform flawlessly in all sorts of conditions, because in the end, these are street cars. That doesn’t stop the masses though from tinkering. It’s a tough choice… do you go for looks alone or usability?

Before the Web 2.0 way of doing things, people used bumper stickers and decals to express the details of their lives.  So if Facebook perishes in the future, don’t worry — there’s an old-school way to express yourself to the masses.  In this article, I’m going to address the three best ways cars are capable of communicating Facebook-esque information.

• Activities and Interests
  

Facebook devotes a whole section to a user’s interests and favorite things to do.  A friend can browse your page and discover you’re one of the 12 million people on Facebook who like “Twilight” or one of the thousand people who like trapper keepers.  (Someone’s going to have to explain that one to me.) But think about it: Cars parade around the drivers’ interests, as well.  Consider the car below:

Apparently, this person likes diving, Earth, healthy eating, Apple products, short people, and covering important life investments with stickers. Bumper stickers and Facebook interests are a lot alike. Now all we have left to do is slap a “Facebook Like” on every car with awesome decals.

• Relationship Status/Family
  

Oh, the family-oriented.  You know the type: the Facebook friend with a professional photo of her baby grinning as her profile picture or the acquaintance who was recently tagged in 47,000 wedding pictures. These people are proud of their relatives, and they love flooding the news feed with tragically forced family portraits.

You can show off your family while driving, too, and people have been doing it for years.  They stick little decals of adults, children, and even pets to their car windows in order to display their families’ character.

Instead of posting a picture of their baby for all to see, they put a “Baby on Board!” sign in the passenger window.  Now everyone knows your neighbors have two boys, one baby girl, and a dog that looks to be a mix between Labrador retriever and an ink blot test.

• Political/Religious Views
  

Religious and political views passively hang out on a person profile all year, but that’s not enough. Many people have to voice their specific opinions on political policy by joining groups or posting political status updates.

Bumper stickers can play the same role.  When an election is just around the corner, drivers love displaying their political stances on their bumpers for all to see.  It doesn’t matter if it’s on the Internet or out in public — people want their voices heard.

Conclusion

These aren’t the only things cars and Facebook have in common.  People who paint, “Happy 16^th Birthday!” or, “Just Married!” on their cars are essentially announcing events in the classic Facebook manner.  People who read your bumper sticker and let you into their lane are basically clicking “like.”

Communication and interaction might not be as explicit while driving as it is while posting on Facebook, but it definitely exists. If Facebook ever crashes, rest assured, we can always scramble to buy thousands of bumper stickers and create a mobile profile. Or we can just use Google+.

Using Facebook while driving can be dangerous for your car insurance quotes . The same can be said for reading bumper stickers. We’ve all inched a little too close in an effort to read that hilarious tiny print. So, stay safe out there drivers, and enjoy the conversation.

Nissan's Juke R concept. Image: Nissan

I’ll let you down up front: Nissan isn’t bringing it’s Juke R uber-crossover to market, and you won’t be able to buy one any time soon. In fact, Nissan is only building two, one in left hand drive and one in right hand drive, and we seriously doubt that anyone outside of Nissan will have an opportunity to take one for a spin.

So what’s the point of building a one-off tease like the Juke R? First, it raises awareness of the Juke as a sporty-but-practical alternative to conventional crossovers, and it gauges public reaction to the idea of a seriously sporting version of the Juke. The Juke R as seen here would have an astronomically high price tag, but a more moderately powered Juke could dial up the right combination of performance and cost. No one would buy a $75k Juke,even if it did pack a 500+ horsepower V-6 under the hood. On the other hand, a $30k Juke with 300+ horsepower may be… interesting.

The Juke R is a collaboration between Nissan Europe and RML, a race car builder and fabricator who’s built project cars for Nissan in the past. Currently under construction, the Nissan Juke R is expected to complete initial shakedown testing before the end of November. Look for it on the major auto show circuit in 2012, and you can follow its progress on the Nissan Juke Facebook page.

APR's 34,000 square foot headquarters in Opelika, AL. Image: APR

When it comes to cities with ties to world-class tuners, what comes to mind? If Mercedes is your thing, you’d probably say Affalterbach, Germany, home to AMG. Perhaps you’d say Asaka, Saitama, Japan, home to Mugen, if fast Honda’s are your passion. Closer to home, Livonia, Michigan, home of Roush Performance, may come to mind if you’ve got a penchant for fast Mustangs.

If you’re a Volkswagen or Audi fan, your performance mecca is Opelika, Alabama, home to APR, LLC and one town over from Auburn University. Founder (and Auburn grad) Steven Hooks simply wanted to create a shop where VW and Audi owners could go for repair and tuning services, without fear of getting ripped off. What started as a hobby has grown into a worldwide business that includes both street and track performance for Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat, Audi and Porsche vehicles.

APR's lobby, with the SEMA VW GTI - nice digs.

In the early days, APR’s specialty was remapping the Bosch Motronic ECU to get more horsepower. Unlike many other tuners, APR never went for just peak power, instead aiming for a balance of both power and real-world drivability. Even their dyno charts aren’t “padded”; instead of using a worst case run as a “stock” starting point, followed by the best run as a post-tune “after” example, APR’s dyno charts are usually an average of multiple runs. Spend some time talking to their employees, and you get the feeling that the company has nothing to hide.

APR's Dynapack chassis dyno.

While much of their business still consists of ECU tuning services for Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche clients, APR’s capabilities have increased substantially over the years. They employ a full time staff of both mechanical and electrical engineers, and have the capability to design, prototype and test parts in-house. Rapid prototyping allows the company to go from an engineering representation on a computer to a plastic resin part, perfect for test fitting, in a matter of hours. They even do their own CNC work onsite, which allows APR to maintain a high level of quality control on every part that goes through their doors.

APR's CNC system. Image: APR

APR's rapid prototyping area.

Final part (L) versus a resin test part (R).

The company has a “do it yourself” attitude common with businesses founded and staffed by engineers. To test their high pressure fuel pumps, for example, APR built their own test rig at a cost of around $60,000; that may sound expensive, but commercial units designed to do the same thing cost in the neighborhood of $500,000. APR is the only company, aside from manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers, to have such a fuel pump test rig in their facility. If you get the feeling that they’re obsessed with quality, you’d be correct.

APR's fuel pump test rig.

Testing components as part of the design process allows APR to keep tight control of quality, something that their customers have come to expect. If you drive an Audi A6 and want a bit more power, you probably won’t have a sense of humor if your upgrades continually produce a “check engine” light or regular component failures.

An Audi S6 being built for the GrandAm Continental Tire Challenge

One of APR's GTI racers from the Continental Tire series.

Although APR’s 34,000 square foot facility allows them to design and build many parts in house, work that can’t be done economically is farmed out. Their intakes and exhausts, for example, are built by third party companies, since APR doesn’t want the expense or hassle of laying carbon fiber or bending stainless pipe to form exhausts. The secret to any well managed business is knowing both your strengths and your weaknesses, in order to maximize the former and minimize the latter.

'Darth Vader', a new Jetta that APR is building for VW of America.

My visit to APR was two-fold: I wanted to see the facility, but I was also on-site to get more horsepower from my 2011 VW GTI. In the words of Mark Twain, “Those that respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made,” and the same could be said of reflashing an ECU. Removing the actual ECU isn’t terribly difficult, although it does involve the use of a cut-off disk, which poses it’s own risks. If you’re pulling out your own CPU, be sure to cover the windshield with a fire-resistant cloth since sparks can etch the finish of the windshield.

Once the ECU is out of the vehicle, the real fun begins. The cover must be removed to allow access to the circuit board, since this is the only way to allow programming. Removing the ECU cover is best left to a professional: there’s a lot that can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, and you really don’t want to write a check of your own to replace an ECU. APR has quite a bit of experience in reflashing ECUs, and the company made quick work of mine. Less than an hour later, my car was buttoned up and I was back on the road (in the middle of a tropical storm, complete with tornado warnings).

Is there a difference between stock and a Stage 1 tune? Yes, in much the same way that there’s a difference between Rosie O’Donnell and Keira Knightly. While I didn’t have a chance to dyno the car before and after, APR’s numbers claim that a stock GTI, running 93 octane gas, produces 216 horsepower and 227 ft-lb of torque. With a Stage 1 tune and no other modifications, the car makes 254 horsepower and 303 ft-lb of torque.

As you’d imagine, the difference in acceleration is substantial, but the GTI never exhibits the puckering amount of torque steer that the Mazdaspeed 3 does. In fact, the tuned car feels very much like a factory-built car; there’s no sudden buildup of explosive power at top-end only, and the car just seems to pull harder across the entire range. If you use you new-found power wisely, there’s even a slight gain in fuel economy compared to stock.

So now that my GTI goes fast and isn’t electronically limited to 130 miles per hour, it’s time to start shopping for lighter wheels and stickier tires. A highway encounter with a pair of cell-phone addled drivers has convinced me that a stiffer rear-sway bar would be a worthy upgrade, and the stock brake pads don’t exactly give the car world-record stopping distances. Look for these changes coming soon.

Image: APR

I’d like to give thanks to Keith Lucas, APR’s director of sales and marketing, and Arin Ahnell, APR’s marketing manager, for the time they spent with me during my visit. If you want to see APR products in action on the racetrack, be sure to catch the APR-tuned Volkswagen GTI’s running in GrandAm’s Continental Tire Series. To find an APR dealer near you, check out the APR website.

Image: Powerblock TV

Every weekend, I can guarantee you my husband will be watching the entire Powerblock TV lineup on Spike.  In between my domestic engineer duties (read: housework), I try and catch the episodes as well.  I absolutely love seeing them take what is usually a hunk of junk and turn it into something really special.  If we had the means and the space, we’d each have a pet project car.  Alas, we have neither but at least Powerblock allows us to live vicariously.

Image: Powerblock TV

My favorite shows are Horsepower and Muscle Car; I think if I ever took on a build, it would be something older and definitely, something faster.  On the flip side, hubby prefers Trucks! and Xtreme 4×4 but since we live in Florida (land of zero elevation), there’s not much opportunity for rock crawling ’round here.

The best thing, in my opinion, about these shows is that they take you through a project over several episodes so they can concentrate on one section at a time.  I also appreciate that they often do “budget builds” for those of us whose bankrolls are short a few zeroes.  Lastly, these shows seem more “authentic”, if you will – you can tell the hosts actually care about the projects and they give you data to back up the claims.  For example, if they install a supercharger, they’re gonna take it to the dyno and give you some raw data to justify the mods.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen them do something just for show; every modification or build adjustment has a reason for being.

Image: Powerblock TV (Yay, Jessie! I miss her)

I’m not sure I’d attempt my own paint job with Dupli-color (though we all know Kurt would love to take a can of Krylon to the Volt).  However, I would be damn proud to find a poor, neglected old Mustang and work to bring it back to life, one weekend at a time.  I know many of you have current and past projects: tell me what you’re working on so I can live vicariously through you too!

Not my exact car, but close. Needs more rice.

[Kurt's note: This article marks the official debut of Jen Stadler on RideLust. You've already read her stuff in the "Learning To Fly" article, and I think you'll agree that she's got a RideLust sense of humor. She's another misfit with 5w30 in her veins, so please welcome her to the RideLust family.]

My retinas are still smoking, but my appetite finally came back from reading Mr Angry’s list of 30 Custom Cars from around the world. Unfortunately for me, I saw more than a few similarities between those chariots of fire and my own first set of wheels. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say many of those in my age group made dubious “modifications” to our cars in the name of coolness, so at least I wasn’t alone. The difference between, say, my parents’ generation and mine is that their Mustangs, GTOs, and Roadrunners still look awesome and fetch big money at Mecum; our Civics and Focuses? Not so much. Read on, to see what I mean.

For a current car connoisseur, it’s amazing how long it took me to learn to drive in general (you guys already know my stick-shift shenanigans). I’ll spare you the boring details but I didn’t get my own ride until I was 19. It was a Fourth of July sale at the Fairgrounds and we picked up the only cash car there – an 11-year-old, 1991 Honda Accord coupe (trust me when I say its two doors were its only redeeming feature). It was the most fetching shade of champagne gold, accented by full bordello-burgundy interior. Oh, I was straight pimping alright. My best friend had a ’96 Civic coupe with Altezzas, and another had a brand new ’02 Acura RSX complete with JDM body kit, white rims, and red “Honda Integra” badges. The Fast and the Furious? More like The Fads and the Supercilious.

They don't make interiors like they used to. At least it's not gray.

So of course, I wanted to fit in with everyone else and the quickest way to do so was to buy as many Mugen parts as possible, budget allowing. Mine did not, but I did instead end up with a very nice pair of G-Racing gunmetal rims, some Eibach lowering springs, a Pioneer stereo system, some clear corner signals, and the requisite lower-windshield vinyl decal of our car club. The universe got its revenge on me, though, for creating something so heinous. A month after installing the springs and rims (which never did sit quite right and rubbed the wheel wells every time I turned), I hit a slick patch on my way to school and ended up assassinating an innocent palm tree on the side of the road. I recall opening my eyes, seeing a smashed front end, and thinking “I’m sure that can be fixed”. My first words to the paramedics, upon being asked if I was okay, was “My dad’s gonna kill me.” The Accord was a total loss but I limped away with only a broken ankle.

As much as that car makes me cringe in retrospect, I loved it and I beat the ever-living hell out of the F22 engine every chance I got. I still would love to do a project car one day, but that will be far in the future when I have more spare time and money (hah!) I’m sure I can’t be the only person who had a pathetic first mode of transportation; I would love to know, what was yours?

Horsepower and art combined. Image: Lingenfelter

If you’ve been holding back on buying a Cadillac CTS-V because 556 horsepower just wasn’t enough for you, Lingenfelter Performance has your back. Go ahead and buy that CTS-V, then have it shipped to Lingenfelter in Decatur, IL, for the full-meal-deal LPE package install. The net result will be over 700 horsepower at the crank, and 623 rear-wheel horsepower. The full LPE package will also give you 617 ft lb of torque at the rear wheels, which ought to make light work of turning those expensive Michelin Pilots into tire smoke.

Lingenfelter starts with porting and polishing of the cylinder heads, then adds larger intake and exhaust valves. Stiffer valve springs and a hotter cam come next, followed by a smaller diameter supercharger drive pulley. Lingenfelter polishes everything they can in the intake tract, and adds their own intake duct and a K&N filter. Higher-flow fuel injectors are installed, followed by a 160 degree thermostat and a custom ECU tune. Each customer gets a certificate of authenticity and a 2 year, 24,000 mile warranty, and Lingenfelter claims that highway fuel economy remains unchanged.

The package runs $11,245.00, including installation; an additional 144 horsepower doesn’t come cheap, especially when installed by a world-class tuner. If you want performance and reliability, and you’ve got the bank account (and a current generation CTS-V), head on over to the Lingenfelter website to schedule your upgrade. Tell them that Kurt at RideLust sent you, and maybe they’ll toss me the keys to a development car for a full review.

Source: Lingenfelter

Opulance, I has it... Image: Carscoop

I’ll say this upfront: if spending $670,000 to customize a Fiat 500 sounds like a reasonable proposition, you have too damn much money. One Chinese businessman (name and address withheld) is guilty as charged, because the car pictured here was more than just a design exercise; it was, in fact, built to the man’s specifications. The starting point was an Abarth edition Fiat 500 convertible, but things went downhill from there.

Let’s start with the paint, which includes 24k gold particles embedded in the pearl white finish. There’s no detail on the gold wheels or exterior trim, but I think it’s safe to assume that’s not just gold paint. It should be fun when it comes time to change tires, since I seriously doubt you’d get the old rubber off (or the new rubber on) without chewing up the gold plating. Of course that’s nothing that a little money won’t fix, so why worry about it.

Inside, the car is just as over-the-top. Fenice Milano reworked the interior to incorporate a teak wood steering wheel trimmed with 24k gold inserts. Carpet was too ordinary for the buyer, so the Fiat gets a hand-cut teak wood floor, trimmed with (you guessed it), 24k gold. In fact, just about everything that could be trimmed with gold is, both inside and out. Even the hand-stitched, premium leather seats are sewn with thread incorporating gold.

That’s an iPad Supreme edition mounted in the dash, trimmed with (all together now) gold and diamonds. The iPad handles the navigation and infotainment functions, and is removable when the car is parked. If there’s good news to be had, the new owner wasn’t satisfied with the Fiat’s 140 horsepower output, so Romeo Ferraris rebuilt the motor, used a larger turbo and custom exhaust to boost output to 200 horsepower, which is pretty impressive for a 1.4 liter mill. Brembo brakes now handle the stopping duty, and the suspension has been dropped and stiffened to enhance handling. It may be fast, but I suspect it’s not fast enough to outrun gaudy.

Source: Carscoop

We here at RideLust have given you lots of useful information on surviving the zombie apocalypse, but I have to give props to this video tutorial created by the guys at Mighty Car Mods. Not only does it show you how to build the ultimate zombie mobile (from materials at hand), but it also gives you useful information on weaponry and, um, sourcing food (not for the faint of stomach). Overall, the advice is solid, but I’d disagree on a few key points (like cutting a hole in the roof). A stand-up gunport is of limited use (ever try to make a head shot from a moving vehicle?), and it just gives zombies one more point of entry. Personally, I’d advise against it, and I’d advise against taking out the windows before you screen them. Tempered glass (behind metal screening) still offers reasonable protection from bodily fluids and zombie intrusion. I say leave it in.

As for weapons, understand that this was filmed in Australia, which has different gun laws than the United States. I completely agree with the shotgun recommendation, since you don’t need a lot of skill to be proficient with one, but would strongly recommend a pump or semi-auto shotgun over a double barrel version. If you’re fighting off a horde of zombies, would you rather have five shots or two shots before reloading? I’d also opt for a stout rifle with a heavy wooden stock, like the Springfield Armory M1A. The .308 round is particularly effective against zombies, and unlike a plastic-stocked AR-15, the M1A makes a serviceable club if you find yourself short on ammo but long on zombies. Let’s not forget a sidearm for the close-in stuff, either: personally, I’d recommend the Glock 21, which holds 13 rounds of .45 ACP per magazine and will eat any ammo you feed it. Unlike more temperamental handguns, the Glock also goes “bang” each and every time you pull the trigger; do you want to clear a stovepiped round when you’re up close and personal with the undead?

As for the hammer and Samurai sword, I’ll pass. If you’re close enough to use them, you’re close enough to get infected from zombie bodily fluids. Are you REALLY going to remember to don that full face mask and gloves before you start going all “ninja warrior” on the undead? Leave that stuff to Hollywood, and avoid putting yourself in a situation where they’re your only option.

Source: Autoblog

I was over at Autoholics.com when I spied this crazy Nissan 240sx with the front end of a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am grafted onto it. Granted this is not my personal taste, but it got me thinking about what other front end conversions have been done. Through the years I’ve seen a lot of GM and Ford conversions, but with the crazy amounts of imports roaming the streets I just figured, what the hell… they’ve got to be out there. Enter VWVortex.com, one of the coolest forums around and home to some really funky rides. After a quick bit of searching I came up with 7 wild front end conversions that are sure to make you do a double take.

• 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera w/ 1973 Carrera RSR Front

• Dodge Magnum w/ Dodge Charger Front

• Chevrolet El Camino w/ Pontiac Grand Prix Front

• Ford Ranger w/ Ford Mustang Front (This is awful)

• Nissan Titan w/ Infiniti QX56 Front

• Subaru WRX w/ Saab 9-2x Front