The Ford Fairlane is Back
But only the nameplate returns (so called after Henry Ford's estate). What started out in 1955 as a swoopy offering and later developed into a stout musclecar is going to be reborn as a...minivan? All signs point to this particular Fairlane becoming a production model in '08. But a minivan? "We're rewriting the people-mover story" is what Ford reports. Ah, yes, now we remember why we don't read.--Tori Tellem
Cars
Our finest pleasure goes animated with the Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar flick Cars. The plot pitch is something like this: Race car meets sleepy Route 66 town where the offbeat folk live. Wackiness ensues! Classic cars and trucks and Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, and Paul Newman's voices? Sounds worth the $25 bucket o' 'corn.--Tori Tellem
7-Second Reads
*Ford is holding off on killing the Mercury brand.
*www.promodifieds.com is now www.promodifieds.us.
*It has been 25 years since Dick Moroso bought the Palm Beach International Raceway and renamed it Moroso Motorsports Park.
*The city of Los Angeles is suing the publisher of video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for including hidden sex scenes and not disrobing, er, disclosing their existence to buyers (thereby getting the adult rating). Guess we'll have to live with the hotness of Pong.
*Goodyear is using a carbon-fiber insert to reinforce the outboard sidewall of its new Eagle tire (real name: ResponsEdge Technology). The company says that as a woven composite fabric, it's often used in high-tech race cars and jet planes.
*The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says passenger cars and light trucks are racking up more miles than ever before; it's becoming the norm (they mean anticlimactic) to blow right past 150,000 miles, thanks to improved engines and engineering.--Tori Tellem
60 Years of So-Cal
To give a nod to So-Cal Speed Shop's 60 years in business, the NHRA Motorsports Museum recently ran an exhibit showcasing all sorts of good stuff, from the "Double Threat" '34 Coupe to the belly-tank lakester that competed at Bonneville in 1952 and ran a top speed of 198.34 mph. In fact, between 1948 and 1954, the So-Cal team set more than 20 records with project vehicles. Photos, trophies, and other items documenting So-Cal's legacy were also on display. As founder Alex Xydias noted, "The shop has generated a lot of history over the years. When I first borrowed $100 from my mother to start a garage, it never entered my mind that we'd be here today celebrating more than six decades of business." Xydias opened So-Cal on the day he was discharged from the Army Air Corps.--Tori Tellem