Well, not really, but the automaker is making a strong patriotic statement in support of the American team playing against the English team in an upcoming World Cup soccer (football to the rest of the world) match. The company has put together a TV ad showing General George Washington riding to battle in a Dodge Challenger against some English redcoats. It’s a humorous segment,  but I think Dodge could have gone a step farther.

Instead of a trio of black Dodge Challengers, what if the ad was a joint effort by all of the American automakers in support of the US world cup team, perhaps featuring a Corvette ZR1, a Ford Shelby GT500, and a Dodge Challenger SRT-8? The ad would have had much more patriotic impact, and the addition of the ZR1 and the Shelby could have helped fend off a Redcoat counterattack using the the likes of the Jaguar XKR, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, and the McLaren MP4-12C.

Back in August I posted about a new feature at DrivelineBlog.com called Driveline Blog Builds (DLBB). The goal of this new feature series is to highlight one project vehicle a month going forward. I was hoping to launch DLBB in August, so this is a little behind schedule. Someone once said “better late than never,” an aphorism that I’m happy to apply in this case.

Our inaugural DLBB vehicle for October 2009 is a heavily modified 1988 BMW 528e which the owner–who asked that I don’t reveal his real name, so I’ll go with “Bob”–is planning to race in the 2010 Tire Rack One Lap of America. A friend told me about this project, and Bob was kind enough to let me swing by his garage earlier this year to take some pictures and ask some questions about the project.

Bob’s project started with a 1988 BMW 528e in close to new condition he found after a web search a few years ago. “This car sat in a garage in California from 1992 onwards, had a single owner, had full documentation, had only about 50,000 miles, and everything was in great shape.” Bob mentioned that that not having to do bodywork on the vehicle was a bonus for him, as he really wanted to focus more of his time on the powertrain and suspension.

Rather than go with the stock motor, Bob opted for a 3.3L S52 V6 cylinder motor from a 1998 BMW M3 that he balanced, rebuilt with a new valve job, equipped with a T04e-60 turbo, and bolstered with a host of other engine component upgrades. “My goal was to try and keep most of the components from the firewall forward as stock or easily replaceable as possible,” Bob explains. “If I’m running laps in this and something breaks, I want to make sure I can run to the local BMW dealership and have good odds of finding those parts in stock.”

Engine control will likely be handled by an AEM unit from Evosport.com, and the transmission is a e36 ZF 5 speed manual sourced from an M3. The tranny will be mated to a 400hp clutch and an aluminum flywheel. Bob conservatively estimates that the motor will put out 400-420 horsepower at the rear wheels by the time he’s finished, but final numbers may fluctuate between now and when his project finally hits the track.

Some of the more unusual elements of Bob’s project are motor/transmission mounts pulled from a Toyota Supra, and a rack and pion steering setup that proved to be more problematic than Bob anticipated. “I originally tried a rack and pinion unit from a e39 BMW 528i, but that was for a front steer car,” Bob said. “I found a rear steer rack online that only cost me about $300 that should work fine.”

Bob is still hoping to run the car in the 2010 Tire Rack One Lap of America, and plans to downplay all the significant enhancements he’s made to the vehicle. In a forum post on MyE28.com — a popular online hangout for BMW E-series buffs — Bob outlined his strategy:

I want this car to be a sleeper. No spoilers, stripes, wings, in fact I have a set of 16″ factory steel wheels which I will have widened to 8″ and will run BMW hub caps and beauty rings. I want to see the face of the Porsche GT3 or new M3 driver when the old euro taxi goes flying by.

I hope you’ll join me in wishing Bob the best of luck with One Lap of America exploits, and we’ll keep tabs on his progress. If you know of a vehicle worthy of being featured as a monthly Driveline Blog Build, drop me an email at jeff@drivelineblog.com.

While we should all be thankful that they don’t build cars like they used to from a safety perspective, you have to give N2A Motors credit for channeling old school with their striking 789 custom car. N2A starts with a factory Corvette C6, then radically reworks the exterior to create the vehicle you see here. The front end is inspired by a ’57 Chevy, the middle take cues from a ’58 Chevy, and the rear section (with those lethal tailfins) pays homage to the ’59 Chevy.You can see more photos of the 789 here.

It get’s even better: Given that the crew at N2A Motors doesn’t touch the mechanicals of the Corvette donor vehicle, the official GM powertrain warranty remains in effect. The coupe weighs in at $139,500, while the convertible (shown above) starts at $144,500.

(Photo: N2A Motors)

That’s why I’ve decided to launch a new feature called Driveline Blog Builds (DLBB) that will highlight one vehicle project a month. I’ll have more details to post about the series in a few days, when I’ll also unveil the first DLBB project vehicle.

Here’s a preview of our inaugural DLBB vehicle: It’s a custom BMW E28 5-series that sports an E28 sub frame, E39 rack and pinion steering, and an S52 Turbocharged engine from an E36 M3. The owner hopes to race the finished vehicle in the upcoming 2009 One Lap of America, and is pushing to get the vehicle finished in time for the event.

If you know of a vehicle worthy of being featured as a monthly Driveline Blog Build, drop me an email at jeff@drivelineblog.com.

There has been a dearth of top-caliber car movies over the past few years, but Gone in 60 Seconds—which was itself a remake of the 1974 original—has been one of the better ones. Nicholas Cage and the always captivating Angelina Jolie may have been given top billing as actors, but the true star of the movie was the modified 1967 Ford Shelby GT—affectionately referred to in the film as “Eleanor”—that car thief Cage uses to outrun the fuzz in the final 30 minutes of the film.

If you’re looking to own your own Eleanor, custom hot rod builder Classic Recreations inked a deal with the Gone in 60 Seconds film producers in 2008 to create licensed versions of the vehicle. Two version are offered: A 535hp variant ($138,000), and a 750hp model ($189,900). Both models are painstakingly hand-crafted from a 1967 Ford Mustang fastback body by the Classic Creations team in Yukon, Oklahoma. All the requisite features of Eleanor from the movie are standard, including the “Go-Baby-Go” nitrous button.

Visit the Classic Creations website for a complete list of specs (and more photos) of the 750hp and 535hp variants. (Photos: Classic Creations LLC)

Over the last year or so I’ve been contributing articles to Dream Garage, a new web magazine dedicated to luxury garages (and all the gasoline-powered toys that can fill them).

Dream Garage Publisher Jaime Moe was recently featured in an article by Karen Mitchell in the Denver Post; In that article, Moe relates to Mitchell what his vision was for the website. You can read the Denver Post article here, but here’s a brief excerpt of Moe’s comments:

“I looked at all these amazing homes and wished they would show photos of the garages, but they didn’t. I knew I couldn’t be the only one who wondered what kind of cars the owners of these homes had. I began to imagine a magazine like Architectural Digest meets Motor Trend with a dash of Forbes.”

I’ve written some car overviews for Dream Garage that are linked below. Be sure to check out the Dream Garage virtual dream garage feature as well (free registration required).

• Dream Garage: 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR1 overview
• Dream Garage: 2009 Nissan GT-R overview
• Dream Garage: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V overview
• Dream Garage: Mercedes-Benz SL600 overview

(Image: Moe Media)

Season 13 of Top Gear returned to BBC Two last month, and episode 106 hit the airwaves (and YouTube) a few days ago. Despite being chock full of excellent content (Jeremy Clarkson gives his thoughts on the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black), the highlight of the episode was undoubtedly Captain Slow (James May) visiting California to take a drive with rally/stunt driver Ken Block.

What ensues is arguably one of the best Top Gear segments ever, with May taken on an eye-popping, white-knuckle ride with Block (and his 380hp Subaru Impreza STI rally car) around, across, through, and then out into the wide open spaces around Inyokern airport in California. Former motocross champion Ricky Carmichael also makes a cameo, but the real stars here are behind the camera: the Top Gear film crew should be given a boot full of awards for their efforts here. Fantastic stuff.

Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno recently managed to get some seat time in a new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, and talked about the experience in this video review for Jay Leno’s Garage. Jay manages to lay down some burnt rubber in a few spots, takes the car for a spin outside his garage, and ends up giving a thumbs-up on the experience.

Speaking of the 2010 Camaro, don’t forget to enter our Driveline Blog “Taste for Speed” Giveaway.

1. Send an email to jeff@drivelineblog.com with your email address and full name, along with a digital photo of your current vehicle.
2. In the body of your email message drop in a few words explaining why you think you should win this $200 prize package. (No more than 250 words, please.)

Entries must be received by 6:00pm MST on Tuesday, July 7th Friday, July 17th. The winner’s photo and written justification for winning the prize package will be posted on Drivelineblog.com on the morning of Wednesday Saturday, July 18th

Check our our original post for more details.

Now that Twitter has become a ubiquitous tool for exchanging short bits of information (in 140 characters are less), we’re starting to see an increasing number of automakers turning to Twitter to communicate with customers and prospective buyers.

Like every other new communications medium, some organizations take longer than others to hop on the bandwagon. Granted, there still is a fair amount of bandwidth-clogging TMI on Twitter, but it is useful for a variety of things. Guy Kawasaki has argued that Twitter is one of the most valuable marketing tools ever created, so it was inevitable that more companies — including some automakers — would make a foray into the Twitterverse.

I’ve put together a draft list of official automaker Twitter feeds (see below) which I’ll attempt to keep updated on a regular basis. If you know of an official automaker Twitter account that isn’t on this list, drop me an email at jeff@drivelineblog.com and I’ll add it lickety-split. (Almost forgot: You can also follow Driveline Blog on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/drivelineblog.)

Automakers Using Twitter

• Acura_Insider
• Chrysler
• fiskerauto
• Ford
• FordFiesta
• FordMustang
• FordTransitConn
• GMblogs
• GMreinvention
• JaguarUKPR
• KMA_PR
• Toyota