1969 Chevrolet Corvette Lego Proposal Brickdater via Lego Ideas brickdater via Lego Ideas Update: Check out our reader submission at the end. Spend just a few minutes looking around online, and you quickly find that people have figured out how to make just about anything out of Lego, including some very cool model cars. The Danish company has taken this fact to heart and has released some fantastic automotive kits recently. In August, its vintage Mini Cooper came out, and a few years ago, it unveiled its 1962 Volkswagen Bus. But maybe it's about time that Lego added a large-scale recreation of a classic American sports car to its offe The best cars we drove in 2016 These cars will still be cool in 2027 New Car Buying Guides Biggest automotive sales disappointments Fastest-depreciating cars in the United States Find and compare 2017 ModelsThere are few people in this country who appreciate American hot rods more than the wonderfully inventive Johannes Rojola of Finland.
A gallery of his detailed and creative builds of V8-powered 1970s muscle machines, and his philosophy, below. "Well I have been gear head for all my life and have this special interest on true American power machines," says Rojola. And not just any cars, many of these are modeled on the designs of famous hot rodders like Tom Daniels and George Barris. "As I feel more of a Hot Rodder, I never usually build any stock type of cars. I like to tune them in a way I would do in real world (if I could). Sometimes I also like to build interesting but hardly known cars, like Cotton Picker Dart."The "Cotton Picker" Dart is an interesting part of history. When NASCAR banned the HEMI driver Dave Pearson decided to compete in drag racing and used the rear-engined HEMI-powered Dart wagon. The Vanbulance was a popular Tom Daniels design with a passenger seat-mounted supercharged V8.Creating one of these beauties takes anywhere from a few hours for the small cars to days for the bigger ones.
"I start building the cars by having an idea of car that I want to build. Then I just gather some reference pictures from Internet and car magazines. For bigger cars I have special techniques of calculating measurements from blueprints when available or from pictures. I want to make these car look as much real thing as possible, together with interiors, engines and drivetrains."The technique is wonderful, approximating the vehicles in what is a somewhat restricted the medium. "All the way from childhood, Lego from being a toy has become a technique of making my personal "car dreams" in to some kind of concrete form."Looking at these, we're dreaming with you. You can see more cars, including a truly awesome Cougar, at his flickr page.Volkswagen Microbus Production Version Reportedly Greenlighted / After many concepts that previewed the modern successor of the VW Microbus, the German brand is on the path to launching it as an electric vehicle Fastest VW Split Screen Race in the World Packs Over 1,000 HP, Leads to 11s Quarter Mile
/ The VW Split Screens you see here are, most likely, the third and fourth fastest in the world and that says a lot about their race Watch a 1973 VW Bus Pull a 9s Quarter Mile... Wheelstand, Driver Is 72 / How does a 9-second pass at 130 mph (209 km/h) sound? Sure, these numbers may not impress anybody when talking about custom-built rides, but what if we told you they were achieved on two wheels, in ... What Happened to the Craziest VW Bus Ever? / It was back in 2011 when the world was treated with a little taste of what could probably be labeled as the wackiest Volkswagen Bus ever. While the adjacent images offer us a brief view of the proje... Is It Time for a New VW Bulli Microbus? / Usually when somebody tells me Volkswagen is not a good company because they don't make people's cars any more, I tell them to go buy a bicycle or a Citroen. Both are about as fast, but th... Allstate to Auction for Charity Recovered Volkswagen Bus / Remember the 1965 Volkswagen Bus which was stolen in 1974 and recovered a few months ago?
Well Allstate, the insurance company which is the rightful owner of the bus, as the real owner got her money... Volkswagen Bus Becomes Mental Breakdown Dragster / A few days ago, we reported that VW will bring a new incarnation of the famous Bus to the world, with the company currently evaluating different options for the project. Today, we decided to offe... 2015 VW Transporter Is a Thing of Beauty / Even though the current day Volkswagen Transporter is a direct descendant of the famous Beetle-derived Type 2 vans of old, it has never managed to enjoy the same level of popularity from VW fans and... LEGO VW Camper Van Officially Launched / We’ve recently tested the modern day descendant of the VW Bus and we have to tell you that we felt a bit of that hippie spirit of the original van. We enjoyed so much that we wished we could t... The VW Bus, always Happy / See the little hippie machine in the adjacent image? The poor Bus is turned upside down in the middle of the street, but does it look sad?
No, not at all. This should be a lesson to us all: no matte...The X-Wing-Inspired 2017 Nissan Rogue is the center-piece of Nissan's mesmerizing Star Wars-themed display in Chicago(Credit: Aaron Turpen / New Atlas)The annual Chicago Auto Show is the most consumer-driven of the automotive spectacles that happen in the United States. Always fun to visit, the CAS also has more floor space and ride-and-drive events included than any other show. This year, along with blacked-out trim packages, famous race cars and new reveals, there was also something for Star Wars and Lego fans.The 2017 Chicago Auto Show officially opened to the general public on Saturday, February 11. Here's what you can look forward to if you attend CAS this year. A prominent unveil at the Chicago Auto Show this year was the latest Nissan Titan XD in king cab configuration(Credit: Aaron Turpen / New Atlas)The Chicago show isn't well-known as a big showcase for manufacturer's new wares or concepts. Those are usually left for the Detroit and New York shows and, more and more, the Consumer Electronics Show.
Tucked in between these shows, CAS tends towards the consumer rather than the "wow!" Yet there are still some surprises in store.Notably this year, Nissan unveiled its latest (and last) version of the Titan XD pickup truck that's been trickling out over the past year or so. This one is a king cab configuration, ready for the jobsite or the driveway. With the expected suicide door configuration popular in this cab style, the king cab finishes the gamut of cab options for the Titan, which now span the regular (single), king, and crew (four-door) options. Nissan has finally made the Titan into a complete offering in the full-sized truck market. The most modified production car that Dodge's Mopar tuners work with is, not surprisingly, the Challenger(Credit: Aaron Turpen / New Atlas)Also unveiled were some special Mopar editions of the Dodge Challenger sports coupe. The Challenger is now Dodge's premier sports car and is also the most-modified car by Mopar, the company's tuning arm. Celebrating 80 years of muscle, the special edition Mopar Challenger is a big deal to Dodge.
Mercedes-Benz hit the Chicago Auto Show in force, covering the floor with work vans of all types. Unveiled at the show was a new Metris Mastersolutions Toolbox, a Mercedes van kitted out to look like a giant toolbox for kids. We fully expect to see scale versions of these on a toy store shelf soon. Nissan has a big presence at this year's Chicago show, not only with pickups but also with new Midnight Editions of its cars ... and more than a hint of Star Wars. Tying in with the Rogue One film, Nissan has no fewer than a half-dozen Star Wars-themed displays and vehicles in Chicago.Hyundai hit Chicago by showing off a new American version of a European hot hatch. The Elantra GT Sport is an i30 with a boost in power and a name change for the American market. A big unveil at the Chicago Auto Show is the new Toyota RAV4 Adventure model(Credit: Aaron Turpen / New Atlas)Toyota rounds-out the Chicago Auto Show unveils, showcasing its latest TRD Sport packaging for several off-road-ready vehicles like the 4Runner and Tundra.
Also unveiled is a new model, the RAV4 Adventure, hoping to boost the off-pavement credibility of its best-selling little crossover.Everyone loves race cars and the Chicago Auto Show has plenty – especially rally and GT cars, which are big draws in the American Midwest. If Tanner Faust is your hero, Volkswagen's got you covered. Prefer the Mini Cup? The famous Lemons car is in the Mazda display. The Italians are rarely left behind when it comes to beautiful showcases, like this GranTurismo(Credit: Aaron Turpen / New Atlas)If you like sports cars with a more road-ready bent, you might want to sneak over to the "Little Italy" section where Maserati and Alfa Romeo stare each other down across the aisle. There are also some cars involved.Other well-known sports car makers are on hand, of course. Not to mention aftermarket tuners and, a definite favorite, specialty super car sellers with big displays of Lamborghinis and Aston Martins – the bread and butter of any great automotive show.
The vast amount of space available in the McCormick Center allows for huge ride-along tracks where manufacturer representatives take potential consumers on drives. These are a big part of the show and this year the CAS has at least eight. Ride-along tracks and events are a big part of this year's Chicago Auto Show. The Toyota track includes Highlander and RAV4 models simulating several real-world scenarios to showcase the vehicles' capabilities(Credit: Aaron Turpen / New Atlas)In a ride-along, you'll learn about the features of a given vehicle, be taken on extreme showcases of how those work, and more. From shopping carts popping out and causing automatic safety braking to kick in to Jeeps running sideways at 40-degree angles, it's at CAS. If you're more of a performance lover, get into a Challenger or Abarth model and rush the 0-60 line at the FCA Performance booth.The kids can get in on the action too. To show off the award-winning Chrysler Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid minivans, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles built a kids area with a ball pit, a Pacifica mini car, tablet-ready coloring stations, and a lot more.