RIP Paul Walker- Fast And Furious at life

    I have dodge this topic long enough and I feel it is important to the gear head community. The passing of Paul Walker has been not only a sadness to his family and friends, but a crushing blow to the tuners as well, for the pass 10 years we have all looked forward to The Fast and Furious movies since its 2001 debut. A fast pace action film combined with good actors, girls and DUH,.. CARS!! It was not only Vin diesels' portrayal of a conflicted bad ass with morals, but the cool witty and sometimes clueless character played by Paul himself. The actor brought A fierce acting characteristic to the screen that came alive every time he got behind the wheel and drove for his life. This will be missed and people are now wondering will the franchise ever be the same after so many sequels followed the success of the first movie, its just something we will have to wait and see. Of course we can not dwell on his acting prowess alone, because at the end of the day, aside from him being a son, brother, father and friend to many..... he was a car guy.

     This was a guy who in an interview said and i quote " i traded in my Porsche boxster for a Nissan Skyline. Now we personally don't care what model it was, the fact that after driving the car in 2 fast 2 furious , he stuck with the car throughout the series and as a personal vehicle in his garage. I can only imagine how many he might have owned but we may never know. He has been noticed as a generous individual, you cannot not like him. I have never met him personally but I'm sure he was a down to earth kind of guy you would want the have a beer with.  To make a long story short, He will be missed and we he has left an impact in the car world on the silver screen.

RIP PAUL, and THANK YOU!

Dodging the Competition

The Dodge Charger is clearly a classic all American automobile with style, presence, and power that is rivaled by many, but what does it mean for this car to be in a class of its own? It means that is one of kind to the Mopar fans and enthusiasts. A four door, Rear wheel drive, 8 cylinder American made sedan( despite the backing from Daimler ) it truly is the only car of its kind in The U.S. The question is " why is the Dodge Charger so popular with some people". Here is your answer.

      In the Early 1960s, Dodge built a big body 2 door vehicle that would become not only a great flagship for them but to also rival other companies such as Ford, Chevrolet to name a few. The Charger was created to captivate but failed to do so when it was introduced into the early stages of NASCAR, for not producing wins and not enough power to keep up with Chevys' own impala. In 67' The Charger was rebuilt and made over for not only more power underneath the hood but Aerodynamics. It was said " we want this car to cut through the air like a knife". Under the hood was a 389 cubic inch motor but the engine everyone fell deeply in love with was the Big Block 440 Cubic inch engine. The car was entered once more in NASCAR races and swept the podium with its speed, power and aerodynamics. In 1968, This automobile left tire tracks in the hot rodders of that generation as the go- to car for the races. An elongated nose and a tall wing on the rear deck transformed a mere Charger into the Daytona, A race car that travelled close 200 miles per hour but discontinued because the racing officials deemed it unfair for other competitors. The Charger, Charger 500, and Daytona were best sellers along with its little brother the Challenger. Soon after the Gas embargo in the late 70s, the muscle car era was over, but not for long for some companies.

  

   Ford and Chevrolet continued building their signature cars, the Ford Mustang, and the Chevy Camaro, with smaller cubic inch motors, they still produced some very impressive horsepower numbers for that time, it was around the late 80s and early 90s these cars were the only muscle cars left including Pontiacs' Trans-Am, Dodge was the only manufacturer that hasn't developed a vehicle to run up against their rivals' machines. The 80s Charger Daytona was a Turbocharged 4 cylinder that wasn't just economic but fast. It sharing the name of its predecessor, the car didn't have the poise and the presence as its older counterpart. It would be a couple of years before Dodge would create another muscle car. We thought the Dodge Viper would be the return to an affordable sports car, but wishful thinking turned to wishing on hitting the lotto. Its V10 motor wasn't counted in the V8 wars.

 After years and years of building small cars, trucks, and Revolutionizing the minivan, the rumor of Dodge Building another \Charger was enough to get people reeling for another one. In 2004, they introduced the challenger and left people stunned showing the Mopar Fans that the muscle is back at Dodge, they knew the recreation of the Charger wasn't far behind. Soon after the release of the Challenger, The Charger was built but far different than what people expected. It sported four doors instead of two and it was powered by to different V6s, and the return of the HEMI V8 that made the car popular back in its hay day. The car was well received and it was soon discovered that it was in a class of its own around the American Market. Since then the Charger has been welcomed with open arms and cheers, the muscle car disguised a full sized family sedan made smiles. So when I say the Charger was in a class of its own, it is, with perfect attendance.

New Year New Ideas

  Welcome back and what a year 2012 was. Now its Time to move forward and get things in Gear for the new year. The Chop Shop will be better with new posts, stories, and hopefully a talk show behind it. A lot of new cars and shows are coming, grander new models and racing events that I will need to attend to keep you all well informed.

Stay Tuned for new material and much more!!