#HotRods

The special takes on the early 2000s Ford Thunderbird just keep on coming! Our first Thunderbird edit came from Ford, in the 007 Special Edition made in conjunction with the fairly terrible James Bond film Die Another Day. More recently, we took a look at a Chip Foose creation ordered up by Ford called the Speedbird.

In a similar vein, today’s Rare Ride comes from Ford customizer Saleen in conjunction with Californian wheel firm Bonspeed. Are you ready for retro?

What pre-war hot rod would you buy given the vast sum of money won in the Powerball jackpot Wednesday night, considering a $250k build is less than one percent of the winnings?

Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auctions, Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, and the City of Scottsdale announced revised dates for two events at WestWorld of Scottsdale this year. Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale Auction will be held March 20-27, while Goodguys Spring Nationals is scheduled for April 16-18.

The Grand National Roadster Show, and the Sacramento Autorama, both produced by Rod Shows, have been canceled for 2021 due to uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and the lack of clear guidelines on events from the State of California.

The National Auto Body Council announced the award winners in their first NABC Rides for a Reason Virtual Car Show. At this event, NABC member auto body shops, their employees, and enthusiasts had the ability to put their rides on display in a virtual format.

The show included top cars, trucks, and motorcycles from member shops, car clubs, and individual owners. Winners were selected by celebrity automotive judges. Proceeds from the event are being used to support the NABC’s mission to change and save lives. Recycled Rides, First Responder Emergency Extraction, and its Distracted Driving Initiative are among the NABC’s programs.

Vancouver’s a funny place when it comes to car culture. One one hand, we’ve got a downtown core that’s switching over to highly affluent residential living, similarly well-heeled Western regions and, carved into the hillsides of West Vancouver, a community that rates its own “Real Housewives Of…” unreality show.

Fuelled by wealth swirling off the Pacific Rim, there’re a lot of high-status automobiles on the streets: throw a rock at random and you’ll likely hit a Supercharged Range Rover, but only after a bounce off two 911s and a Ferrari California. I’ve seen more curbed dubs, beat-up Vantages and hack-job ‘tuner’ M3s than I care to remember. I even recall seeing an RS4 with doilies on the headrests.

Still, to each his own, and for the residents of East Vancouver that means a backlash against conspic-consump buggies and an affinity for hot-rodding. Quick, hand me a ballpoint before somebody notices I don’t have a neck tattoo.

The rules for the Billetproof show are simple: Nothing newer than 1964, no trailered vehicles, no post-1960s mag wheels, no fenderless cars with independent front suspensions, and— above all— no billet anything! I flew out to California Saturday to check it out.