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2023 Grand National Roadster Show Mega Photo Gallery | Hot rod heaven

POMONA, Calif. — From an outsider's perspective, it would be easy to assume that the Grand National Roadster Show has always been a Southern California institution. After all, it celebrates the diverse postwar car culture of the region — hot rods, lead sleds, lowriders, and more. However, the show had its roots in NorCal in 1950 when Al Slonaker and his hot rod club showed their custom cars at the Oakland Expo. The GNRS moved to Pomona, California, in 2004. By then it had grown exponentially and seen about a dozen more car customization trends come and go. However, the show and its centerpiece award, the America's Most Beautiful Roadster prize, celebrate what is perhaps the first of those trends: the American hot rod in its purest form. Today, in its 73rd year, the GNRS is the oldest indoor car show in America. Annually it welcomes 500-800 cars, gathered into special themes like Tri-Five Chevys or Volkswagen Bugs. At this year's show, which was last weekend, a special hall was dedicated to pickup trucks built between 1948-98, including mini-trucks, groovy camper bed conversions, and resto-mods.  However, of all the vehicles presented, only nine are eligible for the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award. Winners get their names engraved on a 9-foot-tall perpetual trophy that was, according to The Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary, the largest in the world when it debuted in 1950. Slonaker chose the word "roadster" initially because "hot rod" bore slightly negative outlaw connotations in 1950. Only American cars built before 1937 of certain body styles — roadsters, roadster pickups, phaetons, touring cars — are eligible, and they cannot have roll-down side windows.  Cars in the running for the cup cannot have been shown anywhere else before their debut at the GNRS.  Contestants for this accolade essentially build their cars to the a platonic ideal of a hot rod. This year the honors went to Jack Chisenhall of San Antonio, Texas, for his "Champ Deuce," a 1932 Ford Roadster. It's exactly what you picture when you think of a hot rod, but distilled to its absolute essence.  Other standouts included "Green Eyes," a two-tone green 1959 Chevy El Camino  with a heavily metal-flaked bed, "Blue Monday," a 1964 Buick Riviera lowrider, and a personal favorite, "Purple Reign," a purple and black 1951 Mercury. Cars may have started out as tools, but there aren't shows like this filled with custom refrigerators.

2016 Dodge Viper ACR racks up lap records

With 645 horsepower and an adjustable spoiler nearly six feet wide, the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR would look at home on the runways of most any airport, air base, or aircraft carrier in the world. But it's not built for the runway. It's built for the race track. And it has positively mastered them one after another. In fact, the new Viper ACR has not only beat the lap times of its own predecessor as it set out to, but took the production-car lap record at 13 tracks across the country. The endeavor started out at the Inde Motorsport Ranch in Arizona, where development engineer Chris "The Wolf" Winkler set a lap time of 1:33.75 on the Configuration 4 track to beat every other street-legal vehicle to ever lap the circuit. Then it was off to Buttonwillow, the MotorSport Ranch (in Cresson, TX), Big Willow, VIR, Grattan, Pittsburg, GingerMan, the Motown Mile, Nelson Ledges, Waterford Hills, and Road Atlanta. And with the new American Club Racer, Dodge took the lap record at each and every one. The journey culminated just days ago at Laguna Seca, where track expert Randy Pobst climbed into the Viper ACR and set a lap time of 1:28.65. That's 5.27 seconds faster than the previous ACR's time, and 1.24 seconds faster than the Porsche 918 Spyder that held the record until now. The sum total is a bragging-rights sheet of lap records set at 13 tracks across these United States. And you don't have to take Dodge's word on that. The records have been certified by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), cementing the ACR's place in the record books. Nice work if you can get it, and you can scope it out in the video above and press release below. Related Video: 2016 Dodge Viper ACR Is Undisputed Track Record King - Ultimate street-legal race car sets new high-performance benchmark with more track records than any production car in the world - Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) has certified lap records at 13 road courses, including world-famous Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta and Virginia International Raceway - With 645 horsepower and more torque than any naturally aspirated engine in a production car, the ACR is purpose built for weekend club racers who want the most extreme, but street-legal, track car available - Significant aerodynamic and suspension upgrades, new Carbon Ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers from Brembo and high-performance Kumho tires, specifically designed for the new 2016 ACR, set this Viper apart on any road course November 3, 2015, Auburn Hills, Mich.

2014 Dodge Durango teaser reveals new 'racetrack' taillights

Not wanting to let Jeep get all of the SUV attention for the 2014 model year, Dodge is unveiling a refreshed version of its Durango at the New York Auto Show. Teased in this image, all we can really tell about the 2014 Dodge Durango is that it will be getting Dodge's "racetrack" taillights similar to the Charger and Dart.
The chrome or painted strip currently between the Durango's Zorro taillamps have been removed to allow for a full-width LED array with "DODGE" lettering displayed more prominently above the license plate pocket. Parent company Chrysler also promises that the updated Durango will add "several new class-exclusive features," but stops short of saying what those are. Earlier reports suggest that among the changes, buyers will be able to look forward to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, which ought to improve the three-row SUV's fuel efficiency.