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BMW V8-powered Ford Model A is the definition of Hot Rod

Today, hotrodding has a pretty staid definition. Take one classic American car, add one classic American V8, sprinkle with tire smoke and you pretty much have every hot rod to roll out of a shop in the last 40 years. Mike Borroughs knows it wasn't always this way. Once upon a time, getting your bucket to go faster meant grabbing whatever parts were lazing about the yard, bolting them together with a bit of ingenuity and laughing your way down the quarter mile. It's in that spirit that Burroughs built his 1928 Ford Model A.
Rather than turn to the tired flathead or the common Chevrolet small block, Burroughs plucked a 4.0-liter V8 from a 1995 BMW 7 Series. With 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, the engine has no trouble shuffling the old A around town. He had to build a custom chassis to get everything to cooperate, but the result is a 1,500-pound heathen that looks built to harass dry lake beds. You can check it out in the video below. Be warned, the soundtrack by Hanni el Khatib may not be safe for work - awesomeness of this caliber rarely is.

Are we about to see a real SUV revival?

Now that the marketplace has been oversaturated with cute-utes, crossovers, and CUV coupes, are we about to see a resurgence of real, honest-to-God SUVs? Ummm... maybe. The stars seem to be aligning in that direction, at least that's the sense I'm getting. We know an all-new Jeep Wrangler is only a few auto shows away; and that Jeep is about to introduce a new Grand Cherokee Trailhawk for 2017, in the same rugged spirit of the successful Cherokee and Renegade Trailhawks. Ford has hinted at a neo-Bronco, after showing the concept above in 2014 to wet the mouths of all those Duck Dynasty-types out there. And, and... wait for it... I recently learned that Subaru sent a questionnaire out to some Forester owners asking if they might be interested in an off-road package if it were offered. The items listed were pretty hardcore, serious stuff, such as: integrated tow/recovery hooks, additional ground clearance, more rugged wheels, skid plates, altimeter, front-view off-road camera, improved approach and departure angles, advanced differentials, Inclinometer, full-size spare tire, upgraded off-road suspension components, more aggressive tires, off-road driving mode (engine, transmission, throttle, and steering settings), more rugged styling, low-range gearing, and a more advanced traction management system. Folks that's not my wish list (well, actually it is), but those are words from Subaru, asking if that's what customers would like to see. Need proof? Go to the SubaruForester.org website. It's in a discussion there. So... no promises or guarantees here, and feel free to call me a rumormonger if you like; but the next few years could prove very interesting for those who actually do go off road. If this pans out, remember, you read it here first. Related Video: Image Credit: Ford Ford Jeep Subaru Crossover SUV Off-Road Vehicles open road

Focus STs for SEMA include Lotus and Gulf liveries, rally-fied police car

Ford, as we mentioned on Saturday, is pulling out all the stops for November's SEMA show, bringing 57 vehicles to the Las Vegas event. Ford will be staggering the release of its SEMA flotilla, though, so expect to hear a lot about the new additions to the fleet in the weeks to come. We already showed you the Fiesta, Fiesta ST and Mustang models that made up the first batch of SEMA cars. Next up, we have a quartet of modded Focus STs joining Ford's SEMA roster.
Our first Focus ST (pictured above) sports the legendary livery of Gulf Racing. The orange-on-blue scheme, which Ford helped make famous at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has been updated for 2013, with a more vibrant blue. This ST was built by Universal Technical Institute, while the exterior was done by Neil Tjin of Tjin Edition. Side exhausts, a Vortech supercharger and a Motiv Concepts high-flow cat allow the ST to breathe a bit easier, while Forgestar wheels contrast well with the iconic paint scheme.
Focus ST number two has been done-up by PM Lifestyle and is inspired by "Southern California car culture." Sporting a sleek, pale blue paint job, there's also no shortage of carbon fiber on the car's exterior. The 2.0-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine has been massaged by the likes of Banks Power, COBB Tuning and Ford Racing, while the suspension is wearing a shiny, new set of coilovers and sway bars. The meaty brakes, tucked behind 19-inch, Rotiform wheels, come from Wilwood, while the cabin has been fitted with a pair of Sparco Chrono seats and five-point, Schroth harnesses.