Autoblog

If you are one of the nearly half-million Americans driving a 1999-2005 Volkswagen Passat, your dealer will be expecting a visit. Every gasoline-powered Passat (the list includes the 1.8-liter I4, 2.0-liter I4, 2.8-liter V6, and 4.0-liter W8) is being recalled for a heat shield issue. Apparently, the shield near the catalytic converter on some automatic-equipped cars may be damaged, so VW wants the dealers to check them out and add additional shielding if necessary.

While it has your attention, Volkswagen has also found some faulty fuel lines on cars with the 1.8-liter turbocharged engine, and some of the all-wheel-drive equipped cars may have damaged fuel tank ventilation valves. Thankfully, no accidents or injuries have been reported from any of the problems. VW will begin notifying owners on May 30.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Click above for more pics of this bashed up Nissan GT-R

This isn't the first Nissan GT-R to find itself looking like an accordion. We brought you another shattered GT-R in Hong Kong in early January, and a GT-R fender bender a few days later in Shibuya (Tokyo). An Autoblog tipster just sent us a link to yet another bashed-up GT-R in Malaysia. As a purely objective observation, the latest incident does a decent job of demonstrating the integrity of the Nissan GT-R's safety cage. Too bad it's at the expense of supercar carnage. Are we the only ones who think this Nissan GT-R bloodshed is getting out of hand? Thanks for the tip, Eric!

[Source: NAGTROC]

Previously, we learned that it's a bad idea to drift in areas populated with curbs. In this installment of Autoblog's Please Don't Act Like a Dufus lessons, the class will learn that other real-world obstructions can also cause significant damage.

In this particular case, the unfortunate driver of a third-gen Pontiac Trans Am rips some donuts and puts on a decent smoke show - right up until the point where he finds a manhole cover that protrudes above the surface of the pavement. The impact appears to shear something major in the rear axle (likely the axle shaft itself, judging by the intact wheel lugs), and the left rear tire decides that it no longer wishes to support its corner of the vehicle. That's OK - those stock 10-bolt rear ends are ripe for replacement anyways. Too bad the honeycomb wheel had to suffer, but at least the quarter panel didn't hit the ground.

[Source: Streetfire via CamaroZ28.com]

Some hardcore racing fans might tell you that the best way to drift is not to do it all. The driver in this video will likely never try drifting again, but not because it's slower around a track than driving a tight line. No, he's not going to drift again because he learned the hard way that drifting inside a development with raised curbs is a recipe for broken car with a side of pissed off parents.

[Source: YouTube via Digg]