Autoblog

Sorted Performance had its Speed World Challenge racing season come to an abrupt halt earlier this week when its transporter consisting of a 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 dually and 48-foot Gooseneck Haulmark Edge triple axle trailer were stolen from a Hampton Inn parking lot in Livonia, MI. Team manager Ken Grammer was transporting both of the team's Grand Touring Class Dodge SRT-4 race cars at the time, along with all the spare parts available for the cars. Today it was learned that the truck has been recovered in Detroit and sustained some damage, though not as much as the trailer, which was also found in Detroit burnt to a crisp. The two SRT-4 race cars, one driven by team owner Hal Brown and the other by current Rookie of the Year points leader Stan Wilson, are still missing. The racing community has its feelers out for the cars, as their parts are very specific and should be easy to spot should the thieves attempt to sell them.

You can view all the currently available info on the situation in this thread on the SCCA Pro Racing forums, and please keep your eyes open if you live in the Detroit area. Hopefully these two race cars can be found in good shape thanks to the collective effort of a concerned auto and racing community. Sorted Performance was looking forward to the next round of the series at the 2007 Grand Prix of Toronto. With any luck, Hal and Stan will be behind the wheels of their SRT-4s by then.

Thanks for the tip, Joe!

[Source: SCCA Pro Racing forums]

Some of us here at Autoblog have always felt a connection with Grand Theft Auto. Maybe it has to do with our daily efforts to wreak automotive havoc on the digital world or our deep-down secret desires to be bad-ass pimp... but certainly NOT pimping Coca-Cola. Such efforts are for polar bears and teeny bopper idols. Sure, we like Coke as much as the next guy and gal (the kind you DRINK, sheesh, we're not kindred spirits with the games' heroes to quite that extent), but Grand Theft Auto is the epitome of "damn the man" ideology.

So imagine our horror as we watched a Grand Theft Auto hero actually pay for his Coke, yank a guy out of his car to give him a Coke too, shove a homeless guy into a convertible full of hot women, thwart an attempt to steal an elderly woman's purse, and commit more good deeds, all while some really happy people sing, "Give a little love, and it all comes back to you, la la la la la la la....."

So, dear readers, does this constitute a sell-out or an ingenious partnership between Rock Star Games and Coca-Cola? You be the judge.

[Source: transportTrends]

It’s one thing when thieves outside a 7-11 nab your winter beater. It’s another whole thing when low lifes hijack your $450,000 vintage 1937 Ford convertible show car along with the 1999 Ford F350 and trailer in which it was being transported. This one-of-a-kind vehicle nicknamed “Chocolate Thunder” and built by Rad Rides By Troy for a private owner and was being transported to an auto show in Quebec City earlier this month when it, the truck and trailer were stolen from a hotel parking lot.

The shop has put up a $5,000 reward for anyone able to provide info that leads to the return of the vehicle. Everyone is hoping the vehicle is returned in one piece, though Brian Ferguson of Rad Rides fears the car attracts so much attention that the criminals may destroy it to avoid detection.

[Source: Inside Line; Oilstick]