1981 Firebird Trans-Am Coors Bandit Choppers

The effect of Smokey and the Bandit on the pop culture landscape went far beyond what could have been imagined back in 1977. After 30 years, multiple sequels, a made-for-TV spinoff, and the retirement of Pontiac, even non-movie car fans still associate the character "Bandit" with black & gold second generation Firebirds. In 2005, customizer Jesse James had achieved fame on the Discovery Channel's Monster Garage and was asked by the Coors brewing company (makers of the contraband featured in the first film) to build a special tribute car as the grand prize in a contest they were running. The result was the "Coors Bandit," a 1980 Firebird featuring combination scissor doors, a racing interior, West Coast Chopper 3-piece wheels, and a 700 horsepower engine with ProCharger induction. The contest was promoted through a series of limited edition 6-packs and a 1/24 scale replica of the car sold exclusively at Wal*Mart.

2006 Dodge Stratus Von Dutch NHRA Frank Pedregon Funny Car

Frank Pedregon was born into racing and has enjoyed tremendous success from youth kart racing to NHRA Mello Yello Championship Drag Racing, the fastest, most extreme form of motorsports. Frank’s father, “Flamin Frank Pedregon,” was the first Hispanic to break the diversity barrier in the 1960s and raced himself into racing immortality. Frank is an exceptional driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing professional class winning multiple events, the Famous Budweiser Shootout, and the Prestigious US Nationals at Indy. Franks is an engaging personality and known as a wonderful team owner and tremendous ambassador to the NHRA racing community.

Frank’s love of racing has generated a loyal following of fans from multiple generations stretching from Coast to Coast in more than 50 of the top USA markets. His unique ability to promote products ranging from auto-parts and coffee to clothing and motor-oil in two languages make him an exceptional marketing and advertising partner. Frank Pedregon continues to be an inspiration and motivating iconic personality to millions of fans and sports enthusiast and global corporations around the world.

Today Frank Pedregon is excited and motivated to create new partnerships and continue his dream of providing value to his sponsors and business partners. Frank personally enjoys family, his sons Connor and Cruz and watching his brothers succeed in the NHRA business of racing. Frank resides on the West Coast and appreciates music, the arts, and cinema.

F1 Lubrax Petrobras #5 Fórmula 1

The FIA F3000 scene will be without the distinctive Petrobras livery from next year, following decisions in the company's native Brazil to pull the plug on some motorsport sponsorship.

Petrobras has been linked to the Norfolk-based David Sears-run operation since 1999, primarily promoting Brazilian talent one step closer to Formula One. Antonio Pizzonia and Ricardo Sperafico formed the team's 2001-02 line-up, but it has also run the likes of CART race-winner Bruno Junqueira - who won the FIA title in 2000 - in recent years.

Whilst the company's deals with WilliamsF1 and Jordan are understood to be safe, funding for the David Sears-run Petrobras Junior team is thought to be under fire following the introduction of new tax laws relating to overseas sponsorship. Petrobras has cited economic reasons exacerbated by the newly introduced taxation programme which, it believes, will have an adverse effect on its funding schemes.

2006 Mercedes Benz SLK55 AMG

That AMG, the high-performance wing at Mercedes-Benz, has a pretty good handle on engine tweaking—just look at its spring catalog. AMG offers up 14 models, each packing no fewer than eight cylinders and outputs ranging from 355 horsepower to a mind-boggling 604 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque.

And although we've rarely knocked an AMG vehicle for lack of straight-line juice, neither have we been known to heap praise on the entire package, as it's been our experience that these souped-up cars are sometimes overweight and underperforming on the skidpad and during back-road boogies. Now, lest you think we're making excuses for this new SLK55, AMG's least-powerful car, let us introduce a previously unused AMG performance trick: Mercedes' seven-speed automatic. The German automaker introduced this transmission for 2004, but until now the most powerful engine it was bolted to was the company's 302-hp, 5.0-liter V-8, so all AMG models had to rely on the five-speed automatic. So what are a couple more gear ratios going to do? Let us explain.

The previous-generation car, the SLK32 AMG, had a supercharged and intercooled 3.2-liter V-6 putting down 349 horsepower and 322 pound-feet of torque. The last one we tested ["Topless Toys," C/D, August 2001] weighed 3265 pounds, scampered to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, and crossed the quarter-mile in 13.0 seconds at 110 mph. Now, the SLK55's 24-valve, 5.4-liter naturally aspirated

V-8 cranks out just six more horsepower—but an additional 54 pound-feet of torque. Still, the new car's weight is up 190 pounds to 3455, so the power-to-weight ratio has worsened slightly.