Wednesday, January 28, 2009

1940 Ford Convertible Hot Wheels 1:64 All Stars










From the back of the 2008 All Stars card:

Born: 1940

Birthplace: Dearborn, Michigan, USA

Designer: Ford Motor Company

Specialty: Slammed with fat tires in the back and smoothed out with no bumpers or handles, this hot-rodder favorite was made for cruising to the drive-in or showing off on the main drag.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

1969 Ferrari 356 GTB/4 Daytona 1:24











The Ferrari Daytona, officially designated the Ferrari 365 GTB/4, is a two-seat grand tourer by Ferrari from 1968 to 1973. It was introduced at the Paris Auto Salon in 1968 to replace the 275 GTB/4, and featured the 275's Colombo V12 bored out to 4,390 cc (4.4 L; 267.9 cu in). It was offered in berlinetta and spyder forms.

The Daytona was succeeded by the mid-engined 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer in 1973.

The unofficial Daytona name is reported to have been applied by the media rather than Ferrari and commemorates Ferrari's 1-2-3 finish in the February 1967 24 Hours of Daytona with a 330 P3/4, a 330 P4 and a 412 P. To this day, Ferrari itself only rarely refers to the 365 as the "Daytona", and refers to it as an "unofficial" name.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

1958 Chevrolet Impala 1:24 Motormax












The Chevrolet Impala (/ɪmˈpælə, -ˈpɑːlə/) is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 until 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better selling American-made automobiles in the United States.

For its debut in 1958, the Impala was distinguished from other models by its symmetrical triple taillights. The Chevrolet Caprice was introduced as a top-line Impala Sport Sedan for model year 1965, later becoming a separate series positioned above the Impala in 1966, which, in turn, remained above the Chevrolet Bel Air and the Chevrolet Biscayne. The Impala continued as Chevrolet's most popular full-size model through the mid-1980s. Between 1994 and 1996, the Impala was revised as a 5.7-liter V8–powered version of the Chevrolet Caprice Classic sedan.

In 2000, the Impala was re-introduced again as a mainstream front-wheel drive car. As of February 2014, the 2014 Impala ranked No. 1 among Affordable Large Cars in U.S. News & World Report's rankings. When the tenth generation of the Impala was introduced for the 2014 model year, the ninth generation was rebadged as the Impala Limited and sold only to fleet customers through 2016. During that time both versions were sold in the United States and Canada. The tenth-generation Impala was also sold in the Middle East, and South Korea.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

1936 Ford Deluxe Cabriolet Welly 1:24











Chevrolet regained the sales lead at the end of 1936, but the Ford still sold well. A new club cabriolet model was introduced with a fully framed windshield and weatherproof top, and the convertible sedan gained the popular integrated trunkback design.

The look was updated with an inverted pentagonal grille with all-vertical bars beneath a prominent hood and three horizontal chrome side strips (on DeLuxe models). The V8 DeLuxe was called Model 68. A concealed horn, long a prominent part of the Ford's design, also brought the car into modern times. The new trucks continued with the old grille. Other major changes for 1936 were the use of pressed steel "artillery" solid wheels instead of wire wheels.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

1996 Jaguar XK8 Maisto 1:18












The XK8 was launched in 1996 to replace the XJS designed by then Jaguar design director Geoff Lawson. It was available in two body styles - a three-door hatchback coupé and two-door convertible with both variations featuring 2+2 seating. The car was the first in the Jaguar line-up to use Jaguar's newly developed 32-valve V8 engine - the AJ-V8 which had a displacement of 4.0 litres.

The XK8 was joined by a more powerful XKR in 1998. The XKR featured a supercharged variation of the V8 engine rated at 276 kW (375 PS; 370 hp). The engine was shared with the XJR but featured a new intercooler and a two-piece driveshaft. The supercharger was manufactured by Eaton and displaced at 2.0 litres. It generated 11.9 pounds of boost pressure to contribute to the higher power output. Visual differences from the XK8 included a rear spoiler, mesh front grille and hood louvres on the bonnet for improved airflow to the engine.

The XK8 came standard with 17-inch alloy wheels, while 18-inch (standard on the XKR), 19-inch, and 20-inch wheels were available for the XK8 and XKR at an additional cost. Jaguar's Adaptive Cruise Control is an optional feature available on both models. Both models came with all-leather interior, burl walnut trim, and side airbags. Two interior configurations were offered, the sport configuration was aimed at young buyers and had a leather interior with cloth seats while the classic trim featured more amenities.

The XK range received a mechanical update in 2002 with the engines in both the XK8 and XKR models being enlarged to 4.2 litres and gaining more power, the front headlamps were also updated by the addition of a clear lens. Further changes included new exterior colours and wheels along with different badging. The models were revised again in spring 2004 and notable changes included new wheel designs, bigger front and rear spoilers and a redesigned grille.

Initially, the ZF 5HP24 five-speed automatic transmission was coupled to the conventionally aspirated 4.0-litre model and a Mercedes W5A580 five-speed transmission to the supercharged version, but in 2002 the new ZF 6HP26 six-speed automatic transmission was fitted in both versions of the 4.2-litre model.