The 6th Annual Texas Showdown is next weekend, June 14 and 15, at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas. There will be a tug-o-war, burn out contest, truck, car and motorcycle show, hopping contest, motorcycle stunt show, live music, chugging contest, audio sound-off contest, hot dog eating contest and more. The gates open at 10:00 AM and the show ends at 5:30 PM. Adult admission is $15.00 for the 2-Day pass and $10.00 for the 1-Day pass. Children 10 and under are free. For more information check out the Teas Showdown website at www.texasshowdown.com.
Hummer, the world's most iconic boy's toy, has converted the new right-hand drive H3 into the ultimate gadget for grown ups - a life sized remote controlled car that definitely won't be available in your local toyshop. The hardy on/off road vehicle has been converted to make life a little less dull those lucky enough to have a play, will experience the unrivalled agility and off-road capability of the new H3 from the palm of their hand.
What are you doing this Sunday, May 6th? If you're in SoCal, you better be in Irvine, at the biggest, baddest truck show on the west coast! The Spring California Truck Jamboree kicks off the 2007 show season in a big way, with the west coast's finest trucks and SUVs representin'. This is no sleeper show, either. For starters, there's the burnout contest, the monster truck car crush courtesy of Shocker, an air hop contest featuring about a half a dozen trucks, and live music by Limelife.
Sure, it's not even 2007, and granted winter just began, but it's never too early to start thinking about the next big shows of 2007. As a proud sponsor of the Truck Jamboree shows, we're happy to start hyping this show as early as possible. So mark your calendars for Sunday May 6th, 2007. This is the 20th year of Truck Jam, so you can bet there are going to be some big things. Thanks to our pal Pierre, here's some of the official information about the show...
It has long been speculated that Ford will abandon the compact truck segment in the near future. It's no big surprise, really - the Ranger has fallen far behind its competitors, all of which have had recent, sweeping updates. While the new segment leader, Toyota's Tacoma, has had significant upgrades in power, size, and refinement, today's Ranger is still virtually the same truck that came out for the 1998 model year. Sales are down by two-thirds since 2000, a time when the Ranger was still #1 in its class.
– JW
This past Saturday at the Long Beach Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, California, was the first show of its kind. An all day show that started in the morning and ended late at night. While the usual events were there, such as the air hop and burnout contest, "California Jamboree After Dark" featured the first ever rail dragging contest after the sun went down. We were there all day long, and while the video is still in the works, we couldn't wait to put up the photos. We captured over 350 shots of this event from morning 'til night. The rail dragging contest was the highlight of the day, as I'm sure anyone there can agree! We hope they bring it back next year!
What takes place this Saturday, involves sparks, massive burnouts and jumping trucks? It's the California Jamboree After Dark show and cruise in Long Beach, California. As if hosting two major SoCal truck shows this past year wasn't enough (Spring TruckJam and Summer TruckJam), show promoter Pierre Hoffmann has added a third this year. And this show is a brand new concept, generating a lot of buzz all over Southern California.
As summer winds down and we head into the off-season, many of us take our show vehicles and strip them back down to create something new and exciting for the next season. Hold off on that for at least another two weeks, though. Some big shows are still going on. Tomorrow is the 7th Annual Cruisin' For A Cure show at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California. Truckblog will be there to cover it all.
Then, next weekend (September 30th) is a new show put on by the guys who run the famous SoCal Truckjam shows. Their latest creation, called California Jamboree After Dark is a full day show in Long Beach that extends into the night for a different type of truck show. They will have the usual events, as well as events catering to the evening, such as a rail drag contest. Truckblog is a proud sponsor of this show and we'll be there to bring you the most comprehensive coverage -- photos and videos!
If you've been following along over the past few weeks, Truckblog was all over the 2006 Spring Truck Jamboree in SoCal, as proven by the multitude of photos and videos posted. With the most recent video posted late last night (thanks again, Jason!), our coverage of this huge show is now complete. Let's review:
We first brought you the discovery of the world's first single molecule truck back in October. Since then the chemists at Rice University have been quite busy and have now produced the first motorized version of their tiny nanocar. According to Rice, "The motorized model of the nanocar is powered by light. Its rotating motor, a molecular framework was modified so that it would attach in-line with the nanocar's chassis. When light strikes the motor, it rotates in one direction, pushing the car along like a paddlewheel."
To call this the world's smallest truck is an understatement. Scientists at Rice University have created three and six wheel "nanocars", including a "nanotruck" that can actually carry other molecules (including your pet nanodog). According to Rice University, when an electrical field is created and gold foil is heated to 200 degrees Celsius the nanovehicles roll forward. Maybe Ford can license this technology for a future Focus?
It has long been speculated that Ford will abandon the compact truck segment in the near future. It's no big surprise, really - the Ranger has fallen far behind its competitors, all of which have had recent, sweeping updates. While the new segment leader, Toyota's Tacoma, has had significant upgrades in power, size, and refinement, today's Ranger is still virtually the same truck that came out for the 1998 model year. Sales are down by two-thirds since 2000, a time when the Ranger was still #1 in its class.
As summer winds down and we head into the off-season, many of us take our show vehicles and strip them back down to create something new and exciting for the next season. Hold off on that for at least another two weeks, though. Some big shows are still going on. Tomorrow is the 7th Annual 
If you've been following along over the past few weeks, Truckblog was all over the 2006 Spring Truck Jamboree in SoCal, as proven by the multitude of photos and videos posted. With the 
