For the second installment of Ford's "The '10 Unleashed" contest, the Mustang is going to the drag strip. Last time, Ford gave a blind man the opportunity to drive, and this time around, a kid fresh out of high school is going up against one of his teachers in the quarter-mile. Derek Murrell just graduated from Lake Mary High School north of Orlando, Florida, a school where his auto shop teacher Bill Rosenblum apparently loved to share his drag racing exploits with his students.

Being a typical teenager, Murrell wanted to show up his elders and compete with Rosenbleum at the track. Since Ford is heavily promoting the 2010 Mustang in motorsports, the automaker decided to give him the chance to win a new Mustang GT. Of course, to to do that Murrell would have to do more than write a contest entry – he'd have to outrun a more experienced racer.

The teenage would-be racer had his first competitive run during the National Mustang Racing Association meet at Michigan's Milan Dragway. Luckily for us, the NMRA event took place concurrent with last week's Ford Racing Invitational, and we got to spend a few minutes chatting with Murrell. Check out the video of our interview with him after the jump.



Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

If you've ever seen Chip Foose at work, it's hard not to admire the guy. He's got more natural talent in his pinky finger than most of us car guys can dream of, and each of the vehicles he builds ends up being a work of art. He recently got his hands on a brand new 2010 Ford Mustang GT, which was Foosified on an episode of Spike TV's MuscleCar.

The best part? You can enter to win the car on PowerBlockTV.com. This customized pony car features an Edelbrock supercharger system, Roush body kit, Magnaflow exhaust, Foose wheels and Pirelli tires, Baer brakes, Eibach springs, Bilstein shocks, and a unique paint scheme designed by Foose himself. You can submit an entry to win once a week until October 12, so get going!



[Source: PowerBlockTV.com via The Mustang Source]

We don't normally have caption contests around here, but when loyal tipster Dominic sent us some photos of this curious sighting, we couldn't resist poking a bit of fun. Not only is it a bit odd to find an Opel Corsa diesel left to rust up on a scissor jack in suburban Detroit, it's even stranger when the car is owned by the manufacturer (check out the license plate).

Got a better one? Drop us a line in 'Comments.' Oh, and the prize? It's in the mail. Thanks for the shots, Dominic!

Less than one month from now, the 2009 World Car of the Year Award winner will be announced at the New York Auto Show. The international jury panel (chosen by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of experience, expertise, credibility and influence) has whittled down the original list of eligible entries to just three in each category (in alphabetical order):

2009 World Car Finalists

• Ford Fiesta
• Toyota iQ
• Volkswagen Golf VI

2009 World Performance Car Finalists

• Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
• Nissan GT-R
• Porsche 911 Carrera

2009 World Green Car Finalists

• Honda FCX Clarity
• Mitsubishi iMiEV
• Toyota iQ

This year, the committee has appointed three "green experts" to assist in the selection of the World Green Car finalists. Our own Sam Abuelsamid (from Autoblog and AutoblogGreen) was the sole representative from North America! Check out the full press release after the jump.

[Source: World Car of the Year]

Joining the ranks of Carroll Shelby, Rick Wagoner, Henry Ford II, Robert Eaton, Lee Iacocca and John DeLorean (to name just a few), James O'Sullivan will receive the 2009 Automotive Executive of the Year Award at an invitation-only luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) in May. O'Sullivan is the current President and CEO of Mazda North American Operations, and Managing Executive Officer, Mazda Motor Corporation.

The award, started in 1964, recognizes excellence in automotive leadership from OEM executives as chosen by a nominating committee comprised of industry media, analysts, and suppliers. O'Sullivan has more than three decades of experience in the industry, and he held many key positions with Ford before heading Mazda. Robert Djurovic, executive director of the Automotive Executive of the Year award program said, "As a native Detroiter with a strong background in the actual sales process, coupled with a lean inventory, a solid partnership with JP Morgan Chase, and a great market offering in the Mazda3, James is the ideal candidate for the 2009 Automotive Executive of the Year."

[Source: Mazda]

The first time I ever walked into a casino, there was a BMW Z3 sitting on a turntable atop a bank of slot machines. All I needed were three red sevens and I could drive it right out of the Rio in Las Vegas. I played those slots exclusively because the prospect of a free BMW was too great to pass up, and as you probably guessed, I didn't win. Cars are a great draw on the casino floor, and the Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek, FL has quite the unique roadster to draw in gamblers.

The car in question is a YES! Roadster Turbo S, which is apparently the only model of its kind on US shores. The 415 horsepower, turbocharged ragtop, which is valued at over $100,000, is guaranteed to be drawn on January 29. The Turbo S weighs in at just over 2,000 pounds, with an aluminum space frame and a rear mounted 3.2L V6 driving the rear wheels. The German automaker claims 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and a 200 mph top speed. Does that make it worth the gamble for the chance to win? That's up to you, but we'd probably give it a spin given the chance. Hat tip to reader Mattro.


[Source: Seminole Casino]

The 2008 Autoblog Holiday Sweepstakes has concluded with Autoblog reader Nam randomly chosen as the winner of our Day 7 sweeps. Nam will receive a DashDAQ Series II valued at $549. If you're him or her, please check your email to verify your eligibility and claim your prize. Thanks to everyone who participated by entering our seven days of sweepstakes, and a very special thanks goes to Motorbooks, Automoblox, Spirit Level Films, CarMD, Rob Ijbema, TomTom and DashDAQ for treating our readers to some exceptional stocking stuffers this holiday season. Same time, same place next year.

We've reached the final prize of our week's worth of 2008 Autoblog Holiday Sweepstakes, and we think we've saved the best for last. The prize for Day 7 is a DashDAQ Series II valued at $549. If you're unfamiliar with DashDAQ and what this little box can do, let us enlighten you. The DashDAQ is an open-source, Linux-based computer for you car. Plug it into your OBD-II diagnostic port and the DashDAQ can display your car's vitals on its 4-inch color touchscreen in five ways: analog gauges, digital gauges, slider bars, graphs or a simulated dashboard. It can diagnose trouble codes; display your fuel economy in real time; record performance data like 0-60, braking and top speed; be a lap timer; measure horsepower and torque (taking a breath)... well, you get the point. There's not much this little box can't do, including playing all forms of media like movies and music. You can even add a GPS Navigation Bundle to turn the DashDAQ into exactly what it looks like, a portable navigation system. We've extended the entry period for this sweepstakes to noon EST on Friday, December 26th, so read below for instructions on how to enter to win this powerful in-car computer.

HOW TO ENTER:

• Leave a single comment on this post (if you leave two or more, all of your comments will be disqualified)
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
  
• Limit 1 entry per person during entry period
  
• This entry period begins 4:00 PM EST on Tuesday, December 23rd and ends at 12:00pm EST on Friday, December 26th. We'll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive a DashDAQ Series II (ARV: $549). Please check your e-mail!
  
• For a list of complete rules, click here.
  

Congratulations to Carry who is the winner of the 2008 Autoblog Holiday Sweepstakes - Day 6! If you're Carry, please check your email and verify your eligibility. If you're not, comment on this post for your chance to win a DashDAQ Series II!

We suspect that one of the most popular gift this holiday season will be portable navigation systems. Their prices are plummeting and every day new features are being added to these magical maps-in-a-box. TomTom is arguably one of the biggest and best manufacturers of portable nav systems, so we're proud to be giving away a TomTom XL330·S on Day 6 of the 2008 Autoblog Holiday Sweepstakes.

The XL330·S features a 4.3-inch widescreen for easy viewing, an EasyPort mount that folds into the back of the unit, TomTom's Map Share technology that allows you to edit your own maps and incorporate the edits of other users and it's RDS-TMC traffic ready. Of course, TomTom has a full line of portable nav systems that range in price from $99.95 to $449.95, which is still about 1/4 the cost of an OEM nav system. Read below on how to enter to win your own TomTom XL330·S.

HOW TO ENTER:

• Leave a single comment on this post (if you leave two or more, all of your comments will be disqualified)
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
  
• Limit 1 entry per person during entry period
  
• This entry period begins 1:30 PM EST on Monday, December 22nd and ends at 12:00pm EST on Tuesday, December 23rd. We'll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive a TomTom XL330·S navigation system (ARV: $199.95). Please check your e-mail!
  
• For a list of complete rules, click here

Click here to view official rules and come back Monday around 12:30 PM EST to see what else we're giving away. Happy Holidays from your friendly neighborhood Autoblog!

Congratulations to hunterharleyinc who is the winner of the 2008 Autoblog Holiday Sweepstakes - Day 5! If you're hunterharleyinc please check your email and verify your eligibility. If you're not, comment on this post for your chance to win a TomTom XL330·S navigation system!

The New Bus for London competition has come to an end. Two proposals were chosen from the large group of entrants by a series of judges, and the winners have just been announced by London Mayor Boris Johnson. The Freight*Bus concept we took a look is nowhere to be found, but that's just fine. The two winners are excellent, and one of them comes from a familiar but unexpected source: Aston Martin. The mind reels with the infinite possibilities of an Aston Martin-designed London double-decker bus. With an all-glass roof complete with solar panels, the enviro-cred is present and accounted for, and the wooden floors and hop-on, hop-off accessibility add flair and practicality in equal doses.

The other winner comes via Capoco Design from Salisbury, UK. It's a more traditional design that keeps many of the old Routemaster's best bits but adds an eco-friendly drivetrain package. Both designs will now be submitted to bus manufacturers for review.

[Source: Transport for London]