The auto accessories market is experiencing explosive growth thanks to the ever increasing number of new vehicle models being marketed all across North America. For more than fifty years consumers have been the chief benefactors of this unrelenting growth and the selection for you has never been better. Let’s take a look at some of the many automobile accessories available to auto enthusiasts like you and how you can get your hands on what you want!

By definition, automobile accessories are those items [including parts] that do not come with your vehicle. Yes, in some cases you can purchase a fully accessorized vehicle, but for the sake of clarity I am defining auto accessories as aftermarket purchases only.

Depending on the type of vehicle you drive, the accessories available for it will vary. The more popular the model, the more likely that someone, somewhere is making custom fitted accessories for it. Indeed, America’s most popular vehicle – Ford’s full size pick up trucks – have more than 500 different types of accessories made especially for that truck. These accessories come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors and ultimately number in the many thousands of different items when calculated separately.

» Read more: 500 Auto Accessories!

Mustang is a muscle car in it is own class. It just command respect without making a sound. Mickey Thomson shows us what you can do with a classic cars, given talent and persistence. The engine in 1967 when the 390 and was the best engine Ford could come up with. Inside, restyled all new flight deck for 1969 with a twin pod dashboard, high back bucket seats with knitted vinyl, an optional fold down rear seat, a sporty clock and rich, molded door panels. It had a super slippery roof line, streamlined front end with twin set headlamps and on top.

Optional shaker hood scoop others would copy ad and in the years ahead it coined the shaker first. This was designed to familiarize us with history in an age when modifying a vintage Pony has become fashionable again. This was not built for personal expression, but to share a time in history we will likely never see again. When you stop and think about the Ford Cobra Jet Mach 1, high performance is one of the first things that comes to mind.

That is a wide selection, where you could be tailor made to suit your needs and whims. When you are out on a Saturday night around Sacramento, California, you better be wary of any black Sports Roof Mustang you roll up next to, because those little numbers on the hood scoop are hard to read. I answered multiple ads and looked at cars all over the country. The engine, a woolly 428 Cobra Jet, is the biggest thing Ford shoehorned for ’68 ½ -’70, outside of the 429 Boss.

» Read more: Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet Mach 1

There are many different cars that you can buy. These cars all however share the same trait. This trait is the factory original look. In other words if you are looking to have a unique looking car you will need to customize the body of the car itself. This can be done via the use of car body kits. These body kits that you look at have a price range that is dependent of the various items you choose.

For instance you will find different types of Lambo wing doors which can be installed on your regular car. Now you are probably wondering what on earth Lambo wing doors are. To understand the meaning of these doors all that you need to do is to remember the doors that are used on Lamborghini cars.

These doors don’t open outwards. Instead they open skywards giving the car an exotic look. This exotic look can also be achieved with the use of Lambo wing doors for a fraction of the cost. This is just one of the car body kits that will change the way your ordinary vehicle looks.

» Read more: Car Body Kits

We have discovered that good cold, dense air increased the volumetric efficiency of the combustion chamber in an engine. Turbo kits, air intakes, superchargers, bigger injectors, and nitrous oxide are all ways of sweetening the air fuel mixture in the combustion chambers, but there is another form of boost that is often overlooked.

Ram Air Kits can get you cooler, high velocity air into the intake increasing horsepower. These kits usually use a hood scoop to channel air into an air “funnel” that tunnels the air into a 2-3 inch pipe connected to the intake. These ram air kits essentially give you increasing amounts of “boost” as the vehicle speed increases. They do not give any additional boost at idle, because ram air kits use the force of the outside air to push air into the intake, but at highway speeds, they can perform very well with 70mph of wind velocity reaching the intake!

These ram air kits are fairly easy to install, and for the money can be a good upgrade. There are some ram air kits available that can attach to a cold air intake, giving you the added gains of the cold air intake coupled with the gains of the added boost at higher speeds. To install one of these, you would need to install an aftermarket hood with a scoop already in place. These are sometimes called induction style hoods, and are available in fiberglass and carbon fiber. Or you can fabricate your own by purchasing a hood scoop and cutting the hole in your existing hood, but I would recommend an induction hood designed for this type of application.

» Read more: Ram Air Kits and Cold Air Intakes

Pontiac’s second-generation ponycar was a little late for the party in 1970, but it was worth the wait! The 1970 Firebird was a completely new design from the ground up, not sharing any major suspension or body components with the previous model. The car was praised by the car magazines for its bold new styling, sports-car like handling, and excellent acceleration abilities when equipped with the right engine. It had been improved immensely over the first generation cars in almost every way.

The 1970 Pontiac Firebird rode on a 108″ wheelbase, the same as the new Camaro. It was only available as a two door coupe; the convertible had been dropped from the lineup, and would not return as a factory option until 24 years later. The 70 Firebird came with bucket seats, front disc brakes, and a front stabilizer bar. There were four trim levels available: the base Firebird, the Esprit, the Formula, and the Trans Am.

The base car came with a 250 CID inline six cylinder engine and a three-speed manual transmission, but a 255 horsepower Pontiac 350 V8 and an automatic transmission were available options. The Esprit came standard with the same 350 V8 and three speed manual transmission, and an optional automatic transmission was also available. It had stiffer spring rates than the base car. The 1970 Firebird Formula can be easily identified by the dual forward-facing hood scoops, and it came with a 330 horsepower Pontiac 400 V8 (NOW we’re talking!) and a three speed manual transmission. A four speed manual or an automatic transmission were available options. The Formula came with the same springs as the base car, but with heavier duty shocks, a larger diameter front stabilizer bar, and a rear stabilizer bar. It could also be special ordered with the same suspension as the Trans Am, and you could even get a Ram Air III (also called Ram Air HO) 335 HP 400 V8 in it.

» Read more: 1970 Pontiac Firebird – A New Beginning

As the horsepower race was in full swing Ford rolled out the first Mustang Mach 1 in 1969. Although the Mustang Mach 1 was only available with a V-8 engine it is surprising to note that really the Mach 1 package was about interior options too. The 351 2v was the lowest horsepower of the engines that were available all the way up to the ground pounding 428 Cobra Jet with the Shaker hood scoop option.

The cars that weren’t lucky enough to get shaker got a non functional fiberglass hood scoop with built in turn signals. The center of the hood and cowl also were low gloss black. All the hoods also had racing type hood pins with cables that looped down to the grill, right? Well not exactly, while the hood pins were standard equipment they were one of the few “delete” options. In other words if you didn’t want them on a special order you could request they be not included. So, if your judging a Mach 1 to be fake by the lack of hood pins, better check the door tag!

The Interior of the Mach 1 had a special package that included high back bucket seats with “Comfortweave” material. It is of note that for many years the “Comfortweave” was not available even in reproduction seat covers. Only in the past few years has a manufacturer come out with a material that MCA will accept as original type. Also, the bane of many restoration shops was the rim blow steering wheel. Even now the steering wheel itself is not being reproduced.

» Read more: The Mustang Mach 1

Another impressive redesign by Toyota this year was the new 2006 Toyota Tacoma. This truck has morphed from a small to a mid-size pickup truck. You are familiar with the Tacoma’s of the past. They are as reliable as the day is long, but how will the new truck compare?

I went shopping, and to be honest, I was checking out the Nissan Frontier, too. Its been redesigned and is about the same size as the new Tacoma. The Nissan has a rail system in the bed of the truck, but the Toyota has it on the deck edge up higher. I like it better as it seems as though it would make tying off items a lot easier. Also, in the bed, there are two neat lockable storage compartments nestled so they aren’t noticed. Pretty slick.

The new V6 has 236hp, which is no slouch in anyone’s book. The old V6 had about 190 hp I think. The standard 4-cylinder is 2.7 liters and rates 164 hp, which is more than most V6′s.

» Read more: 2006 Toyota Tacoma

The Plymouth paid for the rights to use the name Road Runner from the Warner Bros. Plymouth’s most important goal in manufacturing this carr was to run 13s at the racetrack and at the same time, to be able to market the car for under four thousand dollars.

Here are some important points to note about various Road Runner models:

1968 Model – the 383 was the typical engine in the 1968 and it could only be upgraded to the 426 HEMI. Since Plymouth estimated to sell only two thousand Road Runners, the options available were limited. However, they were able to sell around forty-five thousand of these models.

» Read more: How The RoadRunner Got Started

1965-1966
The first GTs were Shelby modified K-Code 289 cubic [4.7 liter] V8 Fastbacks that had their power increased from 271 HP up to 306 HP. Shelby ordered 252 units of 1965 Fastbacks for his conversion into 1966 Shelby GT350. The project itself began in August of 1964 and in September the first Shelby GT350s were born. The public unveil was done on January 27 of 1965. Shelby GT350 also featured Hooly carburetor, Cobra valve covers, special Cobra hi-rise intake manifold, 4-speed manual transmission, side exhaust pipes, Wimbledon white body color with 2 stripes and no back seats, because of SCCA’s requirements [2-door coupes only]. All in all, there were 562 Shelby GT350 street legal and 37 GT360R units built in 1965. The Shelby GT350R were built for races only.

The 1966 production had 2378 GT250s built where 4 of them were special order convertibles for Shelby himself. Some say, there were 6 of these convertibles, but on 4 correct VINs are discovered.

Shelby struck a deal with the Hertz Corporation in 1965 in order to build a special line of 1001 GT350H V8s for “rent a racer” program, which helped Shelby to expose Shelby Mustangs across the country.

» Read more: Mustang Shelby GT History: 1965-2011

The primary source of power for a BMW vehicle to function mainly comes from the interior parts. These auto parts are manufactured in a compartment at the front portion of the vehicle. Since these interior components are crucial for BMW vehicle’s operation, utmost protection must be given to these parts. Although most of these are made from tough materials, constant exposure to contaminants such as water and dirt could eventually weaken these vital parts. It is a good thing that the German automaker installs only the top-caliber BMW Hood for every vehicle it manufactures.

A BMW Hood is one of the most basic BMW parts. This tough auto part, which is a cover with hinges, is designed and manufactured as a protective gear for most of the interior motor components, such as the engine and the radiator. A concealed latch keeps the hood in place, which is widely used by most passenger cars, while the speed-hungry automobiles have the hood pins. Since the hood is placed over the motor-driven parts, special enhancements could also be installed on the hood. For better exhaust purposes, the power bulge or hood scoop, which houses air filters, can be installed on the BMW Hood. Moreover, wiper jets, where water that pumps detergent and water over the windshield come from, are also found on the hood.

No matter how tough the auto parts of a BMW vehicle has, the everyday wear and tear and the given shelf-life could eventually weaken these parts. Since the BMW Hood functions as a protective gear, it would likely endure impacts and could leave this exterior part with dents or worst, cracks. Once this auto part is damaged, a BMW Hood replacement part is readily available. The aftermarket hoods are usually crafted out of carbon fiber, dry carbon, or fiberglass, while the stock hoods, or those made by the automakers, are usually constructed from steel or aluminum.

» Read more: Protection For The Inner Auto Mechanisms