The compelling urge and basic philosophy behind customizing in the 50s was to produce something different. The owner of this 1956 Dodge Pickup decided his drab machine was a fertile field of ideas.

The basic identity of the pickup has been retained; then styling improvements were made. These consist of nosing the hood, adding twin side exhaust pipes, chroming the running boards, and creating a luxurious interior with high-class vinyl.

Partially for appearance sake and partially to lower the pickup for easy entry, the truck has been lowered front and rear by four inches.

In this case, the paint is the whole story.

The 1958 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop has been given six completely different sets of scallops in lime gold, orange gold, candy apple red and silver—plus flames!

The other modifications to the car can be thought of as stock customizing for the era.

They include installation of spotlights which, incidentally, also have been painted, and the more or less traditional side exhaust pipes on either side. The other restyled items are the taillights, which are ’56 Olds units.

Any way you look at it, you notice this machine.

One of the more spectacular convertibles of the 50s customizing era is this 1950 Olds mobile.

A low silhouette has been accomplished by chopping the top four inches, and other modifications put this custom in a class by itself. The grill is from a ‘54 Chevy, which “floats” in the molded oval. Headlights are frenched in, using Buick components. Taillights are a combination of Cadillac and ‘56 Chrysler parts. Scoops are cut into the hood, which has been reshaped and contoured at the front. Another decorative scoop has been added at the rear fenders, and these are highlighted by chrome horizontal bars.

The interior is done in maroon and white vinyl and custom maroon carpeting on the floor. Wine-colored lacquer completes the picture.

The first thing you notice about this 1953 Ford Victoria is the beautiful paint–pearlescent robin’s-egg blue. Then you begin to see all other modifications that make a car look so clean.

The grille shell is from a ‘58 Thunderbird, modified with chrome tubing at the center. The hood has been nosed.

Original chrome fixturs have been removed (the doors now operate electrically), but the teardrop spots add some sparkle. They’ve been given a two-tone blue paint treatment. Additional glitter is provided by the chrome reverse wheels.

The trunk has been decked, and the custom taillight lenses have been tunneled.

Inside, the upholstery is blue and white vinyl, rolled and pleated.

So it’s a new year for all of us Kustomaniacs! And maybe you’ve been thinking of nailing an upgrade or two for your car just to start the year right. A new set of wheels, a more powerful engine, a kickass paint job. Nothing wrong with that.

Hmmm, how about a black cross buckle or red dice for that matter? Or perhaps an iron cross leather wallet complete with a celtic cross wallet chain? Of course, it seems unfit to primp your ride with these. These items are actually for you! You may transform your car this year into a head-turner so why not complement it with a badass-attitude driver?

Check this out for more vintage-, pin up-, low brow-, rockabilly-, and tattoo-inspired finds that represent the very threads that hold Kustom Kulture together: HERE.

The Volvo XC60 is compact crossover at its finest.

This oeuvre-on-wheels may be sharing a niche currently dominated by impressive entries from big guns like BMW (BMW X3), Land Rover (Land Rover LR2), Acura (Acura RDX), and Infiniti (EX35), but, being a flagship product of the Swedish company’s thrust to enhance the design DNA of its cars and being billed as the “safest Volvo ever,” it can surely outshine its earlier counterparts.

According to Volvo, the car is packed with “more emotive form and more energy” compared to all the other cars it has manufactured through the years. Volvo Cars Design Director Steve Mattin further claimed that “if you say that you’d recognize a Volvo from a hundred meters away today, I dare say the XC60 radiates a clear Volvo presence from at least twice that distance.”

But there is something more interesting than the luster—the XC60 is available in metallic finishes: electric silver, black sapphire, barents blue, maple red, to name some—catching the eyes of people from this “double-distance” Mattin is talking about. The XC60 is offered with drivers having a say on what engine will run their XC60s: it can either be the turbocharged T6, which produces 285 horsepower, or two variants of the D5 turbodiesel—for Europe—yielding 185 and 163 horsepower respectively. All Wheel Drive (AWD) is fitted as standard.

The XC60 also features a revolutionary braking technology called “City Safety,” which enables the car to automatically brake whenever the car is about to drive into something—a wall, another car—and the driver is not able to respond. This is done via built-in cameras and sensors that can detect imminent impacts.

“We are the first manufacturer in the world to offer this type of feature as standard. City Safety clearly advertises that the new XC60 is the safest car Volvo has ever produced,” Volvo CEO Fredrik Arp said. “The car is packed with our accumulated safety know-how and technology, both when it comes to preventing accidents and protecting all the occupants in a collision.”

Aside from these special attributes, the XC60 does not leave out other staples of a dream comfort car. It has standard Bluetooth connectivity, HD Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio, USB and auxiliary inputs for audio players, power front seats, roof rails, and even a large moonroof.

As seen in the 2010 Toyota Tundra video, this new truck from industry leader Toyota defies limits that usually leave its counterparts crashing and burning. The Toyota Tundra surpasses physical strain even when “the heat’s on”—in the Mojave Desert, no less—since it was designed with engineers seemingly adhering to one bold directive: “Failure ain’t an option.” Here, watch the Toyota Tundra commercial for one scorching experience!

For customization whiz Beau Boeckmann, the trick isn’t about setting one’s vision faraway in the future nor is it about whipping up creations based on popular, up-to-date inspirations. Actually, for him, it’s exactly the opposite: going back to the roots and creating a niche in grounds airier and less explored.

Scythe, a customized GT Convertible 2008 Ford Mustang from the Galpin Auto Sports (GAS), gives us a peek on things to come for car customization. “With Scythe, we set out to showcase all of our unique fabrication abilities,” GAS President Beau Boeckmann said.

And this twist—which entails eponymously changing the spelling of a term that once revolutionized the autosphere and tinkering with motorist eye-candies like the 2008 GT Convertible Ford Mustang—paid off, particularly substantiated when Galpin Auto Sports, Boeckmann’s California-based shop, gained prominence courtesy of two seasons worth of exposure in MTV’s Pimp My Ride.

One of Boeckmann’s more famous creations is a tricked-out GT Convertible Mustang dubbed as Scythe. With its edgy structure and sleek finish, this 1960s-inspired purple wonder-on-wheels, which he considers a Kustom Kar, not a custom car, shockingly resembles the Batmobile. It serves as a solid testimony to Boeckmann’s brilliant penchant for finding inspiration in the likes of George Barris, designer of Bruce Wayne’s most famous vehicle, rather than those road-ragers featured in movies billed under the banner of The Fast and the Furious.

The “Galpinized” GT Convertible Mustang may not look as if it’s a Mustang since, as a blogger puts it, Boeckmann’s team “went completely nuts on it.” It boasts of a hand-made composite body, voice control (a talking onboard computer), and, props to drive-by-wire technology, dual retractable steering wheels. Scythe is powered by a twin-supercharged 1,005 horsepower engine.

The super-enhanced 2008 Ford Mustang GT Convertible is just one of Boeckmann’s many Kustom Kars. With a genius like him continuously shaping the face of Kustom Kulture, auto aficionados and the rest of the industry are given a treat to an avant-garde presentation of cars that isn’t just a result of an urge to be pompous and loud but is also deeply rooted on a principle that should always be considered when customizing a car: functionality.

Presenting the new Porsche 911 Turbo, which, as it is tagged, “is faster, lighter, more powerful and sharper than ever.”

The latest avatar of the 2010 Porsche may lack modifications for its exterior, having only its headlight surrounds, foglights, and wheel designs upgraded, but, with significant tweaks made under the sheet metal, compensates well with performance.

A blown version of the direct-injection 3.8-liter flat six engine from the Carrera S. is jammed in its hood in place of the twin-turbo 3.6-liter engine the car has been known to use. With this enhanced engine promising an output of 500 horsepower, the 2010 911 Turbo is now officially the fastest accelerating AWD production Porsche in history!

There are more new wonders in this car, actually. Click here for more.

…Put a record on, I wanna dance with my baby. And so goes that catchy Madonna song.

Now, with the Clarion CZ209E, Mr. DJ isn’t the only one to put a record on. Say hello to Mr. Driver putting records on—and on, and on, and on…

The Clarion CZ209E is the latest advancement in in-car audio system technology. It features direct iPod compatibility and other alternative media players that connect via USB (MP3, WAV playbacks, etc.). Also, it includes a CD slot and makes use of an RDS-EON tuner with 18 FM, 6MW/LW station presets. It’s practically non-stop music playing in your car while you…wait for it…make or receive calls.

Oh yeah, you got that right! Make or receive calls, as the Clarion CZ209E, too, operates with a BLT373 Bluetooth transceiver.

Other features of the Clarion CZ209E are as follows:

- 4 x 50 watts output

- Z-Enhancer and Magna BASS EX sound enhancement

- 4-channel audio pre-outs