Mikuni - Vintage Carburetor Carb 35mm on 2040-parts.com

One Lap of the Web: Cool classic concepts, Rat Pack Cadillacs and even more Vin Diesel

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Petrolicious brings us an awesome VWvortex forum thread packed with prototype photos, design proposals and concept sketches of everything from the Iso Grifo to the 1994 Mustang.

NASCAR's sexy French past

In the post-Jean Girard era, your stereotypical NASCAR fan probably doesn't spend too much time thinking about France. Unless it's Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., or Jim France, or Brian France, or Amy France. Ok, so NASCAR fans might actually think about Frances fairly often, but probably not the French Republic.

Europe's Car of the Year 2011 shortlist announced

The 41 contenders for Europe's 2011 Car of the Year trophy have been whittled down to the final seven as the European CoTY shortlist is announced today. The winner will be voted for by 59 of Europe's most influential motoring journalists, including two CAR writers: editor Phil McNamara and European editor Georg Kacher. The 2010 winner - by just 10 points ahead of the Toyota iQ - was the Volkswagen Polo. Like the Eurovision Song Contest, Car of the Year has proved controversial in the past with accusations of block-voting and blind patriotism, yet the award remains one of the most prestigious in the motor industry.