It's one part sculptural, one part steampunk, and one part just wacky. This heavily patina'd Ford pickup is running antique brass spitoons for stacks, and... a stovepipe exhaust? Yep, 7-inch side-pipes, courtesy of Home Depot. With 454 big-block power on hand, this lightened up rig would have lots of go. But... would that body withstand it? See it for yourself on eBay.

Watch pro racer and Hollywood stuntman Mike Ryan hustle his twin-turbo 2,400-hp Freightliner race rig around Pikes Peak! He had it out at Colorado Springs for the 2012 running of the hill climb. Hit the jump to see the video, and check out Mike's Facebook page to stay up to date on upcoming appearances of Size Matters.

Today's pic comes from BangShift, who have over the weekend amassed several galleries of fantastic pics from Speed Week at Bonneville. Click here to browse their collected coverage!

Some people have really embraced the new CarDomain ride page template. Case in point: Gojeepxj and his wild '48 Willy's project. Check out his very detailed ride page documenting the build so far!

Someone sent me a link to this mysterious personal blog which seems to belong to a guy in New Zealand who's into drifting. There's a ton of pics there of vintage Japanese getting into all kinds of on-track hijinks, including this sweet Datsun pickup. Take a look: Beeoneoneoh.

Come on: with what people have to shell out for adoptions these days, you'd think a healthy newborn would rate more than a '99 Dodge Dakota, which Blue Books at a little under $4,000 in the condition this one was probably in. But it gets worse: after scoring the truck, the couple turned around and sold it for 800 bucks and some meth. Which means that, yes, some little baby is going to have to grow up with the knowledge that his parents sold him for 800 bucks and some meth. Really? The couple who received the baby are being charged with human trafficking, and the mom, who had her two previous kids taken away by social services in Florida, is still at large. If this isn't an argument for birth control in the water supply, I don't know what is! Hit the jump for the news video, via Autoblog.

I've written about how CAFE standards have almost killed the small pickup. It's a truly absurd situation. Tons of people need or want pickups who don't need a full size truck. Toyota has seen a 27% increase in Tacoma sales since Ford and GM stopped making small trucks. Well now Chrysler is looking at bringing back a small, unibody truck. I say bring it! Full article at Freep.com

I love me a good ol' COE. But some of the modernized pro touring versions of these trucks that've been showing up for sale recently are a little bizarre. Am I the only one who feels the sleeper box just doesn't fit with the rest of the truck? Maybe the guy should've got himself a nice Aistream camper to tow behind it instead. Check out the listing on eBay, which I don't think has a hope in hell of meeting its reserve today.

Americans like to claim we know a bit about rednecks, but zee Germans might have one up on us. I spent the day down at the Nürburgring Spring Course (a shortened version of the regular GP course) checking out the 2012 ADAC Truck Grand Prix. A quantum leap over schoolbus figure-8 racing, the Truck Grand Prix pits bobtailed racing versions of the Big Four (DAF, MAN, Mercedes, and Renault)truck makers' cabs head-to-head with assorted imports (hey, Peterbilt, that would be you) on a short road course. The paddock is filled with a trade fair devoted to long-haul drivers with tons of fun swag, driving simulators (have your commercial endorsement handy), and the LARGEST Mercedes display I have ever seen. The parking areas were covered with campers and tents, and the race was great bumpin', passin', and sootin' action. Tons of pics after the jump!

I really dig this slammed '51 Chevy truck that's on eBay right now, particularly with all the pics of the patina'd pickup against gritty backdrops that it almost seems to meld into. It's a shame that it probably won't find a new home, though: sellers always think these generically-built rat rods (Chevy 350 and a Mustang II front suspension? Come on) are worth way more than they are, and I bet the reserve is high. But do check out the listing for more cool pics!