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Jurassic Park made a big impact on these Jeep drivers

For a certain cohort of young folks, Jurassic Park is a touchstone film from their childhood. Not only did it play into practically every little boy's love of dinosaurs, the movie included some great action scenes and special effects that still hold up today. In its latest video, The Aficionauto takes a look the Jurassic Park Motor Pool, a California car club with over 40 fans who created replica vehicles from the iconic film.
The club is made up of an interesting cross-section of people. Many of them were Jeep Wrangler fans that already loved off-roading and Jurassic Park, and liked the idea of bringing them together. Like any close-knit club, it ends up being about community and people coming together to share their interests. It's quite a heartwarming video. Also, be sure to stay until the end because The Aficionauto teases a future Jurassic Park-themed vehicle. Scroll down to check out the motor pool.

Watch how Ken Block spent his weekend in Barbados

Regardless of what you think of his skill as a racer, Ken Block is an expert showman. At this point, he has a career of showing up around the world to do vehicular stunts, and he's still able to go racing as well. It's a pretty sweet niche to carve out. Recently, Block was in Barbados to participate in Top Gear Live and the first event of the Global Rallycross Championship season, and Ford Racing produced a short video to show off his exploits.
It looked like a great show. Block got to race Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes-Benz Formula One car and had a very weird crash during a Rallycross race that put his Ford Fiesta on its roof. Top Gear also released an extended look at Block and Hamilton's spectacle with the two of them expertly sliding around. Scroll down to watch the videos and get a taste of Block's tropical racing adventure.

Performance cars driving sales gains

We're living in a fantastic time for performance cars. For drivers, there are a bevy of exciting models either already here or on the way that cater to different demographics within the niche, like the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata, Ford Shelby Mustang GT350 and Dodge's Hellcat-powered products. While trucks and crossovers still offer a booming market at the moment, sporty vehicles are another way for automakers to make some cash, too. According to Ford Performance director Dave Pericak speaking to Automotive News, "Performance vehicle sales around the world continue to grow – with sales up 70 percent in the United States and 14 percent in Europe since 2009." Automakers love this popularity because the sporty models create a perfect storm to make big money on each sale. One reason for the strong margins is that performance vehicles are generally based on existing models or platforms. That keeps development costs lower and allows for a focus on tech like turbocharging or light-weighting to subsidize investments for future products. When it comes time to arrive in the showroom, automakers can load them with equipment, according to Automotive News. With transaction prices already growing thanks to longer loans, buyers have been willing to pay more as of late, as well. The customers in the segment also tend to be younger and more affluent. For example, 30 percent of customers for Ford's ST models have a household income over $100,000 and Millennials buy them twice as much as other products from the brand, according to Automotive News. Despite popular myths, young people still like to drive, which could mean possible return customers. The performance trend certainly isn't on the wane yet. In fact, vehicles like the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Focus RS and Fiat 124 Spider show more fun is on the way. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2014 Ford Fiesta ST View 47 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images Ford Car Buying Car Dealers Performance sales performance car