Jalopnik: anti-hoon

Aussie Anti-Hoon Laws Taking Natural Course, Government Wallowing In Cash

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:40:00 EDT

Eventually, auto enthusiasts of the Australian persuasion will rise up with pitchforks and torches and rebel against their fun-hating government. On Sunday, police in New South Wales descended upon a gathering of motorheads and proceeded to search 72 vehicles, issue 39 tickets and impound 18 vehicle — one of which was a rare $200,000 Ford Falcon GT. This wouldn't be such a huge deal except for that part about the impounding being permanent, and the vehicles being sent to auction, and the proceeds going to government coffers. Adding insult to injury for that Falcon driver, what was the offense? A second burnout ticket.

Look, we have no issue with a government confiscating cars used in the utility of a felony, but when you make driving felonious and profitable for the government, abuse is inevitable. Confiscating private property under weak pretense doesn't sound like the protection of citizens, it seems like a business model. There's a fine line between policing and harassing, and we're not the lawyer types, but this stinks to high heaven. [TheNewspaper]

Look At The Bugs In My Beer

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:45:00 EST

Unlike the fail-hoons earlier, this clip shows aspiring degenerates everywhere how things are done. Not only does this gentleman confidently forego all safety equipment unlike our recommendations, he also does without a shirt and is Canadian. With a plan that is well laid out and a sarcastic cameraman documenting things, the joy of thoroughly stuffing a car is recorded. We can't believe that thing drove away.

Leap Day Celebration: A Special Day For Hoons

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:15:00 EST

Happy Leap Day everybody! You didn't think we could let this novelty of calendar and astronomical year synchronization pas without commemoration did you? Considering how convenient the name is to bringing you all manner of things that jump, we'll be following through with variations on the theme. Follow the tag for the rest of the day, and we'll finish things off with a special vote for Hoon of the Day. First up is a quick lesson on what not to do when leaping. If you're going to do it, do it big. This eight foot bunny hop is none too impressive. While these kids are wearing seatbelts, they don't anticipate the efficacy of the belts and thus look like amateurs hobbling around holding their ouchies afterwards. The final straw is multiple slow motion repeats of the same jump. While it is funny to watch synchronized pain, it's not a good way to get into our highlight reels.

Hello KITT: Aussie Cops Testing Super Police Cruiser

bwojdyla — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:15:00 EST

Here is where Shakespeare's timeless question gets stretched to it's limit; Does a rose by any other name smell just as sweet? Or adapted: Does KITT, recreated in part by Aussie coppers, bust just as many bad guys? The cool swooshy light show will be roofside instead of in the nose, but it does a lot of the stuff that got our collective 12 year old engines revved. How about starting with the solid base of a Holden Commodore VE, add realtime cameras that stream video back to base, voice recognition, automatic plate recognition, and get this - the ability to fire a GPS enabled tracking dart into a cars' backside. Now doubt hoons everywhere will respond with rotating number plates, hardened trunk lids impervious to darts, and lasers. Also, turbo boost. What? You mean life doesn't imitate art? [couriermail.com.au]