The first of hundreds of similar suits, the jury in Johnny Ray vs. Yamaha Motor Co. just found in favor of Yamaha, decided that it wasn't negligent in the death of 13-year old Forest Ray. Ray was killed over two years ago when his Yamaha Rhino rolled while driving off grass and onto pavement. Yamaha places prominent warnings on all its ATVS that they shouldn't be used on-road and Ray wasn't wearing his seatbelt or helmet at the time of the accident.

Ray's family argued the lack of rear differential gears on the Rhino would have prevented the rollover, but Yamaha countered by saying that the Rhino is only designed for off-road travel, where a rear differential is more of a safety "demerit." The Rhino is fitted with both seatbelts and a strong roll cage.

It's expected that this ruling in Texas will influence the outcome of similar litigation across the country. [via Southeast Texas Record]

These little Lambo-bodied ATVs are marketed to the more-money-than-brains crowd, but they sure do make us giggle. They were created by Liberty Walk of Japanese Lamborghini tuning fame to match a couple of the cars they had on display at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon. Little else is known about them, but we're sure they'll end up in some rap video sooner than later.

[via carzi]

I speak, of course, of Tanshanomi, whose depiction of his ATV of Calm Terror appeared in today's Question of the day. We'll let Tanshanomi take over here:

As a child of 5 or 6, I had a vivid dream in which a madman — driving what I can only describe as a giant, three-story-tall black ARGO or MAX 6-wheeled ATV topped with a flat deck and a white steamboat wheelhouse — was terrorizing my neighborhood. Well, sorta calmly terrorizing. He didn't crush anything, or kill anybody; he just kinda drove slowly down the middle of the street. But we were all really worried and scared anyway, because, hey, nobody shows up driving something like that unless they are a madman who's planning something really bad, right?
I ran to the back yard to hide and ducked into a shed I'd never noticed being there before. There was nothing inside except this big foot pedal sticking out of the ground. I didn't know what it did, but I somehow deduced that this might, perhaps be a secret lever that would make the big vehicle disappear. If I could make that thing disappear, I would save my family and be a hero. So, I decided to give it a shot and stomped on it with all my might. Unfortunately, as I did, my brain caused my leg to jerk (for real) and the twitch in my leg caused me to wake up. I've always felt a little cheated by that. After all, it was right at the climactic moment of the dream.
I've wondered ever since what that pedal in the ground really did.

We'll never see those happy little ATVs (or mystery control pedals) the same way again. Nice work, Tanshanomi!

KTM presents the first ATV models in the USA! Ready to Race on four wheels! KTM introduces the brand new ATV models 450 XC and 525 XC to the media. With the presentation of these new ATVs, KTM extends its range of products to include a completely new model family. And just like the two-wheeled KTMs, the brand philosophy "Ready to Race" was also firmly in the foreground when developing both the 450 XC and 525 XC ATVs. The world leader in the production of offroad motorcycles has invited the international media to Providence/USA to test these four-wheeled sport machines that represent pure objects of desire "made in Austria". Riding on a challenging course, the journalists at the launch can decide for themselves about the quality of these innovative and sophisticatedly constructed sport ATVs. And to suit this brand new area of business activity, both of the innovative new ATVs are driven by a powerful and extremely reliable KTM single-cylinder four-stroke engine. The stand-alone and extremely light-weight chassis, exclusive use of highest quality components and the typical, purist and fascinating KTM design has already transformed these new models into the most dependable sport ATVs of all time. And the rest of the world also has reason to celebrate: After the introduction of the new KTM model family on American soil, the all-terrain vehicles will be available via through the entire KTM sales distribution network from the summer of 2008.

Imagine blasting around New Zealand on an ATV powered by a rally-tuned Subaru STi engine. We got hip to this face-warping toy last year, but this is the first video we've seen of it in action. Apparently, Kiwis have this Race to the Sky thing, where all manner of radical four-wheelers blast up some middle-earth mountain or other — and this is likely born from such craziness. And ok, Subieheads, that really is one sweet-sounding engine. [Thanks to Jose for the tip.]

Related:
Subaru STi-powered ATV [internal]

Quadski ATV That Turns Into A Jetski [Gizmodo]

Related:
Holy Spielberg! First Leaked Set Pics From Transformers Live Action Movie! (Added Bonus: GM's Probably Gonna Build The Camaro!) [internal]

Is it a glorified ATV retrofitted for ministry-of-transportation approval, or a full-sized Volkswagen Beetle that's been swimming in an icy lake? Whatever it is, the City of London considers it a scooter, so it doesn't charge riders of the 340cc bone shaker for congestion, which makes it kind of a bargain for those unafraid of being undone by one if its larger roadway mates. It's not cheap, but it's French. For what that's worth.

First Drive: Unique QPod Open 0.3 2dr [Autocar]

Related:
Merlin Roadster for Sale on eBay [internal]