Jalopnik: celebrity cars

Hilary Duff Just Like Us Little People, Gets Parking Ticket On Mercedes G-Wagen

Ray Wert — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Actress, musician and clothing designer Hilary Duff got a parking ticket last week, just like the little people. Not like the little people however, is that she got it on her $100,000-plus Mercedes G-Class. [CelebrityCarsBlog]

T-Pain Brings The Heat With Bright Orange Hearse

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:30:00 EDT

Hip-hop singer T-Pain has auto-tuned his way into our hearts with a custom Caddy cadaver carrier. His hearse is fitted with chrome rims, fiberglass coffin holding speakers and TVs, and is candy-coated in bright orange with blue vinyl top. [CelebrityCarz]

This Is Exactly Why People Think Michael Phelps Is A Schmuck

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:30:00 EDT

Michael Phelps, the multi-gold-medal-winning Olympian, is really pushing his luck. It now appears he'll pose in front of any car that's either black or blinged-out. Preferably both.

[CelebrityCarBlogs]

Michael Phelps Has Another Black Car, Stupid Hat

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EDT

Joining his custom black Mercedes SL63 is Michael Phelps' custom BMW 7-Series. We guess he needs the extra space for when he goes shopping for stupid hats and "hard" poses with his hangers-on.

[Celebrity's Car Blog]

Update: Apparently, this is his old BMW 7-series.

Usain Bolt And Asafa Powell Set To Race, Die In Cars This Weekend

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EDT

Usain Bolt, will race his new Nissan GT-R (a replacement for his flipped BMW M3) against track star Asafa Powell in a Mercedes Black Series CLK C63 AMG this weekend in Jamaica. Gentlemen, start your obituaries.

The race is supposed to be "gentlemanly" so were not sure if a jealous Powell is going to put Usain into the wall, but we'd pay to see that. Given Bolt's ability to flip his powerful cars, we're guessing the 485 HP GT-R isn't long for this world. (Hat tip to Paul!)

Photo Credit: GT-RForum User Chiphomme, Jamaica Star

John Mayer's Gulf Oil Ford GT Is A Wonderland

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EDT

We're not John Mayer fans, but he must be doing something right if he buys not only a Ford GT, but a Gulf Oil Ford GT. Did he pick this up after dropping Minka Kelly? [CelebrityCarsBlog]

David Beckham Murders-Out His Porsche Turbo

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EDT

It turns out Michael Phelps was actually copying David Beckham's back-in-black madness, who also went with the "classy" inclusion of his number on the headrests. But wait, now he's wrapped the 911 in matte black. Below, the full dull blackness.

[CelebrityCarsBlog, X17online]

Michael Phelps' Soon-To-Be-Stolen Custom Mercedes

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EDT

Full-time swimmer and occasional drug user Michael Phelps will now look like a drug dealer driving around Baltimore in his murdered-out Mercedes SL63 AMG. The contrast between the black Mercedes and gold medals is nice. The hat? Not so much.

[Celebrity Carz via Celebrity Car Blogs[

Twelve Ridiculous Celebrity Car Poses

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Celebrities have access to some of the world's greatest cars. With some help from our readers we've found these twelve horrifying instances of them abusing, perverting and ignoring this privilege.

Celebrity: David Hasselhoff and Gary Coleman
Car: K.I.T.T.
Why So Embarrassing: It's the creepy thumbs up that makes this picture awesome to everyone not in it.
Suggested By: F1Morgan, Scandanavian Flick

Celebrity: 50 Cent
Car: Pontiac G8 GXP
Why So Embarrassing: Though we love the car, it doesn't particularly do it any good to get tarted up by 50 Cent on what seems to be the down-slope of his career. We bet Kanye could have sold more G8s.
Suggested By: BuickBoy92

Celebrity: Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, John Travolta, William H. Macy
Car: Harley Davidson Bikes
Why So Embarrassing: The four of them look like a gay biker gang, but not in the good way. We do give them props for their realistic portrayal of the typical lame Harley owner in this shot from the film Wild Hogs.
Suggested By: Golferal

Celebrity: Michael Johnson
Car: C4 Corvette
Why So Embarrassing: Oh so 1990s. You may be fast, but you'll never outrun this Glamour Shot.
Photo Credit: Mike Powell /Allsport

Celebrity: Mila Kunis
Car: Lexus SC430
Why So Embarrassing: We're not big fans of the Lexus SC430, but it's not particularly embarrassing. Parking it in a handicapped spot to grab a coffee is.

Celebrity: Michael Phelps
Car: Mazda6/Atenza
Why So Embarrassing: Immediately following his pot bust/gold medal marathon Phelps was tasked with pushing the Mazda brand in China. We'd probably start using drugs as well.

Celebrity: Andre Agassi
Car: Vector W8
Why So Embarrassing: Posing near a Vector W8 is only cool in a semi-ironic sort of way. In this case, Agassi is trying to show off all he has: big hair, awkward car, soon-to-be-ex girlfriend.

Photo Credit: John Russell/Getty Images

Celebrity: Danica Patrick
Car: Chevrolet Bel Air
Why So Embarrassing: Danica Patrick is talented, but she also understands the connection between her sex appeal and her ability to get sponsors. Unfortunately, this photo is just awkward. It's supposed to be enticing and seductive but the strange outfit and uncomfortable look makes us wish we'd never seen this photo.
Suggested By: PowerMatic

Photo Credit: FHM/George Holz/JEGPhoto

Celebrity: Adam West
Car: Chrysler 300C
Why So Embarrassing: Adam West, Batman, drives an old man car. Whatever, he's hilarious. He gets away with it. What he doesn't get away with is the "NBR1BAT" license plate. Holy Vanity Plate Batman!
Suggested By: 57sweptside

Celebrity: Conan O'Brien
Car: Ford Taurus SHO
Why So Embarrassing: Yes, Conan O'Brien is trying to look ridiculous. Yes, we love the Ford Taurus SHO. This is embarrassing for Conan because his attempts at appearing silly fail. You look awesome Conan.
Suggested By: Nerdwa

Celebrity: Sting
Car: Toyota Prius
Why So Embarrassing: Really, the guy who wrote Outlandos d'Amour is suddenly out cruising town in a Prius. We thought tantric sex was about extending the pleasure. Hybrids cut it way short, Gordy.
Suggested By: JamesMarino

Celebrity: Michael Schumacher
Car: Fiat Work Van
Why So Embarrassing: Schumacher looks the part too well. Also, "the quick gardner" sounds like a bad German translation of a man who fires quickly in bed.
Suggested By: Mr_Sives_Remotoc.

James Bond's Lotus Esprit Turbo Goes Under The Hammer, Again

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EDT

The Lotus Esprit Turbo from the lesser James Bond film For Your Eyes Only will go under the hammer in London at the end of this week. Roger Moore fans rejoice!

Our favorite part of the Bond Esprit, other than it being a Turbo Esprit, is the set of skis on the top. We'd love to pull up to some Aspen ski resort in one of these. Considering it previously sold at auction for 250,00 and the bidding is expected to net $150,000, this could be a steal.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 08: Models pose with a Lotus Turbo Esprit car form the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only is displayed for sale on July 8, 2009 in London. This Lotus Esprit is estimated at £90,000 - £100,000. An auction of collectors items including The 007 Collection will be offered for sale at Coys 2009 at Blenheim Palace on July 18, 2009.

Photo Credit: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

LotusEspritTurbo.com

Michael Jackson's Creepy Neverland Fire Engine

Ray Wert — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:40:00 EDT

Were you interested in buying Michael Jackson's Neverland GMC Fire Engine when the now-deceased King of Pop put it up for auction in April, then canceled it? Our guess is you'll get a second shot. Macabre thoughts? Sure. [Julien's Auctions]

McCain Tweets Ford Fusion Hybrid Purchase Plans

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:30:00 EDT

The election is over, but Senator McCain is still wooing the eco-patriotic-tech-literate crowd by tweeting his purchase of a Ford Fusion Hybrid. Maybe they'll forget he bought his daughter a Toyota Prius six months ago?

Let's look at the time-line: a year ago, McCain admitted he didn't know how to use a computer. Yesterday, he tweeted his planned purchase of a hybrid. At this rate he'll be teleporting by October. senjohnMcCain @ Twitter]

Remember you can help us satisfy our ego complex by following us on Twitter here, or following the entire team here.

Conan O'Brien's Ford Taurus SHO Makes Tonight Show Appearance

Ray Wert — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EDT

Think Conan O'Brien left his Yamaha-engined Ford Taurus back in New York when he moved out to LA to take the reins at the Tonight Show? Think again. Last night saw Conan's first Tonight Show as well as the return of his green SHO!

Overall, in addition to the FoMoCo love, the show was pretty heavy on the auto humor. Want to see all of it? We're assuming it'll be up on Hulu at some point. The cold open's already there. (Hat tip to @IisChrisMiller, @joshVC!)

Vladimir Putin's Lada Niva Is Totally Bad-Ass

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:00:00 EDT

The Lada Niva is the coolest Soviet-era vehicle still in production. Given that, it makes sense Russia's alpha-male "not-president" Vladimir Putin has purchased a totally awesome camouflaged and off-road-ready version.

The car is as much a publicity stunt as anything else, with Russia's de facto leader posing in the car in order to encourage buyers in Russia's down automobile market. That doesn't cloud the sheer awesomeness of this Niva though. It's outfitted with an array of available options including a grille guard, winch, roof rack, a snorkel and... what's this? Gasp! American-made BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires? The greedy hand of the capitalist pigs reaches very far. Anyway, the car was trotted out for the press where the Prime Minister of Russia extolled the virtues of the brutish little car and invited some of the press to take it for a drive. Wonder if he'd let us take it for a spin? (Thanks for the tip Michael)

[USAToday]

Tom Hanks Smugly Cruises His Toyota RAV4 EV Past 50,000 Miles

Ray Wert — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:15:00 EDT

Tom Hanks driver has now put 50,000 miles on Hanks' Toyota RAV4 EV over the six years he's owned it. Jeez. Our aunt puts more miles on her hoveround. [The New Yorker]

Dead Celebrities: What Would They Drive If Alive Today?

The Auto Insider — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST

Last month when bored, we decided to determine the cars some random celebrities drive. This month, we're bored again and wondering what cars these 21 dead celebrities would drive if they were alive today.

This weekend was a cold one here in the Midwest so instead of going out and braving the weather we decided to hibernate instead, but not before heading out to our local cult video store and grabbing a couple of our all-time favorite classic movies. We got a couple of goodies including: Le Mans, The Great Escape and couple of our significant other's favorite Agatha Christie mystery TV episodes featuring the quirky detective, Hercule Poirot.

After watching a couple of these films we got to thinking about what some of these famous actors would be like if they were celebrities in today's day and age. We contemplated this for a while (mostly while suffering through Agatha Christie's, The Mysterious Affair at Styles) and got to thinking about what some of these celebrities would drive. So, thanks in part to both our boredom and ADHD, we've come up with the list below featuring some of our favorite classic celebrities and what we think they would drive if they were alive today.

Click The Pics To See What We Think Each Classic Celebrity Would Drive If They Were Alive Today

Bettie Page	James Dean	Bob Ross
Louis Armstrong	Steve McQueen	Tiny Tim
Lucille Ball	Frank Sinatra	Elvis Presley
Audrey Hepburn	Charlie Chaplin	Marlon Brando
Marilyn Monroe	John Wayne	Bruce Lee
George Burns	Harry Houdini	Vincent Price
Cesar Romero	Agatha Christie	Ray Charles

[inspired by our ADHD and famousdeaddb, clips via YouTube]

What Do Celebrities Drive?

The Auto Insider — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:45:00 EST

Want to know what celebrities drive? Until getting bored this morning, we didn't know we wanted to either. Now, we're so curious, we put together this list of 20 celebs and the cars they drive.

As we normally do when we're bored on a Saturday afternoon, we took a look around the auto forums for fun content. First things first was a trip over to our friends at VW Vortex where we found a delightfully mainstream almost-year-old thread that recently popped back atop the pecking order at The Car Lounge. Entitled "Celebrity Cars" — it appeared to be exactly what we were looking for — a by-no-means-comprehensive list of celebrities and the cars they drive. Excellent — something for us to write about. So we did some more pecking around and found a little site called "Celebrity Cars Blog." Even better!

So, without further ado, here's the best of what we found in an hour of searching. It's only 20, but it's a start. That's right, you heard us — a start. Now we need your help. If you're stuck inside tonight, we want to see what you're able to find. Wert said he'd help by hanging out in the comments below throughout the evening, so go ahead and have at it. Consider this like a "Bonus Question of the Day."

Kim Kardashian	Larry King	Adrian Grenier
Kendra Wilkinson	Audrina Patridge	Al Pacino
Ewan McGregor	Will.I.Am	Jennifer Garner
David Beckham	Miley Cyrus	Nicholas Cage
Conan O'Brien	Sienna Miller	Hayden Christensen
Larry David	Lauren Conrad	Simon Cowell
Daniel Craig	Jeremy Piven

[Inspiration from VWVortex]

BONUS: David Spade and his wicked Buick Grand National! But does he even count as a celeb anymore?

Illinois Woman Wants To Sell You Obama's 2000 Grand Cherokee

Andrew Stoy — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Liz Murphy of Naperville, Illinois discovered while signing papers on a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee that the vehicle had been owned by then state senator Barack Obama. Local paper The Naperville Sun reports that Murphy was happy to discover her Jeep had been celebrity-owned, but now that Obama has a chance at the White House, she's hoping to cash in a little. Murphy plans to sell the Grand Cherokee after the November elections with an eye toward getting at least above the average trade-in value. She also reports that Obama's firm handshake is evidenced on the interior of the Jeep, as a left-hand mark is imprinted on the steering wheel. Says Murphy, "Every once in a while I'll run my hands over the top of the steering wheel and say, 'Wow, this guy had a grip.'" While we're optimistic, the jury is still out. [Jeepz.com]

You Can't Buy Jenna Jameson, But You Can Buy Her Car!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:30:00 EDT

Missed out on Lindsay Lohan's Mercedes? Not to worry! If you've got a spare $182,900 rattling around in your piggy bank, you can buy Jenna Jameson's 2002 Lamborghini Murcielago! This little Italian cream puff has less than 12K miles on the clock- no doubt just to church on Sundays- and owning it will tell the world... well, we're not quite sure what message you're sending out when you're driving the Queen of Porn's former ride. But owning this car in 50 years will be like having Mickey Cohen's armored Cadillac today, so you figure it's a good "notorious celebrity" investment! [eBay Motors]