Jalopnik: Leap Day Celebration

Commenter Of The Day: Hoon's Best Friend Edition

Matthew DeBord — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:15:00 EST

What would Leap Day Celebration be without several appearances from our canine friends, joining in the hoonin' fun? Dog's are profound leapers, anyhow, from Air Bud to those awesome hounds from the Great Outdoor Games to a spring-loaded terrier I had for a while in the '90s. Sometimes, however, a dog gets into a little too much human craziness. Read on!

Today's COTD comes from graverobber, who when we asked to choose between a pair of vids culminating in tree collisions for this post, offered the following:

Okay, the second one is a winner for the following factors:
Most air
Least likelihood that he was even aware of the tree until shortly after hitting it.

Dog chasing the car, and then not knowing what to do with it once it has "caught" it.

Most importantly; the driver exiting the car through the window while successfully holding onto his bottle of Bud in classic Lewboski fashion.

Yeah, if you were a happy hoonin' leaping canine, what would you do if you caught that thing?

Hoon Of The Day: Leap Day Edition

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:00:00 EST

We've brought you some of the best Leap Year themed jackassery we could find today, and now it's your turn to decide which one takes todays hoon of the day crown. We realize that whittling down such stupidity to a clear and decisive winner may be a bit much to ask, but we have a feeling you have it in there somewhere. Just take a moment to think about this Leap Day Celebration, and then ask "What Would The Duke Boys Do?"

First up was the less than stellar proto-hoon burm ramping that ended in bruised udders: This of course was followed by the invincible shirtless Canadian hoon who did his best to make a Civic shaped hole in the road - ouch: Next we saw a double helping of great jumps topped off with a dollop of tree shaking ending Tree crash #1: Tree Crash #2: Perhaps stretching the definition of hoonage, but still an impressive leap day showing was the hopping air-powered Cutlass: Who says the amateurs get to have all the fun? The montage of pulse raising World Rally jumps set to Van Halen's Jump seemed wildly appropriate for the day didn't it? Next up was the junkyard shenanigans of some guys with a joyful number of disposable automobiles: So there you go folks, all of the Leap Day Celebration Entries. Some are certainly better at being hoons than others, but we figured we'd give some of the underdogs a shot, who does it hurt. Remember, just like a Florida election, vote away and vote often.

Guns and Ramping, Can Life Get Better?

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:45:00 EST

We really like these guys, they know how to start off a video - couple of reports from a camouflaged pump action shot gun and you've got our attention. They seem to have stumbled into a junkyard with a copious supply of perfectly drivable, and yet totally disposable cars. Take that set up, add the sketchiest looking ramp we've seen in a while, a little ACDC, and you've got the makin's for a good ole time. Dirty deeds indeed.

Professional Hoonage: A History Of Rally Jumps

Mark Arnold — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:15:00 EST

Ok, enough of all this drunken amateur Leap Day hoonage. I mean, I've got nothing against ~~hosers~~ Canadians killing time up in the great white north; but I think it's time to see how the professionals do it. So, we present to you a montage in tribute to the illustrious history of rally jumps. Spanning over many years and countries, these guys definitely knew what they were doing.

[YouTube]

Chihuahua Based Problem Causes Moron To Crash

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST

What Leap Day Celebration would be complete without an homage to accidental off roading? In a happy timing coincidence, moron Scott Calderon managed to crash his Chrysler Town and Country yesterday, but the circumstances have us smacking our foreheads in disbelief. Mr. Calderon was driving on the highway and swerved to miss a utility truck and barricade on a closed bridge. We're not sure why he had to swerve to miss a clearly marked bridge that was out, but follow along and you might get a little insight.

What happened next can be called nothing short of utterly retarded. Mr. Calderson's pet Chihuahua somehow managed to get stuck under the cars brake pedal and the hapless owner could do nothing to dislodge him. 'Why,' might you ask, 'was he unable to do anything?' Well Mr. Calderson had a cell phone in one hand a cup of coffee in the other, thus eliminating dexterous appendages with which to remove the dog. We would have booted that little bastard out of there, or actually not had a loose chihuahua in the car in the first place. Anyway, as a result of the brake free situation, the car leapt off the road, down the embankment and into the river, where the airbags deployed and the car stayed upright enough to prevent Calderson from drowning. The utility crew and later emergency services saved him from the situation. [via KATU.com]

Air-Powered Jumping Cutlass

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST

Not all air gained by cars is done so by forward motion. Check out this stripped down '86 Cutlass which someone has seen fit to outfit with a serious air cylinder system and dubbed the Cyclone. Don't know how many times it will be blowing through anywhere though cause the leaper looks like it gets pretty trashed in this clip of aerial acrobatics. Rocking a 60 gallon tank at 390 PSI, this thing it packing some serious stored energy. Now all we need is somebody to drive this off a ramp and hit the switch at just the right moment.

Watch Out For That Tree!

Mark Arnold — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:30:00 EST

This nomination for Hoon Of The Leap Day is all about the graceful finish. Both drivers get some decent air on their backwoods jumps, but they don't stop there. While most hoons crash during the jump or upon landing, these guys added a bonus crash after the jump.
Warning: Mandatory NSFW language on the second video.

[You Tube]

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.