Jalopnik: novelities

Tow Truck Gets Shanghai'd By Angry Driver

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

This may or may not be a staged video, but it's still funny to us. A Shanghai lady was not about to let some orange-clad tow truck driver take off with her beloved Chevy SUV so she hopped in and drove away — with the tow truck in tow. The best part is watching the truck driver realize he's gone from the tow-er to the tow-ee. [ChinaSmack]

For Sale: Clean Mazda Miata, Slight Water Damage

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:40:00 EDT

As Kim Taylor was running down the hill beside her driveway, chasing after her red Mazda Miata, she couldn't help but be confused. She was sure she had put the parking brake on. And yet there was the little convertible, on its way to her neighbors' pool for a 40 MPH splashdown. We have a feeling this was just one of those days.(Thanks Chris)
[York Daily Record via 11Alive]

Size Apparently Not Important: Fiat 500 Tops Sexy Car List

maustin — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:00:12 EDT

If this were on Family Feud, even the Jalopnik family would have failed to get the steal. But there's no Richard Dawson, or even Ray Combs, just Captain Slow. A Top Gear survey found the Fiat 500 to be the sexiest car ever. Number 4 on the list? Chevrolet Camaro. So with the combination of the Z28 in his own garage and the Fiat 500 at the home of his tree-farming surgeon father, Austin is now the sexiest-driving semi-regular Jalopnik contributor. Shockingly the El Camino, or even the Holden Ute, did not make the list.

Who's a sexy little Fiat? [Herald Sun]

Related:
Forbes' Top Cars For Singles, 2006 [internal]

More Maserati: Quattroporte Chauffeur with Hotel Stay

David Thomas — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:55:42 EDT

If you don't want to race Maseratis you can be driven in one. A hotel in North Carolina is offering a chauffeured Quattroporte in its "Speed & Luxury" package. Except, if you're being driven by someone else, do you really want them to drive fast? I don't think so. Although we'll take the round of golf, four-course gourmet meal, breakfast in bed and all the other goodies that come with this $3,000 one-night stay.

Feel the Need for Speed [hotelchatter.com]

Related:
Stay at the Ritz-Carlton, Drive a Mercedes [internal]

Rick Schneider: Revell-Monogram CEO

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 21:15:14 EST

The Chicago Tribune checks in with the head of Revell-Monogram, Rick Schneider. The model-company honcho attributes his rise to the top of the plastic, assembly-required universe to his days as a Cub Scout racing Pinewood Derby cars. What's funny to us is the marketing speak he uses when describing his childhood: "I thought I had a chance because I'd customized Revell-Monogram plastic cars for years." Considering that Schneider was 27 in '88, it's safe to say that Revell and Monogram still were two separate companies when he was young. Ah, the joy of the corporate spin.

Fascination with toy cars drives him to top of firm [Chicago Tribune]

Related:
Wendelin Wiedeking Bullish on Porsche's Future [Internal]