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Novelties

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novelties

Hot Rod Citroen DS Packs A Familiar Punch

The Citroen DS is undeniably stylish. During it's 20 year production run, it showcased innovative features, and even came in wagon an convertible versions. But there was just one thing it lacked, V8 pow-ahh! This guy realized the problem and swapped out the weaksauce four-banger in his '66 DS for something with a bit more grunt.
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6:00 PM on Tue May 13 2008
By marnold
948 views, 40 comments

hoon of the day

Trust the Legends Racer

Legends racers are some seriously odd, but awesome cars. Compact, agile, and way, way, way over engined, they have an air of quirky danger which makes them very exciting. We're not real clear on the conditions of this stunt, nor are we sure why tweedle dee and tweedle dum agreed to this (or why tweedle dum wore white pants), but they have some amazing trust in the driver of this legends car. This is one of the first times we've thought the people outside the car were bigger hoons than the guy at the wheel.

4:40 PM on Tue May 13 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
949 views, 28 comments

Latest by AllenK: .@beercheck: Maybe it was in Austria? The last few seconds of that video were incredible. It didn't look like you could slide a piece of paper between the tire and that person's foot more »

novelties

Hearse Convention Defies Convention

We've always known that people who own a hearse for non-business reasons are a bit quirky. This just reaffirms it. It's the second annual convention for very unconventional hearse enthusiasts, a gathering held in Englewood, Colorado. Where else are you gonna find a roof-mounted flame-thrower?
[NBC]

3:20 PM on Tue May 13 2008
By marnold
920 views, 47 comments

novelties

1963 Corvette-Inspired Speedboat Takes Retro To Sea

Inspired by the split rear window and svelte shape of the 1963 Corvette, Bo Zolland created this speedboat as homage. The designer pictures it at SEMA, being towed by some monstrous GM SUV, but we'd rather use it to run up and down the river outside the RenCen to remind the General that they used to make cars that inspired people. Honestly, with all the retro rip-offs that have gone around, why hasn't someone re-made the '63 Vette? Bo pictures the boat being powered by anything from an LS-9 marine engine to a Volvo diesel putting out 550bhp, but we see a Viper engine peeking out in at least one of the pictures, never purists, we'd take ours with a V10.

10:40 AM on Tue May 13 2008
By Wes Siler
1,163 views, 38 comments

Latest by ShantJ: Wow... I'm not a boat guy but I love it! I really wouldn't mind t-tops on it for a more "boat-like" feeling to it. more »

novelties

Astroturf-Covered Lada Niva Brings New Meaning To Driving Range

We're not so sure how we feel about grass-covered cars. Sure you can make the argument that they're eco-friendly or whatever, but it just seems like so much upkeep. We would much rather have to wash and wax our car than fertilize and mow it. But what if you covered your ride with grass-like astroturf? And what if your ride was an old Lada Niva?

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9:40 AM on Tue May 13 2008
By marnold
515 views, 31 comments

ad watch

Awwww, Brand Logos When They Were Babies

We know where brand logos come from and what they mean, but what did they look like when they were babies? Thanks to Brazilian ad agency Dentsu working for Minichamps, a die-cast scale model company, we now know what the toddler versions of logos from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati and Jaguar all look like. Wait — why is there a "baby" version of a trident? They don't make baby tridents do they? How many Zeus babies can there possibly be? That's like making a baby version of the Buick logo with cutesy shields. That doesn't make any sense.


[Lerr]

6:00 PM on Mon May 12 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
3,846 views, 41 comments

Latest by Stoatmaster: I can't shake the image of a very young Spirit of Ecstacy clumping about in her mum's shoes. more »

hoon of the day

Swedish Hoons Hold Crazy Illegal Burnout Contest

If you thought the Swedish limo drifting was awesome, you're really gonna like this. It's an annual illegal burnout competition held in Stockholm, and the contestants don't hold anything back. Ripping tires to shreds? That's nothing. Pour down some gasoline and bring on the flames!
[h/t to Bo at sportbilen.se!]

2:40 PM on Mon May 12 2008
By marnold
3,168 views, 38 comments

novelties

What's Up With The Japanese Scooter Tuner Crowd?

Japan rightly sits near the top of the world's strange automotive trend setters. What is cool in the United States now is so two years ago for our pals over in the land of the rising sun, so it pains us to speculate that overly gaudy tuner scooters will be the next big trend over here. Hell, people are already installing media centers in them. Our Japanese-savvy friends over at Pink Tentacle have rounded up some of the more unusual looking tuner-scooters from Japan and we're more confused than titillated. A low rider scooter? That's just asking for trouble. [Pink Tentacle]

2:20 PM on Mon May 12 2008
By Travis Hudson
2,586 views, 67 comments

Latest by darex: @NatefromOgden: Besides Yamaha Maxims/Morphouses, I also see a Honda Silverwing 600, and a few Suzuki Burgman 400s. The Gilera GP 800 has already launched. With luck, it will arrive at US shores soon, Piaggio-badged, the way the Gilera Fuoco 500 became more »

novelties

When Ferrari-Smashing Parking Attendants Attack

Continuing our Monday morning Ferrari smash-up meme, check out this Ferrari 575M spotted in L.A. looking like it was taken for a Ferris Bueller-style valet joyride. Unlike the mileage run-up in the movie, this 575M seems to have come back in a noticeably more Cameron Frye-like state of wellness. We'd hoped that Audi A8 from Brooklyn was a mere isolated instance of parking valet hoonage, but perhaps this incident demonstrates it can happen no matter the 'merican coast. Oh, and by the way, although we've got absolutely no proof parking attendants were the cause of this catastrophic waste of good Italian metal, we've also got absolutely no proof they weren't the cause. Take that, journalistic standards! [Hat tip to Anthony!]

10:40 AM on Mon May 12 2008
By marnold
2,160 views, 23 comments

Latest by SwapMeat: @SeanKHotay: Thurston says "OK".. looks over to his 1981 Honda Civic wagon (silver rocket video clip) and says "but I'll drive" more »

novelties

How to Assemble A GM LS2 V8 In Under Three Minutes

Have you ever wondered how GM's LS2 V8 fits together? If so, today is your lucky day because this video goes through the process in a quick, orderly and computer generated environment. While it's not quite as cool as watching the engine building races on Hot Rod TV, it doesn't require the tolerance of deep a southern drawls and arduous product placement commentary. This only makes us wonder if there's one of these animations explaining how to build the rest of the Corvette. [Mechanical Engineering TV]

10:20 AM on Mon May 12 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
5,272 views, 38 comments

Latest by korvetkeith: @AndyDuncan: The block has a deep skirt instead of a really deep oil pan. This makes it stronger and allows for main bearing caps to have 6 bolts per cap. 2 of the bolts are perpendicular to the 4 more »

novelties

Pick Your Poison: Michigan Auto & RV May 7-13

If you're anything like us, you've invested hours and hours and hours of your life flipping through the pages of your local Auto & RV. The offering printed with cheap ink and even cheaper recycled paper leaves you stained both physically and mentally. Within its pages you can find both deals and rip-offs, treasures and tragedies, but you always find something you want. As such, we picked a random page in our favorite section — Collectibles and Classics (though Under $4,000 is pretty great too) and snapped an image. Now you tell us what you'd be tempted to take home and why. More »

6:20 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
2,999 views, 66 comments

Latest by scottcom36: The Caddy has $14,000 in PAINT? Did they start out with a Cimmaron and slather on paint until they got it up to Sedan de Ville size?I'd choose the Mustang, if only because I like the way, "Three Fifty-one Cleveland" more »

novelties

The 50 Most Memorable Movie Cars, According To Rotten Tomatoes

The film critics over at the site all about Tomatoes that are Rotten, have proclaimed a list of the 50 "Most Memorable" movie cars. We won't give it all away here, but we were actually fairly satisfied with their choice for the numero uno slot. Obviously, they're not total hoons like us, but we were still interested to see where a few of our favorites ended up. More »

4:40 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By marnold
4,720 views, 53 comments

custom cars

Would Car Nutz Customs Be Illegal In Florida?

With all the hullabaloo over Truck Nutz it's a wonder the folks at Car Nutz Customs haven't taken a cue and changed their name a bit. True, they don't specialize at installing chrome dangly bits on '71 Impalas, but with Florida legislators rebelling against all things Nutz, you'd think they might just consider it. That being said, Car Nutz Customs (CNC in brief) actually does some nice work if you're into the whole big rims and crazy stereo with a clean install kind of thing. Unfortunately they aren't into big pictures of their cars. Enjoy the tiiiiiiny gallery of their work.

3:40 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,607 views, 24 comments

novelties

Beijing Has Some Awesome Interchanges

Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics are coming up in only a couple of months, we decided to take a look at the ancient Chinese city through the magical powers of Google Earth. What we found was much like a Chinese Dragon, both beautiful and terrible. The preponderance of Geographic Web content on the digital globe has us thinking a trip there would be most awesome, but the traffic and interchanges would make a New Englander cringe.

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10:40 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
3,345 views, 35 comments

Latest by Franchisekiller: A friend of mine lives just 200 meters north of the first interchange. Weirdly the overhangs have flowerboxes along the sides - with living (possibly fake) flowes in them! Believe me when I say that there are some crossings that are more »

novelties

When Specialty Plates Go Hilariously Wrong

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hoon of the day

Drifting A Limo Ain't Easy

What's cooler than driving sideways? Driving sideways in a limousine! Thing is, as these guys found out, it's not as easy as you might think. Even on a water-soaked skid-pad, that stretched wheelbase is hard to balance with opposite lock. Points for effort, though we would've like to have seen a "Just Married" sign and some tin cans being dragged along off the back.
[sportbilen.se, h/t to Bo!]

12:40 PM on Thu May 8 2008
By marnold
5,349 views, 34 comments

novelties

Toyota Prius: The Silent Killer Strikes Again

We've known for a while that, after electricity and gasoline, hybrids are powered by the crushed souls of the blind. Old news. That is until the hybrids go after our children. At least that's what the fearmongers at CNN would have you believe. The real story seems to be that a kid, not paying attention, turned in front of an oncoming Prius and slightly bruised himself. Just to round out the story they interviewed a hybrid driver that didn't hit anyone, but in order to make the story easier to follow for the average cable news viewer identified him as the man who ran into the kid. All hybrid owners look alike, right? (h/t Snep) [Source: CNN.com]

10:00 AM on Thu May 8 2008
By Matt Hardigree
2,089 views, 56 comments

Latest by skyln95: i say open headers and straight pipe for everybody!!!! more »

alternative energy

Naturmobile Hybrid Uses Real Horsepower!

These days it seems like everyone in the automotive world is obsessed with either big horsepower or alternative energy. But what would happen if you combined the two? This is the Naturmobile, a "hybrid" that utilizes electric power and— yep you guessed it, horse power. Ok, so actual horses may not churn out very impressive numbers if you strapped them on a dyno, but think about how many liters a horse displaces! There's no replacement for displacement! Alright, so the Naturmobile isn't exactly built for speed, but that doesn't mean it's not completely absurdly awesome.


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6:20 PM on Wed May 7 2008
By marnold
2,168 views, 66 comments

Latest by crewcutkid: Why wouldn't you just ride the damn horse?!?! more »