Jalopnik: weird

Rodem M-1: Japanese Wheelchair Of The Future

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EDT

A wheelchair? On Jalopnik? Yes, because not only do we all get old and still have a need for some sweet wheels, but the Rodem M-1 has a cleaner front end than anything currently in the Acura lineup.

Like it or not, everybody gets old, and rather than live with the status quo of nerdy old Hoveround or God forbid un-powered fold-up wheelchairs, here's an entry from Japan that's both visually interesting (well, as much as possible, we're talking about tarted-up wheelchairs) and has improved ergonomics.

The Rodem M-1 can be easily approached with a forward facing high-mounted seat, which is apparently easier to get into than a traditional chair, and once moving gets up to a scalding 2 MPH and lasts four hours on a charge. The wheeled jet ski looks set it apart from it's competition more than anything and should prove a solid basis upon which aging grease monkeys will ply their trade. Prices start at $5,300 to $7,500, but that won't take into account hopped up batteries, bigger motors, higher-powered controllers and the oh-so-important big-farad capacitors for those nitrous-like bursts of speed. [GreenLaunches]

Shoprider Flagship: Now That's Personal Transportation

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:30:00 EST

We're not quite sure what to make of this. Seems like a scooter with car aspirations, but what to call it? A scootermobile? Autooter? In any case, this thing is the Shoprider Flagship so named as it is the flagship of the lineup. Complete with a fully enclosed shell, large automotive style windows, windshield wipers (or is that breeze shield in this case?) with washer squirts, and headlights. If we were mean, this is the place where we'd make a joke about portly people and indoor NASCAR races at the local Walmart, but we aren't so we won't do that.

As an added bonus, you can buy your Flagship through Amazon.com — you never have to walk anywhere again! Our favorite line of the whole pitch comes right at the end - "Trade in the Rolls-Royce for your FLAGSHIP today" - now that's some ambitious cross marketing. [Shoprider.com]

What's a Snowdickfor?

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:45:00 EST

Fer putting in the back of your truck of course. We didn't really know how to handle this suggestively shaped 7 foot tall snow sculpture in the back of this GM pickup. We went for tact and made sure it was pseudo-worksafe above the fold, but below we have it flopped out being displayed in all its glory. How far are we willing to go to bring you the offbeat and the weird? Truck nuts indeed.

I Live in a Car!

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 23:00:00 EDT

Many moons ago, the UK Subs once sang, "Well i ain't got no television set or stereo, 'cos I live in a car." Steve Graham, of Pittsburg, KS, has honored the shopworn tradition of killing one's idols by going ahead and living in his Buick Century with those amenities, after his wife kicked him out eight years ago. Meanwhile, his neighbors accuse him of incinerating poop in the yard. Quoth Graham? "No, I go elsewhere. I don't expose myself to people." [SFGate]

German Bus Driver Can't Handle Cleavage

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:45:00 EDT

Score one for precise, youthful German cleavage in the game to drive men to distraction. Apparently, a twenty-year-old German sales clerk had cleavage so amazingly wonderful that it the driver to stop a Lindau bus and demand that she move, shouting "Your cleavage is distracting me every time I look into my mirror and I can't concentrate on the traffic. If you don't sit somewhere else, I'm going to have to throw you off the bus." Ah, the joys of surly public transit officials. [Reuters]

Thief Steals and Re-Steals Porsche

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:15:00 EDT

Malaysian authorities are no doubt rather sounding shamefaced yawps over a bungle involving a recovered Porsche. A thief absconded with the German sports car and proceeded to run out of gas, at which point the police recovered the vehicle and towed it to a station. The miscreant then braved the not-so-watchful eye of the law, showed up with a gas can and once again took off in the car. He abandoned it once again when roadblocks were set up looking for him and remains at large. [Thanks to eltonito for the tip.] [Reuters]

Bad Spray Leaves Tulsan Classic Car Owners Ultramega Un-OK

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:15:00 EDT

An undetermined brown-red spray showered a cadre of classic cars at the 35th annual Pontiac Oakland Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They've yet to determine the makeup or the source of the airborne spew, but it damaged most of the 369 vehicles involved in the show. And given that the judging process required at least one passenger window left open, the flying schmutz gunked up the cars' interiors as well. While a nearby construction site is suspected to be the culprit, we're wondering if the Tulsan Belvedere Time Capsule wasn't exacting its revenge on rival classics, Double Dare-style. [Forbes]

In-Car Karaoke? Who Knew?

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:00:00 EDT

We love to sing along while driving, we admit it. We also enjoy partaking in the proletarian art of karaoke now and then (Texas residents, we highly recommend keeping an eye on Karaoke Underground's schedule). However, we have never considered installing a karaoke machine in our motor vehicle. Apparently, however, this has become a problem in the Kingdom of Thailand. In addition to considering a hands-free-only cell-phone mandate, Thai authorities are also looking at banning in-car DVD systems as well as vehicle-borne karaoke devices. As long as they don't take away our pad phed tofu and mango & sticky rice. Or ban smoking in cars.

Karaoke, televisions in cars face ban [Bangkok Post]

Related:
Brits Support Smoking Ban in Private Cars [Internal]

Not Quite An Ekranoplan

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:00:00 EDT

Sho 'nuff, it is impossible for a single human being to consume too much English Russia. The finest site on the web presents this wacky-ass Soviet-era contraption, which was apparently some type of amphibious vehicle. To us, it looks like a Messerschmitt bubble car crossed with a Japanese Kaiten torpedo submarine. According to English Russia's mercurial webmaster, "It was a car that was designed and built by special Soviet car company, it had many advanced features at that time. It had some features never being implemented in Russian cars before." No shit. – Davey G. Johnson

Old Russian Car That Could Swim [English Russia]

Related:
Gee Willikers, Anatoly! Ekranoplan! [Internal]

Cutlass Attack!

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:45:00 EDT

Gideon Hosein of Halls Trace, Hard Bargain, Trinidad and Tobago is facing bail of TT$150,000 (about 24,000 USD) after attacking seven cars with a freaking cutlass in some kind of sword-wielding Southern Carribean rampage that caused TT$100,000 in damage to the vehicles. Didn't somebody tell the hapless sod that International Talk Like a Pirate Day isn't until September 19th? – Davey G. Johnson

Wrecking 7 cars with a cutlass [Trinidad & Tobago Express]

Related:
eMercedesBenz Helps the Homeless [Internal]

Randy Crow Attacks UK Cars

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:45:00 EDT

We had a pal in college who liked to wear a black trenchcoat, a Gecko T-shirt and a ring on a lanyard around his neck with a silver ring hanging from it. After a year or so of knowing him, we actually looked at said ring and noticed it had "The Crow" engraved in it. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly beating the ladies off with a stick, except for that one exceedingly odd girl who spoke Klingon. Regardless, he is a smart, sharp dude who now occasionally appears on television. And he dresses better these days. In the UK, however, one particular crow hasn't smartened up. He's horny and territorrial, and when he sees his reflection in the roof of an automobile, he has a tendency to attack it as if it were a romantic rival. Either that, or he's just a really, really big fan of Black Flag's Damaged album and doesn't have a mirror handy. – Davey G. Johnson

Love-crazed crow attacking cars at city business [Peterborough Today, UK]

Man Stops For a Cig, Burns Up 11 Junked Cars

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:29:21 EDT

Forty-two-year-old Brian Hudson of County Mayo, Ireland apparently had a few pints and went to nick himself a new exhaust system for his car out of a junkyard. In the middle of the night. In a bout of wrecking-yard frustration, he paused for a cigarette, which he lit by lighting a piece of paper with a lighter he found in a car and then utilizing said burning paper to light his fag (we have no idea why he didn't just use the lighter). He discarded the piece of paper in the car, which then caught fire. Then the police showed up. Hudson ran, 11 cars burned. Remember, kids, you never know what can be flammable in a junkyard! – Davey G. Johnson

Man set 11 cars on fire 'by accident' [Independent, IE]

Cokehead Driver Grows Maze in Field!

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:15:00 EDT

An intoxicated driver, apparently coked to the gills, attempted to elude capture by the po-pos in England by driving into a field. The result? Four damaged patrol units, the offending driver's car in a ditch and a crop formation that would even give M. Night Shyamalan an uncontrollable case of the jibblies. [Thanks to Haller for the tip.] – Davey G. Johnson

Driver comes a cropper in police chase [Metro, UK via Boing Boing]

Related:
FIA Not Down With Booger Sugar [Internal]

Orleans '89: Wacky 2CVs

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 21 May 2007 15:00:00 EDT

Back when we thought Generra Hypercolor shirts were a good idea, a bunch of Frankish nutters in 2CVs and 2CV-based machines got together in Orleans, France for a motorized hoedown. Somehow, it does not surprise us that any of these vehicles exist, but when we think that somebody actually took the time to build them, our minds boggle a bit. It seems more like they should've sprung fully formed from the head of André Citroën's younger brother, Jim, during one of his more profligate peyote benders. – Davey G. Johnson

In Russia, Back Hoes You! Disabled Tractor Limps Home via Mechanical "Foot"

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 16 May 2007 11:52:00 EDT

There's nothing like watching the slow, deliberate progress of a disabled backhoe. But you have to admit, this guy could be the most resourceful driver since Nicky Cugnot pressure-cooked his first pot roast. – Mike Spinelli

[via Carscoop]

When Rust Attacks: Mercedes 230 SL Recovered After 30 Years in River

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 12:26:50 EDT

Remember that science experiment where you put a tooth in a glass of Coca-Cola and watch it dissolve over the subsequent month? Now imagine an early-70s Mercedes 230 SL as the tooth, and Germany's Neckar river as the Coke. And instead of a month, figure it's been submerged for 30 years. That's exactly what happened to this sad specimen. The vehicular pride of Stuttgart, past which the Neckar flows, wasn't quite dissolved, but it was chomped assiduously by rust and beset by barnacles. The heap is now the property of SL Club Pagode, which is showing it off at the Techno Classica Essen show in Germany. No word on restoration plans, but we'd suggest about 700 cases of Bondo and plenty of sandpaper. No problem. – Mike Spinelli

[SL Club Pagode via Hemmings Blog]

Related:
When Rust Attacks, BRAT Edition [internal]

To the West Side and Step on It! NY Couple Hires Taxi for Cross-Country Trip

Mike Spinelli — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 13:04:11 EDT

New Yorkers' automotive proclivities could fill an entire volume of "What the Hell Is Wrong With Those People Britannica." But this latest clash between a New York couple and transportation common sense is a news-cycle dominator. The elderly husband-and-wife team are paying a New York cabbie to take them from the borough of Queens to Arizona in his Ford Escape taxi. The meter fare on the trip is $5,000, but they're paying a $3,000 flat fee plus room and board for the driver. The reason? They don't want their two cats to go tits up in the cargo hold of a commercial airliner. Central casting just called, they want their crazy old cat people back. – Mike Spinelli

Take us to Arizona! [NY Daily News]

Related:
Skyscraper Taxi Rolling Out RIDES [internal]

Yank Me Crank Me: Pedal-Pumping Babes' Cars Don't Start

Murilee Martin — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:00:00 EDT

Checking the recently-added car videos on YouTube, I found this short film of a British woman wearing really tight clothing attempting (and failing) to start what appears to be a Citro n AX (don't worry, it's safe for work). The loving closeups of her feet made it clear: my brain was being damaged by the onanic fuel of perved-out foot fetishists! Naturally, my patriotic instincts kicked in and I sought out (and found) many more such videos; after all, what does Osama bin Laden hate most about us? Why, our freedom to indulge every imaginable perversion, of course! Seems most of the "car cranking" stuff comes out of Europe (see this site), which makes sense. After all, they have more cars that won't start than anybody. But, dammit, when are we gonna get vids of scantily-clad chicks cranking Pro Mod cars that do start? – Murilee Martin

Related:
Sex With Wheels: British Mechanic Shags Cars [internal]

Fort Worth Full Of Guilty Drivers

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EDT

Yesterday, Fort Worth's finest were in the middle of a pursuit with an old white Crown Vic that was involved in a gas station robbery (Is it just me, or does the sketchiest behavior always occur in decommissioned police cars?). Suddenly, a maroon truck sped past. The truck's driver, who was likely intoxicated, thought he was the one being chased and decided to realize his own worst fears by inciting the FWPD to pursue him. Both drivers were eventually caught, along with a third suspect involved in a separate chase on the other side of town, coincidentally occurring at around the same time. We can only imagine how many highball glasses of second-shelf hooch the local news producers knocked back after their shift. – Matt Hardigree

Three Car Chases, Three Arrests [Ft. Worth Star-Telegram]

Related:
Speeding Nevada Man Helps Cop in Distress [internal]

Bloooargh! Chicken Fat Spill Hoses Louisiana Freeway

Murilee Martin — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:30:26 EDT

Generally, your traffic-snarling freeway spills are on the ho-hum side, news-wise, but not when the stuff fouling the roadway is great big gobs of greasy grimy beaks-and-feathers-fortified chicken fat hoovered up from the overflow trough at an especially grotacious Louisiana poultry-gutting facility. It seems that a truck operated by the Dixie Hydro-Vac Specialist company sprang a leak on I-20 and proceeded to spew forth the contents of its tank onto the roadway. The stench was described as being "overpowering." Rain turned the cleanup into a sodden nightmare of stinking schmaltz, of course. – Murilee Martin

Chicken fat spill leaves interstate stinky, slippery in Louisiana [San Diego Union Tribune]