Showing posts with label Offbeat News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Offbeat News. Show all posts

America's Resistance To The Roundabout

I want to be upfront about something: I'm not an American, I'm an Australian. And as such, I don't really understand NASCAR or baseball, and my daily driver is from a country that the Americans were at war with seventy years ago. Heck, I sometimes even eat croissants.

So what gives me the right to chide American drivers for resisting such a basic piece of road design as the humble roundabout? Well, that's simple: in Australia we've been using roundabouts for years.

America's Resistance To The Roundabout

I want to be upfront about something: I'm not an American, I'm an Australian. And as such, I don't really understand NASCAR or baseball, and my daily driver is from a country that the Americans were at war with seventy years ago. Heck, I sometimes even eat croissants.

So what gives me the right to chide American drivers for resisting such a basic piece of road design as the humble roundabout? Well, that's simple: in Australia we've been using roundabouts for years.

America's Resistance To The Roundabout

I want to be upfront about something: I'm not an American, I'm an Australian. And as such, I don't really understand NASCAR or baseball, and my daily driver is from a country that the Americans were at war with seventy years ago. Heck, I sometimes even eat croissants.

So what gives me the right to chide American drivers for resisting such a basic piece of road design as the humble roundabout? Well, that's simple: in Australia we've been using roundabouts for years.

London Slaps Barack Obama’s Motorcade with a $194 Congestion Fine


The long-standing diplomatic brawl between the US Embassy in Britain and the local authorities over the subject of congestion fines continues.

In this latest episode, Barack Obama's presidential motorcade has been fined £120 (about $194 or €137) for not paying the £10 congestion levy during his official State visit to Britain back in May.

Read more »

Video: Crazy Nissan 350Z Accident Results in Awesome Parking Job!


An extremely violent accident involving what appears to be a Nissan 350Z (we could be wrong on the model though) that flew over a wall at a parking lot and which could have ended in a drama, surprisingly turned into the most awesome parking job we have ever seen on film. The driver even came out unhurt and checked the car as it was a mere fender bender!

Don’t believe us? Hit the jump and check out the spectacular video for yourself.

Read more »

Spanish City Offers Lifetime Tram Passes in Exchange for…Cars


In the Spanish city of Murcia, the local pollies have come up with a unique solution to their burgeoning congestion problem.

Residents have the opportunity to trade in their cars for a lifetime pass on the city’s newly introduced tram system. Severiano Arias, the director of Murcia Transvia Society, explains:

“The point is to take cars out of circulation for the environmental benefits this brings. So we are only accepting working cars not ones ready for scrap heap because that would not serve any purpose.”

Read more »

Lotus Evora S Patrol Cars to Assist Italian Police Force


Not to be outshined by their compagni over at the highway patrol unit and their Lamborghini Gallardo cruisers (that is, when they don't crash them...), the Arma dei Carabinieri, a division of the Italian army that polices both military and civilian populations, has received a pair of bespoke Lotus Evora S sports cars. Read more »

It Came From eBay Hell: 1998 Mauck Executive


If you hit the jump, you’ll find a short clip from the 1977 cheesefest Supervan, where our heroes are being chased by the police. The titular van was built by the self-anointed King of the Kustomizers George Barris, who also has a cameo in this mess. And that’s all I have to say about this.

It was the funkadelic 1970s and Georgie had to earn his keep with Mrs. Barris. Now take a look at this one-of-a-kind 1998 Mauck Executive found on eBay. From BC Benjamin Auto Sales in Great Neck, NY comes the Son of Supervan: the Mauck Executive.

Read more »

Ford Marketing Boss Jim Farley Allegedly Tells GM to Stick it in Upcoming Book


We’re not used to automotive execs using foul language or trashing the competition when speaking out in the open and/or in public, so we were somewhat surprised with some of the comments allegedly made by Ford Motor Company Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Jim Farley.

According to Jalopnik, the Ford executive who joined the Detroit automaker in 2007 after nearly two decades at Toyota and Lexus, was quoted in a book as saying that he is “going to beat Chevrolet on the head with a bat” and that he hates GM.

And oh, Farely reportedly dropped the “F’ bomb on the General as well….

The quotes you’re about to read are said to have come from early copies of the book "Once Upon A Car” from New York Times reporter, Bill Vlasic. The book is scheduled for release to the public in October this year.

Read more »

Fail: Cop Impounds Ferrari but Doesn’t Know How to Start it Up….


A British police officer trying to impound a Ferrari F430 Spider (probably somewhere in London) was caught on film by a by-passer having a hard time figuring out how to start up the exotic Italian supercar.

Too bad for us but...luckily for him, the man behind the video camera was nice enough to point out the shiny red ‘ENGINE START’ button on the steering wheel (honestly, how can you miss it?). Watch the amusing clip after the jump.

Read more »

Video: Pedestrian Crossing from Hell


If there was ever a pedestrian crossing from hell, this is it. True, we can’t see if there’s a pedestrian light on the other side of the road, but come on, the drivers seen in this video didn’t even attempt to slow down and let the man pass the crossing in safety let alone stop.

Watch the incident for yourself in the video after the break.

Read more »

Starship Trooper: Mercedes-Benz Bodied Acura Integra Convertible


If you’re still with us and haven’t gone out looking for a bug swatter, there’s more of this lime-green creation to be seen in the video after the jump.

Judging from the cuts on the front fenders and the shape of the bonnet, we reckon it’s a mid-1990s Acura Integra Coupe.

The proud owner of the vehicle chopped off the roof to turn the Japanese coupe into a convertible model and then proceeded with the styling transformation that includes a custom body kit imitating the looks of many Mercedes-Benz roadsters and the customary trick doors.

Read more »

It Came From eBay Hell: Custom Made Canadian “Woodie”


One of my all-time favourite cars is the 1948 Ford Super Deluxe. The station wagon and Sportsman convertible variants were the last true “woodies” and in my mind the best looking of the bunch.

On the opposite end of the scale is this hand-built woodie pick-up from Quebec, Canada. It’s like a child’s drawing of a pick-up truck come to life or maybe the first car designed and built exclusively by the Amish.

Read more »

Video: Berlin Parking Lot Sits Atop Hitler’s Bunker


No doubt, World War II was a dark period in history. And even though many years have passed since then, the Nazi regime has a way of surfacing to the limelight – or so to speak. Like Adolf Hitler’s secret bunker that was found under a Berlin parking lot.

Unsurprisingly, most people, both German and foreigners, had no idea that they were parking their cars above the place that Hitler spent the last five months before his defeat and the fall of the Third Reich.

Read more »

Naughty Fiat 500 with a Very, Very Suggestive License Plate


We’ve seen some pretty weird license plates over the years, some funny, some meaningful, some witty and others just plain nasty. No need to explain why you’d be better off staying very far away from the one pictured above.

The…suggestive license plate belongs to a Fiat 500 city car that was spotted at a South African showroom by Carscoop reader Jeff G.

Read more »

Double Standards, or how (Not) to Sell Cars to Women


In the 1950s, products for women were no doubt designed and marketed by men. Take for example the 1955 Dodge Le Femme, a truly absurd car (by today’s standards) that came with a matching purse, raincoat and umbrella as well as a bright pint interior with rose-patterned trim.

It’s the equivalent of offering a car today with a…tampon dispenser in the glovebox.

Across the pond there was the Daimler 104 Ladies’ Model with electric windows, a simplified gear change (no, I did not make that up), an umbrella and a vanity case under the dashboard.

Read more »

How to Fail in Placing the Top on a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport


While not the completely hassle free experience you’d expect from a roofless exotic hypercar priced closed to $2 million, the placement of the secondary fabric top on the 1,000-horsepower Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is supposed to be an easy task – or so the French-based boutique carmaker says.

Well, try telling it to the stars of this video that seems to have been filmed somewhere in London. The owner of the Veyron Grand Sport and two of his mates appear to be having serious head-scratching moments in their attempt to place the fabric top on the exotic model.

Read more »

Video: Scuderia Ferrari's First Visit to the Moscow City Racing Event


This past Sunday, Russia’s capital city hosted the annual Moscow City Racing event. It was the fourth time in a row that the racing show was organized in Moscow and the first to feature the Ferrari Formula 1 team.

After the press conference, Scuderia Ferrari test driver Giancarlo Fisichella first drove a California in the usual parade, and then last year’s F10 Formula 1 car on the streets of Russian capital.

Read more »

The Ditch: Can You Guess How Many Rally Cars will Make it Through?


An evil…ditch was just waiting to claim a victim at the Rally Finland - or so the Youtube poster claims that this is where the following incident(s) took place.

Watching the first few rally cars pass through or rather drive into and out of the ditch on the side of the road it becomes clear that it’s not a case of if, but when we’ll see a car taking a plunge. Enjoy the clip after the jump.

Read more »

The Best Car Ad You’ll See Today: Volkswagen Tiguan Translator


We’ve seen more car-related ads trying to capture our attention than we can remember, but very few actually manage to pull it off like the way the Brazilian division of the BBDO advertising agency did with its “Volkswagen Tiguan: Translator” commercial.

The TV ad was created to show off the SUV’s hands free park assist system. Being that the whole point of this commercial is the element of surprise, we won’t spoil the ending by telling you what happens. Enjoy the clip after the break,

Read more »