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

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

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.

Friday, July 15, 2011

D'oh! Ferrari 458 Italia Driver Starts Drag Race with Dodge Viper in…Reverse!


Before you watch the following video, take a minute to ponder this: You are sitting behind the steering wheel of an exotic, brand new Italian supercar, getting ready to drag race a V10-powered Dodge Viper on the quarter mile strip in front of a crowd of 100, or perhaps even more people. But when the race begins you start rolling backwards…
Oh yes, that’s right; the owner of the Ferrari 458 Italia that you’re about to see in the clip and who was pitted against a Dodge Viper at the ICAR motorsports complex situated just outside of Montreal in Canada, paddle shifted his car’s dual clutch auto transmission into reverse!

It Came From eBay Hell: 1993 Jaguar XJ6 “Airport Limousine”


In the glory days of air travel – when you could still smoke and fly without the fear of being groped and fondled by security personnel wearing latex gloves– some passengers were lucky enough to commute from the terminal to their hotel in the back of an airport limousine.
These stretched cars, with their multiple rows of seats and doors, were essentially the primitive precursor to the modern day shuttle bus.

The Price of Parking: Colliers’ Releases Results of 2011 Global Survey


The results of Colliers International’s 2011 Parking Rate Survey are in for the U.S., Canada and the rest of the world, and there are few surprises.
The U.S. national median monthly parking rate is US$155.22, with the highest being midtown Manhattan at US$541 and Renoa at US$45 the cheapest. In Canada, Calgary topped out at US$486 followed by Toronto at $342 USD and Montreal at $305 USD.

Flower Power: Alfa Romeo MiTo "Inked" by Louise Dear


Alfa Romeo has commissioned a one-off art piece to mark the UK launch of its congestion charge free MiTo 1.3 JTDM-2 Sprint, which is powered by an 85-horsepower turbo diesel that emits 95g/km of CO2 .

Thursday, July 14, 2011

DIY: How to Drive Your Face into the Sand


Scooters can be a fun alternative form of transportation and recreation, especially during summer vacations. However, as with any other motorized bike or any type of vehicle for that matter, you really need to keep your head up – literally.
Despite the comical end of this young man’s attempt to fool around with a scooter, we reckon that using his face to dig a hole in the sand sounds much better than the alternative ending had he managed to ramp his way over the lump of sand… Follow the break for the video.

Porsche Restored 1973 US-Spec 911 T Coupe Awaits Lucky Owner


One of the main attractions of the Porsche Club of America’s (PCA) parade in Savannah, Georgia from July 31 to August 7, will be a fully restored, US-Spec 1973 911 T Coupe. What’s more, one lucky winner of a raffle will get to own it.
The idea behind the “Revive the Passion” project, as the restoration process was named, came up four years ago in Daytona and involved offering a classic, instead of a new car, to the winner of the raffle. The search begun and the suitable car was found near LA. It was then presented at the 2010 edition of the Porsche Parade event.