Who needs paint when you have super crazy tin reflection?

A motorist police say they clocked at 233 km/h in a 90 km/h zone told a judge his little Dodge Neon is incapable of reaching such breakneck speeds, but a classified ad for the car suggests otherwise.

The ad touts $25,000 in upgrades, including a 420-horsepower "Stage 3" turbocharged engine, adjustable sport suspension and ventilated disk brakes.

The 23-year-old appeared before a judge in Saguenay, Que., this week to argue that his $3,671 ticket should be quashed. His lawyer argued the Neon can't go 233 km/h.

But the online ad, posted on Monday, touts the power of the the car, on sale for $9,900.

Race car driver Bertrand Godin told QMI Agency the car in the ad is fully capable of shattering speed limits.

"The fully lowered suspension, the Stage 3 turbo which significantly increases engine power ... means the modified car can reach speeds well in excess of 233 km/h," said Godin, who has competed in Formula One and IndyCar junior circuits. "It's far from a jalopy."

The motorist earned 40 demerit points after police say his car was caught hurtling down a street on bald tires late last month. The driver had his licence suspended for a week and is still allowed to drive because he entered a not-guilty plea.

Source: NiagraFallsReview

Should have specified flatbed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riEUNA7cZMg

Ugly hoods aside, this GTO met its match: a tree.

Way to fail, dumbass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5PN3ocLvkQ&feature=player_embedded

In two weeks the U.S. Treasury will auction 11 supercars valued at nearly $3 million, including a Ferrari Enzo. If you ever bought a piece of electronics at Best Buy that didn't work, here's where your cash may have gone.

Last December, Russell Cole of Deerfield, Minn., was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on fraud and tax evasion charges after bilking Best Buy for $31 million over several years. Cole's company Chip Factory scammed Best Buy via an online supplier auction; Chip Factory would submit low-ball bids to supply certain parts, then hike the price it actually billed Best Buy. Cole bribed a Best Buy employee to keep the scam going, often sold defective parts to the chain and hid much of his and Chip Factory's income from the Internal Revenue Service.

Those ill-gotten millions allowed Cole and his family to build a $2.65 million home in suburban Minneapolis; when zoning rules barred anything larger than a two-car garage, Cole built a separate, ornate garage to house his collection, which included one of almost everything, from a replica Cobra to a Bentley Continental GTC. While a Porsche Cayenne and Mercedes S550 sedan were the daily drivers, the Cole garage also included a Ford GT, a Ferrari F430 and a '05 Lamborghini Murcielago roadster.

Cole's wife Abby Rae, who had founded Chip Factory in her basement before she married, was sentenced to three years probation; Russell Cole contended his wife had left him in charge of the business and had no idea about how big his scams had grown. As Cole's lawyer said: "He took one small step, which led to another and then another. He then made a fortune and somehow rationalized that he'd actually earned it himself."

The auction by Manheim is set for April 19 in Milwaukee, where the Enzo will likely draw the top bid.

Source: Gizmodo

Hinson Motorsports' C6 Corvette Z06 crashed at speeds in excess of 230 miles an hour yesterday at the Texas Mile. Amazingly the driver walked away from the crash without injury.

Corvette in 230 MPH crash at Texas MileThe team had run a 224.5 MPH pass Friday in the Z06 on "very low boost" according to Hinson Motorsports' Facebook page. The company's website reveals the silver Corvette was producing in excess of 1400 horsepower on a conservative tune last week.

Hinson Motorsports posted the following statement regarding the crash:

"Our record breaking Corvette was well on the way to raising the bar again when it left the track at over 230mph. The driver walked away and has been released from the hospital. The car rolled one time and landed back on the wheels. This a testament to following safety guidelines and building a safe car."

So far there isn't any video footage of the crash, but you can see the same car that crashed run a 214 MPH pass at the Texas Mile last October below. During that event a Lamborghini Gallardo built by Underground Racing met a similar fate as the Z06.

Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtPOI4hkCKA&feature=player_embedded

Source: Jalopnik

One Lamborghini owner in China today decided to take a stand against the poor service he had received from the company. He hired people to publicly destroy the sports car when it failed to function after a service by an official Lamborghini service station.

The protest was made to provoke public support and goad the manufacturer to respect his consumer rights. World Consumer Rights Day happens on March 15th in Qingdao city, eastern Shandong province, China.

Source: MSNBC

Replogle, 30, of Oklahoma City, was arrested Monday on two complaints of reckless driving in connection with the pair of YouTube videos, West said. He has not been charged and has since been released on bail.

The videos, taken from inside the car, show it rocketing past other vehicles as if they were standing still, the Corvette's engine roaring as the driver accelerates and shifts gears.

West said the patrol received an e-mail from someone complaining about the videos, which were posted by someone using the YouTube handle “cody111280” and boasting of driving more than 195 mph. Replogle's date of birth is Nov. 12, 1980.

Patrol officials decided to try to track down the person who posted the videos, whom West identified as Replogle.

Replogle told troopers he is the owner of the car, described in the videos' descriptions as having an engine with more than 1,000 horsepower, and was driving it when the videos were taken and that he was responsible for the YouTube posts.

Source: YouTube via NewsOK

Sony and Polyphony Digital are running a massive race competition around recently-released Gran Turismo 5, partnering with car maker Nissan on a multi-phase gaming event -- and it'll be televised as a reality show.

The three-phase gaming contest is part of programming in the works for car-focused cable channel Speed Network in 2011, although the competition itself began on December 15.

Contestants will use pre-selected Nissan vehicles in Gran Turismo 5, earning "free digital content" for competing and gaining other prize chances on their way to be selected as one of the top 32 virtual racers in the U.S.

The final 32 will compete against one another in March 2011, and from there, 16 finalists will engage in more kinds of contests against one another -- including driving real Nissan racers, according to the announcement. The final winner earns the chance to join "GT Academy", where they train with professional drivers at tracks all around the world and join a professional racing team.

Source: Gamasutra

Holy replica, Batman! This 1966 Batmobile ($150,000) is an officially licensed replica of the car used in the classic TV series, and features intricate, authentic details like the double-bubble windshield, a working flame thrower in the rear, an aluminum roll-top dashboard, a flashing red beacon light, accurately-labeled knobs and buttons, and fins out the wazoo. Powered by either a rebuilt Ford 460 or GM 350 engine.

Source: BuyBatParts

At the national summit on distracted driving yesterday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that the government wants to limit the technology that would allow people to update their Facebook account or surf the Internet while driving. Many automakers are starting to offer WiFi technology in their vehicles.

LaHood said that he will meet with automakers to develop new guidelines for vehicle telematics. ”Put safety before entertainment,” he said emphasizing that curbing distracted driving has “become a personal crusade” for him.

While he did not refer to any automakers, LaHood that allowing drivers to update their Facebook or surf the Internet “pull attention away from the road.” GM’s OnStar announced earlier this month that it will introduce a new service that will allow drivers to update their Facebook status via a voice activated system.

He did not layout out a schedule for setting up such guidelines.

Source: eGMCarTech

Jeremy Clarkson would be impressed. Outside Ben ­Collins’ smart Bristol semi are two brand new cars: a £40,000 sporty A5 and — ­perfect for a growing suburban family — a £40,000 VW people carrier.

Meanwhile, inside the four-bedroom £575,000 house in Bristol’s most upmarket area workmen have been renovating the place for weeks.

If Ben has been worried about losing his job on Top Gear after unveiling himself as the man who has appeared as The Stig for the past seven years, he certainly isn’t showing it.
Mystery man: Ben Collins, pictured leaving the High Court on Wednesday, right, was revealed as The Stig last month
Mystery man: Ben Collins, pictured leaving his home in Bristol this week, right, was revealed as The Stig last month

Mystery man: Ben Collins, pictured leaving his home in Bristol this week, right, was revealed as The Stig last month
Life in the fast lane: Ben Collins as The Stig with Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise

Life in the fast lane: Ben Collins as The Stig with Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise

Indeed, the stunt driver appears to have been splashing cash about recently, which is ­surprising because the Mail can reveal that his company, Collins AutoSport, has racked up a £1 million loss over the past five years.

The tidy advance of about £250,000 he got from HarperCollins, which is publishing his autobiography later this month, should help.

But company accounts show that despite ­Collins making cash injections of around £100,000 a year into his company, it has still required ­support from him.

First, though, a few warm-up laps for Top Gear novices. The Stig is an anonymous racing driver on the popular television motoring show who test-drives cars, sets lap times and prepares celebrities for the show’s Star In A Reasonably Priced Car section — while dressed in a white racing suit and full-face helmet so that viewers never know his true identity.

Read more: DailyMail

A 1959 Cadillac S&S ambulance restored to look like the iconic Ghostbusters Ectomobile — minus working proton packs to capture ghosts — is set to cross the auction block here on September 25 at the Historics at Brooklands auction.

Auction promoters said in a statement — with the headline "Who Ya Gonna Call?" — on Thursday that the Ghostbusters replica is expected to fetch the U.S. equivalent of $115,459-$130,853, even though it is not the original vehicle featured in the movie Ghostbusters.

The replica is described as "a faithful re-creation of the 1984 film car — including identical logos and roof props." The interior is set up as a limousine, with three leather-clad bench seats. It is powered by a 6.5-liter V8 engine that gets a frightening 8 miles per gallon.

The Ectomobile featured in the 1984 Ghostbusters movie was a renovated 1959 Cadillac ambulance conversion, according to Wikipedia. The movie, about a group of New York City parapsychologists who investigated and captured ghosts for a living, has become a cult classic. The Ectomobile featured a pull-out rack in the rear to hold the ghostbusters' proton packs for disabling ghosts and a proton cannon mounted on the top for "large or even giant-sized paranormal entities," said Wikipedia. The book Making Ghostbusters describes a deleted scene in which a police officer places a parking ticket on the Ectomobile, only to have the ticket instantly burn to ashes.

A Hot Wheels version of the Ectomobile became a huge seller after the release of the movie.

Source: InsideLine

Despite plenty of data that shows that drinking and driving leads to the deaths of thousands of motorists each year, consuming alcohol and getting behind the wheel is still a big problem in America. A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that eight percent of Americans admit to drinking and driving at least once in the past year. That's about 17 million drivers. A quarter of all respondents say they have gotten behind the wheel within two hours of having one or more alcoholic beverages.

To help combat this growing problem, NHTSA is launching its annual Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. campaign. The campaign will be supported by $13 million in NHTSA-supplied ads and a big time crackdown by local law enforcement leading up to the Labor Day weekend. NHTSA chief Ray LaHood underscores the fact that drinking and driving is still a genuine threat to drivers everywhere, adding, "We are going to continue doing all that we can to stop drunk driving and the needless tragedies that result from this reckless behavior."

Perhaps the most disturbing trend involves 16-20 year-old drivers. While most weren't inclined to admit to drinking and driving, the ones who did fess up often admitted to consuming six or more alcoholic beverages in one setting. That's obviously not a good trend, and NHTSA says that its data shows that people who drink more tend to drink and drive more.

Source: AutoBlog

Nicole Kidman and her husband Keith Urban just bought a 10 million dollar top floor duplex in New York City’s Chelsea district. It’s 3,248 square feet, has 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and a 20×22-foot living room with floor to ceiling windows that overlooks the river.

Oh and it also has a private elevator that turns their ordinary car into a flying car that lands at their front door, presumably so they can hop into a tub filled with the tears of a Phoenix.

Source: WWTDD