Video: Stunt Biker Does A 2-Person Full Monty, Sans Helmet

His Darwin Award nomination is pending. When the chick clinging to the bike looks towards the camera, I was surprised to learn there is such a thing as a “terrified smile.”



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Vintage VW Bug Gets Turbocharged V8, Probably One Of The Four Horsemen [Novelties]

We're not sure what makes this vintage Volkswagen more terrifying, the turbocharged V8 engine or the unconventional (for a Bug) engine placement. Either way, this car fulfills a few dreams and, likely, a few nightmares.

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds," was the phrase uttered by J. Robert Oppenheimer shortly after developing the atomic bomb. We can only hope he builder of this certain-death machine felt a similar emotion the first time he planted the progress pedal and rocketed himself into hot rodding lore.

Details are scarce, but we do know this street weapon is powered by a turbocharged 5.3 liter LSx-based engine. Taking the extra indie step forward, the fuel is managed by the beautifully homebrewed Megasquirt system. Die hard vintage VW fanatics will throw a rod when they notice very little original Bug remains, as it sits on a fully boxed one-off chassis with matching integral cage. Enough with the chatter — we'll let the pictures and video below do the talking.


Hat tip to TenBeers!

[LS1Tech]



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National PARK(ing) Day is September 19th

My friend Becky Striepe has a post over at Ecolocalizer.com talking about National PARK(ing) day, which is apparently this Friday, September 19th.

National PARK(ing) day is a one-day, global event centered in San Francisco where artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks. The event is sponsored by The Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit organization launched by REBAR, an art collective, to raise awareness about the need for more green space.

They plan on transforming over 400 spots into mini-parks. Pretty interesting. Check out Becky’s post for a whole list of the events happening.

I’m actually 100% against it though. I’m not against green space or helping the environment, but they’re doing it wrong. The Trust For Public Land wants to give the government more money to maintain public parks and land, which is an inefficient way of doing it. What they should have done when they started out in 1972, is started collecting money to buy land and turn it into private parks. They could have sold advertising, made it a for-profit enterprise and by today, they would have been much more successful. Imagine it, we could have tons of green parks and pretty landscapes, all done privately, more efficiently, and without tax money.

Check out this link for an example of that kind of private environmentalism.



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GM sees no buyers for Saab

Filed under: ,

General Motors' precarious cash position and a dire automotive market means that some blood-letting will occur to some of GM's brands. The General has mentioned that Saab and HUMMER are up for strategic review, which Maximum Bob Lutz told Automotive News was "code for we realize they're not working and something needs to be done." Many are expecting GM to sell Saab, but unfortunately you need a seller and a buyer to strike an accord. And sources are telling AN that the General doesn't have the latter.

Tight credit markets could be part of the problem, and any would-be buyers that have ample cash on hand are likely to be hesitant to part with it. That's especially true when considering the fact that Saab's sales declined at nearly twice the US industry decline in 2008, with only 21,000 units sold. The Swedish government may make it a little easier to keep Saab after it offered up $3.1 billion in loans to aid its industry (including Volvo). GM likely needs as much short-term cash as possible right about now, but the fact remains that the Swedish brand hasn't brought much success in the past 20 years, and the near-term prospects don't look very good, either.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

GM sees no buyers for Saab originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM Performance Parts To Offer $7,000 Body-In-White New Camaro [2010 Chevy Camaro]

Do you want to build your very own Camaro GS Racer featured at this year’s SEMA show? GM Performance Parts has the answer for you with the new $7,000 2010 Chevy Camaro body-in-white.

Starting early next year, GM Performance Parts will begin offering the 2010 Chevy Camaro body-in-white in their catalog. Marketed towards the competition racer set, the 2010 Camaro body-in-white will save both time and money. The package includes an assembled body structure, including front fenders, hood, front fascia, grille, roof, doors, rear quarter panels, trunk lid, rear fascia, complete floorpan and chassis rails. The cost of the package will run you $7,000, a far cry from the up-level SS model that would see the removal of 90% of its original content.

The parts needed to complete the package will include a powertrain, fuel system, suspension, interior components, glass and safety equipment. GM Performance Parts offers many of these parts through its online catalog and with such a large assortment of crate engine options listed on the GM Performance Parts website, it’ll be interesting to see what some of the grassroots racers will shoehorn between the rails of their build-your-own muscle car. Our ideal setup would be either the 6.2-liter supercharged LS9 or the brutal ZZ572/720R drag unit with its 572 cu. in. and 720 HP and 685 lb-ft of brute force.

GM Performance Parts Press Release:

Grand Blanc, Mich. – Racers who want to slip into something more fashionable at the
track next year will find the 2010 Camaro is just their size. GM Performance Parts will offer body in white packages of the new Camaro starting in the first quarter of 2009. The basic package lists for $7,000 and includes an assembled body structure, including the front fenders, hood, front valance/grille header panel, roof, doors, rear quarters, trunk lid and rear valance. The structure also includes the complete floorpans and chassis rails.

Racer must fill out an online application to be eligible to purchase one. The form is available at www.gmperformanceparts.com. Bodies will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is no limit to the number an approved racing team can purchase.

“This is the easiest and most cost-effective way to build a race-ready new Camaro,” said Dr. Jamie Meyer, of GM Performance Parts. “We envision racers using these bodies for all types of competition, from Pro Street and Competition drag racing to road racing.” The body in white includes only a painted body shell and no additional components or materials. The bodies do not have vehicle identification numbers, so they may only be used as racing vehicles that will never be licensed for street driving.

Racers will add powertrain, fuel system, suspension, interior components and glass (or sanctioning body-approved alternative), and safety equipment, then go racing.

“For the racers who would strip down the entire car and replace most of the components with racing-spec parts, the body in white saves time and money,” said Dr. Meyer. “Drag racers, for example, won’t have to worry about swapping out for a solid axle – they can just bolt one up and go.”

[via GM Performance Parts]



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Giant Dump Truck Tries Sledding, Fails Miserably [Offbeat News]

Wanting to take part in the winter festivities, this 47,000 pound articulated CAT rock truck goes sliding down a snowy hill and promptly eats it. No folks, Snowpocalypse is not the new Carpocalypse.

Internet V-Dubber Isgro was on the scene at his company's HQ when one of the machines tasked with relocating snow lost it off of a small embankment on the side of the parking lot. No word on how or why this pricey device flew off into the snowy wastes, but stay posted for the extraction pictures if they turn up.

[VWVortex]



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Lexus LF-A Roadster Concept

Lexus LF-A Roadster Concept
Lexus LF-A Roadster Concept

With supercar good-looks, the V10 LF-A has methodically marched from concept, to prototype, to imminate-super-secret production model, to endangered species list.  The main hurdle seems to be the $225,000 cost which Toyota views as prohibitively expensive and unprofitable.  Which is a cop-out of course.  Regardless of the economy, there seems to always be an inexhaustable flow of wealthy buyers IF you have something worthy of their attention.  The real question is whether Lexus is ready to produce a supercar.

Though Toyota maintains that the LF-A will remain only a development platform they are certainly parading it around like the next big thing, including a sighting by myself at the U.S. Open a couple of weeks ago. The “F” logo, located on each front fender of the Roadster, indicates the vehicle’s status as a part of the “F” special vehicle program within Lexus that falls outside the normal engineering and development process.

Compared to the coupe concept that was introduced last year, the LF-A Roadster features a number of design differences including reshaped headlights, a new front fascia, modified side skirts and air intakes, and a somewhat reshaped trunk.  The LF-A Roadster is still based on the same lightweight carbon-fiber and aluminum body used for the LF-A coupe, which maintains strength and rigidity even in topless form.  Like its coupe sibling, the LF-A Roadster is also powered by a high-revving 5 liter V10 engine capable of more than 500 horsepower and speeds greater than 200 mph.  It is mounted in front of the passenger compartment but behind the front-axle centerline in what engineers refer to as a front-mid configuration controlled by paddle shifters.  The LF-A Roadster stands just 48 inches tall, but the Roadster configuration adds a speed adaptive rear wing.  The rear is also marked by a pair of wrap-around, arrowhead-shaped taillights that bracket a pair of large grilles. These grilles vent the heated air from the car’s two rear-mounted radiators into the LF-A Roadster’s aerodynamic wake. The radiators are fed cool air by two large intake ducts mounted just above the rear wheel wells. 

Lexus Concept Interior
Lexus Concept Interior

While there’s still no definitive sign of a production version of a Lexus LF-A supercar, admirers can only hope that Lexus sees the need to having a high performance, limited production supercar in the company stable.



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