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Commenter Of The Day
Commenter Of The Day: Hervé Villechaize Edition
Though we may know him as the happy assistant on television's Fantasy Island, Hervé Villechaize had a fairly unhappy existence as a result of his dwarfism, eventually committing suicide at age 50. Raised in Paris, Villechaize was a painter and photographer who moved to New York and started acting in off-Broadway shows. His most famous film role came as Nick Nack in the film The Man With The Golden Gun, which he got before his role on Fantasy Island. He was eventually fired from the show and, if you believe E! True Hollywood Story, he spent nights drinking and screaming at the television. If Villechaize had questioned Jeremy Clarkson, he might have asked to live in a world where the Sebring convertible didn't exist — prompting some to wish for a world where Jeremy Clarkson didn't exist. Dearthair just fantasized about a commenting thread where everybody chilled a bit. More »
car safety
Ford, Lincoln Models Get Active Anti-Collision Technology Option
The headline of the press release starts with "FORD’S LATEST SAFETY BRAKETHROUGH"... groan. Bad puns aside, the newly minted active safety system available on select new Fords this year does a couple of things. First, it uses a forward-looking radar system to anticipate emergency situations and react appropriately with audio prompts and the braking system. Second, and this is new as far as we can tell, when backing up it uses the rear backup sensors to detect a car approaching but blocked from view by other cars in adjacent spots. This is an impressive system and we're glad to see it filtering down to the masses, but we're not sure the presser and video featuring exciting Dearborn Product Development Center locations below is the thing to get folks excited.More »
car movies
Criminal Mastermind Ronald Reagan Demands '59 Ford Hoonage!
The Killers was Ronald Reagan's last film, made just a few years before he became governor of California. In it, the Great Communicator plays a crime boss setting up an armored-car-heist caper, and John Cassavetes- one of the greatest directors in cinema history, in my opinion- plays a down-and-out race driver hired as getaway-car wheelman. It's a car-freak-stravaganza of a movie, with Lee Marvin as an Impala-driving hitman, race sequences packed with Cobras, and- best of all- a '59 Ford chasing a '58 Olds in some dirt-road madness. Murilee says check it out!
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4:54 PM on Mon Oct 6 2008
Ford Ka
Mulally Says Ford Considering Ka For America
Remember how Ford used to claim the Ka was too small for American tastes? Well, it appears American tastes have sufficiently downsized, and Ford CEO Alan Mulally, during an interview on a local Detroit radio show, said an Americanized Ka has quite a few supporters in the halls of the Dearborn automaker. For those not familiar with the Ka (and since it's never been sold here, that may be many of you), the little city cruiser is about the same width as the old Kia-sourced Ford Aspire — remember the Aspire? — and roughly ten inches shorter. Fortunately, the new Fiat 500-based Ka is also rumored to be at least an order of magnitude more fun to drive, so we're looking forward to finally seeing one on these shores in something other than a James Bond flick.[Detroit News]
Accessories
BrakeNutz. Yeah, You Read That Right, Brake... Nutz.
Let's say you're looking for a way to spice up the tail-end of pickup truck and regular truck nutz just don't do it for you. Perhaps something more tasteful and yet more flashy — literally. Enter BrakeNutz, a clear set of polycarbonate Nutz with dual-element LEDs inside. Those strategically placed lights are wired to mimic brake lights when properly installed into your cars or trucks wire harness. Guess that's one way to legally flash your nutz at someone. [BrakeNutz]
paris motor show
The Paris Motor Show press days have wrapped up, but if you missed some of last week's live coverage, here are some of the most trafficked posts from the show along with a couple more we added earlier today. Be sure to visit the full posts where you'll find more pictures, press releases and analysis.
Citroën GTbyCITROËN ConceptPininfarina B0 ConceptHonda Insight ConceptLamborghini Estoque ConceptAston Martin One-77Mini Crossover ConceptPeugeot RC HYmotion4Mercedes ConceptFASCINATIONSeat ExeoChina Automobile France KIFF
The Best Paris Motor Show Live Reveals: What You Might Have Missed
The Paris Motor Show press days have wrapped up, but if you missed some of last week's live coverage, here are some of the most trafficked posts from the show along with a couple more we added earlier today. Be sure to visit the full posts where you'll find more pictures, press releases and analysis.Citroën GTbyCITROËN ConceptPininfarina B0 ConceptHonda Insight ConceptLamborghini Estoque ConceptAston Martin One-77Mini Crossover ConceptPeugeot RC HYmotion4Mercedes ConceptFASCINATIONSeat ExeoChina Automobile France KIFF
4:00 PM on Mon Oct 6 2008
By Andrew Stoy
671 views,
12 comments
Latest by layabout: @ Steel-ETC See all you need here [www.one-77.com] more »
VW Scirocco
VW Scirocco Hypothetically Tuned By ABT
The new Volkswagen Scirocco may just be hitting the roads, but somehow tuner ABT Sportsline has already released their version of the swoopy hatch. Oh wait, no they haven't, these are just renderings. Yes, as has become common practice for tuners anxious to get a jump on the competition, ABT has resorted to releasing Photoshop-enhanced pictures of a standard Scirocco to display the aftermarket upgrade package they allegedly have. The car claims to bump up the power of the 2.0-liter engine to 240 HP, to be sent to your choice of gaudy, oversized rims. Of course, we can't get the Scirocco in America anyways, so we'd rather fantasize about the Scirocco GT24 Nürburgring endurance racer. Press release after the jump.More »
Novelties
