The Google Car

In another case of Google attempting to take over the world, the California technology firm has apparently logged over 140,000 miles in a car controlled by nothing more than a computer. The cars, which have been under wraps for about a year, are completely automated, using artificial-intelligence software that senses anything near the car and mimics decisions made by a human driver. By all means, this might very well be the invention of the decade, and it's only 2010. According to Google, the car reacts faster and works with the flow of traffic better than most human drivers. Because they do not get sleepy, distracted, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the automated car is virtually impervious to accidents. In fact, the only accident the cars were involved in was when a human driver rear-ended one of the Google Cars (the name sounds right, doesn't it?). Obviously, this is the testing phase of the technology, and automated cars are almost a decade away from production. That said, the concept is revolutionary. The applications are endless, not only from a consumer standpoint, but when dealing with military and public transportation. The only caveat I can see is that Google will now truly know where we are. We're getting closer to a dystopian future, and Google and Apple are at the forefront. I guess talking cars are reward enough for signing our lives over to technology companies. Check out a video of the Google Car in action...

Ken Block = The Truth

Honestly, not much can be said about this video, aside from stating that Ken Block is the best driver I have ever had the pleasure of watching. The man simply maneuvers a rally car in ways that are unfathomable. In this particular video, Ken is in Paris at a 1.58 mile oval track with 51-degree banks (much higher than NASCAR) and a number of obstacles that he performs mind-blowing Gymkhana tricks around. To say Ken Block is ridiculous is an understatement. Just watch the video and get ready to put your OH face on...

A Completely Transparent Car

If you're like me and have the imaginative capacity of a 5-year-old (that's actually a really good thing), then you're always wondering how stuff works or what's on the inside of all your favorite pieces of technology. As a matter of fact, you've probably contemplated taking apart some of your stuff just to see its guts. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the technological expertise to pull that off. Even so, we're still curious. That's why projects like this are so dope. Shell, in an effort to push its new motor oil (somewhat of an afterthought), built a completely clear Nissan 370Z to show the oil going through the engine, the cylinders, piston, crankshaft, and flywheel. Mind you, the car, as well as the engine itself, is made completely out of a glass-like material called Permex. They patent cut every single, solitary part of the car, and then carefully put them together by hand. The outcome is an (almost) fully functional, clear Nissan 370Z with Shell Helix (really wack name) pulsing through its veins, which is pretty cool to look at. Riding around in this as a felon or a snitch is a death certificate, though. Check out the corporate science project...

2010 Hennessey Venom GT

#shoutout to Autoblog for the flicktures...





American sports cars, with the exception of the Mustang and Camaro, have been virtually non-existent in the past decade. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I'd rather walk than drive an American sports car. Now however, the bar has officially been raised for domestic whips, with auto detailer and customizer Hennessey Performance Engineering manufacturing the Hennessey Venom GT. This thing is being rumored to dole out 1000 horsepower and 900 lb-ft of torque through an American twin-turbocharged engine under a British chassis. To automotive purists, it might be a mutt of a car, but to speed freaks, it's a wet dream on pavement. In addition to the ridiculous engine, the Venom GT holds a $600,000 price tag. And with only 10 in production per year, you'd better start looking for four-leaf clovers if you want to cop one. Check the video of one of the most powerful production cars during its construction...

2011 Audi RS5

Eurocars > Everything (except maybe Japanese). Yes, I said it. The past few car shows have been all about the US manufacturers and the fact that they've finally realized no one wants a humongous gas-guzzler anymore. At the same time, the European car makers are sticking to their scripts and still improving their designs and performance by that much more. Audi is carrying on that tradition in preparing for the release of its 2011 RS5. Pictures and specs got leaked for the German supercar, and the car couldn't be sexier. It boasts a 4.2-liter V8 that produces 444 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque, connected to a seven-speed S tronic transmission. The engine goes from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, and clocks in at a top speed of 280 km/h (174 mph). With specs like that, you'd better come with your pockets open, with a price tag of $105,000. Then again, this baby might not even make it to the US. I guess I can dream...

Dear Toyota

Good mileage? CHECK. Ugly cars? CHECK. Defects & recalls?? CHECK

I've never understood America's love affair with you, Toyota. Besides good fuel mileage, what do your buckets really have to offer? Most of your cars either look exactly the same, are really boring, or look way too much like cheap-ass Lexus'. In fact, I'd say most of your appeal has to do with how boring your designs are. Year after year after year, your cars don't change for the better, or at all, for that matter. I guess you could say your cars have better value since you don't change your designs; not seeing a snazzier version of one's car a year later is a good look. Even so, with all that going for you, and brand loyalty coming out of your ass, your cars are unsafe now??


Anyone remember these???

Good God, Toyota. Over the course of the past 3 years, you guys have been locked up in litigation for a number of defects in your car. Everything from faulty floormats, to gas pedals that stick and brakes that don't work have plagued your company as of late. I know for a fact though (okay not a fact; more, a premonition) that you guys have known about all these defects for a looooong time. It just makes more sense (financial, that is) to get tied up in litigation because of dishonesty than to actually fix the defects honestly. I'd love to be a dick conspiracy theorist and espouse you guys as another evil corporation, but its more hilarious to watch your negligence unfold into more legal trouble, Toyota. At the same time, your recalls are pretty dead on with the rest of the auto industry, so it's not really anything new. At least your head man tried to cover fess up. It's hilarious when the Man shits his pants and tries to tell us it's fertilizer...

Transparent Walls??

Now, when I say 'the Future' (capital F), this is what I mean. Unfortunately, heads like to call it 'augmented reality'. Scientists in the United Kingdom have used cameras and a type of projection screen on building facades in order to superimpose what's 'around the corner' ON the corner. It's a simple idea, but the application is useful, especially for those of you who like to use the celly while driving. Check out the video to get a glimpse of 'the Future'...

Toyota G Sports Series

Remember the Lexus LF-A I had posted up from October?? Well, Toyota (Lexus's owner) isn't stopping at the luxury brands. At the Tokyo Auto Salon (I need to make a trip out to that show at least once in my lifetime) Toyota revealed the concept for their next sports car, the G Sports Series. They were pretty tight lipped about the specs, but hinted at a RWD 2.0-liter engine and a six-speed manual tranny. The car looks like sex on hot pavement, too. Check some still pictures from the show...

Music-Making Jeep

Remember how Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids used to use every conceivable object in a garbage dump to make music?? Or the episode of Doug where they made a song called 'Bangin on a Trash Can'?? This is right down the street from them. A group of friends from Lord knows where decided to turn their old-school Jeep Grand Cherokee into a musical instrument, with everything from doors slamming, to ignition, to the jumper cables to whatever else they could come up with. I love creativity spawned from boredom. It's the purest form...

Valets Gone Wild

To all my friends who like to go to fancy restaurants and partake in the valet parking, let this be a warning to you. If you've seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you know exactly what I'm talking about. This guy posted videos like this on Youtube of him doing all kinds of crazy stunts in exotic cars, only to be found out by one of his patrons months later. He's a pretty good driver given the circumstances, though I doubt he'll be doing much driving pretty soon...

The Hundreds DeLorean

I usually don't like these 'lifestyle' collaborations because they're usually corny and don't really show any creativity (coughcoughSUPREMEcoughcough). This, however is on another level of cool, when it comes to collabs. The Hundreds decided to bring back the DeLorean as a limited edition release. The cost will most definitely be outrageous, but for something this ill to push around town, price might not matter...

The Snow-Car?

The idea of it is ridiculous, but it's inception is nothing short of a masterpiece. Although Ken Block's creation, melding a Subaru WRX STI with a snowmobile, seems a bit far-fetched, when it hits the snow, it looks like a pig in mud. The machine is called the TRAX STI, boasting 500 hp and is for snowboarders who don't feel like using the lift to get to where they need to be. I must say, that they did a bang-up job with it. The thing looks like it runs smoothly and doesn't lose any power to the wheels (treads?) due to its unorthodox set-up. I usually would have more to say, but this is something better seen than described...

Dear Ford

Wall Street wouldn't know bad quality if it crashed THROUGH the stock market...

via The New York Times:

The Ford Motor Company posted a surprise third-quarter profit of $997 million on Monday and said that it had had its first profitable quarter in North America in more than four years. The carmaker also said that, at least temporarily, it had stopped rapidly depleting its cash reserves. It reported positive cash flow of $2.8 billion during the quarter, ending September with $23.8 billion. Through the first nine months of 2009, Ford, the only Detroit automaker to avoid bankruptcy this year, has had a profit of more than $1.8 billion. Still, it has lost about $1.3 billion when one-time items, like a major debt restructuring, are excluded.

Until now, its goal had been to break even or earn a full-year profit by 2011. On Monday the company said in a statement that it “now expects to be solidly profitable in 2011, excluding special items, with positive operating-related cash flow.” It did not indicate whether a fourth-quarter or full-year profit is expected this year, nor did it provide an outlook for 2010, citing continued economic uncertainty.

Now, I won't lie. I think American cars are atrocious, but in the realm of the gas guzzlers, you guys are the only automaker that I can stand. That said, Ford, where did this profit of $997 million just magically appear from? Something about it doesn't make sense. It's one thing to not be in the red anymore (Ford was in fact the only American automaker to stay out of it this year). But it's completely different to post a record sum for a quarter after having been a hair away from bankruptcy only months before. In all honesty, that's an impressive jump. It probably should be noted in some record books or business textbooks because it's dope that they were able to jump out of the hole so quickly. HOWEVER, as we know with 'the Man', his results might be mind-blowing, but his methods are maniacal. Only a fool would believe that Ford attained this new rung of profit by completely legal means, much less NOT through some outdated loophole or random law that allows them to skew their reports. Regardless of my inner ruminations, you guys had a bang-up quarter. I just wish I could believe it as readily as Wall Street did. I guess even the Man gets tricked by the Man at times...

Best. Drift. EVER

The Japanese have really gotten this whole drifting thing down. In fact, they have this whole automobile thing down. It just seems like every time we think we've found a limit to speed and the way speed can be used, the Japanese do something mind-blowing. Check out the best drift I've ever seen, though somehow I think I'll see something crazier...

2011 Lexus LF-A

Now, tell me you wouldn't break a child's arm to get in the driver's seat of one of these. Lexus has long been known as the black sheep of the luxury automobile makers, simply because all of their sports cars from the last 10+ years, have SUCKED. And it wasn't for lack of effort. Their sports cars just weren't good compared to the Benzes, Beemers and Audis. Let's just say they did a 360 with the LF-A. This new 2-seater boasts a 4.8-liter V-10 engine that's smaller than a V-8 but weighs the same as a V-6, revs out to 9000 rpm and is capable of pushing 202 mph and 0-60 mph in just 3.6 seconds. The LF-A also has an official horsepower of 552 hp at 8700 rpm. In laymen's terms, that means plain old FAST. Of course the interior is plushed out with leather and carbon fiber accents. And the exterior? Well, you should just check out the pictures and video for that...

Oh yeah, before I forget. If you think you're ballin enough to cop this bad boy, think again. Lexus dealers can only begin accepting "purchase applications" now. That means you can't just walk in and place an order. The price tag is gonna be from $350,000 to $375,000, too. So you might want to hold off on that X-Mas vacation if you're trying to take a spin in one of these...