Показаны сообщения с ярлыком feature. Показать все сообщения
Показаны сообщения с ярлыком feature. Показать все сообщения

Ten Cars And The Type Of Women They Attract [Top Ten]

The primary concern of many males purchasing a vehicle (not us of course) is what type of member of the opposite sex it may lure. Here's ten cars and the corresponding women they attract.

Many guys hope their new car purchase will allow them to roll up to the line standing in the cold at their corner club on a Saturday night, and have the hottest woman waiting decide the car running its engine is the coziest place on earth for them. We here at Jalopnik know better. We know unless you're driving up in the hottest of hot supercars, the car you drive has less to do with attracting the girl you really want and more to do with attracting — well — other types of women. So instead of snagging Hottest Woman of 2008 Jennifer Connelly (seen to the left), you'll probably be swingin' with the following. Depending on which car you're driving, of course.



Click On The Photo To See The Woman Each Car Attracts



10.) 80's Era Muscle Car


9.) Late Model Euro Tuner


8.) Jacked-Up Offroader


7.) Rare Italian Exotic


6.) Clapped-Out Rice Rocket


5.) Classic VW Microbus


4.) Mack Daddy Pimp Cadillac


3.) NASCAR


2.) Old School Hot Rod


1.) Sensible Japanese Import


[via Motive]



Related posts:



Related posts:



Read More!

Five Possibilities For National "Car Czar" [Carpocalypse Now]

An agreement on the shape of a rescue plan for the not-so-Big Three automakers appears close. Included in oversight will be a federal "car czar" to oversee the rescue package. Here's a look at five possibilities for the position.

5.) Lee Iacocca

Pro:
• He found a way to make Chrysler relevant
• He's friends with Snoop Dogg
Con:
• He created the Eagle brand
• Somehow he couldn't find a better car to buy despite a plethora of available options

4.) Steve Jobs

Pro:
• Turned around Apple almost magically
• True digital iPod connectivity in every vehicle would become mandated
Con:
• He knows nothing about the auto industry
• Thomas Friedman thinks the world of him
• He's already got a job

3.) Katsuaki "Ken" Watanabe

Pro:
• CEO of Toyota Motor Company — why not just go with a winner
• Sings in a men's chorus
Con:
• He's not a U.S. citizen
• As head of the Toyota Motor Company he sort of has a stake in seeing the not-so-Big Three sell less cars


2.) Mitt Romney

Pro:
• He has investment, executive and government experience
• Possesses a familiarity with both Detroit and public-private partnerships (SLC Olympics)
Con:
• May actually oppose the bailout
• If he takes the position it either makes it better for him in 2012, which Democrats won't support, or it makes him worse off for 2012, which he won't support

1.) Jack Welch

Pro:
• He squeezes so much out of his employees' mind grapes they named the juice after him
• Six Sigma — a master of the way to turn any company into an uber-efficient powerhouse
Con:
• Six Sigma — a program of turning legitimate, intelligent engineers into pedantic assholes
• His Six Sigma protege, Bob "The Builder" Nardelli isn't doing too well over at Chrysler


Conclusion


Though we like the idea of a magical Car Czar that can come in and fix the industry, the real purpose of the Car Czar will be to supervise the distribution of funds, meaning it'll likely be someone who has legal experience and a knowledge of handing out government money. Since the position is designated by President Bush, it could be someone he's tapped before. The early guess: Kenneth Feinberg, a lawyer from D.C. responsible for overseeing the federal Sept. 11 victims' compensation fund.



Related posts:



Related posts:



Read More!

2010 VW Beetle [Rendered For Your Pleasure]

When Volkswagen released the New Beetle in 1998 it was a huge retro hit, but as all things do; it got stale. We're told VW is currently working on a replacement model due to be released in 2010 as either a 2010 or 2011 model year product. But what should we expect from this new New Beetle?

We're told the Ragster concept, first shown at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show, provided a slight glimpse into how a redesigned New Beetle could look. Our sources tell us the Beetle will lose some of its cutesy flair in favor of a more grownup look, something that will appeal to more than a few VW fans. The car will ride on the same next-gen Group A platform due out next year for pretty much every small and mid-size car in the VW stable, and feature similar choices from VW's lineup of four-cylinder engines. It's also a possibility VW will give U.S. buyers the choice of an 1896cc TDI inline-four that is currently serving duty in the Polo. A convertible model will follow the introduction of the coupe and there is also a possibility of a second four door Beetle model that will ride on the Golf platform. We’ve had KORSdesign illustrate what this new New Beetle could look like. Tell us what you think in the comments below.



Related posts:



Related posts:



Read More!

Man Builds Audi R8 Super Car Out Of A Not-So-Super Mercury Cougar [Custom Cars]

The Audi R8 is one of the most exclusive and beautiful supercars in the world, commanding auto-lust wherever it goes and wherever it's seen. But what if you want an R8 but don't have the $105,000+ to buy one yourself? You could go through the arduous process of designing and building the whole thing from the ground up in your basement, but that would take 17 years. Who has the time? Why not just design an approximation of the R8 around a 2001 Mercury Cougar, fabricate it from fiberglass, and call it the ReplicaAudiR8?

Here's the thing about the ReplicaAudiR8 — we don't hate it. For being a front-engine, front-wheel-drive approximation of a mid-engined all-wheel-drive supercar it looks damn good. We find ourselves thinking it wouldn't be a terrible thing if an actual Audi looked like this. Sure some of the details need a little work, like the lack of inner fenders at the back, and an interior upgrade which goes beyond adding an "R8" badge to the steering wheel, but it's pretty slick looking. Lets take a look at the car side by side with its inspiration.

Let's get the first, and most obvious angle out of the way, the profile. Since the ReplicaAudiR8 is based on a front engine front wheel drive sporty hatchback, one would think the thing would look like a wreck from the side. Surprisingly though it's just not that bad. The sculpting works nicely and the car even integrates intake vents from the as-yet unrevealed Audi R8 V10. The lines running front to back are massaged a bit to camouflage the change in layout, but overall it's an impressive effort.

The rear makes the ReplicaAudiR8's lowly Cougar origins blatantly apparent with a much narrower track and a higher roofline. The rear vents are actually bigger on the Replica than on the real Audi, but it lacks the exhaust tips poking through the back bumper. The lower bumper is one of the few places on the car that's fairly awkward, but it's nothing compared to some of the stuff we've seen on Fiero specials.
The front three-quarter view is almost creepy in how much the cars look alike. If you didn't know better, you'd swear it was a Chinese rip-off and not a home-built replicar. The only dead giveaway is the treatment on the lower lip of the front bumper. We'll be honest here, we're split on which one actually looks better from this angle. Henkl and Udo will be miffed at us, but it's the truth.
The one area the ReplicaAudiR8 has nothing on the real R8 (aside from the engine, the transmission, the suspension, the wheels, the chassis etc.) is the interior. The stock Mercury Cougar interior remains largely untouched from the day the Ford line workers installed it. The addition of an "R8" badge to the wheel can't compete against the shiny stainless steel, Nav system, D-wheel and general awesomeness of the Audi R8 interior.
At the front end we see the proportions of the wide Audi is again interpreted pretty cleanly on the Cougar chassis. The intakes are again a bit deeper on the replicar, and that lower lip comes into a clearer focus. Take a note, the ReplicaAudiR8 gets thin-line fog lamps where the real Audi is lamp free.

After all that, here's the big kicker: You can buy one of these if you live in Spain. The car was built by Alberto Gavach Fuertes of Zaragoza, Spain, who has a website dedicated to the car. Don't go to the site unless you want to scream bloody murder at the terrible website design, but on it, Alberto outlines the details on the car and tells us the price on this beauty: 40,000€ or about $50,000. This of course makes us wonder how fast the four-ring fellas will be slapping Al with a cease and desist, but that's for him to worry about. [Replica Audi R8, NECO Forums]



Related posts:



Related posts:



Read More!

2009 MINI Cooper Clubman S, Part One [Jalopnik Reviews]

As interns at Jalopnik, we've got a pretty sweet gig. Admittedly, there are occasionally humdrum duties such as cleaning the tire debris off of Challengers and Corvette ZR1s, but at the end of the day, the perks outweigh everything else. Heavily. When two of us were tossed the keys to a fully-fueled 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman S so fresh its interior plastics were still off-gassing, and the only spoken rule was that it had to be at the airport the next morning to meet the boss man with most of its important bits still attached, our minds ran wild. A full trunk of camera gear in tow, we did what anyone would when presented the keys to a MINI S. We went straight to Hell.

Hell, Michigan is a microscopic town just 15 miles outside of Ann Arbor. It was founded in 1838 by George Reeves and back then, Hell was actually bigger than it is now: It had both a general store and a mill. Only the general store — selling mostly Hell-centric kitsch — and a small ice cream shop remain today. Since Reeves became infamous for putting excess grain from the mill through his private whiskey still then offering it up for profit, Hell quickly became a popular spot to procure some de-luxe 'shine back in the day. Legend has it that eventually horses began returning to neighboring towns without riders, leading their wives to question the whereabouts of their husbands...a typical response to which was, "He's gone to Hell!" When the State of Michigan eventually asked Reeves what the official name of his settlement was to be, he replied, "Call it Hell for all I care, everyone else does."

Along with overwhelming amounts of kitsch, Hell is home to some of the best sweeping roads in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Approaching from the south, the road narrows from a four-lane highway to a two-lane pathway. Carving, cambered curves appear out of nowhere and you are quickly drawn further and further into the scenic side of the mitten (for you non-Michiganders, hold up your hand in the shape of a mitten and then, after, noting "Hey look, it's shaped like Michigan!" you'll see where we're talking about). Just fifteen minutes prior, we were trapped in typical rush hour drudgery. Now, my allies and I were soaking in the earth-tone blur provided by the untouchable combination of stiff acceleration, a panoramic moon roof and a winding forest road.

The strong hoonage quotient promised by the turbocharged 172 HP four-cylinder and a chassis overflowing with Bruce pushed us to nail the progress pedal to the floor despite ever-tightening road geometry. The MINI responded with its best Mr. Plow impersonation and we promptly ended up on the gravel shoulder. Something was amiss. The standard-issue MINI Cooper S would consume such a surface like a German inhales a liter of Hofbräu during Oktoberfest. It seems the missing passenger-side B-pillar caused this slower, chubbier and more flexible Cooper Clubman S to lose a bit of its composure at the limit. After some thorough, varied and objective flogging, we concluded that, as enthusiasts, the flawless structure present in the smaller, fitter Cooper S has seemingly been ruined by the addition of a paltry suicide door, a double rear door and 3.1 inches of wheelbase.

Mildly disappointed with the lack of go-kart capability, we proceeded south on the cruising roads leading back to Ann Arbor. Not out of the woods yet, the MINI was wound out in sixth gear and the tub pointed out what proficiency it had to offer over the pint-sized Cooper S. The added wheelbase and extra heft provided a very smooth and controlled glide for such a tiny car over some of the rougher patches of Michigan asphalt. Perhaps the ride was too smooth, interfering with our sense of speed, because we proceeded, cruise-missile-like at a very undisclosable speed past a local lawman doing something untold in the dark outside of his idling cruiser. Witnessing our microshuttle shoot over the crest, our road-following HIDs illuminated the officer while he scurried sideways to assume the position and give chase. This was his one chance to bust one of those big-city yuppies and he wasn't letting a little thing like pulling up his pants get in the way. The officer channeled a bit of Tanner Foust as he slid the old Crown Victoria around in the dust and roared up to a spot about a foot off of our rear fascia while we proceeded at a brisk 35 MPH. Perhaps he was simply admiring the quirky rear barn doors, but after about three miles of trawling along, the officer decided it was quitting time and pulled away. Disaster averted.

We rolled into downtown Ann Arbor with a now-dusty MINI and grabbed ourselves some super premium chow at Ashley's. Even with the added length, we found we could park the MINI just about anywhere in a town that is notorious for a total lack of parking. We decided it belonged best stuffed inside a pathway running through the center of the U of M campus. They didn't design those anti-car posts with this little guy in mind. The automatic door of the University's library's slid open as the MINI rolled past and we debated giving it a try. A steely gaze from the librarian inside smothered those plans and we decided the luck of our collective Irishness had been sufficiently pushed and it was time to hang it up for the night.

Even though it is not quite as lithe as it's smaller brethren, the MINI Cooper Clubman S is suited for a different purpose. If a nimble mountain terror is your prescription, the added bulk might just be too much to bear. This chassis is much better equipped to handle long stretches of straight road at alarming speeds with your friends and gear in tow than testing G-meters on a track. As if acknowledging its mission in life, the car did finally make it out to the airport, on time, with all of its running gear intact, ready for a week of hauling team and gear — nary a track in sight. Frankly, for the first time ever, we're left wondering why this MINI even needs an "S."

Photo Credit goes to Alex Conley.



Related posts:



Related posts:



Read More!