July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Classics, Etc., Europe, Maserati, Humor

It’s more than ironic that the Italian word barchetta literally translates to “little boat.” When originally used to describe racing Ferraris, the idea of a seafaring Maserati wasn’t what anyone had in mind. Marco Amoretti and Marcolino De Candia apparently looked at a Biturbo and though “gosh, that would make a dandy runabout for a coastal tour of Italy.”

The Italian Coast Guard did not agree, and the men were intercepted in the slow-moving makeshift craft. Painted pink and fitted with polyurethane buoyancy aids, the AcquaMaser lacked any of the required safety features or seaworthiness documentation. Slow motivation provided by an outboard motor, and low gunwhales also gave the officials concerns as the car was escorted back to land near Forte Del Marmi, Italy before it was confiscated, and Amortetti and De Candia were handed fines. Despite the potentially hair-raising pseudo-boat ride, the two men have apparently pulled off a similar stunt in the past, traveling from the Canary Islands to Martinique in a Ford Taunus/Volkswagen Passat-based vessel. Top Gear, eat your heart out.

[Sources: Repubblica.it via Google Translate; UPI]

Pink Maserati Barchetta? “Negato” says Italian Coast Guard originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Etc., Work, Humor

Giant wieners can do a lot of damage, it seems. Just look at what happened today in Racine, WI. There, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile penetrated a home’s closed garage door in a decidedly non-consensual manner.

Fox6Now.com reports that the Wienermobile’s driver took a wrong turn down a dead-end street. Subsequently faced with a scenario in which there was nowhere to stick the enormous 27-foot wiener, she decided to back up the street and start fresh. Unfortunately, she mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake, a course of action that simply did not cut the mustard. In the end, it was a long day filled with hard lessons, as demonstrated in the attached photo gallery. Thanks for the tip, Tony!

[Source: Fox6Now.com | Images: Tom McCauley, used with permission]

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile penetrates unsuspecting home originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., GM, Pontiac, Humor

If you’ve ever driven a Pontiac Solstice, you know that it’s a very pretty but extremely flawed car. In the interest of getting the concept car’s look exactly right in production form, GM had to make a host of compromises, which manifest themselves in a number of ways.

You all know about the roadster’s ridiculously recalcitrant top mechanism and dearth of usable space for both humans and cargo. What you may not be aware of is that inside the cockpit, there are three cupholders. One is actually semi-usable - it pops out of the transmission tunnel on the passenger side but is a bit flimsy and threatens to dump on your passenger’s lap. In the convertible, the other two are mounted in a pop-out tray below the storage bin between the front seats. Perhaps they were designed by someone with a cruel sense of humor. Or maybe by a fan of comic books, because unless one possesses the flexibility of Reed Richards, it’s essentially impossible to reach for a drink nestled in one of them without incurring some sort of sports injury.

After our man Sam Abuelsamid reviewed the 2009 Solstice GXP Coupe, I got to spend a week with one myself. (My car had a manual gearbox - the only difference between the two). One of the first things I noticed about the interior is that the tray with the useless cupholders is absent from the space between the seats. I opened the owner’s manual and, sure enough, the only cupholder mentioned is the one in the tranny tunnel. But while loading the “trunk” (as it were), I discovered an undocumented feature. Well, two of them, actually.

Photos Copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid, Alex Núñez/Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe: Great moments in cupholder history

2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe: Great moments in cupholder history originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Subaru, Humor

Ken Block’s two Gymkhana practice videos have set the bar for four-wheeled video entertainment, but the crew from IMV is here to prove that you don’t need a Crawford-tuned Subaru WRX STI, a stratospheric budget and an abandoned airport to serve up the thrills.

With a beaten base Impreza, a few sets of tires and enough fireworks to send Patton cowering under a desk, the creators of Scumballers and Team Torque have created ten full minutes of epic hoontastic footage, although it looks like much of the vehicular tomfoolery takes place on open public roads, something we don’t exactly approve of or recommend. In either case, make the jump to check it out. Hat tip to Evotec.

[Source: IMV via Streetfire]

Continue reading VIDEO: Ken Block Gymkhana spoof is criminally awesome

VIDEO: Ken Block Gymkhana spoof is criminally awesome originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Sedan, Chrysler, GM, Pontiac, Humor, Specialty

While Pontiac gets ready to take a dirt nap next to Oldsmobile and the folks at Chrysler’s Auburn Hills HQ brush up on their Italian, at least one American driver is showing us what might have been if the once-proposed Chrysler/GM merger (remember those days?) had come to be. Consider the perfect storm of hideous product decisions that could have ensued under such a tie-up.

What’s that? Your mind’s eye can’t envision a scenario so horrifying? No worries. Autoblog reader Berto snagged some photos illustrating just how kooky things could have gotten. Imagine one automaker’s muscle heritage fused with the base-level front-drive mediocrity of another. Imagine, friends, the Pontiac G6 V6 Super Bee. Thanks, Berto!

[Photos: Berto]

Nopar: Pontiac G6 “Super Bee” originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Videos, UK, Humor

Here’s a fantastic challenge that the Top Gear team didn’t think up: if you walked around London dressed as the Stig, how many strangers would let you drive their cars? Aussie comedy show The Chaser’s War on Everything went to London to find out, in an attempt to find a cheaper way to travel. What ensued was a guy in a bad Stig getup poaching transport from a few Brits — and it only got better from there. Follow the jump to see the vid. Hat tip: Scott

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Stig scam gets you around for free

VIDEO: Stig scam gets you around for free originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Humor

TBS will be airing The World’s Funniest Commercials 2009 tonight (Friday, June 26) at 9/8c. We’ve joined forces with the team behind finding and collecting the most gut busting television advertisements in the world to share with you some of the funniest car commercials that aired this year.

We’ll start with this one from a company called Hydro, the message of which is apparently to encourage young people to enter the field of engineering. Turns out, engineering can be a useful way to keep a group of bored little kids entertained in the summer, all at the expense of Dad and his 5 Series Touring. Follow the jump to watch the commercial and check out more funny adverts at veryfunnyads.com.

[Source: veryfunnyads.com]

Continue reading Funny Car Commercial of the Day: Remote Control Dad’s Car

Funny Car Commercial of the Day: Remote Control Dad’s Car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Government/Legal, Humor

A student at North Carolina State University has been arrested and charged with larceny for swiping some of those bright orange construction barrels from the road and creating what has been dubbed the “Barrel Monster”. Joseph Carnevale, who also went by the handle “U Live and You Burn” before he was caught and his real name revealed, has made barrel art before (see gallery below), but none were so brash, or so big, as the Barrel Monster. Aside from being an artist, Carnevale also does graffiti and is an “Urban Explorer”, which basically means he trespasses in all those cool places that citizens aren’t supposed to go like construction sites, sewer drains and abandoned buildings.

He has also chronicled his exploits on a blog at nopromiseofsafety.com where he is currently soliciting compassionate parties to write on his behalf to the prosecutor. Let’s hope the DA doesn’t browse his blog, as it’s filled with evidence of trespassing, vandalism and the like. Though some public property was damaged in the case of Carnevale’s Barrel Monster, we do hope they let him off light. Frankly, most highways could use a Barrel Monster. Thanks for the tip, Bryan!

[Source: WRAL.com, TechnicianOnline.com, nopromiseofsafety.com]

Barrel Fever: NC State student arrested for creating Barrel Monster originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Chrysler, Fiat, Humor

Chrysler and General Motors have been on the receiving end of more than a few skits by late show comedians recently, and new Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien took his latest shot at the Pentastar’s tie-up with Fiat. O’Brien’s latest gag is a mock Fiat-created Chrysler commercial for the Jeep Liberty.

The spot itself features a voice-over of a man with a thick Italian accent talking about how great the Liberty is on- or off-road, or even just driving in a circle. Hit the jump to view the video for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Jacob!

[Source: The Tonight Show]

Continue reading VIDEO: Conan shows off first Fiat/Chrysler commercial

VIDEO: Conan shows off first Fiat/Chrysler commercial originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 30th, 2009 by Byron Thurman

Filed under: Chrysler, GM, Celebrities, Humor

There’s no question that there have been better summers to be the chief executive officer of General Motors. Bankruptcy hearings, plant closings, job cuts and a near certain pay cut will no doubt put a damper on Fritz Henderson’s backyard barbecues. The CEO job is so undesirable that it cracked Late Show host David Letterman’s Top 10 Worst Summer Jobs list this week. In fact, GM CEO was deemed worse than being the Octomom’s babysitter, Susan Boyle’s groomer, or even Dick Cheney hunting partner. Ouch. At least it beat out George Bush memoir proof reader.

[Source: CBS Late Show]

GM CEO ranks #2 on Letterman’s list of Top Ten Worst Summer Jobs originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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