Tag Archive for 'Automotive'

…Trek’s District gives you the belt?

Trek District

Bicycles with belt drives used to be a boutique only feature just a few years ago, but as more and more people seek an alternative to automotive transportation, more and more bike companies are looking for ways to make the bike more consumer friendly.

Unlike a chain, belt drives keep you pant cuffs clean and your ride quiet, but they also can’t be repaired as easily or as on the spot as a chain can, and the price is also somewhat prohibitive.

Trek District Belt

However, when you want to live on the cutting edge, sometimes there are sacrifices that just have to be made.

Click below to check out Trek’s District, and see what the future has in store.

[Trek - District]

[Via: Gizmodo]

…It’s Movie Monday: Death Race?

4 Fast 4 Furious is still far off on the horizon, but for those in need of a bit of automotive adrenaline at the movie theater, Death Race looks like it’s going to be fantastic:

As always, Jason Statham plays the ‘Transporter’ role, and continues to be the man’s man who won’t take shit from nobody without a fight. Hot babes are in abundance, the cars are souped up and tricked out beyond recognition, the action looks non-stop and intense, and even Tyrese makes the transition from 2 Fast to Death Race.

Could you ask for anything more from a summer-time car movie?

[IMDb - Death Race]

…Speed and Motion loves exotics?

Speed And Motion

What’s better than one exotic car on the freeway?

Try hundreds.

Speed and Motion’s homepage is currently showing one of the most amazing automotive videos I’ve ever seen.

It’s a highway patrol led cruise down the freeway, and literally hundreds of high dollar exotics stream by. It’s too many to count in one go, so be ready for a few views.

Enjoy.

[Speed and Motion]

…The digital dash was supposed to be the future?

12 Gauge

The ‘80s were definitely filled with their fare share of flair, and the automotive trend of installing digital gauges into new automobiles was no exception.

The victim of the desire to find uses for new technologies that were being developed, the digital gauge cluster might have looked flashy at the time, but now they just look silly and outdated.

Motive has put together a list of 12 fantastic examples, so if you’re ready for a trip down memory lane, then click the link and get ready for a digital revolution.

[Motive - A Dozen Digital Dashes]

…Apples are great for autos?

Hummer HX iPhone

The iPod/iPhone is quickly becoming an automotive designers go-to gadget for futuristic tech integration.

First, there was the Land Rover LRX concept that started with the push of an iPhone button.

Now, the Hummer HX concept takes video from the front bumper mounted camera and records it directly to a dock mounted iPod.

What will they think of next?

[Via: Jalopnik]

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: SEMA?

Twin Mill

SEMA was, as expected, amazing.

If you’ve never been (given the chance, I think everyone should go), then picture this: More automotive eye candy than you can imagine, and I walked around for two full days and still didn’t see everything. It’s that big.

Though the name of the game is new and improved, and everyone is trying to one-up the next to grab that photographer’s eye, there were a couple trends that I noticed:

  • Orange is the new black. Orange was definitely the go-to color scheme for any car that was trying to show off, and even cars that were painted other colors seemed to have some sort of orange accent.
  • Bigger is better. To grab your attention, rims have now crossed the 30” barrier, and the more gaudy, the better. There were rims with TVs in them, rims with solid gold bars in them, rims with jewels in them, and rims that were painted just about any color you can imagine. If you can dream it, someone else can put it on a rim.
  • Heat-treated is the new chrome. To add to the wheel spectrum, many manufactures are now offering a “heat-treat” option, which takes your shiny new wheel and adds some color to it with a heat-treating process. I like the look, so I hope to see more of it.
  • Horsepower numbers need four digits to impress. With everyone pumping 300 horsepower out of their Civic, it takes something special to show off now, which is why many of the tuners were demoing cars that easily passed through the thousand mark in the horsepower column.
  • Conversions are big. Four door cars became two door, two door cars became four door, convertibles became single seat roadsters, and some cars just lost all hope of being original and simply transformed into something new entirely. There are definitely some automotive Dr. Frankensteins out there, and for the right funds, they can build you just about anything that you can think of.

Tractorri Engine

Though there were many cars that impressed, my favorite car of the show was easily the Tractorri; a half Mustang, half Lamborghini concoction that looked like it just stepped off the showroom floor. The execution was flawless, and it was hard to believe that this car started out as two entirely different machines. Though I couldn’t decide if it should be called a Forghini Musardo, or a Lambord Gallardang, it was easy to decide that John Haugh (the owner of the Tractorri) is one lucky man.

Tractorri Rear End

Starting with a 2007 body in white Ford Mustang, the Tractorri soon began to take shape. The 5.0-liter, 520 hp Lamborghini V10 was midmounted behind the front seats, and then mated to the Gallardo’s four-wheel drive, paddle-shifted E-gear transmission, and Aluminum double wishbone suspension.

Tractorri Interior

Other amenities include 8 piston front and 4 piston rear brakes, custom wheels, Lamborghini interior, PPG paint, and Gallardo taillights (to remind fellow drivers that there is a reason you’ll only ever see the back of this car).

If heaven has cars, then they all look like this, because the Tractorri was simply stunning.

Click through for more pics of the best of the best.
Continue reading ‘…It’s Tuner Tuesday: SEMA?’

…Renault loves the ballet?

I may have described drifting as automotive ballet, but Renault took that metaphor a step further and created an entire “Ballet” commercial:

And because I think it’s only fun if you know how they did it, here’s a behind the scenes:

[Via: AdFreak]

…It’s Movie Monday: The Illusive?

The Illusive

Though I doubt the world of the automotive spy photographer is anything near as glamorous as how it’s portrayed in “The Illusive”, it sure is a neat way to debut a new ride.

The film, which features the new SLR Roadster (among other Mercedes offerings), the Apple iPhone, and a Canon camera (“ideal brand partners are brought together and acquired for each film individually”), follows a freelance photog as he attempts to get the exclusive shot, and the illusive girl.

    A closed-off racecourse in northern France. A high-class German carmaker is holding a hush-hush photo shoot for its hypercharged baby. No one outside of the company has ever seen the secret new roadster.

It’s a very entertaining film, if a bit short, and does a great job of advertising for the product without coming off as a blatant product advertisement.

If only all ads were as subtle.

[The Illusive]

[Via: Motor Authority]




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