Movies and Wheels

Aptera Typ-1 Featured at Star Trek

2008-06-05T02:37:00.000-07:00

Aptera Motors is a maker of high-efficiency vehicles, and is located in Carlsbad, California. Its first product is a three wheeled two-seater electric car named the Typ-1. It will be available in two models: all-electric and series hybrid. The electric version will be available in 2008 with the hybrid model to follow.

The Aptera electric car is so futuristic looking. It has been seen on the set of the new Star Trek movie. Its futuristic design aims to maximize efficiency using Computational Fluid Dynamics. It also aims to create the most unique but practical shape for a two passenger vehicle.

Aptera Motors claims the Typ-1 accelerates from 0–60 mph (0-97 km/h) in less than 10 seconds with a top speed of over 85 mph (137 km/h). The Typ-1 will have a range of 120 miles on electricity alone, with a 600 mile range for the hybrid version when fully fueled.

It has got some pretty and practical features such as solar cells embedded under the roof to operate an always-on climate control system, ensuring the interior never gets too hot or too cold. It will use LED running and interior lights to reduce power. A computer-controlled “Eyes Forward” vision system. Instead of typical side mirrors, the car has displays fed by embedded cameras that show a 180-degree view of the rear and side area of the car.

I think this car is the beginning of a great revolution in car technology. Not only does it help us save money from very high prices of gasoline, it also does help save the environment, plus having a great pride for riding the most futuristic car ever made. I wish it all the best of luck.

The Submersible Rinspeed sQuba Concept

2008-05-15T02:58:00.001-07:00

The squba is the world's first car that can be driven both on land and under water. It was developed by Swiss company Rinspeed. Like the Tesla Roadster, the all-electric sQuba is based on the Lotus Elise and was inspired by the 1977 James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. In movies, it is designed as amphibious transport for secret agents, but now it is for real.

According to Rinspeed Boss Frank M. Rinderknecht, "The 'sQuba' is a zero-emission car as documented by the rotating license plate in the rear. It produces no exhaust emissions. The Swiss are among the world's pioneers in the area of hydropower. The 'sQuba's' filling station is the water reservoir." It is no surprise that the vehicle features powerful yet energy-saving LED lighting technology. It drives on land powered by an electric rear-wheel drive powertrain, using rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In water, it floats on the surface until the operator floods the interior to submerge it.

This is cool! The cars appearance does resemble a beautiful fish too. Although, electricity and water when combined may sound like a bad idea and is dangerous, as long as the pressure in the compartment for the batteries and electric motors exceeds the water pressure, they're not going to get wet. I just hope they did enough research with this before planning into production.

The Other Bond Cars

2008-02-24T16:55:00.000-08:00

James bond has been known for flashy girls and flashier cars. His most notable choice is the Aston Martin marque. It is not really that surprising as the automaker has been producing high quality vehicles with the looks that can make anyone crane their necks for a better look.

But a Bond film is not complete without a supporting cast and these people also uses cars just like you and me. Now, these guys (and gals) would not have been permitted to drive on Aston Martins and other elite brand as it might take some of the attention away from Bond's car. So, they end up using other cars.

Let us take a look at what other cars have been featured on Bond films in the past.

According to Wikipedia, an AMC Concord was featured in the movie Moonraker. It was used when 007 and villain Hugo Drax were pigeon hunting. Apart from this station wagon, a Jeep Wagoneer was also used on the film. For those who do not know exactly what the Wagoneer is, think of it as the forefather of today's SUVs.

Another Jeep was used on another Bond film. This time it's the Jeep Cherokee. Bond's lady friend Stacy Sutton was seen driving home on a Jeep Cherokee in the film A View to a Kill. Another XJ Cherokee was used for the film Tomorrow Never Dies although it was only displayed near Wai Lin's hideout.

These vehicles just shows that not even an Aston Martin which can outstrip any Acura MDX with vent visor is enough to make a Bond film complete. With a new Bond film on the way, be sure to keep a lookout for cars (other than the Aston Martin) that will be featured on it.

Back To The Future Via A De Lorean DMC-12

2008-02-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

As we listen to Enya singing, Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows, only time? And who can say if your love grows, as your heart chose, only time? isn’t it true that we can’t keep ourselves from thinking that these days, we’re becoming slaves of time - servants of time.

Only time, aside from God, and of course, our alter-ego knows us completely. When we talk about complete - that means everything - all about our past, present and future. So it wasn’t a surprise that people before us were also fascinated with the concept of a time machine. Ya know, the thrill of controlling TIME - one of our ultimate masters.

In Back to the Future, a 1985 film directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by no other than the legendary Stephen Spielberg, a time machine was conceived in the silver screen.

According to Wikipedia, using a De Lorean DMC-12, 17-year-old Marty explored the arduous life journey via a time machine invented by scientist Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown. The car travels in a programmed date and time upon reaching 88 miles per hour through a nuclear reaction of plutonium that produces 1.21 gigawatts required to power the machine. A flux capacitor allows the car to travel through time from November 5, 1955 to 2015 and then back to 1985.

Originally, the De Lorean DMC-12, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, is a two-door sports car available in the American market from 1981 to 1983. It was manufactured in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland by the De Lorean Motor Company. So what does this car have that makes it the time machine car concept that film makers fantasize about? Well, Wikipedia identified the following features: gull-wing doors with a fiberglass underbody, stainless steel panels and a fiberglass “underbody.”

The De Lorean DMC-12 was powered by a 2.8-liter PRV V6 engine, 166 inches in length, 73.1 inches width and a height that reaches up to 44.9 inches (doors closed) or 77.2 inches (doors open). Sad to say, only 6,500 De Lorean Motor Cars, including this DMC-12 exist today. On the lighter side, I wonder if the car came with a wiper blade in the movie. Ya know, time traveling requires clearer road vision than modern car driving. One wrong move and you might find yourself in a gladiator arena. Scary.

The film was considered as one of the top-grosser films in 1985 pouring over $210 million in the United States box office. Two sequels of the same title followed in 1989 and in 1990.

Back to the Future validates humans’ inner desire to overcome time - to repair the past and see the future - in search for certainty. But as Doc puts it in the movie, “Where we’re going we don’t need roads,” as the time machine disappears into the sky.

Dirty Larry Drives A Charger

2008-02-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

In 1974, when we haven't even heard of Jeff Gordon winning championships in NASCAR, Crazy Larry has already set his sight on NASCAR. Sand to get the money needed to make it with the pros, he and his mechanic decided to score money illegally.

I am talking about Larry, played by Peter Fonda in the movie Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. If you have not yet seen the movie, then try to dig one up somewhere because this is a really good film with a great car chase scene if you are into classics. In the movie, Larry drove a 1969 Dodge Charger. But in reality, three cars were used, two 1969 models and a 1968 model. All these vehicles are equipped with auto parts as reliable as wheel bearings.

Unfortunately, all the three vehicles used in the film no longer exist. One of the 1969 Chargers were destroyed during the making of the film while the 1968 Charger was scrapped. The other 1969 Dodge Charger was sold to a crew after the film was completed. Unfortunately, the said vehicle was involved in an accident in the late 70s and was totaled. Too bad.

Anyway, here are other facts about the movie according to Wikipedia.

Several chase scenes from near the end of the movie can be seen on a drive in movie screen during an episode of the 2007 Fox TV series "Drive"
The film is referenced several times in "Death Proof," the segment of the feature film Grindhouse which was directed by Quentin Tarantino. A clip of Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry is also visible in Tarantino's feature Jackie Brown. The film is also referenced in the Beastie Boys song "High Plains Drifter" in the line "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry on the run from Dirty Harry, Stash the cash in the dash but my gun I did carry."

All-Time Famous Cars On Films!

2008-02-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

A great film with an exceptional plot and characters is made even better with the awesome cars with sturdy nerf bars being featured in the movie. The action and drama is taken to greater heights when cars take over the scene with their rubber-burning and heart pounding speed and power. Star quality performance is indeed served in a high-speed fashion!

If you can still remember those significant vehicles that made it to Hollywood, these cars are today’s living legend and their legacy lives on and on with the new breed of celebrity cars to invade the silver screen.

Let’s have a recap on the world’s most renowned cars on films provided by Geocities:

American Griffiti - 1956 DeSoto Firedome Seville
Back to the Future - DeLorean
Big Fish - 1967 Dodge Charger
Bullitt - 1968 Dodge Charger 440 R/T and 1968 Ford Mustang
Blues Brothers - 1974 Dodge Monaco
Blade I and Blade II - 1968 Dodge Charger
Big Fish - 1967 Dodge Charger
"Christine" - 1957 Plymouth Sport Fury
The Choppers (1961) - '59 Buick convertible
Cobra - 1950 Mercury
Corvette Summers - Customized Corvette
Duel - 1970 Plymouth Valiant
Dirty Mary, ,Crazzy Larry - 1969 Charger R/T 440, 1966 Impala
Dragstrip Riot - '55, '56, '57 Corvettes
The Car - 1969-1971 Lincoln Mark III
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - 1973 Plymouth Fury
Fast and Furious - Mazda RX-7, Mitsubishi Eclipse
Too Fast and Too Furious - Nissan Skyline GT-R 2
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) - 1971 Ford Mustang Bos 302
Gone in 60 Seconds - Ford Shelby Mustang
Fireball 500 (1966) - SSXR Barracuda ('66 Barracuda), 426-powered
66 Belvedere stock car
Green Hornet - '66 Chrysler Imperial
The Love Bug - VW Beetle
Two Lane Backtop - Hemi Cuda, Dodge Daytona
LeMans - Gulf Porsche 917
Smokey and Bandit - 1976 Pontiac Trans Am
Grand Theft Auto (1977) - Rolls Royce
Rebel Without a Cause - 1949 Mercury Coupe
Matrix Reloaded - Cadillac Escalade EXT pickup, silver Cadillac CTS sedan
Italian Job (2003) - Mini Cooper S
The Wraith - 1986 Dodge Daytona turbos and Dodge M4S concept car
Last Angry Man - 1947 Buick
Little Ceasar - 1926 Cadillac
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life - Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Mad Max 2: Road Warrior (1981) - 1973 Ford XB Falcon coupe
Vanishing Point (1971, 1997) - 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T
White Lightening (1973) - Ford LTD
X2: X-Men Unites - Mazda RX-8
xXx - '76 GTO

The Power of Imagination

2008-02-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

Did you know that award-winning director Stephen Spielberg’s passion in filmmaking was instigated by watching movies during his childhood? Particularly… (Aww... My memory... I forgot the title!)

Spielberg used to be a nerd as a kid. More often than not, he gets bullied in school, until one day, his imagination was unleashed by the spectacle of an exploding train on the big screen. And the rest was history. Now, almost everybody knows what this man is capable of doing.

The invention of the world’s first-ever amphibious car shares the same story. Rinspeed’s scuba car, to be displayed at this year’s Geneva Motor Show this coming March 6 to 16 was inspired by the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me which was filmed in 1977. The film was about a megalomaniac who planned to destroy the world by creating his own Atlantis - a new civilization under the sea. And of course, Bond had to be there to do his job. Rinspeed’s scuba car’s concept was gotten from the Lotus Esprit sports cars used by M16 agent Bond played by Roger Moore, which main feature was its ability to transform into a submarine. Whew! That was about 3 decades of research and tests. The Rinspeed guys really deserve some pats on their backs, don’t they?

The scuba car is powered by an electric motor with torque that drives the rear wheel. It has two propellers in the stern and two jet drives in the bow that allow the car to run underwater while diving with its lightweight body. Also, Carbon Nano tubes, one of the car’s components sustain the driver and its passengers’ breathing by supplying them with fresh breathing air.

The car can submerge about 10 meters. So an Acura Legend brake caliper would be necessary for this car in case it goes beyond the normal depth.

However, scuba car is literally “for your eyes only” ‘coz so far, Rinspeed has no plans of mass-producing this car-type.

Yet, it only signifies one thing: There’s power in imagination!

CSI: NY's Vehicle Lot

2008-01-30T23:08:00.000-08:00

I love CSI: New York. Call me weird but I love the gore and just how they find the answers to the cases that they are dealing with. They take each piece of evidence and sort them bit by bit like a puzzle. I've always wanted to be a CSI but I don't think I can handle the blood. Maybe I can do the Nissan wheels's tire marks kind of thing and do the analysis but never the actual checking out of the body.

Anyhow, I know that CSI: New York is not a movie. It is a TV series but I'd like to share with you the different vehicles that one could catch in the series. You may want to try to read this list from the Internet Movie Cars Database and catch the vehicles later on when you get to watch the show.

Here are a couple:

BMW 7 (Season 1, Episode 12)
Buick Century (Season 1, Episode 7)
Buick LaCross (Season 1, Episode 12)
Buick Park Avenue (Season 1, Episode 7)
Cadillac CTS (Season 2, Episode 7 / Season 1, Episode 12)
Chevrolet Caprice (Season 1, Episode 9)
Chevrolet Corvette (Season 1, Episode 13)
Chevrolet Tahoe (Season 1, Episode 12)
Dodge Caravan (Season 1, Episode 15)
Dodge Neon (Season 1, Episode 12)
Ferrari 360 Spider (Season 2, Episode 7)
Ford Bronco (Season 1, Episode 14)
Ford Crown Victoria (Season 1, Episode 12 / Season 2, Episode 7 / Season 1, Episode 1)
GMC Envoy XUV (Season 1, Episode 1 / Season 1, Episode 12)
GMC Savana (Season 1, Episode 5)
Honda Accord (Season 1, Episode 12)

Dude, Where’s My Car?!

2008-01-29T16:40:00.000-08:00

Comedy has been raised to greater heights back in 2000! And this is precisely defined by two of Hollywood’s young talents, Ashton Kutcher of ‘That 70s Show’ and Seann William Scott of American Pie sequels and Road Trip. The two starred in a hilarious comedy, somewhat sci-fi and fantasy flick entitled "Dude, Where’s My Car?".

The story is about a couple of average, young and clumsy party-animals, Jesse Montgomery III (Kutcher) and Chester Greenburg (Scott), who woke up one morning from a night of partying and cannot remember where they parked their car, a Renault 5 model with a semi-busted alternator, which led them to a one-of-a-kind adventure. They can’t remember anything, completely everything that happened the night before the car was missing.

During their car-search journey, they came across a range of people including their fuming girlfriends Wilma and Wanda, an angry bunch of street hooligans, a scary transsexual stripper who chases after Scott and Kutcher because of a suitcase filled of stolen money, an alien seeking cult, and a bunch of aliens disguised in human like figure seeking for a supernatural piece of equipment that could save or wipe out the face of the earth.

I think you should watch this one.

Some Of The Best

2008-01-24T16:57:00.000-08:00

Some of the cars that we see on car chases on films are so kick-ass that it would really be cool to own them. It is even said that these cars make the movies cooler. And I bet that you would agree with me.

I recently stumbled upon this list by Hot Rod which focuses on the best car movies while I was looking for a throttle body spacer. The list is all about the car, and not the movie. According to the site, here are the top five movie cars and the reasons why they are named as some of the best:

American Graffiti (1973) Stars: '32 Ford five-window, '55 Chevy, '58 Chevy. The obvious choice. Despite all those Star Wars movies, American Graffiti is director George Lucas' best film. Four friends in central California face the future dusk-to-dawn one summer night in1962; cruising, hanging out, wreaking havoc, and ultimately street racing. In 200 years people will still watch this movie to know what it meant to grow up in an America obsessed with hot rods. And they'll still want to drive Milner's '32 and Falfa's '55.
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) Stars: '55 Chevy, '70 GTO. There's a plot in here somewhere, but no one cares. Two itinerant street racers without names (Taylor and Wilson are "The Driver" and "The Mechanic") wander across America until they encounter an older guy in a GTO (Oates) who can't shut up. They stop and street race. Then they stop and drag race. Then there's an impromptu race with a Dodge Charger. It all boils down to attitude--and you either like that or just leave the TV tuned to Lifetime. And their '55 Chevy is solid-axle wicked; a car built when '55s were bad-asses instead of antiseptic nostalgia rods.
Vanishing Point (1971) Star: '70 Challenger R/T. For no apparent reason, Kowalski (no first name) needs to get from Denver to San Francisco in less than 15 hours and has only a white Challenger and a fistful of amphetamines with which to do it. The cops try and stop him, and a lot of excellent high-speed stunt driving ensues. All the '70s counter-culture/existential stuff is bizarre, but the music is still solid. This is the ultimate Mopar movie.

iRobot’s Audi RSQ

2008-01-22T17:37:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was fun and I never felt so relaxed my whole life! No write-ups to finish and zero researches about EGR valve. Anyway, the weekend gave me enough time to let myself enjoy a DVD-marathon from dusk ‘til dawn. I picked five sci-fi movies including my all-time favorite iRobot which starred the Big Will - Will Smith. It was my appetizer before I proceeded with the next four films.

Do you know what makes the movie more enjoyable to watch? It’s Will’s awesome Audi car… the RSQ! Oh yeah, it’s the future. I wonder if Audi would possibly roll the RSQ into production soon. It’ll be great for sure.

According to Popular Mechanics, the world-renowned automaker had a joint venture with one of the planet’s greatest film productions, the Twentieth Century Fox to enhance its first-ever vehicle intended exclusively for a major blockbuster film. Will Smith who played the role of a paranoid detective, fought with robots in the year 2035 while burning rubber with the one of a kind Audi RSQ mid-engine concept car in the sci-fi movie.

The movie is definitely worth-watching… over and over again!

Lightning Fast Ford

2008-01-15T18:01:00.001-08:00

I know that the Cars movie has been released way back and I've got loads of posts to prove just how much I love the movie and the cars of course. So today, I am going back once again to the topic of Cars and Lightning McQueen of course.

This post though is about the Ford GT40. You may ask what's the connection of the muscle car to Lightning McQueen. Well, according to Wikipedia, "Stickers", as Sally Carrera first called McQueen, was based on the GT40. So let us take a look at what makes the GT40 and Lightning McQueen tick. The data though is for a 2005 Ford GT40 but I'm sure, it is basically the same.

Layout- mid-engine / rear-wheel-drive

Drag Coefficient- NA

Curb Weight- 3485 lbs

Weight Distribution (%f/r)- 43 / 57

Trunk Space- 1.0 cu ft.

Overall Length- 182.8 in.

Overall Width- 76.9 in.

Overall Height- 44.3 in.

Wheelbase- 106.7 in.

Track Front- 63.0 in.

Track Rear- 63.7 in.

Steering- Rack & Pinion; power-assisted

Turning Radius- 20.0 ft.

Tires front- 235/45 ZR18

Tires rear- 315/40 ZR19

Engine

Type- Supercharged V8; aluminum block and heads

Valvetrain- DOHC 4-valve / cyl.

Displacement- 5409 cc

Bore & Stroke- 90.2 x 105.8 mm.

Compression Ratio- 8.4:1

Redline- 6500 rpm

Max. Power- 550 bhp at 6500 rpm

Max. Torque- 500 lb.ft. at 3750 rpm

Bhp/Liter- 101.7

Accommodation

Seating Capacity 2

Front Head Room- 35.4in.

Front Leg Room- 44.6 in.

Interior Noise

Idle in neutral- 60 dBA

70 mph coasting- 79 dBA

Gear Ratios

1st- 2.61:1

2nd- 1.71:1

3rd- 1.23:1

4th- 0.94:1

5th- 0.77:1

6th- 0.63:1

Final drive- 3.36:1

Suspension

Front- Double Wishbone; coil springs, tube shocks, anti-roll bar

Rear- Double Wishbone; coil springs, tube shocks, anti-roll bar

Braking

Front Brakes - 14.0 in. (356 mm) Brembo cross-drilled and ventilated discs

Rear Brakes - 13.2 in. (335 mm) Brembo cross-drilled and ventilated discs

Performance

0 - 60 mph- 3.3 secs

0 - 100 mph- 7.4 secs

1/4 mile- 11.2 secs at 131.2 mph

Top Speed- 200 mph

Lateral acceleration- 0.99 g

Surely, Lightning McQueen can outstrip any Acura Integra equipped with high-end air filters with that 3.3 seconds 0-60 time.

Aston Martin DBS Confirmed For Bond 22

2007-12-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

Recently, Aston martin announced that their flagship, the Aston Martin DBS is still James Bond’s car. The next 007 film to hit cinemas in November next year entitled Bond 22 will again feature Daniel Craig and his car duo. The film is directed by Marc Forster and produced by Micahel G. Wilson and Barbara Brocolli.

In 2006, the DBS first starred with Daniel Craig in Casino Royale and due to its smashing performance in the motion picture, the car landed as one of Guiness World Record books for ‘The Most Cannon Rolls In A Car’.

Aston Martin Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez, said: “Aston Martin is proud of our long association with James Bond. The DBS has its own unique character which equals that of James Bond. It is explosive power in a black tie. It is the perfect car for James Bond as it delivers the complete driving experience and bridges the gap between our road and track cars – the DB9 and DBR9. It is equally at home on a twisting mountain circuit as on the open road and we are all very excited at the prospect of seeing it on the big screen again.”

These are the things that James Bond love about his car tandem (source: carscoop.com)

Body
• Two-door coupe body style with 2+0 seating
• Bonded aluminium VH structure
• Aluminium, magnesium alloy and carbon-fibre composite body
• Extruded aluminium door side-impact beams
• High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps (main beam)
• LED rear lamps and side repeaters
Engine
• All-alloy, quad overhead camshaft, 48-valve, 5935cc V12
• Compression ratio 10.9:1
• Front-mid mounted engine, rear-wheel drive
• Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active bypass valves
• Max power: 380kW (510bhp/517 PS) at 6500rpm
• Max torque: 570Nm (420 lb.ft) at 5750rpm
• Acceleration: 0-100km/h (0-62mph) in 4.3 seconds
• Max speed: 302km/h (191mph)

Dimensions
Length: 4721mm (185.9’’)
Width: 1905mm (75’’) (exc. Mirrors)
Height: 1280mm (50.4’’)
Wheelbase: 2740mm (107.9’’)
Fuel tank capacity: 78 litres (17.2 Imp.galls, 20.5 US galls)
Weight: 1695kg (3737lb)

Options
• Lightweight seats with six-way adjustment, including front and rear height adjust (Does not include side airbags or heated seats feature. Not available in USA or Canada)
• 20’’ alloy wheels with graphite finish
• Satellite radio system (USA only)
• Piano Black facia trim and centre console finish
• Leather storage saddle
• Personalised sill plaques
• Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror1
• Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror with garage door opener (Europe only)
• Alarm upgrade (volumetric and tilt sensor)
• Tracking device3
• First-aid kit
• Ashtray and cigar lighter

The Aston DBS is a great choice, but an Acura Cl with its Acura Cl header pipe is great too. With some gadgets to add and a little James bond look, who knows? It might be the next 007 car.

10 Mustang Bullitt Trivia Nuggets

2007-12-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

After 40 years, the Mustang Bullitt comes back. Better and tuned for the cinema lime lights. Although the Mustang Bullitt had starring roles in other 500 films, we cant deny that its trademark is still the Bullitt movie, named after its lead character and its car duo.
Here are the ten trivia nuggets of the all star car (source: ford.com):

1. Undercover Appeal – Hollywood pared down the original 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 to give the car a stealthy appearance for film, removing the driving lights, running pony grille emblem, Mustang lettering and even the GT badges. The 2008 Mustang Bullitt recalls the movie car – right down to the Dark Highland Green paint and lack of exterior badges, scoops and spoilers.

2. Great Performances –Thanks to the magic of special effects, audiences watched McQueen climb into a 2005 Mustang GT and race around a unique cornfield road course built especially for the duo by a farmer in a Ford ad entitled Cornfield. The commercial premiered in movie theatres nationwide in fall 2004 before it appeared on television.

3. Tale of Two Cars – Two 1968 Mustang GTs with 390 cubic-inch engines were purchased and modified for the making of Bullitt. One was badly damaged by the time shooting ended and was destroyed. In 1972, the remaining car was purchased by its current owner, who bought it under the stipulation that his name remain anonymous. The car was kept at his father’s garage until 1990, when it was moved to a horse farm in the Midwest after a Mustang enthusiast took spy photos. Today, the location of the car remains a mystery. Some say the owner moved that car again to his house where it sits, unrestored, in the garage next to his Porsche.

4. Sweet Sounds – An emphasis on realism drove the chase scene in Bullitt to movie greatness – right down to the soundtrack. Rather than opting for high-powered music to support the heart-racing action, Bullitt’s 10-minute car chase showcased the throaty roar of the engine, frenetic downshifting and squealing tires. The natural sound of this quintessential action scene helped earn the film an Academy Award® nomination for Best Sound.

5. Safety First – Steve McQueen (and stunt drivers) buckled up before racing the Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390, specially modified to run the bad guys off the road, at speeds of up to 110 mph along the streets of San Francisco.

Designed for performance, the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt delivers the thrill of the original – along with a host of features scarcely imagined in 1968. Standard content includes an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with traction control, seat-mounted side air bags, LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children), Ford’s Personal Safety System®, SecuriLock® Passive Anti-Theft System (PATS); and the company’s Tire Pressure Monitoring System. (Ford advises consumers to buckle up, drive safely and obey posted speed limits.)

6. Sport-tuned – Bullitt’s 390 cubic-inch V-8 introduced big-block performance to the Mustang. For 2008, Ford dials the driving dynamics up a notch for Mustang enthusiasts. Ford engineers modified the 2008 Mustang Bullitt’s chassis and suspension to fine-tune handling and ensure the extra horsepower and torque from the 4.6-liter V-8 is put to good use. The live rear axle uses a 3.73:1 gear that helps launch the Bullitt with vigor.

Stock Mustang GT shocks and struts were swapped out for new units that allowed engineers to dial in a more aggressive driving dynamic and deliver the most balanced Mustang yet.

7. Insider’s View – Driver’s-view shots let audiences in on the thrill of the chase in Bullitt, along with giving them a glimpse of the Mustang GT’s spartan, no-nonsense interior. The 2008 Mustang Bullitt maintains an understated mystique, with a graphically clean interior, sporting charcoal black leather and race-inspired accents – including a hand-machined, aluminum swirl dash panel appliqué. Consumers also can set the mood with available ambient lighting.

8. Did You See That? – The chase scene in Bullitt took more than two weeks to film, resulting in 9 minutes and 42 seconds of edited footage that helped Frank P. Keller earn an Academy Award® for Film Editing. Filming in a working city, with locations spread out over a considerable part of San Francisco, helped generate a number of continuity lapses that are either overlooked or celebrated by Bullitt aficionados.

9. Clean Machine – 1968 was the first year in which vehicle emissions were regulated by the U.S. federal government but cars still burned leaded fuel and catalytic converters were still years away. All 1968 Mustang engines incorporated an exhaust emission control system. Today's vehicles produce 99 percent fewer smog-forming emissions than cars in the 1970s. The 2008 Mustang Bullitt’s 4.6-liter three-valve engine delivers low emissions and is in compliance with MuCalifornia's stringent Low Emissions Vehicle II (LEV II) standard.

10. Need for Speed – Then: The original 1968 Mustang GT 390 boasted a 0-60 time of 7.8 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 15.2 seconds at 94.0 mph, according to Motor Trend. Now: Ford engineers modified the 2008 Mustang Bullitt’s chassis and suspension to fine-tune handling and ensure the extra horsepower and torque from the 4.6-liter V-8 is put to good use. Motor Trend clocks the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt at 5 seconds even for 0-60, with a quarter-mile time of 13.7 seconds at 102.7 mph.

Its good that I was looking for an Acura Cl Acc Cabin Filter that I got this cool trivia. Its giving the idea that the movie will be nothing but great.

2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR Lands Starring Role on Knight Rider

2007-12-15T00:59:00.000-08:00

The 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR is due for launching this spring and the KR on its name now changes for what it stands for. If it formerly meant “King of the Road” for racing fanatics, it will now mean Knight Rider for movie geeks as this super car lands a starring role with David Hasselhoff.

"It's purely a coincidence and a nice one at that,"" said Al Uzielli a senior advisor, to Ford Global Brand Entertainment the Ford office in Beverly Hills which works to place Ford branded vehicles in movies, TV and other media. "Auto enthusiasts will know what KR stands for. But most viewers will probably think it means Knight Rider; at least at first."

Knight Rider was formerly a TV series with hero Michael Knight playing the modern Knight as suggested by his name upon the series’ airing for four years from 1982 to 1986. Then, his duo was a special Pontiac Trans Am that can talk, can morph, can go 300 mph and can drive itself.

The coming Knight Rider movie still stars Hasselhoff but makes way for Justin Bruenig playing the role of Michael Tracer, Knight’s long lost son. In the same way, the Pontiac Trans Am will be replaced by the Mustang GT 500KR to be the new partner of the new Knight Rider.

The movie will give way for Ford to further showcase its SYNC voice activated information and entertainment technology that is also standard in various Ford models. It is in Ford and NBC’s partnership that both can promote the movie as well as the state of art Ford vehicles and products.

"This is a completely car-centric show and my understanding is that NBC was heavily pursued by both GM and Chrysler," Uzielli said. "We landed it because not only did we have the perfect car, we had the right logistics. Our advertising agency Teamdetroit had strong contacts on the business side and our team at Ford Global Brand Entertainment had a close relationship with the creative side including the new head of NBC Entertainment Ben Silverman."

On the movie showing, the publicities that the Ford Shelby GT500 will gain will only be additional to what it gets with the movie I am Legend starring Will Smith due on December 17.

"I don't think we've ever seen anything like this," said Cindy Stacy, senior vice president and director of national broadcast for Teamdetroit. "The important thing is that while the Mustang has a starring role in both projects, other Ford vehicles are integrated throughout the films. In fact, in Knight Rider I think just about every Ford vehicle is accounted for."

Ford vehicles are really making it to the movies and while I was looking for a new Acura Integra window switch, I’ve seen lots of them including the stars like David Hasselhoff and Will Smith.

Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 Breaks Into the Movies

2007-12-11T17:38:00.000-08:00

After General Motors had several of its models starring in one blockbuster movie (Transformers, anyone?), Ford is following GM in its stellar presence in the cinema. But unlike GM, Ford’s vehicles are not just featured in one movie. Last year in the Casino Royale, the Ford Mondeo and the Aston Martin, which was until then, owned by Ford Motors shared the glory with the international spy epic. And now for the Holidays, the red, white striped Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 will be driven by the only surviving man in the world, Will Smith, in the movie I am Legend.

"There is no doubt that the Shelby Mustang GT500 is the costar of the first part of this story," said Brian Daly of Ford Global Brand Entertainment (FGBE), which places Ford vehicles in movies, TV and other media. "Smith plays the sole survivor of an apocalypse who races around the deserted, gray, empty streets in this fantastic bright red Mustang. The sequences are incredible.”

Daly is not just the one impressed the Mustang’s presence in the movie, the Los Angeles Times auto blog is also buzzing about it. Reporter Josh Hancock commented, "The shots of the Mustang blasting around totally traffic-free New York will be the envy of every urban driver. I lost myself in that dream just with the sound of that car growling through the city streets."

The talks between Daly and Warner Bros about I am Legend started in spring of 2006. After some work with many studio executives, the script of the movie was done.

"The producers knew they wanted an American-made vehicle and the Shelby Mustang was perfect casting," he said. "But I also knew Chrysler and GM were making pitches. I kept imagining the folks at Camaro piecing together all kinds of prototypes to get those scenes."

"Getting Ford brand vehicles in movies like I Am Legend works in two ways," said Bob Witter, manager, FGBE. "First, producers know that as the audience recognizes a vehicle they see in real life or have been thinking about, the story becomes more relatable. And second, when our products are on-screen they can engage the viewer in a totally different fashion and help enhance our commercial and marketing investments."

The makers of the film, with its excellent production team expect the movie to be a hit. With Will Smith as the lead actor? I’m sure movie maniacs will dig his film and I’ll be one of them. That’s all for now, I’m searching online for a new Acura Integra distributor cap.

Mercedes-Benz 2008 C-Class Stars in Exhilarating Chase Scene in Disney's NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS

2007-12-07T23:53:00.000-08:00

Nicolas Cage’s National Treasure movie featured several American Historical things and places, and now in its sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Benjamin Franklin Gates explores London riding the equally adventurous Mercedes Benz C-Class. If you think the Buckingham Palace and the Southwark Bridge are already London’s greatest contribution to the film, you are definitely mistaken. These majestic landmarks are only used as props for the film’s daredevil chase, and it's what you will be astonished of. The motion picture will hit cinemas nationwide on December 21.

"The tremendous scale and excitement of this scene in NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS was the perfect opportunity for the new 2008 C-Class Sport to demonstrate its exceptional athleticism and agility," said Stephen Cannon, vice president of marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA. "The C-Class was tested and punished mercilessly during the shoot, and came through with flying colors. It will be a real spectacle to witness its abilities on the big screen."

London’s most historical car chase was of course made from lots of road closings and special effects. In fact, the film director, Jon Turteltaub and veteran hit movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer used a total of 40 stunt people, 70 logistic support vehicles, 50 extras and nine cameras. Once again, Jerry Bruckheimer had proven that he is not frugal with his film noting that the Book of Secrets did not only use one Mercedes Benz C-Class but a total of six! The car worth almost $37,000 each was customized with cameras and other film gadgets for stunt driving.

"We did take after take after take - thankfully the Mercedes held up wonderfully," said producer Jerry Bruckheimer. "London has so many one-way streets, and there are so many things that can go wrong, but the C-Class handled it. The great ability and agility of the car really helped."

I love the first film and I won’t miss this follow up. Even my Acura Integra AC with its Acura Integra AC condenser could not cool it down.

Bullitt’s back: 2008 Bullitt Mustang

2007-12-05T23:25:00.000-08:00

Forty years ago, the Ford Mustang Bullitt stirred car enthusiasts around the world in a motion picture, Bullitt. Starring Steve McQueen played the role of the legendary police Lt. Frank Bullitt, in time with Bullitt’s four decade celebration, the equally legendary car carrying the pony emblem is back.

The 1968 blockbuster movie featured the Dark Highland Green 1968 Mustang GT. And the seven minute car chase is a memory defining what a movie car chase must be for movie fanatics and car maniacs.

For 2008, under the Mustang’s hood is a 4.6 liter V8 engine delivering 315bhp at 6,000 rpm and 325 pound-feet of torque at spark ignition system. So who’s looking for more packed firepower?

“With all the improvements we’ve made to the engine and the taller 3.73-to-1 rear gear, the Bullitt will plant you firmly in the driver’s seat when you stand on the throttle. We’ve seen zero to 60 times drop by up to three tenths of a second,” said Paul Randle, chief engineer.

“There’s also plenty of 4,250rpm. Engine calipation is designed to increase throttle response for a snappier acceleration feel. The redline has been boosted by 250rpm to 6,500, with top-end speed bumped to 151 miles-per-hour.

“We wanted something that would rumble your heart, literally buzz you, and the Bullitt team delivered.”

The only visible identification is the word “Bullitt” dropped into a gunsight graphic in the center of the faux gas cap on the decklid. “The 2008 Mustang Bullitt, like the movie car, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said Doug Gaffka, chief designer.

“Mustang is — and always has been — such an icon that it’s recognisable without the badges. But Bullitt’s clean exterior doesn’t give away the Ford Racing-inspired power and performance lurking under its skin.”

The car came back, do we expect the movie to come back too? Yes. Rumors are, Angelina Jolie’s better half, Brad Pitt is to play Steve Mcqueen’s role in the film renowned for featuring one of the best car chases in cinema history. Your Mustang cravings are well noshed isn’t it? Now, let me look for my Acura Csx distributor cap online.

KITT will have Silver Racing Stripes...Huh?

2007-12-05T20:08:00.000-08:00

This is not yet confirmed but according to rumors circulating in the net Ford’s Mustang is likely to become the new KITT in the upcoming Knight Rider TV series. A Shelby GT500KR is the likely contender for the KITT role but with its silver racing stripes in contrast with KITT’s all black persona it sure would need a great amount of designing creativity to make it work.

The GT500KR as KITT would be given a whole new design. The famous trademark of KITT, the running red light bar would be relocated up and into two nostrils that sit atop the GT500KR’s hood.

Anyway, this is just a rumor but if Ford will not be able to play its card right it might wake up one day with one of GM’s vehicles playing the part. It can be remembered that Volkswagen was the first choice for the role Bumblebee in Transformers but was coveted by GM’s Camaro but in fairness to the Camaro it has played the role pretty well.

Let us not forget that the silver stripes serves as the trademark of the Shelby GT500KR, it’s going to be interesting on how they would fit that into KITT’s blacked-out persona without affecting the original concept of Knight Rider.

By the way in case you are looking for high quality Acura CL catalytic converter kindly checkout the link provided.

The Darjeeling Limited

2007-11-28T23:10:00.000-08:00

The Darjeeling Limited is a film about three brothers who have not spoken to each other since their father’s funeral a year ago and now tries to reconnect with each other. The characters are Francis Whitman played by Owen Wilson with brothers Peter portrayed by Adrien Brody and Jack played by Jason Schwartzman. This film is the latest in Wes Anderson’s film.

And just like the last three films of Anderson wherein problems between parents and children have been the highlight, The Darjeeling Unlimited will still display the same subject but with a twist that will involved a spiritual quest that gone awry caused by events that involve over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray. As if that is not enough, these three brothers have found themselves stranded all alone in the middle of the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. This sudden change of events has led them to take on an unplanned journey that would involve attending a mournful funeral which leads to Peter’s insistence on reclaiming their dad’s motor from the repair shop which is a scarlet vintage Porsche that could very use a Porsche car cover.

Mr. Robinson’s Driving School

2007-10-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Actor Craig Robinson is known for his role on The Office and now he will be starring alongside the new Volvo C30 hatchback with quality Volvo bumpers in an online comedy series that was developed and produced by Euro RSCG 4D; New York; MSN; Reveille Productions, Los Angeles; and Drama 3-4, Los Angeles. The comedy series entitled Mr. Robinson’s Driving School may be viewed over a period of 14 weeks through November 30 at www.drivingschool.msn.com.

The series is directed by Brice Beckham and David Fickas of Drama 3-4. The comedy series is about Mr. Robinson who owns and manages a small driving school, the story starts when Mr. Robinson was offered an opportunity to take over a much larger driving franchise as its owner retires provided that he can defeat his archrival “Swervin” Merv Lehrman in a series of challenges which are chronicled in the series.

To give himself a competitive edge Mr. Robinson bought a V30 which he names Sheila. Among the episodes to be aired includes the Freeway Challenge, Salesmanship Challenge, Parallel Parking Challenge, and the Change a Tire Challenge.

And since the Volvo C30 hatchback is designed to be driven by younger drivers than the traditional Volvo Car, the Swedish automaker wanted to create a pleasing experience for the consumer. According to Anna Papadopoulos, interactive media director at Euro RSCG 4D, "We knew digital would be a key player over other media because that's where the target was. Since we had a long-standing partnership with Microsoft and the company had just entered into an exclusive partnership with Reveille (producers of Ugly Betty and The Office), we knew this was an opportunity we wanted to explore. It started to all come together from there."

Papadopoulos further added that Volvo has a long-term commitment to emerging media platforms, including the first “custom solution” branded content package ever to run in MSN. It was called the Digital Garage and was shown on MSN Autos in the year 2001.

Papadopoulos explained: "However, this has been by far the most unique custom-solution program we have done with MSN and the first to fully integrate product. Unlike television, Volvo and Euro RSCG 4D were able to be part of the show's development from inception—this has definitely been a soup-to-nuts experience. This wasn't amateur hour. With all their recent success, Reveille and Craig Robinson provided an accomplished, recognized name to the program. Viewers had a context in which to view the program and understanding of the caliber of humor and professionalism they could expect."

She also said that millions of people have already visited the site and has spent time watching the series, sending messages to their friends, taking virtual driving lesson from Mr. Robinson aspiring to win the new C30. Likewise, the integrated placements on MSN’s homepage drive traffic to the site.

The production team has made use of digital technology particularly the Panasonic HVX which uses P2 cards. Jared Tobman, one of the executive producers was awed by the digital technology utilized for the online comedy series that he said, "These guys were sliding the P2 cards out of the cameras straight into Macs that were sitting on set and they were starting to cut right away. The tremendous amount of efficiency that digital technology affords also fits with the web because even though it's nice to have some great sponsorship of the program, ultimately you are still not getting anywhere close to what episodic television usually pays for stuff on the air."

In addition, it was also more cost effective for the team to shoot the driving scenes for multiple episodes in one afternoon on a green stage rather than do it the conventional more movie style approach.

Director Fickas also stressed that the shooting on the green screen stage has also helped to further enhance the actors’ performances. He said as quoted by Shoot on Line: "One of the things we really wanted to do was take advantage of the green screen and be able to control the comedy a little bit more by shooting it on a sound stage. By letting the green screen and the effects take care of our car stuff, Craig could improvise more and we could be a little bit looser than if we had to deal with traffic, blocking off streets and car rigs. There's just another element to that."

He also mentioned that he and Beckham went to see Robinson’s live comedy show before they met him just to get an idea on the type of comedy he does outside of The Office. And he was surprised to see how musically driven Robinson was making it easier for him and Brice to write stuffs that was specific for him.

Everybody agrees that Craig has this warm and lovable sympathetic personality---which is exactly what Volvo was looking for in a star who would co-star with its car.

Beckham also confessed that they did find a hard time to look for the balance between writing a compelling narrative arc and something that is more appropriate for the internet. He said, I think the biggest challenge specific to the web is creating short episodic content—that as MSN would say, people like to snack on—that works as a standalone but also tells a story over the course of 16 episodes. We had to satisfy people who are looking for one snack but also satisfy people who want to come back and keep eating."

And for Volvo it was satisfied with the results and was rewarding everyone in the production. Fickas said, "This experience has been contrary to most creative people's fears of partnering with a brand and having your creative content sponsored. They gave us the creative freedom to create a world and they provided us with an essential character in that world and then let us run with that. It's been a dream partnership as far as we are concerned. It's not at all the relationship that people fear when they think that an advertiser is going to get involved with their project and take it over."

4th Installment of the Street Racing Saga---The Fast and the Furious: Coming Soon

2007-10-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

The original heroes of The Fast and Furious are getting behind the wheels again for the fourth installment of the street racing saga that is according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Vin Diesel now 40 and Paul Walker, 34 are now in talks to regain their respective roles as street gang leader Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner the undercover cop that was sent to take him down.

The 2001 blockbuster The Fast and Furious movie was directed by Rob Cohen and obtained around $207 million in worldwide ticket sales. Unfortunately for the 2003 sequel Diesel was not part of the cast leaving the Walker to be paired with John Singleton. The 2 Fast 2 Furious was also a big hit making $236 million in worldwide ticket sales.

Then Diesel was back in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift still with Walker playing the role of MIA but this time with the addition of Lucas Black who is also played as one of the main characters. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out as expected and was only able to obtain a gross of $158 million worldwide.

The fourth edition just like the previous three Fast and Furious movies will still include hot cars and of course dirty deals. The writer and director tandem from the Tokyo Drift, Chris Morgan and Justin Lin are going to be part of the new film.

The schedule for the shooting could start as early as next spring in Los Angeles, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

And since there are still no other details yet on the fourth sequel of The Fast and Furious saga let us try to recall the remarkable machines that were used in the previous three sequels (source: Wikipedia):

The Fast and the Furious (2001)
1970(Black) Dodge Charger
1995(Neon Green) Mitsubishi Eclipse RS
1995[Black (with green underglow)] Honda Civic 2dr Coupe
1995[Black (with green underglow)] Honda Civic 2dr Coupe
1995[Black (with green underglow)] Honda Civic 2dr Coupe
2000(Black) Honda S2000 (AP1)
1992-1995(White) Honda Civic
1993(Red) Mazda RX-7 FD3S
1995-1999(Blue) Nissan Maxima
1995(Yellow) Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R
1995(Orange) Toyota Supra (JZA80)
1995(White) Volkswagen Jetta (A3 Type 1H)
1993(Black) Ferrari F355 F1 Spyder
1997(1997) Nissan 240SX (S14 Silvia) 2dr Coupe
1999(Red) Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
1996(Red/Yellow) Honda Integra
1970(Red/Black Stripes) Chevrolet Chevelle SS
1992(Gold) Honda Civic

2 Fast and 2 Furious (2003)
1999(Aqua Metallic) Nissan Skyline GT-R(BNR34)
1995(Caracas Red) Mitsubishi 3000GT
1995(Bronze Metallic) Toyota Supra RZ JZA80
2003(Pink with Japanese graphics) Honda S2000
1993(Red) Mazda RX-7 FD3S
2003(House of Kolors Platinum Pearl with Blue Graphics) Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR34)
2003(Lime Gold) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII Street Options
2003(Metallic Purple) Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder
2003(Yellow) Dodge Viper SRT-10
2002(Dark Grey) Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
2003(Red) Saleen S281-E Mustang
1992(Black) BMW 3-Series E36 Coupe
1999(Red) Ferrari 360 Modena
2000(Light Brown w/ custom Louis Vuitton pattern) Acura NSX
2003(Light Brown w/ custom Louis Vuitton pattern) Dodge Ram 1500
1969(Lemans Blue) Chevrolet-Yenko Camaro
1970(Vitamin C Orange) Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T
2002(Black) Ford Excursion

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
2005(Red/Black APR Sponsor Graphics) APR Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR
1967(Dark Green/White Stripes) Ford Mustang Fastback (RB26DETT engine swap)
1971[Beige/Gray Primer (Matte/Flat)] Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2000(Dark Blue/Orange) C-West Nissan Silvia S15 "Mona"
2006(Aqua/Blue/Black fade) Veilside Mazda RX-8
2006(Flat Black/Gloss Black/Flat Dark Grey) Veilside Nissan Fairlady Z (Nissan 350Z in the US)
1994(Orange/Black two tone) Veilside Mazda RX-7
2002(Gold Fade/Black Details) Nissan Fairlady Z
2003(Blue/Silver) Nissan Fairlady Z
1993(Medium Blue/White Side Stripes/DRFT on hood) DRFT Nissan Silvia S13
2006(Red) Mazda RX-8
1999(Black) Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2006(Silver/Rose) Volkswagen Golf R32
2005(Red) Dodge Viper SRT10
1970(Silver/Blue) Plymouth Roadrunner GTX 'HAMMER'
2004(Green) Volkswagen Touran

For the fourth sequel I am excited to know what cars are going to be part of the movie. I wonder whether the new Lexus IS F sportscar with quality Lexus muffler will also be considered but of course one thing is sure that there’s going to be lots of super hot cars that will be shown and just for that I think the movie is worth waiting for.

The Bandit Will Ride Again At DIY Network’s Celebrity Rides

2007-09-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

Smokey and the Bandit is a movie released in the year 1977. Burt Reynolds played the role as Bandit, Jerry Reed as the Snowman, and Sally Field as Frog. The story of the Smokey and the Bandit revolves around the three main characters that are racing to bring a truckload of smuggled Coors beer some place where Coors was not allowed. And of course the story would not be complete without the comic character Sheriff Buford T. Justice played by Jackie Gleason and his idiotic son, Junior Justice portrayed by Mike Henry chasing the three main characters around.

The comedy brought by the character of Jackie Gleason to the movie was outstanding so was the chemistry between Reynolds and Field. But despite all that, Bandit’s black with gold accents Trans-Am came out as the star.

And guess what? Burt Reynolds also known as Bandit from Smokey and the Bandit will once again reunite with the car he made famous once on the DIY Network show Celebrity Rides. The Trans-Am has become so famous after the movie that its sales jumped by 100 percent.

DIY Network show Celebrity Rides will feature a total of five episodes showing Reynolds restoring a fleet of limited edition Trans-Ams together with his design team from YearOne, an auto restoration company.

And that’s not all! Since DIY knows just how much fans would like to own a Smokey and Bandit Trans-Am, the network will be giving away one. For those who want to win a Trans-Am all they have to do is to visit Heavy.com where they can upload videos explaining why they should be given the car. Burt Reynolds will also help in selecting the most creative video and the winner will get to take home a fully restored Burt Reynolds Edition Trans-Am as featured in Celebrity Rides.

The winner will be announced on December 14, 2007 which is a Friday at 10 pm ET during the one-hour recap special of “Burt Builds a Bandit” series.

DIY’s “Burt Builds a Bandit” series will feature original footage of the 1977 classic Smokey and the Bandit film. There would also be an up-close and personal interview with the Bandit himself Burt Reynolds where he would be ask to give his insight into how the Bandit’s Trans-Am become an auto icon. He said, "There wasn't anything on the road that looked like it. It still looks dangerous. It still looks like it could eat you for lunch."

To know more on Burt Reynolds and the Bandit’s Trans-Am watch Celebrity Rides on October 19 at 10 pm ET. But if you want quality Lexus cold air intake just kindly click on the link provided.

Ford Vehicles in Hollywood TV Series

2007-09-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

Ford vehicles will be gracing some of the most popular television shows today starting off with ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” wherein the new character Dana Delaney will be driving a 2008 Lincoln MKX. Over the set of NBC’s “Las Vegas” is an entire caravan of new Ford F-150s that are getting ready to roll through the casino. The leading character of the new cop drama “Life” will also be driving a 2008 Ford Taurus.

Ford has placed around 70 vehicles in 29 TV shows and to think that production for the year isn’t even half over. This is courtesy of Ford Global Brand Entertainment which was formed three years ago with the responsibility of loaning vehicles to studios and networks in exchange for airtime on television, movies, and other media. The FGBE has ever since became the source of vehicles for many of Hollywood’s producers, directors, and transportation heads who are in need of perfect vehicle to suit the right character at the right time.

Bo Ehrig, the transportation director of “Desperate Housewives” was quoted by Media Ford as saying: "The guys at Ford have been invaluable. On Wisteria Lane, everything has to be perfect including the cars. The Ford team works with our producers in making critical story decisions on what’s right for our characters. They’re always looking for what’s best for Ford and we’re always looking for what’s best for the show. In the process we’ve developed an incredibly strong symbiotic relationship."

The relationship of Ford with the Hollywood community is very important since it helps the automaker in promoting its vehicles and although it is true that TV series may come and go but the crews, producers and the transportation directors remains. FGBE team member Ross MacKenzie said that: "When a show is cancelled the production people move on to other shows. So over time we’ve been able to develop relationships at every studio and every network."

For much of its run, FGBE supplied vehicles for Fox’s “The OC” and when the show finished production and the transportation director moved on to the new NBC series “Life” he still calls Brian Daly the senior VP with Team Detroit, a Ford advertising agency who is now assigned full-time to the FGBE office for advice since they are in need of an American-made car for the lead character played by Damian Lewis. To cut the story short, FGBE has provided the needed vehicle same with other TV shows like “The Neighbors”, “Notes from the Underbelly”, “Pushing Daises”, “Chuck”, and the “Dirty Sexy Money” that needed Fusions, Jaguars, Range Rovers, and F-150s.

Ford vehicles also remain to be a part of some of the biggest television hits including Brothers and Sisters, CSI: Miami, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Desperate Housewives.

With all the exposures that Ford vehicles are getting it makes you wonder why its sales in the US is still doing poorly. Anyway, its other two Detroit brothers General Motors and Chrysler the producer of Dodge catalytic converters are also suffering the same fate in a reality show where Toyota is the lead character.

New James Bond Movie: Soon

2007-09-12T01:13:00.000-07:00

James Bond fans would surely love this news-- Variety.com has recently posted an article stating that the team over at EON an acronym that stands for “Everything Or Nothing” in cooperation with Sony Pictures are discussing the return of James Bond to the big screen with a current running title James Bond 22.

The film is still in its pre-production stages however there is already a target release date and that is on November of 2008. So for now let us just content ourselves with the limited info available. It’s better than not having anything at all.

Anyway according to reports the script for the James Bond 22 will be taken from the Casino Royale scribes created by Neil Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis. Director Martin Campbell will be replaced by Marc Forster while Daniel Craig will again takes on the role of James Bond.

The new James Bond 22 promises to be even more thrilling as the last one. And of course, no James Bond movie is complete without an equally enthralling car. For the Casino Royale, our hero gets to drive one of Ford’s most awesome creations---an Aston Martin supercar based on the DB9. Under its hood is a throbbing 530bhp 6.0 liter V12 which has made Guinness Book of Records for the greatest number of barrel rolls. As a fact for one scene in the film the Aston Martin supercar has accomplished 7.75 barrel rolls.

Sony’s co-chairman Amy Pascual in an interview with Variety said, "What we found is that you can strip away a lot of the bells and whistles, but it still feels uniquely like a Bond film. Throughout the history of the franchise, the actors, tone and style of the films have changed, but the fundamental essence of what makes Bond endures."

EON head Barbara Broccoli has realized with the previous Casino Royale that the expectation that comes with any James Bond is really high. She said, "Casino Royale has set a new standard, and it's now a question of meeting those expectations for the next one and delivering a film that is emotional and dramatic as well as action-packed."

Haggis also added that in terms of story, "It will be the same Bond you saw in Casino, a very human and flawed assassin, a man who has to navigate a morally complex and often cynical world while attempting to hold onto his deep beliefs of what is right and wrong."

The James Bond 22 will serve as a sort of continuation of the Casino Royale where our hero was last seen chasing after an organization with the Casino as a hint. He was trying to find out who was behind the Le Chiffre operation.

Nobody mentioned about the rest of the plot fortunately Craig has provided a small clue when he said, "He also has to deal with revenge because he has lost the girl. Bond is still maybe too headstrong, and he doesn't make all of the right decisions." So, ok even that didn’t help much but again it’s better than nothing.

I don’t know about you guys but what really gets me excited about this film is the car which will be used by our hero. Is it going to be another one of Ford’s or from other automakers? That we will have to see and wait but for now in case any of you is searching for quality Volvo brakes please kindly click on the link.

Transformers Movie Soon at IMAX® Theaters

2007-09-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I have brought you news on the Transformers Movie which is already released in DVD and HD DVD. If you think that is exciting how much more watching the Transformers Movie at IMAX® theaters? That will be like double the excitement and triple the fun plus since it’s an IMAX film expect to experience more real-like action from your favorite robots.

According to the press release found at filmschoolrejects.com, IMAX Corporation in partnership with DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures has announced that “Transformers” will be digitally reworked into IMAX’s immersive format and will be released to IMAX® theaters on September 21.

The Transformers which has generated $310 million in gross box office receipts domestically since its premiere in conventional theaters on July 3 will be recreated into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® via the IMAX’s DMR® or Digital Re-Mastering technology.

And of course, it’s not going to be complete without comments from the people who made all this possible:

Michael Bay, the film’s director was quoted as saying, "IMAX’s all-encompassing format takes ‘TRANSFORMERS’ to a whole new level of detail and intensity. I am very excited to work with the team at IMAX to create this turbo-charged version."

IMAX Co-Chairman and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler has also expressed their gladness by saying, "As fans of ‘TRANSFORMERS’ await the release of the DVD in the fall, they will have a brand new way to experience the adventure — as if they are actually part of the movie. The images and sound in ‘TRANSFORMERS’ are perfectly suited to The IMAX Experience and we are very excited to share the IMAX version with the film’s present and future fans."

Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment also added, "When you combine Michael Bay’s action packed brand of filmmaking with The IMAX Experience, you get a movie that plays to the elusive and extremely valuable tech-savvy demographic. We are very excited to offer moviegoers a chance to experience one of the highest grossing and most popular films of the year in a premium way that cannot be replicated anywhere else, and we are delighted to once again work with the talented team at Paramount Pictures to make this happen."

Although BMW vehicles were not featured on the Transformers Movie but still I would cite them here in my blog who knows there are some readers looking for some BMW 840 parts and more.

Transformers Movie Soon at IMAX® Theaters

2007-09-07T18:06:00.000-07:00

According to the press release found at filmschoolrejects.com, IMAX Corporation in partnership with DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures has announced that “Transformers” will be digitally reworked into IMAX’s immersive format and will be released to IMAX® theaters on September 21.

The Transformers which has generated $310 million in gross box office receipts domestically since its premiere in conventional theaters on July 3 will be recreated into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® via the IMAX’s DMR® or Digital Re-Mastering technology.

And of course, it’s not going to be complete without comments from the people who made all this possible:

Michael Bay, the film’s director was quoted as saying, "IMAX’s all-encompassing format takes ‘TRANSFORMERS’ to a whole new level of detail and intensity. I am very excited to work with the team at IMAX to create this turbo-charged version."

IMAX Co-Chairman and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler has also expressed their gladness by saying, "As fans of ‘TRANSFORMERS’ await the release of the DVD in the fall, they will have a brand new way to experience the adventure — as if they are actually part of the movie. The images and sound in ‘TRANSFORMERS’ are perfectly suited to The IMAX Experience and we are very excited to share the IMAX version with the film’s present and future fans."

Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment also added, "When you combine Michael Bay’s action packed brand of filmmaking with The IMAX Experience, you get a movie that plays to the elusive and extremely valuable tech-savvy demographic. We are very excited to offer moviegoers a chance to experience one of the highest grossing and most popular films of the year in a premium way that cannot be replicated anywhere else, and we are delighted to once again work with the talented team at Paramount Pictures to make this happen."

Although BMW vehicles were not featured on the Transformers Movie but still I would cite them here in my blog who knows there are some readers looking for some BMW 840 parts and more.

Transformers Movie on DVD and HD DVD

2007-09-06T21:15:00.001-07:00

It’s been months after the released of the Transformers Movie on theaters but it seems its magic never fades and continuously captivates the interest of its viewers.

Last October 16, 2007 DreamWorks and Paramount Home Entertainment have announced the release of the Transformers on DVD and HD DVD. The Transformers was able to gain $650 million worldwide and still increasing since in other parts of the world the movie is still being shown.

According to reports from allthingshidef.com the price for single slate is $29.99 while the two-disc special edition-release options for both DVD and HD DVD cost $39.99. The two-disc special edition DVD includes a commentary by director Michael Bay plus two documentaries for both the human and the robot characters. Also included are early sketches of the robots plus an in depth documentation of what goes behind the scenes.

The HD DVD will also include an on-screen menu called the “Intelligence Mode” where information the movie’s characters and more are revealed. The GPS locator with coordinates is also included together with other web-enabled features which include heads-up display that allows for text commentary even while the film is showing; moreover additional details on the individual robots are access through the “Tech Inspector” feature. Other features are to be added soon.

The marketing will be supported by Paramount and will be released on TV, Radio, print and online ads. There will also be a customized message from Optimus Prime which people can send to friends from via phone or e-mail and will be displayed in nearly store selling the discs together with promotions from Chevrolet and Hostess. Chevy will also offer three customized Camaros styled after the character Bumblebee via sweepstakes. Hostess will also have 17 million Transformers-themed packages in store and will offer a 50” plasma television as an instant-win game together with other home entertainment system including portable DVD players and others.

So get your own copy now and by the way in case you are looking for quality Renault parts like Renault catalytic converter kindly just click on the link.

Transformers Movie on DVD and HD DVD

2007-09-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Learning Life through Driving Lessons

2007-08-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Driving Lessons is a movie that was released on DVD last July starring one of Harry Potter’s casts Rupert Grint who plays the character of Ben, a shy, 17-year-old bookworm. The story begins one summer vacation while all the other kids of his age are having fun, the good boy Ben was spending hours joining bible classes and having driving lessons conducted by his too much to bear and overly religious mother played by Laura Linney.

Rupert aka Ben was also shown helping at a local home for the aged institution. The summer vacation of Ben is not something that he considered as fun although I would consider that as a productive way of spending summer. Ben’s mother is a vigilant and tough mom to live with. Anyway Ben is not me so thank God.

The twist on the story happens when Ben gets a job assisting Evie played by Julie Walters, who is a strange retired actress. The goody-goody life of Ben was tainted by the vulgar Evie. Ben was suddenly trapped between two worlds.

Ben suddenly starts to be drawn to his employer’s eccentric and strange ways which causes trouble between him and his mother.

Evie makes Ben as her partner in a series of adventures ending in a camping trip that turns into a road trip when she succeeded in sweet talking the unlicensed Ben to drive her to the Edinburgh Festival. Ben being tired of being the good boy has ignored all of his conservative instincts and decided to drive off with Evie. He was going to use the travel a sort of air scoop to cool down from his growing problem with his mother.

The journey has turned into a life realization journey wherein Ben was forced to deal with his moral values and who he wants to be.

The movie is rated PG-13 due to some language, sexual content and some thematic material.

Well that’s all for today and feel free to add your comments.

Updates on Speed Racer the Movie

2007-08-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

After playing the villain in Rush Hour 3, Hiroyuki Sanada will once again play another villain role in the Wachowski brothers’ live action Speed Racer movie scheduled for release in the USA on May 9, 2008.

Sanada was quoted by Rotten Tomatoes as saying about his role, "Evil again. Kind of bad guy but serious businessman. He manages the whole racing industry. Money, money, money."

He also commented on the Wachowski brothers’ Andy and Larry saying, "They are so funny, both of them have their own view. We're going to try a lot of ways, a lot of approach for each scene. Andy says something, Larry says something, and mixed together ourselves, and then find out the best way. Both of them say okay, they ask me, 'Are you happy?' Done, go on."

Sanada was also very pleased with all the new camera systems used for the film, he said that "It's amazing. They have big, big monitors on set and checking every shot. High quality, modern, so clear and beautiful."

Aside from the movie itself the most exciting part of the film is the Mach 5 which will be driven by Emile Hirsch who plays the character of Speed Racer. He has already seen the real Mach 5 up close and really excited. He was quoted by USATODAY as saying, "My first thought was, 'Yeah, they got the car right. That's one of the best things about the show, so it was always going to be one of the most important parts of the movie."

The Wachowski brothers just like Hirsch and everyone else have grew up watching the popular 1960s Japanese cartoon that shows the adventures of a racing family with their chimpanzee pet named Chim Chim.

According to Joel Silver, a friend of the Wachowski brothers and producer of Racer and the Matrix films, "The TV show was the brothers' introduction to Japanese animation. They fell in love with the genre. They said they'd been making R-rated movies their whole lives and wanted to do something their nephews and nieces could watch."

Going back to the Mach 5, we won’t be seeing much of it on the pavement since its only going to be placed on a crane with the rest of the effects done via computer. The only real effect is Chim Chim which is a real monkey but chooses to be called a chimpanzee rather than a monkey.

The Speed Racer Movie is still under production. These are just some of the bits of news I gathered online. I will still be searching for more but after I finish ordering some BMW 630 parts.

Update on 2008 Knight Rider

2007-08-16T02:19:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Knight Rider is still in production which means that limited info on the movie can be gathered but according to imdb.com (Earth’s Biggest Movie Database™) David Hasselhoff will still be featured on the new Knight Rider only this time he will be training a new protégé that would take charge of the Foundation for Law and Government as well as settle some scores with an enemy from the past.

Let us not get too excited yet since imbd.com has stressed that the movie is still categorized as being production and all the data that are available on their site can change any time.

But if there’s one thing that we can be sure of it’s the fact that the 2008 Knight Rider is based on the 1982 series of the same name featuring a lone crime fighter that battles the forces of evil with his trusted and indestructible, artificially intelligent car, KITT short for Knight Industries Two Thousand.

With regards to the car to play the role of KITT there are no changes still the Koenigsegg CCX remains to be the current bet. Anyway since there are still no other developments on the 2008 Knight Rider let us try to focus on what makes the Koenigsegg CCX as the perfect car to play KITT. Here are the technical specifications of the car and you decide if it really fits the role:

Performance

Acceleration: 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) 3.2 seconds
Top speed: 395+ km/h (245+ mph)
Standing Quartermile: 9.9 seconds, end speed 235 km/h (146 mph)
Braking distance: 31m (100-0 km/h)
Lateral G-force: 1.3 G
Fuel Consumption: Highway travel: 13 l / 100 km
Combined: 17 l / 100 km

Body
Two-door, two seater with removable hartop stowable under the front hood lid. Body made of pre-impregnated carbonfibre/ Kevlar and lightweight sandwhich reinforcements.

Dimensions
Total length: 4293 mm (169")
Total width: 1996 mm (78.6")
Total height: 1120 mm (44.1")
Ground clearance: 100 mm (3.9")
Fuel capacity: 70 litres (18.5 gallons US)
Luggage compartment: 120 litres (31.7 gallons US)
Dry weight: 1180 kg (2601 LBS)

Aerodynamics
Cd. 0.3 Frontal area 1.867 m2. Flat underside of chassis. Venturi tunnels at rear of chassis/ body.

Steering
Rack and pinion power assisted steering. 2.7 turns lock to lock. Turning circle: 11 metres

Engine

Type: Koenigsegg V8 cast aluminium, 4 valves per cylinder, double overhead camshafts.
Displacement: 4.700 cm3
Compression: 8.2:1
Lubrication system: Dry sump with oil spray piston cooling.
Oil cooler.

Sequential, multipoint fuel injection. Twin Rotrex centrifugal superchargers with response system 1.2 bar boost pressure

Power output: 806 Bhp at 6.900 rpm
Maximum torque: 920 Nm (678ftlb) at 5.700 rpm.

Chassis

Semi monocoque made of pre-impregnated carbonfibre and honeycomb

Front and rear suspension: Double wishbones, adjustable Racing gas-hydraulic shock absorbers, pushrod operated. Anti-roll bar. Electronically adjustable ride height.

Front brakes: Ventilated discs Ø 362 mm, 32 mm wide. 6 piston light alloy callipers. Power assisted. Koenigsegg Advanced Control System.

Rear brakes: Ventilated discs Ø 362 mm, 32 mm wide. 6 piston light alloy callipers. Power assisted. Koenigsegg Advanced Control System.

Optional
380x34 mm ceramic discs with 8 piston callipers.

Wheels

Koenigsegg magnesium alloy wheels with centre locking. Optional: Carbon / Magnesium wheels Front: 19" x 9.5" Rear: 20" x 12.5"

Tyres

Michelin Pilot Sport 2
Undirectional with asymmetric tread pattern.
Front: 255/35-19" (Y)
Rear: 335/30-20" (Y)

Transmission

Specially developed 6-speed gearbox by Cima. Torque sensitive, limited slip differential.
Clutch: Dual plate, Ø 215 mm (8.46 inch)

Gear ratios: 3.545
1st gear: 2.875
2nd gear: 1.773
3rd gear: 1.267
4th gear: 1.000
5th gear: 0.833
6th gear: 0.711/0.733
Reverse gear: 3.000

And no GM will not take part on this movie but just in case you are in need of GMC catalytic converter just click on the link. Thanks.

2007 Woodward Dream Cruise presents Cool Cars Turn Movie Stars

2007-08-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

General Motors will have an exhibit on August 18, 2007 at the Woodward Dream Cruise featuring cars and trucks that have once starred in blockbuster movies and with personal connections to NASCAR racing champions. And no there won’t be any Yugo oxygen sensor on display.

Aside from the exhibit, GM will also offer for the first time a multimedia coverage of the Woodward Dream Cruise which can be viewed at www.gm.com starting Aug.16.

Also to grace the exhibit is the Chevrolet brand of GM that will present more than 60 classic and tuner vehicles including the vintage cruisers from the personal collections of some of NASCAR’s biggest names. A full-line display of the newest Chevy cars, trucks, SUVs with the spotlight on the new Chevy Volt and Camaro Convertible concepts will also be seen at the exhibit.

There would also be interactive games, great food and live music which can be enjoyed by participants at the junction of Woodward and Old Woodward south of 15 Mile Road where the Chevy Triangle is located. The Chevy Racing Tour and XM Ultimate listening Tour will take likewise take part at the event.

And of course GM Woodward Dream Cruise will not be complete without the vehicles from the recently smashed hit Transformers. The Athens Coney Island parking lot is given the Hollywood touch as four of four stars of Transformers take the center stage. Aside from the four GM Autobots stars there will also be the all-new 362 horsepower 2008 Pontiac G8 rear-wheel-drive sedan and the Holden Efijy retro cruiser concept from Australia that shook the 2007 North American International Auto Show with its unique global cruising theme.

The GM Athens exhibit will feature some of the cars that has made Woodward a cruising icon such as the 57 Chevys, GTOs and the split window Corvettes. GM Powertrain will also display samples of hardware that were responsible in putting the muscle in muscle cars.

A mile south at the Royal Oak Memorial Park is where GM Performance Division will display the Chevrolet SS and the Cadillac V-Series models designed for driving enthusiasts. They will be joined by some vehicles that you can’t buy since they are made for some very special people only like Dale Earnhardt Jr. with his custom made Chevy Silverado and the 200 mph Ecotec 4-cylinder-powered “belly tank lakester” for the Bonneville Salt Flats.

And that’s not all, located north of 13 Mile Road on the east side of Woodward is the GM Performance Division exhibit where product specialists are available to discuss technical features of all the vehicles on display. There would also be Linda Vaughn dubbed as “The First lady of Motorsports” who will signing autographs at the exhibit from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm and form 2:00 to 3:30 pm on Aug. 18.

Here’s the schedule of the GM’s Exhibits:

Saturday, August 18, 2007
Chevy Triangle from 10:00am to 6:00pm
GM Athens Coney Island from 10:00am to 9:00pm
Performance Division Memorial Park from 8:00am to 9:00pm

Thursday, August 16, 2007
Performance Division Exhibit from 9:00am to 6:00pm

Friday, August 17, 2007
Performance Division Exhibit from 9:00am to 7:00pm

More information on the said exhibit is found at www.gm.com.

RUSH HOUR 3: Now in Paris

2007-08-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

One of the funniest movies ever produced this year, RUSH HOUR 3, starring the wacky duo Jacky Chan and Chris Tucker has started showing already.

RUSH Hour 3 is a sequel of RUSH HOUR 2 which was shown six years ago. And just like the previous movie Chan and Tucker will once again reprise their roles as Chinese Chief Inspector Lee and LAPD Detective James Carter respectively. For RUSH HOUR 3 the comedy duo must travel to Paris to fight a wing of the Chinese organized crime family, the Triads.

At the heart of Paris is a deadly hidden secret which Ambassador Han is about to disclose. He possesses new evidences that would divulge the inner workings of the Triads. The Ambassador has also discovered the true identity of Shy Shen, the very core of the wide-ranging crime ring and he plans to reveal all that he knows at the World Criminal Court until he was assassinated.

The Triads will never permit the ambassador to reveal their secrets so they silenced him for good. There are only two people in the world that can stop the Triad and its LAPD Detective Carter and Chinese Inspector Lee.

The two detectives are heading to Paris not only to stop the Triad but to also to rescue Ambassador Han’s daughter Soo Yung. Being new to Paris the duo faced some problems. First they know nothing of the city, second they can’t speak French and third they don’t have any clue where to start their search. That’s where the whole comedy thing develops. In their search for the Triad they were taken to the very depths of Paris underground up to the breathtaking heights of the Eiffel Tower.

And of course since this blog is all about movies and wheels it’s going to be blunder on my part not to mention the cool wheels used for this movie. Its not just one but nine vehicles were used for RUSH HOUR 3 and it’s the following:

• 1995 Fiat Barchetta
• 1995 Ford Escort Clipper
• 1997 Honda Prelude
• 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee
• Renault Escape IV
• Renault Laguna 2
• 2000 Renault Master
• 1997 Volkswagen Passat B5
• 1 unknown vehicle

RUSH HOUR 3 is directed by Brett Ratner who made the previous two sequels RUSH HOUR and RUSH HOUR 2. Other famous films by Ratner include X-Men: The Last Stand, and Red Dragon. The screenwriter for RUSH HOUR 3 is Jeff Nathanson from RUSH HOUR 2 and Catch Me If You Can.

RUSH HOUR 3 is based on the characters created by Ross La Manna and being produced by Arthur Sarkissian, Roger Birnbaum from Memoirs of Geisha, Jay Stern, Jonathan Glickman from the Pacifier and Andrew Z. Davis.

The movie is rated PG-13 due to sequences of action violence, sexual content, nudity and language.

And now that I’m through giving you the exciting details of RUSH HOUR 3 I’m off to buy a Mercury oxygen sensor.

Bumblebee of Transformers sold at eBay

2007-08-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

Bidding for the 1977 Yellow Chevy Camaro that portrayed the role of Bumblebee in the 2007 Transformers has ended. The winning bid reached $40,100.01. Anyway, according to the description at eBay the Bumblebee that was auctioned was a real Camaro and there’s no way it will change into a robot. At least we are clear on that subject.

The 1977 Yellow Chevy Camaro was used throughout the movie by Shia LaBeouf who played Sam Witwicky. This yellow Camaro is one of the most important hero items in the film.

The Camaro was also said to be in good running condition with extensive upgrades. The vehicle is equipped with a rebuilt V8 engine matched with a modified high rise double pump carburetor and modified headers.

My friend Art is asking if it can be fitted with Toyota suspension bushings Duh?! As if General Motors will let any of its creations be tainted with Japanese parts particularly those of its rival Toyota.

Going back to the Camaro aka Bumblebee, the description at eBay states that the vehicle has an automatic transmission, power steering, with “Craigers” wheels up front and “American” wheels at the back. The dash was also modified and equipped with new gauges, a spruced up interior, and of course an “Autobots” logo on the steering wheel which confirms that it’s Bumblebee alright. The car is also sold with a title from the State of Oklahoma. And all along I thought Bumblebee came from the planet Cybertron. LOL

By the way here are some of the questions that people ask about the Bumblebee at eBay its funny how people can really get too caught up in a film and ends up believing everything:

DOES THIS CAR REALLY TURN INTO BUMBLEBEE THE ROBOT? WILL IT DRIVE ITSELF? PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP THANKS!

Brabus’ “Wolf in Sheep Clothing” Surprise

2007-08-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

While searching for some affordable Toyota fuel savers online I decided to visit one of my fave auto blogsites, the worldcarfans.com just to see if there are new vehicles featured on the site. And as always there were new featured vehicles.

But what caught my attention was the 30th anniversary presentation of Brabus with the theme “wolf in sheep clothing” which will be presented at the Frankfurt International Auto Show IAA 2007. The presentation at the Frankfurt will also be accompanied by the launching of the newly designed BRABUS website.

Brabus is currently the world’s largest independent automobile tuner and considered to be a car manufacturer under the German Federal Motor Vehicle Registration Agency. It has always been the tradition of Brabus to build legendary models. The very first car that Brabus has tuned-up was the Mercedes 190 which was equipped with a V8 engine. This was followed in 1996 with the introduction of the BRABUS E V12 that has set a record for the fastest street-legal sedan in the Guinness Book of World Records posting a top speed of 330 km/h or 205mph. And until today BRABUS Rocket still upholds the world record by recording a speed of 365.7km/h or 227.2 mph.

The idea of equipping an extremely powerful engine into a sedan with very few exterior alterations has reached its present peak with the debut of a new “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. This BRABUS special model was based on a Mercedes-Benz vehicle that delivers performance that very few in the world’s super cars can match.

Starting back in the year 1997 the Brabus web site has been visited by around ten million auto enthusiasts and now a completely redesigned website goes online at www.brabus.com

There is lots of info on Brabus that are found on the web site including its extensive Brabus product lineup. There is also an interactive virtual tour that provides a glimpse behind the scenes of factory in Bottrop.

A new addition to the web site is the Brabus Art Club that will feature a photo editing contest which entails online visitors to choose the Brabus model that they like and then used this model in sceneries designed by them. The winner of this contest will be chosen by an international jury who will select the best art works that will be showcased on the new Brabus website. There are also a number of exciting prizes to be given away during the contest.

If you think that’s al to it then you are mistaken since there is a virtual pit stop that enables online visitors to mount any Brabus wheel on some of the latest Mercedes models. Online visitors may also download various Brabus sales literatures and selection of Brabus vehicles.

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION: The Final Battle with the Undead

2007-08-06T23:32:00.000-07:00

The thirty-one year old Hollywood actress Milla Jovovich will once again fight the undead in the upcoming Resident Evil: Extinction movie which is scheduled for release this autumn. Milla aka Alice has visited Germany to promote the last sequel in the best-selling Resident Evil movie franchise which is in turn based on one of the best game ever produced bearing the same name.

Alice, Jovovich’s character in the movie will ride a BMW K 1200 R based on the 163 horsepower four-cylinder K 1200 R which is at present the most powerful production roadster in the world which is not surprising by the way since BMW has always been known for producing quality motorcycles, cars and of course auto components such as BMW 525i parts which are renowned for their very high quality.

Milla commented on her ride saying, "I'm not the best judge but I've had a few guy friends freak out over it and say that the bones [design] are awesome. It looks great."

To commemorate the debut of BMW’s K 1200 R, the talented artist Georg Huber has created a “RE3” show bike that displays the flawless airbrushed spinal bones on the tank and some detailed gold lettering depicting its connection with the previous Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

When ask about the movie Jovovich said, "It was a lot of fun making it - these films have been a great experience for me. I guess I feel like I can do a lot of different parts but action I really love. I love training and working with weapons; it's a lot of fun but takes a lot of focus. I get to recreate this character and it's been a great opportunity for me - not many actors can say they have a 3 DVD box-set."

Just in case you want to know how powerful BMW’s new ride, here are the specs and details:

ENGINE
Type: 1157 cc, water cooled, 4 - cylinders in line, 4-stroke
Bore x stroke (mm): 79 mm x 59 mm
Compression ratio: 13:1
Valves: DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
Fuel system: Electronic intake pipe injection
Power: 163 hp (121.5 kW) @ 10250 rpm
Torque: 127 Nm (93.7 ft. lbs) @ 8250 rpm

TRANSMISSION
Clutch: Multiple-disc clutch in oil bath, hydraulically operated
Gearbox: 6 speed (much better than the BMW 524 sedan equipped with BMW 524 parts)
Final drive: Cardan
Starting system: Electronic

CHASSIS
Frame: Bridging frame, die-cast aluminium, load bearing engine
Front suspension: BMW Motorrad Duolever; central spring strut, rebound damping electronically adjustable with optional ESA, 115 mm travel
Rear suspension: die-cast aluminium single-sided swinging arm with BMW Motorrad Paralever; central spring strut with lever system, spring pre-load adjustable to continuously variable levels by means of hydraulic handwheel (electronically adjustable with optional ESA), adjustable rebound damping (rebound damping and compression electronically adjustable with optional ESA), 135 mm travel
Rake / Trail: 29 degrees / 101 mm (4 inches)

WHEELS
Wheels Die-cast aluminium wheels
Front wheel 3.50 x 17
Rear wheel 5.5 x 17
Front tyre 120/70-17
Back tyre 180/50-17
Front brakes dual 320 mm discs with 4-piston calipers
Rear brakes single 265 mm disc with 2-piston calipers

DIMENSIONS
Overall length 2228 mm (87.7 inches)
Overall width 856 mm (33.7 inches)
Overall height 1230 mm (48.4 inches)
Seat height 820 mm (32.3 inches)
Wheelbase 1580 mm (62.2 inches)
Fuel capacity - reserve 19 l (5 gallon US) - 4 l (1.1 gallon US)
Dry weight 211 kg (465.2 pounds)

Volkswagen Touareg and Golf GT Sport Debuts at the Bourne Ultimatum

2007-08-03T01:56:00.000-07:00

The Bourne Ultimatum has got me all excited. First, because of Matt Damon who I think is one of the best actors around. Matt will be playing the character of Jason Bourne - a man being hunted down by CIA people who also happened to be the ones who trained him to be an assassin.

The Bourne Ultimatum is a sequel to The Bourne Identity movie so if you want to understand the Ultimatum makes sure to watch the Identity movie just to get a good grasp of what's going on in the film.

In the Ultimatum, Matt aka Jason has still not recovered from his amnesia and is still in search for clues of his real identity. He was lured to come out of hiding in order to contact Paddy Considine aka Simon Ross the journalist who has been following the story of Jason. Ross has conducted some research that contained valuable information on Bourne and Treadstone who have trained Jason. This information would somewhat affect the plans of Noah Vosen, a US government official (played by David Starthaim) who is planning to create a new organization called the Blackbriar which will follow the Treadstone’s footsteps---the very reason why you have to watch the Bourne Identity first or you’ll never get the connection.

David Starthaim aka Vosen has planned to kill Bourne and the journalist to protect the secret of their organization. He sends agent Pamela Landy (played by Joan Allen) to lead the search for Jason and Ross. Likewise, Edgar Ramirez alias Paz, a Treadstone assassin was dispatched to eliminate Bourne and Ross. The movie has very exciting action scenes that you will surely love.

And of course a Bourne movie will not be complete without car chase scenes. Such special task was given to the Volkswagen Touareg 2. It’s actually the first time for the Touareg to come out in a movie.

Steve Keyes, General manager Public Relations for Volkswagen of America, "This action packed film is a great way to showcase the capabilities of the Touareg 2 and introduce this more powerful, safer and versatile new vehicle into the US market."

With the upcoming release of The Bourne Ultimatum, Volkswagen’s Touareg was able to continue its strong Hollywood presence as it showcase its powerful performance in some of the amazing stunts and chase sequences in the movie.

The stunt team of the movie was really impressed with the Touareg 2 performance especially in the climactic chase scene done in New York. Graham Kelly, Action Vehicle Supervisor said, "This vehicle is indestructible. We filmed crash scenes for three weeks, and the Touareg 2 kept going. This is one of the most incredible vehicles that I have ever driven."

In the movie, the Touareg 2 is driven by Paz who is Bourne’s persistent pursuer. Aside from the Touareg another Volkswagen was used in the movie, the Golf GT Sport which was driven by Nicky Parsons (played by Julia Stiles) and was used to help Jason flee from Madrid to Tangier.

The Iron Man rides an Audi R8

2007-08-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

Okay guys, I am still having a hard time getting over the Transformer fever but another comic hero is coming to our movie screens. Yes, you heard me right; another heroic character will soon show up to star in one of the most sought after movie events of the year.

Months ago, we were delirious over the premiere of such movies as the “Fantastic Four” which was then followed by the blockbuster, million-dollar grossing movie “Transformers”. Soon, Iron Man will dazzle us with his moves and incredible skills.

If the Fantastic Four adaptation of the Marvel Comics uses the Dodge car, the American billionaire Anthony Stark also known as Iron Man will reportedly be driving an Audi R8 as his official car in the movie.

Dirk Roder, the director of Audi told Variety, "With his ingenuity and passion for technology, Tony Stark personifies Audi's values.” The car was chosen because on the comic book, Iron man uses a car with light-up engine housing almost similar to the features of the Audi F8.

Paramount pictures and the Marvel Studios are collaborating the project. Other cars on the comic book-based feature film will be the Audi A6 and Q7 as well as the S5 sport coupe which completes the whole Audi family in the new movie. Robert Downey Jr. will be playing the biggest role on the movie as Tony Stark and Iron Man. The film will be shown in 2008 and Jon Favreau will be the producer of the film.

Kevin Feige of the Marvel Studios was quoted saying, "It's a big deal whether it's a character that millions of people are familiar with or if people are not as familiar with. There's so much product going out that anything you can do to make your film stand out is important.”

He elaborated more saying, “The car fit very well with the aesthetic the production designer was putting together. The R8 hooked filmmakers in part because elements of the car's design closely resemble Iron Man's superhero garb.”

Joel Silver's Comments About the Speed Racer Film

2007-07-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last June 6th, I posted an entry about the upcoming Speed Racer movie that is scheduled to roll out in theaters starting in May 2008. The movie is still in production but reports said the film will star Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, and John Goodman. Joel Silver will be the producer and the Wachowski brothers (Larry and Andy) as directors.

Anyway, Joel Silver commented about the upcoming film. He said: "What the Wachowskis are doing on Speed Racer is truly remarkable. They have seen the movie in a way that only they can that you never picked up before."

"We have a fantastic cast," Silver said. Emile Hirsch is Speed and Christina Ricci is Trixie. It's really a great group and a great story - very colorful, and the races are just unbelievable." he added:

The Wachowski brothers as well as the writers for the movie are in fact big fans of the original Speed Racer anime series. Joel Silver added: "They loved the original animated series. It was the first time they saw Japanese animation so it was important to them, and they wanted to capture what it was but take it to a whole new world."

Well, let us just wait for this film next year. While doing that, why hot update your auto parts with new ones like Honda cornering light?

Knight Rider WIll Ride Again?

2007-07-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

Right. While browsing through the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and other sources, I found out that there is a Knight Rider movie that is in production and will be released some time in 2008. The movie will be based on the popular American TV series of the same name aired by NBC from 1982 to 1986 starring David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight along with his AI-capable and gadget equipped car named KITT (a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am T-top).

So far, the details of the movie were not yet released, like who will portray Michael Knight in the film. But there are initial images [pictured above] that surfaced on the internet that shows the new face of KITT. The image featured a Koenigsegg CCX portraying KITT. Well, I think it suits the letter "K". What do you think?

Anyway, watch out for other updates about this upcoming film. This film could be as exciting as the top-grossing Transformers live action movie.

Coming Soon: Transformers Part 2?

2007-07-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

The recently launched Transformers live action film from Paramount and Dreamworks helped Hasbro, the maker of Transformers toy line and other Transformers merchandise to boosts its sales. As a result, Hasbro said that it is possible to make a sequel for the movie.

Alfred Verrecchia, CEO of Hasbro Inc., said in a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's results:
"'Transformers' has been a unique box office success. Our U.S. retail sales of [the new] Transformers toys have exceeded our expectations with 3 million units sold since the said. We had a great first-half of the year and we do expect to grow business in the second-half but not at the levels that we did in the first and second quarters."

"It's too soon to say if there's a 'Transformers 2.' No date has been set as yet, but a second movie is possible," he added.

The successful launch of the Transformers garnered more than $400 million global sales. The movie is still on showing in other theaters around the world, and considered as one of the top performing box office films this year.

In addition, Hasbro will also release new merchandise items based on the film like clothing, beddings, and other accessories. Hasbro is also considering to make other films based on their toy brands like the G.I. Joe.

Well, let us just wait and see what Hasbro got in store for us in the near future. Maybe the next Transformers film will features a robot that transforms itself into a Saab model equipped with Saab heater core. LOL!

10 best cars in movies

2007-07-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

The Auto Channel publishes Cars.com's annual ranking of the Top 10 Movie Cars.

Last year’s No. 1 car holds the same slot this year, three cars debut on this year's list and six others navigate for position.

No. 10: 2003 Mini Cooper S, "The Italian Job"
2006 rank: 10
Drivetrain: 163-horsepower, supercharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with six-speed manual transmission; front-wheel drive
Notable Features: 200 pounds lighter than stock Cooper S; painted red, white or blue

No. 9: 1959 Cadillac Ambulance, "Ghostbusters"
2006 rank: 7
Drivetrain: 325-hp, 6.4-liter V-8 with two-speed automatic transmission; rear-wheel drive
Notable Features: Tailfins, flashing lights, sirens, attached ladder

No. 8: 1974 Dodge Monaco, "The Blues Brothers"
2006 rank: 3
Drivetrain: 275-hp, 7.1-liter V-8 with three-speed automatic transmission; rear-wheel drive
Notable Features: Cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks

No. 7: 1932 Ford coupe, "American Graffiti"
2006 rank: New for 2007
Drivetrain: 60-hp, 3.6-liter V-8 with three-speed manual transmission
Notable Features: Bright yellow paint job bound to be noticed by bored teens in Modesto, Calif.

No. 6: 1976 AMC Pacer, "Wayne's World"
2006 rank: New for 2007
Drivetrain: 100-hp inline-six with three-speed automatic transmission; rear-wheel drive
Notable Features: Flame decal, licorice dispenser, "Bohemian Rhapsody" on continuous playback

No. 5: 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390, "Bullitt"
2006 rank: 6
Drivetrain: 325-hp, 6.4-liter V-8 with four-speed manual transmission; rear-wheel drive
Notable Features: Fastback roof, higher engine note than the Charger

No. 4: 1964 Aston Martin DB5, "Goldfinger"
2006 rank: 4
Drivetrain: 282-hp, 4.0-liter six-cylinder with four-speed manual transmission; rear-wheel drive
Notable Features: Bulletproof glass, machine guns, incessantly beeping radar screen

No. 3: 1961 Ferrari 250 GT, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
2006 rank: 2
Drivetrain: 280-hp, 3.0-liter V-12 with four-speed manual transmission; rear-wheel drive
Notable Features: Cherry-red exterior, wire grille, Cameron-sized tonneau compartment

No. 2: 1977 Pontiac Trans Am, "Smokey and the Bandit"
2006 rank: New for 2007
Drivetrain: 200-hp, 6.6-liter V-8 with three-speed automatic
Notable Features: T-top, CB radio, runaway bride in the passenger seat

No. 1: 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, "Back to the Future"
2006 rank: 1
Drivetrain: 1.21-gigawatt nuclear/electric hybrid with five-speed manual transmission; rear-wheel drive
Notable Features: Gull-wing doors, 16-port twin exhaust boxes, flux capacitor

I wonder if each of these cars has good performing catalytic converter. If they don’t have, pity are those within the shooting place for the toxicity of emissions of those cars are high.

Gone in 60 Seconds…or so…

2007-07-14T01:36:00.000-07:00

Want a movie with awesome car chases, hot cars and equally hot stars?

Well how does Ferraris, Bentleys, Astons Martins, Lamborghinis, Dodge Vipers (just to name a few) and Nicolas Cage AND Angelina Jolie sound? It’s the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you better head to the nearest rental or video shop and get your hands on this one.

Gone in 60 Seconds is a 2000 action film which stars Academy award winning actor Nicolas Cage as the legendary car thief Memphis Raines, and is directed by Dominic Sena, and written by Scott Rosenberg. The movie was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (if his name sounds awfully familiar it’s because he is also director to hit TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Amazing Race, and blockbuster movies Top Gun, The Rock, Armageddon, and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy). Gone in 60 Seconds is a remake of the 1974 H.B. Halicki film Gone in 60 Seconds – which critics say is the best pure car chase movie ever filmed.

The 2000 film remake centers around a former car thief being forced to return to his former trade and steal fifty cars in one night for a crime boss who is threatening to kill his brother. The movie also stars Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie as "Sway", Raines’ ex-girlfriend, Robert Duvall as Otto, Christopher Eccleston as Raymond Vincent Calitri and the former Wimbledon player Vinnie Jones as "The Sphinx". Delroy Lindo plays Detective Roland Castlebeck.

This movie certainly isn’t one of those that will leave an imprint in your mind, and critics have even called it one of Cage’s dumbest film choices, not to mention that the film has also drawn criticism for lacking original ideas or delivering the excitement that the original had. But with the original boasting 93 wrecked cars in a 95 minute movie, I would say that any film wanting to share the same feat would have to try really hard (which is what happened to the remake, more or less).

Nevertheless, the movie is worth a try, if you got nothing else to do after replacing those GMC throttle body spacer on a boring Saturday night. It is a movie with awesome car chases, hot cars and hot stars. Leave your brain at the door.

Transformers’ Ironhide – Soon to be yours

2007-07-11T00:10:00.000-07:00

People can’t get enough of The Transformers movie – and for good reason: the movie is fantastic with its jaw-dropping actions scenes involving humans and robots, not to mention that Michael Bay and his team of geniuses did a great job in telling us the Autobots vs. Decepticons plot. Transformers is definitely a must watch movie, definitely a shoo-in, even most probably will take that blockbuster of the year title from other hit movies this year like Spiderman 3 and the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

And now that we’ve all been floored with amazement by the movie, why not take a piece of the action itself?

Edmunds.com’s Inside Line is reporting that Monroe Truck Equipment, in association with toymaker Hasbro, is rolling out a production version of Ironhide – the GMC Topkick 6500 pickup (when he’s not kicking ass) and the Autobot’s weapons specialist.

Fans know that Ironhide isn’t the fastest or meanest robot, but that hadn’t stopped the him from being one of the most favorite robot in the film.

And now a GM tuner has rolled out a production version which says the Edmunds report, features custom 20-inch aluminum painted black wheels fitted with monster 40-inch tires. The GMC TopKick normally comes equipped with dual rear wheels, along with other quality parts like truck air dam of course.

Other details reportedly include two chrome big-rig smokestacks, horizontal stainless steel step tubes, custom front and rear bumpers with textured powder-coat finish, and a 16,000-pound winch mounted on the front bumper.

Looks like we’re going to see a lot of folks living – and driving - the Transformers’ way soon.

What You Should Know About Cars

2007-07-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

We, it is no the automotive thingy, the Cars movie to be exact.

While surfing the net to look for quality BMW water pump, I found this link in Internet Movie Database (www.IMDb.com) website that has a list of some trivia about the 2006 animated movie Cars produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Man, I did not expect that the film got a bunch of unnoticed stuff and other twists in the film's development.

Anyway, you might be also interested in reading this.

* This movie was originally titled "Route 66". The name was changed to "Cars" so as not to imply a connection with the TV show "Route 66" (1960).

* The code title for this film, used during production, was "Surgery".

* The music that opens the teaser trailer of this movie is the main theme to A Bug's Life (1998).

* The film's animators drew up over 43,000 sketches for designs of the cars.

* Mia and Tia are modeled after the first-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata.

* The character Lightning McQueen is a reference to Glenn McQueen, a Pixar animator who died in 2002.

* If you look closely at one of the racing cars, it's white, has the Apple logo, and the number is 84. 1984 was the year Apple released the Macintosh, the computer that revolutionized Apple as a company. Pixar was previously owned by Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple.

* The Italian name for "tire" is "gomma" (rubber), and there are actually a widespread number of tire shops in Italy called "Casa della gomma" (House of the tire).

* The other song in the teaser trailer is Green Day's "Westbound Sign" from their 1995 album
"Insomniac".

* Flo isn't based on any single car but shares elements of the 1951 Buick LeSabre, the 1951 Buick XP-300, and the 1957 Chrysler Dart--all actual show cars.

* One of the bumper stickers on Fillmore reads 'Save 2D Animation.'

* The neon lights on Flo's V8 Cafe in the movie flash in the proper firing order for a Ford flathead V8.

* The number on the train that Lightning out runs is A113, a reference to California Institute of the Arts, where many Pixar animators studied.

* The red-and-white metal-flake paint job that Ramon does for McQueen duplicates that of the Corvette used in the television series "Route 66"

* Lightning McQueen's original number was to be 57, director John Lasseter's birth year. It was later changed to 95 to represent the year that Toy Story (1995) was released. The car in the final film who has the number 57 (who wins the race in the first teaser) vaguely resembles McQueen, and is probably an earlier production design for that character.

Hitchin' a Ride

2007-07-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Last January, Platinum Dunes, the production company of Michael Bay (director of the Transformers live action film!) released the bloody and violence-packed movie The Hitcher in theaters worldwide. The film was actually based on the 1986 horror film and rated as R, because the movie is full of violent scenes and vulgar languages.

The cast of characters are:

* Sophia Bush... Grace Andrews
* Sean Bean... John Ryder
* Zachary Knighton... Jim Halsey
* Neal McDonough... Lieutenant Esteridge
* Lauren Cohn... Marlene
* Skip O'Brien... Harlan Bremmer, Sr.
* Travis Schuldt... Harlan Bremmer, Jr.
* Yara Martinez... Beth
* Danny Bolero... Officer Edwards
* Michael J. Fisher... Police Officer
* Damon Carney... Negotiator
* Kyle Davis... Crazy store clerk
* Kit McGuire... Motel desk clerk
* Jeffrey Hutchinson... Young Father
* Kurt E. Soderling... Helicopter co-pilot
* Brad Robinson... Correction Officer #1

Hmm.. let me see. I think it would take a long time for me if I discuss the synopsis of the movie, so just check out the plot of the film according to its official website.

"Grace Andrews and Jim Halsey are tormented by a mysterious hitchhiker named John Ryder, a.k.a. The Hitcher, and a cop named Leutinant Esthridge.

The young couple hit the road in a 1970 Oldsmobile 442, on route to spring break. Ryder dangerously stands on the road, near his car, which apparently has broken down. After passing they worry that they might have hit him. However, they do not want to check it out and give him a ride, because the man could be a criminal.

Later they arrive at a gas station. Grace gets some food while Jim talks to the clerk. The clerk talks to Jim about his Oldsmobile and how he has his own "pussy wagon." After Grace decides to go to the bathroom, Jim fills up his car and sees Ryder climb out of a tractor-trailer cab. After going inside, Ryder comes back out and begins using the phone. Ryder gives him a slight nod and continues talking. As Jim pays for the groceries and gas, Ryder steps in and talks to Jim and the clerk. Ryder introduces himself and asks for a ride. Reluctantly Jim agrees. In the car he talks to Jim about Grace and 'how long he's been fucking her'. Jim sees a ring on Ryder's finger and asks him how long he's been fucking his wife. Ryder tells him he doesn't have a wife. Afterwards, Ryder reaches into the glove compartment as Grace eyes him suspiciously. Ryder pulls out Jim's cell phone and snaps it in half. Jim gets angry and starts to pull over. Ryder draws a switchblade and threatens Grace with it. Ryder threatens to kill Grace if Jim does not say that he wants to die. After a long stall, Jim manages to throw Ryder out of the car."

There are lots of stalking and fighting scenes in the film, but in the end, it all went down to Grace who jabbed The Hitcher in the throat with a gun and beat him to death. Ouch! Watch the movie to see how Grace did that impressive move. And for me, I've got to go and look for Honda bumper reinforcement for my car.

When Dirty Mary meets Crazy Larry

2007-07-02T03:16:00.001-07:00

I’ve been very busy these passed few days fixing my old car. My Acura car needs both Acura NSX Parts and Acura Vigor Parts so I was busy fixing them all. Anyway I just finished them so I am planning to watch a movie. I got this old film from my father’s closet. The movie is entitled Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. Before I decided to watch the film, I visited the internet first to have an overview on what I should expect to see on the movie. And here is what I found out.

Well, the movie was older than me as it was released in 1974. The movie was directed by John Hough and was produced by Norman T. Herman. The film was written by Leigh Chapman, Antonio Santean and Richard Unekis (Novel) that stars Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke and Vic Morrow.

To cut the story short, I watched the movie. Although the movie was a little old, it was impressive to see the scenes were taken with excellence and Cinematography was handled by Michael D. Margulies. The film was also edited by Christopher Holmes and was distributed under the 20th Century Fox last May 17, 1974.

The movies soundtrack was composed of some original songs composed exclusively for the movie plus other music that are usually played over the radio. The story was about the driver Larry (Peter Fonda and his mechanic partner Deke (Adam Roarke), who were dreaming to join the NASCAR racing. The two hopeful car racers made a successful supermarket heist because they needed a huge amount of money to finance their car racing expenses. They got $150,000 in cold cash coming from the manager of the supermarket (Roddy McDowall). His wife and his daughter were held hostage so he gave the two criminals the money they need.

The movie has circulated on a car chase after they have escaped and they met Mary (Susan George) who was Larry’s one night stand buddy. She convinced both Larry and Deke to take her along so that she won’t tell the police about what they have done. The car chase begins when the supermarket robbery was reported to Captain Franklin (Vic Morrow) who became so obsessed to capture both aspiring NASCAR drivers. He failed to catch the three escaping criminals after finding out that they are driving a high performance 1969 Dodge Charger.

Cool. The movie was so old but I feel the intensity and the wit as well. It’s a must seen.

When Dirty Mary meets Crazy Larry

2007-07-02T03:16:00.000-07:00

The Car in Blue

2007-06-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

I had a few moments alone at home and think of something to do. But there’s nothing to be done. So I ended up watching a movie. I was never really into dramas but this particular movie captivates my interest. Well, of course, it is about cars guys. The movie was called “Blue Car”.

The movie was released in 2002 under the direction of Karen Moncrieff, who was also the writer of the film. It was the first movie he had directed and written. The movie is packed with plenty of stars like David Strathairn and Agnes Bruckner.

The movie is lead by an eighteen year old girl named Megan who was abandoned by her father. And soon after, she was also neglected by her mother who was working so hard. But because her mother was also in need of huge amount of money, Megas was forced to support herself. Her father is not paying the support for his children and that causes the money problem on their family.

Another problem came when her younger sister Lily becomes seriously disturbed by mental problems. And the matter happens because Lily starved herself because she wanted to be an angel. Lily soon died at the hospital trying to fly. She jumped out of the window.

Meg was so downed that she tries to find peace on her English teacher. Her teacher was very passionate in English writings and so she was also encourage joining in a poetry contest. Her English teacher becomes her father figure.

Meg and her teacher fell in love with each other that she allows her teacher to sleep with her. But everything fades away soon after she found out that the teacher didn’t write any of his novels and that he was desperately doing it in order to get what he wants from Meg. And everything was melodramatic until she decided to go back to her father. The last scene was Meg was entering a blue car and still doesn’t know what to do.

I found this particular list of the characters on the Blue Car on wikipedia.org. I really don’t know what you can do with it but just the same I would like to share them with you. (LOL)

Cast of Characters:

David Strathairn Auster is an English teacher who had a feeling for Meg. He helped her get through the though time Meg had on her family. He was found out that everything he claims to be his artworks was actually not from him.

Agnes Bruckner Megan Denning. Megan was the main character of the film and was abandoned by her mother and father. She fell in love with her teacher who was only faking everything just to get what he wanted from her.

Margaret Colin Diane

Frances Fisher Delia

A.J. Buckley Pat

Regan Arnold Lily

Sarah Buehler Georgia

Dustin Sterling Rob

Mike Ward Dad

Wayne Armstrong Don

GM & Paramount Pictures Wants to Transform Your Ride!

2007-06-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

As a part of the marketing campaign for the upcoming Transformers live action movie that will be released in theaters this coming July 4th, Paramount Pictures and General Motors Corp. worked together to bring the “Transform Your Ride Sale” promo to automotive consumers.

The “Transform Your Ride Sale” will allow new car buyers to get 0% APR for 36 months and a $1,000 gift cash in selected GM vehicle models including:

Chevrolet: 2006 and 2007 Cobalt, Monte Carlo, Impala, HHR, TrailBlazer, Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche and 2007 900-series Silverado
Buick: 2006 and 2007 Lacrosse, Lucerne and Rainier
Pontiac : 2006 and 2007 G5, G6, Grand Prix and Torrent
GMC: Envoy, Yukon, Yukon Denali, Yukon XL, Yukon XL Denali and 2007 900-series Sierra

“People who have recently switched to a GM vehicle tell us we’ve really changed their previous perceptions about our products. They love their new car or truck,” said Jim Campbell, GM’s director of Customer Relationship Management.

“We’ve enhanced the value of our cars and trucks with features like OnStar, XM Radio, superior quality and the best coverage in the business with a 5 year / 100,000 mile powertrain warranty plus roadside assistance and courtesy transportation. Just look at the award-winning Chevrolet Silverado or hot HHR. The “Transform Your Ride Sale” gives everyone the opportunity to buy a new car or truck with outstanding style, great fuel economy, performance and value.”

GM has developed several “Transform Your Ride” TV spots featuring the characters in Transformers movie. Michael Bay, the director of Transformers movie was also the TV Campaign Director for the marketing ads. In addition, the “Transform Your Ride” ads will also conquer other media including radio spots, print advertising, and digital online advertising.

Check out these advertising fact sheet released by GM.

TV Campaign Director: Michael Bay
Editor: Nomad (same as movie)
Visual Effects: Digital Domain (same as movie)
Music: Original Score
Number of TV Executions: 5
Number of GM Cars/Trucks Transforming: 12
Number of Robots Used: 3
Number of Good Robots: 1
Number of Bad Robots: 2
Number of actors who met the robots: 0
Only Robot Speaking Role: Optimus Prime, “My bad.”
Amount of Craft Services food consumed by robots: Robots don’t eat, silly
Number of cars actually destroyed on set: 1
Shooting Locations: Same as movie locations shown in robot clips
Number of Pedestrians Harmed by Robots: 0
Number of Robots Harmed During Filming: 0

Go to the nearest GM dealerships in your area to avail “Transform Your Ride Sale" promo, or maybe you can just upgrade your auto parts like Am General oxygen sensor is you can't afford to buy a new GM vehicle.

GM Transformers Characters Headed to Detroit

2007-06-26T01:13:00.000-07:00

Starting from June 22 up to June 27, people around Detroit can see the stars of the upcoming Transformers movie at the Detroit International River Days. The event is sponsored by General Motors Corp. along with the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy and The Parade Company. The event will take place at the citiy's new RiverWalk, an 8.8 kilometer path along the Detroit River. The event will feature some family-friendly entertainment and activies like GM Cool Events, DTE Energy Parade of Lights, the Family Fun Zone, Ultimate Air Dogs, and a special performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The good news is the event is free for everyone!

Anyway, the stars that I am talking about are the GM vehicles that are featured in the new Transformers film, namely the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Solstice, Hummer H2 and GMC Top Kick medium duty truck. GM aims to put these vehicles as the center of attraction in the event, in conjunction with the Transformers film.

According to Dino Bernacchi, GM Marketing Alliances and Branded Entertainment: "We are thrilled to have four of GM's most talked about vehicles from this summer's action blockbuster on the river front. River Days, being the largest Detroit festival, will give thousands the opportunity to experience these creative vehicles up close."

You better hurry and go to Detroit River Walk to catch up in the event. Meanwhile, the upcoming Transformers live action movie featuring four GM vehicles is scheduled to arrive in theaters this July 3rd. The film stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky along with the four Autobots, which happens to be robotic creatures that transform themselves into GM vehicles. The Autobots include:

* Bumblebee (1974/2008 Chevrolet Camaro): Rendered mute in battle, Bumblebee is an honest and friendly soldier who befriends humanity, namely Sam, in his efforts to find the Allspark.

* Jazz (Pontiac Solstice): The smallest and feistiest of the Autobots, Jazz is one of Optimus' best warriors, talented at learning new cultures.

* Ironhide (GMC Topkick pick-up truck): A tough, weathered soldier, Ironhide is one of Optimus' oldest friends, and is always the first in battle.

* Ratchet (Search & Rescue Hummer H2): The medic and scientist, Ratchet has a strong sense of duty to protect life.

I've got to repair the scratches on my Mazda hood so chill out!

Top Seven Car Movies as Released by boompa.com

2007-06-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Bullitt

The role Frank Bullitt was played y the actor Steve McQueen. Together with two other cops, they were assigned to a normal case. This is to watch over the witness who will be going on trial on Monday. And when the officer and the witness were killed, Chalmers gets mad at Bullitt. And he found out about the hit man that killed them, they want to kill them including the boss that hired him.

Le Mans

This is a documentary that was made in 1970’s on the hardest endurance cause by the Le Mans in France. It’s a 24 hour, 14.5 kilometer country road where the race happens. This was very exciting because you will see the famous racers German Stahler of Ferrari 512LM as well as the American Delaney in Gulf Team Porsche 917. There is also accident that happened on the event.
Vanishing Point

A car delivery service boy named Kowalski was the main character in this film. He delivered a 1970 Dodge Challenger to some parts of Colorado. After his through with his delivery he took a bet saying that he could deliver the car in less than 15 hours. After a car chase he was brought to custody. Along the way, he met a blind DJ with a police radio scanner named Supersoul. This movie got a lot of chase scenes. You will definitely love this movie.

Grand Prix

Pete Aron, who is an American Grand Prix driver, was fired by Jordan-BRM after he crashes on the Monaco where a British teammate Scott Stoddard got injured. Then he transferred to the Japanese Yamura team wherein he met and married Stoddards estranged wife.

Death Race 2000

This was the most brutal car racing ever. The fans of the death race needs to sacrifice their lives in order for their supported drivers to win. But there is an agency that tries to stop this inhuman racing and chose one of the racers to start the change. You will definitely love the ending and the twist of the story.

Cannonball Run

In this film, the main character Burt Reynolds was involved in an illegal car race. Stars like:

* Jackie Chan
* Farrah Fawcett
* Peter Fonda
* Dean Martin
* Roger Moore
* Sammy Davis Jr.
* Others

Are just few among the stars you will see on the film. They will do everything to run out every police and hope to win the race in the end.

Ronin

This movie is a little Japanese with a samurai master. The Ronin works for the money as they render their services to anybody. Dierdre have gotten some Ronin to retrieve an important suitcase that was from a man who is about to sell to Russians. You will love the action of this film.

These films are all available online like car parts Honda Del Sol performance part, Honda Accord performance parts, and Honda air filter. So find the best sources on the net and watch all these films.

Starsky & Hutch

2007-06-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the 2004 movie Starsky & Hutch? The movie was actually based on the popular American 1970s TV series Starsky & Hutch aired on ABC network from 1975 up to 1979.

The films stars Ben Stiller as David Starsky and Owen Wilson as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson, two undercover police officers with a primary goal to bust drug traffickers and other criminals. The two rides on the popular 1974 Ford Grand Torino. Anyway, If you think that I am going to post the specs and features of the vehicle in this blog entry like automotive brakes, well you are wrong!

Just check out these trivia about the movie. I'm sure you will get surprised with some of these trivia.

Heather refers to her sign as Gemini and her weight as "115 pounds, I guess, give or take a pound or two (she is actually 2 pounds heavier)," both of which are also true of the actress portraying her, Brande Roderick.
Ben Stiller's Maury Finkle character (Starsky undercover, "Do it") bears a strong resemblance to two other Ben Stiller characters: "The No, No, No Guy" from The Ben Stiller Show and Tony Perkis Sr. from Heavyweights. Similarities include a unique awkwardly deep voice, a "man purse", references to being the "Lighting Fixture King", and ridiculously overconfident pushiness.
A scene in the film in which Starsky and Hutch are riding Chopper motorcycles alludes to a scene in the movie Easy Rider.
According to the final credits, the movie was dedicated to the stills photographer Elliott Marks (1941–2003).
As well as original Starsky & Hutch actors Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul making cameo appearances, the original Huggy Bear, Antonio Fargas also expressed interest of making a cameo of some sort, but ultimately was not used in the film.
In the movie Hutch (Owen Wilson) sings "Don't Give Up on Us". That song was originally performed by David Soul who played Hutch in the series.
An early prison scene shows Starsky and Hutch being watched by a wall-mounted video surveillance camera. However, the "camera" is made by Surveillance Video Systems (SVS), a maker of realistic-looking but non-functional dummy cameras.
The film is referenced by Ricky Gervais on his Extras series. When Stiller asks him, "Don't you know who I am?" Gervais' character Andy Millman replies, "You're either Starsky or Hutch, I can never remember which."
When Starsky & Hutch are coming back from the prison they are listening to a song called "Afternoon Delight" which was later used in Anchorman Legend of Ron Burgandy.

Cars Movie and Main Characters

2007-06-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

When talking about cars in movies, the 2006 animated movie Cars is the one thing that comes in my mind. Why? Well, the plot of the film is actually based on a world that is completely populated by cars and other vehicles. You cant see any human beings in the film, only cars, cars, cars, and more cars. The film also features real car models from different automakers. The movie was produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and presented by Walt Disney Pictures.

Some well known actors and even race car drivers act as voice over for the different characters in the movie. Check out the main characters of the movie Cars along with the model type, and the voice actor.

Lightning McQueen
Vehicle Model: Le Mans endurance Auto racing
Voice Actor: Owen Wilson

Doc Hudson
Vehicle Model: 1951 Hudson Hornet
Voice Actor: Paul Newman

Mater
Vehicle Model: mid-1950s Chevrolet One-Ton Wrecker Tow Truck
Voice Actor: Larry the Cable Guy

Sally Carrera
Vehicle Model: 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera
Voice Actor: Bonnie Hunt

Chick Hicks
Vehicle Model: mid-1980s Buick Regal or Grand National
Voice Actor: Michael Keaton

The King
Vehicle Model: 1970 Plymouth Superbird
Voice Actor: Richard Petty

Ramone
Vehicle Model: 1959 Chevy Impala lowrider
Voice Actor: Cheech Marin

Fillmore
Vehicle Model: 1960 VW Bus
Voice Actor: George Carlin

Sarge
Vehicle Model: Willys US Military jeep model
Voice Actor: Paul Dooley

Flo
Vehicle Model: 1957 Motorama show car
Voice Actor: Jenifer Lewis

Luigi
Vehicle Model: 1959 Fiat 500
Voice Actor: Tony Shalhoub

Guido
Vehicle Model: Custom forklift, possibly an Isetta model
Voice Actor: Guido Quaroni

Sheriff
Vehicle Model: 1949 Mercury Club Coupe (police package)
Voice Actor: Michael Wallis

Mack
Vehicle Model: 1985 Mack Superliner
Voice Actor: John Ratzenberger

Lizzie
Vehicle Model: 1923 Ford Model T
Voice Actor: Katherine Helmond

Red
Vehicle Model: 1960s style fire truck
Voice Actor: Joe Ranft

Anyway, I hope the sequel of the film will feature a GMC truck model equipped with GMC fender cover.

Coming Soon: Speedracer the movie

2007-06-06T01:44:00.000-07:00

Upcoming movie by May 9 next year will heat all car engines for its live-action feature. Actually it was a bit earlier from the original play date according to the President of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman and the President of International Distribution of Warner Bros. Pictures, Veronika Kwan- Rubinek.

This film is based on the classic series shaped by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida. The story is about the quest of the young race car driver named Speed in his mission for fame in his thundering Mach 5.

According to Fellman, “We have been excited about ‘Speed Racer’ since we first announced the project. We see it as a movie with broad-based, worldwide appeal —from adults to teens to families —making it the perfect film to lead off our exciting 2008 summer slate. We want to give ‘Speed Racer’ the maximum playability throughout the season, so moving it up to the earliest possible date made the most sense. ”

“Opening ‘Speed Racer’ day-and-date with the U.S. in most international markets will not only allow audiences to see the film early but will maximize business before the start of the European Soccer Championships,” added by Kwan-Rubinek.

And what makes this film more exciting is that aside from the racing battle for victory is the collaboration of famous writers and directors from ground braking films (like Matrix). Brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski and producer Joel Silver will all collaborate (along with the cast which reportedly includes Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, and Asian superstar Rain) to bring us another pulse-raising car movie. Looking very much forward to it.

The Fantastic Four's High Flying Fantasticar

2007-06-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

This coming June 15th, cinemas all over the world will witness the launch of the Fastasticar featured in the new film "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." Although the Fantasticar is a fictional machine, did you know that the vehicle is actually a Dodge model? Now you know. Tim Flattery, the man behind the conceptual arts of the Fantastic Four sequel also designed the Fantasticar. The car was inspired and based from man rays and sting rays. Flattery said: "They have a natural flow and grace. We wanted something that looked like it could glide as easily as they do."

The Fantasticar also features a HEMI engine under its sleek and unique hood. The Fantasticar coems with deployable wings, along with other Dodge signature design cues including Dodge signature crosshair grille, Dodge red ram logo on the front and rear fascia, and Dodge red ram logo in the seat headrests. It can reach up to 30,000 feet of altitude and can throttle with a full speed of 550 mph. Whoa!

Michael Curmi, Senior Manager – Entertainment Marketing, Chrysler Group said:
"Opportunities to be involved with the cultural icon like the Fantasticar don’t come around very often, so we jumped at the chance to work with Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. Dodge is a great American car brand teaming up with a great American superhero team. We both have great heritage that appeal to people around the world, so it was only natural for us to partner on this new Fantastic Four movie with the debut of the ultimate superheroes vehicle."

"The Dodge brand is always looking forward to new bold design directions, so it is inspiring to see the Fantasticar with the Dodge brand’s signature crosshair grille and Ram’s head logo in a completely futuristic vehicle," said Mark Spencer, Senior Manager – Dodge Brand Communications, Chrysler Group.

"We hope people around the world have as much fun watching the Fantasticar as Dodge Marketing is having promoting the out-of-this-world vehicle." He added.

Just wait until June 15 to see how the Fantasticar soars up high with the four main characters of the film: Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), The Invisible Woman (Susan Richards), The Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and The Thing (Ben Grimm).

Maybe a Honda flying car model equipped with Honda door lock will be featured in the next Fantastic Four sequel. But then again. maybe not.

Lindsay Lohan: From Freaky Car Crash to Rehab Again

2007-06-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

Guess whose back? Back again in Rehab, that is.

20-year- old singer- actress Lindsay Lohan admitted herself to an exhaustive therapeutic treatment facility where it will be her second time for this year alone after last January for substance abuse treatment.

Lohan was arrested (again) after her Mercedes car hopped a curb and was later found out that the young star was driving under the influence in Beverly Hills last Saturday.

She was driving her 2005 Mercedes SL-65 and with her are other 2 companions when it crashed on Sunset Boulevard due to over speeding at around 5:30 in the morning.

According to Lt. Mitch McCann, Beverly Hills police the police found at the scene a substance tentatively identified as cocaine but then they confirmed that the young actress was not carrying the usable amount. At the same time he never gave any statement with regards to Lohan’s blood-alcohol level, that for some extent another possible factor that caused the car accident.

The case is now with the District Attorney's Office where Lohan may possibly face more charges, including felonies where her tentative arraignment date will be on August 24. Blair Berk and Jason Sloane will be the two who will be in-charge for the defense.

For now Lohan confirmed to a magazine (Allure) on its May issue that she is determined to go into treatment at the Wonderful Center (an isolated place). And her publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnick asked for respect to all press people to value the family’s privacy, Lohan and some other patients undergoing the same treatment.

Lohan also told the magazine before this incident that she found it weird that she went to rehab when she used to say that she will die first before she does rehab.

Where’s the Aston Martin DBS V12?

2007-05-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Does anybody remember the Aston Martin DBS V12? Right. It is the latest super car model from the British luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda, which was exclusively made for the 2006 film and the 21st movie in the James Bond series, Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig.

James Bond's Aston Martin DBS V12 is equipped with high-tech features and equipments. The car has also hidden compartments where medical kit and his main weapon, the Walther P99 semi-automatic pistol fitted with a suppressor are located.

Unfortunately, Aston Martin has not released the production version of the car. But some sources say that the car will roll out in October 2007with only 300 limited units, and will be carrying a base manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of £170,000 or about $336, 243 USD.

During the press release last year, Aston Martin officials said: "This car encapsulates a link between our elegant DB9 road car and the powerful DBR9 race car. It signals an evolutionary development of Aston Martin’s world renowned style and elegance. While hinting at our future design direction, the DBS also has very clear links with our heritage – it is instantly recognisable as an Aston Martin."

"The DBS continues our proud and lengthy association with James Bond. The DBS is not of the understated elegance of a DB9, nor the youthful agility of the V8 Vantage. It is explosive power in a black tie and has its own unique character which will equal that of James Bond."

But Aston Martin didn’t even release the details and features of the production version. Anyway, you can check your auto parts for damages (like Isuzu oxygen sensor) and replace them with new ones.

AskMen.com Names 10 Classic TV Cars

2007-05-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

In the '60s, '70s, '80s, and even '90s, many popular TV shows came and went with a signature vehicle that made a lasting impression on TV viewers. AskMen.com made a list of the top ten most memorable vehicles that, according to the website, “made enough waves to be considered a character in itself and, finally, it must have been popular enough that men dreamed of owning it.”

Here’s their list of the 10 fine classic TV cars, and why they put it there: (source:AskMen.com)

10. Herbie - The Love Bug
Originally, this VW Beetle rose to popularity in 1969 as the centerpiece of the Disney film The Love Bug . The bug, which could "feel" and think for itself, came back in two follow-up movies, as well as a five-episode comedy series, Herbie, the Love Bug (1982), and a 1997 remake of the original.
Whatever version you preferred, there was one constant: the vintage racing Beetle, replete with racing stripes, doors that opened by themselves, and a sunroof, gears and pedals that were placed in the backseat. Instantly recognizable with its number 53 painted on the hood and doors, Herbie looked just as much like a fun toy as it did a real racecar.
Cool fact: The original Love Bug resides at the Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick, England.

9. The Flintmobile - The Flinstones
Perhaps men didn't dream of owning this gem, but kids certainly did. As a child, glued to the television set, who didn't love seeing good ol' Fred Flintstone hop into his car and push off, using his feet to accelerate? The classic Flintstones car often appeared in the cartoon, demonstrating yet another way the show's creators put modern inventions into a prehistoric context. A simple, open-air vehicle with a canopy, two rows of seats, a steering wheel, and little else in the way of features, the Flintmobile is the prime Stone Age ride.
This car is instantly recognizable by everyone -- fans and non-fans alike -- as a product of the long-running cartoon. Who doesn't remember it almost being flipped over by a huge dinosaur rib during the show's opening frames?
Cool fact: The cartoon Flintmobile's license plate was XYZ 643, not YABADO as it was in 1994's The Flintstones movie.

8. Black Beauty - The Green Hornet
A 1966 Chrysler Imperial, this sleek ride served as both a mode of transportation and an arsenal for TV hero The Green Hornet and his sidekick, Kato. Painted all black and boasting a signature grille in the front, the Imperial was severely modified to suit the needs of an action hero: guns that shot out oil and smoke were placed in the front and rear, rocket launchers were installed and extra space was created in the trunk for the "Hornet scanner," an oft-used tool in the 26-episode TV series.
This classic action series, in which Bruce Lee made his TV debut playing Kato, really made an impression with the Black Beauty Chrysler Imperial -- a car that saw limited production but high demand following the cancellation of The Green Hornet .
Cool fact: There were actually two Black Beauties, and they appeared together in the episode "Corpse of the Year."

7. The A-Team Van - The A-Team
Though not as stylish or classy as other TV cars, the A-Team's van makes the list because, alongside B.A., Face, Murdock, and Hannibal, it played a significant role in the action show. Basically, the van was a souped-up 1983 GMC G-series. It was custom-painted black and gray with a red stripe, and the designers also added a rear wing, shag carpeting, a gun rack, white bucket seats, a quad-headlight configuration, and a front brushbar.
The G-Series was virtually wrecked in several episodes of The A-Team , so six models were used altogether.
Cool fact: If you look closely at the van during reruns of The A-Team , you'll spot grip tape on the roof where stuntmen were set to jump on the vehicle.

6. Volvo P1800 - The Saint
Something fast, sporty and flashy was needed to match the style of the mysterious Simon Templar, first played by Roger Moore in the '60s. In the end, the Volvo P1800 was chosen over a similar Jaguar E-Type because of its sleek look and power (and, well, because Jaguar didn't want to supply one). Aside from a few cosmetic changes to the bumper, license plate and trim, the Volvo car remained unchanged during filming. Therefore, the car's elongated hood, rounded headlights and wide front grille remained unmistakable throughout the show's run.
The exotic P1800 contributed to the smoothness Moore's character exuded, as he was often seen zipping through city streets in the two-door speedster.
Cool fact: Roger Moore liked the P1800 so much that he bought one for himself.

5. Ferrari 308 GTS - Magnum, P.I.
This popular '80s detective show benefited Tom Selleck and Ferrari. As main character Thomas Magnum's ride of choice, the red Ferrari 308 became a highlight of the show and truly glorified the beauty of Ferraris, increasing their popularity throughout the 1980s.
Three different models of the 308 were used during Magnum, P.I. 's run, but all shared the same characteristics: a funnel-like front end, a drop top (the top was almost always down in the show because of Selleck's large frame), round rear lights and a small rear windshield. With a top speed of over 155 miles per hour, the 308 GTS was both a beauty and a monster on the road.
Cool fact: The Ferrari 308 was considered so integral to the show's success that, at one point during Magnum, P.I.'s eight-season run, producers even turned down a free car and a blank check from Porsche.

4. The Batmobile - Batman
Kids and adults of all generations and from all walks of life know the Batmobile. Some may remember the modern film versions of Batman's car more vividly, but the granddaddy of them all arrived in 1966, debuting with the Batman TV series. The show almost always featured Adam West riding in his Batmobile, a revamped 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car. Painted black with a cherry trim, the superhero's ride featured unmistakable bubble windows, rear "batwings," the Dark Knight's symbol on both sides, and a mean-looking front grille and headlights set-up.
Many of the gadgets, including the rear parachutes, Batray, Batcomputer, and Batbeam, did actually work and contributed to the Batmobile's nearly three-ton bulk.
Cool fact: Ford sold the original Lincoln Futura -- thought to be a worthless concept car -- to the Batmobile's creator for $1.

3. KITT - Knight Rider
Yet another classic car from the '80s, KITT was much more than just a flashy T-top 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am. A true right-hand man to star David Hasselhoff, KITT, which stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand, boasted a slew of features that made the Batmobile look like a golf cart. First, there was the obvious: KITT had the ability to receive and respond verbally to voice commands; the technology was so advanced that KITT developed a compassionate, caring personality. In addition, the bells and whistles included rocket boosters, an infrared tracking scope, flame throwers, a smokescreen, and two wheel skis.
Lovers of '80s TV will always remember the Hoff constantly asking KITT to take over autopilot so he could perform some inane stunt.
Cool fact: The original KITT was auctioned off on eBay during the summer of '04 -- bidding started at $40,000.

2. Ford Gran Torino - Starsky & Hutch
The famous tomato-red and white two-door Torino helped Detectives Starsky and Hutch solve the most elusive crimes during the show's 88 episodes. Often referred to by its callsign, Zebra 3, the chromed-out rear-wheel drive Ford looked so sleek with its sharp white strip that it has become a collector's item, despite the fact that the Torino was built more for utility than flash.
The frequent rust and tough handling that typified the Torinos of the '70s didn't sway the show's heroic duo, though, and they were often seen screeching through the streets of fictional Bay City thanks to the power of this now-classic Ford.
Cool fact: A Ford Torino with bucket seats was often swapped for a Torino with bench seating during the same episode. If you pay attention, you can see the detectives run out of a car with buckets and jump back into a car with a bench.

1. General Lee - The Dukes of Hazzard
Although there was never just one General Lee thanks to the Dukes' dangerous car-driving antics, the orange 1969 Dodge Charger with "01" painted on the doors will remain an American icon due to the success of this show. Car races involving the Charger were, along with Daisy Duke in short-shorts, the highlight of The Dukes of Hazzard.
The Charger is highly regarded not just for the nostalgia it brings, but also for its pure muscle car power: the 16-valve V8 engine generates 375 horsepower, 490 pounds of torque and helps push the car from 0 to 60 in 5.4 seconds. This two-door fastback coupe is already featured in several memorable TV moments and will surely steal the spotlight once again when The Dukes of Hazzard movie, starring Jessica Simpson, is released in 2005.

Cool fact: A total of 309 Chargers were used during the show's run from 1979 to 1985.

Watch out for the Transformers!

2007-05-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

Traaaaaansssfoorrrrrrrmmm! The much-awaited Transformers live action movie event of this year is headed to cinemas in the US this July 4. The movie is full of power-packed adventures and fight scenes between the two main rivals: the Autobots and the Decepticons.
To give you a sneak preview of Transformers, check out the main characters of the film.

Humans
* Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky
* Megan Fox as Mikaela: Sam's love interest.
* Josh Duhamel as William Lennox: Captain of a Special Ops team in Qatar, who manages to escape the destruction caused by Blackout. He has a wife and child back home.
* Tyrese Gibson as Epps: A combat controller who teams up with Lennox to escape Blackout and Scorponok.
* John Turturro as Simmons: Head of Sector 7, a secret government group that holds Megatron hostage. Simmons is leading a team tracking down Bumblebee.
* Jon Voight as Keller: The United States Secretary of State.
* Kevin Dunn as Ron Witwicky: Sam's father.
* Julie White as Mrs. Witwicky
* Rachael Taylor as Maggie
* Bernie Mac as Bobby Bolivia: A car dealer whom Sam buys Bumblebee from, both unaware of its alien origin.

Autobots
* Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime (Semi-trailer truck): The powerful, wise leader of the Autobots, Prime comes to protect humanity from the evil Decepticons.
* Bumblebee (1974/2008 Chevrolet Camaro): Rendered mute in battle, Bumblebee is an honest and friendly soldier who befriends humanity, namely Sam, in his efforts to find the Allspark.
* Jazz (Pontiac Solstice): The smallest and feistiest of the Autobots, Jazz is one of Optimus' best warriors, talented at learning new cultures.
* Ironhide (GMC Topkick pick-up truck): A tough, weathered soldier, Ironhide is one of Optimus' oldest friends, and is always the first in battle.
* Ratchet (Search & Rescue Hummer H2): The medic and scientist, Ratchet has a strong sense of duty to protect life.

Decepticons
* Hugo Weaving as the voice of Megatron (Cybertronian jet): The missing Decepticon leader held hostage by Sector 7, Megatron desires power over the Allspark and hates organic lifeforms.
* Starscream (F-22 Raptor): Megatron's second-in-command, Starscream actually desires to overthrow Megatron and take the Allspark for himself.
* Blackout (MH-53 Pave Low): The largest Decepticon, Blackout is fiercely loyal to Megatron and can fire electromagnetic pulses, making Decepticon attacks easier.
* Keith David as the voice of Barricade (Saleen-modified Ford Mustang police car) : The Decepticon hunter who masquerades in society as a symbol of the law.
* Frenzy (2-speaker CD player): The smallest of the Decepticons, Frenzy attaches to Barricade. His main purpose is spying on humans, but he is still a ferocious fighter, shooting blades disguised as CDs from his chest.
* Scorponok (mechanical scorpion): He has a symbiotic relationship with Blackout, hiding within him until he is commanded to go and kill.
* Brawl (Modified M1 Abrams): A moody warrior, armed to the teeth.
* Bonecrusher (Buffalo H Mine-Protected vehicle): Another piece of Decepticon muscle, Bonecrusher has a hatred for all others and is only subservient to Megatron, whom he fears.

Maybe the creators of Transformers can also add characters featuring Japanese vehicles models like the Mazda Miata equipped with quality Mazda bumper.

Edmunds Reveals Top 10 Best Car Movies

2007-05-16T00:57:00.000-07:00

Drew Hardin and Tori Tellem bring the Top Ten Best Car Movies in Edmunds.com. Of course, who would ever forget the “The Fast and the Furious” if we talk about car movies? The writers have started with 30 car movies but they selected only ten among the all other ones which we can call the best of the whole lot.

Some movies like “Christine”, “The Car”, “The Italian Job”, “Ronin”, “The Bourne Identity”, “Crazy Larry” and “Dirty Mary” are all part of the 30 movies but the all failed to be on the top ten movie slots. Movies like “Smokey and the Bandit” and the “Two-Lane Blacktop” was also on the 30 list.

Some TV series like “The California Kid” and “Duel” were also good candidates but according to writers, they are more into movies other than the TV series. And after several verifications and sorting outs, the list was finally made. The list below is given out in no particular order.

American Graffiti (1973)
Stars: Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford
Star cars: 1932 Ford coupe, 1955 Chevy, 1958 Chevy Impala, 1951 Mercury coupe, and 1956 Ford Thunderbird
The story: A memorable last night of cruising for a group of high school friends.
Why it works: Milner's coupe. Falfa's '55. The Pharaoh's '51 Merc. A cop car leaving its rear end on the street. That ghostly white T-Bird with Suzanne Somers. Plus we like the lesson: When faced with life's big questions, hit the road.
Quote: "I'll love and protect this car until death do us part."

The Blues Brothers (1980)
Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd
Star car: The Bluesmobile - 1974 Dodge Monaco
The story: The Brothers raise money to save their childhood orphanage and put their old rhythm-and-blues band back together. Why? They're on a mission from God.
Why it works: Is there any other movie with as much vehicular carnage? Maybe over-the-top stunts go on too long, but you've been talking about them driving through that mall for years, haven't you? And the music isn't bad either.
Quote: "It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant; it's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say - is it the new Bluesmobile or what?"

Cars (2006)
Stars: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Richard Petty
Star car: Porsche Carrera, Hudson Hornet, Willys MB, Ford Model T, and Volkswagen microbus
The story: Racecar hotshot finds himself off the beaten track and learning life lessons from a bunch of small-towners. Did we mention they're all cars?
Why it works: Tire crumbs flying and roof flaps opening prove this was animated by gearheads. Sharp-eared viewers will dig the insider cameos.
Quote: "Turn right to go left! Guess what? I tried it, and you know what, this crazy thing happened. I went right!"

The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Stars: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel
Star cars: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Toyota Supra, Honda Civic, Mazda RX-7, Dodge Charger R/T, and Volkswagen Jetta
The story: Cop goes undercover in L.A.'s import street-race scene to bust a ring of electronics thieves.
Why it works: It pushed the burgeoning import car culture into the mainstream. The cars were a little cartoonish but earned street cred for having been built by actual import tuners. It's best during bumpin' nighttime street races, even though we've never seen as much neon at a real import show. As unbelievable as the race and chase sequences are, they're still pretty cool.
Quote: "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time."

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
Stars: H.B. (Toby) Halicki
Star cars: Many, including a certain Ford Mustang Fastback named Eleanor.
The story: Car thief has to boost 48 cars in a week. Mayhem ensues.
Why it works: The first half is probably studied in film school as how not to write, cast and act in a movie. But the cars on the thieves' hit list are super-fine, and the final 40 minutes have to be seen to be believed. Yes, Halicki hurt himself hitting that light pole. How could he not?
Quote: "I bet five more cars have been stolen in just the time I've been here."

Grand Prix (1966)
Stars: James Garner, Eva Marie Saint
Star cars: 1960s Formula 1 racecars
The story: The Euro-cool world of open-wheel racing.
Why it works: A throwback to when men actually drove Formula 1 cars (without computer controls) and stunts were with actual vehicles (without computer controls). The race footage, especially the in-car stuff, is still awesome. Racing purists may think Steve McQueen's Le Mans is more deserving, but this film's storyline is more engaging, soap opera or not.
Quote: "There is no terrible way to win. There is only winning."

The Gumball Rally (1976)
Stars: Michael Sarrazin, Gary Busey, Raul Julia
Star cars: Shelby 427 Cobra, Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona, Porsche 911 Targa, Camaro Z/28, Dodge Polara
The story: Fictionalized account of Brock Yates' highly illegal cross-country Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.
Why it works: For starters, it features two of the flat-out sexiest cars ever built - the 427 Cobra and Ferrari Daytona - duking it out at high speeds in Manhattan, the L.A. River, and everywhere in between. It's far more car-centered than the ridiculous Cannonball Run.
Quote: "And now my friend, the first rule of Italian driving: What's behind me is not important."

Mad Max (1979)
Star: Mel Gibson
Star car: Australian Ford Falcon
The story: Super Cop Max takes on a motorcycle gang in the near future - a tale of revenge driven by post-apocalyptic cars and crotch rockets.
Why it works: Drama, suspense, violence, dark humor, and that wicked, supercharged Falcon screaming across Australia's empty vastness. It's simple, low budget and gritty.
Quote: "Look, any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, a terminal psychotic - except that I've got this bronze badge that says that I'm one of the good guys."

Thunder Road (1958)
Stars: Robert Mitchum, Gene Barry
Star cars: 1950 Ford coupe, 1957 Ford Fairlane
The story: Noir-ish cops versus moonshiners melodrama.
Why it works: Cheesy dialogue, karate chops, wooden acting make it good-bad, but there's some jaw-dropping stunt driving. And lots of cars blowing up. One of the best speed traps ever: gasoline on spike strips so the car will careen out of control, flip over and crash - into a nearby power station. And blow up.
Quote: "That hard-headed hillbilly has caused us enough trouble already. Now tonight we're going to take him out. And I mean really out."

Vanishing Point (1971)
Stars: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little
Star car: 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T
The story: Antihero, with help from a blind DJ, tries to deliver a car in record time.
Why it works: It's an antiestablishment fable dripping with the Vietnam era's distrust of authority. A man versus The Man battle waged over a tasty big-block-powered car. Government distrust is still a pretty hot topic. So is the Challenger.
Quote: "And there goes the Challenger, being chased by the blue, blue meanies on wheels."

All these films are available in DVD. You can get a copy of these movies by simply ordering from stores online. Just like ordering car parts like a Flowmaster exhaust, Fram filters and Gibson exhaust which are all found on the net. Purchase these car parts and DVDs only through your trusted sites to avoid fraud.

A Car Movie Thriller

2007-05-08T23:53:00.001-07:00

I was fond of watching vintage movies - to name James Bond movies are some among my favorite vintage movies. I am also into romance and love story films like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and a lot more. I was into it until I saw this film from the year 1977. It sacred me straight right out of my bones and I never expected that a film as old as that one would. The film was entitled “The Car”.

Yep, the story is about a murderer car that had killed a lot of people in the film. The car is actually alive and can propel without a driver. In a small Utah community, there have been black sedans appearing on the streets coming from nowhere and killing people around. The main character on the film was Sheriff Wade Parent, who has the mission to put a stop on these mysterious killings.

The scene where Wade gets injured by the car on a dessert area after a chase was perhaps the most thrilling part of the film. His girlfriend Lauren was also killed in the film. After the shocking sequence, Wade determined to eradicate the four-door wheel laden monster. He gathered his entire set of officers to continue his heroic plans to eliminate the devil car in their area. But it was soon after that he discovered that the car was actually hiding in his very own garage. And so he was forced to attack the car on a mountainous canyon area and the ending is something you need to watch. I will not tell you about it. But you really have to watch it.

The cast of characters:
James Brolin - Wade Parent
Kathleen Lloyd - Lauren
John Marley - Everett
R.G. Armstrong - Amos Clemens
John Rubinstein - John Morris
Kim Richards - Lynn Marie Parent
Kyle Richards - Debbie Parent
Doris Dowling - Bertha Clemens
Ronny Cox - Luke

The film was directed by the famous Elliot Silverstein and the story was written by Dennis Shryack. It was released and distributed under the Universal Studios productions. The movie had a little idea coming from car related movies like Death Race 2000 in 1975 and Duel in 1971 which was filmed directed by the infamous Steven Spielberg.

So, get your car ready grab those keys and start your engine before you step into your clutch then rush to the nearest video shop and look for the film “The Car”. Trust me. It’s worth the effort. Happy viewing guys.

When Oscar Becomes the Shark Slayer

2007-05-02T00:36:00.001-07:00

Do you wonder why I have included this movie here? Of course, it’s a movie about cars guys! Yeah, I am not pertaining to those cars with wheels, and powertrain parts because underwater, they use sea animals, specifically huge whales as their mode of daily transportation. Got it?

Shark Tale is a 3-dimensional computer animated film that is produced by DreamWorks Animation and was released in 2004. The Academy Award-nominated movie features the voices of famous stars like Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.

The story is about a non-successful typical individual, Oscar, who later becomes the super famous shark slayer because of what happened to him in another part of the ocean where criminal sharks live. He met Lenny who is a vegetarian and couldn’t eat fish as his meal. Lenny’s brother died because of the noise made by Oscar when he is being attached by the acting Lenny. And the fame begins. Oscar later becomes the super famous shark slayer. But because reality had to be revealed, the fame he received vanishes when everybody knows that he is faking it. Even Lola, his lady love, turned him down because of that. And soon he becomes a regular but famous car wash owner.

The story was actually nice especially the end part where voices of Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliot were used to dub the dancing car wash chicks singing the Car Wash. Do you want to sing along with the song? Here are the lyrics:

***
Car Wash

Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
(This is a Shark Tale exclusive)
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
(Here we go again)
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
(Say what, say what, yeah)
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch

Ooh, do do do do do do do
Car wash, car wash
Ooh, do do do do do do do
Car wash, car wash

(Yeah, let's drop it on 'em like this)

Ooh, do do do do do do, na na na ah, ooh
Ooh, do do do do do do, na na na ah, ooh

You might not ever get rich, ha
Let me tell you it's better than digging a ditch
There ain't no telling who you might meet
A movie star or maybe a common thief

Working at the car wash (oh oh, yeah yeah)
At the car wash, yeah (ooh, yeah yeah)
At the car wash (sing it with me now)
Working at the car wash, yeah

(Oh, oh)

Come summer the work gets kind of hard
This ain't no place to be if you're planning on being a star
Let me tell you it's always cool
And the boss don't mind sometimes if you're acting like a fool

Working at the car wash (oh oh, yeah yeah)
At the car wash, yeah (ooh ooh ooh)
At the car wash (ow said, now come and work it with me now, yeah)
Working at the car wash, yeah

Said, said, said, sing

(Work and work)
Well those cars never stop coming
(Work and work)
Keep those rags and machines humming
(Work and work)
My fingers to the bone
(Work and work)
Keep on and can't wait till it's time to go home

Hey, get your car washed today
Fill up and you don't have to pay
Hey, get your car washed today
Fill it up, right away

[Missy Elliott:]
Work at the, car wash
Sharks in the water make they jaws lock
When I swim through the grim, I'm too hot
Y'all can make y'all bets
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
Shark slayer, bow down playa
'Cause this right here will be your worst nightmare (nightmare)
Work that, work that, pop back, hurt that
Turn this up and bang it all up in the surface

(Work and work)
9 to 5 I got to keep that fat stack coming
(Work and work)
No matter how big the shark is, the right keep running
(Work and work)
Washing cars ain't no place to be a superstar man
(Work and work)
That's why I work, and work

Working at the car wash (ohhh, yeah)
At the car wash, yeah (come on work, baby work it, say now)
At the car wash (ahh)
Working at the car wash, yeah

So come on, come on, come on, come on, come on

Ooh, do do do do do do, na na na ah, ooh
(Now keep it coming)
Ooh, do do do do do do (woo, so), na na na ah, ooh
(You may not ever get rich, but hey)

Hey, get your car washed today (hey)
Hey, get your car washed today
Hey, get your car washed today (phenomenal hit)

Car Wash was the official soundtrack hit of the movie Shark tale. Well that’s it guys see you all next time.

Lindsay Lohan and Herbie: Fully Loaded

2007-04-13T23:25:00.000-07:00

Watching Lindsay Lohan just drives me nuts. It’s like suddenly I forget how to breathe. Honestly, I’m her number one fanatic, but not that obsessed, let me just clear that.

Anyway, witnessing the turning point of this former child star has made me watch all of her movies. One of them is Herby: Fully Loaded which is the latest movie from selection of Herbie movies which originated in the late 60s. This latest one was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and you can surely view Herbie: Fully Loaded as it is family oriented, comedy, adventure and fantasy film about a teenage girl Maggie Peyton (Lohan).

The new owner of Number 53 - the free-wheelin' and awesome Volkswagen bug with a mind of its own - puts the car through its velocities on the road to becoming a NASCAR competitor. Main cast stars Lindsay Lohan (Maggie Payton), Michael Keaton (Rey Peyton Sr.), Matt Dillon (Trip Murphy), Breckin Meyer (Ray Peyton Jr.) and Cheryl Hines (Sally). You better grab a DVD copy now and invite your friends, brothers, sisters and everyone to watch this great film and I’m sure you’ll be delighted.

And you’ll going to love Lindsay! She’s the bomb! The Volkswagen Beetle also known as the Bug has given a superb performance in the movie. Proving that VW parts are reliable and long lasting. The Bug’s appeal doesn’t fade at all. For so many years that have passed, the universality of the Bug’s charm continuous to amaze us. And now with this movie, I really fell for this car big time!

Here are some additional pieces of trivia that I got from this site http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400497/trivia. I bet you didn’t know or you just didn’t notice. Get ready for these:

Most of the scenes shot at California Speedway were during the pace laps of the Target House 300, a NASCAR Busch Series race; and the Pop Secret 500, and NASCAR Nextel Cup race.

Maggie pays Crazy Dave $75 dollars for Herbie. This is the original price Jim Douglas (played by Dean Jones) offered to pay for "cheap, honest transportation" in The Love Bug (1968).

After the graduation, Charisma mentions she and Maggie going to Riverside; this was where Herbie and Jim Douglas first beat Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug (1968).

Herbie The Love Bug was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle deluxe ragtop sedan painted in Volkswagen L87 pearl white. Under normal circumstances, the interior would be a matching white. However, Herbie's interior was painted a special non-reflective grey color so the camera and studio lights would not reflect.

The beginning of the movie is a montage of scenes from previous Herbie movies; The Love Bug (1968) has the most scenes taken from it, followed by Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), Herbie Rides Again (1974), and Herbie Goes Bananas (1980).

Director Angela Robinson said in the commentary that she purposely left hidden crew equipment and cheap camera tricks in the film to give Herbie fans something to look for that was fun, and also just to simply aggravate her editor, who practically begged her to fix the problems before the film was released.

Four Herbies were made for the rail-riding stunt in the first race. One was made to jump up the rail and two were made to ride on the rail.

Some deleted and alternate footage appears in the movie's trailer:

A shot of Charisma (Jill Ritchie) in the kitchen saying "Whoa."

The shot of the Mexican-looking guy in the crowd lowering his glasses is flipped, though the text on the signs in the background is not reversed. So either the shot in the trailer or the one in the film was digitally corrected so that the text would not be backwards.

A shot of Herbie making a "crazy face" at Trip Murphy ('Matt Dillon (I)' ) shows him lying on the ground facing Herbie (his knee is in the shot). In the movie his back is to Herbie.

Ray Peyton Sr. (Michael Keaton) and Maggie (Lindsay Lohan) by the trophy/plaque wall where she says to him "I didn't know that you took out another mortgage on the house."

A shot of Maggie falling back onto her bed.

The movie playing in the drive-in is Scary Movie 2 (2001).

Cars For All Ages

2007-04-09T22:36:00.001-07:00

Another blockbuster animated film from Walt Disney has conquered the movie industry. After producing animated movie hits such as the award winning Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and A Bug’s Life, another must see movie has created a big impact in the entertainment world - Cars!

Cars the movie is the comedy-adventure animated film that caters to all viewers and I mean all - from little kids to senior citizens. It is for the general audience in short! Oh yes, everyone will enjoy watching this movie to the max same as I did.

Car enthusiasts will surely love this film because this movie features a lot of cars and I mean tons of cars such as vintage cars, trucks, police cars, race cars, roadsters and a lot more.

The story is all about a racing car named Lightning McQueen whose character is a rising star rookie in the world of racing. With the help of some concerned characters like Doc Hudson, a 1951 Hudson Hornet and Sally, a gorgeous 2002 Porsche, they made Lightning realize that life is not all about winning races, trophies and popularity. It is all about the journey and simply not just the finish line. He discovers a new world when he found himself stranded in ROUTE66 and eventually he learned some things and his life has never been the same again.

You better see it for yourself because I’m not going to spoil your excitement if you haven’t watched this movie yet!

The graphics were fantastic and the special effects and the story itself is two-thumbs up! It’s like watching real cars alive, although they have eyes and mouths, of course, so that they could talk! Details from the cars are very specific, like Sally’s auto body parts for example. The vehicle comes featuring realistic Porsche parts.

The characters were made interesting and remarkable, thanks to the star studded line-up. The voice behind all characters is headed by Owen Wilson who plays Lightning McQueen. Other voices include Paul Newman (as Doc Hudson) and Larry the Cable Guy (as the old and rusty tow truck).

If you haven’t seen this movie, you better get a DVD copy of Cars, and take out some pop corn, cans of soda and grab the whole family to your living room and take pleasure in watching this animated adventure from Walt Disney!

James Bond Rides Through Never Say Never Again

2007-03-29T23:40:00.001-07:00

I can’t say that I’m exactly a James Bond fan. But one of my friends is and sometimes, when I hang out with him, we would always be watching a James Bond movie.

The last James Bond movie I watched was Never Say Never Again, which, as I just recently found out, is a movie that was released in December of 1983. It was that long ago. Well, I’m not surprised. It still starred Sean Connery as the good looking spy.

Anyhow, I’ve also done some research to find out what vehicles were used in this movie. I was thinking that maybe the Aston Martin was already used but I guessed wrong. Here are some of the vehicles you’ll see in the flick.

Bentley 4¼ Litre

BMW 7

Chevrolet Camaro

Citroën CX

Citroën Méhari

Ford Cortina MkV

Ford Taunus MkIV

Land-Rover 109'' Series II

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz SL

Peugeot 505

Peugeot 505 Break

Peugeot 604

Peugeot J9

Renault 16

Renault 5 Turbo 2

Renault Camiva

Renault Fuego

Saviem SM

Simca 1100

Simca 1501

Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet I

Well, I guess the Aston Martin was not yet a Bond car.

Anyway, if you’re interested, I suggest that you start scouring video shops to look for a copy of this movie. I tell you. This one really has got to be one James Bond movie that rocks.

Christine: the Evil Car

2007-03-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

Remember the thrilling horror movie about a car that is likely to be possessed by an evil spirit and then starts to kill people who stand in his way, or who stand in their way. I mean the car and owner, yes you got it. It’s the classic suspense horror movie “Christine”. And for those who haven’t watched this film, here’re some pieces of trivia that could be added up to your brains.

It was released in December 9, 1983. But I had the chance to watch this movie during the early 90s.

One of my fascinations about this movie would probably be the car! Christine was a 1958 Plymouth Fury and this vehicle, as I look at it, is one of the greates vintage cars I ever knew. This model gave me the shivers down my spine not because of the film but its how the car looks! It melts my heart because I’m a vintage car fanatic, seeing Christine in that movie enlightens my soul.

In the movie, the car was fantastic, with superb auto body parts and classic chrome rims. Interior design was brilliantly furnished. Great job Arnie! (Arnie, by the way, is the high school kid who owns the car.)

The story is about a high school geek named Arnie Cunningham, a simple and quiet guy who had always been bullied by his schoolmates. And one day, while they were passing by the street, Arnie was attracted right from where he was standing - he bought the car and fell in love with it eventually. He required himself to let the vehicle look great by restoring the original look of the car. And then he named it Christine.

And of course what happened next? A lot of brutal killings happened. Thanks to Christine, the bullies are dead! Meanwhile, Arnie started to change his personality from a quiet boy to an arrogant and aggressive guy. Hey, wait a minute, I’m not supposed to tell you everything so I suggest that you better go grab a copy for yourself and enjoy the film. Stay and relax wherever you are, because you’ll never know, she’s just around the dark alleys. Have a romantic ride with Christine!

Back To The Future With De Lorean DMC-12

2007-03-25T22:25:00.001-07:00

The Back to the Future Trilogy was one of my favorite movies of all times. I enjoy watching it over and over again. And I like Christopher Lloyd as “Doc” in the sci-fi comedy flick! Of course, Michael J. Fox did an outstanding job in this movie. But who helped Marty and Doc travel through time and allow them to go back to the future?

The time machine, which came in the form of a 1982 De Lorean DMC-12, played a very big role in this movie. Before it was chosen to be the time machine, a lot of choices have been made.

First, the production’s concept was to have a laser device made in a room. Then a refrigerator was attached and took an atomic bomb test site. But the director didn’t like the idea. And finally, the third draft came along and the DMC-12 came into the picture.

The idea was to have a time machine that moves. The first concept for the car’s time travel was a nuclear test, but later on it was change into lightning because the former would be too expensive for the production.

The DMC-12 has been modified with powertrain parts and a much powerful engine before the cameras started to roll. Such was done so as to achieve the desired power and reliability of its engine performance.

If you have any kids who haven’t seen this movie, try to buy a copy and let your family watch it! Let them experience the feel of riding in the time machine, which is the 1982 De Lorean DMC-12!

Fasten your seatbelts because we’re going back to the future!

The Funny NASCAR Racing

2007-03-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

We are talking about the movies here and I am pertaining to “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”, an American comedy film which was released in August 2006. The movie is about NASCAR racing in a more humorous way.

The humorous comedy film was directed by Adam McKay, the co-writer of the Saturday Night Live cast member Will Ferrell who stars as Ricky Bobby on this film. Other artists were C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Amy Adams, Sacha Baron Cohen and Leslie Bibb. Some Saturday Night Live cast also showed on the film.

North Carolina including Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, and Cabarrus and Gaston counties are just few among the locations where the film was shot. Some scenes are also taken at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Racetrack scenes at Texas Motor Speedway were shot at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, using a Chevy El Camino that was outfitted with camera mounts on all four corners of the car. The car uses all genuine Chevy parts.

The story is about NASCAR racing stock car sensation Ricky Bobby (who was played by Will Ferrell) who later become a national hero after winning all the racing action which happened at the NASCAR. Ricky and his childhood pal Cal Naughton, Jr. (which was played by Reilly) were noted to be a fearless duo and they were also known as the "Shake 'N' Bake". These pals have the ability to win almost all the racing battles at the NASCAR with Bobby ranking at first and Naughton in the second.

The racing super hero was forced to face his own demons and fight the gay French Formula One driver Jean Girard played by Baron Cohen, when challenge for the supremacy of NASCAR. And he won.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

2007-03-15T22:23:00.001-07:00

I miss the old movies! That’s why I decided to start finding those old movies. And one of the old (but real good) movies that I rediscovered was Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

This Audrey Hepburn starrer is a comedy that has that certain touch of drama and romance that just makes it rock. It’s tagline even reads “Audrey Hepburn plays that daring, darling Holly Golightly to a new high in entertainment delight!”

I also did find out that this one has even won 2 Oscars. Now that’s a good movie.

And being the auto buff that I am, I started to look at the vehicles that were shown in the movie. It was quite hard for the vehicles seemed to just come and go, but never be really part of the story.

Anyhow, here is the list. You may want to help me out by adding some more that I may have missed.

Buick - Century Riviera, Invicta, LeSabre, and Riviera

Cadillac - Sedan, Series 60 Special, and Series 62

Checker - Taxicab

Chevrolet - Bel Air, Biscayne, Brookwood, Impala, Impala Convertible, Nomad, and Styleline De Luxe

Chrysler - New York

De Soto - Firedome, and Fireflite

Dodge - Dart, Royal

Ford - Crestline Victoria, Custom 300, De Luxe, Fairlane, and Thunderbird

GMC - D-860

Imperial - Crown

Jaguar - MK IX

Lincoln - Continental Mark III

Mercury - Monterey

Oldsmobile - 88 Fiesta, Holiday Coupe, Starfire 89 Holiday, and Super 88 De Luxe Holiday

Plymouth - Fury, Plaza, Savoy, Valiant, and Star Chief

Rambler - American, Rebel

Renault - Dauphine

Studebaker - Commander

Totally Jurassic Vehicles!

2007-03-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

No, I’m not going to talk to you about those vehicles which seem to have started right at the dawn of time. I’m going to be telling you about those the vehicles used in one of my sci-fi (if you can call it sci-fi) favorite movies, The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

I was going through web sites looking for more information on the movie when I stumbled upon the fact that the movie did have quite a number of vehicles that were used. In fact, one of them is my personal favorite - a Hummer H1. I may not have noticed it while I was watching the movie the first time around but I sure am going to notice it when I do take the time to watch it again after all these years.

Anyhow, here is a list of all the other vehicles used in the movie. You may be surprised that those vehicles were there. I sure do know that what comes to your mind when you think of the movie is the whole lot of dinosaurs and the scared people running for their lives. But guess what? Vehicles were there and here they are:

1. AM General HMMWV
2. BMW 733i
3. Buick LeSabre
4. Chevrolet Blazer
5. Chevrolet G-20
6. Chevrolet Suburban
7. Ford Contour
8. Ford Crown Victoria
9. Ford Windstar
10. GM TDH 5307 A
11. GMC K-1500
12. Hummer H1
13. International Harvester Scout
14. Jeep Wrangler
15. Lincoln Town Car
16. Lincoln Town Car Stretched Limousine
17. Mercedes Benz ML 320
18. Mercedes Benz Unimog
19. Mercury Sable
20. Mercury Tracer
21. Oldsmobile Delta 88
22. Pontiac Grand Am
23. Pontiac LeMans
24. Toyota Corolla

You know, I also did realize. Perhaps if those vehicles used in the movie had Husky BMW floor mats and then the vehicle was used in muddy ground and had muddy feet… God. It sure did mean dirt all over. And those floor mats sure would not have mattered anyhow. Haha. Just thinking aloud.

The Oscars Promotes Greener Cars this Year

2007-02-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

The Oscars goes eco-friendly today. This year, the world’s famous Academy Awards was not only filled with gorgeous and stunning celebrities but it was also filled with astonishing yet powerful and eco-friendly cars as well. The Oscars was over crowded with vehicles like the Prius, Zap Car, Phoenix Roadster SUV and the most sought after ultra-cool Tesla Roaster.

The ultra-Cool two-seater Tesla Roaster received the enormous 330 amount of orders which include the infamous Ocean Eleven actor Goerge Clooney. There are plenty of stars that attended the Oscar riding on their very own green car.

Actors like Leonardo Di Caprio have been supporting the green car advocacy for years. And now, the green limo line was finally pursued. According to Di Caprio, the movement was done in order to promote green cars and to make the public aware of the change in the climate that may lead to global warming. The sexy Spanish celebrity Penelope Cruz also supported the annual "Red Carpet/Green Cars" Oscar campaign which provides fuel efficient cars for the celebrities that attended the prestigious event. According to her, "There are many simple things that we can all do such as driving greener cars." This statement from Cruz was noted in the Global Green USA's web site.

Mikhail Gorbachev of Global Green USA, which is an affiliate of Green Cross International, prepared 30 green cars. From this lot, the stars who attended the said event chose which one they would be riding in when they cruise in to the venue. Cruz and Di Caprio were only among the few stars who rode their way to the Oscars with plug-in cars.

The Tesla Roadster conquers the parking area with biggest stars riding each. The Tesla starts at a base price of $20,000 in numbers and not for $92,000.

Ford parts are available online and you check out your trusted site.

Which Cars Were Gone In 60 Seconds?

2007-02-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Let’s take a ride in a time machine and go back to the year 1974. Why? Well, that was the time when the movie Gone in 60 Seconds was released.

You see, I discovered such an interesting piece of information when I was researching about the 2000 version of this movie. So lo and behold, Gone In 60 Seconds is an old movie and it still goes on telling the story about those who could make your wheels disappear in just sixty seconds.

Just like the remake, the old movie is still about those car thieves who have to steal 48 units. But during that time when the film was made, it became quite an issue that to complete the film, there had to be 93 cars destroyed just so as to make the car chase scene look totally real.

Anyhow, here is the list of the 48 vehicles that the car thieves had stolen and the names that the thieves gave to the vehicles:

1. Donna - 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine
2. Marion - 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham Limousine
3. Diane - 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine
4. Ruby - 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine
5. Nicole - 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine
6. Martha - 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine
7. Julie - 1973 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Limousine
8. Frances - 1971 White Freightliner
9. Mary - 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille
10. Joanne - 1972 Mercedes-Benz 200SE
11. Beverly - 1930 Hudson Great Eight
12. Patricia - 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille
13. Ruth - 1974 Lincoln Continental Mark IV
14. Elizabeth - 1927 Citroën B14 Conduite
15. Terry - 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
16. Eileen - 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
17. Susan - 1972 Plymouth Barracuda
18. Claudia - 1970 Jaguar XK1500
19. Rosie - 1959 Rolls-Royce Phantom V
20. Maria - 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
21. Sharon - 1972 Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4
22. Kathy - 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
23. Alice - 1953 Chrysler Coupe Elegance
24. Leona - 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Station Wagon
25. Kelly - 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
26. Nancy - 1971 Cadillac Eldorado
27. Betty - 1973 Jensen Interceptor
28. Patti - 1971 Citroën SM
29. Judy - 1962 Ferrari 340 America
30. Carey - 1966 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II
31. Jackie - 1966 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III
32. Laurie - 1973 Cadillac Eldorado
33. Sandy - 1972 Maserati Ghibli Coupe
34. Christy - 1971 Chevrolet Vega
35. Michelle - 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
36. Tracy - 1967 Lamborghini Miura
37. Marilyn - 1969 De Tomaso Mangusta
38. Maxine - 1971 De Tomaso Pantera
39. Lorna - 1968 Intermeccanica Italia GFX
40. Jean - 1971 Chevrolet Corvette Stringray
41. Paula - 1949 Ferrari V12
42. Renee - 1966 Lotus Europa S1
43. Annie - 1974 Manta Mirage
44. Janet - 1971 Ford "Big Oly" Bronco
45. Karen - 1972 Stutz Blackhawk
46. Dorothy - 1957 Mercedes Benz 300SL
47. Dorie - 1973 Stutz Blackhawk
48. Eleanor - 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1

How Fast Do You Like It?

2007-02-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

Who would ever forget the car-studded sequel of the film "The Fast and the Furious" and one previous to "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift"? The 2003 "2 Fast 2 Furious" truly marked a great significance in all car enthusiasts in the world.

The film stars Paul Walker who returns as a former cop named Brian O'Conner. He then teams up with his ex-con pal, Tyrese Gibson, who plays the role of Roman Pearce. Other stars in the movie include Eva Mendes, Devon Aoki and thug singer Ludacris. The film was directed by John Singleton with soundtrack composed by David Arnold. Lee R. Mayes and Neal H. Moritz produced the blockbuster film.

The movie won't be a box office without these full-throttlers with cool exterior car parts other than wheel burners. So, get on that seat and brace yourself with these cool cars that were featured in the film.

To start off, the movie shows a 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 Vspec in Aqua Metallic paint being driven by Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker’s role) in a prelude of the short movie.

The car that crashed through a Pepsi billboard and was sent to a warehouse to repair its Suspension/Tire & gearbox damage was a 1993 Toyota Supra Turbo.

The pretty in pink Honda S2000 and a sizzling red Mazda RX-7 was there as well.

Mitsubishi cars such as the 2002 Lancer Evolution VII and 2003 Eclipse Spyder in green lime and purple respectively was also in the motion picture.

Other cars like the 2003 Dodge Viper SRT-10, 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, 2003 Saleen S281 Mustang, 1998 BMW M3, 1999 Ferrari 360 Spider, 2000 Acura NSX, 1969 Chevrolet-Yenko Camaro and 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T were also featured in the film.

The film runs at 101 minutes, with an MPAA rating of PG-13. An approximately US$76 million was the price of the total production and received an estimated marketing costs of US$40 million.

"The Car" Is A Lincoln Continental Mark III

2007-02-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

If you have already been able to watch the 1977 flick The Car, you would know that the story revolves around a vehicle, hence the title. This movie is both a thriller and a horror film and it does tell you the story of a car with no driver and yet the vehicle has been known to do some really gory deeds. Yes, you’ll see scenes of the car moving across a dark stretch of road with its headlights glaring but there’s nobody at the wheel.

One of the things that I do distinctly remember about this movie is when the Lincoln Mark III, which is “The Car”, would blare out this horrifying sound. It simply means that it is just about to kill a person.

I’ve done further research on this movie and I learnt that it was marketed with two taglines. One states, “Is it a phantom, a demon, or the Devil himself?” while the other says, “What evil drives… The Car.”

And while doing my research, I did also come about learning that the Lincoln Continental Mark III was actually a 1971 model. It was designed and customized by the same person who also designed the 1966 Batmobile, George Barris. I guess there was also a six such cars created and all were destroyed during the creation of the movie. However, a seventh unit was created but it was later on given back to Barris. I don’t know where it is now, though.

Anyhow, to get a real good idea of what The Car is all about, here is an summary I found from Wikipedia:
“A small Utah community is terrorized by a phantom black muscle car that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. The main character, Sheriff Wade Parent, is on a mission to stop the demonic car which seems to have no driver. The cops chase the car through the desert, but it takes out several squad cars and disappears after injuring Wade. Things take a personal turn when the car eliminates Wade's girlfriend Lauren in a shocking sequence. Gathering his remaining officers, Wade concocts a plan to stop the horsepower-laden monster. But discovering it hiding in his own garage, Wade is forced to lure the car into a mountainous canyon area, where a final confrontation settles the score and reveals the driver's frightening identity.”

Scary.

Horror Cars

2007-01-30T17:09:00.000-08:00

If you have gone tired of zombies and critters and other creatures like Freddy Kruger, you may want to shift sights to something else. Horror cars maybe. You know, those cars that would surely give you terror.

One of the very famous horror cars is Christine. This movie has been an adaptation of the novel written by Stephen King. God, take a look at the car and you would be surely loving its red exterior car parts. But once you get the drift of the movie, your heart would surely be racing faster than Christine, the car, can speed up.

You see, the movie is about Christine – this Plymouth Fury of the model year 1958. She belongs to this high school kid Arnie and their love story starts to happen. As he makes the bruised and dull Christine into a bright shining vehicle that makes heads turn, his attitude starts to change and Christine starts to show signs of having a life of her own. That 1958 Plymouth Fury sure did make lots hearts beat tons of times than normal.

There's another horror car that has appeared in a Charlie Sheen movie – that one titled The Wraith. The vehicle here is a Dodge M4S prototype which many people have been saying looks like the Jaguar XJ220. This car has made people start having goosebumps when it starts avenging the death of this one kid that was killed by some gang. Oh, the car did not kill those gang members. It was the guy who owned the car.

These are just a few of those vehicles which has made our hearts thump even faster than before and these are a few of those few cars that we sure have been seeing in our nightmares.

If you missed those movies, you may want to start searching for them online (maybe eBay) or in your local video shop. Who knows? They may have these movies still in store. I do promise you a world of horror and pretty fearsome cars.

007 to Ride on a Jaguar XF in Bond 22

2007-01-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

The famous British spy James Bond will soon change his traditional vehicle in his next flick. UK’s James Bond website, MI6 reports that Bond 22 (22nd James Bond film) that will be released in November 2008 will feature a Jaguar XF to be driven by Agent 007 himself, replacing the Aston Martin brand. This is somewhat true because the report also said that Ford Motor Company still has the exclusive rights for an exclusive product placement due to their $100 million three-piece picture deal, and Ford is now promoting the Jaguar brand for the next film.

Well, let’s just wait and see if James Bond will really ride on a Jaguar XF in his next movie flick. Looking for the best OEM auto parts like Eibach Springs? just visit your trusted stores online.

Tokyo Drift's Evolution IX

2007-01-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

“I wonder if you know, how they live in Tokyo, if you see it and you know it the you know you have to go.” Don't these lyrics keep you dancing and urge you to get some speed?
Oh well, up to now, I still have the Tokyo Drift fever all over me. And I bet, people who are reading this right now can very well relate to what I'm talking about.
So assuming that you know the story, then I guess I wouldn't need to discuss it since I will be talking about the cars in the movie.

If you will remember, Sean Boswell, the lead actor, approximately used two cars in the movie. One was a 2006 Lancer Evolution IX and the other one was a 1987 Ford Mustang. But for my purposes, would like to discuss the Lancer Evo first. This was what Sean used when he won his first race in Tokyo. It was “given” to him by his rich Japanese friend, Han.

The Tokyo Drift Evo IX was lowered over EibachSprings and fitted with APR's wide-body kit and those...were filled with 19-by-8.5-inch Ray's G-Games 99B wheels and 255/35R19 Too Proxes T1R tires. RMR also modified the steering knuckles for additional angle and upsized the brakes with Brembo sics and calipers. The turbocharged, 2.0 liter, four-cylinder engines were left essentially stock except for the addition of an RMR exhaust system. Power is up from the stock 286 horsepower at the crank to 289.5hp at the rear wheels, measured on a chassis dynanometer.

So there you have it guys. I'll discuss more of the cars in Tokyo Drift on my next post.

Super Agent xXx

2007-01-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

Vin Diesel is one hot, hot, hot guy! He surely deserved to be the star of the xXx movie. (the action movie or whatever that may come into your mind, hahah! Just joking...)
So what about the movie? It's about a extreme sports athlete named Xander Cage, who was recruited by NASA to become a different kind of undercover agent, believing he would succeed in dangerous missions.

And as a requirement for a special undercover agent, he must have a special kind of car. Xander used a specially accentuated Crimson Blue 1976 Pontiac GTO. It was named Super Agent xXx And FYI, there were a total of seven exact replicas of this car that were used in the movie.

The car, by the way, was customized and equipped with weapons, gadgets, computerized dials and other needs of an agent on mission. The rear seats were also made to be folded forward and hold various mega-powered artillery, including a Gatlin gun, harpoons and high-tech firearms. All these were finished and delivered after two months of hard work by the Circlescan 4D team.

Well, it's really a car fit for an agent! No more, no less.

2007-01-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

The year 1969 was the birth of Herbie, a Volkswagen Beetle which became the famous star of several Disney movies.

Since he is in fact “fictional”, Herbie has a mind of his own and does not need a driver. In short, he can run on his own but mind you, he has feelings to!

He's a special car and he sure can kick-ass! Due to his extraordinary capabilities, he takes competing in auto racing very seriously.

Herbie is an L87 pearl white 1963 Model 117 Volkswagen Type 1 Deluxe Sunroof with yellow-on-black California license plates OFP 857. He is also distinguished by red, white and blue racing stripes and has a racing style number “53” on his front bonnet, doors and engine lid.
Herbie has already starred in 5 Disney films: The Love Bug(1969), Herbie Rides Again(1974), Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo(1977), Herbie Goes Bananas(1980) and the latest one, Herbie: Fully Loaded(2005) which starred teen-age actress Lindsay Lohan.
In Herbie: Fully Loaded, Herbie had a new set of “eyebrows”which gave him the ability to blink and also his front bumper can change shape to smile or look sad and the sun visors are used for him to produce a frown.

Whatever it is that has been added or removed from Herbie, Herbie will always be Herbie, the lovable Volkswagen which can really do the Wheelie! (Yes, he really can, with his high performance 1835 engine)

General Lee

2007-01-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, who in the civilized world wouldn't know the Dukes of Hazzard?! The famous cousins Bo, Duke and Daisy in their wild adventures are considered as legends in both in TV and movie history today. And in 2005, a remake of the film was release with over $110.5 million dollars earned in the box office.

A bit of a review – Bo (Seanne William Scott) is the young and wild one, he leaps before he thinks and he's blond. He's famous for driving General Lee off cliffs and landing without a single scratch, Yeee-haaaa!!!

Duke (Johnny Knoxville) is the dark-haired one. He's more mature and more responsible than Bo. He is a skilled fighter and he is often the one who gets them both out of trouble. He's famous for the “hood slide” across General Lee.

Daisy, on the other hand, is the only female among the cousins. Originally, she is a brunette but in the latest movie, she was portrayed as blond by Jessica Simpson(of course,blond!). She works as a gorgeous waitress who uses her charms to discover Boss Hogg's evil schemes. She's famous for her high-cut jeans short shorts(in this movie, it became even shooooorter!).

And now, we go to their legendary car. General Lee, the famous car used by Bo and Luke is an orange 1969 Dodge Charger with a confederate battle flag on top of it and the words GENERAL LEE over its doors. It was after the American Civil War Confederate Gen Robert Lee. It also has the number 01 on both sides.

This movie version was however criticized for its emphasis on sexual content. It was also nominated as worst movie of the year at the 2005 Golden Raspberry Awards. Oh I honestly don't care about the movie. As long as there's General Lee!! Yee-haaaaa!!!

Pontiac GTO 1969 and 2004

2007-01-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

The Last Ride may not be one of the best “car” films but yes, the cars it featured were some of the best. Since this is not a move review, I would barely criticize the movie, or give any comment at all. All I can say is, it was a very lame attempt to advertise a car, which is the 2004 Pontiac GTO. But of course, I must give credit for this attempt, for it successfully became a movie(thank God) amidst the rough story line.

So, the story is about a man named Ronnie who got set-up by a police officer in front of his young son and his dying wife. Fast forward to 2004, the man is already released from prison and he already has a grand son(Matthew) who is also a car aficionado like himself. Ronnie, together with Matthew, search for a way to get back on the police officer who has taken his family away from him. They are on the look-out for a Carousel Red 1969 Ram Air IV Pontiac GTO Judge because in it, they will find the evidence that would surely put the police officer behind bars.

So enough about the movie and more about the car. The GTO was considered to be the only true “muscle car.” The 1969 Pontiac GTO was called “The Judge”. It was taken from a comedy routine “Here Comes The Judge”, used repeatedly on the Rowan &Martin's Laugh-In TV Show. “All Rise for The Judge” and The Judge can be bought” were popular slogans used in advertisements.

And back-to-back with it, the 2004 Pontiac GTO was introduced in the movie as the car used by Matthew. It was somehow a past and present approach of showing two generations of cars. It was based on Holden Monaro and was equipped with the Corvette's LS1 ('04) and LS2 ('05-'06) V8 Engine with a choice of a 6-speed manual transmission ore a 4-speed automatic. This revival of the GTO Pontiac was however not that successful because of its conservative styling and the failure to exude the image of a true muscle car.

The pussy wagon, the de tomaso mangusta, and the pontiac firebird

2006-12-22T23:13:00.000-08:00

If you're wondering about the title of this post, think Kill Bill ok? Those are some of cool rides we see in the bloody revenge flick topbilled by Uma Thurman. I really liked Kill Bill 1. The movie was treated with a freshness that is missing in many Hollywood movies today. But Kill Bill 2, that one tried my patience: stop talking guys and start fighting already!

Who can forget that garishly painted pick up Bellatrix Kiddo/The Bride/Black Mamba nicked in Kill Bill 1? Did you know that the truck itself was owned by Quentin Tarantino? There was supposed to be a scene where The Bride blows up the truck but Tarantino was too attached to it and the scene was scrapped.

In Kill Bill 2 we get a glimpse of Bill's/Snake Charmer's De Tomaso Mangusta (Mongoose), so named because the car manufacturer, Italy's De Tomaso, hoped it would "kill" Ford's Cobra. It did not. The Giogetto Giugiaro-designed sports car has a mid-mounted V8 engine with prominent gull wing style doors.

There was also a scene showing Elle Driver/California Mountain Snake behind the wheels of a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am, on her way to get the Hattori Hanzo sword from Budd/Sidewinder. The Trans Am is a muscle car sporting 455 muscle engines.

So there you have it. the pussy wagon, the de tomaso mangusta, and the Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am. Take your pick.

Of Mini Coopers and Italian Jobs

2006-12-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

Italian Job, the 2003 hit movie, which starred Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron and Donald Sutherland , is always associated with MINI coopers. Obviously, this is because majority, if not all the cars used in this movie's major scenes were MINI coopers. Since this is already common knowledge, let me just share to you some trivias I've read about the MINI coopers in the movie.

1.) Two electric-powered MINI coopers and one MINI Cooper works had to be specially built for the film, since gasoline-powered vehicles are not allowed to operate in the Los Angeles subway system.

2.) 32 MINI Coopers were used throughout the shooting. Including some purpose made MINIs with an electrical engine for the subway portion of the chase scene.

3.)The White MINI is actually a 'Pepper White' car with a pure white roof - this is not a colour combination that is made for the MINI. The 'Chili Red' and 'Indy Blue' MINI's both have black door mirrors and white roofs. In reality, MINI's come with door mirrors that match the roof colour.

4.)A MINI with two steering wheels was used for some of the shooting in order that a stunt driver could drive the car whilst one of the actors performed in front of the camera. This unusual car is now a part of the MINI factory tour in Cowley, Oxford.

Check out the rest of the trivias at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Italian_Job_(2003_film)

A BMW and a Supermodel...hot, hot, hot!

2006-12-20T18:29:00.000-08:00

"Taxi" is one predictable movie. Yes, it was kind of funny but I was not that impressed. Maybe because I had too much expectations. The plot was ordinary, Queen Latifah (Belle) and Jimmy Fallon (Washburn) didn't seem to work out as a duo and so on...

Thank God for those breath-stopping car chases, the BMW and of course Gisele Bundchen(Vanessa), the money I paid for my ticket was worth it. Many people (including myself) seem to ask what kind of BMW Gisele and the rest of her gang was driving around the streets of New York. Well, here's the answer. It was a BMW 760Li and it was colored in apple red looking so hot and delicious as well. The good news is, the original car used in the movie is now being sold with the following specs:

a.)Original AC Snitzer full body kit including trunk spoiler and roof spoiler,
b.)Ac schnitzer exhaust,
c.)22" Lowenhart LDR rims staggered.
d.)Audio modifications are a 12" apline carbon fiber woofer with custom bmw logo in the arm rest area and
e.)Video Nav converter to watch DVD's while your driving and
f.)7" LCD in the foot are of the back seat.

Now back to the supermodel...Gisele Bundchen is currently the highest-paid female model in the whole world. She's Brazilian and she used to date Leonardo DiCaprio. Today, she has her own hotel in Brazil and tons of endorsements for top-of-the-line brands all over the world including Victoria's Secret.

A supermodel and a hot ride..There sure is no doubt why they are every guy's fantasies!

2006-12-13T17:48:00.000-08:00

Mission Impossible III and Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt). Great movie and a superb movie star. What could definitely complete this combination? A bad-ass car of course!

With those mind-blowing scenes that wouldn't get you off your seat, the babes and the cars would definitely blow you further.
My full attention gravitated towards this specific car used by Maggie Q (Zhen) in a scene wherein she attended a socialiate party to monitor Owen Davian, the movie's antagonist.

And whoah! What a sight it was! The Lamborgini Gallardo, an Italian car was the movie's best featured car, in my opinion. The car is interestingly named after a famous breed of fighting bull and is pronounced roughly "guy-ar-do". Gallardo is also Spanish for the word gallant. It's actually a super car especially designed to compete with Ferrari's 360 Modena. But with its rear-biased all-wheel drive, this car is more practical to use in bad weather and in low-speed traffic.

Additional specs:
1.) Permanent 4-wheel drive
2.) Engine: 5 liter, 10 cylinder V90-degree, DOHC four valves
3.) Power: 520HP at 8000rpmTorque: 510 Nm at 4250 rpm 0-100km/h in 4 sec.
4.) Top speed: 315 km/h

Need I say more?!!!

Vintage Car Movies

2006-12-08T23:50:00.000-08:00

I've always loved vintage cars, and hence totally followed movies featuring such classic cars. Among the movies I really adored are:

Bullitt (Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset)

Most remembered for its' car chase scene through the streets of San Fran, Bullitt featured one of the earliest and most influential car chase sequences in movies. McQueen did most of his own driving of his Mustang in this film, and nothing is faked or technologically speeded up.

Tucker: The Man and His Dream (Jeff Bridges)

The story of the film revolves on Preston Tucker's (Jeff Bridges) dream of making a safe and reliable family automobile, which was a far-off idea during that time. In particular, Preston wanted to build a car more advanced than the Big 3, incuding a rear-mounted V-8, headlights that turned with the front wheels, and a streamlined body.

Goldfinger (Sean Connery)

James Bond films always feature the most interesting cars and chases, but for me, Goldfinger still tops the list. In the film, Connery drives an Aston-Martin DB5 with all of M's weapons.

Disney and Pixar's "CARS"

2006-11-29T17:20:00.000-08:00

Who could forget the Disney-Pixar race car movie that touched each of its viewers: from boys to girls, no matter what age, "CARS", released last June 9 in the US, surprisingly tickled much of it's adult viewers and gained praises from critics in spite of the hoardy stop-and-smell-the-roses plot that it portrays.

In classic Disney and Pixar managed to combine the best elements that both companies are well known for in this movie: good story telling Disney-style with superb graphics to boot. Cars mostly tells the story of a hotshot race car, Lightning Macqueen, a rookie race car on the verge of "making it big" that landed on an old, forgotten tourist spot on Route 66 named Radiator Springs. At this point of the story, the real charm of the movie begins.

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), anxious to get to California where he is to compete with Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton) and the veteran champion, "The King" Strip Weathers (Richard Petty) for the Piston Cup Championship, pushes on the road, and refuses to stop even to give his tires and engines a much-needed rest. By a strange number of (un)fortunate circumstances, Lightning Mcqueen was forced to stay in Radiator Springs for a longer period of time, where he makes friends with the tenants who all teaches him to slow down and just take a slow drive and enjoy other things in life that he may be unconsciously passing by.

The movie is filled with light-hearted jokes and intended puns and spoofs which is a great factor in adding interest to the film, particularly to the not-so-young viewers of the film who could recognize and relate to these jokes. Examples of these jokes are the two announcers, Darrell Cartrip and Bob Cutlass, are actually voiced by three-time NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip, and sportscaster Bob Costas, and minor character Jay Limo, voiced by comedian Jay Leno.

Some characters from the movie (left to right, top to bottom) are:

Lightning McQueen : "[A] mix of a stock car and and a more curvaceous Le Mans endurance racer."--from LA times
"The King" Strip Weathers : Richard Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird, #43
Chick Hicks : according to Pixar, "a generic 1980's stock car," one that resembles a mid-1980s Buick Regal.
Mater : mid-1950s Chevrolet Chevrolet One-Ton[17] Wrecker Tow Truck
Sally Carrera 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera (Type 996)
Doc Hudson : 1951 Hudson Hornet
Ramone : 1959 Chevy Impala lowrider
Fillmore : 1960 VW Bus
Sarge : 1942 Willys MB/1946 Willys CJ-2A hybrid
Flo : 1957 Motorama show car
Luigi : 1959 Fiat 500
Guido : Italian Isetta forklift
Sheriff : 1949 Mercury Club Coupe
Mack : 1985 Mack Superliner
Red : 1960s style fire truck (most closely resembles a mid-1960s Pirsch pumper but also resembles American LaFrance models)

The Aston Martin DBS from Casino Royale

2006-11-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

JAMES BOND: CASINO ROYALE

What better way to kick off this new movie/automobile blog than to start with the film series that are well known for kick-ass action and out-of-this-world cars, right? From the latest installment of the James Bond series, Casino Royale, the new Aston Martin DBS was revealed and of course, the elegantly finished automobile did not disappoint.

ASTON MARTIN DBS BACKGROUND:

This steel gray, chrome finished automobile was unveiled last May 4, 2006 in Gaydon. Although in favor of the up-and-coming movie (which was then still in the making), specific details about the much-awaited car were withheld. Although Aston Martin Design Director Marek Reichman hinted that the Aston Martin DBS "encapsulates a link between our elegant DB9 road car and the powerful DBR9 race car".

According to Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez, the DBS is “not of the understated elegance of a DB9, nor the youthful agility of the V8 Vantage. It is explosive power in a black tie and has its own unique character which will equal that of James Bond.”

ASTON MARTIN DBS IN CASINO ROYALE

The elegant exterior looks is considerable proof that some things can be judged by it's cover, since it no matter how awe-struck you are at the elegantly finished exterior of the Aston Martin DBS, the interiors no doubt did it justice.

The trunk has a flat, black plastci finish, and all four seats are made of hard, durable plastic with precise details. The rear seats are separated by a handy fire extinguisher (since James Bond never gets through a whole adventure without burning some car or another). The glove box is fitted with apistol hiding place and a storage for a medical kit:

Really, what is a James Bond movie without an extraordinary car to elicit oohs and ahhs from the viewers? Next to nothing, that's right. Along with the action-packed plot that the James Bond series is well-known for, the Casino Royale film is surely something you wouldn't want to miss.

Welcome: Speed up On Movies and Wheels!

2006-11-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

As a movie buff and car enthusiast, I am making this blog for a collection of info about films and the cars featured in them. Enjoy!!!