The Geico gecko, so cute you could step on him

There are a lot of good things about living in the USA, like driving on the correct side of the road or being able to own guns. On the other hand, living in the UK has its own unique advantages, besides being able to buy a Ford Focus RS.

Behold, the tireless Umbrella Girl

Last week we introduced you to the glamourous world of tuner and local car show girls. We gave you a glimpse into their world of small town convention centers, unemployed boyfriends and endless attempts at upskirt photos from kids and adults alike. At RideLust, we recognize that some women want more from a career in auto show representation, so in this installment, we’ll cover the next step up the Car Show Girl Ladder: Umbrella Girls, aka Grid Girls, aka Paddock Girls.

Squatting: The Best Way To Appreciate Good Tires

The rather uncomfortable staging of this poor girl by the wheel well of a Mustang is a startling reminder of one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of car ownership. No, not the harmful effects of self-tanners on paint or the misuse of scissor doors on a Ford, but proper tire selection. Surely our Ridelust readership does not need to be reminded that a quality set of rubber is easily the most cost-effective way to add performance to your car. But as young Misty here can no doubt confirm by her vantage point, tire manufacturer Vredestein provides one of the more striking examples with their Ultrac Sessanta summer tire .

During this year’s pair of Biker rallies, held annually in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, officials were capable of fining anyone caught (only) wearing a thong in public $225 dollars.

Personally, I am incensed by this gratuitous legislative violation of every American’s right to “Life, Liberty, and the Asymptotic Pursuit of Nudity Without Ever Actually Achieving It and Thereby Being Arrested.”

However, I could probably understand such a law, having myself made plenty of comments in regard to the skinny-challenged among us who insist on stuffing themselves into crazy things like bikinis and sometimes even jeans.

Most disturbing, though, is that Myrtle Beach officials are a bunch of racist bastards legally mandating racist behavior, and we’re letting them get away with it!

I love auto show girls. Actually, I love all girls, but still… there is something especially appealing about the auto show girl. Maybe it’s because we see them next to a car and automatically assume they have some automotive knowledge? Or that they’re at least interested in the cars? We love girls who love things we love. Which is also why we love lesbians. It’s a complicated and bizarre thought process going on inside the male brain. Actually, I take that back, it’s not complicated at all.

Either way, the fact remains that men love auto show girls, and last month, the 13th biennial (it’s a word, look it up, it means “every two years”) Auto Shanghai was held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. Classy digs, apparently, and the girls were equally classy. Those Chinamen really know how to throw a party. So we snagged a few pictures of the scenery for you, loyal Ridelusters. Enjoy!

Women or Cars? How do you choose?

For some people, their lives revolve around their cars. They are obsessed with them, they dwell on them, their friends don’t want to visit them because they know that will be the only topic of conversation.

I call these people amateurs.

Last Thursday night, Harley-Davidson had a premiere party for the winners of its “Bikes, Camera, Action!” film contest. The company wanted to encourage female filmmakers to “capture the passion, spirit, independence, and empowerment that embodies the spirit of female riders”. Which roughly translates to “we want to empower females to buy our motorcycles”. That’s not a bad thing though, the market for motorcycles is traditionally a male dominated one, and that 10-15% of female riders is generally ignored by manufacturers. HD is showing their female customers some love, and hopefully inspiring some new ones.

The winner of the contest was Victoria Rose Sampson with her short film Her Need for Speed. Sampson received $5,000, a High Def video camera, and a custom Harley-Davidson leather jacket for the win. Read on to see the winning video, plus the two runner-up videos:

Ultrahot TV presenter and daughter of F1 bigshot, Bernie Ecclestone, is following in the footsteps of many a ultrahottie before her by posing in the Cult of PETA’s anti-fur photoshoot.

Twenty-three year old Tamara Ecclestone was pictured with nothing but a checkered flag strategically placed on her body. They used the slogan “Going Fur-Free Is the Winning Formula”. Miss Ecclestone said she did the shoot because she thinks wearing fur is more about vanity than about fashion, whatever that means.

“I enjoy going to fashion shows and I enjoy seeing what’s new and fantastic but I just don’t understand how fur is necessarily fashionable,” she said “I just think it’s terrible to harm living animals all in the name of vanity… it’s completely unnecessary.”
Check out the pics:

Tamara Ecclestone for PETA

Thankfully, the Ecclestone in question isn’t Bernie [love ya Bernie, but only with your shirt on] but rather one of his daughters, Tamara Ecclestone. Pictured above wearing nothing more than a checkered flag, Tamara Ecclestone’s new set of racy ads were created for PETA in order to combat what is currently the nation’s most pressing concern – animal rights.

Part of PETA’s “I would rather go naked than wear fur,” Tamara’s dedication to the slightly irritating cause follows in the wake of similar devotion expressed by fellow Formula 1 family members, Jensen Button and the Schumachers.

Personally, I say: way to go Tamara! There’s nothing more courageous then a quasi-celebrity using her status as a public figure to champion a cause that’s completely irrelevant in today’s crumbling society. You go girl!

As you may know, one of the biggest automotive events in the civilized world, The Paris Motor Show, started this past Saturday. Right now, Paris is crawling with the top names in the automotive business, executives and designers and engineers and general enthusiasts. Also, automotive journalists. They’re all checking out the interesting new concepts and production vehicles being debuted. It’s a blast, I hear.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it since I had a special engagement with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Every year we watch the first Eagles/Redskins matchup of the season. The Lama’s a lifelong Redskins fan. So here I am, in a secret monastery deep in the mountains of Tibet, with my #12 Randall Cunningham jersey and a laptop. The views are beautiful here, but I’ll be honest, I would have liked to have seen the new Ferrari California in person. Still, if past experience has told me anything, it’s that you don’t turn down a personal invitation from the spiritual leader of any large number of people, exiled or no.

Nevertheless, I have my responsibilities as an automotive journalist to bring you the important news of the world, promptly and with unbiased objectivity. So here is a sampling of Jalopnik.com’s coverage of hot girls from Paris: