We’re in love with the idea of flying cars, and we’re still pissed off at Popular Science, who told us we’d all have one by the year 2000. If you’ve got sufficient funds and a Sport Pilot license, you’ll be able to buy one in the form of the Terrafugia Transition beginning next year. Prices start at $194,000, which isn’t cheap, but is on par with pricing for other small, recreational aircraft. The advantage of the Terrafugia is that you can drive it to and from the airport, as long as the airport is within a reasonable distance of your house. Judging from the pictures of the Flying Car in the ground configuration, strong crosswinds would also be a very, very bad thing.
It’s easy to overlook how good we have it these days. Even with the global recession, most of us are working and putting food on the table. Car ownership, once an unattainable dream for the vast majority of the world’s population, is now commonplace for citizens in all but the poorest countries. The Cold War, for better or for worse, is over: the final score was Capitalism 1, Communism 0.
Things weren’t always this simple, and the 1981 Wartburg 353 found on Hemmings brings back a lot of memories for me. In 1981, I was an exchange student in Germany and had a chance to see Berlin, both West and East, before the collapse of East Germany. West Berlin was a thriving, world class city with a vibrant economy and an unbelievable arts scene. East Berlin, on the other hand, was ruled by the iron fist of Communism and populated by shy, distrustful residents who spent their lives looking over their shoulders. The paranoia was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
I’ll come clean: I’m a huge fan of the Iron Man movies, since they’re good, clean, escapist fun. You know who the (suitably ugly) bad guys are, and Pepper Potts is easy enough on the eyes. Robert Downey, Jr. is hilarious as Elon Musk Tony Starke, and there’s enough explosions and special effects to keep my alligator hind brain amused. Still, you have to draw the line somewhere, and the Iron Man 2 Mark V leathers from Universal Designs seems like a good place to start.
Here’s the latest promo vid from Tom Tom, showing just how hard it can be to get a master Jedi to read from cue cards. Funny vid promoting their Star Wars character voices, featuring the same long suffering recording engineers who previously worked with Darth Vader. I’ve seen all the Star Wars flicks more than once, but not sure I am if Yoda’s guidance while driving I’d want. It’s bad enough when I have to translate English and German in my head.
In psychological terms, a split personality (called ”dissociative identity disorder”) refers to a condition where a person displays multiple, distinct personalities. Mel Gibson is a recent good example of this, but the condition carries over into the automotive world as well. There are many cars that look innocent, but beneath the skin lies something a bit darker. On the flip side, there are cars that should be fast, but whose owners won’t ever drive them at the limit.
Below are our top five cars with split personalities. Some are like that yoga instructor you dated in college: you can bring them home to meet the family, but chances are you’ll be getting naked and freaky on an off ramp of I-25 first. Others look good from a distance, but come with a lot more family baggage than you may be expecting.
Found this on Hooniverse and had to pass it along. Even for an under-funded division of L.A.’s municiple government, I have a hard time accepting the Nissan Murano as a Zombie Control vehicle.
It’s no secret that Bernie Ecclestone is a fan of Michael Schumacher, or that he was one of the driving forces behind Schumacher’s return to F1 racing. I seriously doubt the two get together for vacations or Christmas dinner, but there’s no denying that Schumacher’s return has driven ticket sales. Less empty seats translates into a happier Bernie Ecclestone, but there’s one problem: Schumacher isn’t winning races, and he’s only beaten his teammate Nico Rosberg in Spain and Turkey. Rosberg’s got two podiums’, while Schumacher has none this season. A winning Schumi will continue to drive ticket sales; a losing Schumi will not.
I don’t have many regrets in life, but one of them is that I never had an opportunity to fly on the Concorde when it was still in service. As someone who grew up with the promise of tran-continental flight in mere hours,the Concorde represented everything that was going to be right with the future. A future that wasn’t filled with a global recession, ecological disasters, incompetent world leaders and the ever present threat of terrorism.
The Chrysler PT Cruiser, an automotive icon that’s used up 10 of its 9 lives, will finally hit the end of its production run on July 9, reports Autoblog. One of the vehicles that prompted the recent retro craze, the PT Cruiser even had its own bowtie badged copy, the Chevrolet HHR (although GM denies that the PT Cruiser influenced their design). Offered in as many special editions as a Thomas Kincade painting, the PT Cruiser debuted to good reviews and helped established Chrysler’s reputation as a leader in automotive styling.
Today’s World Cup matches are the last before the quarter-finals begin on July 2. Look for teams to substitute new entries designed to challenge the opposition, as no country wants to go home just yet.
