Get ready for the third installment of Michael Bay's Transformers franchise as the first trailer of the upcoming new movie called Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, has hit the air. Being that Megan Fox abandoned the series, we're somewhat less excited about this one, and the new trailer, which gives a fictional twist to Neil Armstrong's 1969 moon landing, ain't helping much either. In any case, you can watch the clip right after the break.
The Caterham Superlight R500 took the world by surprise in 2008 with its 263 hp 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-pot and sub-3.0 seconds 0-60mph sprint time. The same year it was launched, Top Gear’s racing driver, The Stig, drove it around the show’s test track completing a lap in just 1 minute and 17.9 seconds. That's the seventh fastest official lap time ever recorded on the show, putting to shame “heavyweights” like the Bugatti Veyron.
But everything comes to an end, and today, Caterham announced that the special model is making its final journey next week before being retired from active service. Caterham Cars’ marketing manager, James Drake, commented: “The white and orange R500 has already claimed its place in motoring history. It’s worked hard since the new R500 was launched in 2008 and we feel it’s now time to let it have a rest. It will still be available as a static display car, but its hard driving days are over. We’re stopping short of wearing black armbands in the office, but it’s still going to be a sad day when its final public engagement is over”. This will happen after it’s going to be displayed at the Marks & Spencers store in Kent, with the purpose of promoting a new range of remote control R500s. These motorized scale models will be available in the classic color scheme (white with orange stripes), and also in red with white stripes. It seems that Caterham has no intention of selling the car, so Top Gear enthusiasts will have to be satisfied with the “regular” R500. Those who can’t afford the £40,200 price tag for the real deal, can check out M&S stores this Christmas, where they will be able to buy the RC for just £19.50.
Love her or hate her, Oprah is one of the most influential women in the USA, and a mere mention of a product on her show can send masses running to buy it. Volkswagen took advantage of Oprah's ability to sway viewers by choosing her show to reveal the design silhouette of its all-new 2012 Beetle. And if that wasn't enough, the TV persona surprised her audience by giving each and every one of them a 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. Well, not now, but when the car comes out in May of 2011.
"Oprah Winfrey and the Volkswagen Beetle are two American icons, so when the "Oprah" show approached us with this incredible opportunity to share her Beetle experience with deserving viewers, we instantly wanted to be a part of it," said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America.
"Our all-new 2012 Beetle exemplifies power, styling and sophistication, and is an automotive icon reinvented to create the new shape of performance," he added.
In addition to the styling tease, VW released a statement saying that the "2012 Beetle will be a true, performance driving machine perfected by German engineering, offering a wealth of technologies that will provide a heightened driving experience over the previous generation."
The German company added that the New Beetle's successor, spy pictures of which you can check out below, will offer dual exhaust, 19-inch wheels, sport seats and new, sleeker styling, as well as numerous available features such as touch screen radio, high-grade audio speaker systems, navigation and unique ambient lighting .
Chevrolet's 2009 50th Anniversary Corvette Stingray Concept that made its way into the Transformers movies is one of those love-it / hate-it cars. On the one hand, it was sleek and muscular and pointed to the next generation Corvette. On the other hand, it owed a bit too much design-wise with the 2003 Cadillac Cien and the nods to the original Corvette Stingray appeared a little forced.
Still, I'd find it hard to believe that anyone, even lovers of the '09 Concept, would consider putting down over US$40 grand on this so-called replica. It's even harder to believe that underneath all that fibreglass is a 2005 C6 Corvette; it could just have easily been based on a twenty year old Mazda Miata / MX-5 like so many other eBay customs.
So what does the US$42,500 "Buy It Now Price" get us? For starters, the underpinnings from the C6 Corvette including its 440 hp LS2 V8 and 6spd automatic transmission. You get a clear title and 29,111 miles on the odometer to boot.
So, what else? Well, the bodywork, exhaust, air intake and interior decals are all new. And an ECU tune is good for a purported, though still unconfirmed, 430 hp. Jet stream blue paint. There's also Jet Stream Blue Paint, LED headlights (which surely can't be road legal) and "adjustable ride control" with "electric tilt front end". Is this a car or a sex toy?
Better still, is trying to choose a favorite quote from the seller's description. My two picks are:
"BUILT BY A PROFESSIONAL CAR BUILDER..... NOT SOME KID IN HIS GARAGE... And take a close look and you will see the difference."
And:
"Now with most "Replicas" you can tell from ten feet away that they are a replica's... We are proud that this "CONCEPT" car looks like a FACTORY BUILT CAR. NO one would ever know that this was not build by Chevy."
Oh, and the capitalization and grammatical errors are all the seller's own doing, not ours. Honest.
There are at least three of these replicas roaming about the Pacific Northwest, one of which allegedly appeared in Vette magazine. Oh, and there's a video too. We'll leave it up to our readers to properly "dissect" this abhorrent mutation, in the comment's section below.
While The Green Hornet doesn't say much to me, I'm sure plenty of our readers grew up watching the TV series or reading the comic books. You guys should pay attention for a minute, as CKE Restaurants is giving away an actual working example of the masked superhero's car, the Black Beauty, fully loaded with all the [faux] gadgetry needed to fight [imaginary] villains.
The marketing campaign is meant to create some hype around the upcoming remake, called The Green Hornet and starring Seth Rogen, which will hit theaters in the U.S. on January 14, 2011.
"The Green Hornet film is a great fit for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's customers," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for CKE Restaurants.
"Our target audience of 'young, hungry guys' are big fans of Seth Rogen, cool cars, comedy and action films, so what's not to like? People will also love the cool and exclusive stuff we'll be offering as part of the various The Green Hornet promotions, like the fully-loaded Black Beauty car from the film, complete with machine guns and rocket-launchers, that is the grand prize in our sweepstakes. Sorry, guys, the machine guns and rockets aren't functional, but they look awesome."
For those who don't know, the Black Beauty was actually a modified Chrysler Imperial, produced between 1964 and 1966. The prize car has been fully restored and features a brand-new supercharged engine and all the aforementioned prop weaponry, which makes it pretty cool if superheroes are your thing.
Besides the car, there are many other promotional items to be won, ranging from keychains to Sony PSP Go consoles. For more information check out your local Carl's Jr. or Hardee's restaurant or their websites.
