Odds and ends

The creative work of Bangladeshi automotive artist Leepu Awila is more of a design study than anything practical, of most interest is the story of how the car actually came about. The RMX-1 was originally hand sketched on the fly after the designer was inspired by a trip to an aquarium of all...

A recent survey of motorists in the UK found that it’s harder to please women than men in regards to cars and car ownership. The survey was conducted by J.D. Power and Associates for the website evecars.com, and included up to 15,000 motorists, revealing that women were almost always less...

Another Chinese car manufacturer has been caught out producing almost identical copies of cars made by foreign companies, in this case Toyota with its Scion brand and Italy’s Fiat. The cars seen here are copies of the Scion xA & xB and Fiat Panda that were built by China’s GreatWall...

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan and the man credited with turning around the fortunes of both companies, has been appointed as an honorary knight commander of the British Empire. Though he won’t carry the title “Sir” before his name - that honor is bestowed only to the...

Just days after his thrilling race in the Brazilian GP and subsequent retirement, Schumacher has been given the gift of a private island from the crown prince of Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum gave Schumacher one of the man-made islands that make up The World, a collection of islands...

A 64 year old German man accidentally drove his car, a brand new BMW 5-series equipped with a GPS system, directly onto a train track because he couldn’t understand the navigation correctly. After initially making it onto the track, the driver continued on until he reached a train station...

Steve Fossett, adventurer and tycoon, has made the announcement that his next big challenge will be to break the world land-speed record. In an interview with the Denver Press Club, during the promo of his new autobiography, Fossett claimed that he’ll achieve his goal by reaching 1287km/h...

Official dignitaries from the US embassy based in London have racked up over 1 million pounds in road tolls but are refusing to pay them. Most of the bill came from the UK capital’s congestion charge that motorists have to pay for travelling through the city centre. According to London...

Many of America’s most popular models have already been, or are due, for a major overhaul. Car and Driver has put together a list of 10 of the most significant new cars for the 2007 model year. Most of the cars were pretty much expected, however, there are few new players that could seriously...

This strange looking vehicle labelled the “Hydra Spyder” is an amphibious car that’s at home making waves on a lake or simply cruising down an interstate highway. Complete with its aluminum hull, Corvette sourced V8 engine and jet impeller, the Hydra Spyder is tipped to be the...

A 42 year old UK man has shelled out £14,000 on a 1974 Sabre light reconnaissance tank that he uses in daily traffic, according to a report from the UK's Daily Mail. Down the roads near his home in Winsford, Cheshire, owner Stephen Ellison can reach speeds of up to 40mph in the tank that...

A small auto manufacturer that ceased production back in 1986, Melkus was known for its single seat racing and sport cars built out of Dresden, East Germany. The company’s only road going car, the Melkus RS 1000 was powered by a mid-mounted Wartburg 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine with...

Now that production work for the popular Top Gear program is back in full swing, latest reports suggest that footage of Richard Hammond’s almost fatal crash while attempting to break a British land speed record will be aired on the show. Management are waiting for a full recovery from...

Toyota is introducing a new Eco Drive indicator on its Japanese model automatics to provide drivers with a visual feedback of when they’re driving the vehicle most efficiently. Based on a number of factors such as accelerator use, engine and transmission efficiency and speed and rate of...

European motorists may be able to say goodbye to speed cameras forever. A case is currently being heard at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg surrounding the prosecution of two British motorists charged in separate events for speeding, by a fixed speed camera. To be able to charge...

Yes it’s true. The Dallas police have actually had their “bait” car stolen and they have no idea where it is. The vehicle is used to lure would be car thieves into stealing it, and then normally it’s tracked using surveillance technology. This time round it has disappeared...

It’s fairly unlikely that most of us will ever get behind the sort of automotive exotica found in Gran Turismo games, but they’re coded so well they’re almost the real thing. The two most impressive things about GT games is the graphics and driving model, and we’re told that...

There’s a new toy for the extremely paranoid in the form Prodrive enhanced armoured Range Rover. This beast weighs in excess of four tonnes and is virtually an armoured tank for soccer moms. Panels are upgraded with layers of steel and reinforced windows, which are tough enough to withstand a...

Portugal’s Auto Museum of Maia and the Center for Excellence and Innovation in the Industry Automobile (CEIIA) have created the Project Vinci GT concept, which it will present at the Matosinhos Retro Auto Show later this month. Though the car is still in the design phase, the team is set on...

Not content with letting the recent BMW and Mercedes museums take all the glory, Porsche is constructing a shrine to itself in its home city of Stuttgart. Construction is well underway and is expected to be completed in 2008. The exhibition will be dedicated to the era of Professor Ferdinand...