'Smokey And The Bandit' Car For Sale At Burt Reynolds Auction

If there’s anything more iconic about Burt Reynolds than his mustache, it’s the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am from “Smokey and the Bandit.”

Now, Reynolds is selling just such a car. This one wasn’t used in the film, but was a promotional vehicle for the movie and then given to Reynolds, according to the listing.

“She features a 400 cid Pontiac V-8 engine with just over 12,000 miles, a 4-barrel carburetor and an automatic transmission,” the listing says. “This is an amazing opportunity to own what just might be the coolest car EVER!”

The Trans Am has a pre-auction estimate of $60,000 to $80,000, but with more than a week to go, bidding has already reached $70,000.

The car is part of an auction of some 650 items from the Oscar nominee, including movie memorabilia and props, photos, a letter from Katharine Hepburn and his 1978 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Actor.

I have been in the auction community for 25 years and I’ve never seen an opportunity like this,” Museum of Television president James Comisar told Fox News. “My guess is that these artifacts offered in the auction will go for 10 times their estimate.”

Other “Bandit”-related memorabilia for sale in the auction includes a 1997 Dodge Ram pickup truck with a portrait of Reynolds as “The Bandit” on the hood as well as a “Bandit” go-cart. There’s also a shirt and red jacket he wore in the sequel.

Bids are being accepted online now, and will conclude Dec. 11 and 12 with a live auction in Las Vegas.

While it has been reported that the auction was motivated by financial troubles, Reynolds said it’s just time for the stuff to go.

I am simply selling some of my memorabilia that I have enjoyed for so many years but do not have use nor room for them anymore,” he told “Entertainment Tonight,” according to the Los Angeles Times. “Quite frankly, I am sick of so many pictures of myself in my own home.”

Reynolds is being sued by the Bank of Florida for missing $1.4 million in payments on his 5-bedroom Florida home, The Independent reports. The paper says he has been trying to sell the property, but the value has dropped from $9 million to $2.9 million since 2011.

If you really want to own a Burt Reynolds Trans Am and miss this auction, you’ll have another chance next month. A 1978 vehicle, also done up to look like the car from the film and owned by Reynolds from 2005 to 2009 will be sold by Mecum Auctions in January.

YamChops: The Ironic Vegetarian Butcher Shop

With an increasing number of people focused on eating raw, healthy
diets, vegetarian etas are more popular than ever – even with those that
lean towards the carnivore category. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that
new, unique vegetarian and vegan restaurants are popping up in cities
worldwide are popping up faster than you can say kombucha.

NASA's mission countdown clock is getting a digital upgrade

NASA’s launch clock is finally moving into the digital age. The new countdown timer sports a 1280 x 360 resolution screen (which NASA admits is far from being HD) and measures in at 26 feet wide and some 7 feet tall. The $280,000 unit is a bit more c…

Unreal in-game footage makes GTA V totally look like a parallel reality

Unreal in-game footage makes GTA V totally look like a parallel reality

After seeing footage of GTA V on the next gen consoles, I’m beginning to think that GTA V isn’t just a video game. A full blown parallel reality? That’s more likely. A real life breathing city that exists somewhere? That’d be more accurate. This footage of Los Santos at night in GTA V is unreal.

Read more…



Tumblr adds a 'Buy' button for impulse shoppers

People post other things on Tumblr besides GIFs and sob stories, you know — some even use it to promote their handmade goods or crowdfunding projects. It’s those users who’ll benefit from this update the most, because the website now automatically a…

ASUS – 292g 8-inch Android tablet

ASUS Japan is going to release an 8-inch Android tablet – ASUS MeMO Pad 8 ME581C – on December 5.

ASUS MeMO Pad 8 ME581C is only 7.45mm thin and weighs 292g. It features an 8-inch WUXGA LCD display (1920×1200), Atom Z3560 processor, 2GB memory, 16GB SSD, 5MP out-camera, 1.2MP in-camera, GPS, accelerometer, electromagnetic compass, optical sensor, magnetometric sensor, gyroscope, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. Android 4.4.2 pre-installed.

Apple Loses Its Australian Appeal For ‘App Store’ Trademark

apple logo 640x359Apple is a company that is well known for taking care of its intellectual property, but here is an instance where the court did not find the ruling in Apple’s favor. An Australian court decided to throw out Apple’s appeal of a prior ruling which saw the “app store” moniker to be unavailable for trademark due to the fact that the term is deemed to be too descriptive.

Federal Court of Australia Justice David Yates threw out Apple’s appeal of a decision that was handed down by the country’s Registrar of Trade Marks, which denied rights to the term “app store,” and asked the company to pay the resulting legal costs which were associated with the case.

Justice Yates mentioned, “Apple has not established that, because of the extent to which it has used the mark before the filing date, it does distinguish the designated services as being Apple’s services. It follows that APP STORE must be taken as not being capable of distinguishing the designated services as Apple’s services. The application must, therefore, be rejected.”

Of course, one ought to take note that this isn’t the first time that such a case happened concerning the “app store” name. Do you think that the Australian court was right in its ruling?

Apple Loses Its Australian Appeal For ‘App Store’ Trademark

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Mars Levitating Speaker

mars speakerNow here is an interesting new “toy” that you might want to check out – I am referring to the Mars levitating speaker that will boast of a UFO-style disc. This unique disc will actually float above a sleek black subwoofer column, as though it were hanging there by an invisible thread or magic. Interestingly enough, the Mars speaker is accepting pre-orders at the moment via Indiegogo, where it comprises of a two-part Bluetooth speaker.

The cylindrical base would function as the subwoofer, while the UFO-shaped disc which remains floating on top will deliver the mid to high-end sounds. The disc is full well capable of taking to the air, courtesy of its magnetic technology that hail from Crazybaby. Apart from that, the folks over at Crazybaby claim that the levitation capability is the one that delivers superior audio, although this is something that we will have to listen for ourselves to determine whether that is true or not. The reasoning behind that? This speaker does not need to sit on a surface, so having it float in the air would mean that sound is not lost via transference to materials that touch it. Apart from that, the round shape that levitates does not have a front or back, and would be able to deliver audio equally to everyone gathered nearby.

Mars Levitating Speaker

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

The Next Big Climate Question: Will India Follow China?

For more than 20 years, international climate talks have been dominated by a schism between those who created the problem of climate change (largely the United States and nations of the European Union) and those who would greatly contribute to it moving forward (largely China and India).

Takata Corp., Maker Of Problematic Air Bags, Says Recall Decision Is Up To Automakers

DETROIT (AP) — Japan’s Takata Corp. refused to comply with a U.S. government demand for an expanded recall of its air bags that can explode and shoot out shrapnel, and instead passed along the crucial decision to automakers.

The response, which the U.S. immediately criticized as inadequate, sets the stage for a showdown between the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the company, when they appear before U.S. Congress on Wednesday. So far, 14 million vehicles worldwide have been recalled due to the air bag problem, including 8 million in the U.S. Takata has yet to pinpoint a cause, even though the recalls started a decade ago.

The U.S. government wants Takata and automakers to add millions of cars across the U.S. to recalls now limited to areas with high humidity. The automakers indicated Tuesday that they want to do their own testing, in addition to tests underway at Takata.

The deadline had been set for midnight Tuesday for Takata to send a response to NHTSA, which was demanding a national recall of driver-side air bags or face civil fines and legal action.

In Tokyo, Takata spokesman Hideyuki Matsumoto said the company’s response to NHTSA was “neither a yes nor a no.” Takata agreed to cooperate with the automakers on whatever they decide, he said.

NHTSA was not satisfied with Takata’s reply, calling it “disappointing,” adding that it was reviewing the response to determine the next steps.

“Takata shares responsibility for keeping drivers safe and we believe anything short of a national recall does not live up to that responsibility,” it said.

On Wednesday, Takata and some of the automakers are set to appear at a U.S. House subcommittee hearing on the matter.

Takata on Tuesday said it had formed a panel to investigate its inflator manufacturing process. Takata also said it’s working with top scientists who specialize in propellants, inflators, and air bag systems to evaluate its inflators.

The company said it would “produce additional replacement units to support any further recalls that may be announced by our customers.”

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have been calling for an industrywide investigation, but they did not have an immediate comment on the Takata response.

Honda said in Tokyo its previous position that it was “seriously considering” a nationwide recall was unchanged.

Toshitake Inoshita, a Nissan Motor Co. spokesman in Yokohama headquarters, also had no comment, stressing the problems were still under investigation.

In a statement, Toyota said it will ask the industry to hire an independent engineering company, and the affected companies would share results to figure out recall repairs. So far, General Motors, Nissan, Subaru, Chrysler and Ford have agreed to cooperate.

Some of the biggest recalls so far have been limited to high-humidity areas in the Southern U.S., plus Hawaii and some territories. The U.S. agency has said that prolonged exposure to airborne moisture can cause the inflator propellant to burn faster than designed. That can rupture metal inflator canisters. At least five deaths worldwide have been blamed on the problem.

NHTSA demanded the national recall of driver’s air bags after receiving reports of two incidents that occurred outside the recall zone. The demand covers vehicles made by Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Mazda and BMW, generally from the 2008 model year and earlier.

Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said automakers likely are fed up with how long it’s taking Takata to find the cause. But they also want their own probe so it looks like they’re protecting customers, he said.

Takata’s driver and passenger inflators are similar and use the same propellant, so Brauer wonders why all the problem air bags aren’t being recalled nationally.

The government says it doesn’t have data to warrant a national recall of passenger side air bags.

Regulators, Brauer said, may be worried about Takata’s ability to handle such a large recall financially. There are more than 30 million Takata air bags in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide.

Takata could face the wrath of an agency that’s been criticized for moving too slowly on safety issues, Brauer said. “They can’t appear to be shirking that responsibility yet again,” he said.

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Kageyama reported from Tokyo. Marcy Gordon contributed from Washington, D.C.