Ken Block Plays Vehicular Tetherball in Gymkhana Six

If you’re a fan of cars, racing, or stupid vehicular stunts you’ve probably seen Ken Block and his Gymkhana series of videos. Gymkhana Five saw Block tearing through the streets of San Francisco and the sixth installment in the YouTube video franchise is now available for our enjoyment. It’s cool, but I don’t think it’s nearly as cool as the last one was.

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In Gymkhana Six, Block streaks through a course that is set up with red and white boundaries all around making it very tight and narrow. He flies around the course in his Ford Fiesta race car and slides around hitting tetherballs with the back of his car.

He also does doughnuts around some moving Need For Speed Lamborghinis and his trademark guys on Segway scooters. My favorite part is when he slips around corners at full speed and is able to get his car lined up to make it through narrow shipping containers with the doors open. Check out the video for yourself and see if you think it’s better than Gymkhana Five.

Der Zeisel: The Ultimate Off-Road Wheelchair

Have you ever wanted to feel like Emperor Palpatine, or Davros, the creator of the Daleks? Well, now you can get closer to that sensation, thanks to this off-road machine. It looks like the ultimate wheelchair, putting all other wheelchairs to shame.

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Der Zeisel, which means “the seat” in German, looks like a combination of a tank and a mobility scooter. However, it’s able to handle snow, grass, mud, and sand. A racing seat was bolted onto a tube steel frame and its two off-road tracks are powered by electric disk motors, which produce 21 hp and 30 lb-ft of torque. The included battery pack will operate the seat for up to five hours, driving at a maximum speed of 22 mph.

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Der Zeisel is controlled by a one-handed joystick, and the vehicle is fitted with wooden armrests, metal mudguards, and comes in a variety of awesome paint jobs. You’ll have to shell out about $30,000(USD) to get yours.

[via Uncrate]

Ducati Monster 1200: Getting Faster By the Moment

I like how fast crotch rockets can go, but that sitting position will get uncomfortable pretty fast. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve always liked the Ducati Monster, which combines performance with a more natural seating position. The Italian motorcycle company just announced their third generation Monster bike.

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The Ducati Monster 1200 motorcycle is powered by a twin-cylinder engine that makes 135hp and 87 lb-ft. of torque, and will probably blow your socks off when you’re riding it around town. It weighs just a bit over 400 lbs, and has an eight-level traction control, three-level ABS, and a three-level ride-by-wire throttle.

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It’s also available in the upgraded Monster 1200S configuration, which boosts output to 145hp and 92 lb-ft. of torque, adds bronze fork accents, Brembo brakes, Öhlins suspension and a carbon front mudguard.

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The Ducati 1200 sells for $13,495(USD), while the 1200S starts at $15,995.

Nissan BladeGlider Concept Hints at Future Production EV

Nissan has unveiled a very interesting new concept car that will make its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show. The car is called the BladeGlider and it has a unique three seat design. Nissan says that the BladeGlider is a proposal for the future direction of Nissan electric vehicle development and an exploratory prototype for an upcoming production vehicle.

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This concept looks pretty wild for road car, but Nissan has been successfully testing the triangular shape in racing cars for a while. The BladeGlider has a front track that’s significantly narrower than the rear track, putting the two front wheels closer together than the rear. Nissan says that helps reduce the drag exerted on the vehicle and increase performance.

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Inside the car uses three seats with the driver sitting ahead of the two passengers. This passengers sit you to the right and left of the driver giving everyone an unobstructed view of the road. The BladeGlider uses interesting scissor style doors that open up and out. Nissan also says that the driver seat automatically moves to the side to allow rear seat passengers to get in and out easily. The production car based on this concept will also be the first time Nissan uses in-wheel electric motors, and the car will use the same electric battery system from the Nissan Leaf.

Tiny Elio Car Is Affordable and Street Legal

Buying a new car in this economy is tough. It shouldn’t be like buying a house. Well, there is an answer. Assuming you don’t need to transport passengers or significant cargo, your next car doesn’t have to break the bank thanks to Elio Motors, who wants to revolutionize the auto industry with its tiny new three-wheeled car.
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This unusual looking single-seat car gets an amazing 84 MPG on the highway, 49 MPG in the city, and travels at speeds up to 100 MPH. This car consumes just 1/3 of the gas that the average car does. The price? $6,800(USD). You can’t beat that.

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Bonus: It is even made in the USA. The company estimates that they will create 1,500 jobs at their Shreveport, LA plant alone beginning in 2014. Let’s hope that automotive lobbyists and the government don’t kill the company before they can put a whole bunch on the road.

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Hopefully they can impact the auto industry and provide people with affordable cars for many years. This is a company to watch closely.

[via This Is Why I’m Broke]

Police Car/Chicken Coop: Here Comes the Fuzz, I Mean the Feather

How do you follow up Pac-Man light bulbs and an aquarium in a phone booth? With a police car turned into a Chicken Coop obviously. Benedetto Bufalino strikes again.
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His newest piece of art is The Police Car Barn. That seems like a natural progression. I’m sure these police cars feel like a chicken coop to the criminals that ride in them, so it makes at least a little bit of sense. This functional chicken coop was built inside of an old 1970s era French police car.

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The interior was gutted and he propped up the hood, the trunk and the passenger door for some extra room.

These chickens have it good. A cool car and lots of room. It must be a pain to clean up though. And forget about it if you have to drive this thing in a high-speed pursuit.

[via designboom via Neatorama]

Wrought Iron Volkswagen Beetle: That’s One Classy Chassis

If cars were made of metal that looked like lace, the road would be a classier place. Croatian metal shop MG Vrbanus had three artists modify this 1970 Volkswagen Beetle and that is just what they did. This car took 3,500 hours of work, 5,000 Swarovski crystals and hundreds of pounds of wrought iron and gold leaf. The end result? Well, you’ll probably love it or hate it.

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They began by sketching a design on the sheet metal body, then they removed it, section by section, and replaced it with designs inspired by metal fencing. The best part is that the see-through body shows the machinery underneath. These guys were so precise that they were able to fit the original windows back into place without any trouble. Now, that is impressive.

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I would love to see this thing driving down the street.

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You can check out more images of the wrought iron VW bug here.

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[via visual news via Neatorama]

1988 Ford Fiesta Becomes a Transformer

UK-based artist Hetain Patel’s first car was a 1988 Ford Fiesta that was handed down from his father. In honor of his first set of wheels, this collaboration with his father and brother turns a similar vehicle into a Transformer-like robot that is far more than meets the eye.

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The car is a symbol. As he says, “Manufactured in England, this car stands as a symbol of working class Britain, a native body, albeit here a car body.” And of course, he was inspired by the Transformers, seeing this art piece as a symbol of empowerment:

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Another significant influence for me and this work are Transformers, an American film and toy franchise since 1984, and a widely recognisable pop culture reference that reaches far back in Hetain’s memory. In this new sculpture, Transformers have been made manifest, physically, in a literal transformation of a Ford Fiesta car into a large-scale squatting human-like figure. For me, these ‘robots in disguise’ (as per the cartoon’s theme tune) stand as a metaphor for the other, in a fantasy world where they can transform out of a marginal position into one of empowerment.

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Forget all the fancy talk of art and empowerment and all the rest. This piece of art is just plain awesome and stands on it’s own. No pun intended. It shows what a father, son, brother trio of geeks can accomplish.

[via Make:]

A Day on the Road with the 2014 Nissan Rogue

The Nissan Rogue SUV was introduced back in 2007, and has since become one of Nissan’s best selling vehicles. The first generation Rogue was made in Japan, and while a solid small utility vehicle, it didn’t exactly thrill with its styling. The 2014 model aims to change that, and I’m pleased to say that I think it’s accomplished its mission.

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I recently had the opportunity to put the brand-spanking new 2014 Nissan Rogue through its paces in and around Nashville, Tennessee. This is only appropriate, as the new Rogue is the first model to be manufactured in the U.S., at Nissan’s massive Smyrna, Tennessee plant – which also produces the Altima, Maxima, Pathfinder, LEAF, and the Infiniti QX60.

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My first impressions of the Rogue were very positive, as the new styling offers a much more dynamic visual sensibility than past models, with more pronounced curves that start on the hood and head down the side of the body towards the rear wheel wells.

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That, combined with a longer wheelbase, wider stance, and slightly shorter overall length, make the new Rogue just seem like a more desirable vehicle than its strictly utilitarian older sister.

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It’s also got a much more appealing front-end and grill design than previous Rogues, with more streamlined headlights, and a black grill mesh flanking the Nissan “V” and mid-bumper.

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The improvements to the Rogue don’t end with body styling. The new model sports LED daytime running lights, mirrors with integrated LED turn signals, and doors that now open much wider than the previous model. Inside, there are major upgrades, with premium materials throughout, including soft touch surfaces on the dash, doors and center console, LED map lights, and comfy new seats which get their design from NASA research on reducing body fatigue.

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In the back of the Rogue, you’ll find either a 3rd row of seats (for 7 passenger seating – S and SV models only), or a large storage area. Personally, I think the back is too small for the 7-passenger variant, and you’re better off going with something large like the Pathfinder if you need to transport that many kids.

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On the other hand, the 5-passenger configuration is plenty comfortable – even for adults in the back seats. Oh, and speaking about the back seat, it splits into 40/20/40 sections, and the front passenger seat can fold down, so you can transport really long items with ease. Plus, you’re really going to want to take advantage of the flexible storage system, which offers 18 different configurations for transporting items. There’s even the ability to separate wet and dry items.

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Under the hood of the Rogue, there’s the same 2.5 liter DOHC I-4 engine found in the 2013 model, offering 170 horsepower and 175 lb-ft. of torque. In my drive, this offered smooth, responsive acceleration, though its continuously variable transmission does get a bit whiny as it hits higher revs. Still CVT is here to stay, as it offers greater fuel efficiency than traditional transmissions. In fact, the Rogue pushes out a best in class 33mpg on the highway. During my drive through Tennessee , we did around 27mpg, but that was on mixed city streets and country roads.

Driving dynamics were solid, and I felt that the Rogue did equally well in busy urban areas and on wide-open country roads. I was also pleasantly surprised by the relatively limited body roll, which is a rarity in SUVs. The Rogue also has some nifty tech bells and whistles which improve ride, including Active Trace Control, which selectively applies brake force to improve cornering and tight turns, Active Engine Braking which downshifts to help slow the vehicle more aggressively than brakes alone, and Active Ride Control, which uses braking trickery to help smooth the ride on major bumps.

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In my experience, all three of these features improved ride quality, though the Active Trace Control was most impressive – significantly decreasing the level of effort required to keep the Rogue on a clean path around tight corners in the rain.

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I found the cockpit of the Rogue SV model I drove to be extremely comfortable, placing me a height that made me feel in command, and visibility is good through all windows. Both the S and SV model come with a rear-facing camera, but if you opt for the SL model, you can benefit from Nissan’s “Around-View” video monitor, which provides a top-down view of the entire car. Previously found only in Infiniti models, it’s a great technology for navigating tight garage spaces.

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Controls are thoughtfully placed on the dashboard, and the controls for the dual-zone climate control system (on SV and SL models) are intuitive and easy to use. Between the RPM gauge and speedometer, you’ll find a large 5-inch LCD screen which offers easy access to information on mileage, media playback, tire pressure monitoring, and safety features. The steering wheel offers quick access to menu, media and phone controls. All models include Bluetooth hands-free phone and media playback. The SL model also has a 7-inch color touchscreen with navigation and NissanConnect app integration with services including Facebook and Google Search.

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Prices for the Rogue start at $22,490 for the front-wheel drive base model S, with the top-of-the-line Rogue SL AWD going for $29,420. I also highly recommend going for the absolutely massive panoramic moonroof option which comes standalone for the Rogue SV for $1,320, or as part of the premium package for the SL for $1,990, along with LED headlights, forward collision warning, blind spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, and moving object detection safety features.

With its styling, storage and technological improvements, the 2014 Nissan Rogue feels like a vehicle that has finally grown into its skin. If you’re in the market for a small, reasonably priced SUV, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Gold Dragon BMW with Yak Bones: Uglier Than Justin Bieber’s Chrome Fisker Karma

So how can you customize a BMW in a really unusual way? Well, if you have a graveyard full of yak bones, you can just apply them all to the car and make it into a flying beast.
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This dragon BMW Z4 was on display at the recent China Import and Export Fair in the Guangdong province. It is gold underneath and all of the rest of it is cut mountain yak bone. Yakkity yak…give my bones back!

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I bet those yaks have a bone or three to pick with the builder of this car. Why is the dog chewing on the car again? The decor on this BMW is a real bone-nus. Is that the new XBone? Sorry, I’ll stop.

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[via Daily Mail via Geekologie]