In one word…no. No we would not. But if you are a hardcore democrat and a total fan of the big man in charge of the 50 nifty right now, head over to eBay motors where user and photoshop “pro” (yup, he did the picture above) CubFanatic23 is selling Barack Obama’s 2005 Chrysler 300C for $1 million. Yes, that’s a 1 with six zeros behind it.
On the plus side, the car is in pretty good shape. It hasn’t been in any major accidents and has only 20,800 miles on the odometer. According to the seller, Obama owned the car from July 2004 to the summer of 2007, putting about 19,000 miles on it.
If you’re one of the very few people who will seriously consider purchasing this vehicle, don’t worry, there are no bids yet. Apparently there actually aren’t even “a very few people” who would hand over the cash for the bailout-sized price tag. BOOM, POLITICAL JOKE! Get it? …eh, we’ll stick to Kirstie Alley.
[eBay Motors via Autoblog]
As Utah’s largest car blog (maybe a default title, we don’t know…), we’re a fan of the area and try to avoid ragging on the drivers of this state as much as your everyday person would. But there are times for exceptions and today is definitely one of those times.
The clip below shows a street in Bountiful, clearly covered under plenty of fresh snow and full of parked cars along the side of the street. Throw in the worst mix of Utah winter drivers and cars with your average all-season rubber struggling to get any grip at all and you get exactly what happens in this video. Can anyone say car wrecks?
Last weekend, the Utah International Auto Expo came to the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy, and we were expecting a lot after the last few years. It did not disappoint.
This show brought the likes of the Ferrari FF, Ferrari 599 Apartera, Audi R8 5.2FSI, Mercedes SLS AMG, and many other worthy track stars. However, the most fitting post, it seems, would be to cover the very best and very worst of show…so here it goes:
Best
Best Buzz: Fisker Booth
The newest addition to the state in terms of exotic car dealerships is Hadley Auto’s Fisker dealership in American Fork. Beautiful cars sold by a staff of enthusiasts. The way it’s supposed to be.
As you walk the aisles and peruse the displays so meticulously put together by each manufacturer, the conversations of car freaks and petrolheads are so readily heard that you almost don’t feel bad for eavesdropping. We can’t count the number of times that we heard auto nuts raving about Fisker.
It wasn’t that the display booth was especially awe-inspiring. In fact, it wasn’t (unless you consider 3 Karmas behind velvet rope awesome). The fact that the dealership brought these rare gems to the show was reason enough to spread the word. Congratulations, Fisker, on the royal shock and awe!
Best Exhibit: Jeep
Jeep brought a showing like never before. If you remember last year when we attended the Arizona Auto Expo, we raved about the Jeep exhibit. Well, this year, they kicked it up a notch.
Not only did they have the same Jeep rides over very rugged terrain (albeit with a few fewer terrain types, but understandable to save time and valuable floor space), but they also had a rock climbing wall for energetic teens, and, our personal favorite, a small track for kids to drive Jeep power wheels around. Genius. Pure genius.
Worst
Ugliest Car: Toyota
Manufacturers tried very hard to show both the most impressive models and the most impressive mods for the public. Toyota brought a complete and utter fail-barrassment of a truck. It started out as a tailgater’s dream with a big screen TV and a grill in the back. But then it turned all gaudily countryboy on us with giant belt buckles for door handles and one on the grille. We understand that a lot of work went into it to make it that ugly, but we just can’t appreciate it.
Worst Omission: Nissan
Every car company brought their prized models. Chevy brought their ZR1, Caddy brought their CTS-v variants, and Audi brought their R8 V-10, and Nissan brought their … wait for it … 370z. Yeah. Lame.
Seriously, Nissan?! You couldn’t set aside one of your supercars that cost less than $100k for your nationwide expos? Everyone else brought their biggest and best, and for the last 2 years, you didn’t. Congratulations. Every enthusiast who attended the show is disappointed in you.
The last 24 hours have been rough for Kim Schmitz, founder of the now defunct Megaupload video hosting and file sharing site. In case you haven’t heard, the feds shut down Megaupload and arrested Schmitz on several counts of copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering. Things got even worse when authorities hauled off with his private car collection worth millions.
Below are pictures of two car haulers headed off with Kim’s entire fleet of vehicles, including several with some really self-righteous vanity plates. “GOD”, Mr Schmitz…? Really? Megaupload wasn’t that amazing of a site…
Anyways, some noteworthy vehicles involved in the seize include a Rolls Royce Phantom Drop Head Coupe (the “GOD” vehicle), a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, ML63, S65, CL65, CL63, a Maserati GranCabrio, and a Lamborghini LM002- yes, he actually drove one of those.
Check out the results of the seize in the photos below:
Surprising news Wednesday from the motor sports world
Peugeot has decided to halt it’s LMP1 program “..immediately..”
* No inaugural season of the WEC (World Endurance Championship – formally Intercontinental Le Mans Cup)
* No 60th running of the 12 hours of Sebring in Florida
* No 24 hours of Le Mans and another battle with Audi
Overall, that just sucks. The Peugeot / Audi LMP1 battles has been some of the best racing in the last few years. Seriously, check out the “Truth in 24” movie or clips from the last few years of Le Mans, Petit Le Mans, Sebring, or any of the ILMC races last few years.
So what does this mean for the world of racing?
Some thoughts:
* Peugeot wasn’t happy with the performance and / or reliability of their LMP1 hybrid (ie, Peugeot was tired of losing to Audi on their home turf of Le Mans)
* Of note, Peugeot made this announcement on the last day for registration for the newly formed WEC. Did Peugeot not like something in the WEC?
* With the pending eurozone financial crisis and recent French credit downgrade, Peugeot having more financial worries then being reported?
* Curious that Peugeot was set to test in Florida this weekend, as indicated by this tweet from Sebring raceway – something must be serious to walk away from all the prep work and money. Possible proof of money issues??
Regardless of my speculation, Peugeot’s sudden and apparent hasty departure from prototype racing is also indicative of the ever changing politics and costliness for this level of racing.
What is your reaction to Peugeot leaving LMP1 racing?
[AutoWeek]
