1971 Chevy “Pushmi-Pullyu” Found on eBay

Like many children, I was enchanted by the movie Doctor Dolittle. No, not the one with Eddie Murphy – what do you take me for? I mean the '60s version with Rex Harrison and Samantha Eggar! It was a great movie full of music, stunning locales and fanciful creatures. One of the latter was the aptly named Pushmi-Pullyu: an alpaca with two heads, one at either end of its body.

"What does this have to do with cars?" you groan impatiently. Well, I'm getting there.

A Kansas motorist owns what appear to be two very special 1971 Chevy Kingswood station wagons. Why are they special? Because each has been cut in half behind the front doors and stitched back together, end to end. The result is a sort of automotive Pushmi-Pullyu.

Why would anyone want a car that can be driven both backwards and forwards without having to look in the rear view mirror or turning around? I don't know, I would have thought why would anyone build such a car would be the more pertinent question.

Regardless of either of these two questions, you can own this piece of...uh...automotive exotica for the low, low price of US$9,000. Not bad, though you can pick up an unmodified '71 Caprice sedan with similar mileage for less than US$1,000.

Though I suppose you can't drive that in reverse while facing forwards. Well, maybe with a couple of hockey sticks and a rear view mirror taped to a baseball cap. You wouldn't draw as much attention as the two-way Chevy, though. Well, that is until you inevitably crash.

What were we talking about again?

By Tristan Hankins

Link : ebay

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British Millionaire Uses Taxpayer Money to Build Himself Electric Supercar

Dale Vince, the founder of Gloucestershire-based wind farm company Ecotricity, has paid a team of engineers £1 million (US$1.6 million) to transform a second-hand Lotus Exige into Britain's first road legal electric supercar, the Nemesis. The kicker is that £400,000 (US$646,000) of that £1 million was sourced from the British Government's Technology Strategy Board, with no plans as yet to put the vehicle into production.

The 48yo multi-millionaire is using the 330 bhp (242 kW) Nemesis as his daily driver, something that has upset taxpayer groups:

"It looks totally inappropriate for a millionaire to be cruising around in a sports car funded, at least in part, by the rest of us." said campaign manager Fiona McEvoy of TaxPayer's Alliance.

Vince's engineers lengthened the chassis by 90 mm (3.54 inches) and traded in the Exige's 1.8 L engine and fuel tank for two brushless motors and 96 lithium-ion polymer cells. A new transmission was also fitted.

The Nemesis has a range of 100 to 150 miles (161 to 241 km) and can be recharged in just 2 hours using a fast charger or 8 to 9 hours from a standard wall socket. By utilising Ecotricity's network of 51 wind turbines, Mr. Vince's new toy is truly a zero emissions vehicle.

And that's not all. The Nemesis is allegedly good for a 0 to 100 mph (161 km/h) time of just 8.5 seconds, which is suspiciously faster than a Bugatti Veyron. It will also do 135 mph (217 km/h), though the company is hoping that it will soon beat the 139 mph (224 km/h) record for a British electric car.

So what of the unhappy taxpayers? Well, Mr. Vince has assured the British public that the technology will reach the market all in good time, in the form of a 250 mph (402 km/h) plus electric supercar and an electric tractor. To which I say, I'll believe it when I see it.

My verdict? Elon Musk shouldn't start selling Tesla stock just yet.

By Tristan Hankins

Via: Guardian & Dailymail , Photos: Ecotricity

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VIDEO: Aussie Honda Jazz Spots Poke Some Fun at Bodybuilders, Rappers and Others

Here are some amusing TV ads from Honda's creative Australian division. The spots were made to show off how practical, roomy and versatile the Honda Jazz is (known as the Fit in North America and Japan). So if you want to learn the answer to questions such as "How much Massive can you pack in a Honda Jazz?" and "How much Rap can you pack in a Jazz?", and don't mind watching 'iron boy' here in very tight speedos, hit the jump to check out the videos.

Via: USA Today

Los Angeles Show 2010: California Girls

You didn't think we'd leave you without a quick taste of the lovely booth professionals of the Los Angeles Auto Show, did you? So without further ado, enjoy our selection of California beauties in the photo gallery after the jump, and if you missed out on our main coverage with all the new car presentations.

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