Prime Minister Putin gets behind the Wheel of Russia's First Hybrid Car

When he's not driving a Renault Formula 1 car or a locally-made Chrysler Sebring, Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin test drives hybrid cars – or at least that's what he did on April 1 (no, really), when he got behind the wheel of the country’s first hybrid vehicle, the Yo-Mobile.

Built by Yo-Auto, a joint-venture between truck maker Yarovit Motors and Onexim Group, the company of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov who also owns the New Jersey Nets, the car has an unusual hybrid setup. It uses a rotary vane engine (see video below) that works on petrol and natural gas and is linked to a pair of electric motors.

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VIDEO: Pontiac GTO Barks up the Wrong Tree at Houston Coffee and Cars Event

You can find one at every car event – you know, the show off type that ends up getting more attention than he bargained for. At the Houston Coffee and Cars event that took place on April 2, that special someone was the owner of a red Pontiac GTO (the Holden Monaro based model). The GTO driver tried to make a cool exit out of the corner but lost control of the Goat hopping over a curb and into a tree. No word if the killer shoe heel is a suspect for this latest mishap…. Watch the crash and the aftermath in the videos after the jump. Read more »

VIDEO: Driver Smacks Lamborghini Gallardo on Curve, Blames Broken Shoe Heel

A twin-turbocharged Lamborghini Gallardo tuned by Underground Racing received an unwanted...facelift when the driver smashed the Italian supercar on a curve at the Caffeine and Octane event in Georgia this past weekend. A forum member who appears to be a friend of the car’s owner uploaded several photos and a description of the crash over at the Car Lounge.

According to the post, the blame is put on the driver’s shoe heels that “came loose and as he stepped on the brakes, the loose part stayed partially on the gas”. A set of videos showing the crash as it happened as well as the aftermath, which translates in a broken rear suspension, wheel damage and some minor body scruffs, also made their way online. You can watch them right after the break.

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Android App Locks Down Your Cell Phone When You’re Driving

Oh, if only all those futurists from the 1930s could have predicted a device as wondrous as the Smart Phone. It’s the communicator from Star Trek, a world atlas, the world’s largest department store and a personal assistant / concierge all rolled into one. You could organise a wedding or run a global empire from one of these things, and many people do.

Unfortunately, like seemingly everything humanity invents, it has its downsides as well. For some of us it can be addictive and overuse of these distracting devices can result in devastating consequences for one’s self and others, especially when use in conjunction with another wonder of the last century: the automobile.

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VIDEO: The Ultimate Taxi Ride in a Rally-Spec Mitsubishi Lancer EVO

In a perfect world for gear-heads, a sweet taxi ride would involve a high performance sports car, preferably a racing model, and a qualified driver. Unfortunately, the WRC-like Mitsubishi Lancer EVO taxi seen in the video after the jump exists only in fantasy, as this clip is a commercial for a new 4G mobile broadband plan from Norwegian cell phone operator Netcom. Click past the jump to watch the ad. Read more »

VIDEO: Driver Gets the Fright of his Life when Wooden Plank Impales Car’s Windshield

It’s perhaps a driver’s worst nightmare: an object coming out of nowhere when you least expect it and don’t have time to do anything about it. In this truly amazing video, yet at the same time shockingly scary, the object is a wooden plank that flies straight into the car’s windshield just missing the driver. Of course he may just have avoided the plank if he hadn’t been videotaping and driving at the same time, but that’s another story… Watch the video after the jump.

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ellena formelent’s April Fool’s Day Hoaxes

Just in case you hadn’t already figured it out, the Chrysler Group has no plans to offer the latest Dodge Charger with Alfa’s turbocharged four-pot nor will Gawker restore Jalopnik’s classic blog look.

Other automotive-related April Fool’s Day jokes found around the net include: Autoblog’s Honda Accord Crossdressed Cabriolet; Pickuptruck’s 2012 Cadillac DRW Platinum Heavy-Duty Pickup; BMW’s costly M3 Pickup Truck (the joke here is that it won’t enter production because the ute is real); and Jalopnik’s announcement that AOL’s new empress, Arianna Huffington, bought the site and merged it with Autoblog to create Autoblognik.

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Equipois's ZeroG Counterbalancing Act Aims to Revolutionize Assembly Lines

Garrett Brown, the man behind Hollywood's Steadicam, is looking to bring a little upgrade to manufacturing. Brown has partnered with Eric Golden's LA-based Equipois to help release the "zeroG", a new type of mechanical arm that could reduce manufacturers' health care costs by up to $13 billion annually.

Spawned from a conversation with a Honda engineer who liked the idea of a Steadicam mechanism on the factory floor, the zeroG is crafted from high-grade aluminum and steel and helps minimize overexertion by using simple physics. Each arm is fitted with spring that counterbalances the weight of heavy tools, which in turn makes the tools "lighter" and easier to use.

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VIDEO: What the Deuce? A Camper Van Running Alongside Sports Cars at the ‘Ring!

Now here’s something you definitely don’t see every day; a camper van put through its paces at the Nurburgring race track in Germany. Mind you, we’re not talking about a VW Bus Camper Van here, but a full-size, six-wheeler recreational vehicle… Follow the break to see it in action for yourself. Read more »

Seriously? $275,000 for a Ferrari...Book!

We're used to hugely-expensive Ferrari models, but a book that cost more than an actual sports car from Maranello is a first. It's called “The Official Ferrari Opus” and it retails for $275,000 in its most expensive edition. Publisher Opus Media Group calls it “the most exclusive book in the world.” It might be, at least as far as the price is concerned. Read more »

VIDEO: New Dodge Charger Ad Inaugurates Fast and Furious Five Partnership

If you’re a car buff, chances are you’ve heard about the next chapter in the Fast and Furious franchise that’s scheduled for release in theaters towards the end of April (see the trailer here). Being that the movie series is popular among car enthusiasts, the Chrysler Group decided to team up with Universal Pictures for a multi-tiered partnership.

Aside from providing 2010 and 2011 model year Dodge Charger vehicles used in numerous chase scenes throughout the Fast Five movie, the Detroit automaker is also sponsoring a Dodge/Fast Five advertisement that will air for the first time on Saturday, April 2 during the Final Four basketball tournaments. However, you can get a sneak peak right after the jump.

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Breaking: Gawker Media to Revert Jalopnik Back to Classic Blog Look

We have some good news for all of you automotive-website addicts. Gawker Media, the parent company of Jalopnik, believes it’s time to admit failure and do us all a favor by reverting its flagship car site back to its classic blog look after losing a large percentage of its readers, and to a lesser extent, its advertisers. The announcement was made by Gawker CEO Nick Denton earlier in the morning and will come into effect before midnight.

For the time being, the much anticipated template rollback will be limited to Jalopnik, with Gawker’s other sites, including Jezbel and Gizmodo as well as the upcoming blogs of Murilee Martin, Junkyardo, and Matt Hardigree’s Steve McWeiner, to keep the redesigned layout – at least until further notice. ellena formelent attempted to contact head honcho Ray Wert for a statement, but he was not available at the time due to a photo shoot.

Link: Jalopnik

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Argentine Dealer Signs Porsche-For-Wine Program to Offset Car Imports

Argentina's Industry Ministry signed an agreement with Porsche importer Grupo Pulenta according to which, the company will have to offset all car imports with equivalent exports of wine and olives.

The deal complies with local regulations that allow companies to import cars for sale only if they export goods of the same value. Grupo Pulenta, which aims to import 100 vehicles worth around $8 million this year, will therefore have to export wine and olive products to 18 countries, including the U.S. and neighboring Brazil.

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VIDEO: The Stig Goes Donuts in a Lancer EVO 9-Based London Taxi Cab at the Top Gear Festival

We don’t know the identity of the man hiding behind the white racing helmet at the ‘Top Gear Festival 2011’, but The Stig sure knows how to work the steering wheel. Of course, being that the black London Taxi Cab you see in the video after the jump is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, does help a bit. You see, what looks on the outside like a normal black London taxi cab, is in fact a re-skinned Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9 crafted by the folks over at SHP Engineering.

The company started with a Lancer EVO 9 with just 1,500 miles on the odo and stripped it down to the bare bones. The body shell of a London Taxi Cab was then dropped on top creating the most innocent EVO we have ever seen to date. Follow the jump to watch it in some awe-inspiring donut action.

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Audi Teams up with Renovo Design to Create Wooden Frame Bicycles

Audi is joining a long line of car manufacturers that have reached out to bicycle specialists to create their own range of two wheelers. Being that the brand with the four rings is renowned for the use of aluminum in its cars, you’d expect Audi to employ the lightweight metal on its bicycle series. But that’s not the case as the Ingolstadt automaker teamed up with Renovo Design, a firm famous for its wooden frame bikes. Read more »

New Study Finds Women Comprise 38.5% of U.S. Auto Sales

Americans love their cars. Whether it’s a humble family wagon, a muscle car, a luxury sedan or even a minivan: there’s nothing Americans like better than the automobile. What’s that, you say? What about women car owners?

Unsurprisingly for a species with just two genders, half the world’s population is female. And as everyone these days has to own at least one car, automakers obviously spend a lot of money catering specifically to that section of the market.

In a new study by automotive industry analyst R. L. Polk, it was found that some 38.5% of the last four year’s light vehicle registrations were made by – you guessed it – women. In “not-white” households, it’s more like 40 to 45%. It might not seem like much,

So what are the nation’s womenfolk buying? Would you be surprised to learn that nearly half of all MINI sales (47.9%) went to the fairer sex? Okay, so that’s not too surprising, but how are top five market leaders doing? Well, scroll down to see for yourself:

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Find of the Day: Infiniti G35 Dressed Up as a Nissan GT-R

Usually, it’s Nissan owners that want to upgrade to a model from sister company Infiniti, but in this case, it’s the other way around. Found for sale in Quebec by ellena formelent reader Caroline is this Nissan GT-R wannabe based on the Infiniti G35 Coupe. From what we can tell, the owner’s budget dried out after he or she finished the front end that now resembled the R35 with a bespoke grille and front bumper assembly. Read more »

VIDEO : Watch the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Apply for Jobs

What is the best way to promote a commercial van? Well, you can follow the classic way by showing off its qualities and advantages over the competition, but that lacks originality. On the other hand, a van that writes its own letters of application and sends them to 121 potential employers (i.e. big buyers of commercial vehicles) sounds a lot more creative.

And that’s exactly what a German marketing campaign for the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is all about. Check it out in the video below, but don't try to do that to your Sprinter, it might lose its grip -literally...

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Lexus Owner Recreates Epic LS400 “Champagne Glass” Ad from the 1980s

In one of the cleverest ads from the 1980s, Lexus stacked fifteen champagne glasses on the hood of its (then new) LS400 sedan...and then placed it on a dynamometer. Taking the LS400 up to a simulated 145 mph (233 km/h), the viewer marvels as the glasses remain exactly where they should be. The ad ends with the Lexus logo and the words, “The Lexus LS400 is designed to stir the soul...and not much else.”

It’s a great bit of advertising and holds up pretty well even today. There is one question that many would-be Lexus owners may be asking themselves today: are the cars still as good as they were back then? Has engineering perfection über alles survived twenty years of market reinvention and product development?

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Tesla Sues the BBC and Top Gear for Libel Against the Roadster

Tesla Motors announced yesterday that it has sued BBC's Top Gear TV show for “libel and malicious falsehood.” The American automaker’s action refers to a Top Gear episode aired on December 14 2008, when Jeremy Clarkson tested the Tesla Roadster.

According to Tesla, the show “contained lies and misinformation about the Roadster's performance, behavior and reliability.” Tesla Motors considers the breakdowns of the Roadster that allegedly occurred during the Top Gear episode were “staged” and that the statements made during the show are untrue.

More specifically, Tesla claims Top Gear misrepresented that:

1. The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by 4 men.
2. The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).
3. One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.
4. The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.
5. That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.

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