Chinese Hummer Jeep
Chinese knock-offs of Western cars are not limited to consumer vehicles. The military is getting in on the act.
This chunky blend of Hummer and Jeep styling is supposedly the vehicle the People’s Liberation Army has selected as its next official off-roader — the Yongshi Warrior.
Built by the Beijing Automotive Industry Holding company, the Warrior has been around for a few years but the vehicle has only recently been given official approval.
Details are scarce but it doesn’t exactly look particularly rugged, with interior shots showing a wide range of nasty, cheap-looking plastics that don’t seem particularly hardy.
Honda scoots off road
The Good Oil generally doesn’t get too excited about bikes; when we do it is usually of the smaller, scooter-y variety. Because scooters are cool, okay?
That is why this concept from Honda excites us — the Honda City Adventure Concept is pretty much a jacked-up off-road scooter with knobbly tyres. Beefed-up suspension and wheels, a higher exhaust for improved clearance and handguards add to the little Honda’s all-terrain (sort of ... ) abilities, while making it look brilliant.
Honda desperately needs to make this a reality, even if only to prove they are cooler than anyone else making scooters.
Oh man, if The Good Oil had one of these we would never have to bother using the driveway again. Straight through the neighbour’s front garden, baby! Straight through!
We are the world
■There are times in life where a situation is best left to the professionals, and a high-speed police chase is probably one. Seeing police chasing a stolen Nissan Frontier weaving through traffic with its headlights off at night, Utah woman Rachelle Fernandez decided to help out — by joining the chase and trying to spin the Nissan using the “PIT manoeuvre”. It didn’t work. Police eventually stopped the stolen car and also arrested Fernandez.
■New Jersey woman Hayley Oates decided to drive home. At 3.15am. after drinking all night. In a brilliant plan, she phoned police to report an assault on a woman at a bar across town, distracting them and allowing her to drive home without pesky police bothering her for being incredibly drunk. It worked — until she got home and posted “lmao.. 2 mins later the cop peals out.. silly piggies tricks r for u,” on social media, forgetting police can read.
Herbie sells out
Ever wanted to own an original Volkswagen Beetle?
The Good Oil suggests you seek professional help. Ever wanted to own a famous Volkswagen Beetle? Well, you’re probably too late.
One recently sold at auction for a surprisingly reasonable price, but still utterly horrific money for a rattling, wheezy little death machine created by a genocidal maniac.
This example of Hitler’s cutest legacy is a car built for the sequel to the movie The Love Bug.
That propelled Herbie, the worryingly sentient Beetle, to fame. Used in Herbie Rides Again and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, the 1963 Beetle sold for US$86,250 (NZ$132,021), or around $10,000 for each moving part in its engine.
That makes it the most expensive Beetle ever sold at auction. This Beetle does pack a few secrets that make it far more interesting.
It was one of the “self-driving” cars from the movie, meaning it has been modified with an “elaborate system of sprockets and pulleys connected to a second steering column under the front seat” to allow the car to be driven from the back seat, which would be hilarious to use on the daily commute.
It also has the distinction of being the only car to have its tyre print immortalised in concrete at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Other lots at the auction did pull in a bit more money. The race suit worn by Steve McQueen in his fantastic vanity project Le Mans went for a whopping US$425,000 (NZ$650,358), while the biggest money was dropped on the dress worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz which sold for an utterly staggering US$1.56 million (NZ$2.4 million).
Number Crunching
9 BEETLES
The number of Herbies used in 1977’s Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
32 BEETLES
The number of Herbies used in 2005’s Herbie: Fully Loaded
6 MOVIES
The number of Herbie movies made between 1968 and 2005
21.5 MILLION CARS
The number of VW Beetles built, with a worrying number of them dressed up to look like Herbie