As if Hearse Con 2008 wasn't bad enough, this would definitely ruin your day. Apparently in Russia, the roads are absolutely horrible during the spring, summer, fall, and you guessed it, winter seasons. They are however, at their "worst" conditions between seasons, when all of the insane amount of snow begins to melt, creating a mudd bogging paradise for most southerners here in the states. According to the original source, the authorities don't give a crap about the conditions either (sounds like lovely Russia doesn't it?). Check out the pictures inside.
You're going to have to check this one out for yourself. Unfortunately, we missed the second annual Hearse Convention 2008, which was held in Englewood, Colorado this month. The rides that showed up are pretty slick though, featuring machine guns mounted on fenders, lots of skulls all over the place, the famous "CARGOYL" Hearse, and blow up dolls. Yes, blow up dolls. Now that I have your attention, check out the video inside.
Exactly one week ago, a category 2 tornado with winds of 150 miles per hour touched ground in Leighton, Alabama. Someone crazy enough to stand near a window during this event, captured some remarkable footage of a group of cars in a parking lot being tossed around, like dead leaves that fell off of a tree. Somehow the trucks on the right portion of the screen were not affected. Check out the video inside.
Today's gem of "The Internets", which happens to be a perfect heavy weight contender for our weekly Friday Beerblog, is of an extremely unhealthy individual that decided to drive their "old fart cart" through the drive-thru window of a Wendy's fast food restaurant. It is very obvious in the photograph that when you're too fat, even your hybrid car will hate you, or, you are simply fed up with the current price of gas standing at $3.61, according to the EIA. Either way, it made for a good chuckle this morning.
Found on Axis of Over Steer, this accident happened in Hungary during the Central Europe Rally, which is part of the Dakar Racing Series. The driver and co-pilot both survived, however the VW Touareg trophy truck did not. The picture leaves us begging the question: What Would Jesus Do? Check out the larger version inside.
Are you feeling the Friday Beerblog love yet? This new one was found on Gizmodo, where the latest way to lift your automobile is by hooking up a lift jack balloon to your vehicle's exhaust, using the expelled gas to inflate the bag, thus lifting the car. Is this thing not dumb-ass proof or what? Anyone in their right mind who would get near this inflated hazard, is asking for it, even if the claims are "it's strong enough to lift a three-ton vehicle 18 inches for up to 45 minutes". Videos inside.
In efforts to protest gasoline and diesel fuel prices, a sign painter in Kentucky has hung up his paint brushes, and traded in his pickup truck for a new model horse. I don't know how he could possibly be saving money though, as the cost of oats for a horse are higher than the price of gas, at $84.61 for a 50 pound bag, according to Simply Natural. Oh well, at least homeboy made it on CNN. If you feel inclined to see the story on TV, you can view the video here.
Just in case you wanted to decorate your tires for the next car show, there's a new product on the market called SweetSkinz. What is it? Sweetskinz are colorized graphics that can be printed with specialty inks, which hold special reflective elements inside known as "Retro Reflectivity". This technology allows you to map out your image across the tire without painting it on, using a vulcanizing process. This product might be perfect for the hunter in mind. Camouflaged tires anyone?
Simply put, the ultimate gadget guide, Gizmodo, totally rocks for finding the weirdest things on the Internet. This Friday Beerblog gem wins the Ghetto Car Stereo award, which is a piece of crap car, where someone installed a 52x PC CD Rom Drive as the head unit to play Cd's. They also stuffed foam into the stereo-din to hold the unit in place. Check out the full resolution photo inside.
Truckblog's own, Michael S, came across this photo yesterday of a Jeep wrangler that crashed into a tree and, well, as you can see, leads us to one "hair" raising experience!
Earlier this year, YouTube's nottasrt4 spotted a Nissan 350Z with a "modified K&M Supercharger" in the wild. With camcorder in hand, he recorded a mini-documentary of what he saw. Upon catching up with the youthful driver of the 350Z a second time at a stop light, nottasrt4 rolled his window down and got an exclusive interview with the driver, revealing the true power of this sweet ride with 422 HP at the rear wheels. The driver claims his K&M blower runs at 14 PSI, his chipped 3.5L has stainless-steel twin cold air intakes, and rocks a stock exhaust which actually gets "better horsepower with the stock". The videos have to be seen to be believed. [via Muscle Car Blog]
I don't know where the guys at Jalopnik find this crap, but it's really amazing. As seen in the photographs, the vehicle is a Holden UTE sport truck, which are sold in Australia. Lifted on huge Mickey Thompson Baja Claws and packed with a 6.0 liter V8 engine, "Da Hulk" as it's called, also has what seems to be hydraulic cross over steering, a full Dana 60 front axle, leaf springs, a Westin Bull Bar, six Lightforce HID off road lights, flared fenders, chrome side steps, and roll bar. Mudding anyone?
I honestly don't know what the hell this guy was thinking, but this one of a kind creation is guaranteed to turn heads at any gas station. God forbid you have to sell your truck or SUV because of our outrageous gas prices and are forced to purchase an old Volkswagen Golf car like this one, be aware that there is a new replacement available for your spare tire.
Holy toledo! The caption of these photos state that "after losing control on a patch of ice, this pickup truck is literally hanging on with only a tiny piece of metal. It's a 70 foot drop to the bottom of the river". That's crazy insane! It just goes to show how important a frame's strength, rigidity, and flexibility is for pickup trucks. I guess my next question is, how the hell did they get him out of there?
The Toyota Tundra, in all of its blades of glory (sorry, no Will Farrell in this one), has been named "Truck Of The Year" by one of the leading agriculture trade publications in the United States for "high-income, Midwestern farmers", called Farm Industry News. The Tundra was chosen from a drawing that was held in the magazine throughout the year, and the Tundra gained the most responses (or at least the Ford and Chevy guys never turned theirs in). The redesigned Tundra set new benchmarks in the full-size truck segment, offering 44 model variations, trim levels, and more. Move over Ford, Chevy and Dodge boys, 'cuz there's a new hoss in town.
So you are probably thinking by now, "Oh great, more Hummer news- what's the deal Truckblog?". Well, today is unofficially, Hummer Friday. Why, you ask? Well, we found a handful of articles regarding Hummer and their vehicles, and decided to post them all today. And that leads us to our Beerblog, "The 110k Hummer H2".
Is this for real? Unfortunately, it is. You are looking at a one-of-a-kind, Honda Civic Tractor, customized by the guy featured in these photos. I'm sure when he cruises into town or across a field, all of the girls "think his tractor's sexy" (for all of you Kenny Chesney fans). The custom Honda Civic Tractor appears to also be amphibious, although I doubt it would hold up in any mud bogging. Either way, it grabbed some Beerblog status this week. More pictures inside.
Round 'em up and come 'n' get it! Only in Texas, would someone build a grill to resemble their gun. This gigantic 19 foot barbecue grill looks like a 1917 Double Action Colt-45 caliber pistol, straight out of the wild west.
Jalopnik, posted information regarding a researcher in Pennsylvania, Frank Pringle, who claims to have found a new alternative source for oil. By microwaving a tire inside a vacuum, he is able to extract the tires particles into a ready-to-use diesel fuel. Pringle says " A 14-inch tire yields about 1.2 gallons of diesel, 7.5 pounds of carbon black, 50 cubic feet of combustible gas and 2 pounds of high-strength steel". Nuking the tire in the microwave only costs fifty cents in electricity, and his newly found process is being reviewed for large-scale use. This mad scientist also found that microwaving grass clippings, you are able to turn it into ethanol. Anyone want to try this newly found diesel fuel?
Beware, this product is patented. It's called TruckShade and guess what it does?...You guessed it, provides shade for the side of your truck. I would like to see this thing survive one trip in the desert or any climate where there is any amount of wind, watching it break off and scratching the bed sides of your truck. The TruckShade weighs less than 5 pounds, "super compact" (like a tampon?), "quick and easy to set up", and retails at only $87.97 (someone took an economics class) for long bed trucks and $79.97 for 6 1/2 foot bed trucks. It's also been chosen as Dirt Rider Magazine's "Personal Picks" for "2006 Product of the Year". Well in my opinion, I vote the TruckShade as Truckblog's "2007 Crap Product of the Year". If you do like this product, you can visit their rad website at www.truckshade.com. They're almost in competition for the 2007 Webby Awards, watch out Truckblog.
I was looking through the Ford Collection website tonight after receiving some congratulatory junk in the mail from Ford regarding my new truck purchase and found this little gem, a "Built Ford Tough" branding iron.
"Manufactured in solid brass with a natural hardwood handle and rawhide hanging strap. Each comes up to temperature quickly when placed into hot charcoal or the flame of a gas grill."
It's not cheap... 70 bucks, but I think I'm going to buy one anyway -- will come in handy at this year's SEMA Show. The kids will love me.
Detroit Free Press has reported that more than 55,000 Toyota vehicles have been recalled due to complaints of "unintended acceleration caused by the mats sticking underneath the accelerator pedal"...Try telling that one to an auto insurance company. The vehicles affected are the Toyota Camry and Lexus ES 350, however complaints have also been filed with the Toyota Tacoma, RAV 4 crossover, Prius hybrid and Avalon sedans (Watch out Tom!).
Congrats to the couple who got married in this thing, however getting married in a Hummer is just lame. They even wore race suits during their "I Do's", while standing in the beds of Hummer trucks. Can you say extreme Nascar fans? Included in the wedding was a 3-D shaped Hummer wedding cake, Hummer wrapping paper, chance to ride in an H2 and go off-roading in their "full wedding attire". The honeymoon concluded with more than 100 Hummer truck owners in an off-roading trek that "puts vehicles to the maximum use", SICK! Hummers are cool. Getting in married in one is just STUPID.
If you wish to get married in a Hummer, click "Full Story" for contact information. What are your thoughts? Would you get married in a Hummer? Use the "add comments" button for your answer.
Here at Truckblog, we try our best to deliver the top news and latest aftermarket products, across the automotive industry. This one is a real gem of the internet. It's called "Insta-Sunroof", an "extremely fashion and new aparent sun roof, made of a sticker that will give any car the image of a real sunroof." and It can be installed in only 5 minutes! Check it out!
Just when you think you've seen it all, there's always something out there that will leave you in even more astonishment. Well, yesterday was that day, and it was horrid enough where I thought instantly, "beerblog status". While on my adventure to a local San Diego beach, I happened to park near a very customized vehicle that seemed to have been inspired by MTV's hit ghetto fab automotive customization show, "Pimp My Ride". So custom, they even took the time to match their rims to the overall paint scheme. The vehicle? A 1990 Honda Accord... groovy baby, yeah! Click "Full Story" to view pictures of this sweet ride.
This was a bit of an eye opener... today someone Digged an old Beerblog article from almost 3 years ago and it made the Digg home page for half a day or so. See image to the right. It also made it to the very top of the Jalopnik.com home page (direct article link).
The funny thing is that this image is almost as old as the Internet itself, and that blog article here is as old as Truckblog is. So if you feel inclined, go jump on the bandwagon and Digg it along with the other (currently 1,215) diggers. Thanks to "techchickblogr" for thinking of us.
It's a bird... it's a plane... it's a... Japanese Wooden Supercar of course! What the hell is it? Well according to Japan Probe, the car is made solely out of wood (I'm thinking Birch), and can travel up to a reported 80 kilometers per hour. So awesome you want to buy one too, right? It only costs $32,000(US)! Sweet! And finally, the wooden supercar was designed by a Japanese furniture company. Go figure. Click the "full story" link to view a video and demonstration.
Apparently PIXAR let a few of their computer animators loose at Truckblog. In preparation of a Disney PIXAR "Cars" spin off, "Trucks" will cast mostly Ford truck characters, including a few Super Dutys, Broncos, Rangers, and plenty of F-150s. Rumor has it that many of the characters from "Cars" will return, including Lightning McQueen, Sally, Mater, and Doc Hudson. Whether the film is sponsored by the Ford Motor Company or they just paid a hefty amount for product placement, we're not exactly sure.
Due in theaters summer 2010, check out some of the artists' sketches and prototypes for Disney PIXAR "Trucks". Can ya digg it?
This one definitely deserves some Beerblog status. I found (well Chris actually found it) the newest way to put a fat dent in your tailgate. Sick huh? It's a product called Pickup Hoops that plugs right into your bed for the ultimate, jaw wrenching, edge of your seat basketball game of your life. As quoted from their website, "Pick-Up Hoops is perfect for "Ballers" on the Go!" So I guess we should start seeing these on the back of every Escalade or Yukon? It's sure to help you win that 1st place trophy at the local show. Maybe you can make some money off of kids while you're there? Charge a buck or two per game to help pay for that beer you're going to need after purchasing this product.
I raise my beer high (yeah I can drink now) and give a toast, to the stupidest product we've seen in a while.
"Diesel up your bees everybody. We're gonna go ridin'!" While testing out the new TruckTube video library here at Truckblog I stumbled upon a video from the Great White North that is not to be missed. A bunch of Canadians take their 1992 Ford F-250 diesel 4x4 out mudding on the farm and turn it into a fish tank. The rusty old Ford survives, but just barely.
First they wanted your naked women, now they're after your balls. Bull Ballz that is. In another example of too much time on their hands, Maryland Lawmakers are trying to ban all anatomically correct vehicle decorations. With the fake bull testicles that adorn many trailer hitches around rural America being mentioned specifically.
– Texas Termin8er
In my day we called these a musical PA. This Beerblog is from the "Let's reinvent the wheel department". I would expect no less of an "invention" from a guy who thinks an H1 Hummer with Hulk Hogan airbrushed on the hood is the pinnacle of "cool".
– devnull
America, your lawmakers and legislators are hard at work keeping you and your family safe from dangerous things in society. In one recent example, the Arizona congress wasted about 500 man-hours of tax payer dollars to decide that for now at least the good truckers of the Grand Canyon State can still display naked woman silhouettes, and other pictures and phrases, on their mudflaps.
– devnull
You've seen them all... the fuzzy steering wheel covers, obnoxious bumper stickers, bullet hole stickers, fake hands, and even truck nuts. PrankPlace Novelties has assembled all your favorites in one place and made them easy to find, including the latest antennae topper for your ride... strippers.
For around ten bucks you too can now have Jenna Jameson, Raven, Diamond, or Brittni doing the dance on your antennae. Being stuck in traffic just got a whole lot more entertaining.
We've seen it all here at Truckblog, including the Mustang converted to a Ford Ranger pickup and the Mustang GT pickup truck conversion, but this one was a bit unexpected. Seems the new VW Beetle has caught the eye of a pickup truck enthusiast over in Deutsch-land. So much in fact that he's converted it to a pickup truck!
Truckblog crew member "BrianO" (Brian Olhausen) lives in a big world. From his 15-inch lifted Ford F-150 to his monster F-250 Super Duty that was at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas last week, everything is super-sized for this 6 foot 9 behemoth. So to feed him, we searched high and low and found the almighty German pancake at The Pancake House in Poway, CA. This mancake is huge and is not intended for the weak. So I sat back, drank beer, and watched this monster eat big people food, German style.
When it's time for you to graduate from the "Baby On Board" stick-on window sign for your ride, admittedly there aren't very many options. The defensive-driving folks over at Smile International sat down to re-invent that missing rear window ornament for your ride.
As we enter the holidays it's time once again to break out the Halloween decorations, followed by boxes upon boxes of Christmas decorations. One thing that's big for us this time of the year are holiday parties. Every year I'm looking for something new to spice up the holidays and add more holiday cheer. I don't know about you, but these boring holiday parties could sure use some more horsepower, don't you think?
Just a friendly reminder to everyone this weekend for those of you with a custom bed lift... make sure to keep your bed closed, especially around corners. You don't want to end up like this guy.
Ford's got it all wrong. Instead of cutting production of trucks and SUVs and cranking out more cross-over vehicles, they should be going bigger, much bigger.
I thought I had seen it all, and evidently I missed the Chrysler Group's "What Can You HEMI" contest last year. The grand prize winner won a HEMI-powered Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle. This entry, the 345hp 5.7L HEMI-powered bar-b-que grille by Tim Kowalec, didn't even make it to the finals but deserves an honorary Truckblog "More Power Award" ("ugh, ugh ugh").
So, you got a new truck and you're ready to accessorize. You have a motorcycle (that you tow). What do you do when you're not towing your "hog"? You put on your animated wheelie hog Hitch Critter, that's what you do. I'm really not kidding... this is for real. This bad ass pig does a wheelie and his headlamp lights up when the brakes are applied.
Starting McToday through the end of the McMonth you can now pull up to the golden arches in your extravagant HUMMER and drive away with a miniature (albeit less extravagant) McHUMMER toy. "McDonald’s Happy Meal and Mighty Kids Meal HUMMER line-up features eight dynamic vehicles, capturing the power, excitement and unique styling that make HUMMER one of the most recognizable vehicles on (and off) the road." Do my girls still get the McBarbie Jeep?
Why, oh, why, can't people just leave their bad ideas on the bar napkin? Clearly this is one of them. Introducing spinners... for your tailpipe. "The spinner will rotate in the exhaust stream. At high engine speeds the spring-loaded spinner is also pushed out of the exhaust tip, giving a visual indication of the revving engine." Certainly a performance degrading product, and who's looking at your tailpipe to determine that your vehicle is moving?
Note quite as ridiculous as last week's Beerblog about the carbon fiber toilet seat, in this week's Beerblog we continue spotlighting unusual products with these super-manly outlet and switch covers.
Made from billet aluminum (where's the carbon fiber version folks?), these covers come in both shiny happy chrome and a clear anodized finish.
Carbon fiber. It's light, ten times stronger than steel, and is now used to strengthen your favorite washroom. "You know how fast a little fiber can make you go," claims the manufacturer. "Finally, a high performance, race ready composite toilet seat." Can you say, "pimp my ride"?
The seat is hand-layered carbon fiber molded around a foam core using 550,000 psi tensile carbon fiber, and fits standard household toilets.
It's been a while since our last Beerblog, but it's once again Friday, and time to fall off the wagon. This Beerblog is a first. Denny Hao (DrSpeed), part of our Truckblog Crew was monumentally inventive the other night when out on the town. Denny thought, "Why not wear my super-sexy Truckblog shirt and have a few cold ones with the ladies? The ladies love the flaming hot logo, doood!" Next thing he knew, a strategically-placed Corona beer bottle was placed over the "Truck" text in the logo to read "Beerblog" (or would that be Cervezablog?) Thanks for the sweet camera phone photo, "doood"!
Do you remember the "Where's the Beef" lady from the Wendy's commercials? How about the chihuahua from the Taco Bell commercials? Of course you do. Today, in our Friday Beerblog, we bring you the latest American television commercial icon... VW German engineers. Volkswagen has unleashed three hilarious commercials as parodies to MTV's "Pimp My Ride" series. In this series of commercials, two engineers "un-pimp" rides to reveal the new VW GTI. Check all three commercials out here in the Tr
I was looking through the 
This one definitely deserves some Beerblog status. I found (well Chris actually found it) the newest way to put a fat dent in your tailgate. Sick huh? It's a product called 
We've seen it all here at Truckblog, including the 
Truckblog crew member "BrianO" (Brian Olhausen) lives in a big world. From his 15-inch lifted Ford F-150 to his monster F-250 Super Duty that was at the 
I thought I had seen it all, and evidently I missed the Chrysler Group's "What Can You HEMI" contest last year. The grand prize winner won a HEMI-powered Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle. This entry, the 345hp 5.7L HEMI-powered bar-b-que grille by Tim Kowalec, didn't even make it to the finals but deserves an honorary Truckblog "More Power Award" ("ugh, ugh ugh").
It's been a while since our last 