Cars

Hey, Xbox-having race fans, listen to this: A demo version of Forza 2 has been confirmed. It will be available... sometime soon. Microsoft said: "details on timing will be confirmed in the coming weeks."

According to Game Director Dan Greenawalt, “Soon, gamers will get a taste of the raw horsepower the Xbox 360 game engine has provided as we redefine what it means to be a racing simulator with ‘Forza Motorsport 2.’  Whether it’s the hundreds of thousands of physics parameters captured from countless man hours taking track measurements and capturing car data to harnessing the power of the industry’s most advanced the neural-network search algorithms, non-linear and linear math models as well as AI simulation systems from our Microsoft Research Labs, we’ve turned mountains of real world raw data into a living, breathing racing simulator where the only difference between the game and reality is that you’re not risking life and limb when you hit a wall at 200 mph.”

Did you read and understand all that? Me neither. But in spite of the verbose press release, I'm sure Forza 2 will be fun. It comes out on May 15th.

Click the cut for a list of the aftermarket production cars in the game, with rare models including the Tommy Kaira Skyline from Nissan. Sadly, my first car, the 1983 Cheverolet Caprise Classic is not listed, in spite of the fact that it is a self-proclaimed classic.

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The New York Auto Show opened today.

As you might expect from an auto show, all the big manufacturers are on hand to show off their new models and concepts.

Above is the Ford Flex production model, and TheFeed thinks it's a pretty rad ride, in spite of the fact taht it's basically a station wagon.

Anyway, check out all the details.

AutoBlog

In a delightful twist of fate, instead of being banned from households around the country for his skull-crushing music, Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain has been banned from driving after being busted speeding on the M74 motorway near Lockerbie, Scotland.

The 54-year-old skin basher was clocked doing 116mph, and pleaded guilty to the offense by letter.

McBrain was banned from the roads for six months and fined £500 (approximately $982). In July 2003 McBrain was arrested for allegedly purposely hitting a parking lot attendant with his Jaguar after an argument over McBrain's VIP credentials before a concert at Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York.

Blabbermouth.net: Iron Maiden Drummer Banned From Driving

Ford’s 2008 F-Series Super Duty diesels are being recalled in response of reports of flames shooting from the tailpipes.

Only about 8,400 of the trucks had been sold, with the remaining 29,000 still on dealer lots….

Wait.

Flames shooting from the tailpipes????

Holy crap!

Turns out the issue stems from leaking fuel injectors and cracked turbocharger shafts. In both cases, the leaking fuel ignited in the diesel particulate filter near the tailpipe. Go figure.

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Well, I always said that one day we would see a car that runs on compressed air, and damn if I wasn’t right. 

Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, has indeed developed a car that runs on compressed air. It costs less than $3 to fill a tank, which runs it for 200 to 300km. The car will cost about $7,300 and goes up to 68mph, though you have to change the oil once every 50,000 km (that’s 1 liter of vegetable oil, by the way).

Sixty-eight miles per hour? That’s barely over the friggin’ speed limit! Dude, Sammy Hagar wouldn’t crap on this car!!!

QIZmag.com: The Air Car - $3/tank – Zero Pollution

Ever wanna heat up your chicken plate while driving?

Dreamed of chomping on some microwave popcorn while behind the wheel?

Well, now you can with the Wave Box, the world's first AC/DC microwave oven that's truly portable.

Lighter and smaller than any other microwave on the market, the Wave Box takes vehicular cooking to a new level. And, hey, it only costs $199 to have a microwave so close to your crotch that you can zap yourself sterile! Now that's a bargain!

Autoblog.com: Finally, a microwave for your car

This Alien-themed PT Cruiser was recently shown at the Moscow Motor Show.

Along with a murderous space creature emerging from the hood, the car features those chromed-out, oversized wheels that the rappers seem to enjoy so much. They're called "rims," right?

You won't be able to buy it unless you're really, really rich. Even if you did purchase it, You wouldn't like it for long.

Sure,?for a couple days you'd be like, "Lookit me! I'm the king of the world in my PT-Cruiser with an alien!" but after the intitial rush of consumer satisfaction, you'd be thinking, "I can't believe I dropped six figures on a damn Alien car."

AutoExpress: 'Alien' PT among stars in Moscow

Check out this picture someone from Laist.com took of a rad, rockin'? license plate in a parking garage in the swanky ICM building in Beverly!

Can YOU top it?

Laist.com: Coolest Personalized License Plate of the Day

Emo overlords Fall Out Boy will be headlining the 2007 Honda Civic Tour, with support coming from Plus Forty Four (+44), the band created by former blink-182 members Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus, The Academy Is, Paul Wall and Cobra Starship.

As part of the partnership, Fall Out Boy created and designed special custom features for a Honda Civic Hybrid which will be displayed on tour with the band and showcased at each venue. Throughout the tour, fans will have the opportunity to enter to win this customized, one-of-a-kind car, which has been autographed by the band.

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Racing games have gotten fairly formulaic and boring. You can talk about different racing modes, exotic tracks, cool unlockables and the like, but most of them come off looking or feeling like copycats of each other, which is sad, because it's not like they're copying anything exciting.

However, the minds behind Forza Motorsport have taken steps to bring intrigue back to the racing genre and give speed demons a reason to race and keep racing long after they've become kings of the blacktop. They've announced that the sequel, Forza Motorsport 2, will have an accompanying online auction house. Sounds pricey, but it isn't.

The auction house is not just another gimmick to get you to make a bunch of costly micro transactions. It's fueled entirely by cash earned in the game's various modes, so you can keep your cash where it belongs, your wallet.

However, the auctions will be a drain on your other most valuable commodity, time. Not only will you be able to log in and buy cars through Xbox Live, you'll also be able to browse through and track auctions on the internet at Forzamotorsport.net.?Read more to check?out just a few of the many unique features.

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A recent amendment to legislation changing the height requirement for rear splash guards on trucks in Arizona that would have resulted in the ban of mudflap images deemed obscene or hateful has been defeated in the state legislature.

Thank God! Because if?we can't put obscene or hateful messages on my big rig's mudflaps here in America, then what the hell have our boys been fighting for over in that godforsaken desert?

Introduced by Tempe State Representative Ed Ableser, the amendment's aims to help promote family values and help curb pornography and sexual predators.

Apparently Ableser saw a vehicle sporting mudflaps that used a derogatory term for black children on them and was so incensed he came up with the proposed ban. But the amendment proved too far-reaching and seemed to be more about taste than values.

But the mudflap controversy doth not stop there. Over on the east coast, in Washington County, Sheriff deputy Matthew Bragunier complains he sees fake bull genitals flopping from the hitches of pickup trucks at least once a day and wants to put a stop to it! So he teamed up with Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany, and filed a bill for Maryland to ban the toys and others like them. The bill prohibits any "model, sign, sticker or other item" that displays uncovered human or animal genitals, as well as human buttocks or female breasts, from motor vehicles.

WTF!?!?

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