Meanwhile on the Autobahn... yes I know this isn't helpful, just couldn't resist the unprovoked smartassing. Have to say I did enjoy the original video - that idle sound of the Camaro gave me goosebumps!

Oops, just realized that you were basically saying the same thing - in the plugin model, there are three battery packs weighing more than 100lb each - so yes, considering the electric engine there is pretty much the weight of a second conventional engine to be lost, making my Prius V8-project potentially lighter than…

Sorry, I have seen the 2010 Prius PHV quoted with a total battery weight of 330 pounds for it's three 96-cell battery packs. But you're right in principle, it's not a 100% electric vehicle, so it's not the 600lb you'd need for that and can use gasoline as a way more efficient way to store energy - after all, the…

Don't know if that's a standing phrase in english as well, but over here we have a saying that "a student's flat is rarely as clean as when the big exam is round the corner", and it's totally true, even for people who dislike cleaning their flat with a passion.

I was thinking more in the direction of several hundred pounds of batteries... The gears don't offend me so much.

Only worthwhile modification to a Prius that springs to mind is throwing out the stupid hybrid powertrain to swap in a V8.

Exactly. Makes you wonder what they were thinking in denying the warranty on such outright terms - might say "yes, of course, we'll look into it" and then deny it after finding the paint primer to conveniently be the cause, but saying that "our products are designed for street use" is just asking to be understood…

As a rally fan I obviously agree, but I just have to suggest - if you want to see some really ballsy driving, don't pay for a WRC run, go visit a european hillclimb championship run. The open-wheeled cars (mostly F3000s, LMPs etc.) have power-to-weight ratios that would suit a racingbike, a lot more speed in the…

Bella macchina - the Lancia Aurelia (Coupé or Spider) is one of the most beautiful cars ever created, both outside and inside in my opinion. An Aurelia's ash-tray alone consisted of 17 beautifully machined parts working in harmony to brush itself clean and empty the contents automatically into a small reservoir so…

Also, what's so hard to understand about the GLK moniker? G stands for Geländewagen/offroad vehicle, L stands for Luxus/luxury vehicle, K stands for Kompakt/compact. So it's the compact version of the "luxury offroad vehicle" line (=SUVs). The not so compact sibling of the same breed would be the GL, while the…

Well, it's not exactly like all previous incarnations of german carnaming made perfect sense. The 318i has long had (since the early nineties E34 at least) basically the same displacement as the 320i, and was in fact even slightly larger in a few cases, the difference being the number of cylinders. Accounting for…

:) You're probably right... and the next day, they were all just putting on so much ridicule on him for losing the damn thing - so after two days, he just went to the bank and took on a second morgage on the house so he could buy another one just like the one he lost :)

Since classiness is a category that only exists in the minds of those people who look at the car, you might want to take their actual taste into consideration. The definition of a classy car might vary quite widely between Detroit, Yorkshire, Bavaria, the streets of Moscow, and the foothills of the italian alps. I…

So, to clarify, I guess that is how the car looked like inside, not exactly a four-seater sedan I suppose.

Just checked with the original sources (bavarian police, http://www.polizei.bayern.de/news/presse/aktuell/index.html/165497). The car was actually a "Handwerkerauto", probably something like an Opel Combo, Renault Master, or even bigger, like a Mercedes Sprinter or Ford Transit, with only two seats and a large…

Absolutely agree - My setup is similar in spirit, yet a bit cheaper in execution - got a Phenom II X6 1090T (overclocked to 4GHz) with 12GB of RAM, dual hobo-watercooled 6950s (unlocked to 6970) pushing 3x 21inch 4:3 monitors (great for doing some work, also nice for playing flight simulations in Eyefinity - 5072x1200…

Topspeed is worthless? I personally would agree, but then again, unlike at least part of Porsche's customer base for the Panamera, I'm not in the habit of getting involved in dick-measuring contests on the Autobahn. You know, the kind of people who really can't stand it when that next guy's lowly A6 or Passat can…

Wasn't something very much like that called an Escort RS 2000? Obviously, they've spoiled the whole Escort-name in the US by sticking it to that econobox, but in Europe, the name hasn't been used for probably 15 years - and people are starting to think fondly of "fast Escorts" and associate them with honest, slightly…

(Somewhat) interestingly, every professor over here in Germany seems to prefer 1.5 spaces rather than double. I wonder why that is. Fear of long papers, as opposed to having not enough room for corrections? Other than that, I'd say screw word for formatting anything longer than a two-page essay. LaTeX all the way for…

Always wondered myself why so many kit cars and one-off specials end up looking like the slightly retarded cousins of existing supercars. It must be really tempting to say "let's take the lights from a Porsche/Ferrari and make it soooo cool looking - this will be the best car EVER and totally unique", when in fact it…