Not So Pretty In Pink: Paris Hilton's Custom Bentley Continental GT

This is just wrong. The ever outspoken Paris Hilton just dropped $200,000 on a Christmas present for herself -- a custom-built Bentley Continental GT. Because Paris wouldn't have it any other way, the whole car is finished in pink -- the sheetmetal, grille, wheels, and most of the interior, too. This one-time-only Continental GT was created by West Coast Customs, who are famous for being able to do endless modifications on just about any car that comes through their shop.

When speaking to television network E!, Paris said, "I've just always wanted a pink car. I think when you're a little girl and you have the Barbie Corvette you're always like, 'Oh, I wish I had a car like this one day,' so I think it just comes from being a fan of Barbie for so long."

Be sure to scroll through the gallery for full detail shots of Paris' pink Bentley,

+ Global Motors: WTF? Bentley Continental GT in PINK!

Innotech Corvette C6 taps Italian design themes

The pressures of modern aerodynamic design and vehicle layout have led to something of a convergence of appearance among many high-end performance cars. Chevrolet's Corvette and Ferrari's front-engine GTs like the 550 Maranello and 599 GTB Fiorano, or even the new California, have been compared as visually similar designs. Now a new custom Corvette design, built by the Czech Republic firm Innotech, develops that resemblance further.

The Innotech Corvette C6 adds several visual elements that evokes what the company calls an "Italian lineage". Starting at the grille and front fascia, Innotech adds chrome bars in place of stainless steel mesh and replaces the fog lights with new, broadened air intakes. Perhaps the most significant new feature is the rear window area treatment, which adds pseudo-structural louvre pieces that build a longer, rounder profile at the rear or the car.

Not all of the styling cues are Ferrari-inspired, however. The doors, for example, have been modified to open vertically, a classic Lamborghini trait. A choice of using the stock hood or adding a louvred model will be made available in 2009, while at the rear a completely redesigned bumper and diffuser area meshes with the classic four round Corvette tail lights to continue the fusion of Italian and American. All of the modified body panels are available in either fiberglass or carbon fiber. Also coming later in 2009 will be a widebody kit for both the coupe and convertible C6.

In addition to the visual changes, Innotech also offers some mild performance upgrades, including Upgraded LS2 or LS3 V8s offering 500-560hp (373-417kW) when naturally aspirated or 600-1,000hp (447-746kW) in supercharged or twin-turbocharged form. A choice of manual or automatic transmissions is also available. Upgraded exhausts give the cars a throatier, more aggressive sound and look while new wheels from HRE or Forgeline complete the image.

For truly lightweight hardware, carbon-magnesium wheels from Dymag are also optionally available. Getting the Italo-American special slowed down again is a choice of 14in (355mm) or 15in (380mm) BAER or Brembo brakes on vented, drilled and slotted rotors with 4 or 6 piston calipers.

Performance will therefore be suitably improved over the stock C6 Corvette, with the 560hp LS3-equipped version sporting a 3,080lb (1,400kg) curb weight, pushing its potential past that of even the Z06, while the forced induction models will rival or exceed the ZR-1's vaunted performance, though Innotech is already planning new customized versions of the Z06 and ZR-1 as well, due out in 2009. A speedster version of the C6 Corvette is also in the works, offering a total of five different body styles for the Innotech Corvette range.

11 Most Common Phrases Uttered by Car Salesmen

While the car business has been forced to be more forthcoming because of the vast information and shopping power of the Internet, there are still those clinging to the "good 'ol days" by using lines that just don't hold up in today's car shopping environment.

Sometimes they work. Sometimes they make people mad. Sometimes they just make people laugh.

    “I don’t know if I can do that it, but if I could, would you buy this car today?”

This is the classic non-committal, open-door, promise without actually promising tactic that salespeople love and consumers don’t always understand.

    “What’s it going to take to put this car in your garage today?”

A good salesperson’s goal is to find your trigger that they can target for pulling. If you have a trigger, they want to find it and yank on it as hard as they can.

    “We knew it had that problem. That’s why it’s priced so low.”

Turn objections into positives. That is what a GREAT car salesperson can do. The engine could be smoking, the gears could be grinding, and the radio may be stuck on polka, but a great salesperson handles it properly, and this is one of their best lines.

    “I’ll even throw in the floor mats.”

Yippee!

    “The price doesn’t matter. It’s all about the payments. If it were $5000 cheaper but the payments were $1000 per month, would you buy it?  Of course not!”

They can make the most money if you are focused on payments. Getting down to the right price or trade difference means only one thing to the dealership – less money. Getting down to the right payment can mean many things – longer term, lower rate, lower price, or a combination. If they can keep you looking at the payment, they may be able to sneak the price right by you.

    “I’ll even throw in a tank of gas.”

Yippee! (I thought a tank of gas was included on new cars?)

    “It’s not just leather, it’s Corinthian Leather.”

This has been a private joke in the industry for years. The definition of Corinthian is “the most ornate of the three Greek orders.” Coincidentally, it also means “playboy; a man devoted to the pursuit of pleasure.”

    “I need a sale today to get my kids some clothes for school.”

A struggling salesperson will not use this line. If they use this line, they already have their kids clothes – now they are going for the upgraded golf clubs.

    “Tell your friends where you got it, just don’t tell them what you paid for it.”

They are insinuating that you got a great deal. You may have. Then again, you may have been ripped and they don’t want anyone to tell you so.

    “I’ll even throw in a free detail.”

Yippee!

    Bonus: “I didn’t think you were an idiot, but if you were, I didn’t want to miss you.”


It's a strange world we live in.  Luckily, there are still some honest dealers out there.  In these tough times within the industry, let's hope that these dealerships are the ones that survive and thrive.

Holy Shit! This Critter May Just Save The World. And the ICE

The beast in the picture sits in what’s commonly called your “lower intestinals.” And the butt-ugly critter may just be the answer to our energy problems. Bacteria that live in your digestive tracts, and that can give you the runs, can be genetically modified to eat plants and then shit out jet fuel, high grade gasoline and other petroleum products. According to a CBS report, this was proven by a team of UCLA researchers.

The oil we use so abundantly was made by bacteria also. Problem is, it took them millions of years. A few years ago, bacteria were trained to hurry up, munch plants and excrete the equivalent of low grade diesel. Nothing new to that: For centuries, bacteria were used the same way to make ethanol, hooch, or Taittinger champagne. But that’s all low-grade stuff with only two carbon atoms per molecule. The greater the number of carbon atoms, the greater the energy density of the fuel. The UCLA researchers already made their coli bugs excrete fuel with five carbon atoms per molecule. Alcohol molecules with eight carbon atoms may also be possible, they report in this month’s edition of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That, my friends, means bacteria that shit out straight gasoline.

“We wanted to create larger, longer-chain molecules because they contain more energy,” the team wrote in the science journal. “This is significant in the production of gasoline and even jet fuel.” The new E. Coli bugs would be unleashed on organic material. And if they succeed, they could give huge amount industries and boondoggle projects a big case of diarrhea. Will the internal combustion engine be saved by a bug that’s at home in our ass?

CBS »

Dollar Daze - Volkswagen Vanagons for a buck

There's always lots of junk on Craigslist, especially cars. There are also often screaming deals, but seven VW Vanagons for a buck still strikes us as an upside-down transaction. While they're quirky, delightful, and generally well made, Vanagons can also be appallingly unreliable, especially mit der Wasserboxer engine. Still, when you've spent a good part of your formative years rousting around in a beloved Vanagon named Big Blue, it's hard to not quickly consider rescuing the lot before they turn into a pile of fine German oxide.

The cruel reality of this gaggle of vehicles is that their value is mostly scrap. Seven Vanagons - some Westys, some standard, possibly an air-cooled engine or three in among the water-pumpers (that undoubtedly have their quirky head gaskets blowing bubbles into their water jackets) will require more funding than the Detroit Bailout to put right.

[Source: Craigslist]