Click the Islero for a high-res galleryFor a car fan it’s always cool to be wandering around somewhere and stumble across an extremely rare car. That’s especially when it’s out on the road in a most unlikely of locales. My wife and I took a little road trip this weekend in the new Saab Turbo X (you’ll be hearing more about that soon!) to Yellow Springs, Ohio. For those unfamiliar with Yellow Springs, it’s a small town northeast of Dayton that’s home to Antioch College and Dave Chappelle. As we were walking to get some dinner, I noticed a very red coupe with an extraordinarily long hood. It looked vaguely familiar, but I knew I had never seen one in the metal before. I grabbed my camera and started shooting away. It turns out the car was a GT known as the Lamborghini Islero. Isleros were built in 1968 and 69 following the end of the 400GT run and preceding the Jarama. Unfortunately for Lamborghini, the rather sedately-styled Islero didn’t have the flash of the gorgeous Miura that debuted in 1969 and it never sold in huge numbers. According to Lamborghini, only 225 were built including 70 “S” models in 1969 with slight body changes and a more luxurious interior. The Islero was propelled by Lamborghini’s 4.0L 350hp V12. If the owner of this car sees this post please get in touch and share the story of your car.
Gallery: 1968 Lamborghini Islero
Click on the above image for a pic gallery
While the sculptor has kept much of the Bangle-butt intact, the overall aesthetics on this execution are much more entertaining to the eye. A glance inside indicates this attempt isn’t as thorough as the other (the interior appears merely painted, not sculpted). However, as witnessed by the junk in the door-mounted map pocket, this one is getting some use on the streets too. Thanks for the tip Tarakonaz!
Nissan has announced a new range of forklifts that use lithium ion batteries provided by Nissan and NEC’s joint venture AESC. These batteries were first seen powering the Mixim and the Pivo 2 concepts during the Frankfurt Motor Show. Does this move of the batteries to actual production cars mean that we’ll get us a Nissan EV as anticipateed? Nissan says that this is part of its Nissan GT 2012 strategy to produce an EV for the U. S. in 2010 and 2012 in the rest of the world. The new forklift models were introduced during Hannover’s Logistics Fair and will be on sale in 2009, if development is ready. The first units for the European market will be probably built at Nissan’s plant in Navarra, Spain. [Source: Nissan]
Just when you think you’ve seen it all… Here is an electric car which was built using golf cart parts. The contraption is said to be capable of twenty-two miles per hour. Doesn’t sound all that impressive, huh? Read on. According to its maker, the seat comes from a Marine rescue helicopter, which is kinda cool, and it’s capable of operation on just about any terrain. We’re not really sure what it means when the machine is described as having “several forms of steering,” but we’re willing to go with it. So, what’s it that makes this particular machine different than any other electric runabout? Oh, not much, but how about that flame thrower? According to Lance Greathouse, “It was made for the disabled person looking for something a little different, why drive something that looks like a medical device when you can drive something lethal?” Why indeed? In case you’re not into fire, may we suggest the Segway as an alternative?
Click above for more images of the 1923 V-Twin powered Model TFord’s ubiquitous Model T has seen its fair share of modifications over the years. Often powered by an engine other than what was originally designed for the huge engine bay, countless variations of the hot rod theme have made Henry Ford’s original mass-market car a highly desirable machine to customize. Today, we’ve stumbled across an entirely new way to power the T, and it’s just too cool not to share. Behind the custom spiderweb grille of this 1923 Ford Model T is a 1200cc V-Twin engine taken from the frame rails of a Harley-Davidson Sportster. Considering how little this car is likely to weigh, the air-cooled twin cylinder mill with Screaming Eagle mods is probably plenty powerful to get the car out of its own way. The owner used quite a few HD cues in the overall design and as many original parts from the donor bike as was possible. Note the dual rear shocks suspending the rear axle — those are from the Sportster, as well as the foot pegs which now see duty as the gas and brake pedals. Nice work.
Click above for a gallery of the Baby Made on Board promo materials var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/autos/Chrysler_promo_tells_Belgians_to_get_laid_in_Dodge_Journey’; When we read the tip from reader Thijs B. telling us that in Belgium, Dodge is planning a Journey launch promo centered around backseat baby-making, we thought it was a massive joke. So we started using our Google powers to see what else we could dig up. And guess what? It’s legit.If you go to babymadeonboard.be, you’ll be greeted by the screen above, which features a play on those annoying “Baby On Board” window signs that were ubiquitous during the 80s. It’s paired with a countdown timer that’ll zero out on the weekend of June 14, which is when the Dodge Journey officially launches in Belgium. A quick WHOIS lookup on DNS.be reveals that the site’s domain name is registered to someone at the Brussels office of Proximity BBDO, a BBDO partner. BBDO is Chrysler’s ad bureau.More Googling led us to a Dodge press release posted on a Belgian media portal. The car is being targeted toward men, and its launch slogan roughly translates to “Become a dad, stay a man.” According to the PR, Dodge suggests that “everyone try out the back seat of the Dodge Journey in a little unorthodox manner.” Well, that’s one way of getting folks to look past Chrysler’s lamentable interiors. People whose “backseat trial” is successful and subsequently produce a newborn child 9 months after the car’s launch weekend have a chance to win themselves a new Dodge Journey. We don’t think that Dodge really wants people taking special test drives out of Belgian dealerships for the purpose of steaming up the windows the old fashioned way (we can imagine porters quitting en masse on June 13th if this were the case). This particular assignment can probably be finished at home, too. To help encourage people to take action, however, all Journey floor models will have those “Baby Made on Board” signs in their windows. If you’re in Belgium, are planning a family, and are in the market for a new car, you might want to (ahem) get to work on or around June 14. Maybe earlier. After all, a little practice never hurts. Thanks for the tip, Thijs!
For those fond of delving deep into E90 minutiae, these are the ideal shots yet showing off the subtle changes coming to the BMW 3-series. For the rest of us, the tweaks are hugely inconsequential. World Car Fans has unearthed some of the clearest shots yet, and the change that most people will notice are the taillamps, which look to get a slightly different shape. It even appears that the cutlines between the taillamp pieces on the trunklid will not line up with the rest of the cluster mounted in the quarter panel - asymmetry. The mirrors look to gain huge repeaters for the blinkers, possibly just a camouflage ruse, and minor updates likely go on inside and underhood, too. Also likely to be quite noticeable once the wraps come off is a reshaped front fascia, which appears to place foglamps next to the license plate. Overall, a mild refreshing until a new 3-series can be whipped up. In the meantime, the new 7 will set the template for BMWs to come. [Source: World Car Fans]
Click above to view more images of Toyota’s Night View technologyToyota has been offering a huge car known as the Crown in Japan for many years, and it often gets flagship-level technology which floats down to lower models in time. Recently, the Crown got the same parallel hybrid drivetrain which is offered in the Lexus LS600h. To go along with the advanced hybrid drive, the Crown Hybrid will now be offered with Toyota’s new Night View technology, which allows drivers to see better under low-light conditions. In normal daylight, the 1280 pixel wide LCD displays what appear to be normal instruments, but at night, the LCD displays an alternate view ahead. While this type of technology isn’t really anything new, Toyota has added an interesting new feature to its system which recognizes humans. Although the system only works at speeds below about 40 miles per hour and doesn’t operate well in the rain, Toyota is working on improving its system to detect animals and bicycles, while also lowering the cost.
According to reports in Tokyo published by the respected Tokyo Shimbun newspaper the unlikely bedfellows could strike a deal to build the Prius for the first time outside Japan and China.
The Japanese company plans to ship key components from Japan and assemble them at the venture in Fremont, Calif., where demand for environmentally friendly cars is high, the newspaper said.A Toyota spokesman in Tokyo declined to comment on the report, saying: “As usual, we don’t comment on the details of negotiations, but nothing has been decided yet on the reported NUMMI case.”Toyota aims to sell at least 1 million hybrid cars a year from about 2010.It currently produces the Prius in Japan and China.
The carmaker said this month sales of the Prius had topped one million cars since the launch in Japan in 1997, followed by North America, Europe and elsewhere in 2000.