How to Convince Your Sweetheart to Watch a Car Movie on Valentine’s Day

Yep, it's Valentine’s Day and we all know what that means: having to choose between Made of Honor and Eat, Pray, Love for our February 14th viewing (dis)pleasure. Is there nothing a heterosexual man dreads more than having to sit down with his partner to watch a boring, car chase-free romantic comedy?

Fortunately, we at Carscoop share your pain. We had to endure the horrors of the Sex and the City movie and overwrought melodrama of Julie & Julia. We’ve seen the worst and lied about it to our significant others afterwards. So, here’s how you get out of it: describe your favourite car movie as something that you'd interest her. It’s easier than you think:

Transformers

What it is: Giant robots that can transform into cars / helicopters / fighter jets fight each other in a struggle against flat acting, huge explosions and frenetic editing.

How you describe it: A troubled love story set amidst a violent, long-running civil war. It’s like Captain Corelli's Mandolin, really.

Black Lightning

What it is: Russian youth saves lives and fights crime in a flying Volga. It’s like Batman Begins, if Batman Begins was freakin’ insane and filmed in Moscow.

How you describe it: After the sudden death of his father, a Russian teenager takes over the family business and strives to live up to his old man’s image. It’s a touching story about courage, responsibility and personal growth.

Gone in 60 Seconds

What it is: Car thieves rush to steal fifty cars in a week to appease a mob boss.

How you describe it: A young man struggles to prove himself to his older brother, who is the only father figure he’s ever had in his life.

Bullitt

What it is: The most boringly realistic crime film you’ve ever seen, redeemed solely by an epic car chase between Steve McQueen in a ’68 Mustang fastback and a black Dodge Charger.

How you describe it: Like American Gangster with Steve McQueen.

The Transporter

What it is: Jason Statham drives a black Audi and kicks the living crud out of hundreds upon hundreds of faceless henchmen.

How you describe it: It has Jason Statham in it, and he’s sometimes shirtless. Also, he’s British.

The Fast and the Furious

What it is: Paul Walker and Vin Diesel fight to see who can underact more while competing in increasingly dangerous street races.

How you describe: An undercover cop and a criminal with a heart of gold forge a special relationship through their mutual interests.

READ MORE - How to Convince Your Sweetheart to Watch a Car Movie on Valentine’s Day

Ayrton Senna Documentary Receives Positive Reviews at Sundance Film Festival [with Video]

Seventeen years after the great Ayrton Senna died, the documentary about his life, aptly named 'Senna', was shown at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival last week and was met with critical acclaim. The work of British director Asif Kapadia and screenwriter and executive producer Manish Pandey, Senna tells the story of one of the greatest drivers who ever lived exclusively through archive footage.

That means that all the great racing sequences are there, showing incredible overtaking maneuvers, spectacular crashes and some of the greatest rivalries that Formula 1 has ever seen.

According to the LA Times, the documentary not only shows Senna’s incredibly competitive personality, but also his spiritual side.

“Though he drove like the devil, he was a spiritual person who believed deeply and profoundly in a higher power. A philosophical mystic with a jewel thief's nerves and a poet's sensitivity (and good looks), Senna was an altogether remarkable human being”, the review states.

The Brazilian pilot entered the world of racing driving karts and at the height of his career he won 33 races and three Formula 1 World Championships. Senna died aged 34 in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

The official trailer of the Senna documentary is available below.

READ MORE - Ayrton Senna Documentary Receives Positive Reviews at Sundance Film Festival [with Video]

Transformers 3 "Dark of the Moon" Trailer goes Live

Get ready for the third installment of Michael Bay's Transformers franchise as the first trailer of the upcoming new movie called Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, has hit the air. Being that Megan Fox abandoned the series, we're somewhat less excited about this one, and the new trailer, which gives a fictional twist to Neil Armstrong's 1969 moon landing, ain't helping much either. In any case, you can watch the clip right after the break.

READ MORE - Transformers 3 "Dark of the Moon" Trailer goes Live

Video: Top Gear Releases Trailer from "Christmas Specials 2010" Episode

Set to air on December 26, Top Gear’s [the original] newest Christmas Special will see Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take the role of the three wise men, as they celebrate Christ’s birth in the Middle East (see a video shoot from Israel here). Other highlights of the show will be drag races between the Mercedes SLS, Porsche GT3 RS and Ferrari 458 Italia, set in the Big Apple. According to BBC’s Youtube channel, Danny Boyle will be the next star in the

READ MORE - Video: Top Gear Releases Trailer from "Christmas Specials 2010" Episode

Caterham Retires The Stig's Superlight R500 [with VIDEO]

The Caterham Superlight R500 took the world by surprise in 2008 with its 263 hp 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-pot and sub-3.0 seconds 0-60mph sprint time. The same year it was launched, Top Gear’s racing driver, The Stig, drove it around the show’s test track completing a lap in just 1 minute and 17.9 seconds. That's the seventh fastest official lap time ever recorded on the show, putting to shame “heavyweights” like the Bugatti Veyron.

But everything comes to an end, and today, Caterham announced that the special model is making its final journey next week before being retired from active service.

Caterham Cars’ marketing manager, James Drake, commented: “The white and orange R500 has already claimed its place in motoring history. It’s worked hard since the new R500 was launched in 2008 and we feel it’s now time to let it have a rest. It will still be available as a static display car, but its hard driving days are over. We’re stopping short of wearing black armbands in the office, but it’s still going to be a sad day when its final public engagement is over”.

This will happen after it’s going to be displayed at the Marks & Spencers store in Kent, with the purpose of promoting a new range of remote control R500s. These motorized scale models will be available in the classic color scheme (white with orange stripes), and also in red with white stripes.

It seems that Caterham has no intention of selling the car, so Top Gear enthusiasts will have to be satisfied with the “regular” R500. Those who can’t afford the £40,200 price tag for the real deal, can check out M&S stores this Christmas, where they will be able to buy the RC for just £19.50.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - Caterham Retires The Stig's Superlight R500 [with VIDEO]

Green Hornet’s 1966 Chrysler Imperial Black Beauty to be Raffled Off

While The Green Hornet doesn't say much to me, I'm sure plenty of our readers grew up watching the TV series or reading the comic books. You guys should pay attention for a minute, as CKE Restaurants is giving away an actual working example of the masked superhero's car, the Black Beauty, fully loaded with all the [faux] gadgetry needed to fight [imaginary] villains.

The marketing campaign is meant to create some hype around the upcoming remake, called The Green Hornet and starring Seth Rogen, which will hit theaters in the U.S. on January 14, 2011.

"The Green Hornet film is a great fit for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's customers," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for CKE Restaurants.

"Our target audience of 'young, hungry guys' are big fans of Seth Rogen, cool cars, comedy and action films, so what's not to like? People will also love the cool and exclusive stuff we'll be offering as part of the various The Green Hornet promotions, like the fully-loaded Black Beauty car from the film, complete with machine guns and rocket-launchers, that is the grand prize in our sweepstakes. Sorry, guys, the machine guns and rockets aren't functional, but they look awesome."

For those who don't know, the Black Beauty was actually a modified Chrysler Imperial, produced between 1964 and 1966. The prize car has been fully restored and features a brand-new supercharged engine and all the aforementioned prop weaponry, which makes it pretty cool if superheroes are your thing.

Besides the car, there are many other promotional items to be won, ranging from keychains to Sony PSP Go consoles. For more information check out your local Carl's Jr. or Hardee's restaurant or their websites.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

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READ MORE - Green Hornet’s 1966 Chrysler Imperial Black Beauty to be Raffled Off

To the Batmobile! Follow our trip up to Hoosier country as we attempt to get all Adam West on your Thanksgiving

[Updated] A few weeks ago, John - the head honcho here at Carscoop and the one who administratively appears once in a while in the comments - sent me an email about a company building officially licensed replicas of the 1966 Batmobile up in Indiana. Naturally, we decided that there'd be some sort of story in there, and naturally, I had to find someone who was doing even less than I was to come along (for this trip, that'll be my friend...let's call him Mike).

Now, after weeks of back and forth and figuring out the timing, we're on our way to go get some sit-down time with the people of Fiberglass Freaks. You see, they're the people behind these DC-licensed replicas, and word is they've just completed another example. That means it's time to hit the road with us as we head up to Indy and beyond to see what it's like to build these (potentially) big-block Batmobiles.

So, why not fly? Simple: this is a car website, and to me that means road trip. Besides, flying up to Indy wouldn't allow us to get KFC in Kentucky or snag some lunch at the casinos as we hit Indiana. Get at us on the Facebook and the Twitter, and check back here for whatever updates we can manage on our three-day voyage. Toodle-oo.

*You can also follow our trip here

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

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The Ride - Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Thermos -Sunday, November 21, 2010

The first of hopefully many exotically-hued muscle cars seen on the trip…we shall see -Sunday, November 21

Mike and his hashbrowns -Sunday November 21

Ain’t nothin better -Sunday November 21

Hitting I-26, heading west -Sunday November 21

Sorry for the shakiness, but figured it was a good sign. -Sunday November 21

Fog got crazy in NC. -Sunday November 21

Pre lunch snack from weigels. -Sunday November 21

Say what? -Sunday November 21

Had to do it. -Sunday November 21

Galaxie 390. -Sunday November 21

Galaxie 390. -Sunday November 21

Casino for dinner and hopefully some earnings. -Sunday November 21

The remnants of dinner after mike lost most of our dinner money. -Sunday November 21

That’s right. -Sunday November 21

It’s a GT. -Sunday November 21

At the bar in indy and lovin it. -Sunday November 21

Weronika was nice enough to let us crash at her place in Indy. -Monday November 22

Here it is. -Monday November 22

READ MORE - To the Batmobile! Follow our trip up to Hoosier country as we attempt to get all Adam West on your Thanksgiving

Fast and Furious No5 with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the Works

We've yet to find some time to go and see 'Fast and Furious 4' which came out in early April, but we have learned that the film's two-leading stars, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, will meet again as Universal Pictures has given the green light for a fifth installment of the hot-rodding franchise. The revelation was made by Walker who plays the role of Brian O'Connor, an FBI agent in the fourth film. "This was supposed to be it. There wasn't supposed to be the open-ended closing like there was," Walker told MYfm's Valentine.

"When they started talking about making the fourth one, I was like, man, I don't really have a choice now, because if I don't do it I know I'm gonna be pissing people off, because this is the opportunity to come back and make the first true sequel," said Walker.

"But without question, with the way things opened up, Vin and I will be coming back, we're making a fifth one, and we're going to Brazil, that's it," he added.

No word on when 'Fast and Furious 5' (or whatever it will be called) will hit the big screen, but don't expect to see it before 2010 at the earliest.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - Fast and Furious No5 with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the Works

Russian Students Build Death Race Style Chevy Camaro

Inspired from the 2008 action film Death Race (which was a remake of the 1975 movie Death Race 2000) that revolves around a group of inmates racing their cars in a gladiator-like fight-to-the-end competition, a team of Russian students from Moscow's MHPI design school built a 'death racer' style Chevrolet Camaro that was exhibited at the Moscow Tuning Show 2009. The students used a mid-70's, second generation F-Body Camaro as a base for their project adorning it with numerous weapons and armor plates.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - Russian Students Build Death Race Style Chevy Camaro