Watching V8 Supercars again

 What should I look out for?

New Zealand cops dancing

1. Look at those wagons!

2. Are all of those officers ethnically Maori?

3. INOJ!

Former All Blacks perform emotional haka at Jonah Lomu’s memorial service

Plus, Holden hearse!

Holden burnout on fire

Australians...

2015 Holden line-up

Can you tell that I have the day off and am reclaiming my old role as a couch potato? Here is the current line-up with explanations as to what the heck the models are (in American English).

Barina Spark (Chevy Spark):

Barina (Chevy Aveo):

Cruze (Chevy Cruze, although the Australians not only have the sedan, but also a hatchback and a wagon):

Astra (Nothing like it here in the States, but I think it should be a Cavalier/Cobalt):

Malibu (Chevy Malibu):

Cascada (There's a Buick Cascada?!):

Insignia (Buick Regal):

Commodore (Chevy SS):

Caprice (Chevy Caprice): 

Trax (Crossover based on Aveo/Sonic):

Captiva 5 (Chevy Captiva Sport, a discontinued rental car):

Captiva 7 (Nothing like it here):

Colorado 7 (Nothing like it here, with suggestions that this would be a Chevy TrailBlazer):

Ute (Nothing like it here):

Colorado (GMC Canyon):

Any and all corrections/amendments/provisos are welcome.

Holden V8 Starion

Inspired by MattC's comment. Australians: This guy is a "bogan", right?

Left hand drive utes available for sale in US

Via rchen, who was at SEMA this week and saw a bunch of cool stuff. Article here.

Mad Max remake trailer

In general, I despise all remakes. But I can definitely get behind this.

Holden Adventra

From Lukas: Bit of trivia: the Holden Commodore also has ties to that Opel, and was also made for a while as a V8, 4WD wagon, called the Adventra. It was meant as a rival to the Ford Territory (itself based off the Australian Ford Falcon), but was a flop.

Brendan's old ute featured in local paper

H/t to rchen. Story here.

That's not Brendan, by the way.

Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo vs. Holden Commodore VF

I was stopped behind a new Chevy SS this morning and wondered what its Australian Ford competitor was like.

Australia is Florida

From the Shaking My Head Sydney Morning Herald.

A man was pulled over in Adelaide. He:

• didn't have registration,
• didn't have insurance,
• drove dangerously,
• drove with two blown tires,
• just fled a hit-and-run crash,
• was high on meth and pot, and
• drove without a steering wheel.

Hat tip to Ozmac.

Holden Jackaroo ad

Hat tip to Lukas.

Was there a Japanese manufacturer that Holden DIDN'T work with?

2013 24 Hours of LeMons at Sears Point photos

A more detailed write-up will be on Hooniverse. Here is a preview.

All of the Alfas produced great sounds.

This 1994 Volvo 940 had a pretty smart suspension upgrade because it was passing everybody in the corners.

It seems FC RX7s and Miatas were the most popular donor vehicles.

This Prius is powered by a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine. And it's chain-driven. It had to pit often and did not sound good after Lap 1.

A lot of obscure British cars, including this Austin America.

This W126 turbodiesel was my favorite. It was big, shiny, and cool. Plus, you could hear the diesel chatter from miles away. It was not fast.

I can't tell what this Jeep was originally.

Telstar Logistics drove this Volvo wagon. It was not quick either.

Fiesta!

Ray and Scott from Hooniverse brought two twin-engined Toyotas from Utah. They were awesome.

This W140 coupe may have the largest gross vehicle weight.

Another shot of one of the twin-engined Toyotas.

The guy in the middle had chiropractic adjustments to his neck, right then and there.

These two had trouble getting the engine into their E30 BMW.

There were two V12s racing. This XJ12, and a BMW 850i.

Australian PM whisked away in a Holden

Protestors surround the PM outside a restaurant.  Mayhem ensues.  Shoe is lost.  This was apparently over some insensitive remarks made by opposition leader Tony Abbott.  Perhaps our Australian friends can shed some more light on the controversial statement (and why the PM's car is always white).

D Motor's Tim Schrick compares BMW M5 with Vauxhall/Holden/Pontiac VXR8

Sample EPA fuel economy stickers

The EPA has this tool where you can print out your car's fuel mileage estimates.  I went to the site and printed a few cars that have been on my mind recently.

I coveted the G8.

I test drove the Phaeton.

 I almost went to see a 505 recently.

 This is definitely in the running as my potential weekend car.  Call me DeSoto as I look for that fountain of youth, filled to the brim with lightly used and pampered 560SECs.

 My daily driver.  My driving is a mix of 80% city, 20% highway, and I get about 26 mpg-ish.