General Motors and the students from Israel’s Bezalel Academy of Art and Design have created the Windows Of Opportunity (WOO), a device which will basically turn the car’s side windows into multifunctional touch screens. With the WOO, passengers will be allowed to play, draw, write messages, interact with the surroundings and so on, making bored kids complaining on the back seat a distant memory. The device is still well into its testing stage and uses both motion and optical sensor technology, but at the moment it does not feature the “smart glass” function (that would modify the transparency or black out the windows), which will be implemented if the WOO will actually enter into production.

The current Windows of Opportunity prototype makes use of four different characters/apps called Otto, Foofu, Spindow and Pond - each one of which is in charge of a single specific function - that should be able to effectively entertain the kids while introducing them to the use of the WOO. We will be waiting for further development of this interesting idea, but for now you can enjoy the exhaustive video above.

In order to celebrate the 2 million fans of its Facebook page, Porsche presents a special version of its Cayman S with a white coat and 2 millions of red-tinted profile pictures on its livery. The color scheme adopted by the model is not casual, but was voted by the fans themselves who were asked to choose their favorite historic racing livery. The eventual winner of this poll was the red and white Porsche 917 K with that clinched the first victory at Le Mans for the German manufacturer with Richard Atwood and Hans Herrmann behind the wheel.

The car is obviously meant to be a tribute to each one of these dedicated fans, and will be on display at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgard until January, 27th. If you happen to be one of those 2 million fans, you can look for your face on the car’s body by accessing this dedicated webpage.

Apparently, an Audi R8 GT has been sold to an inhabitant of the quiet town of Lake Forest, Illinois - US, and the local Audi dealer thought it was a good idea to let everybody know that there is a new dangerous beast haunting their nice and peaceful town. The best way to do that? A massive placard on the highroad with a clear warning, of course. Can’t read that? Click on the picture for the high-res version.

via | Reddit

This year German manufacturer Opel (aka GM’s arm in Europe) will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its foundation, and to open the celebrations they have released this video which kind of compresses their whole century and a half of history in just three minutes. As you will figure out pretty soon watching the clip, Opel hasn’t been a carmaker the whole time: Mr. Adam Opel founded the firm in 1862 in Rüsselsheim, Germany, to produce sewing machines, and then the business gradually expanded in other sectors such as bycicles in 1886 (becoming the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer in the mid 20s) and, in 1902, cars. In 1914 Opel became Germany’s biggest automaker, opening the very first automated production line in 1924 and keeping on growing till the economic crisis of 1929, right after which GM stepped in as majority-stake holder, eventually becoming the only owner in 1931.

Since then, Opel has always remained one of the most well-known manufacturer in Europe - also producing electronic appliances for a short while -giving the automotive world some unforgettable vehicles such as the Kadett (all of them), the Corsa (all of them), the Olympia in the mid 30s, the Blitz truck, the Manta in the 70s, the Ascona rally car of the 80s and so forth until the more recent Astra and Ampera. There are just too many to mention. Nowadays Opel boasts 11 manufacturing facilities in 6 countries and 40,500 empolyees, and its headquarters are still based in Rüsselsheim. The brand continues to operate worldwide but is no longer present in the U.S. market, whereas in Britain all of its model are marketed under the Vauxhall brand. Well, happy birthday Opel.

Not all TV commercials turn out as good as the one we presented in our previous post. Here’s another compilation of videos made of some of the worst ads we have seen in the past years. We can have a laugh watching them right now, but we are sure that the marketing people responsible of such abominations might find them less funny. It is still nice though as quite a few dates back as far as the 70s. Check the whole lot out after the jump.

Chevy Citation
The first Chevy of the 80s.
>

Renault Kangoo
The Simpsons check the Kangoo out.

Pontiac Aztek
Possibly the most versatile vehicle on the planet.

Cadillac Catera:
The caddy that zigs.

Fiat Strada
A.k.a. Fiat Ritmo, this one is from 1979.

Cadillac Cimarron:
An affordable dream for everyone.

Chrysler Imperial:
An extra special guest can’t save this one anyway.

Chrysler Cordoba:
Ricardo Montalban knows what he needs.

Ford RS2000
Tha champ is back.

Austin Rover
Noel Edmonds gives us his wors.

Here is a compilation of some of the best TV commercials starring cars we have seen in past years. We picked up a few of the most interesting and funny ones, and it is interesting to notice how the art of marketing cars has changed and developed throughout the years. Plus, it is a nice trip down the realm of memory route. Check the whole lot out after the jump.

Honda Accord:
One of the most famous ones, starting with a little piece of gear rolling and prompting a domino effect..

Citroen C4
Pretty recent, showing a Transformer C4 rearing up and dancing..

Volkswagen Passat
Quite recent too. This one got over 55 million hits on youtube.

Skoda Fabia
Check out the most accurate car cake ever made.

Volkswagen Golf GTI: Singin’ in the Rain
Here’s Gene Kelly dancing on a modern re-mixed version of “Singin’ in the rain”

Renault Clio
The very first Renault Clio ad.

MG Metro
Isn’t the bat-mobile a little too bulky for modern day traffic?

Austin Rover Montego
Here’s how you can find your space in a crowded parking lot.

January 1st is one of those extreme ’slow news days’, so here we are talking about some celebrity cars. Poison’s frontman and TV personality Bret Michaels will be auctioning off three cars of his fleet at an upcoming Barrett-Jackson event in Scottsdale, Arizona. As it often happens in situations like that, the cars once owned by some sort of celebrity get a ridiculous extra value on the top of what they would normally be on sale for in the real world, and a case in point comes from Mr.Michaels himself. Last year he showed up at another Barrett-Jackson auction offering a non-original 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, which got eventually sold for no less than 200,000 $ (about 155,000 € / 130,000 £ at current rates), meaning five times the cash it was likely to fetch up without its ‘celebrity status’. Ok, the singer also threw in a signed guitar in the deal, but still..

Quite understandably impressed with the result, Mr.Michaels will be back at this year’s Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale (January 15-22) with three cars: a 2004 Bentley Continental GT, a 2004 Lincoln Navigator and a 2011 Ford Explorer. Here’s a photo gallery of his offering and, right after the jump, the Press Release presenting the lot. Our advice is: if you would be interested in some of the models but you are not a Poison’s fan, forget it.

via | Autoblog.com

Rock Star, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist & Survivor Bret Michaels to Return to the Barrett-Jackson Block

World’s Greatest Collector Car Event to Auction
Three Pieces from the Celebrity’s Personal Collection

Scottsdale, Ariz. – Dec. 22, 2011 – Rock legend Bret Michaels will return to the Barrett-Jackson auction block to sell three pieces from his prized personal collection at the 41st Annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, Jan. 15-22, 2012.

“We welcomed Bret to the Barrett-Jackson last year with the sale of his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS,” said Craig Jackson, Chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “We’re honored Bret is returning to the block to sell three more pieces of his personal collection.”

But before his cars cross the block, Michaels will perform on the stage at the private Barrett-Jackson Opening Gala. Though the exclusive Gala is limited to invited friends, family and VIPs, a few lucky locals will win tickets through local radio stations, facebook.com/Barrett-Jackson and Barrett-Jackson’s Twitter feed @barrett-jackson.

Entrepreneur and rock icon Michaels has consigned his 2004 Bentley Continental GT
(Lot #705.4, VIN SCBCR63W24C021428). The stunning, Moonbeam Silver car features a 6.0 Liter twin turbo W12, GPS navigation and premium package.

Michaels is also selling his 2004 Lincoln Navigator (Lot #705.5, VIN 5LMFU28R24LJ31439), a true Rock Star vehicle as featured on Michaels’ hit VH1 show, “Rock of Love.” The 5.4 Liter V8 features leather interior and a DVD player.

Finally, Michaels will sell his 2011 Ford Explorer (Lot #705.6, VIN 1FMHK7F80BGA18572) featured on his hit TV show “Life as I Know it.” The Explorer features a navigation system, luxury package and V6 engine.

Last year, Michaels’ 1969 Camaro sold for $220,000 during primetime auction hours. An avid car and motorcycle enthusiast, Michaels was named 2011 People Magazine’s “Survivor of the Year” and Fox411’s “Celebrity of the Year.” In May 2010, he was hand-picked as Donald Trump’s Season 3 winner on Celebrity Apprentice. He has graced the covers of People, US weekly, Billboard, Scottsdale Health, Diabetes Forecast and other magazines.

As front man of legendary rock band Poison, Michaels has sold over 29 million records and scored an amazing 14 Top 40 hits, including the timeless #1 smash single “Every Rose Has its Thorn,” his solo country crossover hit “All I Ever Needed,” and his rock hit “Go That Far.” As an actor, Michaels has made regular appearances on multiple hit television shows and starred in his hit reality show, “Rock of Love with Bret Michaels,” which became the highest rated series on Vh1. His most recent show “Bret Michaels: Life As I know It,” still remains one of the top ranking shows on the network.

Over the years, fans of Michaels have seen him endure a great deal of personal adversity regarding his health. Since the age of six, Michaels has lived a daily battle with Type-1 diabetes, which he has turned into a lifelong cause that he continues to support as a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association. He was awarded the ADA’s prestigious Chair’s Citation Award in 2010 for excellence in raising awareness and funds for diabetes. In 1994, he survived a car accident along with various traumatic injuries. Just this past year in 2010, he overcame a near-fatal brain hemorrhage and subsequent stroke. It is Michaels’s characteristic determination and strong willpower that pulls him through any hardship that might come his way.

“Bret Michaels is known to fans around the world as a rock star and a television celebrity,” added Steve Davis, President of Barrett-Jackson, “but what we’ve come to appreciate even more as we get to know Bret, is the personal side of this rock ‘n’ roll icon. He is a devoted father, active philanthropist and a passionate automotive enthusiast. We are honored to have him with us again.”

For more information about bidding on this special car or any other in the auction, follow the link to www.barrett-jackson.com/bid. To see the latest on Bret Michaels, please visit www.bretmichaels.com.

A group of researchers from the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology of Tokyo has created a car seat that can identify the driver sitting on it, an idea that could be further developed and applied to the anti-theft devices of the future. Basically the system measures the pressure people apply on the seat through a set of 360 independent sensors, creating a sort of digital scan of the backside in question and sends the data to a processor. This unit electronically elaborates the input, taking into account factors like pressure, weight, area of contact and then some and, according to its makers, it is able to identify drivers with a success rate of about 98%.

This technology has been developed over a one year long period and now the research team responsible for its creation is approaching several carmakers to further develop and commercialize the device as an effective anti-theft systems within two to three years.

via | TechCrunch

Australian stuntman Glenn Suter is going to have his name written in the Guinness Book of World Records thanks to its latest number: he drove what can be considered the fastest sofa of the planet at the incredible speed of 163 km/h (101 mph). The stunt was carried out at the Camden Airport, New South Wales, Australia, on 26 September 2011, but the official video has just surfaces on the internet.

In the clip we get to see a single run but, for speed records, you need to calculate the average time between two runs performed in opposite directions, in order to balance out any factors such as wind, inclines etc. Unfortunately, we have no information about the powertrain that pushed the weird sofa+desk combo driven by Mr.Suter to the record, but we believe it comes from a motorcycle. The vehicle doesn’t seem to be that good in terms of safety, but it surely sounds great.

Monster World Rally just released a 2-minutes long video featuring the highlights of what Ken Block has done in 2011 all around the world through the lenses of GoPro cameras. For those who don’t know, GoPro is the primary brand for small camcorders which is often use for on-board shooting, snowboard stunts and things like that.

The footage shows us Mr.Block the wheel of his driving on tracks, open roads, tarmac, gravel, snow, and doing all the things he does best: jumps, donuts, drifts and all that. Well, we all know the guy by now, so you probably know the kind of stuff you are about to see.

What can be considered a crucial model in automotive history is going to be up for grabs soon at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. We are talking about the very first General Lee of the world-famous The Dukes of Hazzard TV series, that aired between 1979 and 1985. And - mind you - we are not talking about one of the over 300 Dodge Chargers that got thrashed during the filming of the series, those were all replicas of this one, the original, the first General Lee to ever grace the TV screen on the pilot episode, the one that can be seen jumping Roscoe’s Dodge Monaco police cruiser at the beginning of each episode (pictured above, see the video after the jump): this is the real deal.

Also known as “Lee 1″, this 1969 Dodge Charger quite understandably did not last that long in the showbiz as it surely was not designed for the stunts and jumps that the script required in the first place, and after a few appearances as background car in a few scenes, in 1978 it was sent to rot in a junkyard in Georgia until 2001, when it was retrieved and purchased by Mr. Travis Bell and eventually sold to The Dukes Of Hazzard enthusiast Marvin Murphy, who worked on the restoration of the model to its pre-jump conditions together with Mr.Bell himself. The whole process was covered by website Inside Line - which was also the first to report the news about the auction - and the resurrected model was finally completed in 2006.

The restored “Lee 1″ is powered by a Dodge 383 hp V8 engine (hence not an Hemi unit), has recently been on display at the DuPont Registry’s museum in Florida and will be sold in an open auction with no reserve. Less significant models used in the filming has been sold in the past for 450,000 $, therefore the grandfather of all the General Lee replicas that followed is expected to fetch more than that. All in all, this is one of the most famous cars in the world and arguably the real star of one of the most celebrated TV-series of all time (well, either that or Daisy Duke’s shorts). After the jump there is also a trailer of the short documentary posted by Inside Line a few years back about how the ‘Lee 1′ came back to life after its 23 years long hiatus in Georgia, check them out.

via | Inside Line

Renowned designer, 3D artist and illustrator Maxime de Keiser has come up with this very interesting CGI rendition of a possible modern-day version of De Tomaso Mangusta, the historic 1965 model originally drawn by world-famous Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. De Tomaso produced the Mangusta until 1971 with a total output of 401 units, and it estimated that just 170 models are still marching these days. The original rear-mounted engine coupe was measuring just 1.1 meters in height and was characterized by a 2-section gullwing hood.

The “Legacy Concept” created by Mr. de Keiser is basically a present-day rendition of that styling. As the designer himself explains, the Mangusta Legacy Concept, “like the original, had to be spectacular and communicate an impression of wild ferocity and power while recalling the serenity of a feline at rest, and the elegance of the animal that doesn’t need to fear anything.“.

In the photo gallery the green model is a digital reconstruction of the original car, whereas the silver one is the actual concept. We have to admit that the outcome is quite fascinating indeed, we can just hope that the current owners of the glorious Italian carmaker are taking notice.

View the full De Tomaso Mangusta Legacy Concept photo gallery

via | CarBodyDesign