Friday, June 15, 2007

Hidden Camera: Mercedes Dealership Asks $6.500 To... Remove A Stone From A Sun Roof!

What a near rip off! The person in the video took his Mercedes-Benz to an authorized dealer to fix his car’s broken sunroof, or in Mercedes terms, moon roof. The dealership’s technician looks at it and diagnoses that he needs a brand new moon roof with an estimated cost of… $6.500 - €4.900 in repairs!

Stunned by the estimate the vehicles owner decides to ask for a second opinion, this time at an independent repair shop located a mile away from the dealership. To his surprise, the second technician informs him that the only problem was a… small pebble stuck in the roof tracking! All it took to fix of course was a pair of tweezers to remove the rocky culprit. The independent shop charged him $143 - €107 which still sounds like a rip off to us but that’s a misdemeanor compared to the $6.500 that Mercedes was asking. Infuriated, the vehicle owner then grabs a camera and heads back to the Mercedes-Benz dealership… Find out what happened in the video after the jump

Via: Autoblog.com , Source: Wisebread

Joker's Car In The Upcoming Batman Film, The Dark Night

Making a short detour from our everyday-car spy images, we discovered this scoop photo on the movie website, Latino Review. According to the author, Joker will use the purple-colored 30’s pick-up truck in the sequel of Batman Begins, “The Dark Knight” which is due for release in July 2008. True or not, the pick-up looks so out of place and messed up that we couldn't imagine anyone else driving it but Joker.

Via: Latino Review

Shelby’s 725Hp GT500 Super-Snake Images Slither Into The Net

If any of you happen to attend the Mid-America Ford Performance and Shelby Meet in Tulsa this weekend, take a good look at these photos because this is what Ford has in store for you: the 2008 Shelby GT500 Super-Snake. While we were kind of chilled out when we learned that the Super-Snake package which will boost your GT500’s output to either 600 or 725Hp will also inflate your bank account by $28.000 / €20.700 (excluding the cost of buying a GT500) we have to admit that it looks scorching hot. -Click “Read More…” below for more photos

Via: Jalopnik , Source: MustangEvolution


Made In Heaven: Ferrari Enzo vs McLaren F1

Believe it or not, but a Fifth Gear viewer loaned his Ferrari Enzo and McLaren F1 supercars to Tiff Needell for a day so he could answer all those petty questions you desperately wanted to know but were too ashamed to ask: How does a million supercar drive on public roads? What about maintenance and insuring costs? Follow the jump to see the video

BMW 1-Series Coupe Scooped Again – July 1st Unveiling?

Just one day after our previous scoop-post on the 1-Series Coupe and we discovered another set of spy photos derived this time from UK magazine Car. Captured performing tests near the Nurburgring race track in Germany, the thinly disguised 1-Series Coupe gives us a clearer view of its design language. But whatev, what really caught our attention in Car’s article is that BMW will reveal the first details and photos of the all-new 1-Series on July 1st! Car also reports that the 1-Series Coupe will make its public debut in November at the Los Angeles Show. We tried to call our BMW source to verify this, but unfortunately we couldn’t get in touch. However stay tuned as we’ll get back on this one as soon as we contact our source. Until then follow the jump for more pictures.

Via: Car

New Transformers Clip Shown On Jay Leno's Tonight Show


Transformers star Shia LaBeouf, aka “Sam Witwicky” appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and apart from the usual chit chat we also saw a clip from the movie featuring Sam trying to hide the Autobots in his backyard from his father. We heard that Michael Bay’s movie would have a few funny scenes, but if they’re like this one, we’d rather someone take them out before the film hits cinemas worldwide on July 4th.

Mazda Design Chronograph Revealed

In conjunction with German watch manufacturer Sinn Spezialuhren Frankfurt, Mazda has developed a limited edition watch chronograph that will be available at European Mazda dealers, beginning in Mid-August with a retail price of €1.490 or $2.000.

According to Mazda, the Chronograph’s design was inspired from several Mazda models like the
rounded square theme of the watch that appears as a design motif in the air intakes, tail lights and door handles of the Mazda MX-5. Another reference to Mazda vehicle design is the chronograph’s band with its butterfly buckle. The band is made of silicon rubber and has the same tyre profile as the Mazda Hakaze – the latest Nagare design study created by Mazda’s European design team and shown at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. -Continued after the jump

This isn’t the first time that Mazda and Sinn Spezialuhren Frankfurt have cooperated as the two companies have joined forces twice before to create limited edition watches – the MX-5 NC model and the Sinn 303 RX-8. While the first projects were customised versions of original Sinn models, the new chronograph was completely designed by and for Mazda.

In particular, the watch was penned by Hasip Girgin, Assistant Chief Designer at Mazda’s European Research and Development Center. “It was a challenge,” Girgin admits, “because I wanted to give the chronograph a unique design with instant appeal. I worked for over a year to find a watch design that would express the same kind of sensuality found in our cars.







Technical data
  • Movement:
  • Valjoux 7750, chronograph of chronometer quality (top)
  • Mechanical lever escapement with self-winding mechanical movement
  • Precision regulator
  • 25 ruby jewels
  • 28800 semi-oscillations/hour
  • Incabloc shock protection system
  • Antimagnetic to DIN 8309
  • Shock protection system to DIN 8308
  • Quick change of date
  • Power reserve > 46 hours
  • Chronograph (stopwatch function/measurement capacity: 12 hours)
Display:
  • Luminous hour and minute hands
  • Luminous indices at 3 and 9 o’clock on the dial
  • Date display in a window
  • Centrally positioned second stop hands displaying seconds, minutes and 12-hours.
Casing:
  • Satinised stainless steel DIN material grade 1.4435
  • Screw-on casing back engraved with limited edition number
  • Screwable crown
  • Sapphire crystal glass with dual-sided anti-reflection coating
  • Water-resistant to DIN 8310
  • Pressure-resistant up to 10 bar = diving depth of approx. 100 m
  • Lug width: 22 mm

Strap:
  • Silicon rubber strap with Mazda Hakaze concept car tyre profile
  • High-quality butterfly clasp with elaborate engraving