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.

By Tristan Hankins

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.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: LA Times via Autoblog

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VIDEO: First Official Trailer of Fast and Furious 5, aka "Fast Five"

It's been long in the making, but here's the first official trailer of the next chapter in the Fast and Furious franchise. The fifth installment of the car-crazy film, which is being marketed as "Fast 5", brings back together many familiar faces from the previous movies including Vin Diesel as ex-con Dom Toretto, Paul Walker as former cop Brian O'Conner, and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, as well as some fresh faces such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who plays the role of federal agent Luke Hobbs.

This time the team of car bandits heads to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. The film is set to be released on April 29, 2011. You can watch the official trailer right after the break and tell us what you think about it in the comments section below.

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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 Reasonably Priced Car. Follow through the break for the video clip.

By Csaba Daradics

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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.

Via: Jalopnik

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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.

By Csaba Daradics

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Oprah Teases 2012 VW Beetle on Show, Hands Out Free Cars to Audience [with Video]

Love her or hate her, Oprah is one of the most influential women in the USA, and a mere mention of a product on her show can send masses running to buy it. Volkswagen took advantage of Oprah's ability to sway viewers by choosing her show to reveal the design silhouette of its all-new 2012 Beetle. And if that wasn't enough, the TV persona surprised her audience by giving each and every one of them a 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. Well, not now, but when the car comes out in May of 2011.

"Oprah Winfrey and the Volkswagen Beetle are two American icons, so when the "Oprah" show approached us with this incredible opportunity to share her Beetle experience with deserving viewers, we instantly wanted to be a part of it," said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America.

"Our all-new 2012 Beetle exemplifies power, styling and sophistication, and is an automotive icon reinvented to create the new shape of performance," he added.

In addition to the styling tease, VW released a statement saying that the "2012 Beetle will be a true, performance driving machine perfected by German engineering, offering a wealth of technologies that will provide a heightened driving experience over the previous generation."

The German company added that the New Beetle's successor, spy pictures of which you can check out below, will offer dual exhaust, 19-inch wheels, sport seats and new, sleeker styling, as well as numerous available features such as touch screen radio, high-grade audio speaker systems, navigation and unique ambient lighting .

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Canadian 1966 Batmobile Replica Commands Audi R8 Money

Last week, Carscoop asked you what your favorite TV or movie car was. Many of you expressed a fondness for the Lincoln Futura-based Batmobile used in the Adam West TV series of the late 1960s.

One of our readers tipped us off to this sweet, '66 Batmobile replica in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. You'll no longer be the "uncool dad" when you drop your kids off at school in this baby, old chum.

But before you rush out to buy some grey tights and adopt a young, orphaned acrobat consider this: it has the rather un-sweet price tag of CA$176,995 (US$172,779). You could easily get into an Audi R8 V10 for that money. Heck, we even found a 2003 Lamborghini Murcielago for roughly the same price.

And it pains me to remind you that under that svelte body are the aging Ford V8 and 3-speed-automatic transmission from a 1974 Lincoln Continental. Sure it's appropriate for the era, but then so were headbands and paisley and nobody wears them anymore.

What we really want is the Batmobile we saw on TV, not the one that was wheeled on and off the set between takes. You know, the Batmobile that could unlock doors and sounded like a jet fighter taking off.

Unfortunately, this little boy is still waiting.

By Tristan Hankins

Thanks for the tip Craig! , Link: Excellencechrysler

Canadian 1966 Batmobile Replica Commands Audi R8 Money

Last week, Carscoop asked you what your favorite TV or movie car was. Many of you expressed a fondness for the Lincoln Futura-based Batmobile used in the Adam West TV series of the late 1960s.

One of our readers tipped us off to this sweet, '66 Batmobile replica in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. You'll no longer be the "uncool dad" when you drop your kids off at school in this baby, old chum.

But before you rush out to buy some grey tights and adopt a young, orphaned acrobat consider this: it has the rather un-sweet price tag of CA$176,995 (US$172,779). You could easily get into an Audi R8 V10 for that money. Heck, we even found a 2003 Lamborghini Murcielago for roughly the same price.

And it pains me to remind you that under that svelte body are the aging Ford V8 and 3-speed-automatic transmission from a 1974 Lincoln Continental. Sure it's appropriate for the era, but then so were headbands and paisley and nobody wears them anymore.

What we really want is the Batmobile we saw on TV, not the one that was wheeled on and off the set between takes. You know, the Batmobile that could unlock doors and sounded like a jet fighter taking off.

Unfortunately, this little boy is still waiting.

By Tristan Hankins

Thanks for the tip Craig! , Link: Excellencechrysler

Carscoop Asks: What’s Your Favourite TV or Movie Car?

Whether you're a fan of Adam West or Roger Moore, you have to admit: cars and television go together well.

The Saint had the Volvo P1800. The Dukes wreaked havoc with the General Lee. The Caped Crusader and his sidekick did the "vra-vra-vroom" in the Batmobile. The Hoff had the Knight Industries Two Thousand (a personal favorite, if only for Will Daniels' quips).

Heck, some of these cars are more loved and remembered than the stars that drove them. Except maybe for David Hasslehoff. I hear he's big in Germany.

Then there are movie cars:

The Aston Martin DB5 from the early Bond movies; the screaming Pontiac TransAm from Smokey and the Bandit (another favorite); the DeLorean from Back to the Future and Steve McQueen's Mustang in Bullitt.

So tell us, dear readers; what's your favorite movie or TV car? If you can't think of just one (heck, we couldn't), just tell us all.

By Tristan Hankins

Carscoop Asks: What’s Your Favourite TV or Movie Car?

Whether you're a fan of Adam West or Roger Moore, you have to admit: cars and television go together well.

The Saint had the Volvo P1800. The Dukes wreaked havoc with the General Lee. The Caped Crusader and his sidekick did the "vra-vra-vroom" in the Batmobile. The Hoff had the Knight Industries Two Thousand (a personal favorite, if only for Will Daniels' quips).

Heck, some of these cars are more loved and remembered than the stars that drove them. Except maybe for David Hasslehoff. I hear he's big in Germany.

Then there are movie cars:

The Aston Martin DB5 from the early Bond movies; the screaming Pontiac TransAm from Smokey and the Bandit (another favorite); the DeLorean from Back to the Future and Steve McQueen's Mustang in Bullitt.

So tell us, dear readers; what's your favorite movie or TV car? If you can't think of just one (heck, we couldn't), just tell us all.

By Tristan Hankins