Fun Stuff

We were awed when the Hot Wheels team pulled off their double loop dare, and we're no less impressed by this latest corkscrew stunt. Seemingly defying the laws of physics, Brent Fletcher takes his dune buggy through a world record 30-metre corkscrew. It might look like a toy on a kids' track, but Hollywood stuntman Fletcher was in a real buggy, which hit the split ramp at more than 90km/h, resulting in it corkscrewing through the air at 230 degrees per second.

...for the Bad Girls video.

Before retiring, the Michigan car dealership owner wanted to thank his employees in a special way.All 89 employees at the Howard Cooper Import Centre in the city of Ann Arbor were given $US1000 for each year of service to the 47-year-old car dealership."The lady behind me had tears running down her face,'' employee Sandy Reagan told AnnArbor.com."I sat next to a person who drives the parts van and he's been here almost 28 years. He doesn't make a ton of money, but he got almost $US28,000."He just said, 'Oh my God','' said Ms Reagan, who has been with the company 46 years."I wanted to thank my employees and that was a way I could do it,'' said 83-year-old Mr Cooper. "I hope it makes a difference in their lives like they have made in mine.'' 

But that's what I discovered three weeks ago when I wandered into a Lexus dealership in Auckland, New Zealand, to pick up a car for reviewing while I was in the Shaky Isles.Out the front of the showroom was a fellow in a white shirt, tie and trousers with a chamois wiping down a Lexus IS 350 (pictured above outside a Hawke's Bay vineyard).I asked him to show me the office of the general manager Peter Carleton. He said he was Mr Carleton. How often do you find at a luxury dealership, or any dealership for that matter, the boss putting the finishing touches to a car for delivery?That task is usually the role of the detailers, but in this case it was the chief making sure the car was in tip-top condition. He then went out of his way to show me around the Great North Rd premises of Lexus of Auckland City (pictured), one of six Lexus dealerships in NZ and the only stand-alone premises in NZ.Normally they are attached to Toyota premises. Mr Carleton said the NZ luxury market was small and extremely competitive yet their dealership was the best Lexus in the country and attention to detail and customer service were paramount.He is proud of their service and workshops and they have even installed a large window in the waiting lounge overlooking the main workshop so customers can see their car being worked on. The dealership has run out of room in the workshop and has expanded next door as well. Mr Carleton said the prestige franchises were under pressure from grey importers bringing in near-new marques from the UK for tens of thousands of dollars less than the equivalent new model in NZ.He said Lexus was not being impacted as much as the Germans but, once again, top service was the key to attracting and retaining customers. I love driving in NZ because the roads are better built, wider and with the right cambers than here. Venture off the main roads and highways into the countryside and the roads are generally top notch, free of traffic, speed cameras and police. Roads are many and varied so you can explore a car's limits safely.On the main highways there are plenty of overtaking lanes with long stretches, unlike the awful Bruce Highway between Cairns and Brisbane. New cars are expensive but used cars are generally cheaper than here, mainly because of the influx of grey imports from Japan and Europe. Petrol is costly. At one stage premium unleaded was $2.30 and a 65-litre tank cost $130 to fill. Ouch. 

   

A Rotary Club in Brazil has taken pedestrian safety into its own hands -- literally.A group of the Rotary members performed a traffic 'intervention', lifting up an errant car and carrying it out of the way of people using the intersection on foot.It was a stunt to promote National Traffic Week in Brazil but has resulted in the group being christened Crosswalk Guardians after the video was posted on YouTube.The stunt was the brainchild of a marketing agency, but has caught the attention of Brazil, where 13 pedestrians have already been killed this year. 

...and uses her sexual charm to - you’ll see.

The toilet seat on this motorised trike is just for decoration, but the makers intend to leave you in no doubt about what's fuelling the Toilet Bike Neo.Developed by Toto, a Japanese company that manufactures toilets, the trike's engine run on excrement by-product.While the show 'throne' suggests the rider may be contributing to the fuel production along the way, the tank is actually filled with bio-gas produced with treated livestock manure.The bike is a one-off production, built as a promotion for Toto's environmental policy, which aims for a large reduction of C02 emissions by 2017. So don't hold your breath -- or perhaps your nose -- waiting for it to turn up on a showroom floor.The Toilet Bike Neo is currently on tour around Japan -- and its handlers might at least be thankful they won't be 'caught short' on the road.