I’m taking this one from Jalopnik’s book with the “nice ride or crack pipe” book…

After looking around eBay a week or so ago for a nice first generation Mazda Miata, I came across a beautiful white 1990 model. 1.6L engine. Factory hardtop. Beautiful. But why so much? The buyer has a ton of work into the car and the millage is incredibly low. However, even a 40,000 mile version of the world’s most prevalent roadster isn’t going to bring $12,000 any time soon. There are too many in good condition for a car this common to demand that price. Never the less, it is a beautiful Miata, one of the greatest cars ever built.

Instead, check out this wonderful set of Miatas on EasyAutoSales (shameless plug): Super Miata Deals!

Source: eBay

A friend of EasyAutoSales, Lance Weatherby, recently wrote an article on his blog about the Wheego Whip plug-in electric vehicle. EasyAutoSales would love to share his insights with you! Check out what Lance thinks below…

This past weekend while the North American International Auto Show kicked off in Detroit I had my own little personal auto show.  I spend the weekend tooling around in a prototype of the Wheego Whip by RTEV.  It was a fun experience.  When I brought it home both of my kids exclained “cool.”  And boy did it generate a lot of attention and spark several a conversation over the course of 72 hours.

Nearly everyone that looks at the Whip says “Is that a Smart Fortwo?”  The answer is no.  The car’s platform and body is manufactured by Shuanghuan Automobile in China and then shipped to the US for final assembly at the RTEV manufacturing facility in South Carolina.  While the production car will eventually be capable of speeds of up to 60 mph, it will be launched as a Low Speed Vechicle (LSV).  LSVs are generally capable of speed up to 35 mph and allowed to travel on streets with that same speed limit.  The prototype I tested was an LSV.

The Whip is a “plug-in” all electric vehicle.  To charge it you literally plug the car into a normal 110 or 220 volt electrical outlet.  A single charge was getting me about 20 miles in the prototype.  The production vehicle is expected to get 60 on a single.

In place of the fuel input there is a male electrical receptacle.  It is so easy to charge that a fifth grader is capable of doing it.

The dash on the Wheego is straightforward.

Almost as straightforward as putting the car in forward or reverse.

Before the weekend was over we were using the Wheego as our main vehicle to run errands or ferry the kids to sports practices and sleepovers.  It’s fun to drive in a way that is a lot different from my power laden and gas loving 540.  I was mostly just hanging out in the right lane of four way streets while cars buzzed around me (in Atlanta a posted 35 mph means go 50).  But what I began to notice was that I was pulling right up to these cars at the next traffic light, pretty much making my way at the same pace.  And I spent not a penny in gas.

The Wheego Whip is expected to be available in May of 2009 at a price in the $20k range.

“Rapper 50 Cent was left red faced in London on Friday when he found himself locked out of his Rolls Royce.” It seems that all that money can’t buy you out of the embarrassment of getting your keys locked in the car. As you can see by the pictures below, 50 and a friend of his are having quite some time “breaking” back into the Roller. Just goes to show money does not buy common sense.

Source: TheCarFanatic

Thanks to Autoblog for this one…

If the Pontiac Aztek came from the Toyota RV2, that must mean the RV2 must have come from my 2nd grade LEGO experiments becuase that’s the last time I saw some ICBM doors on a car that has the front of a Lamborghini and opens into a camper. This is one of the weirdest concept cars I’ve personally ever seen. From the lime green that we expect form a Porsche race car to the boat-like rear end, Toyota was making a foray into Frankencars. It does make you wonder though: If this car some how made it to production, would Toyota still be the powerhouse we see today, or would if have marked the beginning of Japan’s “Carpocolypse”?

Sometimes you get thrown into a situation that is no win, despite your innocense. Parking tickets are often one of these things (especially if you have EVER parked on a college campus). One Shanghai resident decided to fight back and the following hyjinx ensued:

Good job!

Source: YouTube