Although its not a bit related but I just had to post this because of the level of hilarity. First you wrongly started your vehicle. Then, when you set yourself on fire, you scram to the gas station to put it out. First question here is: WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU THINKING?! According to the post from Jalopnik, three people got seriously hurt when trying to restart their van by pouring gas from a bucket into a water bottle DIRECTLY into the van’s carburetor. Yes, it started all right and ran. But it exploded right after it stalled. The people from the van was gutted with fire then ran to the gas station. While a woman was ran over by the van.

Call me heartless, but you should have a proper mindset in that kind of situation. Not merely pouring gas on an open bucket and fill it into a bottled water to pour it in the carb.

Wow, this vehicle makes even the old-school Bumblebee look like a giant. This folks, is the Short Bus. No, we’re not pulling a rib here. That’s what the vehicle is actually called. Loaned to the people at Jalopnik by the Angry Hamster Z600 team (who wouldn’t be pissed driving in this vehicle), this ride looks like a miniaturized version of the Volkswagen Transporter. A crushed version to be exact. While it looks cute or something Steward Little could handle, reports have indicated that if you go beyond the speed of zero, you’re pretty much in danger of meeting an accident. Aren’t you glad you’re not forced to drive around in this thing?

Source: Jalopnik

This ’68 Volkswagen Bus gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “killer vehicle.” In case you’re wondering why, this bus happens to be formerly owned by a Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Who’s he? Oh, just some guy who happened to advocate voluntary euthanasia. That pretty much means, you’re free to kill yourself provided, of course, that you’re terminally ill. This practice of his by the way led to his conviction, although he was later paroled.

Anyway, according to the current owner of this vehicle, the Kevorkian Bus (we like the sound of that) needs to be sold ASAP. However, it needs to be sold in a non-driveable condition. Why the owner would want that is beyond us, but if you’re interested in owning a vehicle that was driven by somebody branded as a murderer, here’s the ride for you. Just be prepared to fork up a huge sum and the guts to parade around town in it.

Source: Ride Lust

Half-Beetle, half-bus, totally weird. That’s all we can think about at the sight of this vehicle. Located by the people from Jalopnik at the outskirt of Mexico, you got to wonder what its creator was smoking when he (or she) decided to come up with this vehicle. But despite its confusing look, it probably serves its purpose, whatever it may be.

Source: Jalopnik

If you thought that hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles are today’s hippest trend, think again. This type of ride was made available to us as far back as the 1960’s. Yup, that was the decade when everyone was gearing for a more “futuristic” outlook in life. One of the vehicles that paved the way for this is the 1966 GM Electrovan. Considered a pioneer during its time, this vehicle could give you 120 miles through its fuel cells. So why wasn’t it produced and released nationwide? Well, it just so happened that the fuel cells took too much space. The cells were so huge that it occupied pretty much the entire van, leaving only two seats for the driver and passenger only. Aside from that, the costs to produce a batch of Electrovans were costly, especially since the technology available during that time wasn’t as advanced as today. However, it does tell us that even back then, the idea of using hydrogen fuel cells came to fruition. It’s just too bad that the technology we had wasn’t as good as it is today. Just imagine if it was.

Source: Ride Lust

]]> http://www.rearviewed.com/%e2%80%9966-gm-electrovan-considered-one-of-the-first-hydrogen-powered-ride/feed/ http://www.rearviewed.com/beware-of-bedford%e2%80%99s-little-rascal/ http://www.rearviewed.com/beware-of-bedford%e2%80%99s-little-rascal/#comments Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:23:19 +0000 admin http://www.rearviewed.com/?p=1160

If we owned a car company, the last thing we would want to do is to name one of our vehicles “rascal.” Let’s face it, it worked with Dennis the Menace. But he was a cartoon character who made people’s lives hell. Then again, it does have name recall. Anyway, who was car manufacturer bold enough to use the name “rascal?” That would be Bedford, a brand under the Suzuki, one of Japan’s popular automotive brands.

The Bedford Rascal is a microvan that was first released in 1986 and lasted until 1993. The vehicle was built in Luton, United Kingdom and carried various names throughout its existence. It went under the name Holden Scurry from 1985 to 1986 in Australia, the Vauxhhall Rascal during the 1990s, the Chevrolet Supercarry in Ecuador (courtesy of General Motors), and the Maruti Omni in India. Again, why couldn’t they have used better names is beyond us. Aside from using weird names for, the Bedford Rascal also cam in two body types: a pick-up and a camper version.

But even though it carried a quirky name and look, the Bedford Rascal is no slouch on the road. Under the hood, the microvan is equipped with a 970 cc Suzuki OHC 4 cylinder in-line engine. This allowed the vehicle to produce 44 bhp at 5,300 rpm, and 55 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. As a result, this lil’ Rascal (we just had to use that) is capable of going from 0 to 30 mph in 9.5 seconds. Sure it’s not as fast as a sports car but that’s not bad. Accompanying its 970 cc engine is a 5-speed gearbox. It’s also equipped with brake discs at the front and brake drums at the rear.

Even though it doesn’t look like much and its name doesn’t sound that appealing to the ear, if you need a vehicle that doesn’t take too much space yet has the capabilities of carrying cargo, then the Bedford Rascal is the vehicle for you. It’s utilitarian and guaranteed to get the job done.

Source: Wikipedia