When GM decided to hand 55% of Opel to Magna, you didn't think the Belgians were just going to have some waffles and call it quits, did you? Oh no. Belgium's prime minister made a call to the EU president about the deal, and the EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told a Belgian newspaper, "If something happens against the rules, I will take action."
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This European Honda S2000 roadster has been subjected to a rather controversial-looking widebody conversion that replaces the Japanese design's crisp lines with an amalgam of shapes and ideas. The front end receives headlamps that may or may not have been borrowed from a Mercedes-Benz SLK and the car's entire aesthetic has been radically altered – even the closer-to-stock rear end has a bigger bumper and spoiler.
It isn't clear if this is a one-off job or if it's a kit that we haven't seen before, but our part, we'll stick with Honda's design, thank you very much. However, should you live in Belgium and feel differently, it's up for sale online for 25,000 euros, or about $36k in American greenbacks.
You asked for it, you got it, racing fans. For decades, Formula One has been dominated by a handful of teams. The world titles have been shared between Ferrari, McLaren, Renault (formerly known as Benetton) and Williams since 1984. And the fans complained: Not enough competition. The small teams stand no chance of winning. Bigger budgets mean bigger trophy cases. And so on and so forth. Well this season has certainly shaken things up. Teams that were once relegated to the back of the field have been winning races, while that quartet of formerly elite teams has been scrambling to keep up. But while Jenson Button and Brawn GP's dominance at the start of the season came as a huge, almost entirely unprecedented surprise to everyone inside or outside the world of grand prix racing, nobody could have anticipated what happened this weekend.
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Upsets, upsets and more upsets. The Formula One racing world thought it had put the politics between Ferrari and McLaren to rest, but the controversy between the two front-running teams reared its ugly head once more at this past weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. Follow the jump to read how the weekend's events unfolded, and how the race results were turned on its head once again.The Tifosi were elated to see their reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen recovering from his dry spell until the rain set in. After once again managing to qualify no better than fourth place, Raikkonen moved up to second place on the first lap and proceeded to jump into first place, taking a commanding lead for the lion's share of the race.
When we read the tip from reader Thijs B. telling us that in Belgium, Dodge is planning a Journey launch promo centered around backseat baby-making, we thought it was a big joke. So we started using our Google powers to see what else we could dig up. And guess what? It's legit.
If you go to babymadeonboard.be, you'll be greeted by the screen above, which features a play on those annoying "Baby On Board" window signs that were ubiquitous during the 80s. It's paired with a countdown timer that will zero out on the weekend of June 14, which is when the Dodge Journey officially launches in Belgium. A quick WHOIS lookup on DNS.be reveals that the site's domain name is registered to someone at the Brussels office of Proximity BBDO, a BBDO partner. BBDO is Chrysler's ad agency.
More Googling led us to a Dodge press release posted on a Belgian media portal. The car is being targeted toward men, and its launch slogan roughly translates to "Become a father, stay a man." According to the PR, Dodge suggests that "everyone try out the back seat of the Dodge Journey in a little unorthodox manner." Well, that's one way of getting folks to look past Chrysler's lamentable interiors. People whose "backseat trial" is successful and subsequently produce a newborn child 9 months after the car's launch weekend have a chance to win themselves a new Dodge Journey, and the baby's picture will be posted to the website.
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