Reports of Barack Obama sightings in Burnout Paradise on the XBox 360 have been pouring in. It seems the Presidential hopeful has purchased virtual billboard space from Electronic Arts, the makers of the game. EA has confirmed the ad buy adding that it takes advertising from any credible source for placement in its video games. The ad itself shows Obama next to a message directing voters to voteforchange.com, a site that gives voters information about how to register and where to vote. Too bad Obama has cited video games as an obstacle to a good education as recently as yesterday, and there's no confirmation yet to the rumor that McCain is looking to buy spots on the Monopoly board.
The Corvette ZR1 has some sick, nasty, evil power. Hitting the pedal will propel you to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, and in the hands of a skilled professional, this blue-collar supercar can lap the 'Ring in 7:26:4. There is no question that 638 horsepower and a 3,300-lb curb weight is good for getting you somewhere in a big fat hurry, but in the right hands it can also get you nowhere fast. One particular Development Engineer is the General's number one burnout artist, and we captured video of him creating two 300-foot works of art. We love the rubber-ripping smoke storm and sound of the LS9 at full tilt, but we're not so sure this unsuspecting set of Michelin Pilot Sport 2s shares our excitement.
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Comedian extraordinaire Dave Chappelle theorized on his Comedy Central show that everything looks better in slow motion. We'd be inclined to agree, especially after watching this video of a Ford Mustang doing a burnout. No doubt there are burnout videos with better cars or more smoke, but the slow motion effect combined with a soundtrack from Smashing Pumpkins makes this one of the coolest burnout videos we've ever seen.
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This week the Cadillac communications crew invited a group of media out to General Motors' Milford Proving Ground for a special preview of the new second-generation Cadillac CTS-V. We first saw the CTS-V last January at the Detroit Auto Show and more information has been dribbling in the intervening time period. A few weeks back, GM's resident speed demon engineer John Heinricy took a production spec CTS-V to an all-time lap record of 7:59.32 for a production sedan at the Nürburgring, and this week Cadillac revealed the official SAE certified power numbers for the super-Caddie at 556 horsepower and 551 pound-feet of torque.
When we got to Milford our handlers took us out to a tent by the Lutz-ring test track where we found three CTS-Vs and various displays of the hardware contained within. Heinricy was on hand as well to tell the tale of the "fast lap" last month. For those who may not have been paying sufficient attention over the past 6 months, the CTS-V is GM's answer to all those German uber-sedans like the Mercedes E63 AMG, Audi RS4 and RS6 and, of course, the one that started the madness, the BMW M5. Read on after the jump to learn more about what makes this Caddie so special and what it was like to go for a ride.
Sometimes you have reasons to explain things, sometimes you have excuses. And sometimes you simply have the word: "art." Why did Canadian Steven Laurie create the posi-track burnout machine? Because it's art. Somehow. What is it? It's a contraption with a small engine atop an axle, all of which is restrained by a "driver." The engine revs and the wheels spin, but with the driver holding things back, they don't go far and they leave long trails of rubber.
But this isn't dragstrip heaven. As you might imagine, with human power in charge of the proceedings, this isn't a 400-hp affair -- it goes pretty slowly, in other words. The track you see in the picture above took a few minutes to make. Nevertheless, it is something. If slow motion burnouts aren't your thing, you can check out his donut machine, boom tube, or his chainsaw with a tailpipe. Oh, Canada, indeed.
Ahh, YouTube: the equivalent of morning cartoons for us grown-ups, only now we drink coffee with our Fruity Pebbles. The post title pretty much sums this up. As more people get their hands on SRT8 Dodge Challengers, more videos of wanton tire massacre will surface. Today's round comes via MyRide, which set about tagging the tarmac at Willow Springs with a silver example. When the Camaro finally comes out, we expect to see approximately one bajillion videos exactly like this, with at least half sporting the inevitable Dead Milkmen soundtrack.
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Chrysler has released some video of the Challenger zooming around on some desert tarmac. We think that this video is from the same shoot that produced the teaser pics we all salivated over before the Challenger was officially unveiled. With that, on to the video, after the jump. Hit the gallery for more stills, while you're at it.
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And by "in a U-Haul," we mean it in the most literal sense. This is what happens at the end of a move when enterprising lads look for something to do with their now-empty truck. Enter one Mazda Miata that fits nicely inside the box hauler and Internet gold is born.
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