Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[VIDEO: Finnish Him: Nordic authorities' harpoon chase-ender amazingly never approved]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/27/video-finnish-him-nordic-authorities-harpoon-chase-ender-amaz/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/27/video-finnish-him-nordic-authorities-harpoon-chase-ender-amaz/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/27/video-finnish-him-nordic-authorities-harpoon-chase-ender-amaz/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Finnish police car chase harpoon -- Click above to watch video

The place is Finland. The car is a Mercedes 300 wagon. The place is Finland. The protrusion, like the figurehead adorning Ahab's Pequod, is a harpoon. Instead of catching whales, however, this harpoon was reportedly to be used to catch cars leading police on high-speed chases.

We won't even spoil it for you by telling you if or how it worked, or tell you about the extra prize for miscreants hidden inside the harpoon. Follow the jump to check it out. And then, even though the lance was apparently never adopted, we remind you: Don't get any funny ideas in Finland.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Finnish Him: Nordic authorities' harpoon chase-ender amazingly never approved

VIDEO: Finnish Him: Nordic authorities' harpoon chase-ender amazingly never approved originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click above for a walk-through of how the SQUID works

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate has been working with a research firm in Arizona that has come up with the Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device (SQUID). The SQUID is designed to safely, non-lethally stop drivers trying to elude the police.

Here's how it works. The SQUID disc is placed in the middle of the road, and a remote operator triggers a two-stage explosion when the getaway car gets close to it. The first explosion sends barbed straps flying out away from the disc, which get hooked on the wheels and undercarriage when the car drives over them. The second explosion occurs when the SQUID detects engine heat directly overhead and sends a burst of "sticky tendrils" that cling the straps to the axles and driveshaft. Within 500 feet, the axles can't turn any more and the car skids to a halt.

The key now is to make it lighter, stronger and cheaper. Last year the SQUID stopped a Dodge Ram pickup traveling at 35 mph, but authorities want to be sure it will stop an F-150 at 120 mph before they'll seriously consider using it. We aren't sure that an F-150 doing a four-wheel skid at 120 mph is the safest way to bring someone in, but it is probably better than bullets. The scientists are working on that this year, and if they get it done it could give the word "dragnet" a whole new meaning.

Check out a walk-through of how the SQUID works by clicking through the gallery below.

Gallery: Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device (SQUID)


[Source: DHS via Physorg]

New police pursuit-ending device inspired by Spiderman, squid originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click above to see Top Gear Australia's three best movie car chase scenes after the jump

Top Gear Australia put together a shortlist of what it considers the three best movie car chase scenes ever: Ronin, Gone in 60 Seconds, and The Matrix Reloaded. Out of those three entrants, we'd probably give Ronin the nod as well, even though DeNiro looks scared and/or sick through most of it, which might be explained by the fact that he's meant to chase down a BMW M5 in a Peugeot 406. Gone in 60 Seconds isn't bad, but the Eleanor and Angelina Jolie are cooler than the actual chase. The Matrix Reloaded is, as far as we're concerned, undeniably cool, but more for the special effects than the lane changing. We wouldn't mind knowing what happened to some of the other choices, classics like Bullitt or The Italian Job or The French Connection to start. And speaking of the French, even though it has only one car that you never saw, our money is still on Claude Lelouche's film Rendezvous for the best car "chase" ever. Follow the jump to check out Top Gear's picks and tell us your own in the comments.

[Source: Top Gear]

Continue reading VIDEO: Top Gear Australia picks top three movie chase scenes

VIDEO: Top Gear Australia picks top three movie chase scenes originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whatever you do,kids, do not steal a donut truck and try to drive that bad boy through Tama County, Iowa. They will make it positively rain police on you. Frank Alvarado found this out the hard way when he stole a donut van from a Donut Delite driver on his rounds, and ended up on a five-and-a-half-hour run from the law.

Alvarado stole the van from Rock Island Hospital in Illinois, and then took off into Iowa, getting to Tama County before he was spotted. Before he could say "Sprinkles!", the donut thief was being pursued by five Tama County sheriff's deputies, plus four more officers from three other police agencies. And get this: one of those other officers came in his personal vehicle. As we said, you don' t mess with the donuts in Tama County. Their reward for catching this criminal: all the donuts in the van.

Actually, we really want to get Mr. Alvarado's side of the story in this, because who steals a donut (!) truck and then hauls tail hundreds of miles west? Sounds like a Cannonball Run... or something... But we feel like Franky "The Donuts" Alvarado is the key to a story even better than this one. Thanks for the tip, Alberto!

[Source: WCF Courier]

Stolen donut van chased by cops, LOTS of cops originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>car chasecar chasesCarChaseCarChasesdonutspolicepolice chasepolice chasesPoliceChasePoliceChasesstolen vehiclesStolenVehiclesWed, 26 Mar 2008 16:22:00 EST<![CDATA[Back to the Future, Bullitt added to National Film Registry]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/29/back-to-the-future-bullitt-added-to-national-film-registry/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/29/back-to-the-future-bullitt-added-to-national-film-registry/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/29/back-to-the-future-bullitt-added-to-national-film-registry/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Judging from how a generation of thirty-somethings have images of a flying, fusion-powered DeLorean imprinted in their DNA, we'd say that Back To The Future has left its mark. Likewise, Highland Green '68 Mustang fastbacks only look appropriate wearing American Racing Torq-Thrust Ds and flying through the air. Bullitt might not have quite as broad an influence since it wasn't a comedy, but it's touched at least two generations of car nuts and sparked two commemorative edition cars. Because of the cultural significance of these films, they've been named to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for preservation in perpetuity.

BTTF and Bullitt are but two of a total of 25 great films that the National Film Preservation Board and the Librarian of Congress have chosen as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." The list this year includes greats from a variety of genres, though it's still a little strange to think of Marty McFly's character being as deep as Humphrey Bogart's lead in fellow nominee "In a Lonely Place." Bullitt's 11-minute car chase was certainly the most talked about aspect of the film, but the tense cop drama was also well acted and has a superb score. Back To The Future's special effects really pushed the envelope, while the underlying story proved portable through two sequels sharing the same basic plot. It's quite a gift to car guys and children of the '80s who've wanted to have a badass green Mustang and a sleek (if not fast) DeLorean parked next to each other in the garage to see these two films topping the list, but the 23 other films named to the register are just as worthwhile. Our Saturday nights will be wrapped up for a while working through the movies named. We'll start with Bullitt, though.

[Source: Library of Congress]

Continue reading Back to the Future, Bullitt added to National Film Registry

Back to the Future, Bullitt added to National Film Registry originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>back to the futureBackToTheFuturebullittcar chaseCarChasedeloreanfilmhonorlibrary of congressLibraryOfCongressmoviesnational film registerNationalFilmRegistersignificantSat, 29 Dec 2007 15:39:00 EST<![CDATA[<em>The Bourne Ultimatum</em>: Product placement done right]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/12/em-the-bourne-ultimatum-em-product-placement-done-right/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/12/em-the-bourne-ultimatum-em-product-placement-done-right/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/12/em-the-bourne-ultimatum-em-product-placement-done-right/#commentsFiled under: , ,



We were well aware of Volkswagen's placement in The Bourne Ultimatum thanks to press releases out of Wolfsburg that prepared us for an epic car chase involving a Touareg 2. When an automaker brags about its product placement, we usually start worrying that the movie will be overrun with subliminal adverts. For instance, before Michael Bay went shopping for actors at General Motors, there was the all-GM highway scene in Matrix Reloaded. The heavy-handedness of such product placement that GM seems to favor can instantly take a moviegoer out of the moment, so we were justifiably nervous to see the VW Touareg 2 make its big screen debut.

I've just returned from seeing The Bourne Ultimatum and can report that Volkswagen's product placement was very understated and tastefully done. The climactic car chase involving the Touareg 2 was incredible to watch (and sounded even better), but the fact you're watching a VW is hardly noticed since a fender bender early on completely rips off the Touareg's grille, taking the VW emblem with it. Likewise, Jason Bourne's world isn't populated entirely by late model VW, Audi and Lamborgini vehicles. A last-gen Lincoln Navigator figures prominently, as does a Chevy Impala cop car and many older Chrysler 300Ms.

There were two other vehicles in the movie that VW no doubt paid to have placed. One is a European spec Golf GT Sport briefly driven by Julia Stiles' character, and the other a previous-gen Audi A6. Both are onscreen for a short time only, and the fact the A6 is not the current generation model makes its placement even less noticeable.

While most marketers can't argue with the effectiveness of GM's overwhelming product placement in Transformers, regardless of how it negatively affected the viewing experience, we felt VW deserved an extra mention for its welcomed restraint in The Bourne Ultimatum.

The Bourne Ultimatum: Product placement done right originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 12 Aug 2007 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Those crazy folks in the Windy City... they shot not one Oldsmobile Cutlass off the top floor of the Marina Towers' parking deck into the Chicago River, but two. The staged accident was really part of a recreation of the famous scene from Steve McQueen's "The Hunter," remade by marketing agency Leo Burnett for Allstate Insurance. Leo Burnett engaged Phil Joanou ("The Gridiron Gang," U2 music videos) to direct the action-packed ads that are reminiscent of feature films. The results are spots based on scenes from movies like "The Hunter" and "The French Connection."

The high-speed chase orchestrated for the commercial "began under the 'L' tracks along Lake Street, curled around Wacker Drive, up Dearborn, into Marina Towers and up the circular driveway to the parking garage," according to the Chicago Tribune.

The commercials will begin showing on TV and in movie theaters in January.

Chicagoans launch a pair of Oldsmobiles from 18 stories into river originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Oct 2006 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>all stateAllStatebuick cutlassBuickCutlasscar chaseCarChasechicagohigh speed chaseHighSpeedChasemarina towersMarinaTowersPhil JoanouPhilJoanouThe hunterTheHunterWed, 18 Oct 2006 15:25:00 EST