Autoblog

R/C Lego A-Team van is triple-geek cool

Zach Bowman — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:14:00 EST

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Videos, Toys/Games

By now, you've probably gathered we have a soft spot for clever Lego creations. And, if you've been paying attention, you likely know we love remote-controlled gadgets more than some of our own relatives, so combining the two is a surefire way to grab our attention. Throw in a little homage to tacky television, and we're all yours. Such is the case with this wicked R/C Lego A-Team van. Capable of tackling tricky slaloms and bringing plans together, the little van is one Mr. T away from pitying a fool.

Unlike the R/C Lego Tumbler we saw not too long ago, this A-Team van seems more than capable of holding together long enough to have some fun. You can check out a video of the van whipping around the builder's living room below. Be sure to watch the video below all the way through the end to put an eyeball on the steering and propulsion systems. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have reruns to watch.

R/C Lego A-Team van is triple-geek cool originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Find of the Day: "Authentic" A-Team van replica commissioned by Mike Myers

Jeff Sabatini — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Minivan/Van, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Celebrities

We pity the fool who don't think this is cool. Put aside the celebrity provenance of this "authentic replica," allegedly "certified" by George Barris, for now and just take a look at the thing. It appears to be a spot-on knock-off of B.A. Baracus' bad attitude van, the perfect midlife-crisis toy for anyone who grew up watching The A-Team. Imagine how cool it would be to drop the kids off at school in this?

Okay, the traffic snarl during drop-off time won't clear out any faster, but when it comes to "manly vans," you can't top this custom 1983 Chevrolet G10. Wait, what's that you say? B.A. drove a GMC? Of course he did. But this is a replica, and one that seems to have been built from a nearly identical Chevy donor.

The seller claims the van was built for none other than Mike Myers, he of Wayne's World and Austin Powers fame. We'd like to see some documentation of this celebrity provenance, though it's not the sort of thing that we'd see too much value in, regardless. We're also curious about the last line of the sale ad: "Movie coming out in June!" It was back in June 2010 that the A-Team feature film debuted, which makes us think the seller might be willing to deal on his $20,000 price.

Find of the Day: "Authentic" A-Team van replica commissioned by Mike Myers originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Would it have been cooler as a van?

Jeff Glucker — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Etc.

Cars have earned hero status in a wide variety of TV and film roles through the years. It's rare, however, that the main ride is a van (notable exceptions include B.A.'s van in the A-Team and the Scooby-Doo kids' Mystery Machine.) Artist Brandon Ortwein prefers to imagine a different entertainment history as he asks the important question, "Would it have been cooler as a van?"

Ortwein answers that question through his artwork at his website and online store, Cooler as a Van, where you can buy prints of some of entertainment's most famous cars, only re-imagined as vans! Everything ranging from the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, to Thomas the Tank Engine, to Doc's DeLorean, and even Pee-Wee's bike undergo the transformation.

Head on over to Brandon Ortwein's store for a closer look at his vision of a van-filled world. We're particularly fond of the Gran Van Torino.

[Source: Cooler as a Van]

Would it have been cooler as a van? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

New York 2010: Hero cars invade Gotham

Frank Filipponio — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:39:00 EST

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Etc., Celebrities, Specialty

The A-Team van shines in New York - Click above for high-res image gallery

Are these the ultimate performance cars? Maybe not in 0-60 or quarter mile times - although we wouldn't count a few of them out at the dragstrip - but in terms of actually being performers. Some of the random cars and trucks we found at this year's New York Auto Show are perhaps just as famous as their on-screen co-stars of the human variety.

While the A-Team van parked right smack dab in the middle of the entryway was an easy target, we delved a little deeper and found a Mach 5, K.I.T.T., Batmobile, Monkeemobile, and Grandpa Munster's Dragula sitting in a booth in the lower level of the Javits Center. Oh, and your eyes aren't deceiving you...that is the VW Beetle from Uncle Buck that was on eBay last year...just in time for Easter. After the star car turnout at Chicago, this was a nice encore.

Gallery: Star cars of the 2010 New York Auto Show

New York 2010: Hero cars invade Gotham originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Introducing the first-ever Autoblog Weekender

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:31:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Chrysler, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Nissan, Saab, Smart

Introducing the Autoblog Weekender - Click above to find out what you missed

We cover a lot of automotive ground here at Autoblog every week, but even with our obsessive watch on the industry, things still get away from us. So we hereby present the Autoblog Weekender, a place where we might be able to leave no story unturned.

This week Hannibal and Face stop by along with some freaky hip dude called Reggie White, the Tucker Torpedo Convertible controversy is not over, the Nissan GT-R challenger for the FIA GT1 series takes a bow in high-res photos, as does Heffner's R8 Twin Turbo, somebody puts wood paneling on a Smart Fortwo, and who knew Bentleys could tow in reverse?

And that's not even the half of it. Follow the jump for the week's leftovers, and let us know what you think of the first Weekender in Comments.

Continue reading Introducing the first-ever Autoblog Weekender

Introducing the first-ever Autoblog Weekender originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

First shot of A-Team cast released, GMC van included [w/VIDEO]

Chris Shunk — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Videos, GM, GMC, Celebrities

Click above to watch the video after the jump

The A-Team was a pop culture phenomenon of the Eighties on par with Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazard. And since Hannibal, B.A., Face and Murdoch hold a special place in the hearts and minds of Gen-Xers, it was only a matter of time before the super-fake action show hit the silver screen. After all, we already saw (unfortunately) the Dukes remake, and our own Alex Nunez liveblogged the sucktastic time waster that was the new (now canceled) Knight Rider series on NBC. All three shows have one thing in common; a bad ass vehicle that serves a different purpose in each show. B.A.'s GMC G-Series, with its red stripe and red turbine mag wheels was the command center for our favorite wrongly sought soldiers of fortune.

The A-Team hits theaters on June 11, 2010 and at the very least, the actors chosen are better than we expected. B.A Baracus will be played by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and the one and only Liam Neeson will play Hannibal. Bradley Cooper from The Hangover checks in as Face and Sharlto Copely will be the wacky pilot Murdoch. If that isn't enough star power for you, the beautiful Jessica Biel will play the part of Carissa Sosa. Naturally, the iconic GMC van is making a triumphant return to the A-Team, though we're guessing General Motors isn't going to stand for blacking out the GMC lettering from the van's grille like the show's creators did after season one.

We'd love it if this plan came together, though we admit that we're not hopeful. These "turn a TV show into a movie" deals seldom work out the way our inner children hope for. Hit the jump to watch interviews with some of the movie's stars.

[Source: ETOnline via Auto-Focus]

Continue reading First shot of A-Team cast released, GMC van included [w/VIDEO]

First shot of A-Team cast released, GMC van included [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

A-Team movie in the works, fool

John Neff — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:41:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

A post on Jalopnik about a new A-Team movie led us to our sister-site Cinematical, where we found a treasure trove of info on the upcoming gift to cinema. First, the movie's existence has been confirmed by its director John Singleton, who you may recall directed a little movie called Boyz n the Hood. He also directed 2 Fast 2 Furious, so don't get your hopes up just yet. Second, the working script had already been posted online, but unfortunately the studio had it removed. Nevertheless, some details have emerged. In the script, the character of B.A. ~~Baracas~~ Barracus that was originally played by Mr. T in the TV series is described as "22-year-old walking steel with two-percent body fat." Damn. Variety reports that Ice Cube has been rumored as a possibility, but the script would call for Mr. Cube to get some serious liposuction before filming starts. No word on how far casting's progressed for the other characters, but sound off in the comments about which actors you think would fit.

The plot itself, unfortunately, sounds as if it will rival the Knight Rider two-hour television event in February as the most shallow and contrived of the year, with the entire A-Team being cast as Iraq War vets who've been wrongly framed by the government for a crime they didn't commit.

All that said, what's this got to do with cars? Well, the A-Team van is an iconic automobile right up there with KITT, the General Lee, and Lee Major's two-tone beige truck in The Fall Guy (maybe that last one's just me). Will a modern full-size van play the part, or will the movie stay true to its root and use an exact recreation of the 1983 G-series used in the show? There's one already available to do weddings, we here.

[Source: Cinematical, Variety via Jalopnik]

A-Team movie in the works, fool originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fifth Gear host injured while drifting A-Team van

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:31:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

Is it just us, or are more high profile folks having more high speed encounters with large, high density objects? Next up in the queue is Tom Ford, presenter for Fifth Gear, who crashed while drifting a van. And not just any van, but a van painted like the A-Team van, home to Hannibal, Murdock, Face, and Monsieur T.

But it wasn't the van above, which is a GMC G-Series model like the one on the show. No, it was more like the one to the right, which is someone else's Bedford Rascal van painted to look like the A-Team chariot. The Bedford normally comes with a 4-cylinder Suzuki engine, is 10 feet long, and takes ten seconds to get to 30 MPH. That's right, 30 MPH.

During his drifting maneuver, Ford put the van on two wheels and then plowed into a safety barrier. Due to a hefty amount of safety gear in the van and on his body, his only major injuries appear to be three broken toes. Crash footage will air during the next season of the show.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Fifth Gear host injured while drifting A-Team van originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments