Autoblog

eBay Find of the Day: Teutel Senior's Camaro-based 2011 Pontiac Trans Am Hurst Edition

Aaron Richardson — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:55:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Classics, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Chevrolet, Celebrities

Looks like American Chopper star Paul Teutel, Sr. has decided his 2011 Pontiac Trans Am Hurst Edition is getting boring. His reworked 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS, Smokey and the Bandit-style rebody and paint scheme was put up for auction on eBay Motors this week.

There are changes beneath that bodywork as well. For starters, the LS3 V8 is supplemented by a big centrifugal blower. Inside, a chrome Hurst shifter and gold-and-black interior further cement the theme of mustachioed 1970s badassery.

While we found the $125,000 "Buy It Now" price a bit galling, either someone else didn't and has already snapped up the faux Pontiac, or the seller has pulled the sale for one reason or another. We'll be sure to keep an eye out for a relisting, but that shouldn't stop you from stealing a few looks at Teutel's made-up musclecar in our gallery

eBay Find of the Day: Teutel Senior's Camaro-based 2011 Pontiac Trans Am Hurst Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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American Chopper takes on Art and Science with Cadillac CTS-V build [w/poll]

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:56:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Cadillac, Motorcycle, Celebrities, Design/Style

American Chopper Cadillac CTS-V motorcycles - Click above for high-res image gallery

Paul One and Paul Two each took a shot at marrying Cadillac's edgy and modern Art and Science design philosophy for a recent series of episodes from the long-running American Chopper television program. While it's generally accepted by motorcycle fans that the show is really all about the drama and hysterics of the extremely dysfunctional Teutul family, the automotive connection in this build piqued our auto-obsessive interest enough to check in with the custom bike creating family.

In case you're behind in your American Chopper history, the Senior and Junior Pauls are no longer working together at Orange County Choppers. Paul Jr. is running his own shop and design firm (the imaginatively named Paul Junior Designs) and has been pitted against his own father in the last few seasons of the hit reality television show. So, as you might have figured, the father and son each designed and built (with the help of their respective crews, of course) their own takes on the Cadillac CTS-V.

Both builders went long and low with an emphasis on looking fast, and both painted their machines metallic black with plenty of chrome accents. But the details of each bike are unique, with the elder Teutul pushing the power angle with a monstrous V-twin engine and an extra shot of ponies courtesy of a hidden shot of nitrous. Paul the Younger differed in his approach by injecting as much of the actual CTS-V into his two-wheeled machine as possible.

Push come to shove, we think Junior's design more accurately depicts the Cadillac design theme. In any case, neither motorcycle would be all that useful as actual transportation devices, and neither is likely to be ridden more than a few feet in any direction for loading, unloading and general "See, it does work!" showing off.

In any real competition, there must be a winner and a loser. Discovery Channel, Cadillac and the two Teutuls have teamed up to pit these two motorcycles up against one another to raise money for the Cure Duchenne charity. Judging from the total number of fans, views and current top bid, it appears Junior's design holds the edge in the eyes of the public. Bidding on the two bikes will continue until July 31, 2011 at 5:59 PM EST.

Feel free to browse both bikes in our photo galleries, then pick your own winner in our included poll.

View Poll

American Chopper takes on Art and Science with Cadillac CTS-V build [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Orange County Choppers facing foreclosure?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings/Financials, Motorcycle, Celebrities

Drama. It's what the television show American Chopper has always been built upon, much more so than any of its so-called 'theme bikes.' And drama is exactly what's been unfolding over the last few years as both Orange County Choppers and its hit TV show have undergone a number of important changes... not the least of which is the disintegration of family relations between the show's three stars, Paul Teutul Sr., Paul Jr. and Mikey, leading to two rival custom motorcycle shops.

The latest bit of tension is reportedly between Paul Sr. and GE Capital, the bank though which the company's massive corporate headquarters in New York is financed. According to reports, the elder Teutul has missed two large payments on the building, one for $96,400 and another for $14,000, not because he or the company doesn't have the funds, but due to a disagreement in the current valuation of the building.

As anyone who's had the displeasure of dealing with such ramifications of the recently collapsing values of real estate here in the United States can tell you, OCC's HQ likely is worth less now than when it was built, but that doesn't mean payments on the loan (in this case, there are two loans, one for $11.5 million and another for $1.5 million) can be stopped.

Not surprisingly, GE Capital reportedly filed a foreclosure action against Orange County Choppers late in 2010.

[Source: Times Herald-Record via Asphalt & Rubber | Image: BigJimInDC - C.C. 2.0]

Orange County Choppers facing foreclosure? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Resume Chopping: TLC bringing back American Chopper, pitting family as foes

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Motorcycle, Celebrities

TLC, which in this case rather ironically stands for The Learning Channel, will once again be teaching us all what's it's like to live in a truly dysfunctional family. No, we're not talking about Jon and Kate, we're talking choppers. American Chopper, that is.

Unlike before, when the reality television series focused on the lives of one family and its quest to assemble raked-out custom motorcycles, it will now focus on, um, two families... sorta. Both of them will still have the same last name, but anyone who watched the show over the last season or so knows that the two Paul Teutuls don't get along in any shape or form.

As such, the show will reportedly follow both father and son as they build motorcycles in different shops, one of which we assume will be Senior's Orange County Choppers. The other will presumably be Paul Jr. Designs. Sounds to us like a giant case of Teutul overload, but what do we know? Thanks for the tip, Quest!

[Source: The New York Post]

Resume Chopping: TLC bringing back American Chopper, pitting family as foes originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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End of the Road: American Chopper chopped, fat lady sings

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Motorcycle, Celebrities

It's been a long time coming, but celebrity gossip site TMZ reports that American Chopper has finally been canceled. A spokesperson for TLC, which picked the show up after its first few years on The Discovery Channel, said, "The Teutuls will always be a part of the Discovery family and we congratulate them on a tremendously successful series run." The final episode will air February 11 at 9:00 PM.

It wasn't tough to see this one coming from a mile away. The hit show has seemingly been just a shell of its former self since two of the original Teutul trio have stopped speaking to their father and disappeared completely from the Orange County Choppers shop.

Recall also that Paul Teutul filed a lawsuit against Paul Teutul Jr. for over a million dollars a couple of months ago and it's easy to see that things have been going south for quite some time. Finally, now that the crew has built customs that run on everything from gasoline to ethanol, diesel, compressed natural gas, electricity and even a hybrid, there just don't seem to be any more alternative fuels left to conquer.

[Source: TMZ]

End of the Road: American Chopper chopped, fat lady sings originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Family Feud: American Chopper's Paul Teutel Sr. reportedly sues Paul Jr. for over $1 million

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:32:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Earnings/Financials, Motorcycle

Drama, drama, drama. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking American Chopper is all about the motorcycles. In reality, the television show has always been about an amazingly dysfunctional family, and in particular the father/son relationship of its two main characters: Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr.

Truth be told, we're not big fans of the show. Don't get us wrong, we love motorcycles, but as we said, this series has never really focused on building motorcycles (plus we prefer to ride bikes designed to be, um... ridden). That's never been more true than right now, as anyone who happens to catch an episode from the last two seasons can tell you that Sr. currently has no contact at all with any of his children, including Jr. and Mikey.

Those on-air disagreements have reportedly culminated in a lawsuit filed by Paul Teutul Sr. in the Supreme Court of New York. The elder Teutul is seeking to buy his son's shares in Orange County Choppers Holdings, Inc., along with over $1 million in damages. Kinda makes all that talk in previous seasons of not letting anything get in the way of family seem a bit disingenuous, no?

[Source: TMZ | Image: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images]

Family Feud: American Chopper's Paul Teutel Sr. reportedly sues Paul Jr. for over $1 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Completing the Green Circle: Orange County Choppers to build hybrid motorcycle

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:59:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Motorcycle, Celebrities

Following custom motorcycles that run on ethanol, compressed natural gas and electricity, Orange County Choppers has signed a deal with Schneider Electric to produce the Toyota Prius of choppers. That's right, OCC is completing the eco-friendly circle by going hybrid. The stated goal is to build a motorcycle "capable of traveling farther, without refueling or recharging, than any other OCC bike in history," said Paul Teutul, Sr. in a statement. We can't imagine that would be all that difficult, but whatever.

Schneider Electric, which acquired the popular uninterruptible power supply maker American Power Conversion (APC) in 2007, will provide the technical know-how and componentry to make all the assorted hybrid bits function properly. We can't really be sure until the bike is unveiled, but it sounds like this motorcycle will sport a parallel hybrid powertrain similar in principle to that of the popular Prius hatchback.

Expect the bike to make its television debut sometime in 2010 on a future episode of American Chopper. Sometime before the end of 2009, selected Schneider Electric contractor partners will get sneak peeks at the hybrid chopper and eight of them will get their very own OCC production motorcycles. Click past the break for a short video that doesn't actually show the bike along with the official press release.

[Source: Schneider Electric]

Continue reading Completing the Green Circle: Orange County Choppers to build hybrid motorcycle

Completing the Green Circle: Orange County Choppers to build hybrid motorcycle originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First automated motorcycle wash opens in U.S.

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:02:00 EST

Filed under: Lifestyle, Motorcycle

Regular watchers of American Chopper on TLC have seen this one before, but it's probably a new concept for the rest of the class. A new automated motorcycle wash has recently opened in the United States -- the first of its kind. Simply ride up, lock your front tire into the custom mount and walk away. A few minutes later, after a barrage of high-pressure water, soap and a massive blow dryer have done their things, your bike is now clean and ready to ride off into the sunset. For owners of relatively new bikes, this process will probably work out just fine. If we were riding an older bike with suspect electrics (Triumph owners, we're looking at you... jealously), perhaps the good ole' fashioned rag and bucket would be a better option. The system debuted in Indianapolis just in time for the recent MotoGP race held in the city. We've pasted the press release after the break.

[Source: Moto Express Wash via Next Autos]

Continue reading First automated motorcycle wash opens in U.S.

First automated motorcycle wash opens in U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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