Autoblog

Carlton Draught beer ad recreates classic 70s car chase... without cars

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Australia, Humor

Australian bank robbers apparently know two things: where to go to steal Aussie dollars in Los Angeles, and that you don't leave the bar without your Carlton Draught. It seems that what they don't know is which bars are crawling with police. This presents a challenge when, after the heist, they suddenly realize they're trying a enjoy a few pints with an entire precinct's worth of cops.

So the robbers in a commercial for Carlton Draught take off - with their beers. The cops, equally reluctant to give chase sans brewskies, take off after them. And since everyone knows you don't drink and drive, what follows is the classic post-heist car chase... with a twist. You can check out the "Beer Chase" commercial below.

Continue reading Carlton Draught beer ad recreates classic 70s car chase... without cars

Carlton Draught beer ad recreates classic 70s car chase... without cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Brewery-heavy Wisconsin not exactly eager to punish drunk drivers

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

We all know by now that no matter what the law dictates, those with an interest not in-line with the law will do what they can to work, shall we say, around the law. Wisconsin is said to have one of the highest rates of DUIs and binge drinking, and that probably has something to do with the state's beer culture. Kids under the age of 21 can drink in public if they're with a parent or legal guardian, and when you get your first DUI - at any age - it's treated as a traffic violation, not a criminal act.

Why is that allowed to continue? The theory goes something like this: State legislators are the same kinds of hard drinkers as the general populace and they don't want to get worked over for DUIs. Said a University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin professor, "There is a live hard, play hard, cut corners, get away with anything you can culture in the Legislature. Driving drunk is just part of a larger political culture of getting away with anything you can."

Case in point: State rep Jef Wood has been busted three times in less than a year, and plans to defend himself in part by establishing the well populated history of assemblymen caught drunk behind the wheel. That makes it sound like things aren't going to change any time soon. And makes us think there's a little bit more going on in those flyover states than one would imagine...

[Source: The Associated Press]

Report: Brewery-heavy Wisconsin not exactly eager to punish drunk drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Australian racing fans limited to just 24 beers per day

Jonny Lieberman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Australia

Bathurst 1000 fan enjoying a coldie during The Great Race

You know what's not aces? When you're just trying to drink a little amber fluid and watch the Bathurst 1000 and the man treats you like a total bogan. What business is it of his how many coldies you drink when it's time to hit the turps? This makes us so mad we could eat a trough lolly! No doubt a pommy bastard thunk this 'un up...

And that marks the end of our silly attempt to sound Australian. However, it does not end our amusement over the fact that Australian officials have set a 24-beer per day limit on fans attending the Bathurst 1000. As in, you are allowed to drink 24 beers, but not 25. Cause you know, there's a huge difference. Why are they enacting this draconian alcohol policy? To cut down on booze-related crime of course.

If you don't know, the Bathurst 1000 is known in the Land Down Under as "The Great Race." Only V8 Supercars are allowed to compete. These days in Australia V8 Supercars consist of either the Holden Commodore or the Ford Falcon. That's it. Thousands of blokes and sheilas turn up in the town of Bathurst to watch the cars run, and turns out they like drinking.

Says police assistant commissioner Alan Clarke, "This is one of the greatest motorsport events in Australia and for some it is a pilgrimage that they make every year... Every year thousands of race fans attend and enjoy the event and Police will not allow their safety to be compromised by a drunken few." So there you have it. Drink your 24 beers, keep your nose clean and you shouldn't have any trouble. Oh, if you drink low- or medium-strength beer, the cops will let you have up to 36. Sweet! Hat tip to Bumbeck.

[Source: Reuters | Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty]

REPORT: Australian racing fans limited to just 24 beers per day originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Under The Influence: Pop Top Can Cars are tin cans on wheels

Chris Tutor — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:27:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Volkswagen, Humor

Stroh's Pop Top Can Cars - Click above for high-res image gallery

Driving with a beer in hand is just bad form. But driving a beer? Well, that's just cantastic!

Our colleagues at Hemmings Auto Blogs turned up a keg's worth of photos and information about these Beetle-based beermobiles from the 1980s. A Florida company called Automotive Innovations owned by Ron Wharton created the cars for the Stroh Brewery Company for promotional use, with one leading a daily parade at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tenn.

The builder was granted an exemption from federal safety standards and were limited to building only 300 of the fiberglass-bodied cars a year. Each one was given a new title as a Pop Top Can Car.

Check out our gallery below, then click on over to Hemmings for many more photos of the cars, including orange-juice, motor oil and Mountain Dew themed models.

Gallery: Stroh's Pop Top Can Cars

[Source: Hemmings Auto Blogs]

Under The Influence: Pop Top Can Cars are tin cans on wheels originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MADD angry at Flying Fish brewery for naming beers after NJ freeway exits?

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Lifestyle

It is acceptable to name your alcoholic beverage after a moving vehicle so long as a car isn't the vehicle in question; e.g. Night Train Express wine and Warbird beer (How about Thunderbird? - Ed). In fact, it's frowned upon to give alcohol a name that can even be associated with cars. New Jersey craft brewer Flying Fish has attracted the attention of MADD, the NJ Turnpike Authority (NJTA), and the press for breaking the taboo with its line of beers named after exits on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The Exit 4 American Trippel was the first in the "big beer" series -- they come in 750-ml bottles -- part of "a multi-year brewing experiment to brew a series of beers as diverse as the great state of New Jersey." Exit 11, a Hoppy American Wheat Ale, will be coming later this month and is "a tribute to Woodbridge's exit, where the Turnpike meets the Garden State Parkway." Which must taste delicious...

MADD feels that "The combination of a roadway and advertising for any kind of a beer doesn't make any kind of sense." The NJTA wants to make sure no one thinks it's turned into a brewer. To address both issues each bottle of flying fish includes a disclaimer, "The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has no affiliation with the Exit Series. Both the Turnpike Authority and Flying Fish agree that you should never drink and drive." That hasn't quite quelled the controversy, but it does tell people two things they should already know.

[Source: Boston.com]

MADD angry at Flying Fish brewery for naming beers after NJ freeway exits? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Drink beer the green way: From an old windshield

Chris Tutor — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:45:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Green

Now that it's all hip to be green, you may look at your hybrid car with its properly inflated tires and Love Earth bummer sticker and think "what else can I do to help the environment?" Turns out the answer is to drink beer out of recycled windshields turned into pint glasses. These glasses from Uncommon Goods are handmade in Colombia from old car windshields. The green tint that once protected your eyes from glare now protects your beer from harmful rays.

Not a beer drinker? They also sell recycled windshield wine glasses. And of course, you'll want to protect your sustainable-wood coffee table with drink coasters made from recycled road signs. Then you can sit back and relax in your one-of-a-kind Speed Chair made from recycled speed limit signs.

[Source: Uncommon Goods]

Drink beer the green way: From an old windshield originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 May 2008 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What to do with those empties - Mustang made from beer cans

Dan Roth — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:02:00 EST

Filed under: Contests, Etc., Europe, Ford

We'll avoid the trite jokes about Jack Kirby's Mustang sculpture being a "nice car, bud." Ouch. There, it slipped out anyway. Now we can just move on. Rather than just stack up the red, white, and blue swill cans to the ceiling, as would most college students, the art and design scholar built a car instead. Kirby's chef d'oeuvre came to be when Budweiser rolled out its UK-only "Budbucks" promotion this summer - grand prize, a 1965 Mustang, Jack's favorite car. Whether or not he wins the contest, we bet it was one heck of a good time to consume the 5,000 beers that donated their containers. Then again, being a college student, he probably drank them all in one night, alone.

Thanks to tipster Marsh

[Source: CAR, Metro.co.uk]

What to do with those empties - Mustang made from beer cans originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Breaker, Breaker: Year One recreates Bandit T/As

Dan Roth — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:04:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Classics, Pontiac

click the pic above to view a gallery of Year One Bandit Trans Ams

Every now and then when I'm hammering to make time on a road trip, this is what goes through my head: "East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'..." Second only to Star Wars in 1977, Hal Needham's iconic Smokey and the Bandit also seared itself into popular culture like the Space Opera. Thirty years on, a black 2nd-generation Trans Am still makes us think of bootlegging Coors.

To commemorate the Burt Reynolds vehicle, Year One is teaming up with the veteran actor and building a limited number of Bandit inspired Trans Ams. These cars won't be highly suspect like those that pop up on eBay from time to time, or aftermarket kits like those made by Trans Am Specialties and Choo Choo Customs back in the day. No, they'll be the real deal, and Year One isn't taking the easy way out, either. Since the Bandit car was a T/A, all of the Year One cars will be true T/As, and titled as such. You could get away with a Firebird as a basis, but that's not how Year One rolls.

There will be three variations on the Bandit theme, BAN1, thru BAN3. All cars have full body restorations first. Floors are replaced, as are other needed panels, so that the hi-po Ponchos have the best basis to build from. Flush-mounted glass, smooth fender flares, custom projector headlights and LED taillights update the basic car. Chassis mods firm up the structure with subframe connectors, tubular control arms and high performance bushings and springs. The interiors get pimped out in the same custom fashion, with "Bandit" inserts on the door panels, modern seats, a race-inspired gauge cluster and the requisite CB radio. It wouldn't be a Bandit car if you couldn't pick up that mic and say "Snoman, gotcher ears on?" BAN2 and BAN3 packages get increasing amounts of performance from monster aluminum 455s or LS-derived engines, as well as further chassis tweaks and more toys inside the cockpit, like a nav system and race harnesses.

Some history, and Year One's press release after the jump

[Source: Year One]

Gallery: Year One Bandit Trans Ams

Continue reading Breaker, Breaker: Year One recreates Bandit T/As

Breaker, Breaker: Year One recreates Bandit T/As originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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