Autoblog

Volkswagen has been down this road before with the Jetta Trek back in the late '90s. This time, though, they're putting a green spin on it. Lime, to be exact. Chi-town Volkswagen dealers are giving buyers a bicycle and roof rack for the next month. The premise is that the dealer will encourage you to take your bike on quick, short-distance jaunts. Not driving a car at all by riding a bike is super effective at reducing fuel consumption, gridlock, and CO2 emissions. Biking is also way cheaper than exotic technological solutions; plus, you'll get some exercise, which is hard to come by in stop and go traffic. The cycle is still a Trek, dubbed the Lime, which is one of their newest models and has a three speed automatic transmission that automatically changes gears for you, in the hopes that you'll find it a more enjoyable way to ride. We'd probably hate it. It really is a great, simple solution that could work for a lot of folks. We know this is Autoblog, and this has turned into a bicycular love-fest, but we have to applaud the marketing stunt as an elegant (if gimmicky) way of focusing on our vast appetite for fuel.

[Source: VW via AutoblogGreen]

OK, this is pretty funny. Middle aged man on a bicycle pedaling away on a dyno, while he's cheered on by Mrs. Cable Guy and the rest of the team. The result is a reported 0.74 horsepower. Can only guess what Lance Armstrong might do, but we digress. We suppose the subject's name is Phil, as that's what the title says, but other than that, we have no further info on who these people are or why on Earth they felt the need to do this run, let alone film it and upload it to Streetfire. But hey, more than 2,500 clickers can't be wrong. If you have other similarly bizarre dyno pulls on tape, please share.

Thanks for the tip, dubbedinenglish!

[Source: Streetfire]

Now, we certainly don't want to look like we condone this sort of thing, but OMG is this hilarious! A biker manages to evade police during a freeway chase and even wreck a cruiser in the process. Might not sound too special until you realize the "bike" is a bicycle, not a motorcycle. This guy is really flying here. Amazing speed and good instincts let this criminal slip away. No word on what he was wanted for or if he was caught yet, so if you know the rest of the story, please share.

Nice two-wheel tip, Brian!

[Source: Break.com]

BMW launched another new model this week, a freshened version of its Kids' Bike. Targeted at the 2 1/2 to 6 year-old BMW demographic, the bike has easily removable pedals so that kids learning to ride can keep their feet on the ground and use it as a push-bike. Once the child is comfortable with balancing and stopping the baby beemer, mom or dad can add the pedals.

The blue and grey two-wheeler is certainly priced like a BMW - at $300. Available at bmw-online.com.

[Source: BMW]

You know, not everyone can afford to waste tires by doing donuts in the parking lot using their own car. For that matter, not everyone can afford a car. Those lacking the funds to drift and do donuts all day long in their daily driver may want to check out this video. It's cheaper, safer and a much better workout than inducing your car to oversteer from the comfort of your Recaro.

[Source: YouTube via Faze]

General Motors of Europe imprint Vauxhall has released some photos of its upcoming five-door Corsa, in advance of the car's debut at the British International Motorshow.

Like the three-door version we've show Autoblog readers before, the five-door Corsa carries over much of the three-door's interior fitments, but it has more interior and cargo space, including "DualFloor" flexibility - a flexible system designed to maximize cargo space. Arguably the car's most interesting feature is its optional "FlexFix," a drawer-like contraption that pulls out from the Corsa's rear bumper to accommodate a pair of bikes.

As with the three door, buyers will have the option of specifying one of three gasoline engines (displacing 1.0, 1.2, and 1.4-liters, respectively), or 1.3-liter common rail diesel. If that isn't enough, the EuroGeneral promises that a third, more powerful oil-burner on its way.

[Sources: Motoring.co.za; Vauxhall]

Goodyear Tire & Rubber has announced plans to slash 1,500 jobs in an effort to save $50 million dollars. The world's largest tire company will reach those goals in part by shuttering plants in Britain and Poland.

Part of its restructuring efforts that began last September, the manufacturer will jettison 585 employees at its UK Goodyear Dunlop facility in Washington, and a smaller outpost in Wolverhampton will shed around 40 employees, leaving about 450 workers.

Additionally, Goodyear's Debica, Poland plant will stop making bicycle tires and inner tubes, pink-slipping 360 employees.

The rubber giant says that it expects to incur charges of around $105-115 million USD in the process of exacting the changes.

[Sources: The Australian; Associated Press]