Autoblog

Click for more high-res images of the taxpayer-funded blingmobile

You may remember the December story involving 62-year-old California State Senate President Pro Tem, Don Perata (D - DUB City Oakland), who got his name in the paper after being jacked at gunpoint for his red 2006 Dodge Charger R/T. Of great amusement to everyone was the news that the Senator apparently rolled with mad flavor. His state-owned HEMI Charger, you see, was fitted with a set of 22" Panther wheels that are straight blingin'. So incongruous was the mental image of Perata rolling on deuce deuces that the police officer taking the carjacking call had to confirm what he'd heard, asking, "We're talking about the suspect's car or the senator's car?"

Anyway, the Senator came through the incident unscathed and the Dodge was later recovered, dubs intact. Good thing, too, because that very car is up for grabs on eBay. You can now rock the party like Don Perata once did. Beyond the flying saucers sitting in the wheel wells, the Charger is stock, with the 5.7L HEMI and full Tupperware/faux wood interior. There are no bids yet, but a "Buy It Now" figure of $24,500 beckons aspiring players. As for the Senator, we wonder what the state has obtained for him this time around. Seeing as he's now shed his 22" training wheels and is ready step things up a level, perhaps Big Don will have the taxpayers set him up with something like this. It seems like it might suit his tastes.


[Source: eBay via Jalopnik]

Apparently the increase in violent crimes in Tennessee is leading legislators to take some unprecedented actions. They have filed bills that would increase the rights of citizens to bear arms and use those arms with deadly force in certain situations. Like during a carjacking. One bill in particular would allow motorists to kill an attacker that they feel is threatening to "murder, rape, kidnap, rob or carjack the car's occupants." Filing the bill was Rep. Ulysses Jones and Sen. Reginald Tate, two Memphis Democrats. "I've heard a lot of support for this. It's time to give citizens the opportunity to protect themselves. Right now, we're at the mercy of what I call 'scum'," said Jones, a Memphis Fire Department paramedic.

The important shift here is that potential victims had only been allowed the right of defense inside their homes. Extending the right to outside the home, and particularly to a motorist in a vehicle, is a dramatic change. The NRA has helped push similar laws through in Florida, but Tennessee is believed to be the first effort to extend rights to motorists. These so-called "No Retreat" laws change the burden of attackees so that fleeing isn't the only option. Standing your ground and defending yourself and your property is allowed instead.

[Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal]

It's no secret that Sao Paulo can be a dangerous place. Business travelers who frequent the city will be able to tell you about the precautions companies recommend they take to protect themselves. Don't leave the hotel. If you do, don't walk alone. Don't carry a laptop (it makes you an instant target for robbery). Wait for taxis inside the lobby. (Example: Criminals will case the hotels, looking for obvious business travelers waiting outside. This lets them see exactly what car they get into so that they can follow it and stage a carjacking once it's away from the hotel.)

Still, precautions or not, the chance for a run-in with criminals is still good -- something members of the Toyota F1 team learned firsthand this weekend. The car carrying Toyota spokesperson Fernanda Villas-Boas and other team personnel was one in a group of vehicles ambushed by around 20 gun-wielding teens about 2 miles from the venue for this weekend's F1 Grand Prix of Brazil.

According to Villas-Boras, who at one point had a gun pointed at her head as she sat in the car, shots were fired at them as they fled, but fortunately no one was injured. Neither Ralf Schumacher nor Jarno Trulli were among those attacked. In any case, it would seem that the Grand Prix of Brazil is something best enjoyed on television, in the comfort and safety of home.

Thanks to reader Brian McPhail for the tip!

[Source: ESPN]

In what can only be described as an unconventional auto theft, a Suisun City, California man was beaten and carjacked by four formally-dressed women while parking at a 7-Eleven Sunday night.

The gang of four females, estimated to be in their early 20s represented having a gun to the victim's back, and forced him to follow another vehicle to a different location, where he was beaten via hands, feet and an "unknown object." The villainous vixens thereafter relieved the driver of his gold-colored 1997 Volvo 850.

The car hasn't been seen since.

[Sources: Bay City News via SFGate; FilmFanzine.com]