Autoblog

Mentos and Diet Coke-powered car sets distance record

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:02:00 EST

Surely you're hip to the Diet Coke and Mentos phenomenon of a few years ago. When an enterprising duo realized that the hard-coated candies interacted with the soda in an explosive way, an internet meme was instantly born. Over the last couple of years, though, interest in the parlor trick seemed to wane. Until now.

Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, the two men who helped kick off the fun in the first place, are back, claiming a new record for the longest distance traveled in a car powered by Diet Coke and Mentos: 239 feet.

No, that doesn't seem very far to us, either, though Mark II of their machine is a marked improvement over Mark I. The Mark II vehicle is more aerodynamic and seems to have less mass than its predecessor, which positioned the rider way out in front over a bicycle-like contraption. That said, we think Grobe and Voltz do even better... especially since they used just half the fuel this time 'round.

After dissecting the video, we believe there's a lot more power in the Diet Coke and Mentos recipe to be had, and there must be a better way to stop so much of the fuel from leaking out instead of providing forward thrust. Duct tape, perhaps?

Until they try again with Mark III, feel free to check out the latest Diet Coke and Mentos-powered car in the video after the break.

Continue reading Mentos and Diet Coke-powered car sets distance record

Mentos and Diet Coke-powered car sets distance record originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Goodyear rolling out multicolor NASCAR tires to support our troops

Zach Bowman — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:39:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Racing

Goodyear Support Our Troop NASCAR tires - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's the Fourth of July weekend, kids. Emergency rooms all across the country are preparing for a myriad of alcohol, barbecue and fireworks related injuries, and coolers everywhere are stocked with the least expensive alcoholic beverages possible. Goodyear is jumping into the celebration by changing the sidewall design of its tires used in all three NASCAR series just for this weekend. A special message of support for our country's troops will join the standard Goodyear winged-foot logo. In addition to the red-white and blue slogan, the tire manufacturer will also donate $20,000 to a leading military support program.

The company also plans to auction off a set of the unique tires, complete with driver logos after the Coke Zero 400 this Saturday. The cash from the sale will be donated to Support Our Troops - a non-profit that focuses on raising morale of American soldiers and their families all around the world.

If you want one of the special tires, head over to Goodyear's website as soon as the race gets started on July 3. Bidding will begin when the green flag drops and will wrap up on July 17.

Gallery: Goodyear Support Our Troops NASCAR Tires

[Source: Goodyear]

Goodyear rolling out multicolor NASCAR tires to support our troops originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Diet Coke and Mentos-powered car is a blast

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:57:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Humor

Coke Zero and Mentos-powered car - Click above to watch the video after the break

You didn't seriously think that the whole Diet Coke and Mentos internet meme would die out with nary a whimper, did you? Of course not. The little bits of candy and sudsy concoction - in this case Coke Zero in lieu of run-of-the-mill Diet Coke - are back in action as a replacement for those pesky fossil fuels.

Sadly, the economics of scale required to make Coke Zero and Mentos an actual substitute for gasoline and diesel make the newfound fuel unlikely to gain widespread acceptance. For what it's worth, it apparently takes 108 two-liter bottles of Coke Zero along with 648 Mentos to travel exactly 221 feet.

While you won't likely be filling up your own ride with the new wonder fuel, you can still enjoy the highly carbonated video after the break. As for whether you should bother trying this experiment at home... well, we'll leave that one up to you. But probably not.

[Source: YouTube via Fox News]

Continue reading Video: Diet Coke and Mentos-powered car is a blast

Video: Diet Coke and Mentos-powered car is a blast originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Coke Zero (Zero Seven) commercial features new Bond theme

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:03:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Aston Martin

Click the image above to view the video

Jack White, one half of the Whites in the White Stripes, wrote and produced the new theme song for Quantum of Solace, sung by White and Alicia Keyes. Turns out that White also -- unwittingly and unhappily -- wrote the new theme song for Coke Zero. Coca-Cola has used an instrumental version of "Another Way to Die," as well as a couple of Astons, to promote its diet drink that tastes like a diet drink even though they say it doesn't. In our opinion, the commercial gets a resounding "meh," but the song is thoroughly groovy. Follow the jump to check it out. Thanks for the tip, Marcus!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Coke Zero (Zero Seven) commercial features new Bond theme

Coke Zero (Zero Seven) commercial features new Bond theme originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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