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]

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The Quebec-built T-Rex has been on the market since 1996, and at the recent Montreal auto show the wraps were taken off the newly-revised model. For 2007, the T-Rex ditches the old carbureted 1200cc, 152-hp engine for a bigger, more powerful fuel-injected Kawasaki unit displacing 1400cc and pumping out 200 horsepower. On a motorbike, two hundred horses go a long way – now imagine saddling that with more traction and better stability than any motorbike could and you begin to fathom the kind of performance the T-Rex serves up: 0-60 in 3.6 seconds (in first gear) and 1.3 g's of lateral acceleration. Intriguingly, to get the engines and other components from Kawasaki, the makers of the T-Rex buy the full bikes from the factory, take the parts they need and sell the rest to shops in the US.

For 2007 the T-Rex also gets new lights, new instrument gauges and a covered engine. They also offer carbon-fiber body-kits, a wind deflector, larger outboard storage bins capable of holding a full-face helmet in each and special-order paints.

We got a chance to check out the T-Rex at the Montreal show, and have the pictures to prove it. The blue model pictured is the updated 2007 version, while the white and green ones are first-gen models, both featuring special-order Lamborghini colors for a customer in Dubai.

Check out go-t-rex.com for more details.

If we've learned anything from the JCB Dieselmax team, it's that records are meant to be broken, and why should our four-wheeled friends have all the fun? Last weekend the International Motorcycle Speed Trials began at the Bonneville Salt Flats with a record breaking two-wheel run by Team TOP 1 ACK Attack. The team's two-wheeled streamliner owned and designed by Mike Akatiff and piloted by Rocky Robinson achieved a combined two-way average of speed of 342.797 mph, demolishing the old record of 322.149 mph by over 20 mph. Within the first two hours of the event's kick off, "the Ack" recorded its first pass of 344 mph and a second at around 340 mph. Everything went smoothly reports Cycle News, except for the part when the parachute was supposed to deploy. It took Robinson five yanks on the lever to make it actuate. Yikes.

Many other teams are waiting in the wings to break the new record this week, but Team Attack claims it was only using 75 percent of its two-wheeler's potential. Before the week is over we should expect a standing two-wheel speed record of at least 350 mph from someone out in the flats.

Tip: Curt

[Source: CycleNews]

Give Lincoln Brier credit for doing something out of the ordinary when he came upon the idea to convert his used Legends racecar into a single-seat street machine. The task was relatively simple, with the addition of turn signals, lights, a full exhaust system with muffler, and a horn pretty much being the extent of the modifications required to register the pint-sized '34 Ford replica as a homebuilt vehicle. The laws on this vary dramatically by state, so as they say, check with your local authorities before proceeding. To make life a bit more tolerable, Brier also added rear windows and a radio, and swapped out the rear gearing for something a bit taller. Even with the ratio swap, the top speed is a meager 90 MPH, but I'm sure that it's an entertaining experience topping out the miniature car. Oh, and there's no Reverse gear. Would that stop us from having more fun than should (or would) be legal with this thing? Hell no. We'd just choose our parking carefully.

For those not familiar with the Legend circle-track cars, they're pocket-sized tube-framed racers, draped with fiberglass bodies resembling a variety of American classics from the '30s, that are typically powered by Yamaha 1200cc air-cooled motorcycle engines. The majority of the parts are tightly controlled by the rules in an effort to create a level playing field and keep costs relatively low. More info is available from 600 Racing, Legendsforce, and Legends Cars.

[Source: Kneeslider]

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]