Autoblog

Is a 20-foot long, four-door longbed pickup still too small for your needs? Whether it's ego or an overabundance of backsides to seat, size definitely matters to Stretch Truck. The Denver based customizer will add extra length to your hauler (they've got a thing for Fords, it seems) with a seamless factory look. It's easy to take potshots about how these trucks are the panacea for insecurity, but they fill a niche that's too narrow for the automakers to fill themselves. One of their six-door Excursions would carry at least half of the Autoblog team with all our gear tossed in back. Stretch Truck's fine work costs accordingly, running in the $20,000 range, but you don't give up much. We expect that the turning circle is large enough to require a harbor pilot, and the extra wheelbase might make it difficult to crawl the Rubicon, but if you've got a need to carry a brood and a burden, these extra-long trucks might be just right.


[Source: Stretch Truck via Winding Road]

Shaq is one of the most recognized athletes in the world, with multiple world championships, a few rap albums, Kazaam, and a reservist police officer badge. OK, Kazaam was terrible, but the man is one Hell of an athlete, and with all the money he has, Shaq has almost everything you could possibly imagine. The only thing Shaq has had some issues with are cars, with his 7' 1", 350 lb. frame not able to fit in anything but large SUVs and limousines.

But hey, when you're filthy rich, there really are no obstacles for you when there are suppliers like Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters, who took Shaq's Lamborghini Gallardo and stretched it a full twelve inches. Gaffoglio, which is a supplier for companies like Boeing Company and PPG Aerospace Glass, used its aerospace expertise to make a potentially awkward project turn out like a work of art.

Gaffoglio strived to keep the Gallardo's beautiful lines and supercar proportions, and when looking above at the final result, we think they did an outstanding job. Now if you're Shaq, you can dunk over Yao Ming, and have your Gallardo too.

[Source: Inside Line]

The motorsport press thought it was a big deal when Ferrari made their F1 car longer than last season's by a couple of inches. Well, some nutjobs in a chop-shop somewhere have taken things a step further by hacking a perfectly good Ferrari in two and adding a few seats, turning out a gran turismo even longer than the 612 Scaglietti.

To make matters worse, this wasn't some 80's-era $30k Ferrari, either: they've chopped up a previous-generation 360 Modena, arguably among the most beautiful of modern road-going Ferraris.

Although we hate to admit it, logistically speaking, stretching out a mid-engine car with rear-wheel-drive technically makes more sense than running a long driveshaft from a front-engined limo all the way to the rear axle (as Top Gear's Richard Hammond reckoned with his stretched MGF). But that's where our sense of charity ends and our sense of outrage kicks back in. This is the automotive equivalent of painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

If you can bear it, there's a video after the jump.

[Source: Bilfeber]

Is that a Grey Goose flying into a Silver Cloud? Not far off, actually. In a bit of brand synergy we can really get behind, Grey Goose, the veritable Rolls Royce of vodkas, has teamed up with Rolls Royce itself on a joint marketing and public awareness campaign.

The promotion centers around two specially-made Grey Goose edition Extended Wheelbase Phantoms. The limos got a specially-mixed French racing blue finish outside and unique upholstery inside. Naturally, the flying Grey Goose icon is embroidered and discretely emblazoned on different parts of the car.

The two special Phantoms will be used to generate publicity, raise money for charity and for a public awareness campaign that will bring them to different cities promoting responsible drinking and, of course, Grey Goose. At the end of their run, so to speak, both Phantoms will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to charitable causes.

Press release after the jump

[Source: Grey Goose]

SEMA's right around the corner and the sneak peeks are flowing freer than beer at the Firehouse in January. The latest preview comes from Chrysler, which will be showing this stretched version of the 300C called the Pullman, a name that refers to various models of stretched Mercedes-Benz limos over the years. The wheelbase on this thing looks even longer than the 126-inch span on the 300 Long Wheelbase, though Mike Ellis tells us that the concept is actually another variant of the 300C that swaddles its occupants in luxury like the Imperial concept, which got mixed reviews for its chunky styling at the 2006 Detroit auto show. Like the Imperial, the Pullman also features rear suicide doors to aid entry into this big, rear-wheel drive sedan, as well as to give us photogs on the floor an unobstructed view of the interior. The roof is long enough to support two full sunroofs, and the wheels have also grown to size 22-inch TIS chrome rims wearing Diamondback tires. Chrysler did address the Pullman's power and performance by tapping the aftermarket for a Bassani dual cat-back exhaust, Hotchkiss Sportline suspension that lowers the vehicle on those giant rims, and a K&N cold air intake. We don't know yet what engine powers the Pullman, whether it's your garden variety 5.7-liter HEMI or the 6.1-liter HEMI from the 300C SRT-8, but we'll find out soon enough since SEMA starts on Monday.

UPDATE: better pic added

[Source: Chrysler]