Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts

Blown up Tank Arrives in front of Kim DotCom's New Zealand Mansion


Even though Kim DotCom, otherwise known as Kim Schmitz, is currently behind bars awaiting possible extradition to the United States after a New Zealand judge denied an application for bail on Wednesday, the founder of the popular file-sharing website MegaUpload continues to make headlines for reasons not related directly to his case.

After his amazing collection of luxury cars were seized by police last Friday, we thought that would be the last we heard about DotCom's toys.

Apparently, we were wrong as it has been reported by several New Zealand newspapers that after his arrest, Dotcom's mansion received delivery of a…full-size inflatable replica of a Russian T-72 tank!

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$1.4 Million Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe gets Soaked in Australia


We don't know what's more annoying about this video that shows a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe in Adelaide, Australia, with its top down being drenched in rainwater, reportedly for at least half an hour: the careless owner that didn't come out to see what was going on or the indifferent bypassers whose only concern was to film the spectacle.

According to news reports from Australia, the convertible Rolls-Royce, which costs upwards of AU$1.35 million, the damages to the car's interior from the rain may cost the owner as much as AU$100,000. Watch the rainy clip in the video after the jump.

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Toyota Cutting 350 Jobs in Australia Due to Slowing Demand


In a rare move for Toyota, the Japanese automaker announced today that it is axing 350 jobs at its Australian plant in Altona, Victoria, due to what the company describes as "unprecedented operating conditions".

The job cuts will affect manufacturing and production workers as well as the firm's management.

Toyota Australia President and CEO, Max Yasuda, said the extremely strong Australian dollar, which has risen to its highest position in six weeks against the US dollar, along with the global economic crisis that saw reduced demand from the local division's main export markets such as the Middle East, are to blame.

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First Drive: Holden Caprice V Series II with 6.0-liter V8


The car that most Americans know as the Chevy Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) owes as much to the Australian designed and built Holden Caprice luxury sedan reviewed here as the latter owes to business decisions Ford Australia made a couple of decades ago.

In the early 1970s, Holden – GM’s Australian subsidiary – introduced two new models to compete with local rival Ford. The first was the Statesman, a vehicle with no Holden badging whatsoever, designed as a direct competitor to Ford’s Australian-built Fairlane and as a replacement for the unloved Brougham sedan.

A few years later came the Statesman Caprice, an even more luxurious model, introduced to compete with Ford’s freshly minted LTD.

Thus the Caprice name was born. Over the years the Caprice has grown in interior room, price and standard equipment but retains the same basic idea of what Aussie luxury should be. We took the V8 engined V Series II model out for a week long road test and review.

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Police Seize MegaUpload Founder's Vast Collection of Luxury and Exotic Cars [Video + Photos]


You've no doubt heard by now about the U.S. indictment against the owners of the popular file-sharing site MegaUpload, which was shut down by feds on Thursday and which triggered a massive cyber-attack from Anonymous on a number of government websites including the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Today we also learn that the police seized a number of assets from the founder of MegaUpload, Kim Schmitz, aka Kimble, aka Kim Dotcom, including an amazing collection of automobiles with some rib-tickling license plates from his estate in New Zealand.

Twitter user Elliot Kamber was on hand to take a few shots of the cars that were seized, while we've also added a video after the break.

Among the vehicles taken from Schmitz's garage were a 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM with "Good" number plates, a 2010 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG with a "CEO" plate, a pink 1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible, a 1989 Lamborghini LM002 and a 2010 Maserati GranCabrio. The cars are estimated to be worth over $6 million.

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Crazy Holden Torana with Blown Chevy Puts Out 1,584 WHP


Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing. With a few exceptions like the sporty six-cylinder GTR XU1 and the 5.0-litre V8 powered SLR 5000 editions, the Holden Torana was a run-of-the mill compact model with plain Jane looks and lackluster performance.

But in the world of tuning and drag racing even the Torana can be transformed into a terrifying beast. Meet Jakes Edward's latest Torana sedan fitted with a massive 496ci (8.2-liter) turbocharged V8 Chevrolet engine that runs on methanol fuel.

At this month's Summernats festival in Canberra, Australia, Edward's yellow Holden took part and won the "Horsepower Heroes" competition as it yielded 1,584.5 wheel horsepower on the dyno! Watch the Aussie-made monster in the video after the break.

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Cadillac Refocuses on Global Markets, is Preparing Right-Hand Drive CTS-V


With around 34% of the world's population driving on the left hand side of the road, in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, India and Japan, any automaker that aspires to go global needs to produce right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles.

With only a few exceptions like the fifth generation Seville (built from 1998 to 2004), Cadillac has for the most part shied away from RHD markets. But this is about to change as the wreath and crest brand is getting more serious about increasing its presence in markets outside of North America.

Aside from the product presentations like the new BMW 3-Series rivaling ATS sedan that will eventually be offered with a diesel option as well, Cadillac is also getting ready to introduce right-hand drive models.

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