Filed under: Auction Action, Dodge

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Hurst Viper at the 2009 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction

Autoblog was the first media outlet that was granted access to the matte gold-colored Hurst 50th Anniversary Dodge Viper. Unfortunately, our pockets aren’t nearly deep enough to actually purchase one for ourselves. We did, however, manage to witness the sale of the very first model down the assembly line to one very lucky bidder here in Scottsdale, AZ, at the 2009 Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction. Included in the deal were an adjustable Motion Sport Suspension with Eibach springs, a custom Corsa exhaust system and a fresh set of Hurst black chrome wheels sized 19-inches up front and 20-inches in the rear. Oh, and a custom dash-mounted plaque with the buyer’s name engraved on it for all to see. How cool is that? Wondering what sum of money it took to secure rights to the first Hurst Anniversary Viper of 50? Exactly $275,000 after auction fees. In what has been a very charitable night, Woodhouse Dodge vowed to donate the profits from the sale to Victory Junction who runs a camping facility for chronically ill children.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Barrett-Jackson 2009: Hurst Viper good as gold, sells for $275,000

Barrett-Jackson 2009: Hurst Viper good as gold, sells for $275,000 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s pretty simple, really: these “clicking cursor” oven mitts (which aren’t clicking, but whatever) would make a completely, mind-numbingly awesome addition to any gadget-lover’s kitchen. We want them now. Too bad they’re not available… yet.

[Via OhGizmo!]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

‘Clicking’ cursor oven mitts let you mouseover baked ziti originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Auction Action, Chevrolet

Click above for a high-res gallery of the first production 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

One of the most highly anticipated vehicles to be auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson this year was the first 2010 Chevy Camaro. There are very few instant classics these days, and this is one of them. There’s still a month before actual series production of the car is slated to begin, but the winning bidder claimed the right to the very first retail production car that can be ordered in any color and with any options he chooses. Last year, it took exactly one-million dollars to win the hotly contested rights to the first 2009 Corvette ZR1, and this year $350,000 claimed the first edition of the newly-revived Camaro. Just as with last year’s ZR1, all proceeds from this Camaro’s sale will benefit the American Heart Association, which means that anything over the car’s MSRP will be tax deductible by the winning bidder. See the car’s official auction description after the break.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Barrett-Jackson 2009: First Retail Production 2010 Chevrolet Camaro goes for $350,000

Barrett-Jackson 2009: First Retail Production 2010 Chevrolet Camaro goes for $350,000 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Auction Action

Click above for a high-res gallery of the very first 1955 Ford Thunderbird

Do you like your birds rare? Though it’s not quite on the endangered species list just yet, there’s no doubt that any 1955 Ford Thunderbird is a desirable classic car, and none more so than this particular example, which just so happens to be the first T-Bird ever produced. Powered by its original 292 cubic-inch V8 engine and automatic transmission, this car was restored to completely original condition back in 1965 — just 10 years after it was first built, and it’s also the same car that underwent the first instrumented testing of the T-Bird in the October edition of Sports Illustrated magazine. According to the Ford Motor Company, which confirms the car’s unique status, this is the most valuable Thunderbird in existence, and it earned a whopping $660,000 at this year’s Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale, AZ. See the car’s official auction description after the break.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Barrett-Jackson 2009: First Production 1955 Ford Thunderbird

Barrett-Jackson 2009: First Production 1955 Ford Thunderbird originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Auction Action

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Plymouth Superbird Tribute

Few muscle cars are as recognizable as the 1970 Plymouth Superbird, with its rear wing that stands proud over the car’s rear haunches undoubtedly being the most striking visual modification, followed closely by the front snout that extends well past the front wheels for maximum aerodynamic efficiency. These cars were initially conceived to terrorize NASCAR race tracks in the late ’60s and early ’70s and were easily capable of cresting 200 miles per hour in race trim.

This is not an original Superbird, but it’s been designed to replicate that car’s iconic looks by a team consisting of the restoration specialists at YearOne and led by Bill Goldberg of Bullrun fame. Everything about this car is meant to recreate the original’s NASCAR heritage, including the 800-horsepower race-spec 358 cubic-inch V8 engine. Unlike the real thing, though, this car was built to be totally street-legal. After all was said and done, the car earned $501,000 at the 2009 Barrett-Jackson auction, all of which will be donated to the Darrell Gwynn Foundation to benefit research of spinal cord injuries. In addition, another $175,000 was donated by other bidders to help the cause. Read the car’s official auction description after the break.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Barrett-Jackson 2009: 1970 Plymouth Superbird Custom Tribute

Barrett-Jackson 2009: 1970 Plymouth Superbird Custom Tribute originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, how the times change! In August of last year we were talking up a 128GB SSD drive for Dell’s XPS laptops like it was some kind of hotness — and only $450! Now that same drive is a mere $200 upgrade, while a new 256GB SSD has been introduced to Dell’s XPS M1330 and M1730 laptops for “only” $400. Sure, six months from now we’re gonna be chatting up a slightly cheaper 512GB SSD and laughing at our January selves, but we just can’t help ourselves and this pesky linear of progression of time we’re so beholden to. Dell’s also now offering a 7200RPM 500GB HDD as well, and plans to introduce both of these upgrades to additional laptops in the next few weeks.

Read - Dell XPS M1330
Read - Dell XPS M1730

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Dell adds 256GB SSD option to XPS M1330 and M1730 laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Culture

It’s been a long two and a half months since our hopes of being elected Supreme Rulers of the Internets were dashed upon the rocks by our victorious competitors, Ninja Cat and @levarburton. We’ve long since overcome the heartbreak and spite we developed following our overwhelming defeat, and are prepared to welcome our new rulers with wide, welcome arms. Best of luck with all the in-swearing.

You too can experience the chills and thrills of the democratic process by picking your favorite webcomic from the following seven candidates, and voting for it after the break! Or, we guess you could take your suffrage for granted, though you’d be breaking Mr. Diddy’s heart.

Turned On Its Head (Digital Unrest)
The Oregon Trail (2P Start)
A Boy Can Dream (Penny Arcade)
Lens of Truth (Brawl in the Family)
The House of Miyamoto #9 (Hsu & Chan)
Before They Were Famous: Left 4 Dead Boomer (MNC)
No, No, He Deserves It (Dipswitch)

Continue reading Weekly Webcomic Wrapup attends the e-nauguration

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup attends the e-nauguration originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gadgets, Motorsports, Podcasts, CES

They’re more than glorified game consoles with force-feedback steering wheels strapped to a lounge chair. Costing as much as $44,000 apiece, they’re racing simulators, and we got to play with a couple of them at CES.

Simcraft says its $44K model is meant for training real race car drivers, like Indycar driver Sarah Fisher, who stopped by CES on Wednesday to show off the company’s Apex SC830. The U.S. military is also using the high-dollar simulator to train its soldiers to drive in the tricky sands of Iraq. D-Box’s top-of-the-line GP Pro 200 is a much more affordable high-end racing simulator. It’ll only set you back $14,000.

Both are PC-based and both offer much more realism than your Laz-E-Boy being moved around by your little brother. The SC830 is definitely more hardcore, with the seat and displays mounted on a tubular-steel frame. The GP Pro 200 sits lower, is more compact and looks less complicated than the Simcraft. But how do they drive? Click through to the jump to read our impressions and for more photos.

Continue reading CES 2009: Hands on with D-Box and Simcraft racing simulators

CES 2009: Hands on with D-Box and Simcraft racing simulators originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in our day, if you weren’t busy walking up uphill both ways, you’d write your own dang fake reviews on Amazon, but apparently Belkin’s Michael Bayard — or a clever impostor looking to smear the man’s good name — decided it’d be easier and totally non-obvious to hire people on Mechanical Turk to do it for him. For a whopping $0.65 cents you can write a 5 out of 5 review of a Belkin product, and downrank negative reviews while you’re at it. Michael Bayard is a Business Development Representative at Belkin, and seems to have pulled the Mechanical Turk posting, but the him and his company have yet to comment publicly. Say it ain’t so, Mike!

Filed under: Networking

Belkin rep hiring folks to write fake reviews on Amazon? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sony PSP

Rumors of a PSP-infused phone (or is it a phone-infused PSP?) have been circulating since the dawn of time — we figured if anyone would be working on this Frankenportable, it would be Sony Ericsson, the beleaguered mobile phone branch of Sony Corp. However, if a report from UK cellular phone industry news site Mobile Today proves accurate, we’ve been in the wrong this whole time — according to them, Sony Ericsson was recently refused the use of the PlayStation brand by their parent company. A fairly sick burn, if true.

The story, which comes from several anonymous “sources close to the matter”, claims that Sony will only license the PlayStation brand if and when Sony begins making handsets independently from Ericsson. A Sony Ericsson representative wouldn’t comment on the report, but did say that “technical specs are not high enough to put such a prestigious brand on a phone.”

[Via Pocket Gamer]

Report: Sony refuses use of PlayStation brand for PSP phone originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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