Jason Statham stars in Audi Super Bowl ad

Audi will be one of the few car makers to run an ad during this year’s Super Bowl broadcast with a spot starring action star Jason Statham who said he’s happy to be the face of the brand.

The 60 second advertisement which will air during the first quarter of Sunday’s game will show the Transporter star attempting to make getaways in recreations of movie scenes from different decades.

All the attempts fail as the cars from past eras cannot handle the action, sending Statham flying through billboards and crashing into sidewalks. It’s not until he gets into the new Audi A6 that Statham successfully makes his getaway.

“I’m quite happy to put my face up against a brand that I believe in and that I drive around in anyway,” Statham told USA Today.

Because Audi is one of only three car makers who will be seen during the advertising of the Super Bowl, the company says it expects to gain an advantage on competitors.

“Last year’s spot sent the message that Audi was truly redefining luxury. This year’s spot will ensure that everyone realizes that Audi is the best choice, period,” said Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer of Audi of America.

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Frozen car gets fined

Apparently the city of Cleveland, Ohio takes its parking situations very seriously as a man whose car was frozen to the street following a broken water pipe received a ticket and had his car hauled off to an impound lot.

When Gary Luke walked out to his Nissan Altima yesterday morning he found it covered in three inches of ice and more than a foot of ice burying his tires.

It appears that a water main had burst overnight, covering the car with freezing water and causing passing motorists to splash the car with the river that was now running down his street.

“I know it’s Cleveland in the wintertime, but I never expected this,” Luke told the Plain Dealer.

Luke told the paper that AAA said he would have to wait until the weather warmed up to get his car out of the predicament, but that didn’t stop police from trying – and succeeding.

According to the news provider, police were clearing cars parked on Luke’s street Thursday night and had a tow truck work to remove the Altima from its icy encasement. For his trouble, Luke received a $50 ticket and must now pay to have his car removed from impound.

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Amanda Bynes sued over car wreck

Hairspray star Amanda Bynes is being sued for hospital bills and damages resulting from a four car pileup that occurred in 2007 which left one motorist with minor injuries.

David Feldman, the attorney for Bynes told TMZ that when the accident occurred the cars in question were only traveling around 5 miles per hour – calling it a minor fender bender.

He also said the lawsuit, being filed by Shari Landon, was filed on the last possible day and that Bynes had never been notified of any injuries. Landon is also suing two other drivers along with rental car company Hertz.

Bynes was also involved in a multi-car accident in August of last year.

It was recently reported that Bynes had split from her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt, who was often featured on the MTV reality drama The Hills.

Reinhardt had previously been linked to reality star Lauren Conrad.

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Dodge Ram wins International Truck of the Year

Earlier this month the Dodge Ram 1500 won the award for International Truck of the Year by jurors for the International Car of The Year (ICOTY), beating out competition from the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tacoma.

“We’re glad third-party organizations including ICOTY recognize Dodge Ram’s game-changing innovations, functionality, safety and value,” said Scott Kunselman of Chrysler.

The Truck of the Year honor is just one of a handful or awards the Dodge Ram has walked home with including awards from Edmunds, Truckin’ magazine and various other publications.

Jeff Taylor, auto writer for the Chicago Sun-Times said the Ram is the “personal use champ” when it comes to trucks in its class, taking the title away from the Toyota Tacoma.

Although he says a number of other trucks on the market have their advantages, Taylor thinks the Ram is perfect for those who will be using it on a regular basis for more everyday tasks.

“My assessment is based strictly on personal use including; commuting, carting around the entire family, carrying home construction materials, hauling bicycles and moving assorted boxes during the review period,” he writes.

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Google Street View vehicle hits deer

Google has made it easier for people to get from point A to point B with their Street View technology which has a vehicle drive across U.S. roadways taking panoramic photos of streets.

Unfortunately this vehicle can sometimes get in an accident, and apparently when it happens, Google doesn’t want people to see.

While photographing roads in upstate New York, the Google vehicle hit a deer as it crossed a rural road, killing the deer while recording the action. It appears that not many people noticed the accident on Street View until this week when it appeared all over the internet.

The photographs originally showed the car driving south on Five Points Road in Rush, NY when a small deer begins to walk across the street. Another photo appeared to show the deer attempting to jump out of the way of the car and a final photo showed the animal on the side of the road.

The street view for that area is no longer available.

In a response issued yesterday, Google confirmed that one of its vehicles had hit a deer, but says the images were removed after the company received numerous requests.

“We’re sad that this accident occurred and we consider ourselves fortunate that our driver was not injured,” the company said.

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BMW to produce hybrid supercar

Reports say that BMW will be bringing its 400 horsepower hybrid car, the Z10 ED – which was originally planned as only a concept – to market.

According to Autocar.co.uk, the company decided to remove the car from concept status to production after plans to produce a V10-powered rival to the Audi R8 were scrapped. Instead, the company decided to go the environmentally-friendly approach.

“The idea is to bring all the very latest technology together in a way that will allow a high level of performance without overburdening the environment in a way that the current crop of supercars do,” an insider told the website. “There is no reason why they need to be mutually exclusive when you consider the sort of technology that exists today. It is just a matter of applying it correctly.”

The two-seater is expected to sell for about $105,000.

At this year’s North American Auto show, BWM unveiled two hybrid concepts which included the X6 which can run on gas, electric, or a combination of the two.

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Government vehicle database unveils tomorrow

Tomorrow the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) will be unveiling its new system which will allow consumers to get information on the history of a used car.

The system, called the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NVTIS) will be accessible to the public tomorrow and will allow prospective used car buyers to access the history of a car including its odometer data and title record if available.

Currently 27 states participate in the program with another 10 working towards participation according to the DoJ.

The NVTIS says there are about 300 million vehicle identification numbers in the system with 27 states currently participating in the program with another 10 working towards participation. About 75 percent of all vehicles in the country are accounted for.

The states that are not releasing data to the system have cited privacy laws for their lack of participation.

Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS) said the NVTIS system is a first step.

“We’re not at the end of the road,” she told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “But we have gotten over some huge roadblocks.”

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2010 Prius will get 50 mpg

Toyota says it’s next generation Prius is likely to get upwards of 50 miles per gallon when it goes on sale later this year.

Although the Prius was a niche vehicle when it was first introduced, it has since become the go-to hybrid vehicle for the environmentally friendly. Bob Carter, Toyota’s vice president and general manager says the company has seen the change and is attempting to shift to meet needs.

“Since Prius was first introduced, the consumer demographic has shifted from an early adopter to a mainstream shopper,” Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager said. “The Prius has evolved to meet the changing needs of this growing and diverse customer base.”

Although Toyota has had the market share on hybrids, many companies have either brought a competitive hybrid to market, or will be introducing one soon. Many in the industry feel the Honda Insight is the first real competitor to Prius’ spot as the top hybrid.

But Toyota president Jim Lentz told the Associated Press that while the Insight will gain some buyers because of its low price, the Prius will still have an edge.

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States issuing more moving violations as budgets shrink

A struggling economy is having many local communities come up with creative ways to increase their budgets, and for many that means having police issue more traffic tickets.

According to Car and Driver magazine, 11 municipalities in the Detroit area have seen the number of tickets issued increase by 90 percent or more since 2002.

While most law enforcement would say that the issuing of tickets is not a way to make money for a community, James Tignanelli, president of the Police Officers Association of Michigan says that’s just not that case.

“A lot of police chiefs will tell you the goal is to have nobody speeding through their community, but heaven forbid if it should actually happen – they’d be out of money,” Tignanelli told the magazine.

But the increase in police issuing moving violations is not limited to Michigan.

Even in the tiny state of Connecticut, police issued 10,500 more tickets in 2008 than the previous year – meaning $327,000 more for the state, according to the Republican American.

But unlike Tignanelli, Connecticut says there is no connection between the state of the economy and the increase in tickets.

“There is no relation at all,” state police spokesperson Lieutenant J. Paul Vance told the newspaper.

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Used cars with modifications might be harder to insure

Having a tricked-out car with 20 inch rims and expensive audio equipment attracts attention, but according to many insurance companies it’s the wrong kind of attention, making it less likely to get coverage.

According to Insure.com, because the equipment in many of these used cars is worth more than the purchase price of the vehicle and because owners of these cars are often thought to drive recklessly, even if they can get insurance it’s going to cost quite a bit of money.

As an example, the company uses a 1993 Toyota Supra, which was purchased for $7,000. After adding a 600 horsepower engine, custom paint job, $30,000 in stereo components and other various modifications it’s likely the total price can be somewhere near $130,000.

“Your estimated annual premium would be $2,000 to $2,500,” says the company. “and that’s assuming you have a clean driving record.”

That’s also assuming you can get coverage at all. Jim Kreisman, owner of Insurance Agency Inc., says he’s probably not going to insure a car like that.

“We’ll insure Ferraris and Bentleys, but souped-up cars? We won’t [insure] them. They are too high risk,” he says.

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