In 2010, London-based photographer Martin Usborne shot poignant images of dogs in cars as a personal project. Those images are now being made into a book titled Dogs In Cars, A Photography Art Book. He recently began a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to cover the book’s publishing costs.

The images in this series explore that feeling, both in relation to myself and to animals in general. The camera is the perfect tool for capturing a sense of silence and longing: the shutter freezes the subject for ever and two layers of glass are placed between the viewer and the viewed: the glass of the lens, the glass of the picture frame and, in this instance, the glass of the car window further isolates the animal. The dog is truly trapped.

photos by Martin Usborne

Parking Douche is an Android app for reporting badly parked cars in Moscow (video). Users photograph offending cars and upload them to the Parking Douche database. The cars are then featured in banner ads on Moscow-based online newspaper (and Parking Douche developer) The Village. No word yet on whether the app will be expanded to other cities and countries.

Back in 2007 we wrote about a similar project: the website You Park Like An Asshole.

via The Atlantic Cities

Founded by Neha Sampat and Matthew Baier, KurbKarma is a mobile app that connects people leaving parking spots with people who are looking for parking spots, thus sharing “good parking karma”. The app is currently available for iOS at iTunes.

Users who are leaving desirable parking spots publish these spots to the community. If someone uses the app to take their spot when they leave, the publisher is rewarded with “KarmaKredits” which can be used in turn for a parking spot when they need it. By connecting people who are leaving desirable parking spots with people who need them, KurbKarma aims to improve the day by eliminating the nightmare of parking in the city.

In Case of Emergency: Eat This Book is a giveaway book for select owners of Land Rover vehicles. The book not only gives life-saving tips on how to survive in the Arabian Desert but is also made of edible ink and paper and has the nutritional value close to a cheeseburger.

Ad agency Y&R Dubai created this clever campaign for Land Rover which is described in detail at Ads of the World:

While Land Rover vehicles can take on any obstacles in the desert, it cannot be said the same of their owners. Scorching temperatures, deadly animals and sinkholes are just a few things they might encounter. And when they venture deep into it, even the most experienced drivers can quickly succumb to the harshness of the desert. We wanted to create something that would cut through the clutter and that these people would like to keep. So we created a survival guide, which explained the basics for staying alive in the Arabian Desert, and packaged it in a way that would spur the attention of our target audience. We researched every indigenous animal and plant, people could encounter in the Arabian Desert and how they could be used to survive. We studied the topography of the region to guide people to safety. We used a reflective packaging similar to army rations, which could be used to signal for help, and bound the book with a metal spiral, which could be used for cooking. Finally, we even took an extra step so that in case of emergency, people could always EAT the book. It was made out of edible ink and paper, and it had a nutritional value close to that of a cheeseburger. We sent the book to 5,000 existing customers, gave it away as a supplement to the cars’ manual and made it freely available in sports shops. The initial response was very positive. And the client was so happy with the concept that they asked us to include the book as an insert in the next edition of a car magazine, with a 70,000 circulation.

via Ads of the World

The Volkswagen hover car concept depicted in this Chinese VW commercial was the result of the People’s Car Project, an online initiative by Volkswagen Group China to crowdsource new vehicle concepts and technologies.

via Gizmag & Worldcarfans

I Just Saved a Bunch of Money on My Car Insurance by Switching… on Someecards

via 22 Words

Psychedelic Surfer Dude by Robynn Sanders
2011 photo by Arturo Yee

Over 250 art cars will roll through downtown Houston, Texas for the 25th Anniversary Houston Art Car Parade on Saturday May 12, 2012 starting at 1 PM at Allen Parkway & Taft Street. The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art presents this annual event which kicks off Thursday May 10, 2012 with the Legendary Art Car Ball (tickets). The 2012 Grand Marshals for the parade are Houston Texans players JJ Watt and Connor Barwin. TV station KVUE.com has posted a large online image gallery from last year’s parade.

2011 photo by Molly Block

2011 photo by Grace Rodriguez

photo by Nathan Huth

Supermarket chain H-E-B uses a Texas-sized hot rod shopping cart to promote its brand at parades and other events. A waving anthropomorphic bag of groceries can be found inside the cart during some of these events. It was most recently spotted by Bonnie M. at the 2012 Cornyval parade in Helotes, Texas. The giant cart is gas-powered and can be driven like a car.

photo by Miranda H.

image via Bonnie M. at Texas Hill Country

via Texas Hill Country

The costumed road race known as Rental Car Rally is back and this time they are going from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The race starts on Friday June 22 and goes to Saturday June 23, 2012. Tickets are available to purchase now.

What’s included in the price of my ticket?

The ticket includes admission to the rally; the rally briefcase for your team (the rally booklet w/ rules and coordinates for checkpoints, the rally contact sheet w/ info on other drivers, bottle rockets, smoke bombs, condoms, cigarettes, chaw, stuff like that); the rally pre-party and drink specials before the rally begins; and two huge post-rally parties at the destination. Potentially, you could also win a golden gas pump, the respect of your competitors, the fawning gazes of women, a sense of higher purpose, increased confidence in the bedroom, and healthier skin.

The 1914 A.L.F.A. 40/60 HP Aerodinamica Prototype was a very early attempt at creating an aerodynamic automobile. Thanks to its teardrop shape, the Aerodinamica could attain a top speed of 86 mph from its 70 horsepower engine. The car was designed by Marco Ricotti of Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Castagna. It was based on the A.L.F.A. 40/60 HP, a road and race car from the company that would eventually become Alfa Romeo.

via Retronaut & Car Styling

photo 2 by John Lamm, all others via shorey.net

At SXSX Interactive this year our friends at HootSuite were making the rounds in an awesome HootSuite Owl Van.

photo by Scott Beale

The Transition is a street-legal airplane that operates as both a car and aircraft (video). It completed its maiden flight in March, and is expected to be on sale to the public sometime in 2013. The Transition is being developed by Massachusetts-based Terrafugia.

via Wired

“Slow Motion Car Crash” by Jonathan Schipper is an art installation in which a VW slowly crashes into a wall at 7 millimeters per hour over the course of an entire month (see a time-lapse of week 1 and week 3). The installation was displayed throughout March at the AV Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. The installation was co-commissioned by Locus+ and AV Festival.

via MetaFilter

Today marks the official unveiling of the Nissan NV200 taxi cab, which will begin replacing New York City’s taxi fleet in October, 2013. The cab features a low annoyance horn, anti-microbial seats, and USB chargers for mobile devices.

via The Verge

photos via Nissan

On April 1, amateur Norwegian photographer Gunn Iren Johnsrud was filming a tow truck pulling a tractor-trailer up a snowy mountain road in Northern Norway when the rig slid off the road, rolling 200 feet down a cliff and taking the tow truck with it. The tow truck driver jumped free just seconds before his truck was pulled down the cliff. The tractor-trailer driver did not escape, but managed to survive his trip down the mountainside with minor injuries.

via The Daily Mail

Handpresso Auto is a portable espresso machine that plugs into a car’s 12 volt power socket (video).

via inStash & The Awesomer

In June 2010, this custom Cadillac baby stroller won first place in the Open Car class at the Monthly Muscle Car Show in Plano, Texas. Macomber Fiberglass Bodies in Santa Paula, California sells unfinished fiberglass shells on Ebay to make this or other custom pedal cars or strollers at home.

It has air-ride, lights under the car, and even fire out of the tailpipes!

1960 Cadillac pedal car hot rod stroller 1/4 scale fiberglass body rat rod

via Neatorama and Everlasting Blort

images via Macomber Fiberglass Bodies

The Jungle Yacht by International Harvester was created for and used by Italian explorer Commander Attilio Gatti and his wife, who both traveled extensively to the African Congo. According to Hemmings Blog, he used the Jungle Yacht as a deluxe apartment “for his 1937-1940 (his 10th) and 1947 (his 11th) expeditions” and “equipped them quite lavishly.”

The bedroom

The livingroom

via Telstar Logistics and Hooniverse

images via Hooniverse, Wisconsin Historical Society and 1940s.org

Josh Ellingson spotted a listing on Craigslist for a 1969 3-speed Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine-themed Dodge cargo van that sports a “Jenkies” license plate. It is being sold by California-based classic car dealership Ray’s Classics that states it’s “perfect for a novelty store owner.”

Pothole Season is a Canada-based site and a free iPhone app that alerts drivers of upcoming potholes in the road. It also allows users to record potholes and map them on Google Street View. The makers of the site and app, advertising agency TAXI Canada Ltd., also created a striking ad for Pothole Season showing a red car meeting its doom in a rather large pothole.

It’s open season on potholes! We’ll notify the city of the potholes you report and give you directions to avoid as many as possible before you hit the road. While you’re driving we’ll alert you to any approaching potholes and automatically record the ones you hit. You can report the potholes recorded on your trip once you arrive at your destination.

It also appears to work outside of Canada:

images via Ads of the World and Pothole Season

via Ads of the World

For the new V40, Volvo is introducing the world’s first pedestrian airbag (video). The system is designed to reduce the severity of pedestrian injuries in a car-pedestrian collision.

In order to mitigate the consequences if a collision with a pedestrian is unavoidable, the Volvo V40 features newly developed Pedestrian Airbag Technology, a world first. It works like this: Sensors in the front bumper register the physical contact between the car and the pedestrian. The rear end of the bonnet is released and at the same time elevated by the deploying airbag. The inflated airbag covers the area under the raised bonnet plus approximately one third of the windscreen area and the lower part of the A-pillar. The raised bonnet and airbag will help reduce the severity of pedestrian injuries.

via Gizmag & Gizmodo

Formula race cars are not intended for snow driving, but earlier this winter Andy Gülden equipped one with snow tires and drove it around the snow-covered race tracks of the famously challenging Nürburgring in Germany. Gülden is the chief driving instructor at the Nürburgring Driving Academy.

via The Awesomer & b3ta

A commercial for the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL vehicle shows it going “invisible” (to advertise the car’s zero emissions). The clever cloaking effect was created by rigging the vehicle with LED lights and a Canon 5D Mark II camera.

via David Karp, livedoor Homme and Mashable Tech

images via livedoor Homme

As showcased in this commercial, the 2012 Hyundai Azera¹s interior surrounds you with an array of sumptuous amenities such as front and rear heated seats, ventilated power front seats with an adjustable driver seat cushion extension, ambient lighting system, available premium Infinity® or Dimension audio systems and HD Radio(tm) technology with multicasting. Plus the iPod®/USB and auxiliary input jacks make for great connections as does the Bluetooth hands-free phone system.

In this spot we discover that being able to talk to your car is no longer fantasy or science fiction, thanks to Hyundai’s Blue Link. This innovative technology makes driving safer, easier and more fun. By keeping your 2012 Azera connected at all times, Blue Link can help you find a gas station or a shortcut, learn about mechanical issues, get regular maintenance alerts, call for help and even find you a great Italian restaurant nearby.

via /Film

“Paradise Parking” is a stunning photo series of antique cars that have been left to slowly decay in nature. The series is by photographer Peter Lippmann. “Paradise Parking” will be on display at an upcoming show in Brussels by Gallery SophieMarie.

via Colossal & Visual News