The De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout

RM Auctions of the USA will auction off the world’s oldest running car next month. Imaginatively named, the 1884 car is referred to as a De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout.

Luckily they also nicknamed it ‘La Marquise’ after the mother of the French entrepreneur that commissioned it, Count de Dion. The car was built by George Bouton and Charles-Armand Trepardoux.

It measures just 2.74 metres in length and features twin compound steam engines, which allows a travelling range of around 32km after a 45-minute coal or coke steam. Not quite a BMW M3 rival, the La Marquise will reach a top speed of 59km/h.

Other novelties include ‘spade handle’ steering, the level of power assistance depending on when last you saw the inside of a gym, and the car seats four people back-to-back. These seats are positioned atop a steel tank that holds 150 litres of water.

Read the whole story HERE!

Bubble car for human gerbils

It’s an airboat and a car!

It’s a shoe bus!

…and you never have to pull over at a rest stop

Smile for the camera

These are epic bicycle accidents

Where the rubber meets the face

Hard to look at bicycle crashes

Hey Girls! Look what I can do!

2 Wheel Wipeouts

If I hadn't cut Geology class, I might be able to identify this rock

This special ride has a 300 hp Supercharged GM Eco-Tech engine option, adjustable suspension package, and lighting kit. Check it out on eBay.

Alex Van Halen's 2009 Ariel Atom

Ariel Atom makes some cool handcrafted cars, nice website here

Alex Van Halen

Here is some of the ebay description: This 2009 Ariel Atom was previously owned by Alex Van Halen and built by TMI AutoTech, Inc. in Alton, Virginia. Cared for by R3 Motorsports in California, modified for track with added Carbon Fiber Wing and Splitter. This Ariel Atom comes with two sets of wheels and one set of slicks. Still on MCO. Has new nitron shocks and adjustable coilovers with Eibach springs for suspension. Also has wildwood upgraded 4 piston brakes and rotors. This Ariel Atom Supercharged car is a blast to drive, and there is a 13 month or longer wait period. This supercharged Ariel Atom 3 (with only 1,700 miles) has a 300 hp Supercharged GM Eco-Tech engine option, Adjustable Suspension Package, and Lighting kit (will allow car to be registered for street use please check with your state). This car also has a modified roll cage for safety, fire suppression and kill switch. This highly-equipped Atom 3 would cost over $100K (plus destination and delivery) to re-create.

The Longest Street in the World: Yonge Street

The Longest Street in the World is Yonge Street (pronounced “young”), referred to as “Main Street Ontario”, connects the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto in Canada to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at 1,896 km (1,178 mi), and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an Event of National Historic Significance.

Yonge Street was fundamental in the original planning and settlement of western Upper Canada in the 1790s, and a large part of the route follows an ancient Aboriginal trail that linked the Lake Ontario waterfront to northern parts of the region. 

The Shortest Street in the World: Ebenezer Place

The Shortest Street in the World can be found in Wick, Caithness, Scotland.

Ebenezer Place, built in 1883, measures only 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and contains only one address: No 1 Bistro, part of Mackay’s Hotel.

Alexander Sinclair returned from America, after having made his fortune there, and built Mackay’s Hotel at the junction of Union Street and River Street in 1883. The council of the day instructed him to put a name on the short end of the building as they deemed it to be a street, and Ebenezer Place then appeared in the town’s records from 1887. An earlier attempt to have Ebenezer Place recognized was rejected, as there was no door in the street. The successful application was made after the door was added for No 1 Bistro. One of Mr Sinclair’s descendants was still said to be resident in the town in 2009.

The previous record holder was Elgin Street, Bacup, Lancashire, recorded at 17 feet, and this was replaced by Ebenezer Place, in the Guinness Book of Records as of November 2006.

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First auto race on a track in the United States - Smithsonian Collection

On September 7, 1896, an electric car built by the Riker Electric Motor Company wins the first auto race in the United States, at the Narragansett Trotting Park–a mile-long dirt oval at the state fairgrounds that was normally used for horse racing–in Cranston, Rhode Island. Automobile companies sponsored the race to show off their newfangled electric-, steam-, and gas-powered vehicles to an awestruck audience. The carmakers’ gimmick worked: About 60,000 fairgoers attended the event, and many more people read about it in newspapers and magazines.

Seven cars entered the race. Along with the Riker Electric, there were five internal-combustion cars and one other battery-powered machine, this one built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company. The race began slowly (“Get a horse!” the spectators shouted as the automobiles wheezed at the starting line), but the Riker soon pulled ahead and won the race easily, finishing its five laps in about 15 minutes. The other electric car came in second, and a gas-powered Duryea took third.

Rhode Island is probably not the first place most people think of when they think of American automobile racing, but car racing in the Ocean State actually has a rich history. That Narragansett race was only the beginning: The Cranston track drew so many spectators that cities all over the state soon built dirt ovals of their own. For its part, the original raceway got so much use that its owners had to close it in 1914 for renovations. When it reopened the next year, it was like nothing any car-racing fan had ever seen. The new track was a paved, banked “Super Speedway” designed for 100-mile races.

On September 18, 1915, 50,000 people came to the first contest at the new park, where they watched the celebrity racer Eddie Rickenbacker coast to victory over a field of famous drivers in spectacular cars. Unfortunately for the Narragansett track’s investors, however, Rhode Islanders’ enthusiasm for car-racing waned as other kinds of mass entertainments grew more popular. The Cranston raceway closed for good in 1923.