Autoblog UK

In the summer of 2009, director Michael Bay will have his "Transformers" gaily shape-shifting again in their second movie adventure and filming has already started in Philadelphia. The official title of the melt-down carve up is already known and the 'Autobot' adventure will be screened as "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen".

The first trailer was already screened on TV to a US public during the Superbowl to give them a taste. Now there is a second extract from the blockbuster in the following video.

VIDEO: Full version of the second Transformers 2 trailer.

At the 2009 Chicago Auto Show, GM will be showing their new concept car, the Corvette Stingray and it will also be seen during the new Transformers movie. The vehicle looks very futuristic, while still showing elements of the original Stingray Racer from 1959. Transformers director Michael Bay was so taken with the original that he was the influence behind this concept car. Whatever type of shape-shifting the vehicle will come up with in the course of the movie will be seen when this blockbuster premieres. You can get a taster in the Galleries and also in a video.

Over the past few years, Citroën seem to have rediscovered their innovative flair. If further proof of this were needed, take a look at the C3 Picasso. Despite our growing environmental awareness, traffic levels continue to increase and our cities are becoming ever more congested. But perhaps an even more pressing problem is that wage packets have begun to shrink, at least in terms of what they can actually buy. But the last thing we're going to do without is our individual mobility, so the demand is for cars that offer an efficient use of space and fuel economy without compromising on agility or style. Something rather like the C3 Picasso, in fact. This Citroën seems to have hit the market at just the right time. The new C3 Picasso is being touted as a compact MPV, in other words a miraculous use of space in mini format.

Ford are constantly working to improve their vehicle safety ratings. Crash tests have always been an expensive pastime: when you smash one car into another, there is a lot of bodywork to straighten out afterwards, and that's getting more costly all the time. Although there are plenty of unsold cars standing around, the idea of using these for test purposes is hard to justify to the tax payer who is ultimately footing the bill. Now Ford are using inflatables that serve the same purpose. These balloon dummies don't exactly come cheap at $10,000 each, but at least they are reusable.

The year is 2009. While the whole world is covered with unsold cars, one small scarlet-fever-infected village is holding out against the global downturn. Led by their charismatic chieftain Luca di Montezemolo, the tribe from the tiny settlement of Maranello are giving the other marques a hefty kick up the exhaust. The magic potion that has made their foes despair is the latest set of figures from the village. Rising from the huts of Maranello, we see a plume of smoke that speaks of petrol, rubber and wealth.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has both eyes firmly fixed on Ferrari for two reasons. First of all, the team is counting on winning the Formula 1 World Championships again this season with Lewis Hamilton.

At the same time, the Brit is keeping a close eye on the Italians' 60 years experience with their road cars, as Ferrari have been able to constantly increase sales of production cars on the back of racing successes. Dennis would also like to increase sales of McClaren road vehicles and the plan is to boost annual sales from the current 100 exclusive vehicles to 1,000 units by the year 2011. In the long-term, it is intended to even raise the figure to as many as 4,000 per annum. Dennis sees investments in such capacities as an expensive risk and has indicated that production could be outsourced to an independent coachbuilder.

Everyone is following the worldwide economic recession as the media provide daily tales of doom and gloom and in the States, the search for solutions becomes ever more desperate. Now, the respected "Financial Post" has published a completely crazy study.

In a darkened garage somewhere, a welder put together a heap of scrap parts to build a stretch limo that is quite definitely a one-off. He took a 1981 Golf and various Mercedes components to create a totally original VW limousine.

This has the potential to become the first in a new series of cult vehicles for the rapper scene. Convert the engine to run on vegetable oil and fit some hemp seat covers and you could even have the makings of a stretch limo for ferrying hippies to prom events in style.

In the American Midwest, one auto freak had the right idea – he built himself a 'housecar'. This home comes complete with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. At the time it was constructed five years ago, the costs were equivalent to a new Aston Martin V8 Vantage. With the drop in house prices, it is now worth, say, a Toyota Camry.

Some years back, prospective house purchasers were being offered a 'free' car as an incentive to buy. The way things are going, it may soon be the other way round – buy a car and we'll throw in a free house...

Stories from the Middle East are always fascinating and '1001 Arabian Nights Car Tales' seem to get more and popular. The sheikhs from Abu Dhabi have already provided us with visions of their wildest dreams over recent months. The 'dernier cri' has now been seen standing outside the "Emirates Palace Hotel". A pimped up open-top Hummer H2. O.K. - the original Hummer H1 was also open, but this version is something special.

With its seven seats covered in lurid red leather, the H2 cabrio seems ideally suited for any harem transport. The alloys are also special equipment, but just what the additional row of lights on the bonnet are supposed to achieve remains a mystery at the time of writing. Maybe they are intended to scare camels that occasionally wander on the roads of Abu Dhabi, but it would not have been necessary. Any camel would surely know what a Hummer is supposed to look like and would probably flee in alarm from such an awesome sight, to restore its sanity with copious draughts from the next oasis.