Elena Temnikova, Olga Seryabkina and Anastasia Karpova

Russian Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...in the Car [NSFW]

Monday, September 19, 2011 |

Though we like to assume that we're fairly open when it comes to music, we must admit that we've never had the chance to look [pun intended] at the lovely voices of the trio of girls that form the Russian pop group Serebar - or if we did, we never knew it was them, in which case, shame on us.

But thanks to an extremely educating video of what not to do while traveling in the car, we were obligated to share this new music clip of Elena Temnikova, Olga Seryabkina and Anastasia Karpova – or at least that's the name of the singers listed on the all-knowing Wikipedia.

Before you open the video to watch the daily struggles of youn

2012 Toyota Camry Photos Gallery

After this week's world premiere of the North American market 2012 Camry, Toyota is now preparing the debuts of its mid-size sedan in other regions of the world. First up is the Ukrainian version, which will most likely be offered in the same form in other surrounding markets including Russia.

While both iterations of the 2012 Toyota Camry share the same body and platform, the Ukrainian model sports a different and more prominent front-end design with bespoke headlamp units, bumper, hood, grille and front fenders.

The profile remains the same while at the rear Toyota's designers extended the tail lamps and restyled the deck lid that now features a subtle lip.

Inside, the changes seem to be limited to the region-specific trim and color options plus a different glove box design.

Toyota Ukraine said the new 2012 Camry will be offered locally with a choice of 2.5-liter four-cylinder and 3.5-liter six-cylinder gasoline engines, and prices starting from US$33,050, with more details to be available before the end of the year.

Kudos to Sergii for the tip!

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Saved by Antonov: Saab Sells Production Facilities to Russian Banker to Get Cash

The Swedish government offered Saab conditional backing for a deal to free up cash for the company (see previous story here), whose production lines have been stopped for two weeks as Saab didn't pay suppliers. "We have decided to allow the Debt Office to conclude an agreement with Saab," said enterprise minister Maud Olofsson during a news conference on Friday.

The government has approved a proposal from the Debt Office to allow Saab to sell real estate, including the production plant, to Russian financier Vladimir Antonov and then lease it back from him. The minister said this deal would bring €30 million to Saab in the first phase, although the real estate was worth much more than that.

Russian bank-owner Vladimir Antonov was one of Spyker's major shareholders before the Dutch-based company bought Saab from General Motors. Antonov was forced to sell his share before GM approved the sale, but now it seems Antonov is back in the game. The Swedish government agreed to the deal as the real estate was held as collateral for a 400 million euro loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to Saab, which the Debt Office guaranteed.

Olofsson said that the agreement means that the size of the EIB loan would now fall to 280 million euros. "This means in practice that the exposure of taxpayers falls as the size of the loan falls," Olofsson told reporters on Friday. However, the Swedish government had set conditions to the deal. These were that Saab had to get a market price for the property and to have access to production facilities. In addition, the payment had to take place through a European bank without links to Antonov and questions surrounding the buyer had to be cleared up.

What this all means is that from now on, Antonov will have a say in Saab’s future. Pending government approval, he may also buy a stake in the company.

By Dan Mihalascu

Source: Reuters

Drunk Driver Finds Ideal Parking Space for his Range Rover Sport

A security camera in Russia caught a drunk driver in a Ranger Rover Sport climbing the doorsteps and parking the luxury SUV right in front of the entrance of an apartment building in Chelyabinsk, a city located to the east of the Ural Mountains, on Miass River. The intoxicated driver is seen in the security video stumbling out of the British SUV with a bottle in his hand.

The next day, the residents of the apartment were surprised to find the doorway blocked by the Range Rover model. Luckily, the building had an emergency exit located on the other side. As you’d expect, the residents called the police but to their dismay, all they did was to contact the owner of the SUV who came shortly after and drove away as if nothing happened. According to media reports from Russia, the man simply received a parking ticket for 2,000RUB (about US$71)….

Hat tip to Alex from Carlifeblog!

Black Lightning: A Russian Delivery Boy Fights Capitalism in a…Flying Volga

You may not know the name Timur Bekmambetov, but you would surely have seen Wanted: that over-the-top movie with Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and that guy from Atonement. That was him.

He also made two really cool Russian language urban sci-fi / horror movies called Night Watch and Day Watch, the first of which made more money in its homeland than the first three Lord of the Rings movies put together. So when Mr. B releases a new movie, I’m there. His latest effort is Black Lightning, which is a superhero origin story. Spoilers ahead...

Dima is a university student with a problem. He has a massive crush on the new girl, Nastya, but no money and no car. His well-meaning Dad gives Dima his old Volga and encourages him to get a job. The job Dima eventually finds its delivering fresh flowers for an over-demanding boss.

Sounds pretty ordinary so far, huh? Well, get this: the Volga is a Soviet Era flying car, powered by a very unique power source that the big bad needs to power his top secret mining laser (yes, the villain in this movie is a capitalist!). The bad finds out about Dima’s Volga and his henchmen end up murdering the boy’s father. Dima responds by becoming a sort of superhero and national icon, using his flying car to save lives and fight crime.

Meanwhile, the bad guys are closing in and soon Dima is forced to fight for his life – and the lives of all of Moscow. Black Lightning is the sort of superhero movie Hollywood hardly makes any more. It’s silly, but not too silly and has the right mix of gravitas and humour to keep you humming on.

It’s not high art, but it’s well made, and the acting and special effects are what we’ve come to expect from Bekmambetov over the years. The cast is great, especially Viktor Verzhbitskiy as the villain. He’s worked with this director before, and always manages to have that slimy menace that Lex Luthor-esque movie villains so richly deserve.

The film should be readily available to rent and buy, albeit only with subtitles, and you can check out the (subbed) trailer below.

By Tristan Hankins

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Sollers Ends Negotiations with Fiat Group for Joint Venture in Russia, Then Signs Deal with Ford

Italian automaker Fiat SpA and Russia's Sollers OJSC, backed out of a potential partnership today following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in February 2010 for the launch of a Russian joint-venture to produce passenger cars and SUVs.

Fiat, which controls US automaker Chrysler, and Sollers did not give any explanation for the breakup of negotiations, with both companies simply stating that they intend to continue expanding their existing operations and activities in the region. The 2.4 billion-euro deal signed last year was aimed at producing as many as 500,000 cars annually by 2016 and would have been supported by a 1.2 billion- euro loan backed by the Russian government.

Literally only minutes after the joint statement by Fiat and Sollers, Ford Motor Company came out with a press release announcing that is has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sollers, under which the two parties intend to launch a new 50:50-owned joint venture called Ford Sollers for the production and distribution of Ford vehicles in Russia.

Under the new proposed joint venture with Ford, Sollers, which is the second largest producer of passenger and light commercial vehicles in Russia, local plants in Vsevolozhsk (St. Petersburg region) and in the Republic of Tatarstan, will manufacture a range of Ford passenger cars and light commercial vehicles at local production facilities.

“We are delighted to be taking this next step for Ford in Russia with our proposed partner, Sollers,” said Stephen Odell, chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe. “This is a great opportunity, and will provide Ford customers in Russia with more products and better service.

“We are inspired by the opportunity to work with Ford,” said Vadim Shvetsov, general director of Sollers. “We are confident that our mutual efforts on the development of manufacturing facilities, new product launches and localization of parts content will ensure success for our strategy, and a leading position for the future joint venture company on the Russian market.”

Ford, which has been producing cars in Russia since 2002, did not disclose the financial terms of the deal with Sollers.

Topcar jumps on the Porsche Cayenne Tuning Bandwagon with Vantage GTR 2

Topcar might be a newbie in the industry, but the Russian tuning firm is churning one proposal after the other. Following a display of project cars at this year's Essen Motor Show, the company has unveiled its latest package in the form of the Vantage GTR 2 for the latest Porsche Cayenne.

Limited to 50 units, the package overhauls the SUV's looks with a full bodykit comprised of carbon Kevlar and carbon fiber components, including front and rear bumpers, bonnet, ultra-wide wheel-arches and a rear diffuser. New two-tone black and white alloy wheels complete the exterior make up. Furthermore, the Moscow-based tuner offers multiple performance upgrades with the output ranging from 550 to 750 hp.

By Csaba Daradics

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VIDEO: Vladimir Putin Drives a Renault Formula 1 Car

Former Russian President and now Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is doing his best to remain in the spotlight. After his country decided to back the Renault F1 team, by branding it with Lada advertisements, Mr. Putin was invited to drive the R30 Formula One racer at a special event held in St. Petersburg. Video after the break.

Wearing a helmet painted in his country's colors and with Russia written on the visor, Vladimir Putin is said to have reached speeds of up to 240 km/h (150 mph), showing that he is a man of many talents.

The PM's interest towards the sport is also due to the fact that Russia's bid to hold an F1 event after the Sochi Olympics in 2014 was successful as the deal was signed less than a month ago.

By Csaba Daradics

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Slava Saakyan envisions a New ZiL Limo for Russian President Medvedev and his entourage

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hopes to revive the ZiL limousine, a former Soviet symbol of transportational power, for use by himself and other government officials and diplomats. Due to these rumors, which came to light earlier this year, the Slava Saakyan design studio - named after its founder, a former AMO ZiL designer - has dreamt up its own interpretation of the once-presidential vehicle.
Saakyan, who reportedly won the in-house design contest for what would have been the next ZiL, says he tried to incorporate a few basic ideals when designing the new ZiL. These include keeping the car modern, safe (it has no back window for would-be assassins to target), comfortable, and to the point. The designer did away with other baubles as well, cleaning up the newly-creased edges.
As for the possibility of ZiL's return to the forefront of Russian politicians' transportation, might I remind you of "supercar" manufacturer Marussia? Clearly anything's possible in the former Soviet Union these days. According to presidential property department head Vladimir Kozhin, "There is a presidential order to explore this..We are currently discussing [the ZiL limousine] with factories."
Obviously this rendering is just the start. Should the ZiL make a return to duty, a concept could be showing up any time and would likely be powered by something in the "V8s and above" category. I imagine President Medvedev would rather enjoy his Mercedes-fighting Russian flagship sooner than later.

By Phil Alex

Via: Cardesign

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