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The Weird World of Wheels

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24 February 2006

WELCOME to Alex Eckford's Weird World of Wheels.

Each week, we'll be bringing you the essential strangest motoring news from around the world.

Don't forget to come back every Friday for your weekly helping.

This week:

 

1. Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy Oi Oi Oi

Ozzy Osbourne is swearing his way round the UK in thousands of cars.

 

A soundalike of the Black Sabbath singer is the latest voice to be available for download onto satellite navigation systems.

 

The foul-mouthed frontman's imitator tells drivers: "In 400 metres you have reached your f***ing destination."

 

If the satnav system loses the signal: "I've lost the f***ing satellite."

 

Makers Voice Skins says the impression of Ozzy is out-selling other voice downloads by more than two to one.

 

The next-best seller is wife Sharon's Osbourne's voice, which tells drivers to "turn around, a***hole."

 


2.That's the Enzo that

There are lots of great things you can do with a £600k Ferrari Enzo.

 

But smashing one into a million tiny pieces on the Pacific State Highway is not one of them.

 

That's exactly what Bel-Air resident Stefan Eriksson did this week after an ill-advised race with a Mercedes-McLaren SLR on the Californian highway.

Mr Erikkson told police he was just a passenger and the car was in fact being driven by a mystery motorist.

Strange it was just the driver's side airbag that deployed, then.

 

Mr Eriksson was an executive of Gizmondo, a company which produced a hand-held gaming device (think of it as a Nintendo DS that no one bought). At least the investors who poured millions of dollars into his company will be thrilled to see he's not wasting their money.

 


3. Aisle drive like you love

Married couples don't just share a bed, cutlery and arguments - they also share driving styles.

 

New research shows couples in long term relationships pick up each others driving habits.

 

Drivers who act recklessly are most likely to have partners who drive recklessly, and the same link can be made between anxious drivers and their other halves.

 

The research, carried out at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, also found that men drive faster, see cars as a boost to their self-esteem, and are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents.

 

I expect the same team will soon be releasing the results of their study into whether mice like cheese and monkeys like bananas.


4. Nine out of ten Americans prefer ignorance

The American education system is in line for another kicking after a survey by Jeep found that 90 per cent of Americans can't name all four Presidents carved into the face of Mount Rushmore.

 

Jeep dented the nation's pride even further by revealing almost one in ten 18-34 year olds thought Abraham Lincoln was the first President of the US, and three per cent of college graduates could not name the current President.


 

A Jeep spokesperson said: "We thought it was a good opportunity to reach the younger generation and instil an interest in the nation's past."

 

Just for the record, the Presidents carved into the face of Mount Rushmore are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Sneezy and Grumpy.

 

Only joking, it's George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.





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