Anything left to sit and collect dust is never a good situation. Especially when it's a famous movie car. After decades of wowing fans on the Universal Studios Back Lot Tour, the "A" Back to the Future Delorean car is in need of major dose of TLC. As you may know this car was one of the premium cars used in all three films. But don't worry there's hope! According to a recent article over at BTTF.com. Bob Gale writer and co-creator of the Back to the Future franchise is heading a project to restore the car to museum quality. Bob has in-listed the skills of BTTF Delorean replica masters Joe Walser, J Ryan and Terry Matalas. We're looking forward to see how these guys make the magic happen. Learn more about the project and how you can help at BTTF.com. Remember the FUTURE is what you make it!
Hot Wheels has some interesting new die-cast collectables out now for us On Screen Car fans. These are not your average 99 cent Hot Wheels cars. They are certainly not toys. The Elite Series provides collector consumers with high-end premium 1:18 and 1:43 scale replicas of famous cars. These cars have real synthetic rubber tires, authentic graphics high quality paint/finishes, moving steering wheels, working seat belt and opening doors/hoods/trunk. Engine compartments are fully detailed as well. A high level of care is taken into consideration for not only the customer but the brands and franchisees the models represent.
On Screen Car fans will especially love Elite's latest releases. The Cult Classic Collection features cars from popular TV shows and Movies. Currently available are the Ghostbusters ECTO-1 and the A-Team Van. Both are available as 1:18 and 1:43 scale die-cats. According to their site we have a lot more to see from this collection. Vehicles including the Bat Pod, Ghostbusters ETCO-1A and Knight Rider's K.I.T.T. Can't find these in stores? Look no further than Amazon for great deals on these masterpieces.
Racing games are lot of fun on a gaming console. Sometimes they're not to bad on web either. Especially if you're just looking for something to kill time. There are a few options on Facebook. We've talked about Car Town before. But recently I've played StreetRally. It's a top down view racer much like Grand Thief Auto 2 without the murder and stealing cars. You can buy, build and race cars against friends. But the one thing that kinda turns me off is the inability to use anything but a keyboard for controls. Then I thought for a moment and a tool came to mind from my arcade emulation days. That program is called JoyToKey.
JoyToKey allows you to map buttons on a joystick or gamepad to a key on the keyboard. Best part is it's freeware! You simply start up the application and assign which buttons you want to which key on the keyboard. As long as the application is running the buttons on the gamepad are mapped to the keys in your profile. All that's left is to play your web-based game or any game that accepts keyboard input using your joystick or gamepad. You can setup multiple profiles for different games. I created a quick one to use with StreetRally. After using JoyToKey for a bit I noticed my lap times were much better! I hope this tip helps you out in improving your lap time. Till next time keep'r drifting!
2.13.2012 - Update
I had some other thoughts about this over the weekend. For those who own a XBOX 360 and a PC. You may not know it, but you can use your 360 controller on your PC. Drivers are available online or through Windows Update to make it work. From what I understand the 360 controller is also compatible with the JoyToKey! Don't have a 360 controller or a 360? Don't feel left out you can find them on Amazon
cheap!
It's not everyday that someone gets to realize a dream. But thanks to the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction this past weekend and $110,000. Pro Golfer Bubba Watson got to realize his childhood dream of owning a real Dukes of Hazzard General Lee 1969 Dodge Charger. Now some say if you're gonna dream, you might as well dream big. This is where the story gets better. Not only is the car a real Charger used in the show. It is the very first General Lee! Otherwise known to fans as "LEE1." You may recall our article on the famous LEE1. It's worth a look! Find out why this Charger is so special!
I found this interesting video above featuring a quick run down of all the cars from the current Need for Speed. This impressive collection can be unlocked and played with throughout the game. I really like some of the classic domestic muscle featured in the video around 0:25. As much as I like the new titles let me just say "Give me back my Motor City!" If you're not familiar with The Run be sure to check out our earlier post on it. Gamers are sure to be treated with a cross country race to the finish.
cheap!
From Twitter @bubbawatson