Awesome Rides

Protect the pricey rims on your car from getting curbed with Alloygators. These durable strips fit between your rim and tire to absorb any dings or scratches, and can be cleaned up to look good as new. Available in both bright accent colors and stealthy black or alloy hues.

Automotive author Jason Fogelson has spent years traveling America experiencing some of its greatest roads, auto shows, factory tours, off-road trails, tracks, driving lessons and more. He shares the best in 100 Things for Every Gearhead to Do Before They Die.

A couple of tiny cars perform a stunt in which they balance on a fulcrum like a giant teeter-totter. We’re just impressed that the driver on the left didn’t back off the end of the ramp.

British motorcycle maker Triumph sets its eyes on the future with five successors to the Bonneville. These new models bring more powerful engines, improved chassis and suspension, new assistive technology and damn good looks. More at Bike EXIF.

Yamaha has developed an industrial robot that is capable of riding a motorcycle. While we wait for the robot MotoGP races some day, Motoman is helping to make bikes safer and more comfortable for humans. For now, he has training wheels, but they’ll come off soon.

Auto enthusiast Salomondrin gives us an idea how much it costs to maintain a Bugatti Veyron. Obviously if you can afford to buy a $3 million car, these things won’t matter to you, but it doesn’t make a $20,000 oil change any less insane.

Mazda’s latest concept sports coupe appears to be the next in the RX-7, RX-8 lineage, with a fuel-efficient and powerful rotary engine and a rear-wheel drivetrain, wrapped up in a wide, low-slung form that embodies the company’s “soul of motion” design language.

Based on the Segway transporter, Kevin Halsall’s Ogo wheelchair is controlled simply by using the abdominal muscles to shift one’s weight. It also has a joystick mode and can be operated manually. Its battery lasts up to 25mi per charge.

A grand tourer variant of the Ferrari 250, the Europa used a different V12 than the one used in most other 250s. Only 22 Europa units were built, and of those only four had a body built by Vignale. If James Bond had a two-car garage, this would have occupied the 2nd space.

An amphibious all-terrain cart with a 140hp gas engine and Gibbs’ jet drive. It transforms in seconds, goes up to 50mph on land and up to 45mph on water. Gibbs also has aa amphibious motorcycle coming, but not even Space Sheriff Shaider could look cool on it.

The Beast electric bicycle’s off road variant has twice the power and top speed – up to 31mph – of the base model, thanks to a second 500W motor. The solar panel built into the battery pack provides supplemental charging when parked in the sun.

Volvo gives us a glimpse of its future haulers, which will act much like our mobile devices. These trucks can automatically download updates in real time, change their internal specs to suit the job or the driver, schedule trips to the mechanic and more.

A group of Stanford mechanical engineers modded a 1981 DMC-12 to study autonomous driving systems that can adjust to extreme situations, particularly ones that require counter intuitive driving. So far they’ve taught their electric DeLorean to drift donuts on its own.

Samsung’s artificially transparent truck is a clever idea, but it’s far from original. In an old episode dedicated to James Bond’s cars, Top Gear slapped cameras and displays on a van’s rear and sides. The hilarious hack needed a gas generator to work.

One of the four fabled custom cars by legendary Ferrari superfan and car designer Tom Meade. Restored by Red Car Restorations, the Thomassima II is based on a ’57 Cooper Climax F1 chassis and has a Ferrari 250 V12 engine.

The guys from Jet Granny Cars have a made a very special mobility scooter. Watch as it powers down the Santa Pod raceway, then demonstrates why strapping four rocket engines to your butt isn’t exactly the smartest idea. The wet tarmac didn’t help matters.

Toyota did their part for Back to the Future Day by giving Marty the truck he always dreamed of – though the HiLux of the past has been transformed into the awesome new 2016 Tacoma, complete with KC fog lights. Check it out in person in NYC, Dallas or LA on 10/21.

A smart action camera for cars. Waylens uses data from your car as well as its sensors to automatically detect and record the highlights of your driving. You can overlay data such as speed, RPM or temperature over the captured video before sharing it online.

Pro rally driver Ryan Millen proves that the Toyota RAV4 is way more capable than its grocery getter image. We watched him drive his largely stock RAV4 to 1st place in his class and 3rd place overall in the 2015 Mt. Hood Rally. Read more about our adventure on 95octane.

Bandit9’s latest creation is its tamest one yet, but that doesn’t make it less of a beast. Based on a 2012 Triumph Bonneville T100, the Panther has a murdered out look with custom hand guards, tail lights, turn signals, seat and exhaust.

A specimen of Zagato’s masterpiece, a lightweight and sublimely sculpted body over a classic sports car. This particular car – 14th of only 19 units built – won races in its heyday and auto shows after being restored. RM Sotheby’s will auction it off on 12/10/15.

Debuting in the Aston Martin Vulcan, Nexcel is an “oil cell” that contains both automotive oil and an oil filter. It lets you change oil in just 90s and makes it easier to recover and recycle used oil. Castrol aims to have it cost the same as a standard oil change.

Jalopnik visited Los Angeles-based sculptor Baron Margo, who loves to give vehicles a Space Age makeover. He uses handmade parts as well as bits and bobs from junkshops and flea markets. The car in the video is based on a VW Beetle.