The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany is now home to more than just automobiles.

The museum has been recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for creating the “strongest artificially generated tornado in the world.”

The 34.4 meter high (that is 37.2 yards to those metrically challenged) vortex was not designed as an attraction, but to channel smoke out of the building in the event of a fire.

The architecture wonderment that is the museum did not make use of any fire doors in the design (surely they would get in the way of the architect’s vision). Read more »

So anyway, that new 2009 Jaguar X-Type we showed you this morning — the one currently being crucified in the comments? No need to worry: it’s not coming here.

On the same day it announced the updated version for the rest of the world, Jaguar has officially pulled the plug on the X-Type in the US.

The car’s biggest sales year was 2003 when it was first introduced, and it has not met expectations since. Not even the introduction of the wagon for MY 2005 helped. Read more »

If you like riding the motorbikes, and need an excuse to travel to the land of the rising sun, look no further than Yamaha’s Tesseract motorcycle that will debut at the Tokyo Motor Show.

It’s not a car, and don’t confuse it with an all-terrain vehicle; it’s a hybrid that should put those other alternative cycles to shame.

The added kick isn’t just the two additional wheels, but the V-Twin engine and electric motor as well as the mechanism that keeps the Tesseract upright when stopped or parked. Read more »