Froggin’ in the World of Cars

Despite the fact that an American invented the automobile and that the Japanese (or is it the Koreans and Chinese?) sell the most cars nowadays, Europeans can rightfully claim dominance and originality when it comes to innovations regarding the four-wheeled wonder. European car manufacturers have the genius to incorporate maximum utility, class and excellent performance into their car designs. More importantly, they have the mind to consider whatever special needs and demands may come up.

When the issues regarding fuel-efficiency became hotter than usual, before the hybrids came out into the market, the best way to save on gas (aside from walking or taking the public transportation) was to drive around in cute little compact cars.

In the world of mini cars, The MINI Cooper reigns supreme. Since its release, it has had a reputation for being fun to drive and unbelievably spacious despite appearances. Last year, MINI introduced the Cooper Clubman which has more room than the base model MINI Cooper (mostly in the back seat) but is just as fuel efficient.
The Japanese followed suit and perfected the form and efficiency of the compacts.

The latest Ford Focus is a fuel efficient car… although it’s big no surprise to know that the fuel efficient incarnation of the Focus was largely designed by Ford’s European division.

In some places, car colors used to be a basis for traffic-handling schemes. Color-coding for cars used to be an easy task, much like counting or simply categorizing the cars by the last digit of their plate numbers. Lately, different colors have sprung out; variations to the usual basic hues that have turned out to be quite difficult to even give a name to.

What used to be known simply as blue, Dark Blue or Royal Blue have transformed into shades of blue with names such as Canal Blue from Honda or Westminster Blue and Pacific Blue from Jaguar. The classic Red has taken on such incarnations and monikers as Jupiter Red, Carnival Red, Blaze Red Crystal and Inferno Red.
What used to be just plain old Silver may be known as Viper Bright Silver, Silver Steel or Brilliant Silver for 2006’s Daimlerchrysler. There are cars that have the color Calcite Yellow, Chrome Yellow, Zinc Yellow or School Bus Yellow.

Even the color White has taken on different names and a slight difference in the shade – Ceramic White Pearlcoat, Ivory, Linen White, Ghost White and Bright White.

Black cars may be colored Black Licorice, Black Mica or Lamp Black.

Mary Kay Pink is girlish and young Torch red is playful and striking while Sunset Orange is sober.

They say that Hollywood is the place where dreams begin; and movies, the vehicle that brings these dreams to the viewers. Well, speaking of dreams and vehicles- get a load of the following list of “Coolest Cars on Screen” that will definitely get automobile-philes slavering: (The list includes cool rides from the big as well as the boob tube.)

Eleanor. Yes, the lady has a name. Anyone who’s seen Gone in Sixty Seconds would definitely know her, she’s a Shelby GT500. In the film, this hard to catch beauty shares the spotlight with no one less than Miss Angelina Jolie when it comes to allure.

The Bat Mobile has taken on different incarnations, a different one for every Batman film, in fact. This one is really the stuff for dreams, a fantasy car that only exists in a fantasy city we all know as Gotham.

The coveted black ’67 Chevy Impala is a main stay in the TV series Supernatural… flying the Winchester brothers through the Interstate, from one adventure to the next.

The Italian Job remake did more than just revive the 1969 classic, it also put the MINI Cooper into superstar status. The movie showcased the power and speed you can squeeze out of these cute and lovely little monsters.

This list would be incomplete without the time-traveling DeLorean from Back to the Future. It’s drop-dead gorgeous, it can travel through the paths of time… what more could one ask for?

Hop and run in the world of cars. With Frogger25th.com, you will surely enjoy exploring it and learning more about it.