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Car-crazy 5-year-old boy writes automakers for treasures, gets big response

Part of the beauty of children is that they can find worth in something adults might deem unworthy or overlook entirely. Five-year-old Patch Hurty didn't see garbage or a broken piece of a car when he spotted a Ford badge lying on the side of a road. He saw an artifact, a souvenir, a start to a collection he could only dream of. Ezra Dyer of Popular Mechanics tells the story of Patch and his quest to turn that one lost badge into a museum of manufacturer logos. According to the article, Hurty is a car fanatic through and through, even using car names as a way of learning to read. After finding the Ford badge near his Connecticut home, he and his mom put together a plan to reach out to dozens of automakers, confessing his love of things on four wheels. In each letter, Patch assembled a picture of himself standing next to one of the cars, and a penny to pay for whatever he hoped was sent his way. The response was unexpectedly and overwhelmingly positive. Of the more than 50 letters he sent out, including to obscure or defunct companies such as Bugatti, Suzuki, and Saturn, a majority responded with warm notes and some type of souvenir. Two of the coolest responses came from Lincoln and Bentley. Lincoln sent a sketch of a Continental (all car lovers enjoy drawing cars, right?), and Bentley sent a wheel center cap. How awesome is that? The story reminds us of something that can easily be lost in all of the negativity involved with the auto industry: Everybody is in this because of a common infatuation with automobiles. For more details on the souvenirs Patch received and accompanying photos, read the rest of the story. Related Video: News Source: Popular Mechanics Read This Bentley Bugatti Ford Lincoln Saturn Suzuki

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse sets world record for fastest open-top car

Bugatti has come back from losing its "World's Fastest Production Car" title with a new superlative to add to the Veyron's trophy case: World's Fastest Open-Top Production Car. That's right, if you can't beat 'em, take the roof off and join them.
The record of 408.84 kilometers per hour, or 254.04 miles per hour, was set by a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse driven by Chinese racing driver Anthony Liu at Volkswagen Group's proving grounds in Ehra-Lessian, Germany. The speed was measured and verified by the German Technical Inspection and Certification Association, or TÜV.
That last point is important to note, as the kerfuffle over the closed-roof Veyron's record involved the Guinness World Records organization, which both sanctioned the car's world record run back in 2010 and then stripped Bugatti of the title after it was learned the car used to set the record had its speed-limited removed. Also, whereas Guinness calculates a car's speed based on the average of two runs in opposite directions, Bugatti doesn't say what criteria TÜV used to verify and calculate the convertible's speed.

Guinness reconfirms Bugatti Veyron's world record top speed

After taking last week to review the record category for World's Fastest Production Car, Guinness World Records has reconfirmed that the holder of this hotly contested superlative remains the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
The Veyron Super Sport set the official record back in 2010 with a Guinness-verified speed of 267.8 miles per hour, but other interested parties have recently contested that record's validity because the Veyron used that day had its speed limiter removed. With the speed limiter in place, the Veyron Super Sport tops out at 258 mph.
Guinness rules state that a record-setting production car must be unchanged from what is available to customers. While some, particularly Hennessey Performance, have claimed that removing the Veyron's speed limiter violated that rule, Guinness has settled the matter by stating that "a change to the speed limiter does not alter the fundamental design of the car or its engine."