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Grown-up Little Tikes Cozy Coupe is your inner five-year-old's street-legal dream

For many, the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe provided our first taste of the open road at a young age. It's been around for 30 years, with the Hudson, Ohio manufacturer even going so far as to declare it America's best-selling car. John Bitmead of Oxfordshire, England evidently wanted to relive his childhood a bit, so he created this excellent life-size, street-legal interpretation of the Cozy Coupe. Starting with what appears to be an early Daewoo Matiz minicar, this adult-friendly Cozy Coupe took 1,000 hours to build, but it's ready for the road with lights, airbags and a top speed of 70 miles per hour. The design stays as true to the Cozy Coupe as possible, including visual links like the red bodywork, yellow roof, lack of windows and even the basic wheel and hub cap design. Bitmead hopes he can raise money for children's charities by driving it from city to city in England, and if nothing else, he's sure to generate a lot of smiles. Scroll down to watch the BBC video report. News Source: Geekologie, BBCnews via YouTubeTip: Thanks to all for the tips Toys/Games Daewoo Videos

Indian tuner turns Chevy Optra into Mustang 'Eleanor' replica

If you are a big fan of automotive oddities, this may come as a little treat. If you are a Shelby or Mustang diehard, prepare to have your sensibilities violated.
The master fabricators at BigDaddyCustoms are the minds behind what you see above. At first, it appears to be a slightly misshapen custom Mustang, modeled after "Eleanor" from Gone In 60 Seconds, but upon further examination, something appears to be amiss. In fact, the custom shop, based in India, has created an Eleanor replica grafted upon a lowly Chevrolet Optra. While it may take a second for the Optra to ring a bell, you should recognize its badge-engineered sibling, the Daewoo Lacetti, used on Top Gear.
We don't know what star would opt for the Reasonably Priced Car in Shelby's clothing, but it's clearly someone more concerned with the aesthetic than the performance credentials of this automotive mash-up.

Junkyard Gem: 2001 Daewoo Nubira CDX Sedan

From 1988 to 1993, North American car shoppers were able to buy a new Daewoo from Pontiac dealers: the LeMans, a South Korean-built version of the Opel Kadett E. It wasn't until the 1999 model year, however, that Daewoo-badged cars became available in the United States, with the debut of the Lanos, Leganza, and Nubira. The descendant of the Lanos lives on here (as the Chevrolet Sonic), but the Daewoo name departed these shores in 2002. You won't see many Daewoos on American roads today, but I was able to photograph this very rare top-trim-level 2001 Nubira sedan in a Colorado self-service wrecking yard. These cars were a bit cheaper than their Japanese rivals, but most American car buyers didn't feel so confident about an off-brand marque that they— correctly— felt would disappear in a few years. The CDX was the top trim level of the Nubira, and it came standard with such features as cruise control and a CD player. MSRP for the CDX sedan was $14,199, which didn't look like a bad deal next to the $14,995 Chevrolet Cavalier LS or the $16,910 Honda Civic EX. Daewoo found few takers, though. This one got well past 150,000 miles, so it appears to have held together well enough for its 17 years on the road. The melted, dog-hair-covered rubber lizard on the dash must have cut its resale value by at least half, when the Nubira's final owner was contemplating calling the wrecking yard. The engine came right out of the GM Global Parts Bin, a 2.0-liter Opel-designed DOHC four-banger, built in Australia by Holden and rated at 129 entirely adequate horsepower. Much more reliable in the South Korean Mojave than a 1980s Celica! Featured Gallery Junked 2001 Daewoo Nubira CDX View 16 Photos Auto News Daewoo Automotive History Sedan