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Come across many near misses online, as well as misc automotive related news all the while, but don't feel right to create a thread for every single article. Thus starting this thread for all forumers to share their interesting read. For a start, these are what I deemed as near miss or news to be shared here. Massive WW2 Bomb Found Under Greek Gas Station Forcing 50,000 People Out Of Their Homes One of the things you don’t want to find when digging a hole in the ground is a massive 250kg / 550-lbs unexploded bomb from WW2, especially if you’re digging next to a gas station. This unbelievable discovery happened in Greece, when construction workers were digging to install a new tank for the gas station and according to local Voria they were able to stop the works just 4mm shy from hitting the bomb. The local authorities had to stop the original deactivation procedure as the bomb was much larger than initially anticipated, weighing 250kg in total (550lbs), and now are planning a massive evacuation in a 1.2-mile radius before they attempt one more time. The bomb was found at Thessaloniki in a densely populated area and the evacuation plan involves moving more than 50,000 people away from their homes this Sunday, February 12th. It’s been reported that the explosive weapon is an aerial bomb dropped from a plane during WW2 that didn’t explode when employed. Massive 700-Car Collection Liquidating In Ohio Includes Studebakers & DeLoreans, Tractors & Trucks There are lots of people who collect cars. Some amass more than others, but we've never seen anything quite this big. It's the Hackenberger collection, and it's going up for auction – all 700 cars, trucks, tractors, and motorcycles. The collection is the life's work of Ron and Eunice Hackenberger based out Norwalk, Ohio – about halfway between Cleveland and Toledo. Ron bought his first Studebaker at 15 years old with money borrowed from his grandpa, and set about a lifetime of expanding his collection after marrying Eunice. The rest, as they, is history. Hackenberger ran a trucking company before expanding into real estate, hospitality, and even cattle ranching, crisscrossing the country and picking up any and every type of unusual wheeled vehicle he came across along the way. Sometimes he would even take an empty car transporter out to the West Coast and bring it back packed with motorized oddities. At this point the collection has swelled to over 700 vehicles. There's some 250 Studebakers, reflecting his lifelong passion, with the rest of the collection including everything from European micro cars to John Deere tractors. There are some 1940s motorcycles, a series of mid-60s muscle cars, and even some Checker limousines – all in various conditions. There's even a DeLorean, Bricklin, Porsche, a couple of Jaguars, some Citroëns, and a Cadillac ambulance that looks straight out of Ghostbusters. It's all still being catalogued, but what's clear already is that the breadth and scope of it all is staggering. And it's all going up for auction over the course of one long weekend. Apparently Ron had planned to restore it all, but having reached this late stage in his life, realized it was too much to undertake. Everything will be up for grabs, with no reserve prices on anything when VanDerBrink Auctions handles its liquidation this coming July 14-16. Check out some of the highlights in the gallery below, or visit the auctioneer's website for more. Best Speeding Excuse Ever? Driver Tells Cop “Wind Was Pushing Me” Just when you think you've heard it all, an Australian driver finds the airiest excuse ever to get out of a speeding ticket. After being pulled over by the cops for allegedly speeding 17km/h or 10mph over the limit (127km/h or 79 mph in a 110km/h or 68mph zone), the unnamed man from Western Australia told the police “The wind was pushing me”. No, seriously, that’s what he said and it went on record with the Three Springs Police department sharing the citation on their Twitter account with the humorous caption ‘And the excuse of the day goes to…’. As you’d expect, the cops didn’t buy the excuse and handed the driver a AU$200 fine while also deducting two demerit points on Monday. Canadian Driver Masterfully Avoids Four Moose On Snow-Covered Road It seems that the driver of this car had a pretty good idea about what to do when he confronted a small herd of moose. According to the description of the video, once the driver saw the moose ahead, he started braking and the car kept sliding, which is when he cleverly lifted his foot of the brake in an attempt to steer around the animals. Thankfully, everything turned out OK for everybody involved. Seeing animals get hurt is always horrible, though from the driver's perspective, a direct hit with a moose would have probably been the end of the road for that vehicle, as these animals can weigh anywhere between 380 (837 lbs) to almost 700 kg (1,543 lbs). During the evasive maneuvers, the Canadian managed to steer his vehicle right in-between the animals, which at that point were simply trying to get away from the incoming projectile's path. By the way, is it us or does the guy's laughter sound a lot like he's saying "Ho Ho Ho?" A Mustang Almost Caused A Train Crash, Was Pushed Away Seconds Before Locomotive Rolled Through Four men helped prevent a disastrous situation when a Ford Mustang got stuck on a railway crossing in Portland, Oregon, on Friday morning. According to reports, bad weather conditions led several cars getting stuck in ruts crossing MAX lines along NE 99th and East Burnside, but the red second-generation Mustang got stranded just as a MAX train was approaching the crossing. “We saw a red mustang coming down the road. It was fishtailing a little bit. It got to that stop light up there. It went to go across those max tracks and got stuck,” said Andrew Rasmussen, a physical therapy student who followed the scene with his mentors at Laurelhurst Physical Therapy, KATU reported. “Rear wheel drive, real low sports car, yeah probably not the best to be on these kind of roads,” he said. A news helicopter flying from above captured the moment on film, when four men ran to help the Mustang driver. “About four or five people rocked the car to get it off the tracks in about 10 to 15 seconds before the max came by,” Rasmussen explained. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the pony car will have another chance in making it to this year’s Top Mustang Crashes – see last year’s here. If there’s a lesson to be learned here it’s that, drivers should use common sense, and avoid things like, you know, heading out with a rear-wheel drive sports car, especially without appropriate tires, when the roads are covered in snow.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/sony-to...ing-components/