Fiat Honors a World Class Driver

The Fiat and Chrysler merger has produced some “interesting” vehicles. Remember the “special” Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s that were gifted to Massa and Alonso?

Here is a photo, for those with fuzzy memories:

Now as if the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 x Alonso & Massa edition wasn’t hideous enough, there is a “special” Jeep Wrangler. Have you seen it yet? Here are some photos (via autoblog):

Unlike autoblog, I have some different ideas about this particular Jeep Wrangler. Perhaps Fiat has decided to pay homage to a former driver? A seven time world champion ex-Ferrari driver that is… Remember, dragons are totally Schumi Style. 😉

I mean seriously, this Jeep just screams Schumi with the dragons all over it. Open the hood, and there will be a dragon staring you (or Schumi) in the face.

There are even Chinese characters for ‘dragon’ on the hubcaps and door. It might as well say SCHUMACHER. Can you just see Schumi’s smile of happiness as he climbs into the vehicle? I sure can…

What do you think about this Jeep Wrangler? Love it? Hate it? I say it’s perfect for Schumi. 😛

Battle of the Annoying Facial Hair

While Hamilton is indeed one of the F1 Top Pretty Boy Models, his fascination with “interesting” facial hair is quite disappointing. I understand that he likes to stand out from the rest, but doing it with facial hair is rather unnecessary.  As I’ve mentioned in many previous posts, his experimentation comes off as a “teenage rebellion” from McLaren’s strict clean cut image.  He seems to push the limit just a bit further to see how much he can get away with.  It might be cool if Hamilton was pushing satorial boundaries perhaps a la Liuzzi. Cause let’s face it, if you exceed a certain tacky threshold, it can become cool (well, cool is relative. I never cared for Liuzzi’s style personally).  Well, maybe I’m wrong and Hamilton IS approaching that stage… he is getting tackier by the moment. =X

Case in point… his chin curtain has now grown:

It looks particularly bad close up:

But Hamilton is not alone. Alonso has been sporting an equally tacky soul patch lately:

Oh my. Will 2012 become a year where the drivers battle for the title of Most Annoying Facial Hair? This is certainly one battle I could do without. The Ugly Sunglasses Championship is so much better. 😉

Let’s hope they shave. Soon.

Love no more

I’m a lil late to the partay, but Fernando Alonso and Raquel del Rosario have announced their break up. Aww :(. Apparently they are remaining “friends,” so who knows, perhaps Raquel will be seen in the paddock after awhile. F1 fashion fans will surely miss seeing Raquel at GPs, she tends to mix up her style a bit more than other F1 WAGs.

One of my favorite looks from Raquel was from Suzuka 2010:

If you like Raquel’s style, she posts many photoshoots on her official blog, click this link to visit it. Many of the photoshoots are well done (as they should be :P) and have a neo-bohemian vibe to them. Think Anthropolgie catalog. 😉 For those who have never seen an Anthro catalog, feel free to browse their website: anthropologie.com* Their catalogs may also be viewed online,here.

Goodbye Raquel, I’ll miss your neo-bohemian and wannabe tough girl outfits. Love is a very splendid thing… and I’m sure you’ll find it again. ❤

here.

*Should I also add that they are doing 50% off sale items in-store and online? 😉 Yes, I am evil.

F1 and Le Tour de France Battle it Out

Those that read this blog are already aware that one of my “favorite” topics are the ugly sunglasses. Though I did not declare a winner in 2010, we do know who the repeat offenders are, don’t we? 🙂

I have also noticed an alarming number of ugly sunglasses whilst watching the Tour de France (TdF). It seems that the Ugly Sunglasses of Choice for F1 drivers and TdF cyclists is OAKLEY. I thought about it for a little while and it occurred to me that the F1 boys and TdF boys need to have a battle… for the ugliest sunglasses.

Yes that’s right. I have assembled photos for your viewing “pleasure.” Only photos from the 2011 season count. If I have missed a particularly horrendous photo, please drop me a line via twitter, email, or comment. Though I am not fond of them, I am excluding the yellow shades from “The Yellow Shades Project” because I don’t think it’s appropriate. This will be a picture heavy post… you’ve been warned. 😉

Since this is a F1 blog, let’s start with our beloved F1 boys:

Fernando has been a Repeat-Ugly-Sunglasses-Offender (RUSO) this season:

(wroom event)

(Malaysia)

(Montreal)

Although Kubica is not with us in 2011, it seems that Heikki owns the same pair of Oakley Oil Rig sunglasses:

Don’t confuse the Oil Rig with the White Gascan though:

I found the shades Liuzzi wore in Montreal to be particularly terrifying:

F1 newbie Pastor Maldonado also has a pair of ugly sunglasses, proving that he does indeed belong in F1:

Narain Karthikeyan is no longer driving for Hispania, but I did save this photo of him:

Vettel has been much better in 2011 (yay!). However, I did spot a pair of ugly sunglasses this season:

Of course, the King of F1 cannot be forgotton:

Now it’s time for the Tour de France boys. Sadly, I don’t know all of the cyclists’ names since I am not really into cycling. Please enlighten me if you happen to know:

The Schlecks seem enamored with Oakleys with clear lenses…

Frank Schleck:

Andy Schleck:

The carbon Oakleys worn by Cadel Evans is pretty ugly too:

Although I realize these green Rudy Project sunglasses aren’t Oakley, it doesn’t mean they are pretty (OK, they’re not really that bad honestly… I guess I can forgive Phillippe Gilbert…):

What makes these so bad? I duno, maybe the rainbow reflective lens. Sylvain Chavanel looks rather proud of his choice though…

Oh Tyler Farrar… you hid your cuteness behind these awful Oakley Jawbones”

World champion Thor Hushovd has an arsenal of ugly sunglasses:

Did you notice the world champion stripes on these babies? Isn’t it… a little weird?

However… the following pair of Oakleys definitely takes the cake. Oh Fabian Cancellera I am ashamed that I did not recognize you at first. Maybe these Oakleys have disguise power:

Oh. My. Eyes. They hurt. Do yours?

haha.

So what do you think? Compared to the cyclists… the F1 boys aren’t so bad, right? No matter who wins the Tour de France… they have already beaten the very best F1 drivers in one thing: The Ugly Sunglasses Battle.

Did you know that Oakley sunglasses are customizable? The lens and frames colorways can be chosen by the customer. For example, this combination is possible: top half neon green, bottom half (left side) white, bottom half (right side) black.

That is probably one reason why there are some seriously ugly Oakley sunglasses worn in the F1 and TdF world. Remember: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!

If you are going to customize a pair of Oakley sunglasses, please use these photos as examples of what not to do. 😉

P.S. Photo credit: TdF photos were from cyclingtipsblog.com

Eyebrow Envy

Have you ever envied those with strong eyebrows (like Alonso)? Do you hate it when your eyebrows are covered by your sunglasses? Well, Prada has solved both “problems.” These eyebrow sunglasses debuted at Prada’s fall/winter 2010 show… and I spotted them in cases at a high end department store in town yesterday.

These sunglasses were supposedly never put into production, so I wonder if they are available for sale or not. These sunglasses feature an extreme cat eye lens and come in three color ways. Unfortunately I was only able to take one photo because a sales associate was hovering over me. Also taking photos inside department stores (especially their displays)is technically illegal here in the US.

Anyway, what do my readers make of these sunglasses? Are they fashion forward or just plain dumb looking? Would you wear them? Who in the F1 circus could pull these off?

Personally I think they are weird, but they have potential to cool on the right person.

Shimmering Neon

image: nextgen-auto

While I have not declared the champion for the Ugliest Sunglasses in 2010*, Alonso seems to have thrown down the gauntlet in anger at the Wrooom event. A couple of observant readers had directed my attention to these electric shades of Alonso’s. For those who are dying to know, Alonso wore Oakley Frogskin sunglasses in matte neon yellow.

Frogskins retail for about $110USD, but don’t think it will be easy to obtain a neon yellow pair. Why? Well, these were a limited edition color, and only produced and sold in May 2008. Perhaps we should count our blessings that they are no longer readily available?

Tell me what you think about these shades. Hot or not? As reader Jon Wilde pointed out, it surely takes the confidence of a world champion to pull these off.

* Sorry… I will get to this… eventually. 😡