Cool Christmas Cars

'Tis the season to showcase some cool festive Christmas decorated cars so here's five of our favorites.

15 Cool Hot Rod Cars

Showcasing 15 cool hot rod cars from around the world. Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term 'hot rod' is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of 'hot roadster' meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or replacement of the camshaft(s), sometimes known as a "stick" or "rod".

A camshaft designed to produce more power is sometimes call a "hot stick" or, here, a "hot rod". Roadsters were the cars of choice because they were light. The term became commonplace in the 1930s or 1940s as the name of a car that had been "hopped up" by modifying the engine in various ways to achieve higher performance.

The term can also apply to other items that are "souped up" for a particular purpose, such as "hot-rodded amplifier".

UFO Modified Car

Who says a sub-compact car cannot be cool? We love modified cars and this UFO car mod is a beauty! A little Chevy Aveo has been transformed into a thing of beauty....a fully functional alien car known as the Extra Terrestrial Vehicle, or ETV, this cool car will get you some serious attention! It was for sale on Ebay a while back for a cool $86,000!

and here's what it looked like before the Chevy got modified...not as cool eh! 

$4m Super Car Pile-Up in Japan

14 cool cars including 8 Ferraris, 3 Mercedes Benz and a Lamborghini were involved in a pile-up in Japan yesterday. Some hefty car insurance claims on the way!

The accident involved a group of super cars travelling to Hiroshima when one of the Ferraris lost control and caused the crash, according to Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. Witnesses claimed that the group of luxury cars were travelling over the road's speed limit.

"The whole group of them were going 140-160 kilometres per hour (85-100mph) and then one went into a spin and all the others got pulled into that," an eyewitness said.

The speed limit on the highway was 80 kilometres per hour (50mph).

Fortunately no-one was seriously hurt although 10 people were treated for minor injuries in a crash involving £2.5m worth of luxury cars.

The road was shut for over six hours due to the pile-up as police cleaned up the pieces of the wrecked vehicles.