Lamborghini

This is the story of how a certain reporter came to test-drive and scratch a $250,000, fire-engine-red Lamborghini Diablo VT, which is pretty funny now, sure, but at the time, the only thought running through the reporter's head was: My life is over.Looking back on it now, the assignment for Distinction seemed incredibly cool: Find the fastest and most expensive car in the area and write about it. With the acceleration of an F-10 Tomcat, a top speed of 210 mph and a price tag of a quarter mil, the Diablo VT was certainly the right car, according to a battery of car buffs we consulted.

I had just finished picking up my grande skim latte at a Starbucks in Timonium, and I was walking to my car, when I spotted THIS gorgeous car in the parking lot. No, it's not a Lamborghini (I saw one in the heart of Baltimore last week, btw), nor a Ferrari. Or a Maserati. In my view, it's even more head-turning, because it's a sports car AND it's all electric. Yes, you know it: The Tesla Roadster . I pounced on the owner just as he got into the car. His name? John Skouge.

DULLES, Va. -- Ian Landy has a passion for things that go skrrrrrt! and vrrrrrrooom! When the 42-year-old entrepreneur isn't coming up with alternatives to neckties and cologne, he's racing machines that go 0-60 in a newborn's heartbeat. It didn't take long for the London-born millionaire to figure that everyday folks, too, would like to the thrill of driving vehicles built for blazing speed -- even if their wallets make them more suited for Nissan Sentras.

Conspicuous consumption may be down because of the economy, but at the Viva Italia car show in Harbor East Sunday it was far from out. On display were quarter-of-a-million-dollar Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maseratis and other Italian marquee cars painted in bright yellow and bright red, and in the case of a 1936 Fiat Topolino, flames. The show was the fifth annual event in support of the Children's Guild, a nonprofit group that aids kids with emotional, behavioral and mental challenges. Eighty-two car owners and motorcyclists came from Maryland, Virginia, Washington, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to lend support, said Jeanette Scott, the event registrar and a committee member.

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) -- Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna crashed at the Japanese Grand Prix for the second time in two years, allowing Senna to walk away with this year's world Formula One championship if no protest is filed.Last year, the two archrivals crashed in one of the final laps, giving Prost the world championship. This year, the two collided again -- but just seconds after the start.The two drivers, locked in a close battle for this year's title, started at the front of the pack, with Senna on the pole.

Is that supermodel Cindy Crawford on TV, stepping out of her red Lamborghini, heading for a vending machine, then downing a Pepsi right out of the can?Uh-huh, uh-huh.Cindy has joined Ray Charles currently touting Diet Pepsi as one of the celebrity stars who appear in commercials for Pepsi-Cola products. Cindy's 30-second spot introduces the new look of Pepsi's cans and logo. The spot will go on network TV in mid-December.Uh-huh, uh-huh.

LAS VEGAS -- In Vegas, anyone can rent a basic compact car ($17.96 a day, plus taxes, at Thrifty), but here in the capital of flash and glitz, something a little sportier might be in order. On Swenson Avenue, not far from McCarran International Airport, you can find RAV (Rent-a-Vette), which specializes in exotic automobiles. A Lamborghini Gallardo or a Ferrari 360 Spider will set you back $1,495 a day. A Bentley Continental GT goes for $995 and a Corvette convertible (very popular) for $295.

Ricky Williams says that, after some intense analysis and deep soul-searching with his psychiatrist, they've determined that there are a few things he needs to do for himself before returning to the NFL. Like, stop smoking weed. Yeah, that. Some players cut their careers short because they've taken too many hits. With this guy, it's too many bong hits. I thought he was serious about making a comeback when he hired a personal trainer. I guess it was a bad sign when it turned out to be Snoop Dogg.

Conspicuous consumption may be down because of the economy, but at the Viva Italia car show in Harbor East Sunday it was far from out. On display were quarter-of-a-million-dollar Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maseratis and other Italian marquee cars painted in bright yellow and bright red, and in the case of a 1936 Fiat Topolino, flames. The show was the fifth annual event in support of the Children's Guild, a nonprofit group that aids kids with emotional, behavioral and mental challenges. Eighty-two car owners and motorcyclists came from Maryland, Virginia, Washington, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to lend support, said Jeanette Scott, the event registrar and a committee member.

Five hours to game time, the vigil begins. A cadre of baseball fans stakes out Oriole Park, awaiting the players' appearance. Pens in one hand, cameras in the other, they've come to gawk -- and beg a few keepsakes -- as the Orioles wheel into the high-fenced lot that keeps autograph hounds at bay.Fans fawn over each arrival, baseball's answer to the Oscars. Who's pulling up, and with whom? Here's Brady Anderson and friend in a black BMW, Rafael Palmeiro and son in a red Ferrari, Roberto Alomar and father in a Mercedes convertible, Cal Ripken and phone in a Chevy Suburban.

"She looked at me with this look, like, `Mom, are you dumb or what?' She said, `These are my friends. I want to be with them.'" Deborah McFadden, whose wheelchair athlete daughter, Tatyana, has challenged the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association for the right to participate and have her points counted in state meets. "Right now, spending time with the people you care about and your friends and your family every day is, I'm pretty sure, what every student needs." Virginia Tech outfielder and former Dulaney player Steve Bumbry, after the April campus rampage in which 32 Virginia Tech students and the shooter were killed.

LAS VEGAS -- In Vegas, anyone can rent a basic compact car ($17.96 a day, plus taxes, at Thrifty), but here in the capital of flash and glitz, something a little sportier might be in order. On Swenson Avenue, not far from McCarran International Airport, you can find RAV (Rent-a-Vette), which specializes in exotic automobiles. A Lamborghini Gallardo or a Ferrari 360 Spider will set you back $1,495 a day. A Bentley Continental GT goes for $995 and a Corvette convertible (very popular) for $295.

Ricky Williams says that, after some intense analysis and deep soul-searching with his psychiatrist, they've determined that there are a few things he needs to do for himself before returning to the NFL. Like, stop smoking weed. Yeah, that. Some players cut their careers short because they've taken too many hits. With this guy, it's too many bong hits. I thought he was serious about making a comeback when he hired a personal trainer. I guess it was a bad sign when it turned out to be Snoop Dogg.

DULLES, Va. -- Ian Landy has a passion for things that go skrrrrrt! and vrrrrrrooom! When the 42-year-old entrepreneur isn't coming up with alternatives to neckties and cologne, he's racing machines that go 0-60 in a newborn's heartbeat. It didn't take long for the London-born millionaire to figure that everyday folks, too, would like to the thrill of driving vehicles built for blazing speed -- even if their wallets make them more suited for Nissan Sentras.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Sammy Sosa reports today. It's big enough news that the Orioles sent out a release. "There will be a lot more people here than you six guys," Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli said in the dugout yesterday, smiling at the small contingent of regular beat reporters. And forget the Chicago media and the national media that will descend upon Orioles camp. Those "a lot more people" Mazzilli spoke of will just be the people inside Sosa's limo. Unless, of course, Sosa takes this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start downsizing his larger-than-life image.

Downtown Baltimore's first car dealership in decades, planned for the ground floor of a high-profile parking garage at Pratt and President streets, won't be your typical auto showroom. Anyone walking on the south side of Pratt will be able to peer through the tinted windows and watch the mechanics at work, in much the same way diners at some trendy restaurants can observe chefs in action. If that's not catchy enough, Antwerpen Automotive Group plans to stock more than the latest Volkswagens.

I had just finished picking up my grande skim latte at a Starbucks in Timonium, and I was walking to my car, when I spotted THIS gorgeous car in the parking lot. No, it's not a Lamborghini (I saw one in the heart of Baltimore last week, btw), nor a Ferrari. Or a Maserati. In my view, it's even more head-turning, because it's a sports car AND it's all electric. Yes, you know it: The Tesla Roadster . I pounced on the owner just as he got into the car. His name? John Skouge.

SOMEONE PLEASE explain car trends to me, because I don't get it anymore. The hot new car right now is tiny, boxy, not particularly fast and seats four adults comfortably only if the two in the back are advanced yogis capable of traveling with their ankles entwined behind their heads. Nevertheless, the Mini-Cooper, made in Great Britain by BMW, will probably be sold out in this area by summer's end. Partly, this is a numbers thing: Only 20,000 will be sold in this country this year, and the two Maryland Mini dealerships, one in Towson and the other in Annapolis, will each be allotted only 300 cars.

SOMEONE PLEASE explain car trends to me, because I don't get it anymore. The hot new car right now is tiny, boxy, not particularly fast and seats four adults comfortably only if the two in the back are advanced yogis capable of traveling with their ankles entwined behind their heads. Nevertheless, the Mini-Cooper, made in Great Britain by BMW, will probably be sold out in this area by summer's end. Partly, this is a numbers thing: Only 20,000 will be sold in this country this year, and the two Maryland Mini dealerships, one in Towson and the other in Annapolis, will each be allotted only 300 cars.

Minnesota Vikings running back Leroy Hoard has always been good for some tough yards and a lot of laughs.Two years ago, he was the Ravens starting running back walking around Baltimore and being identified as a Canadian Football League player. Since then he has bounced around to two teams, traded in a red Lamborghini for a black one and leased three different apartments at the same time in Cleveland, Baltimore and Minneapolis.Hoard's career has come full circle, this time playing in Baltimore against the Ravens instead of for them.