Comedy Guys Defensive Driving likes to warn people about the dangers of eating while driving, but that didn’t stop 47-year-old British inventor Perry Watkins  from setting a world record for fastest moving furniture when his motorized Queen Anne table hit a high speed of 130 mph at a 500m racetrack. This record is pending Guinness approval, but Watkins has held two other records previously, for smallest car and lowest vehicle. Read the whole story in the Telegraph here.

One car manages to literally leap ahead of a competitor at the Autoquad Races 2010, held at Courses de Bazous St Ferdinand, Quebec.

Over at Car Talk.com, Jim Motavalli is waxing nostalgic about the dream cars that got away, the ones he had a shot at getting but for some reason didn’t, from the flashy sports cars to the classiest of classics.

And the Car Talk guys are inviting people to tell their own stories.

Check out the conversation and add your story about your missed opportunity.

For a lot of people, buying a used car makes more sense than buying a new one right now.

And Car Gurus has continued its series of articles on buying a car with How to Buy a Used Sports Car — and Avoid Pain of Purchase. Writer J Goods gives more of his excellent advice on various aspects of used car purchase, from pre-inspection to signing on the dotted line. Check it out.

The 19-year-old driver of this Pontiac Firebird survived the crash that took his car into the air before breaking it into three large chunks against an overpass support column. The camera that filmed this crash was in the Sugarcreek Township, Ohio police car that the young man was passing when the crash occurred.

Video coverage is below, and you can read the story here.

Summer vacation may be coming to an end, but if your mind is still looking for some relaxing mental trips you can take, these photos of vintage travel trailers from Funky Junk Farms may help to inspire you. Browse through them and remember a time when travel was more relaxing and “getting away from it all” meant exactly that.

Downshift, a podcast from Autoweek, recently had a discussion about young drivers. Starting with the new Young Driver sticker required by a New Jersey law, the conversation to driver training in general and the graduated licensing programs now in place in many states, including Texas.

The conversation also covered texting and cell phones in cars and the practicality of laws that ban them.

If you’re interested in cars and driving — or if you have a teenage driver in your house — this episode of Downshift is of interest to you.

A comic without an audience will find one.

Like Iowa comedian Don Hepner does when he entertains people on a highway on-ramp by telling jokes in exchange for spare change.

Get the whole story in this video clip from ABC News.

Practically every day, some law is created or some legal issue is decided that affects drivers across the USA. For those of you who want to keep informed on these legal decisions, the National Motorists Association has created a summary of  19 Interesting Driving-Related Legal Rulings From This Year.

Among the 19 cases, Texas is mentioned only once: the Harris County Criminal Court case of the man who tried to beat a DUI by beating the cops to his own home.

You love cars. You love coffee. Okay, “love” is not the right word. It’s Monday morning: you NEED coffee.

Now you can combine the two with these cool coffee and espresso makers in the shape of racing helmets with the emblems of Ferrari, Bugati, Lamborghini, and others. Check out the details here.

A feel-good story about shop class? You bet.

Actually, make that an inspiring story about a dynamic teacher at a Kansas City school for at-risk students who started out to teach kids about auto mechanics and that culminates with the class building a retired race car into a very cool looking electric commuter vehicle that goes 400 miles on a single charge.

Comedy Guys first found the story at Car Talk.com where you can read the amazing story of Steve Rees and his class at DeLaSalle Education Center for yourself.

Or go right to the DeLeSalle Automotive Design Studio website and see the details, photos, and technical data  for yourself.

Other articles for car buyers: Trading in or Selling Off Dealing with the Dealership

The good people at Car Gurus (as opposed to the good gurus at Car People) have more good advice about those thinking of buying a used car.

In “How to Expose Hidden Problems in Used Cars,” the knowledgeable T Griffith tells us what to look for — and listen for and feel for and smell for — in a used car before handing over the money.

With the economy hitting so many people so hard, there are lots of good pre-owned vehicles offered up for sale so getting a good car at a good price is possible.

But there are also a lot of desperate people trying to push what Griffith calls “driveway-bound sheet metal” to make a quick buck. “Let the buyer beware” is more true than ever nowadays, and this article will help you do that.

In recent months, texting while driving has been getting more media attention than drinking and driving (and to tell the truth, there is evidence that texting may be even more dangerous), but never think that anyone has forgotten how dangerous driving while intoxicated it.

Last year in Texas, there were more than 27,000 alcohol-related collisions, resulting in over 17,000 injuries and almost 1000 deaths.

This year again, law enforcement people statewide are launching “Drink. Drive. Go to Jail.” Starting tomorrow and continuing until after Labor Day, officers will be working overtime on the lookout for drivers who are endangering their and others’ lives by driving under the influence.

Convicted first-time DWI offenders can pay a fine of up to $2,000, lose their driver’s license for up to a year, and serve 180 days in jail. Safety officials say other costs associated with an impaired driving arrest and conviction can add up to more than $17,000 for bail, legal fees, court appearances, court ordered classes, vehicle insurance increases, and other expenses.

Earlier this week (okay, it was Monday) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a new proposal to have lap and seat belts included on all new motorcoaches.

Over the years, one research study after another has shown how effective a properly worn safety belt is at avoiding passenger injury in the event of a crash, but never have bus manufacturers been required to add them to bus seats.

This new proposal is a supplement to the Motorcoach Safety Action Plan that was announced earlier this year,  a measure intended to deal with motorcoach maintenance and driver fatigue and inattention.

No word yet on whether these requirement includes public school buses, but let’s be honest: school kids would probably just use the belts as another way to torture that weird kid who eats his own paste.