The Good Oil: May 28

Natasha Poly joins the Fiat promo effort as the Cinquecento goes all Gucci. Photo / Supplied

Useful utes

Long before Apple's Steve Jobs became a household name, he drove a ute, a Ford Ranchero. So says US businessman Michael Scott, hired by start-up investors 30-odd years ago to turn Apple into a real computer company. Jobs and his whizz-kid partner, Steve Wozniak, began building prototype Apples in a suburban garage in California and used the ageing Ranchero to lug stuff around. The Ranchero model itself had been around awhile and its main rival was the El Camino, built by General Motors. Former US President Bill Clinton had an El Camino as a young buck in Arkansas. He lined the truck bed with astroturf for cushioning.

Goodbye old friend

It was a milestone for Chrysler the other day as its last 3.8-litre V6 engine heads rolled off the New Jersey production line. Over 20 years, the motor has seen Chrysler through the lows when it was on the verge of failure, the highs of its Daimler years, another downward spiral and the start of a renaissance under Fiat. The 3.8-litre unit is now fitted only to the Jeep Wrangler, and that's getting the new Pentastar V6 for the 2012 model.

Fiat's stylish super model

Super model Natasha Poly has been signed to endorse the latest version of Fiat's bambino, the Fiat 500 Gucci. The campaign, conceived by Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, features Poly sporting a Gucci one-of-a-kind tight black leather ensemble. Single and double-page ads will appear in glossy magazines plugging the car and celebrating the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy and Gucci's 90th anniversary.

Foiled, again

The latest credit card scam in the US targets petrol stations and involves tin foil and a ladder. Thieves travel in groups. One group keeps service staff busy inside while the other outside uses a ladder to wrap tinfoil around the station's satellite dish - disabling its link with credit-card approval data. The thieves then use stolen credit cards to buy petrol and other goods.

One station owner in Kentucky embedded razors in the roof near the dish and nearly caught the bandit when he showed up at a neighbouring business with bloodied hands he attributed to a sharp car hood.

'Beast' scrapes 8-tonne bottom

It may be the world's most high-tech mobile fortress, but President Obama's wheels still managed to run aground in a driveway in Ireland. The eight-tonne, 5.5-metre-long bomb-proof limousine car known as "The Beast" wears a Cadillac badge but is based on a GMC truck platform. The bodywork is made of 12cm-thick armour plating, a mix of steel, titanium, aluminium and ceramics to break up potential projectiles. The doors alone are 20cm thick.

The fuel tank is armour-plated and filled with a special foam to prevent it from exploding. The driver's window is the only window that can open - by 7cm to allow the driver to talk to secret service agents jogging alongside. Closed, it can withstand armour-piercing bullets and a .44 Magnum.

The steering wheel is standard but the dash contains communications equipment and a GPS tracking system, including a special video to enable driving in blackout or whiteout conditions. The car has its own oxygen supply, an advanced fire-fighting system, night-vision cameras, tear-gas cannons, Kevlar-reinforced run-flat tyres, and steel wheels that work even without a tyre.

It also has a supply of the president's blood for emergencies and the ability to lock down the cabin under the threat of biological attack. There is an armoured glass partition between the passenger compartment and the driver. Only Obama can lower it.

Almost no sound enters the cabin. To hear what's going on, the limo carries microphones on the outside and speakers inside. Top speed is 100km/h and the 6.5-litre diesel engine is good for 35 litres/100km.

So, exactly where do the patients go?

Is this the ultimate rapid-response vehicle? Mercedes-Benz has created a one-off version of the gullwing SLS, called the Emergency Medical concept. Sporting red livery emblazoned with the word "Notarzt", or "emergency doctor", the concept is fitted with a flashing light bar and an overhauled interior with the latest communications technology. The concept is designed to draw attention to the company's existing safety vehicles.

Blue mood for VW

Volkswagen is trying to recreate the magic of its 1960s advertising campaign for the original Beetle, when it told Americans to "Think Small". It's bringing its "Think Blue" campaign to the US to promote eco-friendly driving. The campaign - under way in Europe since last year - coincides with the grand opening of VW's new factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and a promotion VW is doing with New York's Museum of Modern Art.