We don’t want to sound like we’re obsessed with Australia here, (although we might happen to live there), but this story is just too great to ignore.

Claiming that his transmission was ‘cooked’, a 23-year old Western Australian man was picked-up by police last Thursday on the Great Eastern Highway attempting to drive 300 miles across the desert in reverse, traveling at 34mph.

Although men across the world will be impressed by the man’s desert logic and survival instincts, police were less impressed, and the man faced court today charged with reckless driving (oh, and for not holding a current driving licence).

A couple of other great notables about this story:

• The man was driving a (no doubt shitty) 1988 LTD, which would almost definitely have formerly been a limousine;
• The massive Australian engine was still able to reach a top speed of 50mph in reverse; and
• For some reason, the road linking two of Australia’s westernmost cities is called the Great Eastern Highway.

No jokes please about Australians being backwards-looking. We know what we’re doing.

Outback trip in reverse stuns police [ABC News]

Driver’s brain in reverse [The Australian]

Toyota’s quest for world dominance isn’t a new thing. Although most recently obsessed with toppling GM in, well, everything, their goals were once more focused.

In the 1960’s, as recalled by Motor Trend, the challenge to prove Japan’s design and engineering credentials pushed Toyota to attempt to tackle arguably the greatest car of all time – the Jaguar E-Type.

Nearly four decades later, the two have been pitted against each other again in this quirky but comprehensive feature.

There’s talk of James Bond, Twiggy, glitzy car shows and a closer battle than you’d think. It’s hard to think of the same happening today.

Shall we race an XK8 against a Yaris?

Head To Head: 1969 Toyota 2000GT vs. 1965 Jaguar E-Type [Motor Trend]

Okay, so that headline might be a little harsh. It’s probably time to admit that the leather cuff watch is real, fashionable, and has cut itself a niche that extends a little further than lame scenesters and undergraduates still living at home.

The look has expanded from the studded black types sported by lovers of unfortunate music to more rugged styles and more classic watch faces.

Almost always more about the band than the watch, the width and texture of the cuff tend to be the points of difference, rather than the mechanics.

Do we accept them? Yes. Are we likely to expand our watch fetish to accommodate them? Maybe not just yet.

Trend: Wide Leather Cuff Watch [Men's Flair]

Leather Cuffs and Leather Cuff Watch Bands, Which One Should I Buy? [Ezine Articles]