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Oregonians use supercar collection to make sick children smile

Portland, Oregon couple Eric Peterson and his wife Amity own ten exotic cars and, said Amity, they "didn't want the cars to sit." Instead of the random track day or regular trips to Cars 'n' Coffee, they started a project called Dream Drives for Kids, which brings ill youngsters to the Peterson garage and takes them for a ride in the car of their choice. The couple aims to take a new kid for a ride every week. Portland's KGW news covered the project while a four-year-old named Gideon, who has a rare childhood melanoma, stopped by for a jaunt in a McLaren MP4-12C. And Gideon's a champ in his own right: the kid likes cars so much he would take Hot Wheels to other sick children in the ward, and he gave the Petersons a box of Hot Wheels gift sets to give to other children when they come for rides. You can watch the heartwarming segment in the video above. News Source: Eric Peterson via YouTube, Motor Authority McLaren Coupe Luxury Performance charity portland

California teens rent McLaren MP4-12C using stolen credit card [UPDATE]

As teenagers, we all entertain the idea of replacing our high school beater with a real car. Alas, for many of us, we are left waiting a few years until we have the disposable income to replace the rusty Pontiac Sunfire we learned to drive on with something more impressive. Maybe a hot hatchback or perhaps a gently used, entry level luxury sedan. A pair of 19 year olds in Santa Rosa, CA, though, just couldn't wait to pick up their very own "cool" car, so they did what any idiotic teenager would do – they swiped a credit card and rented a McLaren MP4-12C. The two teens, Mohannad Halaweh and Nhimia Kahsay, were arrested by Sonoma County Sheriffs after the car, which was allegedly rented for $13,000 using a stolen credit card, was reported stolen. The two also charged $27,000 to rent a $12 million vacation home, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. It's not entirely clear how the two teens were able to fool the unnamed rental car agency into releasing the car to them. Ironically, the arrest happened when Halaweh was leaving a court appearance for (surprise, surprise) credit card fraud, from an earlier incident in which he tried to use an illegally obtained card to purchase $10,000 from the Apple Store. Halaweh and Kahsay are now sitting in Sonoma County Jail, with bail set at $100,000 and $60,000, respectively, and are facing charges of credit card fraud and possession of stolen property. UPDATE: An official statement from Sia Bani, the president of Club Sportiva, the company that rented out the McLaren MP4-12C, has been released and is available below. Club Sportiva helps Santa Rosa police catch credit card thieves As many of you have read online, a repeat identity thief was recently caught in California with stolen credit cards in a McLaren MP4-12C. This was indeed one of Club Sportiva's vehicles. Club Sportiva filed a police report with the San Jose police department once discovering further issues with the claimed identity of the driver, and that led to the prompt arrest of both driver and passenger of the vehicle in Sonoma County. Club Sportiva's policy includes an age restriction to >25 years of age, with exceptions only made to entry level vehicles with an in-person interview with management, and a greater deposit, and only with a clear insurance background check. Our delivery team was provided fake identification and flags were only raised after further due diligence with the credit card company used for the "gifted" experience.

Surprise! McLaren and Honda finally call it quits

It's been coming for a long while, so it should surprise no one to learn that McLaren and Honda have finally called it quits. Sources confirmed to Motorsport.com and Sky Sports that the two companies have finally settled on a deal that will end a partnership that has been nothing but heartache and tears. McLaren has reportedly inked a three-year deal to use Renault engines, ending in 2020 along with the current engine regulations. This also means McLaren driver Fernando Alonso is likely to extend his contract beyond the end of this season. When Honda first announced it was returning to F1 with McLaren, fans had visions of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button reliving the glory days of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in the late 1980s. The truth couldn't be further removed. At points, McLaren has struggled to make it the full race distance, much less win races and fight for championships. Frankly, it's been embarrassing for both Honda and McLaren. No one comes out a winner here. Honda has sullied any reputation it had in F1, while Alonso's talent and McLaren's engineering expertise were both wasted the past few seasons. According to Motorsport.com, McLaren will get the same engine parity as the factory Renault Sport team as well as Red Bull Racing. Assuming that McLaren can provide a competitive chassis, that should vault it at least into the middle of the pack. Team principal Zak Brown hasn't been quiet about his frustrations. After both McLaren drivers failed to finish in Italy, Brown told Sky Sports, "We need to get more competitive. This weekend showed we're not making any significant progress." Meanwhile, Toro Rosso will switch from Renault to Honda power, with Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr. making the move to Renault. What that means for Red Bull's junior team is unclear. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.