Sideswipe

Japan's new 'Ronald McDonald' (see story below)

Sexualising a clown: Creepy or hot? A Japanese TV commercial makes Ronald McDonald a saucy woman, reports London's Guardian: "She's sexy, she's stylish, she's sophisticated and somewhat surprisingly, she's Ronald McDonald. A gender-bending makeover of McDonald's marketing icon in Japan has been hailed a great success after capturing the public imagination and enticing adults back into its outlets to sample a revamped menu."

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Reader Matthew van den Berg warns buyers to beware. "It appears the war in Iraq and the hurricane season may also be affecting the worldwide price of preserves," he writes. "My wife and I made the reasonable request for a blob of jam to accompany a $3.50 scone at an Onehunga coffee shop. The jam arrived with a hefty $3 price tag. We queried the exorbitant price, pointing out that a bagel including jam is only $4. The reply ... take it or leave it. We left it - preferring to spend it on petrol instead." If any readers have experienced shops raising their prices and blaming rising petrol prices, please email Sideswipe.

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Paris Hilton has been forced to deny tabloid talk claiming she allegedly gave minors marijuana and whisky in an effort to "loosen them up" before cameras started rolling on her show The Simple Life: Interns. "Paris would never endanger the welfare of a minor," a spokesman for the TV show said. The Sydney Morning Herald claims US newspaper the National Enquirer keeps pushing the drugs allegations, and says police are investigating them.

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No, having your SUV covered in padded vinyl is not a bizarre fetish, says one reader (please refer to yesterday's Sideswipe column). The truth is, car manufacturers try to disguise new models with vinyl skirts and sometimes put polystyrene under the vinyl to alter the shape of the vehicles. They can then road test them without pesky trade photographers snapping the new models before their official release. One reader suggested if the Tairua visitors to Santa Barbara had taken a shot of the interior, a US car magazine may have paid them well for the shot.

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More creative explanations for the overdressed SUV include one from Roy Price, who says it's a Stealth SUV and the black padding absorbs radar beams rather than reflecting them, making the vehicles invisible to police radars/speed cameras. Another reader had this theory: "This could be a storm chase vehicle. Chasing severe weather is a sizeable hobby in the US midwest. Hail damage to chase vehicles is a bit of a problem. I think the insurance companies may be cracking down on them a bit ... Don't get hail in Santa Barbara though, so this vehicle is out of state if it is a storm chaser".