The Invention of the Ford V8 Engine

This short film celebrates the hard work, tenacity, and ingenuity of inventors. Highlighted are some seemingly small inventions that have become part of daily life.

Chemical engineer and inventor Maria Telkes worked for nearly 50 years to harness the power of the sun, designing and building the world's first successful solar-heated modern residence and identifying a new chemical that could store solar heat like a battery. Telkes was undercut and thwarted by her (male) boss and colleagues at MIT, but she persevered. Upon her death in 1995 Telkes held more than 20 patents, and now she is recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy whose work continues to shape how we power our lives today.

A documentary short on logging during winter season.

The Bug is about one of the most recognizable and beloved vehicles on the planet: The Volkswagen Beetle. From its dark past in pre-WWII Germany to the Summer of Love, this car captured the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world. This film explores not only the history of this automotive icon, but also the intense emotional connection it has with its owners past and present... including Ewan McGregor and his experience with his first VW Bug as a sixteen year old.

A documentary on a stereotypically shady used car salesman, one who convinces customers to buy vehicles that others have deemed unfit for sale.

This video continued the trend of its predecessors, with Clarkson driving some super cars around a track and destroying a "bad" one, this time around a Morris Marina, which he disposes of by hooking up to a crane and knocking down a few other despised cars in a giant game of Car Skittles. Elsewhere the video focuses on Clarkson's personal top 100 cars, which he promoted on Granada Television's Men & Motors channel in 2001.

"In Pursuit of Excellence" is the story of the oldest and most well know automobile company in the world. Tracing the extensive history of Mercedes Benz from its first car, the three-wheeler, built before 1900 through the Indy winning race cars of the 1990s. Our cameras take you on a journey to meet the men and machines behind this legendary brand. In Pursuit of Excellence also includes exclusive interviews with senior company management and access to the Mercedes Benz company archives (one of the largest corporate archives in the world). We take you inside "The Hidden Garages" to see what can best be described as the Holy Grail for Mercedes Benz enthusiasts, as well as extensive footage from the Mercedes Benz Classic Car Restoration center in Fellbach, Germany, and material shot at the official Mercedes Benz Museum in Germany.

Trees talk, know family ties and care for their young? Is this too fantastic to be true? German forester Peter Wohlleben and scientist Suzanne Simard have been observing and investigating the communication between trees over decades. And their findings are most astounding.

The story of Dr. George Washington Carver (1864-1943), black educator and horticulturist. He is perhaps most well known for developing over 140 products from all parts of the peanut plant, including the shells and husks. He also developed products based on sweet potatoes and soybeans, and developed a cotton hybrid that was named after him.

This is a conversation starter first, a video second.

Some cars have a million horsepower, others have twinkly lights and big shiny wheels. But a rare few have something else; soul. It's found in funny places. In the crack of a rusty sill. Down the back of a torn seat next to an old Smartie. And if you're really lucky, it's found in a screaming V12 or perched on a ludicrous wing, or in the rooftop hinge of a gullwing door. These are the cars that make us happy, mad, insane and inevitably very poor. And no matter how much sense is drilled into our daft little heads, we'll continue to love then. So put your feet up, play this DVD and enjoy some of our favourites. It's a celebration of soul.