Heres a proof for Mb!
Original photo:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/20090608235709.jpg
1. Open Photoshop, open the original photo.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/audi_1.jpg
2. Press ' M ' and select the area you want to keep (helps when you want to get rid of the black stripes on the top and on the bottom). In this case it's the whole picture...
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/audi_2.jpg
3. CTRL+C, CTRL+N (don't change any settings, just press OK), CTRL+V
4. Right Click on the "Background" and then choose "Flatten Image"
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/audi_3.jpg
5. Now, press CTRL+J and then CTRL+L, you'll get sth like that:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/audi_4.jpg
6. Change the properties to:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/audi_5.jpg
The one on the left: leave it the way it is
The middle one: from 1,00 to 1,50 (choose for yourself - the darker the pic the higher the number)
The one on the right: from 120 to 200 (the the darker the pic the lower the number)
PRESS OK
7. Alt+Shift+Ctrl+L (auto-contrast), Shift+Ctrl+B (auto-color) [optional !!], Shift+Ctrl+L (auto-levels) [optional !!]
8. If your pic is still too bright -> CTRL+L -> lower the middle one to 0,80-0,70... If not..
9. Save As: XYZ.jpeg
AT THIS POINT YOUR PIC LOOKS LIKE THIS: Audi after 1st stage
10. Open Photoscape , go into EDITOR, open XYZ.jpeg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/audi_6.jpg
11. Press "Auto Contrast" button and then (optionally) "Auto Level" button
12. Press CTRL+M and select "Saturation" and enhance it just abit
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/audi_7.jpg
13. Select the frame you like and press "Photo+Frame" button
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/GalyPoland/audi_8.jpg
14. Save/Save As
AT THIS POINT YOUR PIC LOOKS LIKE THIS: Audi after 2nd stage
15. Open the pic in Photoshop again.
16. Image -> Image Size..
17. 800x XXX and at the bottom choose: Bicubic - Sharper
Now, your pic looks like this: Audi - final
18. THE END!
P.S. It takes a lot of effort and some time but in this tutorial I did nothing which might be against the rules!
a) changing saturiation is allowed
b) brightening is also allowed
As you can see, with just TWO things changed/improved you can do a lot!
EDIT: I nearly forgot!!
While taking a pic in TDU, after you've set the weather, angle and all that, MOVE the CONTRAST SLIDER a bit to the LEFT! [not to much] The pic will become grey a bit!