Jalopnik: Iceland

Why you wouldn’t want to become an Icelandic fisherman

Peter Orosz — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:30:00 EDT

In April 2009, the author Michael Lewis published “Wall Street on the Tundra”, the first of his essays about the idiosyncratic ways certain European countries contributed to the global financial crisis. More »

In Reykjavík, Red BMW’s Have All The ¾-Eyed Fun

Peter Orosz — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EDT

Icelanders may have been among the biggest losers of the financiapocalypse, but a couple banks down the drain sure didn’t snuff out their love of interesting cars. Take this BMW E30, for instance. More »

James May Cooks Dinner On A Volcano

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:15:00 EDT

When Top Gear tackled the Icelandic volcano, James May brought lamb chops with him. Why? Because barbecuing with lava has the "very evocative flavors and aromas" of outdoor cooking "but with an element of possible horrible death thrown in." More »

British Authorities Reopen UK Airspace

Ray Wert — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:30:00 EDT

British authorities reopen UK airspace. Take that Eyjafjallajökull! [NYT] More »

Iceland's Volcanic Ash Cloud Can't Stop The Trains

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:30:00 EDT

Why isn't Europe in complete chaos over the empty skies? High-speed rail. This doesn't help people trying to fly home to Boston, but we've got a solution for that as well. [Infrastructurist] (Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images) More »

European Drivers, Take To The Runways!

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EDT

With Iceland's volcanoes potentially destroying airplanes we've found a new use for Europe's deserted runways: drive on them. It's the dirty black cherry on top of the expanding ash cloud. (Photo Credit: eff J Mitchell/Getty Images) More »

The Icelandic Ash Cloud Is Coming To America

Ray Wert — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:01:00 EDT

These latest UK Met Office predictions show the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull's air travel havoc-wreaking ash cloud moving its smoky tendrils closer to North America and the United States. It's comin' right for us! More »

Top Gear Summits Icelandic Volcano Hours Before Eruption

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EDT

Last week we shared news the BBC's Top Gear was filming on an active volcano. Turns out it's Eyjafjallajökull, the same volcano causing European airplane havoc. Luckily, cast and crew escaped just hours before the volcano erupted. Amazing gallery below. More »

UK Air Traffic Before And After Icelandic Volcano Eruption

Ray Wert — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EDT

We used the "Plane Finder" iPhone app to pull screen shots of airplane traffic before and after the UK became a no-fly zone. The results were unastonishingly devoid of air traffic. But still cool. (Hat tip to @lesmond!) More »

How Volcanic Ash Can Kill An Airplane

Ray Wert — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EDT

As volcanic ash spreads from an eruption under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajokull region of Iceland, the British have taken the drastic step of locking down the country's airspace. Here's why. More »

Top Gear Filming On Active Volcano

Wes Siler — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:15:00 EDT

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By modifying the same truck they took to the north pole with water-cooled tires and a roof-mounted ash-guard, the Top Gear team just scaled an active Volcano in Iceland for an upcoming episode. More »

Icelandic Hoons Protest Falling Krona, Rising Gas Prices

Ray Wert — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:40:00 EDT

Iceland's the one country with a currency rate falling further than the dollar and according to the front-pager today in the Wall Street ~~Murdoch~~ Journal it's having a serious impact on our hoonage-loving brethren from the land of the ice and snow. As those of us here have known ever since we saw Richard Hammond try to outrun a man ~~walking~~ driving on water — their only real escape is on nitrous-injected, giant-wheeled trucks which they throw at the mountainous landscape with the greatest of abandon. Unfortunately ballooning debt payments, punishing fuel prices and a cratering currency are all such buzz-kills. The Journal's Marcus Walker tells the story: More »

GMC Suburban with 49 Inch Tires Will Stop At Nothing

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:45:00 EST

Most guys into off roading will equip their rig with anything from a set of 33" tires for light duty rock crawling to 44" tires for deep mud bogging. Of course everyone has their preferences and guys usually make tire size decisions based on ego as much as utility. Kristjan Kristjansson of Iceland either has a big purpose, or an enormous ego because he's gone ahead and fitted his GMC Suburban with 49" flotation tires. They make sense for playing in Iceland's frozen wonderlands, but we have to wonder how the tire hum has affected the cabin ambiance. More »

What the Hoot Page? Watt has Righteous Bro Blog 'Bout Hydrogen Stations Near Reykjavik While Touring w/ Stooges

Jonny Lieberman — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 13:37:18 EST

And then it it all comes full circle... There's little we enjoy more than reading Watt's (increasingly) unique Pedro-speak concerning all things that exist in the form of Watt. But, given the "energy diversity" that all the big carmakers are struggling to achieve, well, this is time and place appropriate to us car-blogging types. As the Stooge's Icelandic tour driver explains; More »

Classic Top Gear: Richard Hammond Walks on Water

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:45:00 EDT

Now that everyone's favorite vertically-challenged British motoring television presenter's condition has stabilized, we here at the apparently now "All Hammond, All the Time" Jalop would like to offer up a clip that illustrates the wacky crap the man does to make us smile. This time around, he straps himself into a jeep alongside a crazy Icelandic person and takes off across a lake. Not a frozen one, mind you. A fully-liquid lake. At rather high speeds. More »

If Only The Hamster Had A Rack

Ray Wert — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:57:06 EDT

Ahh, now that's more like it. Bollocks to those Fifth Gear Poseurs, we've got the real shit right here — Top Gear, baby, Top Gear. Specifically, watch and see the Hamster point out the obvious — painted-on headlights on "Iceland's version of a Jeep" are not real. Ahh, that's more like it. Still, tits would be nice too. More »