Television

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Having No Back Seats Can Be Smart

While we know firsthand that you can fit more than two people in a Smart ForTwo, there really isn't enough room in the back to sit comfortably... or hide discreetly. Smart acknowledges this, and sees it as a good thing. After absorbing the scare tactics featured in this banned commercial, we sort of agree.
[via LiveLeak] Hat Tip to Dan!

3:30 PM on Thu Jun 26 2008
By Mark Arnold
3,412 views, 40 comments

classic ad watch

Renault Kangoo: Room For Fat Americans And Their Donuts

Remember when Renault announced that they'd made a deal with 20th Century Fox to use characters from The Simpsons to shill the Kangoo minivan? Well, here's the result, which has been floating around the Internet for a while but hasn't landed here yet. It's about as entertaining as a French minivan could be; we're especially impressed with Homer's Donut Belt and the "money" he uses to buy a new Kangoo. What's next, Jodie Foster selling Civics?

1:20 PM on Thu Jun 19 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,572 views, 17 comments

Latest by SweetZombieJesus: @ecobore: And Chevrolet more »

offbeat news

Put The Kid In The Trunk And The TV In The Backseat

People will do some pretty stupid things for a TV, or so we're learning today. First, it was the idiot burglar with the alligator in his Buick Regal and now we have the story of a trio of not-so-bright Tennesseans who really wanted to get a television home. But there were three of them and a television, and not all of them could fit in the passenger area of their Toyota Corolla. Their solution? Put the kid in the trunk and the television in the backseat. They'd have gotten away with it, too, but someone called the cops after seeing the kid, who apparently consented, get into the trunk. More »

2:20 PM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By Matt Hardigree
1,189 views, 58 comments

Latest by n/a: So??? Whats the problem? Those rednecks should be rewarded for their innovative thinking and decision making. I'm sure that they'd have punched holes i the trunk lid for the kid to breathe and see through. Astos Green lasers rulz more »

celebrities

We Woke Up This Morning, Found Sopranos Cars To Be Auctioned Off

Barrett-Jackson will be auctioning off eight vehicles from The Sopranos March 26 through March 30 in West Palm Beach, Fla. These are the same cars that Tony and his gang of mobsters regularly did their dirty deeds. The highlighted car is Tony Soprano's 2003 Cadillac Escalade that was driven in the final three seasons of the series. It has only 11,000 miles and the driver-side seat is likely well-broken in. Check out the rest of the cars after the jump. More »

11:20 AM on Thu Feb 28 2008
By Travis Hudson
2,098 views, 20 comments

Latest by Maymar - now with 37% less anonymity: I hope the CD player in the Escalade comes preloaded with Journey. more »

novelties

The Other Semi-Sentient Television Automobile

With all this talk of the new Knight Rider television movie, I think we've all forgotten that before K.I.T.T. there was another grand talking car on television. It was part Model T, Maxwell, Hudson and Chevrolet and powered by a 283 cubic inch Chevy V8. It also contains the soul of Jerry Van Dyke's deceased mother.
More »

12:30 PM on Fri Dec 14 2007
By Matt Hardigree
1,282 views, 33 comments

knight rider

Ein Mann und Ein Auto? Nein! Team Knight Rider!

With all this frenzy surrounding the new Knight Rider series, some folks forget about the 1997 spinoff series: Team Knight Rider! This show didn't have just one sentient vehicle- oh, no, apparently an entire assembly line was cranking out self-aware Fords. Yes, Fords! And since the show was so good, it was promptly dubbed for export to eager audiences across Germany. Who knows, perhaps a fleet of such cars could start reproducing themselves, leading to a Gray Goo crisis, in which all of the planet's matter would be converted into talking Expeditions.

2:30 PM on Thu Dec 13 2007
By Murilee Martin
3,165 views, 33 comments

Latest by Nightwing: I remember trying to get into this. They weren't completely consistent with the F.F.L.A.G acronym. In most episodes, or what I recall it stood for the Foundation For Law and Government. In one episode the team was entering a F.F.L.A.G. meeting more »

knight rider

Ex Soap Star To Play Son of Michael Knight

NBC has announced that former All My Children star Justin Bruening will play the son of Michael Knight, the protagonist (well, other than KITT), in the NBC Knight Rider made-for-tv movie, which could well be the pilot of a new television show. As we all remember, the original KITT was a pretty awesome Trans-Am. The new KITT hasn't been announced, but we're sure many automakers are licking their chops to get in on that action. Before we all get up in arms about the soap star playing our childhood hero, we'd remind you that David Hasselhoff starred in The Young and the Restless before getting his break as Michael Knight. [E! Online]

7:00 PM on Fri Nov 2 2007
By Matt Hardigree
1,689 views, 38 comments

Latest by squablow: I'm thinking Challenger too. and the Monkeemobile was a '67 GTO, The Judge didn't come out until '69 more »

deep fried bavarian

Top Gear to Burn Oil in BMW at Silverstone

Rumor has it the Top Gear crew will be burning up some of their homemade biodiesel brew at the upcoming Britcar 24-hour race at Silverstone, September 7th through 9th. Race entry records have Clarkson, the Hamster, James and the Stig entered in a diesel BMW 330 Dti Sport with a number 78 on it. Hilarity will no doubt ensue.
[Image courtesy of the discussion of this upcoming event from the Final Gear forums]

2:00 PM on Thu Aug 23 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
2,206 views, 9 comments

top gear

Top Gear UK Is Coming To BBC America!

It looks like the world's highest production cost car show, Top Gear, is coming to America. BBC America that is. That's right — Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May won't just be stopping by to hoon around a bit like they did last time, instead it looks as though they'll be coming stateside to a local cable operator near you — at least according to the BBC America site. They're showing off air times starting on August 20th with "Episode 1." No idea what season that means they'll be showing although the Top Gear BBC America page does show the guests for this season include "Ewan McGregor, Ray Winstone, and Sir Michael Gambon as well as celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver."
UPDATE: We've spoken with a person at BBC America who tells us that yes, this is official — BBC America will be airing Top Gear UK starting August 20th! [BBC America]

9:15 AM on Fri Aug 10 2007
By Ray Wert
11,695 views, 46 comments

Latest by hairykrishna: @ROGNBROW You may be bored of Top Gear. Most people (me included) are not. Saying it's ratings are 'mediocre at best' is stupid - it averaged 8 million viewers per episode last series placing it among the most watched shows more »

my old man is a television repair man

Jeff Spicoli Stoned in the Valley, Crashes Z28

Along with learning valuable lessons about American history from Mr. Hand in the film classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Jeff Spicoli also learned that people on 'ludes should not drive a 1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 belonging to ~~Idi Amin~~ Charles Jefferson.

1:00 PM on Fri Aug 3 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
1,120 views, 16 comments

come on down, shill bidders!

Bob Barker's Last Car Can Be Yours!

According to the seller, this 2007 Cadillac XLR is the very last car ever given away by Bob Barker on The Price Is Right, on the episode that aired on June 15th. Let's say you already have some other historically significant cars- say, the 1910 Gräf & Stift in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated- and you need to add this incredibly important vehicle to your stable. In that case, you have no choice but to get busy bidding on this 90-mile XLR... which has a starting bid price of 65 Gs (and a reserve that you'll just have to guess). Oh yeah, the car they had on the show itself was black, so you'd need to whip out the paperwork from CBS to prove to skeptics that Bob really did (sorta) give this very car away. [eBay]

5:20 PM on Wed Jul 25 2007
By Murilee Martin
2,216 views, 15 comments

Latest by Frost Face: Anyone think that lady looked like Andy Milanakis? more »

magnum messes up

GTO vs. GTS

Thomas Magnum takes on a pair of armed yahoos in a Goat and winds up ending the chase in a most unfortunate manner. Neither the Fezza nor the Poncho are injured, but fans of Mk. 1 Golf/Rabbits may want to avert their eyes.

10:00 PM on Mon Jul 16 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
777 views, 14 comments

the campaign to stop clarkson rages on

Top Gear Once Again Under Eco-Fire

Jezza, Der Kapitan der Nicht Schnell Ist and Doctor Teeth are once again in trouble with environmentalists for racing to the North Pole. Clarkson and May drove cold-weather outfitted Toyota Hiluxes, while Hammond hitched himself up to a team of sled dogs. Greenpeace, however, was far from pleased at the competition, once again spewing vitriol at Clarkson and blaming the BBC for destroying the environment. Interestingly, the notoriously outspoken lead presenter has yet to issue a comment, but we imagine he'll have a lot to say on the occasion of the show's airing. As a side note, Spinelli talks about the trek here. [Daily Express, UK]

8:10 PM on Mon Jul 16 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
1,545 views, 16 comments

Latest by crashmtb: I live ~2000 miles SOUTH of the north pole, approximately. We had temps of -50(units of measure your choice) this winter. Set some record lows. I am surprised they are not protesting the use of winter roads, whereupon large vehicles more »

we can believe we didn't watch the whole thing

Alka-Seltzer To The Rescue!

Team Knight Rider debuted back when we were in college, and watching this clip reminds us why we never bothered to stick with it beyond one episode. On the other hand, the above segemnt does feature a water-powered Bricklin (a Bricklin!) — creatively-named Hydro 2000 — that like a seagull, can be handily disabled with the addition of fizzy stomach-calming tablets. – Davey G. Johnson More »

7:00 PM on Wed Jun 27 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
1,169 views, 6 comments

the fuzz on the screen

Character-Driven Automobiles in Televised Crime-Fighting

Last night, we suffered a bout of insomnia, and as such found ourselves caught up in the Beeb's excellent Johnny Got His Gun-meets-The Sweeney mashup, Life On Mars. DCI Gene Hunt's Cortina fits the character like a glove and got us thinking — what other television and/or film vehicle driven by a law enforcement official fits the character to a T? Marion Cobretti's '50 Merc? David Starsky's Gran Torino? Steve McGarrett's Park Lane? Go forth and pontificate, dear readers! – Davey G. Johnson More »

5:00 PM on Wed Jun 27 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
1,186 views, 42 comments

Latest by biminitwst: Maxwell Smart traded his Sunbeam for a Karmann Ghia. Product placement maybe? The Monkees had the Monkeemobile, a custom '68 GTO. And the first SUV on the TV was Jethros truck on the Beverly Hillbillies. The show wouldn't have been the same more »

holy crap!

The Hoff is Not Work Safe

Riding around in a talking Trans-Am that fires lasers is all fine and good until you start swearing like a drunken sailor while the cameras are rolling. Take it from the Hoff. What you say now could in fact come back to haunt you later. Is that thing on? – Mike Bumbeck More »

3:00 PM on Tue Jun 19 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
614 views, 6 comments

maybe you can hire...the a-team

We Pity The Fool Who Starts Up a Chop Shop

The A-Team take down a chop shop and a crooked used car salesman with extreme prejudice, all in the name of helping out their pal ex-con pal Davey. Face takes one to the, well, er, face, Hannibal turns himself out as a limo-shoppin' rock 'n' roll mogul, B.A. is his usual William Butler Yeatsian self, and Murdock? Well, Murdock's just howlin' mad. And yes, of course the plan comes together. It is a Stephen J. Cannell production, after all. More post-jump. – Davey G. Johnson
More »

3:45 PM on Mon Jun 18 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
610 views, 8 comments

Latest by dculberson: I thought all vettes, ever, were fuel injected? Oh, whoops, no.. I just did some research and they had optional fuel injection as early as '57, but there was a period from '65-'82 where they didn't even offer it! From more »

hammond is not quite mike watt

Top Gear of the Pops!

The three 'teers arm their muskets and take aim at the music industry in this charity episode of Top Gear only it's about music, not cars. Sort of like a video issue of Gearhead, only with middle-aged British chaps instead of middle-aged punkers. [Thanks to the legendary ThnderBlt for the tip.] More »

6:30 PM on Thu Jun 14 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
612 views, 1 comment

Jalopnik

Production 2010 Chevy Camaro Revealed!

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