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top gear

Top Gear Fan Pays $19,358 For "Stig" License Plate

You've got to be creative to see "The Stig" in it, but a license plate reading "THE 571G" went to a fan of UK driving show Top Gear at a DVLA auction in the UK for a price of just under $20,000 (£10,690). The UK motoring site Pistonheads claims the winning buyer was Rick Fusari, owner of the Greenford Motors car dealership in West London. Fusari snagged the plate from 11 other Top Gear fan-boys bidding on the vanity plate and now has the dilemma on which of his two Ferraris to place the plate. Either way, we're hoping he doesn't buy a white helmet to go along with it.

9:40 AM on Mon Sep 29 2008
By Ray Wert
1,210 views, 39 comments

Latest by LucidRalphWiley: @rocor: This guy already has two Ferraris. more »

offbeat news

UK Businessman Decapitates Self With Aston Martin DB7

An inquest into the death of Welsh gym owner Gerald Mellin has found the businessman decapitated himself in his Aston Martin DB7 after an argument with his estranged wife. According to the court, Mellin tied one end of a rope to a tree, climbed into his DB7 and wrapped the other end around his neck. Mellin then jammed the pedal down on the $173,000 car, driving into a busy main road, forcing other drivers to watch his horrific death. Police found his headless body still in the driving seat and his head on the back seat. But what caused Millen to kill himself with such heinous vehicular methodology? More »

9:00 AM on Sat Aug 9 2008
By Ray Wert
99,443 views, 116 comments

Latest by slackinfux: If only more rich assholes would follow suit. Just leave the awesome cars and get a rental shitbox. Unless it's a Benz, go ahead and take it with you. more »

industry news

Ta Ta, Land Rover: British Army Replaces Defender With American Ridgback

In a truly majestic snub, the British Ministry of Defence has elected to replace its forward fleet of Land Rover Defenders with American-made "Ridgback" (or "Ridgeback" depending upon source) 4x4 armored trucks. The new vehicles are said to provide better protection for troops, better handling — better "manoeuverability" in the Queen's English, and, gasp, better reliability! We're not sure if the replacement plans are a tacit acknowledgement that there is no more British auto industry left to which the government should be loyal, or if British forces were simply getting tired of Lucas Electrics letting the smoke out deep down Kandahar way, where there's not only no proper service facility, but the tea is positively ghastly. [Autocar.uk, Photo Credit: Rover Nut @ Flickr]

1:00 PM on Mon Jun 30 2008
By Andrew Stoy
2,769 views, 47 comments

Latest by ecobore: This is just so untrue... The tea in Kandahar is excellent! more »

offbeat news

Think You've Got It Bad? Gas Hits $14.76 a Gallon In Britain

Great Britain is in the midst of a fuel supply crisis the scope of which gives us the cold sweats: Supply is short, stations are closing with dry tanks, and those that do have dino juice are demanding a princely sum equivalent to $14.76 a US gallon. Light sweet crude, it's the end of the world! Okay, not really. The problem is that tanker drivers for Shell have gone on strike, sending fuel supplies into the crapper. This craziness will pass once the union comes to an agreement, but it makes us think that maybe a Segway isn't such a bad idea after all, despite what Wert thinks. [BBC News]

5:20 PM on Tue Jun 17 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
12,739 views, 91 comments

Latest by Naturally Exasperated?: @Bladefist: So i take it u love Bush. News Flash....his term in office is OVER! This makes about as much sense as Aussies who still whinge and bitch about John Howard. The only Aussie politician who deserves ongoing criticism is Keating the Bastard. more »

top gear

BBC Facing Calls To Sack Clarkson Over Boasts Of Speeding 186 MPH On British Public Roads

The Beeb's facing some criticism today from road safety activists over comments made by the very lovable, huggable and downright loud, Jeremy Clarkson. Actually, it's not just criticism — it's an outright call for his firing from the venerable Brits who broadcast. Apparently, during an interview by Daily Mail columnist Rosie Boycott, the 48-year-old host of the world's bestest motoring show was asked what was the fastest he had ever driven. Mr Clarkson replied: "On the public roads...186." Jeez. Didn't they know he was obviously talking about public roads with unlimited speed limits — like the Autobahn? Oh, wait, what's that? He was talking about the the Limehouse Link tunnel between Central London and Docklands in a Bugatti Veyron? Oh. Well, then he's a silly twit, isn't he for making mention of it? This isn't the first time he's had run-ins over road-going incidents, despite his proud claim of having "never been pulled over for speeding." More »

11:20 AM on Thu May 29 2008
By Ray Wert
4,646 views, 85 comments

Latest by skulldriveshaft: What is that feeling you get when someone blasts past you just to get into your lane and end up at the red light dead ahead (all lanes are empty, no following traffic)? Now what's that other feeling when someone goes blasting past everyone else, and you on the highway, and more »

novelties

Mooning Speed Cameras Are Quickest Way To Get Your Ass In Trouble

Those fancy tea-drinkers from across the pond are all up in arms over a man who was photographed mooning a speed camera. The man drops his trousers and bares his ass for a speed camera on the A1171 Dudley Lane in Cramlington. The police aren't too happy about the matter (honestly, who would be? ass lovers?) because the stunt is dangerous and offensive. The police will be contacting the owner of the vehicle and may take action against the man for public order offenses and failure to wear a seatbelt. We're still pretty amazed that the guy could stand up, pull down his pants and turn around while riding shotgun in a moving BMW X5. [BBC via Neatorama]

2:20 PM on Mon May 5 2008
By Travis Hudson
2,667 views, 34 comments

Latest by InvertedMind: @CharlzR: Who said this place had culture? more »

traffic

Brits Give Crossing Guards Cams To Catch Speedsters

First off, are crossing guards in the U.K really called lollipop ladies and men? If it is true, is it because their signs look like lollipops. Or even more creepily, do they hand out lollipops to kids? Regardless, these men and women are now being equipped with helmet-mounted cameras to catch aggressive motorists. Apparently, drivers aren't as nice to these lollipop-passing-out guardians of the walkways. There have been 1,400 incidents of aggressive lollipop haters was recorded last year with dozens of crossing guards needing hospitalization. More »

4:20 PM on Thu May 1 2008
By Travis Hudson
398 views, 21 comments

Latest by respawn: @avconsumer: I actually had a guy in some Atlanta suburb once pass me in the center turning lane because I observed the flashing lights and chose to drive the 25MPH speed limit in the school zone. I almost had the urge to chase the guy down and beat the more »

novelties

Your Ass Looks Fat In That Captiva

Everyone wants to look fit in their new ride, whether it be a Ferrari or Fiat. And while our idea of looking fly in cars is a little off, we don't completely oppose the sentiment. It may not be a first priority, but it's on the list. Knowing how vain people can be, a Chevy dealership in the UK setup a showroom with mirrors and a revolving turntable so that individuals can see how good they think they look in whatever vehicle they want to buy.

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10:40 AM on Fri Apr 11 2008
By Matt Hardigree
2,746 views, 29 comments

Latest by NovaloadMissesPolar: Oh, and have subliminal messages on them. more »

london motor show

Nissan Qashqai+2 Revealed Ahead Of London Motor Show

Nissan has issued the first pictures of its new seven-seater crossover vehicle that takes the Qashqai and cranks the knob up by "+2." That's right, it's called the Qashqai+2, an all-new bigger Qashqai that seats two more than the original model of the strangely-named CUV. Nissan accomplishes the increased room by upping the wheelbase size from the 103.5 inches found in the Qashqai to 108.86 inches and the overall length from 169.7 inches to 178.2 inches. The new Qashqai+2 will be launched at the London Motor Show in July and comes to UK showrooms in the autumn. No word yet on whether we'll see the new crossover from the Japanese side of Carlos Ghosn's global partnership of equals, but we truly doubt it because despite the Qashqai being named after a nomadic people in Iran, the CUV has traveled pretty much only throughout the nations of Europe. Still, bully for Nissan for bucking trends by moving super size in a world where that's making increasingly less sense. Full press release after the jump.

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8:36 AM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Ray Wert
5,785 views, 21 comments

Latest by darex: @FierySphere: I thought the Qashqai is the Rogue, except shorter, so isn't the Qashquai+2 then now equal to a Rogue? Well, I've seen the Qashquai in Europe in the flesh, and it seems much smaller than our Rogue, as I recall. It seems more like the Mazda3 and less like the more »

alternative energy

UK Budget Disses Petrol Hogs, Will Age Of Scarcity And Gloomy Poetry Make Comeback?

Is socialism staging a resurgence in Britain? We wonder sometimes. With a Labour government back in power, and gas nearing $6 a gallon, conservation may be giving way to regulatory miserliness across the pond, sold to the public with a tinge of green. More »

2:45 PM on Fri Mar 14 2008
By Matthew DeBord
583 views, 17 comments

Latest by the good dr zero: @ash78: Hey - those oak forests make good charcoal. Which was perfect for using in blast furnaces. Do you want steel or a few trees? I go with the steel, but that's my job. more »