Jalopnik
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Car Radios
UK New Car Buyers Saddled With Radios That’ll Be Obsolete In 5 Years
Much like the US transition to digital TV, the UK is transitioning to digital radio in 2015. However, unlike in the US, consumers are still being sold products that'll be obsolete when that transition is made. More »
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By Wes SilerComment by dolo54 blows minds and blows engines!: $500!?! or you could buy one of these: and two dozen of these: and your headunit on ebay... connecting to a wiring... 11 Responses | Other threads
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down on the street
1937 Beardmore Taxi
Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Here's the fourth 1930s car I've found down on the Alameda street.
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Comment by jduffy13: It's funny with some of the new cars today doing two tone and getting it wrong, this old beauty gets... 4 Responses | Other threads
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question of the day
What's The American Equivalent Of A Brown 1971 Triumph 2000 MkII?
Last month, James May bought his Significant Other a brown 1971 Triumph 2000 Saloon, because he appreciates "a proper girl in a terrible old car" and felt that she'd "see the cultural relevance of brown."
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Comment by UDMan: On second thought, how about a Brown Mustang II instead. MMMMMM, can't you just taste the Malaise? 8 Responses | Other threads
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novelties
UK Vanity License Plate Gets Record Reserve Auction Price Of $14K
One of the many ways British males compensate for lack of sexual prowess is by purchasing extraordinarily overpriced license plates. This "1 0" plate's expected to set a record, with an auction reserve of £10,000. More »
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By Wes SilerComment by Triborough: Technically these are not vanity plates but "cherished numbers" much akin to the system in the American state (and notorious... 5 Responses | Other threads
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the royal family
Queen Converts Bentleys To Biofuels
The Queen is going green, converting her two custom $15 million Bentley Limos to run on bio-ethanol, preempting an effort by Bentley to do the same for its entire fleet.
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By Wes SilerComment by Jim-Bob: How can an Ethanol conversion improve fuel economy? The Stoichiometry is way off with ethanol (or is it methanol?) requiring... 5 Responses | Other threads
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government
Hoon Appointed UK Secretary Of State For Transport
Well, Hoon by name if not by nature. Geoff Hoon, former Secretary of State for Defense, was appointed the United Kingdom’s Secretary Of State For Transport back in October. Could this be a good thing? Surely anyone named Hoon can’t be all evil, right? More »
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By Wes SilerComment by Rust-MyEnemy: Firstly, Geoff Hoon is an Oxymoron with the emphasis on Moron. Other favoured oxymorons include Peacekeeping Force, Fun Run and Skoda... 8 Responses | Other threads
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classic ad watch
Baby Please Don't Go... In Your Peugeot
You know what feels just like being a hot-rodder American tooling around New Mexico in your chopped pickup truck and then stopping at a redneck diner for a burger? Driving a Peugeot to some crypto-50s-American diner in Newcastle. Bonus points for the rhinestone Peugeot 205 leather jacket!
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Comment by Number_Six: I got lots of practice doing handbrake turns lubricated by sheep shit in N. Ireland in one of these. Fun... more » | Other threads
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classic ad watch
Number 21 Has Escaped!
Car-shopping mid-80s Brits who wanted to show the world that they weren't going to let The Man grind them down- just like Number Six showed The Man!- could head right down to their local Renault dealership after watching this ad, because the Renault 21 (sold here in the States as the much-less-than-successful Renault Medallion) gets away!
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Comment by SeanKHotay: I had a dream like that once, 'cept it wasn't balls trying to catch this hetero male... Even got blocked at... 2 Responses | Other threads
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offbeat news
British Police Expand License Plate Surveillance, Will Store All Trips For Five Years
The surveillance state of Britain is becoming more and more unbelievable as The Guardian is reporting a number-plate recognition system will now be tied to a massive database allowing the movements of all vehicles to be tracked and stored for up to five years.The system works by using government and privately-owned closed-circuit cameras to read number plates and then send the data into the central database, where it can be used for surveillance purposes. When complete, the system will record over 50 million license plate locations each day. Rumor has it the entire operation will be powered by a high-speed generator attached directly to George Orwell's casket. (Photo credit: Wired) [Guardian UK]
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By Ben WojdylaComment by muhnkee_2 - jaloping from sunny sao paulo: i wonder how many of the "up in arms" posters here are actually British? i lived in Britain for seven... 8 Responses | Other threads
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abomination
The Telegraph Ranks The 100 Ugliest Cars Of All Time
You figure a British publication that set out to do a Top 100 Ugliest Cars Ever list would be heavy on the weird UK machinery, and The Telegraph doesn't disappoint in that department (e.g., the Aston Martin Bulldog, above). But don't think that they've forgotten about Detroit; not only do the Pacer, the Fox Mustang, and the Edsel make the list, but… well, we don't want to spoil it for you, but let's just say that WE'RE NUMBAH ONE! WE'RE NUMBAH ONE! Thanks to Paul for the tip! [Telegraph.co.uk] More »
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Comment by Mad_Science: Further proof Britain brings nothing to the table. 4 Responses | Other threads
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classic ad watch
1990s UK Fords: Brian May Says They're Driven By You!
Apparently everyone in Britain has seen this ad thousands of times, thanks to the original lyrics by Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Dr. Brian May, but we didn't hear about it until tipsters Stephen and Franzouse pulled our coats. Unlike Jim Morrison, who refused to let The General make a "Come on Buick, Light my fire" ad, Dr. May wasn't such a stick-in-the-mud about repurposing his compositions. You can see how Ford's torture testing and racing hoonage led straight to such world-beating machines as the Orion and Sierra.
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Comment by grebes: @Maymar, you're right, at least it's upbeat and trying to inspire some pride etc. Similar UK Ford Ad, from early 2000's... more » | Other threads
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classic ad watch
BP's 80s Marketers Make Ludicrously Expensive Ad, Cocaine Price Skyrockets. Plus, 19 More 80s British Ads!
The folks over at Motortorque saw our Top Ten Car Ads Of The 80s post and thought we might be interested in their Top 20 list… and the "we've got so much money in oil profits we can spend Hollywood-blockbuster money on our ads" offering from British Petroleum really takes 80s excess to levels we never knew existed. Follow the link to see the other 19; we've seen a few of them here before, but you'll find enough good stuff to avoid work for quite a while: [Motortorque]
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Comment by jsulli2: I like the last scene, when the guy reaches the 10th floor and is unexpectedly exposed to the vacuum of... more » | Other threads
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project car hell
Project Car Hell, Anglomasochism Edition: Aston Martin DB5 or Jensen FF?
Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! We had a minor upset yesterday, with longshot Germany defeating PCH Superpower Britain in the Jaguar Versus BMW Choose Your Eternity poll. That's not quite the headline news that, say, Detroit beating France would be, but we still need to give Her Majesty's cars a chance to prove they can still dish out pain and pleasure in very large- yet always mixed- helpings. That's the reason we're going with a couple of fine British super coupes suggested by tipster (and PCH T-shirt winner P161911 More »
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Comment by slipp3h: As a side note, i e-mailed the guy with the DB5 about the price, his response: $365K.... I have a feeling... more » | Other threads
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classic ad watch
1980 Austin Metro: We Shall Fight On The Beaches! We Shall Never Surrender!
Just when everyone figured British Leyland was going to surrender the British Isles to the hordes of low-priced imports pouring across the Channel, here comes the brand new Austin Metro! Good for 62 MPG (at a blistering 50 miles per hour) andbashed together by drunks with hammersbuilt with pride right at home, there was no doubt the Germans, Italians, Japanese, and French trembled with fear at the sight of the Metro.
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Comment by 2CVDJ: Luckily they never had to film the Metro on the landing craft, that 'sea air' would have disintegrated it immediately. Actually,... more » | Other threads
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novelties
If It Runs, Sell It: More British Car Jokes!
You know what's always good to cut through the oppressive miasma of a typical Monday in The Man's salt mines? British car jokes! Sure, fish in a barrel, but the jokes wouldn't be funny if we didn't all secretly love the cars. LeylandnĂ¼gen: The Joy Of Towing! You'll see that and much more when you visit Trevor Boicey's Utterly Obscure British Car Humour site. [Utterly Obscure British Car Humour]
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Comment by oslo(w)motion: @NovaloadMissesPolar: classic! My dad drove a 504. The bits I remember are: - the rusthole in the footwell (very fascinating when... more » | Other threads
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novelties
U.K. Cojones: Brit Meter Man Tickets Police Car
This traffic warder either has brass pendulums or a little beef with a particular cop, as he seems to have ticketed the officer for parking illegally. In most cases, traffic cops are regarded as the lowest form of human being, but in this case the man should be celebrated. More »
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Comment by the good dr zero: Poor cops, if they had paid the little scousers some protection money, then their car wouldn't have been up on... more » | Other threads
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classic ad watch
Patrick Mower Has The Antidote To British Malaise: Value For Money!
After yet another shuffling of gut-shot British Leyland brands produced the Austin Rover Group, the ARG marketers decided to get serious about moving some iron off the lots. No more Triumph TR7s or MGBs- now they'd have television actor Patrick Mower pitching the Morris Ital, Rover SD1, Mini Mayfair, and other early-80s British Machinery offering Value For Money, otherwise known by the awe-inspiring acronym VFM.
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Comment by bangernomics: You're not alone in experiencing the BL time warp thingy. There is a decidedly dog eared looking Ital cruising the... more » | Other threads
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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 »
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Comment by respawn: @avconsumer: I actually had a guy in some Atlanta suburb once pass me in the center turning lane because I... more » | Other threads
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down on the street bonus edition
British Steel Screaming For Vengeance In Denver
We need more Judas Priest references here, and Denver's EJacops has given us the opportunity to drop a couple by finding and photographing these three British machines in his neighborhood. We've got a shockingly rust-free TR6, a Land Rover that seems ready to claw its way straight up the nearest 14,000-foot mountain, and when was the last time you saw a TR3 parked on the street in a manner that suggests it actually runs regularly? Good work, EJacobs! Make the jump for a second gallery. More »
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Comment by DucatiChuck: the guy across the street from me has a TR6, and he pulled it out for the first time this... more » | Other threads
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classic ad watch
Marital Infidelity Prompts All-Triumph Car Chase
When you're caught in flagrante delicto by your special lady's husband and have to flee on foot while dressed in a towel, you might breathe a sigh of relief when you discover he plans to chase you in a Triumph Stag; after all, the timing chains probably won't hold out as long as your legs. But then, in one of those cruel twists of fate that seemed all too common in Malaise Britain, you find yourself in the waking nightmare of being forced to choose another Triumph in which to make your getaway!
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Comment by TeddyDC: I just loved that Hyundai ad even though all I know is that power seats are included. more » | Other threads
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down on the street
1973 MGB
Not a whole lot of old British cars remain on the streets of Alameda. We've seen a few Morrises and a couple of Jaguars, but just a single MG up until today. I found this '73 MGB parked just a few doors down from the '68 Pontiac GTO and ran right home to get my camera, in case it was about to drive away any minute. As it turned out, this MG is a new resident, not a onetime visitor. More »
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Comment by Heffae: I had a 1980 MGB that was a daily driver love that car. But you are defiantly right about... more » | Other threads
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gadgets
Road Safety Monitors Judge Your Driving Automatically
Who needs wife when you can have a tiny box with three LEDs constantly judging your driving? The U.K. military has begun testing a program that will monitor driving habits of its personnel. Installed in 200 vehicles is a system from Greenroad Technologies. It uses a green, yellow and red LEDs to rate your driving based on a memory of 120 different maneuvers. More » -
choose your eternity
PCH, Rue Britannia Edition: MGC or Bentley Mulsanne?
Who would have thought a Volvo could ever out-PCH an early Mazda? That's what happened in our most recent Choose Your Eternity poll, with the IROC Bertone stomping on the unrotaried '73 Mazda like it was Horgh versus Hello Kitty (yes, yes, Horgh is a Norwegian, but Norway is still Volvo territory). Today we need to ensure that Italy's triumph over France in the PCH Superpower Showdown doesn't relegate Britain to second-rate PCH Superpower status in our hearts, so here we go on an all-British matchup... More »
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Comment by petersterncan: @Armand4: I love the end of that video 'How many sacrifices to you have to make?' 'Going for a... more » | Other threads
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down on the street bonus edition
Intact British Corvair Nothing Short Of Miraculous
You know how all the 30-year-old British Leyland vehicles in England dissolved into heaps of reddish powder long ago? That makes us wonder how in the hell it was possible for a 45-year-old Chevy Corvair- one of the all-time rustophilic cars ever built- to thumb its nose at the odds and remain all bright and shiny in Colchester, England. The aptly-named Rust-MyEnemy caught this '63 in a parking garage and had low-end phone camera at the ready; read his description after the jump. More »
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Comment by FairfaxMalik: Comment on Intact British Corvair Nothing Short Of Miraculous Don't know if anyone is still on this post, Bill Ireland... more » | Other threads
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news
HOV-Busting Cameras Being Tested In UK
Sneaking into the HOV lane or using a dummy will soon be detectable thanks to researchers at Loughborough University. The new camera not only records cars traveling in HOV and other lanes, but it can also count how many real bodies are in the car by sensing water and blood. More »
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Comment by Stoatmaster: @ecobore: These lanes do exist in the UK. There's a stretch near me (Bristol). more » | Other threads
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classic ad watch
Were The 80s More Fun In A Renault 5?
In North America, it was called the Le Car, and it served as the basis for the way-cooler-than-the-EV1 Lectric Leopard. But over in Yurp, the boxy little Renault hatch was known as the 5, and it apparently inspired Britons in the Late Malaise Era to experience life as a sort of mashup of thumping late-70s disco and retina-damaging early-80s fashion. Look at it this way: Renault 5... or Rover Metro? Tip of the beret to Franzouse for finding this for us!
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Comment by Maxichamp: Don't forget the Le Car-based Adobe (SNL commercial starring Phil Hartman). more » | Other threads
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racing
Get Ready To Eat Aluminum: Banger Caravan Racing
It was fun providing some workplace-disrupting roaring engine sounds yesterday, so we're going to do it again today. This time, however, we're going to cross the Atlantic and add some crunching metal and general apocalyptic atmosphere to the mix. That's right, it's Nighttime Banger Caravan Racing! We approve strongly of Banger Racing, and it can only get better on a track littered with bashed-in low-end trailers.
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Comment by FĐ¯eeMan: I'm not sure of the point of this exercise, but I whole-heartedly approve! more » | Other threads
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choose your eternity
Project Car Hell: Citroen CX Diesel or V8 Lotus Eclat?
It was pretty close, but the Mazda 323 GTX squeaks out a 55/45 victory over the Turbo Geo Metro in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll. I've been happy to find some Japanese PCH candidates, of course, but it's become apparent that we've been neglecting one of the primary Project Car Hell superpowers; yes, it's been over two months since we last saw a French PCH candidate, and that's just plain wrong! More »
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Comment by Walleeme: That green one in the picture sold new for just over 21000 USD.I saw the reciept. more » | Other threads
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junkyard
Moment of Junkyard Zen: Ford Anglias In Sweden
Back when I was looking for a real Anglia gasser for the Euro-Gasser Edition Project Car Hell (they're too expensive), I stumbled across the Anglia Obsolete site. The site is a bit light on content, but there's a link to photos of heaps of dead Anglias in a Swedish wrecking yard. Somehow that just seems right. [Anglia Obsolete]
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Comment by Smells_Homeless: @amblito: Funny, I was going to post about Murilee's pic being somehow NSFW. more » | Other threads
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down on the street
Morris Minor 1000 Convertible
We've seen a few British cars in this series, including a'59 Morris Minor, a '62 Mini, a '69 MGC-GT, and a '78 Jaguar XJ-6, but it's been months since the last one. That's why I'm going with this very clean Morris 1000 convertible for today's DOTS machine. You British-car experts should feel free to put on your anoraks and make with the exact year identification on this thing, because I can't narrow it down any closer than the 1956-62 range. More »
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Comment by whatwouldjessedo: I think those are Rover Sportpack wheels, from a '90s Mini, not Minilites. That's just some car nerd talk though.... more » | Other threads
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novelties
Haynes Now Offers Shop Manual For Sex!
As some of you may remember from all the talk about the Driveshaft Through The Skull warning symbol, I'm a technical writer by trade. That means that I'm sort of a snob when it comes to automotive repair books; if I'm going to use a book to tell me that how to fix a car, by God, it's going to be the factory-issued shop manual (pounds fist on table) or nothing! None of these Chilton or Haynes or other quasi-generic guides will receive my greasy thumbprints on their pages! But UK-based Haynes now has a shop manual that leaves the car manufacturers' books in the dust: The Haynes Sex Manual! Not only does it provide step-by-step how-tos (including, we hope, the guide to the best positions to use when steaming up the windows of a Reliant Robin), but you even get handy troubleshooting flowcharts! Thanks to LTDScott for the tip! [Haynes] -
choose your eternity
PCH, England's Dreaming Edition: Triumph or Rolls-Royce?
After a Corvette-inspired hiatus, we're back to Project Car Hell once again! When we left off, the '56 Mercedes-Benz 190SL had a slim lead over the 4x4 Karmann Ghia in the German Ass Bondo Choose Your Eternity poll. Today, we're going to leave the Continent and cross the Channel to the true home of Hell Projects- the island nation that has produced some of the coolest- yet most maddening- machines ever to leak oil over tattered knuckle-flesh: Great Britain. Sure, we had a Bentley and a Lotus just last week, but Hell never runs out of British cars. God Save The Queen! More »
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Comment by TR3-A: PS: Oh, if you want to go to Project Car Hell, it's the Rolls. Whatever problems you may have with... more » | Other threads
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racing
Going Out In a Blaze of Glory: Banger Racing
In the US of A, we got good wholesome enduro racing, with your Monte Carlos and your Camaros and whatnot. Over in the UK, however, they call it "banger racing" and they'll put just about anything on the track. Rolls-Royces, Jensen Interceptors, and a whole bunch of big American cars end their lives in banger racing, and here's a sort of a roll call of the dead showing some of the machinery that has met its glorious doom in this manner. Thanks to Rust-MyEnemy for the tip! [A to Z of Banger Racing]
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Comment by zaddikim: Freakin' brilliant. The Mad Max version of the figure-8 races they've got @ Abbotsford. Now I want to snag a... more » | Other threads
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Comment by Feds: Early signs of Euro-Political-Correctness too: The alarm clock tossed from the back of the car towards the dessert in a devil-may-care... more » | Other threads
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news
Jay Leno Explains To Britain Why The Tahoe Hybrid Really Is Green
As an automotive columnist for the Times of London, Jay Leno figured the readers might want to know why he selected the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid as the Green Car of the Year. He begins with "The basic difference between England and America is size" and, well, you can probably fill in the blanks from there. Interestingly, Leno claims that there is a rush on used mega-SUVs in the States, as bass boat owners and those with 14 children fear new ones will soon be outlawed. [Times Online]
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Comment by Maymar is breaking in the commenting system like a new pair of socks: @darex: Right, because a Mini isn't indulgent and inefficient (for its class). more » | Other threads
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retro
James May: Malaise Era Unrest Made Cars Look Good
Sure, we all laughed at the shoddy rattletraps made by British Leyland, and the British Malaise Era background of boarded-up factories and long dole lines made it a bitter sort of laughter. Still, James May wants to point out that British Leyland managed to send some original-looking designs limping off the assembly lines. For example, the Triumph TR7; as Mr. May puts it: "But the 7 came from nowhere, and looked completely new in every way." Perhaps we on this side of the Atlantic should reevaluate the Chevy Monza? [Telegraph.co.uk]
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Comment by goatman12: So, interesting that he does not mention Australia's P76 sedan. This large car came out in the early 1970's and... more » | Other threads
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choose your eternity
PCH, British One-Two Punch Edition: Travellers or MGB-GTs?
Well, we can all go ahead and change our names to Ettore now, because the 'Bugatti' triumphed over the 'MG TD' in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll by a pretty healthy margin. Perhaps the faux MG wasn't really British enough, what with its German underpinnings (and the Fauxgatti, lacking any underpinnings, was undeniably the more hellish of the two choices). Still, the phony MG TD reminded us that there's just no Project Car Hell quite like British Project Car Hell; as William Gibson puts it in Pattern Recognition, you're dealing with the Mirror World when you start tearing up your knuckles on a car from the UK. A Mirror World in which electrons ignore the laws of physics and prefer insulators to conductors, every component containing iron manages to find a source of pure superheated oxygen for more rapid oxidation, and you develop an inexplicable craving for mushy peas after tearing all the skin from your knuckles out in the garage. More »
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Comment by FĐ¯eeMan: It's a dead heat - 128 to 128. I don't have enough skin on my knuckles to break the... more » | Other threads
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engine
Workhorse Engine of the Day: Jaguar XK
When I got an email from B. Borrman (of QOTD Hell Jaguar fame) suggesting that the Jaguar XK engine deserved WEOTD status, I figured some of our readers might be on the skeptical side. Sure, we have no problem honoring a British engine, but a Jaguar? Oh, hell yes! How about a 44-year production run? Or five LeMans victories? Make the jump to hear Mr. Borrman's case for the engine and see some nice screaming-engine videos. [JagWeb]
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Comment by X-Zambian: @BlackIce_GTS: Chris Barrie is actually something of a gearhead. He does know his stuff. He has done several programs titled... more » | Other threads
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engine
Workhorse Engine of the Day: BMC B-Series
Anyone who thinks the B doesn't belong in this series, consider this fact: the Hindustan Motors Ambassador, perhaps the world's most workhorsey car since the Model T, was powered by the BMC B until the early 90s. Starting in 1954, if it was British and had wheels you'd have a good chance of seeing this engine when you popped the bonnet. Why, even the Nash Metropolitan had B power! Once they went to a five-bearing crank, the B was actually much more dependable than most of the cars it powered. We say it's a workhorse! Engine photo credit: Stephen Foskett [Wikipedia]
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Comment by pedxing: Yo! I took that photo! How about a little attribution, eh Murlee? more » | Other threads
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retro
The Morris Minor Family Tree
After photographing the '59 Morris Minor for the Down On The Street series, I became curious about the history of the Minor family of cars; we don't see many of them here in North America, but they seem to occupy a place in Britain's heart akin to the Dodge Dart's over here. Fortunately, the Morris Minor Owner's Club has a handy family tree diagram that will sort it all out for you. Yes, it all started with a side-valve 918cc engine! [MMOC.org]
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Comment by brandegee: @billstewartx: A: The Minors turned to dust instantly in a corrosion-friendly environment. B: The VWs had torque. The Minor had none. more » | Other threads
united kingdom
Detroit, 9:45 AM
Sat Jul 11
26 posts in the last 24 hours
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