Jalopnik
classic ad watch
-
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 » -
-
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! -
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] -
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 » -
-
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. -
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] -
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 » -
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. -
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. Leylandnügen: 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]
