Sunday February 5th 2012 sees a big day in the world of football. At 2:30pm GMT, assuming they don't have any problems with a frozen pitch, Airbus UK take on Port Talbot in the Corbett Sports Welsh Premier League.
Now if, unlike me, you don't happen to be Welsh and are perhaps, like Barack Obama, American (yes Fox News - we've seen the birth certificate) then you may be interested in a different football match - involving a different game called football.
Sunday February 5th 2012 also sees the New York Giants take on the New England Patriots in something called "Super Bowl XLVI". This is an opportunity for big corporations to pay millions of dollars to get advertising slots in the middle of the broadcasts. The big car companies are no exception.
The online motoring press worldwide have been taking the oppoturnity to preview these ads and my favourite Australian site came up with this report which includes an amusing effort from Toyota:and a pleasant (if slightly schmaltzy) one from Hyundai:
Autoguide also have a few including my favourite - the one in this story featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno. It also features (very briefly) the new Honda NSX. It would have to be "briefly" because it is still just a concept car - they haven't even designed the interior yet.
Nevertheless, enjoy:
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Keep the Thickos off the Streets!
A couple of stories from the online Torygraph Motoring Section have caught my eye. I do check out that site from time-to-time but not as often as when James May used to write for it. He still appears there but stopped writing quite a while ago - they said he was taking a holiday and put out some of his old classic articles to keep the punters happy. Now it just says that "he is taking a back seat" and they haven't touched his section since last September.
Anyway, back to the stories: This Monday, it got harder to pass your driving test! What this means is that you can no longer trust the questions from your Driving Test Theory exam (which you have to pass before you take the important practical part) to come from a set list that you can revise. This will particularly upset the chap from the other story that they published today. They describe him as "unlucky" - I'd describe him as "thick" - he's managed to fail the theory test 92 times! He clearly does not have the wherewithall to grasp the understanding of road-craft or hazard perception and should not be allowed out on the road.
If he had been taking his test back in my day, he would not have to show any more intelligence than answering a couple of questions at the end of driving around for half-an-hour and, if I remember correctly, they couldn't fail you if that was the only bit you got wrong. How many other thickos are our there causing chaos because they passed in my day? Am I one such thicko?
At least I took a driving test (in fact I took two!) There's another generation older than me (Nicholas Parsons is an example) who were given licences because they drove a bit while in the Military.
The only thing you can say for Mr.I've-Failed-92-Times is that at least he is being honest and legal about it - some would give up and just drive anyway - like certain individuals who can't afford to, or don't want to, pay for Insurance.
As any good Telegraph reader would say "Lock them up and throw away the key!"
Anyway, back to the stories: This Monday, it got harder to pass your driving test! What this means is that you can no longer trust the questions from your Driving Test Theory exam (which you have to pass before you take the important practical part) to come from a set list that you can revise. This will particularly upset the chap from the other story that they published today. They describe him as "unlucky" - I'd describe him as "thick" - he's managed to fail the theory test 92 times! He clearly does not have the wherewithall to grasp the understanding of road-craft or hazard perception and should not be allowed out on the road.
If he had been taking his test back in my day, he would not have to show any more intelligence than answering a couple of questions at the end of driving around for half-an-hour and, if I remember correctly, they couldn't fail you if that was the only bit you got wrong. How many other thickos are our there causing chaos because they passed in my day? Am I one such thicko? 
At least I took a driving test (in fact I took two!) There's another generation older than me (Nicholas Parsons is an example) who were given licences because they drove a bit while in the Military.
The only thing you can say for Mr.I've-Failed-92-Times is that at least he is being honest and legal about it - some would give up and just drive anyway - like certain individuals who can't afford to, or don't want to, pay for Insurance.
As any good Telegraph reader would say "Lock them up and throw away the key!"
Saturday 14 January 2012
Hot New Lincoln
Literally.
Well it looks nice enough - but not enough to using words like "Hot".
This is the new concept car, the MKZ, from Lincoln. Lincoln being the only posh brand owned by Ford since they said bye-bye to Mercury. And it looks like Lincoln are being allowed to produce their own designs and products rather than just re-badging existing Ford ones.
I found this car report on the Fox News site:
Now, I can't stand Fox News - or anything really with Murdoch's grubby paws on it - but I was curious as to what they were making of the current Republican primaries with their favourite Tea-Party-friendly candidates being beaten by Romney who they wouldn't want to be slagging off too much just in case. That was when I found that report and was soon bored watching it by the little Australian man using lots of management-speak.
I didn't think too much more about it until a day or two later when I read this report in Autoguide.
Here's the video:
Well that just takes the biscuit - the Lincoln Biscuit.
Well it looks nice enough - but not enough to using words like "Hot".This is the new concept car, the MKZ, from Lincoln. Lincoln being the only posh brand owned by Ford since they said bye-bye to Mercury. And it looks like Lincoln are being allowed to produce their own designs and products rather than just re-badging existing Ford ones.
I found this car report on the Fox News site:
Now, I can't stand Fox News - or anything really with Murdoch's grubby paws on it - but I was curious as to what they were making of the current Republican primaries with their favourite Tea-Party-friendly candidates being beaten by Romney who they wouldn't want to be slagging off too much just in case. That was when I found that report and was soon bored watching it by the little Australian man using lots of management-speak.
I didn't think too much more about it until a day or two later when I read this report in Autoguide.
Here's the video:
Well that just takes the biscuit - the Lincoln Biscuit.
Wednesday 4 January 2012
A Kind-Hearted Traffic Warden
That can't be right!
But it is. He took pity on a Falcon.
No, not a Ford Falcon - the bird of prey type of falcon. He rescued it on New Year's Day in Birkenhead when it was knackered after being blown about in the gales. The story is covered here on the Liverpool Echo site with a nice comment added by a reader at the end. Being Birkenhead, it could be the same git who booked my wife a few years back when she was three minutes late getting back to her car with a load of shopping and two bickering children. I appealed against a £60 fine for three minutes but the Council weren't interested - and they wonder why traffic wardens need stories like this to try and boost their image. Here is the bird-loving one, his name is Lee Gallagher and he is releasing the bird back into the grey skies at Hamilton Square:
The BBC also had that story, but since I posted last month about how I am finished with the BBC - I can't really link to them now, can I?
Then, on Monday, I finally picked up the new copy of Top Gear Magazine which was delivered last week but I haven't had chance to look at, what with Christmas and everything, and I saw that the new series of Top Gear TV starts on January 29th. Yippee! Well, maybe not "yippee", maybe more "I'll quite look forward to that"
The Christmas special didn't grab me the way Top Gear usually does and I'm finding I'm enjoying Fifth Gear a lot more than TG nowadays - is my disillusionment with Auntie Beeb affecting my motoring televisual enjoyment - or am I just getting bored with TG? I don't know - I'll let you know after the new series.
Then, yesterday, I got my annual letter from Richard & James extolling to me the virtues of subscribing to my next year with Top Gear Magazine - they really ought to change that letter - it's getting very stale. Anyway, could this be a good chance to show my displeasure with The Beeb?
Damn it, I still really enjoy the magazine and I pay for it with Tesco Clubcard Reward tokens so they'll not be making much out of that so a new subscription it is.
I've given up on their blogs though now - I've found like-minded people (and so far no trolls) on Facebook which leads me, rather neatly, to the fact I've joined Facebook!
I've set up a Metro's Car Blog page but I'll just monitor how that goes along and see whether or not it's worth keeping it going. I've put my two favoutite pictures of Vicki Butler-Henderson on there for starters.
And, while we're on the subject of social networking, I think I finally understand why anyone who isn't Stephen Fry might want to Tweet on Twitter. "Friends" are actually interested and comment when you add stuff to your Facebook wall so it's the same logic. I've not played with Twitter yet - maybe a job for next New-Years but someone who does is NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne.
I'll leave you with this story from last week from Autoguide.com
But it is. He took pity on a Falcon.
No, not a Ford Falcon - the bird of prey type of falcon. He rescued it on New Year's Day in Birkenhead when it was knackered after being blown about in the gales. The story is covered here on the Liverpool Echo site with a nice comment added by a reader at the end. Being Birkenhead, it could be the same git who booked my wife a few years back when she was three minutes late getting back to her car with a load of shopping and two bickering children. I appealed against a £60 fine for three minutes but the Council weren't interested - and they wonder why traffic wardens need stories like this to try and boost their image. Here is the bird-loving one, his name is Lee Gallagher and he is releasing the bird back into the grey skies at Hamilton Square:
The BBC also had that story, but since I posted last month about how I am finished with the BBC - I can't really link to them now, can I?
Then, on Monday, I finally picked up the new copy of Top Gear Magazine which was delivered last week but I haven't had chance to look at, what with Christmas and everything, and I saw that the new series of Top Gear TV starts on January 29th. Yippee! Well, maybe not "yippee", maybe more "I'll quite look forward to that"
The Christmas special didn't grab me the way Top Gear usually does and I'm finding I'm enjoying Fifth Gear a lot more than TG nowadays - is my disillusionment with Auntie Beeb affecting my motoring televisual enjoyment - or am I just getting bored with TG? I don't know - I'll let you know after the new series.
Then, yesterday, I got my annual letter from Richard & James extolling to me the virtues of subscribing to my next year with Top Gear Magazine - they really ought to change that letter - it's getting very stale. Anyway, could this be a good chance to show my displeasure with The Beeb?
Damn it, I still really enjoy the magazine and I pay for it with Tesco Clubcard Reward tokens so they'll not be making much out of that so a new subscription it is.
I've given up on their blogs though now - I've found like-minded people (and so far no trolls) on Facebook which leads me, rather neatly, to the fact I've joined Facebook!
I've set up a Metro's Car Blog page but I'll just monitor how that goes along and see whether or not it's worth keeping it going. I've put my two favoutite pictures of Vicki Butler-Henderson on there for starters.
And, while we're on the subject of social networking, I think I finally understand why anyone who isn't Stephen Fry might want to Tweet on Twitter. "Friends" are actually interested and comment when you add stuff to your Facebook wall so it's the same logic. I've not played with Twitter yet - maybe a job for next New-Years but someone who does is NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne.
I'll leave you with this story from last week from Autoguide.com
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